Basque people

:This article is about the Basque people. For other meanings, see Basque.

Culture

There are interesting social differences between the Basques and their neighbours. The Basque people have an unusually close attachment with their homes. A person's home is their family in Basqueland. Even if one does not still live there and has not for generations a Basque family is still known by the house in which it once lived. Common Basque surnames could translate as "top of the hill", or "by the river" all relating to the location of their ancestral home. This is interesting evidence for considering the Basques to be the only people who have always had a fixed and stable abode.

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Though matriarchality has been sometimes attributed to Basque society, today it seems clear that the actually known familiar structure is patrilinear, being the top position given to the father, as in neighbour cultures. Nevertheless there are some signs that this could have not always been that way. Also it must be said that the social position of women has always been rather better than in neighbour countries.

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The fueros on inheritance favoured the unity of the inherited land (in contrast to Galician minifundia) so, until the Industrial Age, poor Basques (usually the younger sons) emigrated to the rest of Spain or France and the Americas. Saint Francis Xavier and Conquistadores like Lope de Aguirre were Basque.

Related Topics:
Fueros - Minifundia - Francis Xavier - Conquistador - Lope de Aguirre

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Despite ETA and the crisis of heavy industries, the Basques have been doing remarkably well in recent years, emerging from persecution during the Franco regime with a strong and vibrant language and culture. For the first time in centuries, the Basque language is expanding geographically led by large increases in the major urban centres of Pamplona, Bilbao, and Bayonne, where only a few decades ago the Basque language had all but disappeared. The opening of the new Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao is widely seen as a symbol of a linguistic and cultural revival.

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See also: Basque music

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Language

See also Basque language.

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As of 2004, virtually all Basques speak the dominant language of their respective countries. Besides Spanish or French, about a quarter of Basques speak their own ethnic Basque language, referred to, in that tongue, as Euskara, which is not only distinct from French and Spanish, but apparently unrelated to every other language, both modern and historical, in Europe and the world.

Related Topics:
As of 2004 - Euskara - French - Spanish

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The Basque language is thus an isolated language, although the Spanish language has greatly influenced Euskara, particularly in the vowel set. An alternative theory states that it was actually Basque's simplified vowel set that influenced the development of Spanish from Vulgar Latin.

Related Topics:
Isolated language - Vowel - Vulgar Latin

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This unique and isolated language has attracted the interest of a great many linguists trying to discover its history and origin.

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The first time we find Basque in writing is the late Middle Ages, which is not, however, evidence of their late arrival, for the Basques were already very well established by this point.

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Religion

Most Basques are practising Roman Catholics.

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The region has been a source of missionaries like Francis Xavier and Michel Garicoïts.

Related Topics:
Francis Xavier - Michel Garicoïts

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Also, Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus, was a Basque.

Related Topics:
Ignatius Loyola - Society of Jesus

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A sprout of Protestantism in the continental Basque Country produced the first translation of the new Testament into Basque by Joannes Leyçarraga.

Related Topics:
Protestantism - Joannes Leyçarraga

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After the king of Navarre converted to Catholicism to be king of France, Protestantism almost disappeared.

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Bayonne held a Jewish community mainly from Sephardic refugees from Spain.

Related Topics:
Bayonne - Sephardi

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Pre-Christian religion and mythology

There is strong evidence of a previous religion, reflected in countless legends and some enduring traditions. This pre-Christian religion was apparently centered on a superior female genie: Mari. Her consort Sugaar also seems to bear some importance. This chthonic couple seem to bear the superior ethical power and also the power of creation and destruction. It's said that when they gathered in the high caves of the sacred peaks, they engendered the storms. These meetings typically happened on Friday nights, the day of historical akelarre or coven.

Related Topics:
Genie - Mari - Sugaar - Chthonic - Akelarre - Coven

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Mari was said to reside in mount Anboto, periodically she crossed the skies as a bright light to reach her other home at mount Txindoki.

Related Topics:
Anboto - Txindoki

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Another divinity seems to be Urtzi (also Ost, Ortzi: sky) but it seems to have been imported, as legends do not speak of him. Nevertheless his name appears in weekdays, months names and metereological events. In medieval times, Aymeric Picaud, a French pilgrim, wrote on the Basques, saying: et Deus vocant Urcia ("and they name God as Urci-a"; the -a being the Basque nominative or suffixed article).

Related Topics:
Urtzi - Aymeric Picaud

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There is also Anbotoko Mari, a goddess whose movements affected the weather. According to one tradition, she travelled every seven years between a cave on mount Anboto and one on another mountain (the stories vary); the weather would be wet when she was in Anboto, dry when she was in Aloña, or Supelegor, or Gorbea. It is hard to say how old this legend is; despite the pagan elements, one of her names, Mari Urraca, ties her to a possibly historical Navarrese princess of the 11th and 12th century and other legends give her a brother or cousin who was a Roman Catholic priest.

Related Topics:
Anbotoko Mari - Anboto - Aloña - Supelegor - Gorbea - Pagan - 11th - 12th century

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Legends also speak of many and abundant genies, like jentilak (equivalent to giants), lamiak (equivalent to nymphs), mairuak (builders of the cromlechs or stone circles, literally Moors), iratxoak (imps), sorginak (witches, priestess of Mari), etc.

Related Topics:
Jentilak - Giant - Nymph - Moors - Imp - Witch

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Basajaun is a Basque version of the wild man.

Related Topics:
Basajaun - Wild man

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There is a trickster named San Martin Txiki ("St Martin the Lesser").

Related Topics:
Trickster - San Martin Txiki

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It has been shown that some of these stories have entered Basque culture in recent centuries or as part of Roman superstitio. It is unclear whether neolithic stone structures called dolmens have a religious significance or were built to house animals or resting shepherds.

Related Topics:
Superstitio - Neolithic - Dolmen

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Some of the dolmens and cromlechs are burial sites serving as well as border markers.

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The Jentilak ('Giants'), on the other hand, are a legendary people which explains the disappearance of a people of Stone Age culture that used to live in the high lands and with no knowledge of the iron. Many legends about them tell that they were bigger and taller, with a great force, but were displaced by the ferrons, or workers of ironworks foundries, until their total fade-out.

Related Topics:
Giants - Stone Age

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They were pagans, but one of them, Olentzero, accepted Christianity and became a sort of Basque Santa Claus.

Related Topics:
Pagan - Olentzero - Santa Claus

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They gave name to several toponyms, as Jentilbaratza.

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Sports

The Basque Country has also contributed many great sportsmen, primarily in football (soccer), cycling, jai-alai, and rugby.

Related Topics:
Football (soccer) - Cycling - Jai-alai - Rugby

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The main sport in the Basque Country, as in the rest of Spain and France, is football. The top teams Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad, Osasuna and Alavés are a fixture in the Spanish national league. Athletic Bilbao has a policy of hiring only Basque players, or players who have grown and trained in Basque clubs of lower categories.

Related Topics:
Athletic Bilbao - Real Sociedad - Osasuna - Alavés - Spanish national league

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Cycling as a sport is very popular in the Basque Country. Cycling races often see Basque fans lining the roads wearing orange, the corporate color of the telco Euskaltel, coining the term the orange crush during the Pyrenees stages of the Tour de France. Of course, this is not to be mistaken with the orange of the fans from the Netherlands.

Related Topics:
Euskaltel - Tour de France

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The Navarrese cyclist Miguel Induráin (now retired) was the first to win the Tour de France five consecutive times, and has also won the Giro d'Italia and the World Cycling Championship in the discipline of individual time trial. Fellow Basque cyclist Abrahán Olano has won the Vuelta a España and the World Cycling Championship.

Related Topics:
Miguel Induráin - Tour de France - Giro d'Italia - World Cycling Championship - Individual time trial - Abrahán Olano - Vuelta a España

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The Euskaltel-Euskadi cycling team is a commercial team, but also works as an unofficial Basque national team and is partly funded by the Basque Government. They are emerging as a strong contender in the Tour de France, with riders such as Iban Mayo, Haimar Zubeldia and David Etxebarria leading the charge.

Related Topics:
Euskaltel-Euskadi - Iban Mayo - Haimar Zubeldia - David Etxebarria

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In France, rugby (especially rugby union) is another popular sport with the Basque community. In Biarritz, the local club is Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque, the name referencing the club's Basque heritage. They wear red, white and green, and supporters are known to wave the Basque flag in the stands. They also recognize 16 other clubs as "Basque-friendly". The most famous Biarritz & Basque player is the legendary French fullback Serge Blanco, whose mother was Basque. Michel Celaya captained both Biarritz and France. Current French number 8 Imanol Harinordoquy is also a Biarritz & Basque player.

Related Topics:
Rugby - Rugby union - Biarritz - Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque - Basque flag - Serge Blanco - Michel Celaya - Imanol Harinordoquy

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Aviron Bayonnais is another top club with some Basque ties, but Biarritz is by far the most prominent.

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Pelota and Jai Alai are Basque versions of the European game family that includes real tennis and squash. Basque players, playing for either the Spanish or the French teams, dominate international competititions.

Related Topics:
Pelota - Jai Alai - Real tennis - Squash

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Mountaineering is favoured by the mountainous character of Basque terrain and nearness of the Pyrenees. Juanito Oiarzabal (from Vitoria), holds the world record for number of climbs above 8,000 meters with 21.

Related Topics:
Mountaineering - Pyrenees - Juanito Oiarzabal - Vitoria

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One of the top basketball clubs in Europe, TAU Baskonia, is located in the Basque city of Vítoria/Gasteiz.

Related Topics:
Basketball - TAU Baskonia - Vítoria/Gasteiz

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In recent years surfing has taken root in the Basque shores in spite of the cold Atlantic waters, and Mundaka and Biarritz have become spots on the world surf circuit.

Related Topics:
Surfing - Mundaka - Biarritz

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Traditional Basque sports

There are several sports derived by Basques from everyday chores.

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Heavy workers were challenged and bets placed upon them.

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Examples are:

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• trainera (oar boat) regattas: from fishermen rowing to market with their catch.
• sokatira: tug-of-war.
• harri jasoketa: stonelifting, from quarry works.
• aizkolaritza and trontzalaritza: tree hacking and log sawing.
• segalaritza: grass scytheing.
• dema or stone block pulling, from construction works:
• idi probak with couples of oxen.
• asto probak with donkeys.
• zaldi probak with horses.
• gizon probak with couples of sportsmen.
• From 2000, in Valle de Trápaga-Trapagaran, Vizcaya, snails are being used to compete at stone pulling. These contests imitate some features of the traditional sports (as shape and paintings of the stones) but lack human physical intervention (human effort is important in shows with oxen, horses and donkeys).
• shepherd dog competitions.
• txinga erute: carrying of weights, one in each hand, representing milk canisters.
• ram fights.
• zipota, a French Basque martial art, similar to savate.
• barrenador competitions: drilling stone blocks with a metal bar, only in the former mining areas of West Biscay.

The world-famous run of the bulls in Pamplona's fiestas Sanfermines started as a transport of bulls to the ring. Bullfights are also popular in the Basque Country in spite of the unsuitability of the terrain for bull raising and a lack of local matadors.

Related Topics:
Run of the bulls - Pamplona - Fiesta - Sanfermines - Bullfight - Matador

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