Basques

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Basques

LOCATION: Northwest Spain and southwest France
POPULATION: almost 3 million
LANGUAGE: Euskera (Basque language); Spanish; French
RELIGION: Roman Catholic

INTRODUCTION

The Basques are a single people who live in two countries: northwest Spain and southwest France, where the Pyrenees meet the coast of the Bay of Biscay. The Basques may be the oldest ethnic group in Europe. They are thought to have inhabited the southwestern corner of the continent since before the migration of Indo-European peoples to the area approximately 5,000 years ago. Surviving invasions by the Romans, Visigoths, Arabs, French, and Spanish, they resisted domination by outsiders until the Middle Ages when much of their territory was usurped by Spaniards, Gascons, and Catalans. In 1516 the Basques on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees agreed to Castilian rule but won the right to retain a degree of self-government. By 1876 all Basque lands were divided between France and Spain; however, nationalist sentiments ran high among the Basques—especially on the Spanish side—throughout the 19th century.

In the 1930s the Basques supported the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War in exchange for promises of autonomy, but their hopes were dashed with the victory of Generalissimo Francisco Franco. During the years of the Franco regime (1939-1975) the Basque language and culture in the Spanish provinces were ruthlessly suppressed, and their local government went into exile in Paris. By the 1950s, resistance groups had formed, most notably the ETA (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna, or Basque Homeland and Liberty), which continued its terrorist acts throughout the 1970s and 1980s, even after Spanish rule over the Basques was liberalized following Franco's death in 1975. Vizcaya, Guipúzcoa, and Alava, which make up three of the four Basque provinces, were unified in 1980 as the Basque Autonomous Community, and its inhabitants were granted limited autonomy, recognition of their language and culture, and control over their schools and police force. Today, it is one of the most decentralized regions in the world, with more autonomy than just about any other similar region in Europe. The seats of the Basque parliament and government are in Vitoria-Gastei. The parliament elects the lehendakari (president), who forms a government following regular parliamentary procedures.

ETA is an illegal armed Basque organization. It was founded in 1959, demanding Basque independence and self-determination from a Marxist-Leninist interpretation. According to official figures and ETA communiqués, since 1969 it has killed over 800 people, maimed hundreds more, and committed dozens of kidnappings. The group is proscribed as a terrorist organization by both the Spanish and French government, as well as the European Union.

LOCATION AND HOMELAND

Basque country consists of three regions on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees (Vizcaya, Guipúzcoa, and Alava) and three on the French side (Labourd, Basse-Navarre, and Soule). These territories, collectively, are called Euskal-Herria (Land of the Basques) or Euskadi. It has been nearly a thousand years since these regions were unified politically. The area is geographically varied, containing the ridges and foothills of the Pyre-nees and a short coastal plain along the Bay of Biscay, as well as steep, narrow valleys and mountain streams. Although Basque nationalists claim Navarre as part of their territory, Navarre is a different autonomous community.

With 2.141.860 million inhabitants (2007), the land of the Basques, with an extension of 7,234 sq km (2,793 sq mi), is a densely populated area (293.73 per sq km). The people are unevenly distributed, with most living in Vizcaya and Guipúzcoa provinces. Fewer than 10% live in the region's largest province, Alava, which encompasses about 40% of the land area. About half the people who live in Basque country are Basques. More than 1 million have other ethnic backgrounds.

The port city of Bilbao is its largest city with a population of 354,145, followed by San Sebastián with 183,308. Blood types and other genetic information about the Basques suggest that they are an ancient people (possibly even descended from Cro-Magnon man) who inhabited the region long before the arrival of other European groups. According to a Basque saying, "Before God was God and boulders were boulders, the Basques were already Basques."

LANGUAGE

The Basque language, also known as Euskera, is Europe's oldest living language. It is unrelated to Spanish, French, or any other

Romance language and belongs to no other known language family. Some scholars have suggested that it may have originated in the Caucasus region of Russia or in North Africa, and others have found similarities to Finnish and Berber. It was the universal language of rural Basques until the end of the 19th century, although it had no written literary tradition and was spoken less frequently by town dwellers. The Franco regime's suppression of all Spanish regionalism in the mid-20th century caused the number of Basque speakers in Spain to decline sharply (as opposed to France, where the figures are higher). In recent years, Basques in both France and Spain have promoted, with some success, the use of their traditional language, mainly by means of the ikastolas, or Basque language and culture schools, and it has become more common in literature and the media since Franco's death in 1975. Every province and town in Spain's Basque country has a Spanish and a Basque official name, both of which appear on all road signs.

The Basque language is notoriously difficult (regional folklore has it that the devil tried to learn Basque for seven years and gave up). There are many different grammatical tenses and a variety of possible forms for each word, depending on gender and other factors. In addition, there are a number of different dialects, although a person who speaks one dialect can generally understand the others. Basque is also rather exotic when contrasted with other Western tongues. For example, intensity may be expressed by repeating a word twice ("very hot" is bero-bero), a feature unknown among European languages but common among Polynesian ones. The language also lacks generic terms for "tree" and "animal": there are names for specific trees (oak, maple, etc.) but not for trees in general.

welcome	ongi-etorri
beach	hondartza
yes	bai
no	ez
see you later	gero arte
hello, how are you?	kaixo, zer moduz?

"Happiness is the only thing we can give without having" (proverb): Izan gabe eman dezakegun gauza bakarra da zoriona.

FOLKLORE

Through centuries of storytelling, the Basques have evolved a rich and colorful mythology. In ancient times their land was supposed to have been peopled by a race of giants called jentillak, who lived side by side with its human inhabitants until the coming of Christ, when they disappeared, leaving behind only one of their number named Olentzero. Olentzero is a folk character that appears in country festivals and celebrations, and is represented in the form of dolls and straw figures. According to legends, the lamiak were female spirits who looked like beautiful women with long golden hair; they had chicken feet, lived in caverns, and could wield either a helpful or a harmful influence. Besides legends and tales, the Basques have a rich and ancient folklore that encompasses various rituals and dances. The Katcha-Ranka is a dance performed in fishing villages. A person representing St. Peter is carried in a coffin through the village and to the waterfront by dancers who then proceed to symbolically beat him as a threat to ensure a good catch when they go out fishing. Cultural expressions, such as dancing and singing, often are tied to religious occasions.

RELIGION

Almost all Basques are Roman Catholics. Traditionally an unusually high percentage chose to become priests or nuns, although this number, together with church attendance generally, has fallen since the Second Vatican Council. Two of the church's most renowned theologians, St. Francis Xavier and St. Ignatius Loyola, who was the founder of the Jesuit order, were of Basque origin. Basque Catholicism, like that in many other areas of Spain, is characterized by a strong devotion to the Virgin Mary.

MAJOR HOLIDAYS

As elsewhere in Spain, most Basque holidays are those found in the Christian calendar. Special holidays include celebrations for Saint John, the Virgen de Begoña, the Virgen del Carmen (patroness of sailors and fishermen), and the Virgen Blanca. The celebration for the Virgen Blanca takes place on and around August 16, including weeklong celebrations of the Semana Grande Donostierra in San Sebastián and Bilbao. In addition, villages celebrate their own festivals with performances by folk musicians, dancers, and bertsolariak, traditional singer/ storytellers who can improvise and sing rhymes on any topic.

RITES OF PASSAGE

Besides baptism, first Communion and marriage could be considered a rite of passage for Basques as with most Spaniards. These events are the occasion, in most cases, for big and expensive social gatherings in which the family shows its generosity and economic status.

INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS

In rural communities where families often lived on individual farms in relative isolation, a special relationship developed with one's neighbors, especially the nearest neighbor, called the lehen auzo, or "first neighbor." The role that first neighbors play sometimes even surpasses that of blood relatives. The best man and chief bridesmaid at weddings are chosen from the household of the lehen auzo, and its members are informed of a serious illness or impending death before the family's closest relatives. In an emergency, the lehen auzo temporarily takes over the running of his neighbor's farm. When there is a death in the family, custom traditionally requires that the lehen auzo be informed before the village bell tolls. The wider neighborhood, or auzoa, is also an important source of social support.

LIVING CONDITIONS

People in the rural regions of Basque country live in large stone farmhouses called caseríos, or baserriak (the plural of baserria). They are often as high as three stories, with animals kept on the ground floor, the family living space on the second floor, and hay and other crops stored on the third. They may either be built at a distance from one another or located in clusters of about 10 or 12. As a result of economical prosperity, cities and towns are much more extensive than a quarter of a century ago, and there are new areas developed with modern apartment buildings.

The Basques have access to the same level of modern medical care as their neighbors in Spain or France, countries with average life expectancies of 78 and 77 years, respectively. However, some Basques, particularly members of the older generation, still believe in the effectiveness of certain types of folk remedies, especially those involving various herbs.

Basque cities and towns are connected by bus and trains. Bilbao, the industrial center of the Basque region, is also Spain's busiest port. Located on the Bay of Biscay, it can accommodate tankers weighing up to 500,000 tons. Bilbao, Vitoria, and San Sebastian have airports. Bilbao's Sondika Airport, a beautiful building, is the busiest in northwest Spain, and the city is connected by rail with the rest of Spain and with France.

FAMILY LIFE

In rural areas, Basque households generally include the maternal or paternal grandparents, as well as unmarried aunts or uncles. It is not uncommon for cousins, even first cousins, to marry. The most important concern for rural dwellers is the perpetuation of the family farm, or baseria. In every family, one son or daughter is designated from childhood as heir to the farm. When he or she gets married, ownership of the farm is transferred to the new couple as part of the wedding arrangements. All adults in the household participate in child rearing. The whole family helps with the farm work, including children and grandparents, who assist with easier tasks. In urban areas, the nuclear family is the norm, sometimes joined by an elderly grandparent or unmarried aunt. Well-off families may have a live-in nanny or servant. In urban areas, family life is like in other parts of Spain.

CLOTHING

The Basques wear modern Western-style clothing for both casual and formal occasions. The single most distinctive item of traditional Basque clothing, which is still worn throughout the country, is the flat wide black beret (boina) worn by Basque men.

FOOD

The Basques are known for their excellent cuisine, much of which involves seafood. The Basque version of bouillabaisse, or fish stew, is called ttoro and includes mussels, crayfish, congers, and the head of a codfish, as well as three other kinds of fish. Cod itself (called bacalao) is also extremely popular; a book entitled 264 Recipes for Cod is sold in Bilbao. Other specialties include fresh tuna with tomatoes, garlic, and spices; txangurro (spider crab); and hake (merluza) kokotchas, made with garlic and parsley. Red peppers are a dietary staple and find their way into seafood sauces, chicken recipes, and omelettes. "Gateau Basque" (Basque cake) is made from eggs, flour, sugar, and rum. A favorite national beverage is txakoli, a fruity white wine produced in coastal areas, often in small family cellars.

EDUCATION

School for the Basques, as for other Spanish children, is free and compulsory from the ages of 6 to 14, when many students begin the three-year bachillerato course of study, after which they may opt for either one year of college preparatory study or vocational training. About one-third of Spain's children are educated at private schools, many of them run by the Catholic Church.

Advanced studies are offered through the University of the Basque Country, founded in 1968, and the universities of San Sebastián and of Vitoria; the private University of Deusto, run by the Jesuits, is the oldest and most prestigious university in the Basque country.

CULTURAL HERITAGE

Besides, ancient stories and songs of a folklore, which were transmitted orally, there is not a sizeable literary heritage written in Euskera (the Basque language). Yet, there are well-known Basque authors who wrote in Spanish, such as Antonio de Trueba, Arturo Campion, Francisco Navarro Villoslada, writer and philosopher Miguel de Unamuno, and novelist Ignacio Aldecoa. In the 20th century, along with an upsurge of nationalism, a flourishing cultural, literary, and artistic movement began. Now, a great amount of Euskera-language books are published each year. Outstanding musicians are Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga, called "the Spanish Mozart," and composer Maurice Ravel. Artists include painter Ignacio Zuloaga and sculptor Eduardo Chillida.

Since 1997, when the Guggenheim Museum was opened, Bilbao has become a center of attraction for tourists and art lovers. The building is the work of the Canadian/American architect Frank Ghery. Built with reflective titanium panels, it is considered to be one of the world's most spectacular buildings in the style of deconstructivism. Other museums are the Museum of Fine Arts in Bilbao and the San Telmo Museum in San Sebastián.

WORK

Fishing and agriculture have long been important occupations for the Basque. The traditional farm holding, or basseria, is a family enterprise in which each household raises its own crops (corn, wheat, and vegetables) and livestock (chickens, pigs, cows, and sheep), and certain resources including pasture lands and fuel wood are held in common by each village. The past 50 years have seen an increase in commercialization and mechanization, dictated by the demands of urban markets. However, Basque herders still follow the seasonal patterns of their ancestors, moving herds of sheep, cows, and goats up to mountain pasture lands from June to October while their wives take charge of the family farm.

The Basque country was the first part of Spain to become industrialized, and it has long been known as a center of Spanish industry, especially the city of Bilbao. The region's history as Spain's iron and steel capital led to the development of automobile and machine tool manufacturing, as well as shipbuilding. Although the iron industry and shipbuilding have declined, they still are a source of economy in the Basque country.

Other important sectors of the economy include the manufacture of railway cars, automobiles, and iron construction materials; a sizeable commercial fishing fleet that ventures as far away as the coasts of Ireland and western Africa; retail businesses; and tourism. Bilbao has traditionally been an important financial center. The Banco de Bilbao-Vizcaya (BBV) bank ranks among the one hundred largest banks in the world. Today, the Basque Autonomous Community is one of the wealthiest in Spain.

The Basque Technological Park in Zamudio is the home of many companies in high-tech industries, including telecommunications, biotechnology, and robotics.

SPORTS

The Basques have a rich tradition of sports in which skill and physical strength are the main components. Among these are competitions like aizkolariak (featuring teams of woodcutters racing to chop a tree trunk in two in the shortest time), dragging or lifting of heavy stones, foot races, and bowling. Regatas de traineras are rowing competitions among long narrow boats with a 13-member team. Every fishing town in the northern coast of Spain has its own team and trainera to compete at the annual rowing championship in San Sebastián.

The region is known internationally for the game called frontón, pelota vasca, or jai-alai, a handball- or squash-like ball game played at very high speeds. There are several forms of pelota, including some in which the ball travels at up to 241 km/hr (150 mi/hr). The game has been played for centuries in an outdoor court called a frontón, which often shares a wall with the village church. Today, it is also played in indoor courts as well. The fastest form of pelote, called cesta punta, is played on an outdoor court with a second wall called a jai-alai.

Basques are very fond of soccer and Bilbao has its own team, the Atlético de Bilbao, that has consistently been one of the best teams in the country.

ENTERTAINMENT AND RECREATION

Like other people throughout Spain, the Basques spend many leisure hours socializing with friends at tapas bars, which serve light food and drinks. They also enjoy each other's company at the more than 1,500 gourmet societies, or txokos, in their region. These are private dining clubs that were formerly all-male haunts but now welcome women (although men still tend to do the cooking). Television is a popular form of relaxation, and Spain has a private television station (TV Vasca) that broadcasts in the Basque language. El mus is a popular card game.

FOLK ART, CRAFTS, AND HOBBIES

The traditional Basque decorative arts consist primarily of wood carving and engraving on stone, both practiced mainly on door-lintels and tombstones. The Basques have a well-developed tradition of oral storytelling, which was one of their main forms of entertainment before urbanization (and television); Basques would often invite their neighbors over for an evening of tale-spinning. Basque folk music is sung and played on traditional instruments including the txistu, a three-holed flute, and the bagpipe-like dultzaina. Dozens of folk dances have been preserved, and many villages have folk-dance groups that perform regularly. Two especially spirited dances are the Bolant Dantza (flying dance) and La Espata Dantza (sword dance).

SOCIAL PROBLEMS

The iron, steel, chemical, and paper industries of the Basque region have created a serious pollution problem in its cities, and motor vehicle emissions have aggravated the situation. There is considerable river pollution as well. Bilbao's metals industries must deal with an outmoded infrastructure and increased competition from the new European Union.

The most pressing problems are ETA activities. Although the group represents the views of only a small minority, it continues to fight for full independence, and has killed over 800 people since 1968.

Other problems include alcoholism and drug dependency, mainly in the big cities.

GENDER ISSUES

Women have an ever-increasing role in society and a high degree of economic independence, competing favorably with men for jobs. Many women hold municipal and government posts, such as councilwomen, mayors, or university professors, and many are employed in or manage business. A large percentage of women attend universities.