Cambios

''Ganadería y Pastoreo en Vasconia (Cattle and Grazing in Vasconia) ''is the title of an ethnographic re- search report by the ''Grupos Etniker Euskalerria ''under the direction of Ander Manterola. The report is part of the ''Atlas Etnográfico de Vasconia ''(Ethnographic Atlas of Vasconia) originally designed by José Miguel de Barandiaran and which has published four other works to date: ''La Alimentación Doméstica (Home Food) ''(1990, reprint 1999), ''Juegos Infantiles (Children’s Games) ''(1993)'', Ritos Funerarios (Funeral Rites) ''(1995) and ''Ritos del Nacimiento al Matrimonio (Rites from Birth to Marriage) ''(1998).

Research work was done in Vasconia, an area of western Europe that stretches either side of the Pyrenees from the river Adour in the north to the river Ebro in the south. It covers two political areas of Spain (the autonomous community of the Basque Country and the ''Foral'', or Chartered, community of Navarra) and part of the French Pyrénées Atlantiques department. In all, the region takes in 20,531 square kilometres and has a population of 2,910,276 inhabitants (1999).

Fieldwork was performed in the country, hills and mountains of Álava, Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa, Navarra, Baja-Navarra, Lapurdi and Zuberoa. Regional diversity within the overall area played a decisive role in the features of the people and places surveyed. The ethnographic questionnaire used figures in the ''Guía para una encuesta etnográfica (Guide for an ethnographic survey) ''(Chap. III. Groups of activity) by José Miguel de Barandiaran and, specifically, the questions referring to Cattle and Grazing (questions 1-55).

Finally, chapters 25 and 26 discuss the beliefs and symbols linked to the protection of domestic animals. The report ends in chapter 27 with a brief incursion into the shepherd’s leisure time activities.

Like the previous four volumes and a number of as yet unpublished reports, this study of cattle keeping and grazing is part of the ongoing Ethnographic Atlas project designed to provide both a broad and detailed picture of life in Vasconia. This explains the lingering focus on traditional culture in the 20th century and contemporary transformations.

{{DISPLAYTITLE: Summary}} {{#bookTitle:Livestock Farming and Shepherding in the Basque Country | Ganaderia_y_pastoreo_en_vasconia/en}}