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The Ethnographic Atlas of the Basque Country is an ethnographic research project intended to provide an overview of popular culture and lifestyles of the Basques throughout the 20th century up to the present day.

Exhibition of the bridal trousseau. Bidegoian (G), 1957. Source: Ana Larrarte, Etniker Euskalerria Groups.

Zurututza Farmhouse. Zeanuri (B), c. 1925. Source: Labayru Fundazioa Photograhic Archive: Felipe Manterola Collection.

Trousseau escorted by wedding entourage on their way to Izagirre Farmhouse. Bidegoian (G), 1957. Source: Martín Photographic Studio.

Funeral procession entering church. Zerain (G), 1965. Source: Karmele Goñi, Etniker Euskalerria Groups.

Pumpkins for the livestock. Lezama (B), 1990. Source: Labayru Fundazioa Photograhic Archive: José Ignacio García Muñoz.

• House and Family
• Diet
• Children’s Games
• Medicine
• Birth
• Funeral Rites
• Livestock Farming
• Agriculture

Hearth. Zeanuri (B), 1980. Source: Ander Manterola, Etniker Euskalerria Groups.

House and Family in the Basque Country

House and Family in the Basque Country

Su bako etxea, gorputz odol bagea. A house without fire is like a body without blood.

House and Family in the Basque Country

Family Diet in the Basque Country

Family Diet in the Basque Country

On dagizula janak eta kalterik ez edanak. Enjoy what you eat and drink.

Family Diet in the Basque Country

Txotx, cider tasting. Gipuzkoa, 1988. Source: Antxon Aguirre, Etniker Euskalerria Groups.

Drawing of lots. Zeanuri (B), 1993. Source: Ander Manterola, Etniker Euskalerria Groups.

Children’s Games in the Basque Country

Children’s Games in the Basque Country

Txirristi-mirristi, gerrena, plat, olio-zopa, kikili-salda, urrup edan edo klik, ikimilikiliklik. Drawing lots chant

Children’s Games in the Basque Country

Traditional Medicine in the Basque Country

Traditional Medicine in the Basque Country

Kirkila bat eta kirkila bi, kirkilak dira hamabi: hamabitik hamaikara, hamaikatik hamarrera, hamarretik bederatzira, bederatzitik zortzira, zortzitik zazpira, zazpitik seira, seitik bostera, bostetik laura, lautik hirura, hirutik bira, bitik batera, batetik bapezera. Formula for scrofula treatment

Traditional Medicine in the Basque Country

Laurel. Source: Luis Manuel Peña, Etniker Euskalerria Groups.

Nursemaid. Zeanuri (B), 1924. Source: Labayru Fundazioa Photograhic Archive: Felipe Manterola Collection.

Rites from Birth to Marriage in the Basque Country

Rites from Birth to Marriage in the Basque Country

Until the mid-twentieth century women gave birth at home with the help of a midwife and women relatives and neighbours. Giving birth was almost exclusively a female domestic occasion exclusively concerning females.

Rites from Birth to Marriage in the Basque Country

Funeral Rites in the Basque Country

Funeral Rites in the Basque Country

There were specific paths to carry the corpse from the house of the deceased to the church and the cemetery.

Funeral Rites in the Basque Country

Funeral cortège, c. 1925. Source: Antxon Aguirre, Etniker Euskalerria Groups.

Shepherd from Lanciego (A) on the climb to Toloño, 1996. Source: José Ángel Chasco, Etniker Euskalerria Groups.

Livestock Farming and Shepherding in the Basque Country

Livestock Farming and Shepherding in the Basque Country

The Mediterranean watershed of the Basque Country was, and to a large extent is, characterized by the importance of the commons, the communal character of their exploitation by associations and brotherhoods comprising multiple municipalities still persisting today.

Livestock Farming and Shepherding in the Basque Country

Agriculture in the Basque Country

Agriculture in the Basque Country

Both animal and human power had a decisive impact on the way of working and on the crops until the introduction of modern machinery.

Agriculture in the Basque Country

Haulage of wheat sheaves. Álava, c. 1940. Source: Municipal Archive of Vitoria-Gasteiz: Enrique Guinea Collection.