Ethnographic Atlas of the Basque Country

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.
Family Diet in the Basque Country

Family Diet in the Basque Country

Sueteko laratzak jakiten dau etxeko barri. People show their true colours at home.
Olabide Farmhouse. Zerain (G), 1982. Source: Karmele Goñi, Etniker Euskalerria Groups.
Playing knucklebones. Zeanuri (B), 1993. Source: Ander Manterola, Etniker Euskalerria Groups.
Children’s Games in the Basque Country

Children’s Games in the Basque Country

Before glass, and even clay, marbles were introduced, they used parts of plants, including oak acorns and seed pits.
Traditional Medicine in the Basque Country

Traditional Medicine in the Basque Country

The widespread belief was that Christmas Eve’s bread, ogi salutadorea, would not go mouldy and would prevent rabies in dogs and other domestic animals.
Christmas bread. Source: Akaitze Kamiruaga, Etniker Euskalerria Groups.
Nuclear family. Artea (B), c. 1930. 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

Any bachelor, or spinster, traditionally continued to be linked to the homestead and to be an integral part of the family.
Funeral Rites in the Basque Country

Funeral Rites in the Basque Country

The members of the funeral cortege, relatives of the deceased and neighbours alike, would usually carry offerings of bread and light.
Offering bearers. Otsagabia (N), c. 1920. Source: Fco. Javier Zubiaur and M.ª Amor Beguiristain’s private archive: Roldán and Calle Photographic Studios.
Traditional sheep shearing. Carranza (B), 1998. Source: Miguel Sabino Díaz, Etniker Euskalerria Groups.
Livestock Farming and Shepherding in the Basque Country

Livestock Farming and Shepherding in the Basque Country

Grullas p’arriba, pastor buena vida, Grullas p’abajo, pastor más trabajo.When cranes fly north, life is easier for shepherds, when they fly south, work is harder for shepherds.
Agriculture in the Basque Country

Agriculture in the Basque Country

Elur asko den urtean, garia; eta erle asko dugunean, eztia. A year of snow, a year of plenty.
Neighbours on the threshing plots. Alegría-Dulantzi (A), c. 1940. Source: Municipal Archive of Vitoria-Gasteiz: Enrique Guinea Collection.