Ethnographic Atlas of the Basque Country

Grandmother and grandchildren. Urduliz (B), 2011. Source: Akaitze Kamiruaga, Etniker Euskalerria Groups.
House and Family in the Basque Country

House and Family in the Basque Country

The traditional Basque family is noted for a type of clearly defined feminism, which can be seen from the application of the right of the first-born to inherit regardless of their sex, the common ownership of property brought to the marriage by the spouses, their equal standing in civil law, and the woman’s status as the head of the household in the domestic religious life, the cultural rites of the home, of the church and of the family burial ground.
Family Diet in the Basque Country

Family Diet in the Basque Country

Beans and broad beans were the most widely grown legumes and were traditionally an important part of the diet.
Broad bean podding. Source: Akaitze Kamiruaga, Etniker Euskalerria Groups.
Playing with spinning tops. Getxo (B), 1993. Source: Jon Elorriaga, Etniker Euskalerria Groups.
Children’s Games in the Basque Country

Children’s Games in the Basque Country

Changes in the adult world are also necessarily reflected in the children’s world. It should not be forgotten that those changes also affect the world of beliefs, convictions and rites underlying many traditional games; many of which would be stripped of meaning, some would fall into disuse, others would persist and would adapt to the new circumstances.
Traditional Medicine in the Basque Country

Traditional Medicine in the Basque Country

Pharmaceutical products have gradually replaced traditional cures.
Vaccination against tubercolosis. Source: Municipal Archive of Vitoria-Gasteiz: Ceferino Yanguas.
Promenading. Aoiz (N), 1950. Source: Pilar Sáez de Albéniz, Etniker Euskalerria Groups.
Rites from Birth to Marriage in the Basque Country

Rites from Birth to Marriage in the Basque Country

Neskazaharrak joaten dira Madalenara, santuari eskatzera senar on bana. Folk song
Funeral Rites in the Basque Country

Funeral Rites in the Basque Country

Dying on a rainy day or if it rained after the death showed that the soul would be saved: gorputz ona, euritsu.
On the way to the cemetery, c. 1950. Izurdiaga (N). Source: Carmen Jusué, 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.
Agriculture in the Basque Country

Agriculture in the Basque Country

Linoaren atsekabeak, amaigabeak. Producing fine linen is hard work.
Implements for linen making. Zeanuri (B), 1931. Source: Labayru Fundazioa Photograhic Archive: Felipe Manterola Collection.