Basque Cultural Characteristics

Basque Religion-

The Basque people are largely adherents to the Catholic church. Similar to most of Spain, the Catholic Church has had a significant role and impacts on politics and culture in the Basque Country. The Catholic faith has become deeply entwined with the modern nationalism of the Basque people. The Catholic Church's support for the Basque movement has varied considerably depending on the timeframe and the location, however, the modern Catholic Church has largely transitioned to a mediator of the conflict. (Romero 2018:3-9)

The Basque Language-

The Basque language, also known as Euskara, is one of the most unique features of the Basque. The Basque language is considered a language isolate, meaning the language has no direct connection to any other languages in the world. It is largely considered the oldest language in Europe, predating the arrival of local Indo-European language families like Romance, Germanic, Celtic, etc. (Yaman 2017:5)

The Basque language is the particular cornerstone of Basque culture and identity. Much of traditional Basque culture includes literature, song, theater, and dance associated with these activities. However, during much of the 20th century, the language was heavily repressed by the Spanish government, particularly under Franco's Nationalist Government. The regime significantly hurt the expression and participation of the Basque language and other traditions reliant on Basque language. (Basque Cultural Institute, 2017)

Despite the difficulties of the 20th century, the Basque language has seen a decent revival since the death of Franco and the democratization and federalization of Spain. "Given its status as an outlawed language throughout the forty years of authoritarianism that ruled the country, the survival of Euskara became a living symbol of the strength of Basque resistance," (Yaman 2017:7). Around the same time, the Basque Academy of Letters decided to officially standardize the Basque language in 1968, which has been vital in the teaching of Basque in schools today. Standardization allows for the Basque language to do well online as well as traditional print and television media. (Basque Cultural Institute, 2020)

Basque Gender Roles and Family Structure-

As a historically devote Catholic region and the 20th century's legacy of fascism, the Basque Country as a whole has largely maintained traditional Catholic family structures and gender roles. However, since the democratization of Spain, many restrictions on women's rights have been lifted. As a result of the loosening of restrictions, women have had greater opportunities than before. The role of gender in Basque society is rapidly transforming and becoming more in line with contemporary thoughts of gender equality. Nonetheless, the legacy of the strict gender roles still has a tight grip over many people in Basque society, particularly religious and rural households as they still prefer traditional gender roles with women staying at home and men working outside. (White 2021)

Overall, Basque society is in a stage of transition from a traditional gender patriarchal state to one of less enforced gender roles. However, the transition varies dramatically based off of region and household.

Basque Politics and History-

Basque politics has been dominated by nationalism. They stem from cultural and linguistic differences and economic friction between the majority Castilian Spanish government and the Basque people. As a result of these difficulties, the region and society has been rocked with political suppression, a decline in economic relevance, and civil conflict which has heavily affected the Basque people to this day. (Shih 1998:2-9)

For much of history, the Basque people have enjoyed a great degree of autonomy within both France and Spain. However, with the political centralization of both states during the 19th century and conflicts in the 20th century, Basque society started to change dramatically. With industrialization in the mid to late 19th century, the Basque country became one of the wealthiest regions within Spain, attracting large groups of mostly Castilian Spanish immigrants and more direct control by the central Spanish government. As a result, the Basque language and culture began loosing relevance, and as a reaction, many Basque turned to nationalism. (Shih 1998:11)

Basque cultural repression and violence started to pick up particularly after the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) in which the Basque largely sided with the losing Republican government. After the war, Basque political leaders were routinely arrested by the Spanish Nationalist government. With this, cultural and linguistic censorship was placed upon the Basque people. In response, the ETA (Euzkadi ta Askatusuna) was founded leading a series of strikes, protests, and violent retaliation against the Spanish government. In response, the Spanish government violently repressed the movement and put even more restrictions on Basque culture. The violent outburst by the Spanish government facilitated large scale Basque support for the ETA, their operations, and a recommitment of the preservation of the Basque culture in the face of assimilation. (Shih 1998:10) The ETA remained active throughout the rest of the 20th century, becoming quite relevant mostly in the 50's-60's and once again in the late 90's even after the democratization of Spain.

Overall, Basque nationalism has played an important part in the preservation of the Basque language. With the creation of the ETA in the mid 20th century resulting in disruptive and violent clashes against the Spanish government. Eventually brining the people to the point today of rediscovery of their culture, the revival of their language, and traditions after decades of repression. (Yaman 2017:8)

Literature and Music-

With the most unique feature of the Basque being their language, some of the most distinctive forms of expression of their culture is through music, literature, and theatre.

Basque music and dance has been a traditional past time for many people in the region. Having had a long tradition of integrating their unique language into many musical genres and adapting them to dance, the Basque have created a unique blend of musical and dance styles. An extremely well regarded musical tradition is that of improvised singing, also known as bertsularism. The combination of music and dance festivals has become an important aspect in the cooperation and fostering of community amongst Basque society and the inclusion of non-Basque people into their culture. (Basque Cultural Institute 2020)

The Basque similarly have a long tradition of region theatre shows. The Pastorale is an annual event in the Basque region of Zueberoa where a village is chosen to host the performance. The performance is held two times during the summer, filled with singing, the recalling virtues of Saints, Nobles, and of historical events/characters. During the winter and early spring there is a similar tradition of dance, the best preserved being the Souletin Mascarade. The Souletin Mascarade is a tradition with connections to long ancient traditions. The local performances are usually overseen by village elders and have the intentions of seeing out the old year, and promoting the fertility of Earth and animals. (Basque Cultural Institute 2020)

Learn More-

For brief overviews of Basque language, history, and cultural practices visit the Basque Cultural Institute.

For historical, economic, and political context on the Basque Country and other minority groups in Spain visit the Minority Rights Group.

For historical context of the popularization of Basque nationalism read Cheng-Feng Shih's article "THE EMERGENCE OF BASQUE NATIONALISM IN SPAIN: STRUGGLE FOR PEACE IN A MULTIETHNIC STATE"

Citations

Anon. 2018. “Basques.” Minority Rights Group. Retrieved September 28, 2021 (https://minorityrights.org/minorities/basques/).

Anonymous. 2021. “Basque Country.” BASQUE COUNTRY - Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship And Smes - European Commission. Retrieved September 30, 2021 (https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/regional-innovation-monitor/base-profile/basque-country).

English-Language Editor: John R. Bopp - et al. 2020. “‘The Basque Lands’, a CIA Map from 1977.” About Basque Country. Retrieved September 30, 2021 (https://aboutbasquecountry.eus/en/2015/01/21/the-basque-lands-mapa-de-la-cia-1977/).

LASTIRI, Marion, ed. 2017. “Basque Cultural Institute.” EKE. Retrieved September 28, 2021 (https://www.eke.eus/en).

Olson DeMontigny, Megan L. 2002. “Basque Assimilation Across Four Generations: Experiences in a Rural Community.” UND Scholarly Commons. Retrieved September 28, 2020 (https://commons.und.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2075&context=theses).

Porzucki, Nina. 2018. “How the Basque Language Has Survived.” The World from PRX. Retrieved September 28, 2021 (https://www.pri.org/stories/2018-05-16/how-has-basque-language-survived).

Romero, José Cayetano Cobos. 2018. “The Role of the Catholic Church and Religion in the Basque ...” Research Gate. Retrieved September 30, 2021 (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jose-Cobos-3/publication/332142748_The_role_of_the_Catholic_Church_and_religion_in_the_Basque_conflict/links/5ca3100992851cf0aea7b907/The-role-of-the-Catholic-Church-and-religion-in-the-Basque-conflict.pdf).

Shih, Cheng-Feng. 1998. “The Emergence of Basque - JSTOR.” Peace Research. Retrieved September 30, 2021 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/23607618.pdf).

White, Linda. 2021. “Basque Families - Basque Families in North America.” Basque Families In North America - Gender, Family, History, University, and Spain - JRank Articles. Retrieved September 30, 2021 (https://family.jrank.org/pages/153/Basque-Families-Basque-Families-in-North-America.html).

Yaman, Alina Lale. 2017. “Agency, Access, and Reclamation in the Basque Language Revival Movement .” Yale.edu. Retrieved September 28, 2021 (http://ling.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/alumni%20senior%20essays/Yaman%2C_Alina_Thesis.pdf).