Basque ethnography at a glance

Still from the film Kutsidazu bidea, Ixabel. Source: Primeran.

The farmhouse or baserri in euskera is one of the most distinctive symbols of the Basque people, as it embodies many of their social and cultural values. The passage of time has stabilized and entrenched this intangible heritage brought by the baserri. For example, in Julio Medem’s film “Vacas” (as a film lover, you will grant me this license) the twists and turns of history, war, adversaries, the love and betrayal always have the same background or backdrop: the farmhouse.

The baserri is our home, the home of our main social unit, that is, the family. In addition to being our home, it has been a way of life. It has offered us a place to earn a living, a place to provide for ourselves and satisfy our needs. That is what our ancestors did, and that is what those who live on the baserri continue to do today. In addition, the farmhouse connects us with our roots, which are witnesses to the customs, songs, rituals and festivals of our ancestors and which have been transmitted from generation to generation. In my case, I have deeply internalized what we ate on Kanporamartxo (popular celebration of the February Sunday before Carnival, which consists of going out to the countryside to eat fire roasted chorizo, bacon etc.) day or the verses we sang around the fire on Saint John day. In the farmhouse, I have learnt about the massacres suffered in the Basque country during the war and the famine that followed; as well as the Basque language that I use most frequently in my daily life and its curiosities, because it was there that I learned the proverbs and expressions that our beloved language has.

The transmission of Basque and the network created by various agents for its teaching, with the aim of promoting its use, have been some of the main challenges that our society has faced in the last 50 years. In fact, for many it is still the case today. To advance in the learning process, we have endless options available to us: public and private universities, boarding schools, language schools, academies, face-to-face or online schools… Moreover, many are in our towns, or very close to home. What has been said is familiar to all of us, whether because we ourselves learned Basque through one of these options, or because someone around us is currently doing so. However, apart from all these regulated offers, are there other ways to learn Basque? The answer is yes, and the farmhouse is a good example of this.

Still from the film Kutsidazu bidea, Ixabel. Source: Primeran.

It is known that when you want to learn a language, the best way to do so is with the help of a local family, by fully integrating them into their daily lives; therefore, it seems logical to me that farmhouses also fulfil this function. Furthermore, I believe that the farmhouse is a very suitable support for the Basque learner, because it draws from the adaptation of the Basque language and from this formal register of the language, that is, grammar, vocabulary, cohesion… but in general, this learning is directed towards a specific objective: passing the exam necessary to obtain the certificate. To complete the work of the Basque school, it is essential for students to get to know the language in its natural environment, as this will help them more easily acquire the expressiveness so necessary to speak the language naturally. These stays will allow them to live exclusively in Basque. Students will immerse themselves in the daily life of their family, enjoying meals, housework, gardening and leisure, all in Basque.

This experience is not new, HABE (Institution for Adults Alphabetization and Revasconization), through its network of support schools, has guided students to different baserris, and many of the stays have been very successful. For example, the Basque artist Yogurinha Borova learnt Basque this way, after spending some time in the Berakoetxea farmhouse, in Altzo. At first, it was very difficult to understand, as the villagers expressed themselves in their local dialect, but in the end, she adapted well to life in that environment. (https://ataria.eus/altzo/1701180249178-beti-ekarri-izan-dut-gogora-altzon-ikasi-nuela-euskaraz-eduardo-gavina-karmen-murua-euskara-altzo-yogurinha-borova)

There are many such experiences, and it would be interesting to continue this project, to expand the learning of academic Basque to other areas and, above all, to facilitate student’s access to a daily life language that is far from its purely academic use. As previously mentioned, the farm is an element of transmission, as it opens the door to the continued creation of new Basque speakers, or basquephiles. The farm can also be a Basque teacher.

Edurne Etxebarria Gumuzio — Basque teacher