Basque ethnography at a glance

Gothic cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres (France).

Christianity is one defining feature of ancient Europe. Until recent times its impact was such that it profoundly shaped numerous cultural aspects of our societies. Architecture was in former centuries a manifestation of Christian worship, the Gothic style expressed in majestic churches and cathedrals being the most powerful example.

Thereafter in the New World inheritors of the ideals and values of the old continent developed during the first decades of the 20^th century an innovative consumer culture whereby supermarkets progressively expanded to turn into the nowadays well-known huge commercial surfaces on the outskirts of towns.

A modern shopping centre is a complex of retail stores and other venues intended for entertainment and leisure purposes. In point of fact, the new concept of leisure is now intimately linked to consumerism. Like in the case of church porches which once served as sheltered place of encounter for the community, the long air-conditioned corridors of these malls offer a crowd of people protection from inclement weather and in a perfect setting to swarm around and enjoy the view of so many goods and services displayed and ready to be purchased.

Shopping centre.

Built to the greater glory of the god money, shopping centres are the cathedrals of the present day. The trinity of production, consumption and profit constitutes the central mystery of the new faith, and consumerism has become the supporting axis of the current capitalist society.

The ever increasing large scale consumption is based on a devastating process of exploitation of the natural environment, an act of spoliation when it comes to unbridled urban planning. Contrary to the venerable Gothic cathedrals that rose to meet the heavens in search of God, shopping centres stretch out and cover enormous areas of land as a reflection of the late invading cult of consumerism.

Luis Manuel Peña – Ethnography Department – Labayru Fundazioa

Translated by Jaione Bilbao – Language Department – Labayru Fundazioa

Photographs by Dcconsta (Own work, CC BY-SA 3.) and mstudio.es.