In a bar in San Sebastian during the Soccer finals it was quite obvious; the Basques were not going crazy over Spain winning the European Championship. There was little cheering or better put: little audience. Since then, Basque country has been a surprising experience. How little do we know? As a European, I’m sad to admit that possibly the only thing I actually knew about Basque country is ETA: Euskadi Ta Askatasuna. As a separatist and nationalist organization, ETA - Basque Homeland and Freedom - is held responsible for many killings and injuries over the last fifty years. ETA chose violence in their aim for independence, although last year they claimed a permanent ceasefire. Being here today, ‘violent’ would probably be the last word I would come up with to describe the Basques.
Basque culture is very old and often thought to be one of the original European cultures. The people live in two countries - northwest Spain and southwest France - and have been around since before Indo-European people came to Europe approximately 5,000 years ago. The Basques have been here for a long time, and have lived through a lot of history. Even back in the Middle Ages, the Basques had a reputation for being violent and ferocious. They survived. During the regime of General Franco in Spain, the Basque language and culture were ruthlessly suppressed. That’s when resistance groups - such as ETA - formed. In the eighties, after Franco, three out of four Basque Provinces were unified as Basque Autonomous Community. Its inhabitants were granted limited autonomy, recognition of their language and culture, and control over their schools and police force. Nowadays, resistance is mostly about limited versus complete autonomy. I’m happy to see limited autonomy - in combination with a healthy dose of Basque culture - clearly shows.
The first thing we noticed was the never-ending amount of playgrounds in Bilbao. There is lots of display of family life on the streets, not to mention the numerous friendly pet dogs. The streets feel soft and gentle. Violence is hard to imagine. I’ve seldom met so many friendly faces in a row. Regardless the violence in Basque history the people have developed a personality that is far from violent. The Basques are said to have a cultural emphasis on non-violence in the resolution of personal conflicts. They like to distance themselves from Spanish machismo. Nationalist Basques are even proud to say they are not from a 'bloodthirsty culture like the Spaniards'. Basque boys are taught not to be aggressive. Instead, they are encouraged to demonstrate their masculinity and adventurousness in seriously demanding sports such as mountain climbing or their ‘national’ sport Pelote.
Part of all this lies in the important role women have in Basque society; particularly the mother in the family. The husband and father holds the authority, but the wife and mother runs just about everything. And - In this case even more important - it’s the mother who disciplines the children. Female dominance might well have softened the Basques resort to violence; much like we felt when we arrived.
From a male perspective, Basques are manly - adventurous, sports-oriented, prepared to take risks - but, as said, not machismo. Pelote seems to illustrate this. They say it’s the fastest sport in the world. It’s a ball sport with many variations, which makes Pelote similar to handball, squash, and tennis. A small round rubber ball is propelled with the hand, or a flat wooden bat or a basket. Balls can reach speeds over 300 kilometres per hour. Be sure every little village has it’s own court and wall, often centrally located on a market square. Fast, complex and centrally located thus visible, Pelote is a men’s world. Twelve out of fourteen variations are played only by men; traditionally well dressed in non-machismo cricket-like outfits of course.
Another thing we noticed as we got started cycling the Pyrenees. Every time we cross the border with France, we noticed how prices drop to a half on the Spanish side of Basque country. Some bars even include a ‘crisis’ price list. Not to mention the coffee is much better on the Spanish side. It’s very inviting. Where in comparison the French catering industry seems awfully silent - except for tourism of course - life on the Spanish side is lively as ever. If you ask me, this Basque part of Europe knows how to get their priorities right: soft, gentle, adventurous, independent, lively and inclusive over exclusive. There’s loads to learn from Basque history and culture, like perseverance, women leadership, the power in being different and not taking the easy way out. And, they set another strong and interesting example for Europe. Too bad we pay so little attention to each others (sub)cultures.
Basque culture is very old and often thought to be one of the original European cultures. The people live in two countries - northwest Spain and southwest France - and have been around since before Indo-European people came to Europe approximately 5,000 years ago. The Basques have been here for a long time, and have lived through a lot of history. Even back in the Middle Ages, the Basques had a reputation for being violent and ferocious. They survived. During the regime of General Franco in Spain, the Basque language and culture were ruthlessly suppressed. That’s when resistance groups - such as ETA - formed. In the eighties, after Franco, three out of four Basque Provinces were unified as Basque Autonomous Community. Its inhabitants were granted limited autonomy, recognition of their language and culture, and control over their schools and police force. Nowadays, resistance is mostly about limited versus complete autonomy. I’m happy to see limited autonomy - in combination with a healthy dose of Basque culture - clearly shows.
The first thing we noticed was the never-ending amount of playgrounds in Bilbao. There is lots of display of family life on the streets, not to mention the numerous friendly pet dogs. The streets feel soft and gentle. Violence is hard to imagine. I’ve seldom met so many friendly faces in a row. Regardless the violence in Basque history the people have developed a personality that is far from violent. The Basques are said to have a cultural emphasis on non-violence in the resolution of personal conflicts. They like to distance themselves from Spanish machismo. Nationalist Basques are even proud to say they are not from a 'bloodthirsty culture like the Spaniards'. Basque boys are taught not to be aggressive. Instead, they are encouraged to demonstrate their masculinity and adventurousness in seriously demanding sports such as mountain climbing or their ‘national’ sport Pelote.
Part of all this lies in the important role women have in Basque society; particularly the mother in the family. The husband and father holds the authority, but the wife and mother runs just about everything. And - In this case even more important - it’s the mother who disciplines the children. Female dominance might well have softened the Basques resort to violence; much like we felt when we arrived.
From a male perspective, Basques are manly - adventurous, sports-oriented, prepared to take risks - but, as said, not machismo. Pelote seems to illustrate this. They say it’s the fastest sport in the world. It’s a ball sport with many variations, which makes Pelote similar to handball, squash, and tennis. A small round rubber ball is propelled with the hand, or a flat wooden bat or a basket. Balls can reach speeds over 300 kilometres per hour. Be sure every little village has it’s own court and wall, often centrally located on a market square. Fast, complex and centrally located thus visible, Pelote is a men’s world. Twelve out of fourteen variations are played only by men; traditionally well dressed in non-machismo cricket-like outfits of course.
Another thing we noticed as we got started cycling the Pyrenees. Every time we cross the border with France, we noticed how prices drop to a half on the Spanish side of Basque country. Some bars even include a ‘crisis’ price list. Not to mention the coffee is much better on the Spanish side. It’s very inviting. Where in comparison the French catering industry seems awfully silent - except for tourism of course - life on the Spanish side is lively as ever. If you ask me, this Basque part of Europe knows how to get their priorities right: soft, gentle, adventurous, independent, lively and inclusive over exclusive. There’s loads to learn from Basque history and culture, like perseverance, women leadership, the power in being different and not taking the easy way out. And, they set another strong and interesting example for Europe. Too bad we pay so little attention to each others (sub)cultures.
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| Pelote court in 'just another small Basque village' |
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