Editing Basques (section)

==Culture==
{{Basque culture}}
[[File:Lingue vasconum primitiae.gif|thumb|Cover of the first Basque language book, written by [[Bernard Etxepare]]]]
[[File:Nortasun.png|thumb|Cultural identity according to the 1981 and 1991 census based on the question ''Do you consider yourself Basque?'' &nbsp;&nbsp;1&nbsp;-&nbsp;Yes<br />2&nbsp;-&nbsp;Yes, in some ways &nbsp;&nbsp;3&nbsp;-&nbsp;No<br />4&nbsp;-&nbsp;Don't know / Don't answer]]

===Language===
{{Main|Basque language}}

The identifying language of the Basques is called Basque or ''Euskara'', spoken today by 25%-30%<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.eke.eus/en/kultura/euskara-the-basque-language/basque-sociolinguistics|title=Basque sociolinguistics|publisher=Eke.eus|access-date=2019-10-21|archive-date=2019-08-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190802142337/https://www.eke.eus/en/kultura/euskara-the-basque-language/basque-sociolinguistics|url-status=live}}</ref> of the region's population. An idea of the central place the language has in cultural terms is given by the fact that Basques identify themselves by the term ''euskaldun'' and their country as ''Euskal Herria'', literally "Basque speaker" and "Country of the Basque Language" respectively. The language has been made a political issue by official Spanish and French policies restricting its use either historically or currently; however, this has not stopped the teaching, speaking, writing, and cultivating of this increasingly vibrant minority language. This sense of Basque identity tied to the local language does not only exist in isolation. For many Basques, it is juxtaposed with a sense of either Spanish or French identity tied with the use of the Spanish and [[French language]]s among other Basques, especially in the French Basque Country. Regarding the Spanish Basque Country, Basques that don't have a sense of Spanish identity make up an important part of the population.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://m.noticiasdenavarra.com/2019/01/06/politica/navarra/navarra-es-la-comunidad-con-menor-sentimiento-de-espanolidad|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190202214354/https://www.noticiasdenavarra.com/2019/01/06/politica/navarra/navarra-es-la-comunidad-con-menor-sentimiento-de-espanolidad|archive-date=2 February 2019|title=Navarra es la comunidad con menor sentimiento de españolidad}}</ref> As with many European states, a regional identity, be it linguistically derived or otherwise, is not mutually exclusive with the broader national one. For example, Basque [[France national rugby union team|rugby union]] player for France, [[Imanol Harinordoquy]], has said about his national identity:<blockquote>"I am French and Basque. There is no conflict, I am proud of both. ... I have friends who are involved in the political side of things but that is not for me. My only interest is the culture, the Euskera language, the people, our history and ways."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/international/france/2431544/France-look-to-Basque-prodigy.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/international/france/2431544/France-look-to-Basque-prodigy.html |archive-date=2022-01-11 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=France look to Basque prodigy |first=Brendan |last=Gallagher |work=[[telegraph.co.uk]] |date=27 February 2002 |access-date=6 May 2012}}{{cbignore}}</ref></blockquote>

As a result of state language promotion, school policies, the effects of mass media and migration, today virtually all Basques (except for some children below school age) speak the official language of their state (Spanish or French). There are extremely few Basque monolingual speakers: essentially all Basque speakers are bilingual on both sides of the border. Spanish or French is typically the first language of citizens from other regions (who often feel no need to learn Basque), and Spanish or French is also the first language of many Basques, all of which maintains the dominance of the state tongues of both France and Spain. Recent Basque Government policies aim to change this pattern, as they are viewed as potential threats against mainstream usage of the minority tongue.<ref>{{cite web|first=Xabier|last=Aierdi Urraza|url=http://www.euskara.euskadi.net/r59-3693/en/contenidos/informacion/artik9_1_integrazioa_06_07/en_integraz/artik9_1_integrazioa_06_07.html|title=Routes to linguistic and cultural integration for immigrants in the Basque Autonomous Community|publisher=euskara.euskadi.net|date=24 July 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070302214808/http://www.euskara.euskadi.net/r59-3693/en/contenidos/informacion/artik9_1_integrazioa_06_07/en_integraz/artik9_1_integrazioa_06_07.html|archive-date=2 March 2007}}</ref>

The Basque language is thought to be a [[genetic (linguistics)|genetic]] [[language isolate]] in contrast with other European languages, vast majority of which belong to the broad [[Indo-European language family]]. Another peculiarity of Basque is that it has probably been spoken continuously ''[[in situ]]'', in and around its present territorial location, for longer than most other modern European languages, which are typically thought to have been introduced in historic or prehistoric times through population migrations or other processes of cultural transmission.<ref name="Trask1997">{{cite book |last=Trask |first=Robert Lawrence |author-link=Larry Trask |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OiemTo_t5r8C |title=The History of Basque |publisher=Psychology Press |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-415-13116-2 |pages=8-9 |access-date=3 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200519060306/https://books.google.com/books?id=OiemTo_t5r8C |archive-date=19 May 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>

However, popular stereotypes characterizing Basque as "the oldest language in Europe" and "unique among the world's languages" may be misunderstood and lead to erroneous assumptions.<ref>{{cite web|last=Moreno Cabrera|first=Juan Carlos|url=http://www.euskara.euskadi.net/r59-3693/en/contenidos/informacion/artik12_1_aurreiritziak_06_10/en_aurreiri/artik12_1_aurreiritziak_06_10.html|title=Misconceptions about Basque|publisher=euskara.euskadi.net|date=19 October 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070302214757/http://www.euskara.euskadi.net/r59-3693/en/contenidos/informacion/artik12_1_aurreiritziak_06_10/en_aurreiri/artik12_1_aurreiritziak_06_10.html|archive-date=2 March 2007}}</ref> Over the centuries, Basque has remained in continuous contact with neighboring western European languages with which it has come to share numerous lexical properties and typological features; it is therefore misleading to exaggerate the "outlandish" character of Basque. Basque is also a modern language, and is established as a written and printed one used in present-day forms of publication and communication, as well as a language spoken and used in a very wide range of social and cultural contexts, styles, and registers.

===Land and inheritance===
[[File:ArangurenDorretxea.jpg|thumb|right|The Aranguren baserri in [[Orozko]], converted from a fortified tower]]
[[File:BaserriLizarralde.jpg|thumb|right|The Lizarralde baserri ([[Bergara]])]]

Basques have a close attachment to their home (''etxe(a)'' 'house, home'), especially when this consists of the traditional self-sufficient, family-run farm or ''[[baserri]](a)''. Home in this context is synonymous with family roots. Some [[Basque surnames]] were adapted from old ''baserri'' or [[habitation name]]s. They typically related to a geographical orientation or other locally meaningful identifying features. Such surnames provide even those Basques whose families may have left the land generations ago with an important link to their rural family origins: ''[[Bengoetxea]]'' "the house of further down", ''[[Goicoechea (disambiguation)|Goikoetxea]]'' "the house above", ''[[Landaburu]]'' "top of the field", ''[[Errekondo]]'' "next to the stream", ''[[Elizalde (disambiguation)|Elizalde]]'' "by the church", ''[[Mendizabal]]'' "wide hill", ''[[Usetxe]]'' "house of birds" ''[[Ibarretxe]]'' "house in the valley", ''[[Etxeberria]]'' "the new house", and so on.<ref>[[Koldo Mitxelena|MITXELENA, Koldo]], ''Apellidos vascos'' (fifth edition), San Sebastián: Txertoa, 1997.</ref>

In contrast to surrounding regions, ancient Basque inheritance patterns, recognised in the ''[[fueros]],'' favoured survival of the unity of inherited land holdings. In a kind of primogeniture, these usually were inherited by the eldest male or female child. As in other cultures, the fate of other family members depended on the assets of a family: wealthy Basque families tended to provide for all children in some way, while less-affluent families may have had only one asset to provide to one child. However, this heir often provided for the rest of the family (unlike in England, with strict primogeniture, where the eldest son inherited everything and often did not provide for others). Even though they were provided for in some way, younger siblings had to make much of their living by other means. Mostly after<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Pyrenean Marriage Strategies in the Nineteenth Century: The French Basque Case|first=Marie-Pierre|last=Arrizabalaga|date=21 December 2005|journal=International Review of Social History|volume=50|issue=S13|pages=93–122|doi=10.1017/S0020859005002087|doi-access=free}}</ref> the advent of industrialisation, this system resulted in the emigration of many rural Basques to Spain, France or the Americas. Harsh by modern standards, this custom resulted in a great many enterprising figures of Basque origin who went into the world to earn their way, from Spanish [[conquistador]]s such as [[Lope de Aguirre]] and [[Francisco Vásquez de Coronado]], to explorers, missionaries and saints of the Catholic Church, such as [[Francis Xavier]].

A widespread belief that Basque society was originally [[matriarchal]] is at odds with the current, clearly [[patrilineal]] kinship system and inheritance structures. Some scholars and commentators have attempted to reconcile these points by assuming that patrilineal kinship represents an innovation. In any case, the social position of women in both traditional and modern Basque society is somewhat better than in neighbouring cultures, and women have a substantial influence in decisions about the domestic economy. In the past, some women participated in collective magical ceremonies. They were key participants in a rich folklore, today largely forgotten.

===Cuisine===
{{Main|Basque cuisine}}

[[Basque cuisine]] is at the heart of Basque culture, influenced by the neighboring communities and produce from the sea and the land. A 20th-century feature of Basque culture is the phenomenon of [[gastronomical society|gastronomical societies]] (called ''[[txoko]]'' in Basque), food clubs where men gather to cook and enjoy their own food. Until recently, women were allowed entry only one day in the year. Cider houses ([[Sagardotegi]]ak) are popular restaurants in Gipuzkoa open for a few months while the cider is in season.

===Cultural production===
[[File:Artzaiak inudeak 2009 001.jpg|thumb|Artzaiak eta inudeak festival, [[Donostia]], Basque Country.]]

At the end of the 20th century, despite [[ETA (separatist group)|ETA]] violence (ended in 2010) and the crisis of heavy industries, the Basque economic condition recovered remarkably. They emerged from the [[Francisco Franco|Franco]] regime with a revitalized language and culture. The Basque language expanded geographically led by large increases in the major urban centers of Pamplona, Bilbao, and Bayonne, where only a few decades ago the Basque language had all but disappeared. Nowadays, the number of Basque speakers is maintaining its level or increasing slightly.

===Music===
{{Main|Basque music}}
[[File:Basque dance.JPG|thumb|Basque dance]]

===Religion===
Traditionally Basques have been mostly [[Catholic Church|Catholics]]. In the 19th century and well into the 20th, Basques as a group remained notably devout and churchgoing. In recent years church attendance has fallen off, as in most of Western Europe. The region has been a source of missionaries like [[Francis Xavier]] and [[Michel Garicoïts]]. [[Ignatius Loyola]], founder of the [[Society of Jesus]], was a Basque. [[California]] [[Franciscan]] [[Fermín Lasuén]] was born in [[Vitoria-Gasteiz|Vitoria]]. Lasuén was the successor to Franciscan Padre [[Junípero Serra]] and founded 9 of the 21 extant [[California Missions]] along the coast.

A sprout of [[Protestantism]] in the continental Basque Country produced the first translation of the new Testament into Basque by [[Joanes Leizarraga]]. Queen [[Jeanne III of Navarre]], a devout [[Huguenots|Huguenot]], commissioned the translation of the New Testament into Basque and [[Béarnese dialect|Béarnese]] for the benefit of her subjects. By the time [[Henry IV of France|Henry III of Navarre]] converted to Catholicism in order to become king of France, Protestantism virtually disappeared from the Basque community.

[[Bayonne]] held a [[Jews|Jewish]] community composed mainly of [[Sephardi Jews]] fleeing from the [[Spanish Inquisition|Spanish]] and [[Portuguese Inquisition]]s. There were also important Jewish and [[Muslims|Muslim]] communities in [[Navarre]] before the Castilian invasion of 1512–21.

Nowadays, according to one single opinion poll, only slightly more than 50% of Basques profess some kind of belief in [[God]], while the rest are either [[Agnosticism|agnostic]] or [[Atheism|atheist]]. The number of religious skeptics increases noticeably for the younger generations, while the older ones are more religious.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eitb.com/argazki/forum_re/caracterizacion.pdf|title=Opinion poll on religion by GIZAKER|publisher=[[EITB]] the Basque Country's public broadcast service.|access-date=2010-08-22|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728103246/http://www.eitb.com/argazki/forum_re/caracterizacion.pdf|archive-date=2011-07-28}}</ref> Catholicism is, by far, the largest religion in [[Basque Country (autonomous community)|Basque Country]]. In 2019, the proportion of Basques that identify themselves as Roman Catholic was 60%,<ref name=CIS2019Euskadi>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cis.es/cis/export/sites/default/-Archivos/Marginales/3260_3279/3263/Marginales/es3263mar_PVasco.pdf |author=''Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas'' (Centre for Sociological Research) |title=Macrobarómetro de octubre 2019, Banco de datos – Document 'Población con derecho a voto en elecciones generales y residente en España, País Vasco (aut.) |date=October 2019 |page=23 |access-date=4 February 2020 |language=es |archive-date=4 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200204181948/http://www.cis.es/cis/export/sites/default/-Archivos/Marginales/3260_3279/3263/Marginales/es3263mar_PVasco.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> while it is one of the most secularized communities of Spain: 24.6% were non-religious and 12.3% of Basques were [[atheist]].

====Pre-Christian religion and mythology====
{{Unreferenced section|date=November 2020}}
{{Main|Basque mythology}}
[[File:Amboto 01.jpg|thumb|[[Anboto]] mountain is one of sites where [[Mari (goddess)|Mari]] was believed to dwell]]

The [[Christianization|Christianisation]] of the Basque Country has been the topic of some discussion. There are, broadly speaking, two views. According to one, Christianity arrived in the Basque Country during the 4th and 5th centuries but according to the other, it did not take place until the 12th and 13th centuries. The ''Encyclopaedia Britannica'' says that the Basques were not Christianized until the tenth century, however, and that their earlier animism survives in their folklore.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Basque {{!}} Definition, History, Region, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Basque |access-date=2023-11-05 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en |archive-date=2023-05-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230522233107/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Basque |url-status=live }}</ref> The main issue lies in the different interpretations of what is considered Christianisation. Early traces of Christianity can be found in the major urban areas from the 4th century onwards, a bishopric from 589 in [[Pamplona]] and three hermit cave concentrations (two in [[Álava]], one in [[Navarre]]) that were in use from the 6th century onwards. In this sense, Christianity arrived "early".

Pre-Christian belief seems to have focused on a goddess called [[Mari (goddess)|Mari]]. A number of place-names contain her name, which would suggest these places were related to worship of her such as ''[[Anbotoko Mari]]'' who appears to have been related to the weather. According to one tradition, she travelled every seven years between a cave on Mount [[Anboto]] and one on another mountain (the stories vary); the weather would be wet when she was in Anboto, dry when she was in [[Aloña]], or [[Supelegor]], or [[Gorbea]]. One of her names, ''Mari [[Urraca]]'' possibly ties her to an historical Navarrese princess of the 11th and 12th century, with other legends giving her a brother or cousin who was a Roman Catholic priest. So far the discussions about whether the name Mari is original and just happened to coincide closely with the Christian name María or if Mari is an early Basque attempt to give a Christian veneer to pagan worship have remained speculative. At any rate, Mari (Andramari) is one of the oldest worshipped Christian icons in Basque territories.

Mari's consort is [[Sugaar]]. This [[chthonic]] couple seems to bear the superior ethical power and the power of creation and destruction. It's said that when they gathered in the high caves of the sacred peaks, they engendered the storms. These meetings typically happened on Friday nights, the day of historical [[Akelarre (witchcraft)|akelarre]] or [[coven]]. Mari was said to reside in Mount [[Anboto]]; periodically she crossed the skies as a bright light to reach her other home at Mount [[Txindoki]].

Legends also speak of many and abundant genies, like ''[[jentilak]]'' (equivalent to [[giant (mythology)|giants]]), ''lamiak'' (equivalent to [[nymph]]s), ''[[mairu]]ak'' (builders of the cromlechs or stone circles, literally [[Moors]]), ''iratxoak'' ([[imp]]s), ''[[sorginak]]'' ([[witch]]es, priestess of Mari), and so on. [[Basajaun]] is a Basque version of the [[Woodwose]]. There is a [[trickster]] named ''[[San Martin Txiki]]'' ("St Martin the Lesser").

It is unclear whether [[Neolithic]] stone structures called [[dolmen]]s have a religious significance or were built to house animals or resting shepherds. Some of the dolmens and [[Stone circles|cromlechs]] are burial sites serving also as border markers.
[[File:Ioaldunak 001.jpg|thumb|''Ioaldunak'' dancers of Navarre.]] The ''jentilak'' ('[[Giant (mythology)|Giants]]'), on the other hand, are a legendary people which explains the disappearance of a people of [[Stone Age]] culture that used to live in the high lands and with no knowledge of iron. Many legends about them tell that they were bigger and taller, with a great force, but were displaced by the ''ferrons'', or workers of ironworks foundries, until their total fade-out. They were pagans, but one of them, [[Olentzero]], accepted Christianity and became a sort of Basque [[Santa Claus]]. They gave name to several toponyms, as ''[[Jentilbaratza]]''.

===Society===
[[File:Weiditz Trachtenbuch 125-126.jpg|thumb|Senior Basque women during the 16th century; the attire was forbidden on [[Pierre de Lancre]]'s intervention in the Basque Country (1609–1612)]]

Historically, Basque society can be described as being somewhat at odds with Roman and later European societal norms. [[Strabo]]'s account of the north of Spain in his ''[[Geographica]]'' (written between approximately 20 BC and 20 AD) makes a mention of "a sort of woman-rule—not at all a mark of civilization" (Hadington 1992), a first mention of the—for the period—unusual position of women: "Women could inherit and control property as well as officiate in churches." The evidence for this assertion is rather sparse however.<ref>Kurlansky, Mark. ''The Basque History of the World'' (p.94)</ref>

This preference for female dominance existed well into the 20th century:
<blockquote>... [[matrilineal]] inheritance laws, and agricultural work performed by women continued in Basque country until the early twentieth century. For more than a century, scholars have widely discussed the high status of Basque women in law codes, as well as their positions as judges, inheritors, and arbitrators through ante-Roman, medieval, and modern times. The system of laws governing succession in the French Basque region reflected total equality between the sexes. Up until the eve of the French Revolution, the Basque woman was truly 'the mistress of the house', hereditary guardian, and head of the lineage.<ref name="treilo">Gimbutas, M. ''The Living Goddesses'' University of California Press: 2001</ref></blockquote>

While women continued to have a higher position in Basque than other western European societies, it is highly unlikely that any point the society was 'matriarchal', as is often falsely claimed about pre-Indo-European peoples in general. The 'Basque matriarchy' argument is typically tied to 20th century nationalism and is at odds with earlier accounts of the society.<ref>Bullen, Margaret. ''Basque Gender Studies'' (p.118-120)</ref>

Although the [[Kingdom of Navarre]] did adopt feudalism, most Basques also possessed unusual social institutions different from those of the rest of feudal Europe. Some aspects of this include the [[elizate]] tradition where local house-owners met in front of the church to elect a representative to send to the ''juntas'' and ''[[Juntas Generales]]'' (such as the ''Juntas Generales de Vizcaya'' or ''Guipúzcoa'') which administered much larger areas. Another example was that in the medieval period most land was owned by the farmers, not the Church or a king.<ref name="Trask1997"/>{{Page needed|date=November 2010}}<ref name="oprmay">Collins, R. ''The Basques'' Blackwell: 1986</ref>