Basque Proverb of the Week

Basque Proverb of the Week: Proverb #15

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Alferrarentzat jana eta langilearentzat lana, ez da inoiz faltako.

There is never a lack of food for the lazy person, nor of work for the industrious.

Image generated by Buber using ChatGPT.

These proverbs were collected by Jon Aske. For the full list, along with the origin and interpretation of each proverb, click this link.

Basque Fact of the Week, Folklore

Basque Fact of the Week: Gizotso, the Basque Werewolf

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Gizotso – gizon (man) + otsoa (wolf) – is the Basque wolf man, the Basque werewolf. Though there aren’t many wolves left in the Basque Country, Basques have a long history with wolves, which often terrorized livestock and even people. So, it is no surprise that the Basques, as so many cultures, had stories of men who became wolves, who were more vicious than any wolf ever was. While stories of werewolves are common throughout the world, the Basque version has a few interesting twists. No silver bullets here, but if you hit his shadow an odd number of times, you can hurt him.

One representation of a gizotso, by artist Argote.
  • Wolves have been part of the Basque landscape since time immemorial. As elsewhere, wolves posed a problem for the local human populations, primarily by killing both people and livestock. Ultimately, in the Basque Country, wolves were hunted to near extinction. This complex relationship between people and wolves has sparked many stories, including that of the gizotso, or werewolf.
  • Half man, half wolf, the gizotso lives in the deepest parts of the forest, sometimes coming out to terrorize people. In some places, the gizotso was said to be extraordinarily strong. In one story, a gizotso chased a woman. Despite her neighbors yelling for her to run home, the gizotso caught her and tore off her breasts. In yet other places, the gizotso is found at nights at crossroads, burdened by chains, and will carry off anyone it can catch.
  • How did gizotsos come about? In some places, people believed that the gizotso was the product of nefarious dealings between rational and irrational beings, sometimes the result of sexual relations between people and wolves. In others, it was believed that, on the Eve of St John’s fiesta, there were springs that turned to wine at midnight. If one tries to find the spring and doesn’t, they become a gizotso. Sometimes, in the mornings, the gizotso sheds its skin. If someone else finds it and wears it, they will then become a gizotso.
  • To attack a gizotso, you had to go after its shadow. You couldn’t hit it directly. And you had to hit it with an odd number of blows. If you hit it an even number, the wounds would heal. Similar beliefs applied to wizards and witches – when they were in a trance, you could attack their shadows but not them directly.
  • This aspect was described in a story told to Jose Miguel de Barandiaran by one Dominica Giltzu in 1941:

    The Werewolf and the Tailor

    Once upon a time, there were apparently werewolves in many places. These werewolves were men who dressed in wolf skins and walked around at night surrounded by old irons. Completely covered, only a little of their foreheads showed. Apparently they went out to the crossroads to scare people.

    There must have been one like that in Ustaritz. Once, when a tailor was returning home late at night, the werewolf of Ustaritz appeared to him, intending to scare him. The tailor struck him on the forehead with the tip of a hoe, and blood flowed. The werewolf shouted at him: “Give me another one!” For the enemy has no strength in odd numbers.

    But the tailor did not give him another one, did not hit him again. And the werewolf followed him to the door of his house, begging him: “Give me another one, give me another one.”

    The tailor paid no attention to him, until the werewolf gave up and left.

    The next day an acquaintance of the tailor, from Ustaritz, came to his house with a ten-pound note, saying: “I have long wanted to get rid of this burden. By making me bleed, you cured me. Take ten pounds in payment.”

    “And why did you ask me to give you another blow?” asked the tailor.

    “It was not me, it was my companions who made me say it.”
  • Of course, werewolves are by no means a singularly Basque phenomenon – they are common to the folklore of many places in Europe, going back to Ancient Greece.

A full list of all of Buber’s Basque Facts of the Week can be found in the Archive.

Primary sources: Barandiaran Ayerbe, José Miguel de. Gizotso. Auñamendi Encyclopedia. Available at: https://aunamendi.eusko-ikaskuntza.eus/en/gizotso/ar-66361/; Gizotsoa euskal mitologian, Wikipedia

Basque Proverb of the Week

Basque Proverb of the Week: Proverb #14

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Alferrarendako lanik ez, eta astirik ez.

The lazy person has no work, but no time for anything else either.

Image generated by Buber using ChatGPT.

These proverbs were collected by Jon Aske. For the full list, along with the origin and interpretation of each proverb, click this link.

Basque Fact of the Week, Diaspora, History

Basque Fact of the Week: The Province of Nueva Vizcaya

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When I wrote about the various cities of Durango a while back, that opened a thread of the Basque history of Mexico and the southwest United States that is ripe for further exploration. That history is reflected in so many place names of the region. Not only are cities like Durango named after their Basque counterparts, but just like we have states like New York and New Jersey that are named after “older” regions in the United Kingdom, there were provinces such as New Vizcaya and New Navarra in the Americas named after places in the Basque Country. I guess those explorers and conquistadors were not so creative…

Map of Mexico in 1819 featuring the province of Nueva Vizcaya. Image from Wikipedia.
  • Nueva Vizcaya was originally founded by Francisco de Ibarra when he conquered that part of what would later become Mexico and the United States. It was the first province in the northern part of New Spain. What was once Nueva Vizcaya is now the Mexican states of Durango and Chihuahua, part of the Mexican state of Coahuila, and part of Texas. Ibarra established silver working and cattle ranches in the region. Residents of Durango had complete access to the local silver mine.
  • The Spanish first arrived in 1531, under with Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán, but it wasn’t until silver was discovered that Ibarra moved further north and established the territory. In 1562, he was named Captain General of Nueva Vizcaya and undertook conquest of the region, founding the city of Durango amongst others.
  • The city of Durango played a part in the Mexican War of Independence and the subsequent forming of the Mexican Empire, led by Augustín de Iturbide. In particular, Durango was subjected to a 3-weeks-long siege as Iturbide’s forces tried to take the city, which finally surrendered on September 3, 1821.
  • Nueva Vizcaya lasted as a political entity until 1823, when the Supreme Congress of Mexico split it into the two modern provinces of Chihuahua and Durango. Yet a new state, comprising Chihuahua, Durango, and what eventually became New Mexico, was briefly considered, but the residents of Durango objected as the proposed capital of this new state would have been in Chihuahua. In the end, they were kept separate.
  • Native Americans continuously attacked the city and the region since its founding until the 19th century, trying to reclaim the land. The area is home to numerous native groups, including the Nahuatl, Zacatecos and Tepehuán.
  • There is also a province called Nueva Vizcaya in the Philippines. There was a province called Nueva Navarra in Mexico as well, to the west of Nueva Vizcaya.

A full list of all of Buber’s Basque Facts of the Week can be found in the Archive.

Primary sources: Estornés Lasa, Mariano [et al.]. NEW VIZCAYA. Auñamendi Encyclopedia, 2025. Available at: https://aunamendi.eusko-ikaskuntza.eus/en/new-vizcaya/ar-98759/; Nueva Vizcaya, New Spain, Wikipedia

Basque Proverb of the Week

Basque Proverb of the Week: Proverb #13

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Alferrak, beti lanez beterik.

Lazy people are always busy.

Image generated by Buber using ChatGPT.

These proverbs were collected by Jon Aske. For the full list, along with the origin and interpretation of each proverb, click this link.

Basque Fact of the Week, Diaspora, Food

Basque Fact of the Week: Picon Punch

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Maybe you’ve heard that some politicians in Nevada are trying again to make Picon Punch the official state cocktail. It’s not the first time, but that Ferino, a distillery in Reno, is making their own version of Amer Picon, the central ingredient that gives the Punch its distinct flavor, is perhaps going to help the bill get past the finish line this time. One of several distinct Basque beverages, Picon Punch is also uniquely American.

A Picon Punch as served by Elko’s Star Hotel.
  • There is no single recipe for Picon Punch, as different places have adapted it to their own tastes. What they all have in common is a base of Amaro, a bitter often drank straight as an aperitif. Club soda, grenadine, and brandy are typically added, with a lemon peel as garnish. Often there is no brandy, or the brandy is replaced with gin. Some version skip the club soda.
  • Picon Punch originated in the United States, the creation of Basque immigrants. Sometime in the late 1800s, Basques in the North Beach part of San Francisco, California. At least by 1899 it was mentioned in a local newspaper, but it could have been created before. Maybe it was at the Noriega Hotel, maybe another boardinghouse. But Basques took it from there with them to Nevada and other parts of the US West. By 1906, it had even made its way to Honolulu. It has been seen in the Basque Country, though it is not overly popular there.
  • Amer Picon has its own interesting history (Amer means bitter in French). It was created by an Italian, Gaétan Picon, who had visited Algeria in 1837 while serving in the French Army. He caught malaria there and needed a way to stomach the quinine he had to take as treatment. He discovered local herbs and made a liquor from them to help the quinine go down.
  • The French Amer Picon became popular as a substitute for absinthe, but has been hard or impossible to get in the United States. After prohibition, during which alcohol was outlawed, Torani began marketing their own Amer and it eventually replaced Amer Picon, partially because Amer Picon became weaker with time to the point that it is now only 18 proof while Torani Amer is still near the original 80 proof.
  • To make matters worse, Amer Picon stopped shipping to the US in 2000. Torani Amer is the only alcoholic beverage Torani makes, and they had supply issues during and after COVID. So to ensure that the supply doesn’t end, more than one distillery in the United States has taken on making the stuff.

A full list of all of Buber’s Basque Facts of the Week can be found in the Archive.

Primary sources: The origin of the Picon punch, a quintessential Western cocktail by Mike Higdon, Reno Gazette Journal; Picon Punch, liquor.com; Picon Punch, Wikipedia

Basque Proverb of the Week

Basque Proverb of the Week: Proverb #12

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Alferkeria, askoren ondamendia.

Laziness leads many people astray.

Image generated by Buber using ChatGPT.

These proverbs were collected by Jon Aske. For the full list, along with the origin and interpretation of each proverb, click this link.

Basque Fact of the Week, History, Politics

Basque Fact of the Week: The Elizate or Democratic Town Councils

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One of the less appreciated aspects of Basque history is their strong democratic tradition. So central has democracy been to the Basque Country that John Adams was impressed, noting how the Basque Country was “a republic; and one of the privileges they have most insisted on, is not to have a king.” Central to the Basque concept of democracy, at least in Bizkaia, is the elizate, where local heads of households would gather after church to discuss business that affected them and their neighborhood.

The porch of the church of Arbatzegi.
  • The Basque term elizate – anteiglesia in Spanish – literally means “church door” (the Spanish anteiglesia means “in front of the church”). It was used to refer to local gatherings of the local heads of families – these could be either men or women – to discuss business affecting the area. They would gather after mass in the front of the church, in the atrium or near the main door. This put the local parish as the center of communal organization and naturally lead to towns being created around those churches. Indeed, the church atrium was the first town hall.
  • Most common in Bizkaia (where the word elexate was used), the elizate also existed in other parts of the Basque Country. In Bizkaia, they primarily referred to the areas called Lur laua, or the Flat Lands. This was the part of Bizkaia that was comprised mostly of fields and baserria and consisted of some 105 villages. All of the people in the Lur Iaua were governed by the same laws. The Encartaciones and the Merindad de Durango were distinct political entities within Bizkaia, having their own fueros.
  • Similarly, in Lapurdi, the people organized into parrokiak which were led by the auz-apezak, or neighborhood priests.
  • Each elizate was led by the so-called fiel sindiko, a person who was chosen to lead for one year. Depending on the place, the fiel sindiko either rotated through all families or was nominated by the previous fiel sindiko or, in others, was the most recently married baserritarra.
  • Each elizate would select representatives to attend the meeting of the merindades or even the Batzar Nagusiak or Great Meetings that covered the whole province.
  • The elizate were further divided into cofradías that corresponded to neighborhoods within the elizate. At the same time, a group of elizates was a merindad.
  • The elizate have their origin in medieval times. As cities were established by royal decree or by the Juntas, elizate were often absorbed into those cities. As one example, in the 14th century Tolosa, in Gipuzkoa, absorbed 23 neighboring elizate.
  • With time, most elizate have disappeared, but this tradition is still practiced in the towns of Iurreta and Derio. In 1962, most of them were incorporated into existing cities as subdivisions or auzoak and thus lost a lot of their unique identity.

A full list of all of Buber’s Basque Facts of the Week can be found in the Archive.

Primary sources: Elizate, Wikipedia; Anteiglesia. Auñamendi Encyclopedia, 2025. Available at: https://aunamendi.eusko-ikaskuntza.eus/en/anteiglesia/ar-1312/; Anteiglesia, Wikipedia

Basque Proverb of the Week

Basque Proverb of the Week: Proverb #11

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Alfer egon eta alfer-lana egin, biak berdin.

Doing nothing and doing useless work are the same thing.

Image generated by Buber using ChatGPT.

These proverbs were collected by Jon Aske. For the full list, along with the origin and interpretation of each proverb, click this link.

Basque Fact of the Week, Diaspora, History

Basque Fact of the Week: The Center for Basque Studies at the University of Nevada, Reno

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“During the darkest day of the Franco era when we were denied our language, our culture and our identity, we were consoled by the knowledge that an American university in Nevada had lit one small candle in the night.” – Basque President Jose Antonio Ardanza

This is how important the William A. Douglass Center for Basque Studies is and has been to the Basque people. Nestled in the University of Nevada, Reno, campus, the Center is a cornerstone of Basque history and culture, not only in the United States but the world.

Jon Bilbao and William Douglass in the early days of what is now the Center for Basque Studies. Photo from Reno Gazette Journal.
  • Established in 1967, what is now the Center for Basque Studies began its existence as part of the Desert Research Institute, a part of the University of Nevada. The idea was initially floated in the early 1960s but didn’t take fruit until 1967 when William Douglass was recruited to “return” home to be the new center’s co-ordinator.
  • Today, the Center has programs for both minors and PhDs in Basque studies. PhD programs center around one of several themes related to Basque studies: anthropology, world languages and literatures, geography, political science, English, or history. The minor, for undergraduates, covers topics from sports to politics to arts. Scholarships are available for interested students.
  • A key part of the Center for Basques Studies is the Center for Basque Studies Press. The Press is the leading publisher of Basque topics in English in the world. Topics cover anything Basque related, from “Basque culture, history and more, including history, politics, culture, children’s books and novels.” It grew out of the Basque Books Series at the University of Nevada Press (founded by Robert Laxalt), with Rodney Gallop’s A Book of the Basques as the first title published and Laxalt’s own In a Hundred Graves published not long after.
  • Douglass remained the director of the Center until 1999, when he retired, at which point Joseba Zulaika took over. He led the center until 2009, when Sandra Ott became the director until she stepped down in 2016, at which point Xabier Irujo, the current director, took her place.
  • In recognition of his seminal contributions to Basque studies and his leadership of the Center, the Center was renamed the William A. Douglass Center for Basque Studies in 2015.
  • The University of Nevada, Reno, also hosts the Jon Bilbao Basque Library. Growing since its conception in the 1960s, the library contains some 55,000 items, placing it as one of the leading libraries on Basque topics in the world.
  • The full history of the Center has been documented by Pedro Oiarzabal in his book A Candle in the Night.

A full list of all of Buber’s Basque Facts of the Week can be found in the Archive.

Primary sources: William A. Douglass Center for Basque Studies; The William A. Douglass Center for Basque Studies Newsletter, number 84, Winter 2016.