Basque Proverb of the Week: Proverb #19

Apaizaren eltzea, txikia baina betea.

The priest’s pot is small, but always full.

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: Oldest Known Tools Made of Whale Bone Found in the Bay of Biscay

Basques have long been associated with whaling. Records as far back as 670 highlight the importance that whale hunting was to the Basque economy and their way of life. However, the people that inhabited the region we now know as the Basque Country used resources from whales even earlier, many millennia earlier. New research has revealed that people on the coast of Bizkaia and the surrounding regions made tools from whale bones some 20,000 years ago.

Summary of the types of artifacts analyzed in this study and the animals of their origin.
  • A large collection of researchers spanning universities and research centers in Barcelona, Paris, Austria, Santander, Salamanca, Toulouse, Donostia, Switzerland, Oviedo, Denmark, and Canada, amongst others, examined a collection of whale bones found along the Bay of Biscay (Bizkaiko Golkoa in Basque). Using a number of techniques, they dated these bones to 16,000 to 22,000 years ago.
  • The most remarkable thing about this find is that some of these bones, a majority even, had been made into tools. That humans made various tools out of whale bone is nothing new, but this is now the oldest evidence of humans doing this, pushing back our understanding of when humans used whale bones in this way by at least 1,000 years.
  • Most of these objects are related to weapons, often being projectile points or foreshafts, similar to points made from antlers from a similar time period. Some of them are fragmented, suggesting they were crushed, and leading the researchers to speculate that maybe these bones were brought back to habitats for their fat and oil, which was extracted by crushing the bones.
  • In addition, the researchers were able to determine what kinds of whales these were – they use carbon versus nitrogen isotope ratios to identify the different species (you’ll have to dig into the paper for more details). Five different species were identified. Some are expected – sperm, blue, fin whales are still found in the Bay of Biscay today. However, gray and bowhead/right whales are only found in the Arctic, which means that the Bay of Biscay of some 20,000 years ago hosted an even richer biodiversity than it does now. This makes some sense as the waters were colder back then, more akin to today’s Arctic waters. Of course, some of these whales, particularly right whales, were extensively hunted off of the shores of the Basque Country, also contributing to their current absence. However, these whales were likely not hunted, but acquired “opportunistically” as they washed ashore, for example. The humans of the time simply didn’t have the capabilities to actually hunt whales.
  • Several of these fragments were found in the modern Basque Country, including in Iruroin, Ermittia, Urtiaga, and Isturitz. However, the generality of these discoveries along the Bay of Biscay suggest that the same types of peoples were responsible for all of these artifacts.
  • These types of studies not only shed light on human prehistory, but they provide a broader view of the past world. The researchers were able to also examine the diet of these whales via isotope analysis, finding that their diet and habitat was similar, for the most part, to what whales exhibit today. That said, there are differences that may be partially attributed to changing climate over the last 20+ millennia.

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

Primary source: McGrath, K., van der Sluis, L.G., Lefebvre, A. et al. Late Paleolithic whale bone tools reveal human and whale ecology in the Bay of BiscayNat Commun 16, 4646 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59486-8

Basque Proverb of the Week: Proverb #18

Zu hor eta ni hemen.

Let’s agree to disagree.

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: Origin of the Motto Zazpiak Bat

The motto Zazpiak Bat – or the equation 4+3=1 – is a common way to express the unity of the seven historical Basque provinces. The Basque coat-of-arms is called zazpiak bat, but the phrase means more than just the coat-of-arms. It expresses the common cultural and historical legacy of Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa, Araba, Nafarroa, Zuberoa, Lapurdi, and Nafarroa Beherea. It has become a unifying motto that can be seen and heard across the globe.

The poster designed by Jean Jaurgain that features the phrase Zazpiak Bat and the Basque coat of arms. Image from Wikipedia.
  • The phrase “Zazpiak Bat” as a way to describe the seven Basque provinces and their unity was first coined in the 1700s but became popular in the 1900s. In 1891, Felipe Casal wrote the poem Ama Euskarari in which he had the line “Zazpiak beti bat” – the seven are always one/united – that first wrote it in the modern form. However, the phrase goes back even further. In 1836, the Zuberoan Agosti Xaho dedicated his Basque grammar to “Zazpi Uskal Herrietako Uskalduner.”
  • The phrase started getting attention when Anton Abadia, an explorer, used it to close a banquet in his honor at the Lore Jokoak in 1892, a cultural festival he helped foster. The motto had adorned the streets of Donibane Lohitzune where the banquet was held. In fact, Jean Jaurgain had designed a poster for the festival that first combined the phrase “Zazpiak Bat” with a coat-of-arms featuring the seven provinces.
  • After that, it quickly spread, even reaching the Americas. By 1900, a songbook published by Jean Mendiague in Buenos Aires was entitled Zazpiak bat, Eskualdun kantuak. Even before that, in California, a Basque newspaper was using the phrase. Later on, several Euskal Etxeak of the Americas, with Rosario, Argentina perhaps being the first, used the phrase Zazpiak Bat as their name.
  • The phrase took hold in Hegoalde as well, particularly after the Second Carlist War. Poems expressing a desire for unity used images such as a mother with seven children or an oak with seven branches to represent the unity of the seven provinces – the zazpiak bat.
  • However, the sentiment behind this motto goes back even further. In 1765, the Real Sociedad Bascongada de Amigos del País coined the phrase “Irurac bat,” meaning the three are one, to refer to Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa, and Araba. Later, the phrase “Laurak bat” was created to include Nafarroa, or all of the Basque provinces in Hegoalde.

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

Primary sources: Urkizu Sarasua, Patricio; Urkizu Sarasua, Patricio. Zazpiak Bat. Auñamendi Encyclopedia. Available at: https://aunamendi.eusko-ikaskuntza.eus/en/zazpiak-bat/ar-146820/; Zazpiak Bat, Wikipedia; Zazpiak Bat, Wikipedia; Basque Literary History, edited by Mari Jose Olaziregi, translated by Amaia Gabantxo, published by Center for Basque Studies

Basque Proverb of the Week: Proverb #17

Amari egindako zorrak ez dira inoiz ordaintzen.

What one owes to one’s mother is never repaid.

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.

Remembering Dad by Telling His Stories

Today is dad’s birthday. He would have turned 81 today. I miss you, dad.

Dad came to the United States when he was 18. Like many immigrants, particularly those who came so young, he didn’t have many hobbies. Well, none that I know of. Before he came to the United States, he had been working in the Basque Country, on local baserriak, to help the family get by. He had quit school when he was 14, though not because he couldn’t do the school work – he just had to help the family. Dad was always sharp – he would help me with my arithmetic when I was a kid – he just didn’t know any advanced math.

While I was growing up, dad never really developed any hobbies either. When he wasn’t working, which it seemed like he was always doing, he’d hang out with other Basques or just relax at home. He often got home long after dark so there wasn’t much opportunity to do much anyways.

Dad frying up some txorixeros, preparing for a big feast.

Except his garden. That was his main thing when I was a kid. He had literally hundreds of pepper plants, primarily txorixeros, but also bell peppers. He had a few tomato plants too. Mostly he grew the peppers so he could fry them up in oil, which he would do whenever friends came over. I hated those peppers – still do. Dad would always tease me about that, especially how I loved chorizo but hated the peppers that were inside…

But, when I was a kid, that was it. He’d grow some other things, but more as an aside rather than as a real crop. He’d have some garlic, but it wasn’t until later that garlic became a big thing for him.

That happened about when I went to college. I don’t remember dad ever making jamón or chorizo when I was a kid, but as soon as I left for college, he seemed to find a passion for both. His homemade chorizo had a somewhat tangier, maybe gamier flavor than the Gem brand that was the de facto chorizo in the Boise area, but I grew to love that flavor. And his jamón… I swear, jamón serrano is better than candy – I can never get enough when I visit family in the Basque Country. And dad’s was great. He really perfected his process and it always turned out awesome.

Dad (far right) and some friends posing with the fruits of their labors – racks of chorizo.

For reasons I never fully understood, dad would pack his chorizo in milk jugs with the tops cut off, fill them with water, and freeze them. This was before he got a vacuum pack machine, so maybe it was because it was cheap, or maybe it’s how they might have done it back on the baserri (though they didn’t have electricity so no freezer). In any case, he’d send me back to school with jugs of frozen chorizos. I’d have to break them out of the ice and let them sit on my dorm room counter to thaw. People would walk by and always make some comment about my “turtle shells” – that’s what it sounded like to them when I said chorizo. But, anyone who was willing to try them always loved them.

About the same time, he started growing a lot more garlic, which he would braid up and give to family and friends. Sometimes people would insist on paying something for a braid, but dad never really did it for the money, it just gave him something to do and I think he liked being able to give it away like that. He’d grumble about how many people he had to make a braid for each year, but in the end I think it gave him a sense of purpose.

Dad braiding up some of his garlic.

When dad got sick and was forced to retire, it was hard not having any other hobbies. His garden and his jamón and chorizo would take some of his time, but he didn’t have the same outlets many of us have to while away the day. He didn’t read, he didn’t have a shop per se, and without his truck he didn’t have something to tinker on. For a man who spent his whole life working with his hands, it was hard when that was taken away from him, especially during the long weeks and sometimes months he was in the hospital. He didn’t have a hobby that engaged his brain and I think that led to a lot of boredom.

He later got a cellphone and would be on it all the time with his friends and even his family back in the Basque Country, a striking change from when I was a kid and he’d call his family maybe once or twice a year because it was so expensive. Now, he was on his phone seemingly daily talking to his brothers and sisters. That helped fill the gap some.

Supposedly, when dad was a kid, he had thought about becoming a carpenter and, if he hadn’t come to the United States, maybe that’s what he would have done. In a different world, where his business had been more successful, I could see that dad might have built a wood shop. As it was, he didn’t do much but once in a while he would bust out the saws and hammers and build small things. I think, given the opportunity, he would have really enjoyed building things.

I know dad’s story isn’t unique. I’ve talked to some of his friends and they all have the same challenge – once their bodies don’t let them do all of the hard work they’ve done all of their lives, what’s next? There is only so much Little House on the Prairie or Walker, Texas Ranger you can watch. I think dad found some relief by hanging with his friends, but I also don’t think it was ever quite enough. These days it seems we have some many little distractions that add up and suck our days away, but for dad and his generation, they never quite had that. Maybe in the old country they would have gone out for a drink or danced or sang. They’d meet up in the Herriko Taberna and just pass the day away playing cards. And dad did start playing cards when he was older – I never saw him play when I was a kid. But, it’s harder to find that group of friends, even in a small town, in the United States. Everything is so spread out and everyone is doing their own thing. I do wonder how things would have been different for him if he had never left the Basque Country. But then, I wouldn’t be here, so I’m glad he did. Yet another sacrifice he made to build a life in the United States.

Thanks to Lisa Van De Graaff for encouraging me to record dad and his stories when I could. Lisa took the photo at the top.

Basque Fact of the Week: The Fiestas of the White Virgin

The Basque Country is full of colorful festivals and each city and town has their own special fiesta. Even towns as small as Munitibar – less than 500 people – have a big fiesta on their saint’s day, with the plaza full of people dancing to live music. Vitoria-Gasteiz, the political capital of the Basque Autonomous Community, is no exception. Their main fiesta, in honor of the White Virgin and celebrated around her feast day of August 5, draws thousands upon thousands of people and features an oddly unique character that ushers in the main festivities.

Celedón descending over the crowd at the Fiestas de la Virgen Blanca. Photo from rove.me.
  • The Fiestas of the Virgen Blanca, or White Virgin, (Andre Maria Zuriaren Jaiak in Euskara) started in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Araba, in 1884. For many years, the city celebrated its fiestas in September, but in 1883 it was decided to move them to August to honor the Virgen Blanca, as her feast day is on August 5. In 1921, she was declared the patron saint of the city. In 1954, she was named queen of the city. She is also known as Saint Mary of the Snows.
  • The Virgen Blanca is a statue from the 14th century that sits in the Church of San Miguel in Vitoria-Gasteiz. Her veneration dates to the time that Araba was part of the Kingdom of Nafarroa and is attributed to Sancho the Wise, who named his daughter the same. He founded the city in 1181 and the cult of the White Virgin has existed ever since.
  • Since 1957, the festivities begin with the descent of Celedón. Celedón is a rag doll that represents an old Araban villager. He is attached to a pulley system and lowered across the main plaza holding his umbrella which hangs from the wires. After, a real-life version of Celedón makes his way through the crowd and a traditional dance (the aurresku) is performed on the balcony of the church. The crowd chants “Gora Gasteiz! Gora Celedón!” Celedón is meant to represent the rural peasants that come to the city to celebrate the fiestas. Tradition holds that he was from the village of Zalduondo.
  • The “cuadrillas de blusas” are the heart of the festival. Dressed in traditional costumes, they lead various activities throughout the city during the fiesta. The fiestas are characterized by free open-air concerts, various sporting competitions, bertsolariak, and lots of singing, dancing, and drinking.

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

Primary sources: Arozamena Ayala, Ainhoa. VIRGEN BLANCA. Auñamendi Encyclopedia. Available at: https://aunamendi.eusko-ikaskuntza.eus/en/virgen-blanca/ar-128546/; Arozamena Ayala, Ainhoa. Virgen Blanca. Auñamendi Encyclopedia. Available at: https://aunamendi.eusko-ikaskuntza.eus/en/virgen-blanca/ar-142639/; Fiestas de la Virgen Blanca – Historia, tradición y la bajada de Celedón, Vitoria-Gasteiz

Basque Proverb of the Week: Proverb #16

Alferrik da, ura joan eta gero, presa egitea.

It is useless to hurry once the water has already run by.

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: Txikiteo

Wandering the streets, friends in tow, hopping from bar to bar, getting a bit of a drink and a pintxo – the tradition of the txikiteo. One of my favorite things to do in the Basque Country, txikiteo is the epitome of Basque social life. It’s a perfect way to spend time with your koadrila and to bump into other friends. It’s also a great way to see a Basque town, to get to know its heart. If you haven’t had the chance, I highly recommend an evening (or three) exploring your favorite city in a new way.

A group of txikiteros in Vitoria-Gasteiz. Photo from El Correo.
  • No one really knows when the tradition of txikiteo began, but it’s a natural consequence of a region that has so many bars. In fact, the Basque Country has one of the highest number of bars in Europe, surpassing many countries. People would wander the bars, maybe initially to get news from the sailors visiting the ports. It grew into a social phenomenon, one of the primary ways Basques enjoy their cities and towns.
  • The word txikiteo comes from the Basque word txikito, meaning small or little. People wander the bars, having a little bit to drink (a zurito or txikito) or a small bite to eat (a pintxo). While having some similarities to a pub crawl, drinking isn’t the goal. Rather, it is to socialize, to get out of the home and to see other people. People who are out on a txikiteo are called txikiteros.
  • For a long time, txikiteo was an activity exclusive to men, but in recent years women have also participated, often with women-only groups wandering the streets. Txikiteo is the time when koadrilas go out and spend time together. It used to be an almost daily custom, but modern life has made it rarer, often a weekend activity at best. The recession and the pandemic didn’t help matters.
  • Another driver changing the custom of txikiteo is tourism. Tourists aren’t used to how a txikiteo works. Instead, many are accustomed to sitting in one place and eating and drinking. So bars are adapting to this new reality and offering multi-pintxo deals, encouraging patrons to stay longer. This is in conflict with the very idea of txikiteo.
  • The glass used for the wine has its own interesting history. The story goes that, in 1929, Queen Victoria Eugenia visited Bilbo (other stories say it was the Prince of Asturias in 1865). The city went all out for her visit, including lighting the streets with candles in glasses. After her visit, the city had an abundance of glasses they had no use for, so they gave them to the local bars. These proved perfect for txikito – they had a heavy base so that they didn’t slosh so much in the hands of somewhat inebriated patrons. While these traditional glasses have become rare, there is a bit of an initiative to bring them back.
  • Txikiteo is such a part of Basque culture, Bilbo celebrates Txiketero Day on October 11.

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

Primary sources: El vaso de txikito: tradición y cultura en Bilbao by Julia Flores, Radio Nervión; Un trago con muchas historias by Marta Hernández, Deia; Txikiteo, Wikipedia

Basque Proverb of the Week: Proverb #15

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.