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 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.

Basque Fact of the Week, Euskadi

Basque Fact of the Week: The Koadrila, or Group of Friends

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For me, the best thing about the Basque Country is the strong social connections between family and friends. The Basques are so tight knit. Life-long groups of friends celebrate everything together and these groups are essentially a second family. Maybe this comes from having more compact towns and cities where it is easy to get together. Or that people rarely move far from where they were born (or they go half way around the world…) Whatever the reason, the koadrila is such a cool part of Basque culture.

A koadrila out for txikiteo. Photo from el tornillo que te falta.
  • The koadrila or kuadrilla is someone’s personal circle of friends. However, more than just being a group of friends, it is a core part of the social life of Basques. Often established in youth, the koadrila (or cuadrilla in Spanish) “is a protective structure that includes both rights and duties.” What happens in the koadrila stays in the koadrila. The koadrila is almost like a second family.
  • Once a koadrila is established, it is very hard for new people to break into the circle. Sometimes, partners of members can also become part of the koadrila, but new people without a strong bond with one of the existing members are rarely welcomed into the group.
  • Historically, koadrilas were usually of one gender or the other – mixed groups were rare due to taboos associated with sexuality and the like. However, today koadrilas are often mixed.
  • Koadrilas often go “kalera” (to the street) for poteo or txikiteo, or out drinking together. Usually, everyone puts cash into a pot (called a bote) and one person is designated as the buyer – getting and paying for drinks (a txikito or small glass of wine, or zurito, a small glass of beer) and pintxos at each stop during the txikiteo.
  • Just like a family, the koadrila is there in times of need and members can be sure that, when times are tough, the other members will be there to help out, no matter where they are. Even years later, when the group may have gone their separate ways as life often demands, they still get together a few times a year for a group dinner.
  • The koadrila is unique to Hegoalde and is essentially absent in Iparralde.

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

Primary sources: Traditions, Etxepare Euskal Institutua

Basque Fact of the Week, People, Sports

Basque Fact of the Week: Pioneering Surfer Hugues Oyarzabal

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While surfing originated in Polynesia and Hawaii, many Basques have distinguished themselves in the sport. Indeed, the Basque Country has some prime surfing spots, including the Bizkaian coastal town of Mundaka. Hugues Oyarzabal became one of the pioneers of the sport, surfing some of the biggest waves in the world while filming himself riding down the center of a barrel wave long before GoPro was a thing.

Two images captured by Oyarzabal himself while surfing. Image from El Diario Vasco.
  • Waian Hugues Oyarzabal – he added the Waian later which means “first born son” in Balinese – was born March 7, 1985, in Donibane Lohitzune (Saint-Jean-de-Luz) to Charles and Lucette Oyarzabal. He grew up in the village of Biriatu. From an early age, he was an avid athlete, excelling at tennis and pelota, but when he was 11 he discovered surfing, which would become his lifelong passion.
  • When he was 16, he quit high school and, with the support of his parents, moved to Australia to work with a private coach. He never really became a competitive surfer, instead being what he called a “freesurfer,” traveling the world looking for the most challenging surfing spots.
  • Indeed, even before he left for Australia, he had already surfed Belharra beach, considered at the time impossible to surf. Throughout his life, he surfed some of the most isolated and difficult spots, including in Southern Africa and what would become his second home, Indonesia.
  • Oyarzabal was most famous for filming his surfing exploits. Before GoPro cameras became a thing, he attached a camera to his board and filmed himself in the barrel of a wave – he is thought to be the first person to do this. He also designed a device he could clamp into his teeth, giving the most intimate view of his surfing. For his pioneering videography, he won the inaugural GoPro award in Hawaii.
  • In 2006, he married Jana Kondo. They had a daughter, Kailani (“sea and sky” in Hawaiian), before divorcing in 2013. Kailani is an accomplished surfer in her own right, having learned from her father.
  • Oyarzabal took his own life on February 21, 2025, in Biarritz, his home at the time. He had suffered for years from bipolar disorder. Both in the Basque Country, in Hendaia, and in Indonesia, surfers took to the water and scattered flowers in his memory.

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

Primary sources: Hugues Oyarzabal, Surfing Star Who Rode With a Camera, Dies at 39, The New York Times; Fallece Hugues Oyarzabal, surfista pionero en usar las GoPros y en olas gigantes, El Diario Vasco

Basque Fact of the Week, Music

Basque Fact of the Week: Basque Musical Instruments

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Music and singing is such an important part of Basque culture. No Basque festival or party is complete without an accordion or a txistu. And, like all cultures, the Basques have created some of their own unique musical instruments while incorporating others like the accordion that has since become a staple of Basque folk music. And others, like the txalaparta, almost disappeared only to see a revival in recent years. Yet others have been lost to time.

A collection of traditional Basque musical instruments, on display in Soinuena, the Traditional Music Museum. Photo from Kulturklik.
  • The alboka is a woodwind instrument made out of an animal horn. It has the unique feature that a second pipe allows for circular breathing and continuous playing. Curiously, while the instrument is native to the Basque Country, alboka is not a Basque word – it comes from the Arabic word al-bûq meaning trumpet or horn. While the current form might be native to the Basque Country, the alboka may have originally been “imported” from Asia, perhaps during the Arab conquest of the Iberian peninsula. It has been mentioned in text at least as far back as the 1400s.
  • The dultzaina or bolingozo is another reed instrument brought by the Arabs. It is a double reed instrument, in the same family as the oboe.
  • Two instruments that are extremely important to Basque music but which aren’t originally Basque are the tambourine or pandero and the accordion. The accordion is the youngest instrument in the Basque pantheon, introduced only in the 19th century. However, it is now heard everywhere and is a staple of Basque music.
  • I’ve written about the txalaparta before. Suffice it to say here that the txalaparta was originally a means of communication between valleys, often to announce cider production. After almost being lost, it has since undergone a revival as an important folk instrument.
  • I’ve also written about the txistu before. Often played by one person who also plays a drum, the txistu is one of the most ubiquitous Basque instruments, often accompanying many dances. There is a larger version, the silbote or txistu handia, that requires two hands to play.
  • Sometimes, particularly in Zuberoa, the txistu is accompanied by a ttun-ttun, a wooden box with strings stretched tightly across that are then hit with a mallet. Much like a guitar, the strings can be tuned. Variants with between 5 and 10 strings exist. The ttun-ttun is also played in Béarn.
  • These are only a few of the instruments that have been used in traditional Basque music. Some, like the zarrabete and the maniura, have been lost, either in the Basque Country and still played elsewhere, or completely with only historic mention. See this article and this article for more details.

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

Primary sources: Please see the links in the main text.

Books, Diaspora, Uncategorized

More Than Sheepherders by Joxe Mallea-Olaetxe and Jess Lopategui

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I recently interviewed Joxe Mallea-Olaetxe about his research studying the Basques of the American West, particularly the arboglyphs herders left on the aspens in the mountains. He is out with a new book focusing on the Basques of Nevada, specifically Elko. With assistance from Jess Lopategui, this book explores the role Basque immigrants had in the area, from the first to arrive in the 1870s to those that continue to define the region.

More Than Sheepherders: The American Basques of Elko County, Nevada
Joxe K. Mallea-Olaetxe with the assistance of Jess Lopategui

(from the University of Nevada Press)

More Than Sheepherders is available through the University of Nevada Press.

In the remote community of Elko, Nevada, the Altube brothers and the Garats started fabled ranches in the early 1870s. These hardy citizens created the foundation of a community that still exists today, rooted in the traditions and cultures of American Basque families. Joxe K. Mallea-Olaetxe presents a modern study focused on the post-1970s, when the retired Basque sheepherders and their families became the dominant Americanized minority in the area. During this time, the Fourth of July National Basque Festival began to attract thousands of visitors from as far away as Europe to the small Nevada community and brought to light the vibrant customs of these Nevadans.

This book explores the American Basques’ present-day place in the West, bolstered by the collaborative efforts of four contributors, including two women—all who have been residents of Elko. The writers offer firsthand knowledge of their heritage through numerous vignettes, and these deeply personal perspectives will entice readers into Mallea-Olaetxe’s singular and entertaining historical account.

“Many Basque American communities are in need of a local history. For Elko, Joxe Mallea-Olaetxe fills this gap. He provides an in-depth history that focuses on early Basque immigrants in the sheep industry, while also highlighting their later work in restaurants, mining, and construction. The personal vignettes he includes allow the reader to meet the locals. Mallea-Olaetxe’s account details the experience of the Elko Basque community and provides a case study for deeper understanding of the Basque American Diaspora.”

—John Bieter, professor of history, Boise State University,
author of An Enduring Legacy: The Story of Basques in Idaho

AUTHOR/EDITOR BIOGRAPHY

Joxe K. Mallea-Olaetxe arrived in the United States from the Basque Country in the mid-1960s. He earned his PhD from the University of Nevada, Reno, in 1988. Mallea-Olaetxe is the author of Speaking Through the Aspens: Basque Tree Carvings in California and Nevada. He taught history and language classes at both UNR and Truckee Meadows Community College.

Jess Lopategui immigrated to Elko in 1957 and herded sheep from 1958 to 1965. He served as president of the Basque Club and, with his wife Denise and father-in-law Frank Arregui, was co-owner of the Elko Blacksmith Shop. After his retirement in 2006, he became more involved in researching the history of the Basques in Elko County.