Basque rural sports
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Basque rural sports are competitions rooted in the traditional lifestyle of the Basque people.
Each Basque rural sport stems from two different Basque lifestyles, the farmer (baserritarra) and the fisherman (arrantzale). Although the largest variety of Basque rural sports comes from the life on the farm. The dying out of the need for farmers and fishermen has led to the dying out of many of these sports.
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[edit] Rowing regattas
A very popular rowing competition played along the coast of the Bay of Biscay, from Galicia to the French Basque Country.
This game was played back in the days when fishermen had to get to the fishing-grounds, where fish was abundant, and return to port in the least possible time, to deliver the goods after a hard day's work.
The crew is made up of thirteen oarsmen and the cox, who faces them at the stern. In the course of the regatta, he is in charge of directing the boat, as well as boosting the morale of his oarsmen; very often a whole town owes its joy to his skill at winning the town flag (la bandera), a prize awarded to the winner of the regatta. The ships (trainera in Spanish) are derived from the nineteenth-century fishing boats.
The most important competition in the Bay of Biscay in summer takes place the first two Sundays in September; the best rowing boats then compete with each other in La Concha Bay, following a tradition over a hundred years old. There is a regatta in almost every seaside town between July and October.
[edit] Wood cutting
An inland game, the wood-cutter is called aizkolari in the Basque language because aizkora is "axe" in Basque. It is a very popular sport. Its origin is to be found in the wood-cutter's and charcoal burner's daily activity, while working in the many forest up in the mountains.
A less common variant is called trontzalaritza (log-sawing).
The use of large quantities of charcoal as fuel for the many foundries in the Basque Country in the 18th century together with the use of wood for shipbuilding, led to large areas of woodland being cut down. In time, those country towns and valleys that were famed for their top wood-cutters turned out to be those that have safeguarded the wealth of their forests.
Beechwood from beech forests in the north of Navarre is the type of wood generally used in the wood-cutting event.
In this competition, the wood-cutter has to cut a number of tree trunks arranged on the ground in rows; the winner cuts them up in the shortest possible time. The cutter hacks between his feet while standing on the log.
In summer, one can often see a couple of wood-cutters with their assistants (the "botillero" and the "enseñador") performing at the many local festivities and open-air dances, held in the small towns all over the country.
Modernly, the Australian style of hacking at a vertical log, standing on planks wedged, is also practiced.
[edit] Stone Games
Stone Lifting has certainly been the most videly known Basque rural sport outside the country, thanks to the prowess of Iñaki Perurena, a stone-lifter (harrijasotzaile) from Leiza, in Navarre, the first and so far the only competitor able to lift a 300 Kg stone.
There are usually two stone-lifters competing in each event, taking turns in one or several attempts, to perform the greatest possible number of lifts; a lift is considered complete, when the stone has been properly balanced on the shoulder.
In the course of time, the shape of the stone to be lifted has varied a great deal. The four types of stone most frequently used that is rectangular, cylindrical, spherical and square, were established at the beginning of the 20th century.
Stones are traditionally made of granite, and their weight goes a little under 100 Kg to the already mentioned 300 Kg.
Together with wood-cutting, stone lifting is another example of the Basque rural sports most widely performed at local festivities, all over the Basque Country.
Stone Dragging either by animals, usually by oxen (idi probak), or by human traction, takes place on especially built trial grounds. The aim is to cover, within a given time, a distance called "plaza" or "clavo" (literally "square" or "nail" in English).
[edit] Pilota
The best known Basque sport is pilota (pelota vasca in Spanish). It is a Basque version of the family of ball games that covers squash, tennis and real tennis. While most of the best world players are Basque (in either the Spanish or the French federations), it is by no means limited to Basque lands, being also played in Castile, Rioja, the Land of Valencia (with its own Valencian tradition), and places where Basques have emigrated like Mexico (home of frontenis), Florida, the Philippines. As such it has been an Olympic exhibition sport in Paris, Mexico and Barcelona. Its association with betting led to regular playing in international Shanghai. There are many ways of playing pelota: with the hand, with a wooden bat, a curved wicker basket attached to a leather glove (known in English as jai alai), the tennis racquet in frontenis, "share", "bounce" "long", "joko-garbi",... the last types mentioned are played in Gipuzkoa, only in Villabona, Zubieta and Lasarte, while they are common practice in the French Basque Country.
[edit] Other games
Basques have also their own variants of dirt-track and lawn bowls[1], (15 variants just in Biscay) sometimes shared with other areas like Cantabria, Burgos or León and sometimes played in just a few courts, taking advantage of their special configuration. Some variants are vanishing reduced to fiesta events among locals. Other hold organized competitions among the province federations. The katxete/cachete of the mining area of Encartaciones consists in throwing a 4-kg ball against some almost-spheric pins to launch them beyond a certain radius. In pasabolo (Cantabria, Biscay), the pins are also hit away but they are 35-cm tall. Around the change from the 19th to the 20th centuries, most neighbourhoods would have a court where locals would bet the payment of their drinks (txakoli or cider) on their bowling skill. Because of the suspicion of the Catholic church and nobility, many bowling courts are located near churches.
Sheep dog trials are a lively example of pastoral life. The former takes place in Oñati, in September, where the shepherd's skill at controlling his flock by commands to his dog is judged.
Another sport, peleas de carneros in Spanish, (ram fight) is very popular around the Urola basin, in Azpeitia, Arroa, etc., testing the strength and endurance, following the rams' natural instinct to batter and clash horns. The winner is the one which succeeds in driving its opponents away from the confrontation.
Tug-of-war (sokatira in Basque) is also traditional in Basque lands. An eight-man team tries to drag along the other team by pulling the rope
There are varieties originating in the North-Eastern Basque Country, straight from the challenges among farm workers.
Hay-bale lifting involves raising that load with the aid of a pulley, as many times as possible in three minutes, without the bales touching the ground.
Sheaf tossing is a related sport that consists in throwing the hay-bales over a height with the help of a pitchfork.
Scytheing (segalaritza) competitions consist in cutting equal parcels of grass with a scythe before the rival does.
Races with bags full of corn. Here participants need both speed and stamina to carry the weight on their shoulders.
The milk-can carriers competition is very similar to the "txingas" competition, but this time the load carried (the milk) is more related to farming activities.
Oxcart lifting is a display of strength. Contestants have to lift the back of the oxcart rotating it on its front side, which is fixed to the ground
[edit] References
- ^ Bola jokoa/El juego de bolos, exhibition brochure compiled by Juan José Zorrilla for the Culture Section of the Foral Government of Biscay, Bilbao, 2006, ISBN 84-88916-96-5.
[edit] See also
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