Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-11-14
SKILL IN BASQUE
.HAND|CRAFT SHOWN
Modern, Methods and Gus
toms Employed by coolest
Unmixed Race IN Europe"

StHtltNVu ttoVC W 6ui UpCs
An exhibition Of Basque handicraft
from the Roman period to the present
day. recently held in the Spanish Prov
ince Of Gpipuzcoa, attracted atten-
ton 10 the mysterious, self-reliant
group living In the strip Of land astride
the border between yrance and Spain
in the PyrsSves Mountains.
"BasQues claim they are the Oldest
unmixed race in Europe, yet they are
as modern as tomorrow's Newspaper,
says bulletin from the National Geo.
graphic Society.
Safeguard Own Language
An individual language has dis
tinguishe0 them since three centuries
before Columbus came TO America
UnintelligiRle to French ana Spanish
people, when written, it resembles
Polish. They persistently refuse 70
teach their language to strangers.
Within the past few years Spanish has
penetrated into several hundred BASQUE
towns in the Spanish Provinces OF wiz
caya, Guipuzcos and Alava.
| The BaSques have vigorously pro-
! tected their lava. or fueros, as they
have their language. A governors oath,
taken over sword, reads: May my
head be cut on with this blade II I do
not defend the fueros of my father
land" Their fueros provide them with
one OF the purest democracies Of all
times, o republican constitution. free
dom from national militarism and Inn
munity from taxes. ieven when they
became subjects Of SpaIu, they insisted
upon recognition Of their own laws,
| and SovereignS were required to 10
through the ceremony Of swearing the
fueros." However, following the Carlist
| War, Queen Isabella made slight
amendments which led 10 other altera-
tons, and through tina years the
Basques lost more and more Of their
former political Independence.
Bounding Basque" Nickname.
The Basques are digrSfed, euer-
getic and seA-contained rice. They
have built smelling factories. they mine,
they fsh and herd sheep.
The Bounding Basque. q familiar
| nickname for q famous tennig player, Is
| typical of his alert people.
Fishing villages nestle among green
hills. Rough mud streets separate the
| dwellings. These simple houses have red
matched roofs, shattered windows and
/ arched doorways and often are painted
delicate shades Of pink, lemon, blue and
| yellow. On Biscay Bay the dwellings
lack chimneys because Of high winds.
| Outlets for smoke are made below the
| caves. As inevitable as the heavy two
wheeled cart and oxen found alongside
| the house Is the umbrella Inender.
| Whether the Basque walks or rides
horse, he carries an umbrella, pro-
lection against. frequent rains.
Chickens Housed on First Fleor.
As the peasant returns from q day
with his fiocks, from his fishing amack
i or from smelling factory. he must
climb q fight of stairs. The entire
ground. floor Of his home Is given over
to chickens, pigs and steers.
The heat OF late afternoon finds the
| family playing cards on the ground floor
at q rough wooden table In the center
of the stable drawing room" Gaps
between players are nlled with very
young children.
AT four years the children drive
COWS to pasture and their chores IN
crease with their age. At 10 they 50
into the mountains to watch the sheep,
where they often are alone Tor sew
| eral days at time;
Natures BaIlrise BleAcAsEt
| Bullnghting IS ,pcpulEr among the
| Spanish BasQues and q vantage point
Is readymade from the hili-formed
bleachers which surround many natural
BASQUE pastoraIs are played outdoors.
with the stage constructed at the side
of a house There Is no giorif1cation
of the Basque girl. The roles are played
by men and boys. Playwrights are al
most duty bound to write into each play
f,.fa he afar lenIYftfaF-
balance each hero. So the audience
win not be misled, the righteous char
acters enter from the right Of the stage,
| the unh0ly from the left.
Market day finds women wearing neat
black dresses. white aprons, large fat
brimmed hats or black and white straw
or black handkerchiefs about their hair.
They wear rope-soled shoes called al
pargatas. The men wear long linen
! blouses, alpargatas and rakish boinas,
known to Americans as the fashionable
beret.
Market Day Revelations.
The somber apparel Of the Basques
Is put In sharp relief on market day
by the huge baskets Of oranges and
lemons, the trays of dates, figs and
raisins. Earthenware utensils are ar.
ranged as attractively as they would be
In q Fifth avenue shop, and the array
Of brass and copper on display sug-
gests New York's Allen street.
Quaint, old-fashioned shops, cafes,
cobblestone streets, mellow old houses,
sporty golf courses and fashionable ho-
tells are bundled together in such
Basque cities as Vergara and San Sc
bastian, in Gufpuzcoa: Bilbao and Du-
range, in Vizcaya, and Vitoria, In Alaya.
Many of the cities are fashionable So
ciety resorts, but they still comprise
quaint, medieval districts.
The average Basque. like other In
habitants of the peninSnrA. Is lover
of cafes. However, the cafes are male
institutions mostly, and domino sessions
extend from the luncheon to the dinner
hours. At 10 o'clock the men adjourn
to the theaters, where performances