Many
communities throughout the world have never written anything
and yet they posses a literature of great value. The term `oral
literature' refers to nonwritten textual creation. Another way
of accessing the first sources of Euskaldun (Basque) culture
is from oral literature. According to Jokin Apalategi, oral
literature is a constant and abundant phenomenon in the development
of the cultural history of the Basque
territories.
Basque oral
literature is classified as follows:
1.
Poetry: comprised of decorative poems; old proverbs; the "romances";
the poems in the collection of "song books"; and bertsolaritza.
2. Theatre:
comprised of pastorale pieces; mascarades; serenades; sarcastic
charibaris; and the popular theatre of Southern Basque Country.
3. Narration:
comprised of the mythology; stories and other narrations;
events surrounding famous characters; novel; autobiography;
and customs.
4. Sayings
and proverbs: comprised of proverbs (esaerak); and ancient
sayings.
According to
Apalategi, Euskaldun oral culture was essentially pastoral and
spread throughout the Basque territories, in some areas more
than others, but everywhere. Apalategi notes that with the evolution
of the modes of production, Euskaldun oral literature (Basque
culture expressed in the Basque language) did not cease to exist
but nourished itself from new sources. The best known example
is that of bertsolaritza,
(the art of singing bertso [verse]), an outstanding Basque cultural
institution.
Sources:
Jokin Apalategi, L'Euskadi: quelques traits essentiels de son
histoire culturelle euskaldun, Gudari en guerre, Ekin 1982;
Luis M. Mujika, Euskal lirika trakizional, Haranburu Editor
S.A., 1985; Joseba Zulaika, Basque Violence and Metaphor and
Sacrament, University of Nevada Press, 1988.
