Introduction
by: Elena Bagwell
Send me an email
Return to my Storybook!
Photo of Arbaileta Forest
Image Link
For my storybook
I chose
the topic of Basque Legends. I narrowed my choices down to this
because it was the one subject I knew nothing about. I have
always known of the Basque culture, but I didn't know anything about
the
people, religion, food, beliefs, values and especially folklore.
In Spring 2003 I spent a semester studying abroad in Spain. The
Northern region of Spain is Basque territory and there have been
numerous attempts by the Basques to create their own autonomous region
in this area. Living in Spain made me more aware of their
culture, and only furthered my interest of the Basques.
The Basques have occupied the mountanous region of Northern Spain for centuries. However, they share very little in common with Spanish culture. The fact that they have lived so independently and have been dedicated enough to their heritage to preserve their culture completely fascinates me. Although the Basque people live in another culture's territory they have retained a sense of self and proved to be extremely resilient. Knowing this, I had to attempt to discover what makes these people tick and what gives them the strength to endure. I thought, what better way to do that than to read some of the Basque folk stories that have been passed down.
I have come across a very thorough source on the subject of Basque folktales. It is a collection of stories organized together in a book called Basque Legends. The author is Wentworth Webster, a man I knew next to nothing about. The only thing I was aware of is that in 1879 he published a collection of Basque literature that seems to be very insightful. Webster's collection is very diverse, including Basque stories and poetry. He even includes an essay on the roots of the Basque language. His stories range from animal tales, to witchcraft and sorcery tales, to religious tales just to name a few.
I think this topic will be very interesting to other people because no one knows very much about this culture. The less you know the more captivated your attention is. I think that people know they are a very mysterious and almost secretive culture, and that in itself should be enough to gather their attention. At least I hope!
I included several stories from different categories in Webster's book. The first story is The Saintly Orphan Girl, which is about an interesting young girl who finds a special purpose in her life. The second story is The Witch and the New Born Infant, which is an eerie story about the Devil and his witches. The third story is Acheria the Fox, a humorous story about a clever fox that tricks everyone. The fourth story is Basa-Jauna the Wild Man, which is about three brave siblings who must fight for their lives when they encounter a crazy couple. The final story is The Singing Tree, the Bird Which Tells The Truth, and the Water That Makes Young, an intriguing story about two brothers in trouble and a sister who saves them with magic.
The frametale I have chosen is the Storybook as an "Journey" technique. The setting of my Storybook is in the Basque country. My main character is Estella, a foreign exchange student from the United States who is studying in Europe. She has decided to set some time aside to travel around. Her adventures take her to Northern Spain and into the Basque territory. Estella becomes intrigued by the mystery of the Basque culture and she digs deeper and deeper into discovering the people. Her curiosity takes her from country to city, coastal beaches to central mountains, and from churches to castles. Each location that Estella stops to visit, a new story is somehow sparked and she is whisked away to a different time and place as she falls into each story.
The frametale is tied together by her travels to these different places. It flows evenly because with each new place she visits, a new story will be told. I think this frametale is suitable for my topic because no one knows very much about the Basques so what could be more appropriate than an adventure set in their territory. Maybe we will all learn a little something about the Basque culture by the end of my Storybook!!
Now, let the adventure begin.......!
All my life I had known that I wanted to be an antique buyer. My ultimate goal was to either work for a museum collecting special pieces (think Sotheby's) or to open up my own store selling pieces from all over the world. A luxury to this lifestyle is all the traveling that I knew would be involved and the chance to expose myself to a thousand different cultures. Traveling, that is my passion. So, when I declared my major as Art History, I was doing it with a plan in mind. And when I decided to spend a year studying abroad in Europe I had a plan to make use of it. That's where the story begins.
I narrowed my location down to Italy. However, in one year I knew that I could learn about many cultures and I jumped at the opportunity. I spent every moment of my free time traveling across Europe. One of my adventures took me all the way to the Northern region of Spain, and to the Basque territory. Theirs was a culture that I knew very little about, but I was very eager to feed my curiosity. I landed in the city of Bilboa like a sponge ready to absorb every little detail. I never thought in a million years that my travels would take me as far as they did, all the way to the deepest and most secret corners of the Basque territory. And it was in those hidden places that my story begins...
Proceed to Story 1: The Saintly Orphan Girl
Proceed to Story 2: The Witch and the New-Born Infant
Proceed to Story 3: Acheria the Fox
The Basques have occupied the mountanous region of Northern Spain for centuries. However, they share very little in common with Spanish culture. The fact that they have lived so independently and have been dedicated enough to their heritage to preserve their culture completely fascinates me. Although the Basque people live in another culture's territory they have retained a sense of self and proved to be extremely resilient. Knowing this, I had to attempt to discover what makes these people tick and what gives them the strength to endure. I thought, what better way to do that than to read some of the Basque folk stories that have been passed down.
I have come across a very thorough source on the subject of Basque folktales. It is a collection of stories organized together in a book called Basque Legends. The author is Wentworth Webster, a man I knew next to nothing about. The only thing I was aware of is that in 1879 he published a collection of Basque literature that seems to be very insightful. Webster's collection is very diverse, including Basque stories and poetry. He even includes an essay on the roots of the Basque language. His stories range from animal tales, to witchcraft and sorcery tales, to religious tales just to name a few.
I think this topic will be very interesting to other people because no one knows very much about this culture. The less you know the more captivated your attention is. I think that people know they are a very mysterious and almost secretive culture, and that in itself should be enough to gather their attention. At least I hope!
I included several stories from different categories in Webster's book. The first story is The Saintly Orphan Girl, which is about an interesting young girl who finds a special purpose in her life. The second story is The Witch and the New Born Infant, which is an eerie story about the Devil and his witches. The third story is Acheria the Fox, a humorous story about a clever fox that tricks everyone. The fourth story is Basa-Jauna the Wild Man, which is about three brave siblings who must fight for their lives when they encounter a crazy couple. The final story is The Singing Tree, the Bird Which Tells The Truth, and the Water That Makes Young, an intriguing story about two brothers in trouble and a sister who saves them with magic.
The frametale I have chosen is the Storybook as an "Journey" technique. The setting of my Storybook is in the Basque country. My main character is Estella, a foreign exchange student from the United States who is studying in Europe. She has decided to set some time aside to travel around. Her adventures take her to Northern Spain and into the Basque territory. Estella becomes intrigued by the mystery of the Basque culture and she digs deeper and deeper into discovering the people. Her curiosity takes her from country to city, coastal beaches to central mountains, and from churches to castles. Each location that Estella stops to visit, a new story is somehow sparked and she is whisked away to a different time and place as she falls into each story.
The frametale is tied together by her travels to these different places. It flows evenly because with each new place she visits, a new story will be told. I think this frametale is suitable for my topic because no one knows very much about the Basques so what could be more appropriate than an adventure set in their territory. Maybe we will all learn a little something about the Basque culture by the end of my Storybook!!
Now, let the adventure begin.......!
All my life I had known that I wanted to be an antique buyer. My ultimate goal was to either work for a museum collecting special pieces (think Sotheby's) or to open up my own store selling pieces from all over the world. A luxury to this lifestyle is all the traveling that I knew would be involved and the chance to expose myself to a thousand different cultures. Traveling, that is my passion. So, when I declared my major as Art History, I was doing it with a plan in mind. And when I decided to spend a year studying abroad in Europe I had a plan to make use of it. That's where the story begins.
I narrowed my location down to Italy. However, in one year I knew that I could learn about many cultures and I jumped at the opportunity. I spent every moment of my free time traveling across Europe. One of my adventures took me all the way to the Northern region of Spain, and to the Basque territory. Theirs was a culture that I knew very little about, but I was very eager to feed my curiosity. I landed in the city of Bilboa like a sponge ready to absorb every little detail. I never thought in a million years that my travels would take me as far as they did, all the way to the deepest and most secret corners of the Basque territory. And it was in those hidden places that my story begins...
Proceed to Story 1: The Saintly Orphan Girl
Proceed to Story 2: The Witch and the New-Born Infant
Proceed to Story 3: Acheria the Fox
Proceed to
Story 4: Basa-Jauna the Wild Man
Proceed to Story 5: The Singing Tree, the Bird Which Tells The Truth, and the Water That Makes Young
Proceed to Story 5: The Singing Tree, the Bird Which Tells The Truth, and the Water That Makes Young