61 The Representation of Women
She acts as the sole transmitter of language in “Euskaraz eta kitto” (1994)
by Lin Ton Taun, while doing it together with the father in “Kantari haster-
akuan” (1996) by Maltzeta aita alabak. Through the examples given, both
classic and innovative groups represent selfless, suffering, and, in some
cases, morally questioned women. They also perpetuate the roles of care,
protection, and cultural transmission traditionally assigned to them. In this
sense, it is remarkable that it is a classical formation Maltzeta aita alabak
who equally represents the latter role.
The gendering of political symbols should also be highlighted. Accord-
ing to “Oihuka” (2002) by Urgabe, one’s land is transmitted by grandfa-
thers, while the family house is built by a father in “Herri hau” (1999) by
Joseba Tapia. However, in general, mothers are seen as symbolic of the
homeland of the Basque people, and Esne Beltza call for a defense of the
house of the father and mother in “Nafar erreinua” (2010). The Basque
provinces are referred to as brothers and sisters in “Kondaira” (1998) by
Etzakit, while in “Zazpiak oihal batetik” (2002) by Laja eta Mikel and
“Zortzigarren taupada” (2003) by Kontrairo they are referred to as sisters.
In several songs, solidarity, peace, political power, and, above all, the figure
of the militant activist are linked to men. Women appear alongside other
vulnerable subjects that need protection, acting as supporting elements for
male fighters in songs such as “Eldu da gure ordua” (2001) and “Château-
guayko bataila” (1999), recorded by Joseba Tapia. According to “Amatxo
laztana” (1975) by Sakabi eta Egañazpi and “Urruntasuna” (2001) by Triki
ta Ke, mothers are remembered and missed during hardship and suffering.
Regarding socio-political activism, Lin ToTaun emphasizes the absence
of women as active subjects in “Hodei iluna” (1993), and, despite the fact
that Etzakit vindicates the presence of women in “Gurekin” (1998), it is
only 25 years later that Irati Gutierrez Artetxe responds adequately to the
question of what happens to female political activists, in “Laztanen preso”
(2017).
Romantic Love
This category consists of songs with lyrics that describe the different
phases, conditions, and, above all, emotional attitudes linked to roman-
tic love. A cultural model of love that, according to Mari Luz Esteban,
emphasizes the idealization, mystery, and exaltation of emotions and sex-
ual desire.
22
Romantic love, adds the anthropologist, places on the top of
affective interactions the relationship of heterosexual couple and being
monogamous, which in turn is linked to marriage. This is an idealized
form of loving interaction that, according to Mari Luz Esteban, also sus-
tains an unequal order of gender, class, and ethnicity, as it serves to “unite”
people who are also constructed as unequal.
23
In “Maitemindu kontuak” (1999) and “Zaharrak berri” (2001), Epelde
eta Larrañaga and Triki ta Ke describe what they view as some positive
changes that have taken place in the historical evolution of how love and
sexual relations are experienced. Regarding games of seduction, the ten-
dency to glorify the physicality of women is clear. It is also conspicuous
62 Gurutze Lasa Zuzuarregui
how musical groups, such as Esne Beltza, allude to the ancient tradition
of accompanying women to their farmhouse in “Baltxekua” (2009). Like-
wise, seduction is linked to economic factors and social status in “Baserri-
tarrak gera” (1924) by Trikitixa de Zumarraga, “Tristerik nago” (1975) by
Sakabi eta Egañazpi, in the old couplets “Din don” (2008), “Madalen Buz-
turingo” (2009), “Habanara joan ginan” (2009), “Begiak barrez” (2010),
and “Jota del Campello” (2017), recorded by Kepa Junkera, as well as in
more recent songs, such as “Ezpada” (2000) by Gozategi and “Oilo ipur-
dia” (2003) by Kontrairo. It is not only fathers who stand in the way of
those in love, as in “Maitia nun zira?” (1998) and “Eperrak” (2010), but
also mothers put an end to the love affairs and arrange marriages against
their daughters’ will in old couplets such as “Amak ezkondu ninduen”
(2009) and “Markesaren alaba” (2010), recorded by Kepa Junkera. Mean-
while, Laja eta Mikel allude to the advantages of marriage in “Maitia
nahi badezu” (2009). There are also many songs that express the desire to
be with a loved one, the expectance of a beloved’s return and goodbyes.
Maltzeta aita-alabak describe the great fortune of being together with a
loved one in “Damatxo” (1996), “Eman neri eskua” (1996), and “Lehengo
erromeritan” (1996), while Sakabi eta Egañazpi struggle with rejection in
“Tristerik nago” (1975). Likewise, there is a tendency to describe women’s
singledom in negative terms. Gozategi views the status of so-called spin-
sters (neska zaharrak) as something negative in “Zenbait” (1995), an atti-
tude shared by a suitor in the old couplet “Jota de Sella” (2017), recorded
by Kepa Junkera. In the same manner, “Ala kinkiri ala kunkuru” (2009)
encourages men and women to get married; however, a woman speaks
against marriage due to bad experiences in “Tbilisi” (2006) by Kepa Jun-
kera. This attitude is shared by the male protagonist in “Prima eijerra”
(2008) due to having been cheated on by his beloved.
The idea of possession also appears in several descriptions of love
and sexual desire. Notwithstanding, and despite expressing the desire
for mutual possession in “Txikita” (2008), in “Sherezada” (2008), Esne
Beltza voices the need to construct a common space, whilst Kepa Junkera
alludes to accepting the personal emancipation of our loved ones in “Txo-
riak txori” (2009). Meanwhile, the male figure in the couplet “Ene izar
maitea” (2010), recorded by Kepa Junkera, describes emotional depen-
dence, and in “Vals de tardor” (2017), recorded by Josep Maria Ribelles
and Kepa Junkera, a person in love urges his beloved, Griselda, to stop
crying, while Tapia eta Leturia generally encourage people to live love to
the sound of music.
In old couplets, there is a clear tendency to specify the gender and/or the
name of loved ones and/or others involved. In more recent songs, there is a
shift to more neutral language, with a clear tendency to refer to loved ones
with expressions such as ‘love’(maitea). However, gender is also specified
in songs, such as “Txikita” (2008) by Esne Beltza and “Maddalen” (1990)
by Tapia eta Leturia. It is also worth noting that when gender is speci-
fied, heterosexual relationships are the most dominant type, both in old
couplets and more recently published lyrics. As Mari Luz Esteban points
out, in the last 30 years there has been a great conceptual and experiential
63 The Representation of Women
transformation of gender, the body, sexuality, and emotions (love) (Esteban
2009: 33); these are transformations, adds the anthropologist, that can be
backfeeded as they are spheres with their own entity but deeply connected
to each other (2009: 34). Thereby, in the words of Maria Luz Esteban,
reflection on romantic love implies reflection on (one’s) heterosexuality
(2011: 175), a revisiting or transcendence of love that, according to the
anthropologist, generates what she calls disconfort (Esteban 2011: 176). In
this respect, Teresa del Valle affirms that the processes of disidentification
and configuration of new identities generate tensions and negotiations (del
Valle 2002: 34), which in this case, denote the relevance of inherited forms
that hinder the emergence and/or visibilization of diverse identity models.
Various
This category has been defined taking into account the structure of old
couplets in order to register the diverse contents and, by extension, repre-
sentations that such compositions present; the following section will pro-
vide some examples.
Trikitixa de Zumarraga alludes to the beauty of the women of Zumar-
raga in “Al entrar a Zumarraga” (1962), while expressing reluctance to go
looking for “spinsters” (neska zaharrak) in “Oraingo mutikuak” (1962).
Sakabi eta Egañazpi describes the power of the Sanctuary of Urkiola to
bring boys and girls together, and subtly reminisces about sexual rela-
tions played out in the same place in “Durangon bazkalduta” (1975). In
“Ederregia zera zu” (1979), Maurizia, León eta Fasio encourages a beau-
tiful woman to find a man and thus be able to free herself of work in the
countryside. We can also observe different representations within a single
musical piece; for example, in “Txerri jana” (1999) by Imuntzo ta Beloki,
Pello Joxepe denies his fatherhood, a woman is reluctant to engage in
physical contact with a suitor, San Cristobal mistrusts the carpenter’s wife,
and a woman encourages her husband to lose weight. We can also find
similar compositions by more recent musical groups: a courting couple
fears being caught by the mother, a grandmother buys a red apron, needed
to marry off the suffering Maddalen de Busturia, and a woman is advised
to marry a blacksmith instead of a basket weaver in “Andrakaseko erre-
mentaria” (2002) by Urgabe. Meanwhile, in “Triki koplak I” (1999), Ene
Bada encourages “spinsters” (neska zaharrak) to look out of the window
in order to find a boyfriend. However, there is no doubt that Tapia eta Letu-
ria and, above all, Kepa Junkera have used old couplets throughout their
discography the most. With regard to the old couplets recorded by Kepa
Junkera in his various musical formations and projects, one can observe
diverse, and sometimes contradictory, representations of gender roles and
women; for example, “Ederra baina mizkea” (1987) describes the gleam
in the eyes of a person who is loved, criticizes the chin of Mari Andres,
and refers to the joy of not receiving her affection. “Kaixo lagunak” (1987)
is about the life of the wife of a sailor and Saint Anthony’s difficult task
of uniting men and women, while “Nere sentimendua+Orain kantatuko
dut+Madalenara” (2008) describes how the “spinsters” (neska zaharrak)
64 Gurutze Lasa Zuzuarregui
selflessly accept that Saint Magdalene will not grant them a boyfriend due
to their age. “Atxiketan potxiketan” (2009) alludes to the great butts of
the old women who go to Elorrio on donkeys, to the boyfriends of a lady
of Donostia, and discourages marriage to the old bachelor and spinsters.
In “Ipiñaburu Leku Aituan” (2010), a suitor criticizes the decision of the
mother of his beloved, which is of an economic nature, not to give him
her daughter’s hand. In “Aitite Merkurio” (Txotxongiloa) (2010), women
who like to party and to drink txakoli wine are considered lightheaded,
while “Kantetan Biher dot Has (Zortzinangoa) (2010) gives an account
of the infamies committed by spinsters (neska zaharrak) towards the so-
called old bachelor in the festivities of San Blas of Abadiño. “Maletak”
(2016) alludes to the red cheeks of a barmaid after dancing, and a Romany
woman Luisa is also told not to weep for the beloved, etc. As for Tapia
eta Leturia, “Abadiñoko Karmentxu” (1998) describes the beauty of Kar-
mentxu, while a suitor awaits the arrival of his beloved. In “Itsasoan ure
lodi” (1998), they allude to the threat that shy women pose to men, and a
widow, Mari Juana, is advised to look for a man. “Santa Luzietan” (1999)
describes the sexual desire of a woman who is married to an old man to
whom she is not attracted, the preference for money over girls, the women
of Azkoiti, Azpeiti, and Arratia, and suspicions regarding the whereabouts
of a husband and who he is with. Meanwhile, “Eguzkie joan da ta” (1999)
describes a woman wearing a red skirt travelling on donkeyback to the
village Ermua, as well as an old man flirting with young women, etc.
The examples given show that both the old couplets reinterpreted in a
contemporary way and those newly created transmit diverse and some-
times opposed gender roles; for example, women are praised and satirized
according to their physical characteristics, or their well-being is looked
after and they are subjected to moral judgment in the few cases in which
they move away from the private sphere and the traditionally assigned
roles. But the institution of marriage steals the limelight. This is demon-
strated by the constant references to so-called bachelors and, above all,
spinsters. These women express a desire to marry and/or they are socially
placed to leave singledom behind. Nevertheless, in specific cases they
reject and/or undervalue male suitors. Likewise, marriage often appears
linked to the economic factor that not only leads to the unhappiness to
woman but also the male suitor who is rejected by the woman on the basis
of his purchase power. Therefore, we can conclude that the well-being
of the woman appears directly linked to “a good” marriage and, in cer-
tain cases, it is she who stands in the way of an emotionally positive and
healthy relationship.
Sexuality
This category focuses on lyrics that relate to sexuality in its broadest sense.
In this vein, “Ezin leike hola” (2001) by Epelde eta Larrañaga describes
the Catholic moral that prevailed in past times. In “Alkar maitatzen ez
digute uzten” (1977), Laja eta Landakanda describe what they see as
65 The Representation of Women
positive changes in the ways of loving and experiencing sexuality. How-
ever, in “Kulebrin kulebron” (1995) by Gozategi, a woman continues
to be a passive subject with regard to the sexual relations within her
marriage.
At the same time, Etzakit and Kepa Junkera assert the need for sexual
liberty in “Zergatik ez” (1998) and “Kalejira al-buk” (1994), respectively.
By contrast, in “Tandremo” (1998), Kepa Junkera gives boys and girls a
moral warning with regard to sex. Meanwhile, Esne Beltza mainly links
the desire to engage in casual sexual relations to the idea of developing
stronger feelings towards the desired person, who, in the case of “Eskue-
kin” (2010), we know is a woman because she is described as a ‘brunette’
(morena). In “Oh Pello Pello” (2008), Kepa Junkera describes the case of
a man who avoids intimacy with his wife, while the protagonist in “Aita
San Antonio” (2009) reminisces about his sexual relations with Ramona
at a romería celebration at the Urkiola sanctuary. Meanwhile, in “Cant de
batre del comtat” (2017), recorded by Kepa Junkera, the protagonist feeds
his libido by seducing a woman.
Also, sexual diversity can be observed in some of the songs; sexual
games are described as a source of pleasure in “Bexamela eta pastela”
(1997) by Maixa ta Ixiar, while in “Barruti honen larretan” (1997) and
“Sexonet” (1997) by Tapia eta Leturia Band, sexual encounters and games
take place both in the toilet of a bar and on the Internet. In “Pekatamundi”
(1996) by Imuntzo eta Beloki, Donibane asserts her right to sexually desire
and love other women, while “Maiu-Maiu” (2004) by Urgabe describes
the shock experienced by the protagonist in an encounter with a trans-
sexual person. Despite relating the encounter sympathetically, it should be
pointed out that the protagonist of this last song alludes to the embarrass-
ment he feels telling about the event and the subsequent trauma caused by
this non-heteronormative encounter.
Lastly, it is worth mentioning the presence of the figure of a bluesman
and a blonde woman with red lipstick (represented as a femme fatale), who
awaits him at the bar in “Azken aurreko notak” (1999), by Imuntzo eta
Beloki.
Although the latter case shows the perpetuation of certain stereotypes,
in the last 25 years there has been a clear tendency to vindicate freedom
and make sexual diversity visible. The inherent tensions of this socio-
cultural process are not identified in the most classic musical duos but
in some relatively recent songs of groups such as Gozategi or Urgabe.
In our opinion, this circumstance denotes the great rootedness of the
traditional cosmovision in the most local areas both on the Basque coast
and inland.
As for reused old couplets, these compositions transmit diverse, and
sometimes contradictory, gender roles. However, the old couplets of the
Basque and Catalan cultural traditions also constitute the metaphorical
expression of sexual desire and relationships consummated within soci-
eties strictly controlled by the Catholic Church’s doctrine until a few
years ago.
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