Basque Spirituality, Religion and Witchcraft presentation at Boise’s Basque Museum

By A Basque in Boise October 22, 2012 Basque Community, Basque Museum, Diaspora, Education, History 2 Comments

Dr. David Lachiondo, Director of the Boise State University Basque Studies Program will speak about Basque Spirituality, Religion & Witchcraft on November 15 at Boise’s Basque Museum, during a free event open to the public.

When: 11/15/12

Time: 7:00 pm

Where: Basque Museum (611 Grove Street)

A Basque in Boise reached out to Dr. Lachiondo this morning and asked him to share with us briefly what to expect from the presentation, and why he chose to speak about this lesser known part of our Basque culture.

I became interested as I prepared for “Pre-history to 1700” Basque history class. I read the work of Basque anthropologist Julio Caro Baroja, who has done extensive research on Basque legends, and superstitions. I have investigated the Logrono witchcraft trials which focused on the Gipuzkoan town of Zugarramurdi. When I was in Donosti I visited Zugarramurdi and took pictures of the cave where a “Black Mass” is supposed to have happened. The presentation is open to anyone interested in Basque pre-historic legends, Basque spirituality, the Spanish Inquisition or Basque studies in general. Although this seems a somewhat bizarre chapter in Basque history, it has reverberations for other witch hunts like Salem, Massachusetts, the Red Scare in America, etc. It turned out that the witchcraft trials in Logroño were fueled by mass hysteria and superstitions.

I don’t know about you, but I’m already hooked!