Zuberoako Maskaradak

Other Dances from Zuberoa: Gorets | Satan Dantza

Maskaradak

Zuberoa From the smallest of the seven Basque provinces, Zuberoa, comes some of the more complicated and splendid Basque folk dances. With the end of winter, it is traditional that some of the small towns in Zuberoa organize the unique "Maskaradak" or Carnival celebration. The dances are only a portion of the day-long performance which includes music, song and dance. The five principal dancers from the "maskarada" are the gorriak or reds: "txerrero," who prepares the way for the others by sweeping the path with a horse's tail; the "Gatuzaina" or the cat-man character who snaps a wooden apparatus that represents a cat's claws; the "kantiniersa" or canteen carrier which is a recent addition from the Napoleonic period in France; the "zamaltzaina" or hobby-horse character that represents a giant locust; and the "entseinaria" or standard-bearer. Other groups represented are the beltzak: kauterak or tinkers who represent the "other" and the Buhamiak who represent chaos. According to Urbeltz, like other carnival traditions, the original purpose of this elaborate event was ritual insecticide deployed at the end of winter to protect plants, animals and humans from harmful pests. The eent begins with the Barrikada Jaustia or breaching of the barricade of food and libations where the symbolic pests eat and drink their way into the performance space.