The TEDx YouTube channel has just published a talk on the Basque matriarchy given in Biarritz by Anne-Marie Lagarde.
In the just over 15 minutes of this talk, she introduces the unique way the Basque people have organized and governed themselves for centuries, which gave rise to the idea of the “Basque Matriarchy.” That is, of course, until the poorly-named “liberal” revolutions we suffered so much of, taking away individuals’ and groups’ rights, reached the Basque Country.
The talk is in French, but you can activate subtitles in any language. It’s true that automatic translations are not perfect, but they still make it easy to follow the conference along with ease.
Anne-Marie Lagarde spent her childhood in Basabürüa, an area which covers the southern part of Soule (which we love so much and visit so often). She got her PhD at the University of Pau and the Adour Country, and is the author of several articles about anthropology, as well as having written poetry and novels.
The role of the woman and the man in traditional Basque society is a topic that has been central to her research, and it’s one we’ve discussed on occasion: we’ll leave some links to our articles below.
She has two books on this topic that are highly interest:
- Les Basques, société traditionalnelle et symétrie des sexes (condensed version of her doctoral thesis).
- Le Matriarcat Basque
Last Updated on Feb 12, 2025 by About Basque Country
