Bertsolaristic movement History Pre-history

Pre-history

The first example of improvised bertsolari verse-singing as we know it today dates back to the beginning of the 19th century, although it may be said that the phenomenon of improvisation goes back to prehistoric times. After all, homo sapiens has lived out 95% of his existence without knowing what it is to write. According to historical experts, the oral tradition goes back 10,000 years: “There are four phases in the evolution of mankind: the hunter, the shepherd, the farmer and the miner. We can certainly date the first bertsolaris back to the shepherding era.”

From then until the 15th century, the “profazadoreak” (female singers who went singing from village to village), epic minstrels (singers of war songs and laments) and mourners were the maximum exponents of the oral tradition. Proof of this is furnished by the Arab historian Al-Makari, who says of the 9th century female Basque slaves that “they were easily distinguishable by their elegance, their excellent voices, education and culture.”

Esteban Garibay (1533-1599) identified the 14th century as the century of “female improvisers”, narrating the highlights of the oral tradition over the previous two centuries. There were other jewels, however, in this treasure: Verses on the death of Milia de Lastur (beginning of the 15th century), the Aramayona song (1443), the song of Berdabio’s son, the Urrexola song (1434-1449), and a host of undated poetry collections etc.
Thus, until the 16th century, Garibay, Zaldibia and Isasti were the first historians to compile songs. Some of these are epic poems, others are elegies or laments sung by women on the deaths of their families and loved one (cruel and violent, in general). By way of example we could mention the Berterretxen Kantoria – although it appeared in 1440, it was not written down by the folklorist Salaberry until 1870.

According to research, the kopla was the basic metre scheme used in the Middle Ages. The simplest form was a companion to bertsos in Basque fiestas and celebrations, in Bizkaia in particular, whether or not the occasion was a ronda (around the streets). Although many, many verses were learnt off by heart, the refrains led to improvisation, as in the modern tradition. In any case, the oral tradition has considerably altered the content of today’s songs, and so it is rather difficult to establish their origins.

Difficulty of bertso The oldest references