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Accepted Paper:
New peasants : Asserting an unorthodox cultural identity in the Northern Basque Country
Mathilde Morin
(University of Oxford)
This paper analyzes the new use of term ‘peasant’ in Soule, a valley of the Northern Basque Country. Rather than a way to designate self-sufficient farmers, the term is used to assert an unorthodox cultural identity.
Paper Abstract:
In contemporary France, the term ‘peasant’ (paysan) is still used as a contemptuous insult to designate someone who lacks ‘culture’. As E. Weber indeed once showed, the modern French State was devised against peasant lifeworlds and their associated cultural and linguistic specificities (2007). The Basques, however, have resisted this acculturation process : the Northern Basque Country could indeed still be described today as a cultural and linguistic frontier of contemporary France.
In Soule, the smallest and most remote valley of the Northern Basque Country where I conduct fieldwork, I have noticed the widespread use of the word ‘paysan’ to designate oneself and to subsequently assert an unorthodox cultural identity. To be a ‘paysan’ is a source of great pride for the Northern Basques: indeed, the word ‘paysan’ comes from ‘pays’ which means country. To be a ‘paysan’ is to be someone who ‘makes the country live’ I was told. The use of the word ‘paysan’ is new, as I discovered speaking with an anthropologist who has done fieldwork in Soule some decades before me. While the term is mostly used by those who work in agriculture, I have noticed that people insist on the ‘peasant spirit’ that imbues life in the valley. I would thus like to contribute to this panel by deciphering the use of the category of ‘peasant’ in the valley where I work. While no farm in Soule is self-sufficient anymore, it seems like there has never been so many proud peasants there.