Homepage    History    Links    Religious Aspects     Photos    St. Ignatius in Boise    Costume Disclaimer    Members    Contact Us Costume Story The costumes we are presently using were made for us by the dance group in Onati.  In some photos you see variations, because for a time we used an alternate version.  This latest version was made possible by a generous grant from the Cenarrusa Basque Foundation. We do not pretend to assume that we can replicate exactly what has been performed in Onati across several centuries; here in Boise we have reached just a quarter century of performing these dances.  There is nothing quite like seeing the dances in their original context during the feast of Corpus in Onati.  Nevertheless, we have endeavored to infuse our annual feast of St. Ignatius with something extraordinary.  We have taken select portions of this Onati dance tradition and adapted them to our Boise celebration.  The dances of Corpus Christi of Onati consist of four central components:  the music, the dances or choreographies, the costumes and finally their significance or proper place.  With the exception of the costumes, we have closely matched the music, choreographies and significance.  EARLY YEARS.  From 1980 to 1994 we used the standard costumes (as currently used in Onati) that were made by Begoña Ysursa.  This version of the costume dates from the 1970s.  Previously for a time, for example, the costumes were highlighted with yellow trim (this matched the red and gold colors of the Spanish flag).  As soon as the Basque country gained autonomy in the late 1970s, the costumes went back to a white trim.  So among other things, politics have influenced costume choices. COSTUMES II.  From 1995 to 2005 we used costumes made by Barb Rocheto.  The differences include: Knickers in place of long pants Addition of leg bells below the knees No use of neck ties Addition of white head scarf The version of the costume that we employ in the Boise version is derived from a re-creation.  The Onati historian Inaki Zumalde points out that the long ties now worn are a recent addition that emerged at the beginning of the 20th century; formerly bow ties were prevalent.  The white espartinak adorned with red laces are about two centuries old.  The long white pants now utilized are less than two hundred years old.  The customary form of pant were knickers down to the knees. The distinctive skirts emerge in the historical record in 1766.  It was commonly worn by folk dancers throughout the peninsula during this time, and Zumalde suggests that they originated in southern Spain in Valencia.  From there, they reached north to the Rioja region and Nafarroa and skirts were used in the Corpus celebrations of Tudela and Iruña in Nafarroa.  They are also linked with processions in Tolosa, the old provincial capital of the Gipuzkoa province and it is perhaps from this nearby town that the village of Onati adopted this costume item.  They are not unique to the Oñati dances; today other Basque dances from the neighboring provinces of Araba and Nafarroa also make use of skirts. The red beret is also a recent introduction to the costume.  The Basque txapela came into prominence during the 19th century.  Before that time, the Onati dancers wore white hats.  Unfortunately, their style is unknown. Finally, in earlier times, "bell dances" was the term applied to this group of dances.  The dantzariak use to make use of bell-pads worn below the knees; e.g., as worn by dancers in Bizkaia [Dantzari dantza] and Nafarroa [Lesaka and Otsagi].  Drawing from archive records, Zumalde found that they were used from 1560 up through the 18th century.  Church records state that Oñati rented these leg-bells from nearby Araoz.  This might explain their disappearance.  Perhpas the renters and owners of the leg-bells had a falling out and the locals did not feel inclined to make their own.  The material, colors and design are unknown, although they most likely used some mixture of red and white. The decision to diverge from the present norm in Oñati is arbitrary in that the late 18th and early 19th century is the era being emulated.  At this point, the dancers still wore the knickers and bells below the knees, and the ties differed.  The older rope soled version of the espadrille replace the modern rubber soled espadrille because while the later is more practical, they nonetheless sacrifice a degree of authenticity, aesthetics and function. The defining elements of the costume remain the same:  the sash and skirt.  The one historical adjustment regards the headgear.  The txapela was not commonly used until the late 19th century; as we know before that time the dancers wore white hats.  The choice to remain with the txapela is due to the fact that it is now associated with the Basques and because we do not know what the white hats looked like.  The "new" costume adopted by the Boise dancers preserves the essential character of the outfit associated with the Korpus dantzak and enriches them by making use of custom-made clothing to replace store-bought apparel.