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Basque Mythology

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« Reply #15 on: February 07, 2007, 02:37:46 am »

From Unknown:
Legends and Popular Tales of the Basque People by Mariana Monteiro [1887]

 Basque Legends by Wentworth Webster [1879]


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Basque Language at WordGumbo.com [External Site]



http://sacred-texts.com/neu/basque/index.htm
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« Reply #16 on: February 07, 2007, 02:38:57 am »

The Basques

The Basques are a group of people settled in northern Spain and southern France, nestled amongst the Pyrenees Mountains. They occupy seven provinces, four in Spain and three in France. They are Araba, Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa, and Nafarroa in Spain, and Lapurdi, Behe Nafarroa, and Zuberoa in France. These provinces made up of mostly Basque people are collectively known as Euskadi in their native tongue. This land was fomerly the Basque Kingdom until the provinces were split up in the 1600’s.

The Basques are a unique group of people whose origins are somewhat shrouded in mystery. They are believed to be prehistoric inhabitants of Europe and possibly the direct descendents of Cro-Magnon man, who appeared in Eurpoe and the Middle East some 35,000 years ago. They are mostly mountain people and fishermen. They’re language is entirely different from any other European language and is called Euskara. Until they adopted writing from the Romans, they had no official alphabet. It is thought that the Basques are the originators of the RH negative blood factor, because it is found in a very small percentage of caucasians and blacks and almost non-existent in orientals, while 33% of Basque people have it. They are also different in that the bone joints in their skulls are of a different shape and they tend to have thicker breast bones.

Basques are well known for their physical strength. Some of the competitions they regularly perform are tug-of-war, rock climbing, rock pulling and wood chopping, but their favorite competitions are the ball games, and Jai Alai is the most popular. It was a Basque who captained one of the ships on Colombus’ maiden voyage to the new world, the Santa Maria. On Magellan’s voyage around the world, a Basque took over and guided the ship the rest of the way when Magellan was killed in the Phillipines. When the Moors conquered the majority of Spain and ruled it for hundreds of years, they never tracked the Basques back into their mountain villages, for fear that they could not be defeated.

References:
Kurlansky, Mark. The Basque History of the World. New York, Walker. 1999.

“The Majority of Jai Alai Players are Basque.” Dania-Jai-Alai. www.dania-jai-alai.com/page14.htm. 2/8/00.

John Tietz

http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/cultural/oldworld/europe/basque.html
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« Reply #17 on: February 07, 2007, 02:40:00 am »

Myths and Legends

Taken from "Folklore and Traditions", one of the series of "The Basque Country, Come and then pass the word" 2nd edition, January 1993 Author: Angel Murua, Published by: Gobierno Vasco, Departamento de Comercio, Consuma, y Turismo. Viceconsejeria de Turismo.


Even most primitive Man felt the need to give meaning to the phenomena and natural cycles which conditioned his existence. He interpreted them, named them, found an explanation for them, and with these answers built up his own myths, legends, and religions. These formed the framework for his relation with nature and with anything else in his environment which was incomprehensible or supposedly magic.

Primitive Basque man was converted to Christianity very late. He was also all but cut off from other cultures by an inhospitable and very inaccessible geography. Thus he came to invent a vast collection of myths and legends which still exist today thanks to the great Basque oral tradition. For him the mountains and valleys developed an almost human significance, and in the bowels of the earth ran rivers of milk, out of the reach of mortals. Two powers ruled nature and their designs conditioned human life: the god of the firmament, "Ost" or "Ortzi" - equivalent to the Roman god Jupiter, the Greek Zeus or the Germanic Thor, and "Ilargia", the moon, a feminine force which emerged from the world of hidden things. "Ost" and "Eguzki", the light of the sun, belonged to the day, to the earth, since it was from the earth that the sun rose and to the earth that it returned every day. "Ilargia" though, belonged to the world of the deceased, of souls, to the hidden side of existence and nature. The Basques are very closely in touch with the moon and its cycles, and this figure appears in numerous myths, rites and legends. The female divinity of the ancient Basques was "Mari", the lady or gentlewoman who lived in the caves which reach deep down to the center of the earth. Although she could take on different forms, she showed herself as a breathtakingly beautiful woman, and moved from one mountain to the next crossing the sky like a fireball. Any area which holds itself in esteem will have a model of the dwelling of Mari placed on its highest peak, for example the mountains of Gorbea, Anboto, Aketegi or the Aralar range...

Important characters somewhere between gods and men are the lords of the wood, the "basajaunak", uncommonly strong shaggy beings, who worked the land before man. Man gained the right to cultivate the land when San Martin, having won a bet, seized the seeds from the lords of the wood. Beside brooks and on shores, the "lamiak", or "lamintildeak" comb their long hair with golden combs. These seductive creatures resembling mermaids - or who have bird's legs - can tempt mortals to their downfall.

The house, "etxea" is the refuge and temple of the Basque people - the element which gives them their identity and their name, and which is preserved generation after generation. The home is protected against evil spirits by fire, laurel, ash leaves or dried thistle heads, "eguzki-lorea", literally, flower of the sun. The home, every home, was perpetuated - after the arrival of Christianity - in the church, where every family had its place reserved, the "yarleku", just as in a graveyard there is a family tomb. The arrival of Christianity diminished the public circulation for these beliefs, but they continued to be shared in private. When Jesus Christ, "Kixmie" arrived, the super-natural beings to whom the Basques, before Christianization, attributed almost miraculous abilities and deeds, disappeared. And the beliefs began to become myths and legends.

Places Where Spirits are Seen in Basque Imagination

In the mountains which surround Oiartzun there are some mysterious circles of stones set into the earth. These are the work of Intxitxu, the invisible spirit who builds cromlechs.

In Ataun, if you go towards the openings of the grottos of Armontaitz and Malkorburu, you can see the strange prints of Irelu, the underground spirit who seizes anyone who bothers him. On the summit of Ubedi you can catch the strains of his song, mingled with the whistling wind.

Between the Pentildeas de Orduntildea and the caves of Balzola (Dima) and Montecristo (Mondragon), lives a dreadful snake, Erensuge, who attracts human beings with his breath, only to devour them.

Sometimes in Albistur and Zegama you may be surprised by a sudden jolt of the flock of sheep and at the same time the disturbing echo of distant cries. This is how the Basajaun, the lords of the woods, announce their presence, thus warning the shepherds of the area that there is a storm on the way.

Kortezubi. Round about the caves of Santimamiñe, Sagastigorri and Covairada, you might come across a completely red-haired bull, cow, or calf with a fierce expression in its eyes. This is Beigorri, guardian of the houses of Mari, the principal spirit or goddess of Basque mythology. The animal is depicted in the prehistoric paintings on the walls of the Santimamiñe caves.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


http://dametzdesign.com/euzkadi.html#Myths%20and%20Legends
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« Reply #18 on: February 07, 2007, 02:40:58 am »

Writes Charles Berlitz in his book Atlantis: The Eighth Continent --



"The Berber tribes of North Africa retain their own legends of Atalla, a warlike

kingdom off the African coast with rich mines of gold, silver, and tin, which sent

not only these metals but conquering armies to Africa. . . .



"The ancient Gauls, as well as the Irish, Welsh, and British Celts, believed that

their ancestors came from a continent that sank into the Western Sea, the latter

two naming this lost paradise Avalon.



"The Basques, a racial and linguistic island in south-western France and northern

Spain, believe that they are the descendants of Atlantis, which they call Atlaintika.

It is current belief among the Portuguese that Atlantis (Atlantida) once existed near

Portugal and that parts of it, the Azores Islands, are still pushing up their peaks from

under the sea. The Iberian peoples of southern Spain trace a direct kinship to Atlantis and are increasingly aware that Spain still owns what may have been a part of the Atlantean empire -- the Canary Islands. Here, curiously, the name Atalaya is still current as a place name, and the original inhabitants, when discovered, claimed to be the only survivors of a worldwide disaster.



"The Vikings believed that Atli was a wondrous land in the west . . . Phoenician

and Carthaginian seafarers were reportedly familiar with a thriving western island

that they called Antilla, but tended to keep secret their knowledge for reasons of

commerce and colonization" (Atlantis, the Eighth Continent, Charles Berlitz, p.9).

http://www.triumphpro.com/atlantis2.htm
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« Reply #19 on: February 07, 2007, 02:41:46 am »

I believe that the Basque legend of Atlantis will be called "Atlaintika."
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« Reply #20 on: February 07, 2007, 02:42:49 am »

Benzozia, Mother Dragon

The Basque people of northern Spain are an enigma, genetically and linguistically different than the cultures around them. This story recounts the creation of the world and of the Basque themselves. At present, a violent liberation (or terrorist) movement is battling the Spanish government for Basque independence.

The world was a cold, flat place then. There were no mountains or valleys or sea. There was no warmth, only cold wind blowing across an endless plain.

Beneath the earth lived Benzozia, Mother Dragon. She was a great serpent, with seven great jaws and fourteen great fangs. Beneath the earth, Benzozia slept. But Her sleep was restless. She turned in Her sleep and Her great scales rasped against the earth above. Her heavy coils, all shades of red and blue and purple, arched against the earth above, and the earth groaned.

Again and again, Benzozia turned in Her sleep. Her heavy coils pushed against the earth above, arched and shoved. The earth groaned and moved. The earth split wide and rose high. Into the cold air the earth rose in peaks, and the Pyrenees were created, the world's first mountains.

In Her sleep, Benzozia rolled and from Her seven great jaws fire poured forth. It rose up, poured through the cracks in the earth and erupted from mountains and valleys. It rolled across the surface of the earth, luminous gas and burning liquid. It burned the soil and the air. It burned hot and clouds rose, mixtures of dust and moisture. Water fell from the clouds created of Benzozia's fire. The fire and water fought and hissed and more clouds were born, and the fire began to retreat, back down into the earth. Water filled the low places and mixed with earth burned dark black by fire. Trees and bushes pushed tiny shoots through the dark soil and lifted their heads into the air. Taller and taller they grew, no longer driven to hide beneath the ground by the cold above.

Into the earth the fire retreated. But from its sparks, its warm embers and hot gas and hot liquid, came the first people. There were the Basque, born of Benzozia's fire.

She lives still, the Great Mother Dragon, beneath the earth. Her sleep is still restless and the earth groans when She pushes with Her heavy coils. From time to time, She opens Her great jaws in Her sleep and fire erupts forth. It sweeps up through cracks and crevices in the earth; but now it erupts only from the heights of mountains, far from the low places filled with water..

http://www.geocities.com/Wellesley/1582/creation.html#Benzozia
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« Reply #21 on: February 07, 2007, 02:43:41 am »

Folklore and Traditions: Myth and Legends

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Taken from "Folklore and Traditions", one of the series of "The Basque Country, Come and then pass the word" 2nd edition, January 1993 Author: Angel Murua, Published by: Gobierno Vasco, Departamento de Comercio, Consuma, y Turismo. Viceconsejeria de Turismo.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Myths and Legends

Even most primitive Man felt the need to give meaning to the phenomena and natural cycles which conditioned his existence. He interpreted them, named them, found an explanation for them, and with these answers built up his own myths, legends, and religions. These formed the framework for his relation with nature and with anything else in his environment which was incomprehensible or supposedly magic.

Primitive Basque man was converted to Christianity very late. He was also all but cut off from other cultures by an inhospitable and very inaccessible geography. Thus he came to invent a vast collection of myths and legends which still exist today thanks to the great Basque oral tradition. For him the mountains and valleys developed an almost human significance, and in the bowels of the earth ran rivers of milk, out of the reach of mortals. Two powers ruled nature and their designs conditioned human life: the god of the firmament, "Ost" or "Ortzi" - equivalent to the Roman god Jupiter, the Greek Zeus or the Germanic Thor, and "Ilargia", the moon, a feminine force which emerged from the world of hidden things. "Ost" and "Eguzki", the light of the sun, belonged to the day, to the earth, since it was from the earth that the sun rose and to the earth that it returned every day. "Ilargia" though, belonged to the world of the deceased, of souls, to the hidden side of existence and nature. The Basques are very closely in touch with the moon and its cycles, and this figure appears in numerous myths, rites and legends. The female divinity of the ancient Basques was "Mari", the lady or gentlewoman who lived in the caves which reach deep down to the centre of the earth. Although she could take on different forms, she showed herself as a breathtakingly beautiful woman, and moved from one mountain to the next crossing the sky like a fireball. Any area which holds itself in esteem will have a model of the dwelling of Mari placed on its highest peak, for example the mountains of Gorbea, Anboto, Aketegi or the Aralar range...

Important characters somewhere between gods and men are the lords of the wood, the "basajaunak", uncommonly strong shaggy beings, who worked the land before man. Man gained the right to cultivate the land when San Martin, having won a bet, seized the seeds from the lords of the wood. Beside brooks and on shores, the "lamiak", or "lamiñak" comb their long hair with golden combs. These seductive creatures resembling mermaids - or who have bird's legs - can tempt mortals to their downfall. The house, "etxea" is the refuge and temple of the Basque people - the element which gives them their identity and their name, and which is preserved generation after generation. The home is protected against evil spirits by fire, laurel, ash leaves or dried thistle heads, "eguzki-lorea", literally, flower of the sun. The home, every home, was perpetuated - after the arrival of Christianity - in the church, where every family had its place reserved, the "yarleku", just as in a graveyard there is a family tomb.

The arrival of Christianity diminished the public circulation fo these beliefs, but they continued to be shared in private. When Jesus Christ, "Kixmie" arrived, the super-natural beings to whom the Basques, before Christianisation, attributed almost miraculous abilities and deeds, disappeared. And the beliefs began to become myths and legends.

Places Where Spirits are Seen in Basque Imagination

In the mountains which surround Oiartzun there are some mysterious circles of stones set into the earth. These are the work of Intxitxu, the invisible spirit who builds cromlechs.

In Ataun, if you go towards the openings of the grottos of Armontaitz and Malkorburu, you can see the strange prints of Irelu, the underground spirit who seizes anyone who bothers him. On the summit of Ubedi you can catch the strains of his song, mingled with the whistling wind.

Between the Peñas de Orduña and the caves of Balzola (Dima) and Montecristo (Mondragon), lives a dreadful snake, Erensuge, who attracts human beings with his breath, only to devour them.

Sometimes in Albistur and Zegama you may be surprised by a sudden jolt of the flock of sheep and at the same time the disturbing ehco of distant cries. This is how the Basajaun, the lords of the wood, announce their presence, thus warning the shepheres of the area that there is a storm on the way.

Kortezubi. Round about the caves of Santimamiñe, Sagastigorri and Covairada, you might come across a completely red-haired bull, cow, or calf with a fierce expression in its eyes. This is Beigorri, guardian of the houses of Mari, the principal spirit or goddess of Basque mythology. The animal is depicted in the prehistoric paintings on the walls of the Santimami&nitildee caves.

http://www.buber.net/Basque/Folklore/folk1.html
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« Reply #22 on: February 07, 2007, 02:44:50 am »

~ Olentzero ~

Everything that has a name exists

(a secularized English version of the book

Olentzero: Izena duan guztia omen da,

with text and pictures by

Angel Benito Gastañaga)



(pg. 1: Betidanako gure basoetan ...)

In the forest, there are many different kinds of creatures that people can’t see.. They are all part of nature, and people have written many stories and fables about them.

When we go out in the mountains and the valleys, from a wonderful corner of the imagination they keep us company and take care of us.

(Hona hemen horietako baten kondaira...)

Here is the story of one of those beings, the story of Olentzero, a humble man who with his love comes into the heart of all creatures, real and imaginary.

(pg. 2: Behin batean ...)

Once upon a time, many many years ago, in the deep forests of the Basque Country, there lived a very beautiful fairy. Her hair was yellow like the sun and her eyes were very bright.

(Lamia guztiek bezala, ...)

Like all fairies, she looked after the people and she was always accompanied by some little and funny creatures, like goblins, called Prakagorri, or "red-pants," who helped her with her work.

(pg. 3: Egun batez, ...)

One day, when she was traveling through the mountains, she stopped to brush her hair next to a fountain. Suddenly, the Prakagorris noticed that something was moving among some ferns.

(Lamia bere ile kizkurra ..).

The fairy kept brushing and brushing her curly hair and didn’t notice anything until Prakagorris’ shouts caught her attention.

(pg. 4: Gizakume bat da hori.)

"It's a human baby," said the oldest of the goblins.

"Why did they leave it here?" said all the Prakagorris at once.

"I don’t know," said the fairy, "it is hard to understand how humans can be so heartless sometimes."

(Gaurtik aurrera, ...)

"From now on," said the fairy to the baby, "your name will be Olentzero, for it is wonderful thing to have found you. And I hereby give you the gifts of Strength, Courage and Love, for as long as you live."

Then the fairy picked up the baby and took him to an old house at the edge of the forest where there lived a man and a woman who had no children.

(pg. 5: Horien bihotza ...)

"They will be very, very happy to receive this child and they will take good care of it, I know" said the fairy, and she left the boy there in front of the door for them.

Very early in the morning, when the sun was just starting to come out, the man came out of the house to go milk the cows. He was very surprised to see the baby, and he called to his wife: "Love, come quickly! Come and see what I’ve found!"

Just as the fairy had predicted, the man and the woman were very, very happy to find this child. "How could we be so lucky!", said the woman. And immediately they covered the boy with a warm blanket and gave him some food, and they took him as their son.

(Honela mendi zoragarri haietan ...)

And that is how Olentzero came to grow up in those wonderful mountains, until he became a strong, healthy and lovable man. His parents were very happy and Olentzero was not at all worried about the strange way in which his parents had come to find him.

(pg. 6: Goizetik arratseraino ...)

Olentzero worked every day from morning till night, making coal and helping his aging father.

After many years the old couple who had been Olentzero’s loving parents finally died and Olentzero was left all alone in the house in the forest.

(pg. 7: Urteak joan, urteak etorri ...)

The years came and went and his face began to wrinkle and his hair began to turn white.

(Bere bihotza goibeltzen ...)

Living alone made him sad and he realized that what he needed to do was to help other people who needed his help.

He remembered that in the town there was a house where there lived some children who had no parents. They lived on whatever the people in the town gave them, and he realized that these children were very lonely, just like him, and that he could do things for them to make them happy.

(pg. 8: Olentzero gizon argia zen ...)

Olentzero was very clever and very good at making things with his hands, so he made some toys out of wood for those children: little toys and dolls, which he would take to the children when he went to town to sell his coal.

(pg. 9: Panpina eta gizontxoak bukatu zituenean ...)

When he finished the dolls and other toys, he put them in a big bag, put the bag on his donkey, and left for the town. He felt very happy inside that day, and his eyes were shining very brightly.

(Goiz guztia eman zuen mendiz mendi ..).

It took him a whole morning of walking through the mountains to get to the town, but he was very happy. He smiled as if in a dream, for he was going to give to the children the toys that he had made.

(pg. 10: Herriko txikiek ...)

The little children in the village were very happy when they got their presents, and Olentzero spent the whole afternoon playing with them and telling them stories that he had learned from his father when he was little. The boys and girls loved Olentzero very much and after that day they didn’t feel as lonely as before. Olentzero became very well known in that town. Whenever he approached, he would quickly be surrounded by children.

(Urte asko, eder eta zoriontsu ...)

This went on for many beautiful and happy years, but one day there was a terrible storm in the town and the mountains around it which destroyed many things. The cold, strong winds and the sound of thunder left the people very scared and upset, especially the children.

(pg. 11: Egun batez, ...)

One day, when Olentzero was coming to town, he saw some lightning hitting a house.

He quickly ran to the house and he saw some children at one of the windows, very scared, screaming and calling for help.

Without hesitating he went into the house, which was in flames, covered the children with a blanket to protect them from the fire, and carried them out of the house through a window in the first floor.

(pg. 12: Beretzat irtenbide bat ...)

But while he was trying to get out himself, a big old wooden beam from the ceiling fell on top of him. Olentzero fell down in great pain, and his strong and beautiful heart stopped.

The people in the town cried when they saw the house in flames, and what had happened, and realized that there was nothing they could do.

(Une larri hartan ...)

But right then they were all surprised by a bright light shining from inside the burning house. Nobody could see what was happening inside. But inside the house, the fairy who had found Olentzero in the mountains, when he was a baby so many years ago, appeared next to Olentzero and began calling his name in her sweet voice: "Olentzero! Olentzero!"

(pg. 13: Gizon handia izan zara ...)

She said: "Olentzero, you have been a good man, faithful and kind hearted. You have spent your life doing things for others, and you have even given your own life to save others. So I do not want you to die. I want you to live forever. From now on you will make toys and other presents for children who do not have parents in this town and everywhere in the Basque Country."

(pg. 14: Guk lagundu egingo dizugu!)

"And we will help you!" called out all the Prakagorri, flying around Olentzero.

(Honela, ...)

And that is how it came to pass that, that in the middle of every winter, at the end of every year, Olentzero goes to all the towns of Basque Country delivering toys and presents to children who don’t have parents and grandparents to give them presents. The children in all the towns celebrate the coming of the Olentzero by singing songs and spreading his message of love, strength and courage.

Some people don’t believe that Olentzero really exists. But in Basque there is an old saying: that everything that has a name exists, if we believe it does.

Translated and secularized by Jon Aske, without permission.
I hope it's OK.

Published by: B&B, Gasteiz, 1995. No ISBN in the book, sorry.

http://www.buber.net/Basque/Folklore/olentzero.html
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« Reply #23 on: February 07, 2007, 02:49:04 am »

From Riven:

Europa;

Excellent thread! Thanks for your hard work.

I haven't really looked for the Basque tale of Atlantis as you mentioned since I was perusing your links to the Sacred texts articles on Basque.

I did come across this though;

JAUN-ZURIA, PRINCE OF ERIN

http://sacred-texts.com/neu/basque/lbp/lbp08.htm

The ship, deficient of a skilful pilot, sailed on for days and nights and even months upon the boundless solitudes of the ocean, cast about like a toy at the mercy of swelling waves and the fury of the winds. Thirst at length begins to parch up Lémor and his servitors, who have no more water to drink or to cool their parched lips but the salt sea water. But just as the last ray of hope of discovering land had been extinguished, and they had abandoned all idea of meeting with the shore of any country whatever, they perceived in the far distance, amid the sea mists, a coast backed by green mountains, and they pushed on their ship towards that blessed land. That land was the one inhabited by the Cantabrians, 1 the race of giants which, five centuries earlier, Rome, the mistress of the world, had been unable to vanquish despite all her power.

The ship is closely approaching the shore. Beautiful is the land before them; more beautiful even than the isles of Erin is the continent which the prince and his loyal servitors hail with joy. The exiles leap from the ship on to the land and burst out in shouts of joy, because beneath the shade of some immense leafy chestnut trees they perceive a fountain of running water, clear as the crystalline roofs of the grottoes of Drumanar. The fresh water calms the heat which devours them. Peace comes over the soul, and sleep visits their weary eyelids. They cast themselves on a green slope covered with flowers, and soon fall asleep.

Where goes the echeco-jauna 1 of Bustuna as he abandons the cultivation of his fields and descends to the deserted shores of Mundaca, followed by those who were assisting him at his work? Where goes the echeco-jauna in such haste?

From the mountain heights he has seen a little ship tossed by the waves and dashing itself against the rocks, and, as his heart is compassionate and hospitable he runs, flies to succour the wrecked ones whom he supposes must be battling with death on the shore. He stops as he descends to the plain, and those who came with him also. Three strangers are sleeping close to the fountain under the shade of the chestnut trees, and the echeco-jauna remains there in order to watch over and guard their steep.

The sons of the green isles awake, and they ask of the echeco-jauna what land that is which the winds and the waves have brought them to in their ship. And on learning that it is the land of the invincible Cantabrians, they raise their lips to heaven and thank God for having conducted them to the country of the first heroes of the universe. Under the roof of Bustuna they find an hospitable asylum, those exiles from Erin; but very quickly does it become known throughout the Euskarian mountains that among them dwells a son of kings, and the aged Lekobide, the chieftain of the Eskaldunac, 1 and descendant of the glorious leader of the same name who humbled the pride of the Cæsars, and whom the Basque people sing praises in their songs, sends messengers to the Prince of Erin to offer him a home in the valley of Padura.

Footnotes;
154:1 Cantabrians. A people of Hispana Tarraconeza, between the Pyrenees and the ocean, inhabiting Navarre, Biscay, Alava, and Guipuzcoa.

155:1 Echeco-jauna. The master of the house, or proprietor.

156:1 Eskaldunac. Some write it Escualdunac (from escua, hand, alde, right, dunac, those who have), a name which the Biscayans, or Basque people, give to themselves. In their dialect they call themselves Euskarians. This dialect, the wise Humboldt considered, was the most remarkable language of all he was acquainted with.

159:1 Quidaria. Chieftain.

159:2 Irrinzi. The shout or call of war.

What I find rather interesting is the name of the Basque King Echeco-jauna.

In my Linear A translations, I unfolded an old God known as "JA" from around 3500.bC that was common to both the Creteans and the Tarxiens of Malta who sailed the Dragon Claw Orb Ships that I also discovered and identified. Somehow this God became PTAH in Lower Egypt,I feel.

These Ships were also memorized by drawings on the Stonehenge pillars which went unnoticed for many years.

It is peculiar that the Basques would also have JA in their name of the chieftain JAUNA (God is there or God of Oceans/place )and as the ships were also known there, then there must be a connection between the Basques and the islands of middle earth,Crete,Sicily and Malta.

The focus seems to be in the Pyrenees as Edgar Cayce also pointed out that a clue to Atlantis would be found there. The relevance would be the migrations to the beautiful PO valley above Italy and down to South Italy,Sicily and the legendary Tunisian landbridge promontory that united Europe with Africa.

The presence of the Aquitannis in SW Iberia reveals the African connection that crossed the straites. Tanni's being original to Mauretannia, the ancient parent of north Africa/Libya and home to Atlas.

90,000 years ago the Aterians were the main groups indegenious to Atlas and Gadeiros, or Africa and Iberia. But yet the Basques still remain a separate or lost entity.

Maybe the Basques became the modern neanderthals and that is why Scientists cannot trace their roots, or as some propose, originaly from Atlantis.

However, the colonization of the Basques in north Iberia/France near Calais, where Edgar Cayce said the Chalk Cliffs were to hold clues from the ancients, and those of the Taraconinsis tribes,were vital in the forming of Tartessos and the mining trades that provided tin and ores to the mediterranean cultures and vital in our search for our Atlantean forefathers.

Best Wishes
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« Reply #24 on: February 07, 2007, 02:50:09 am »

From Absonite:

Riven,
here is the history of the Basque genetics.


THE THREE WHITE RACES

80:9.1 The racial blends in Europe toward the close of the Andite migrations became generalized into the three white races as follows:


80:9.2 1. The northern white race. This so-called Nordic race consisted primarily of the blue man plus the Andite but also contained a considerable amount of Andonite blood, together with smaller amounts of the red and yellow Sangik. The northern white race thus encompassed these four most desirable human stocks. But the largest inheritance was from the blue man. The typical early Nordic was long-headed, tall, and blond. But long ago this race became thoroughly mixed with all of the branches of the white peoples.

80:9.3 The primitive culture of Europe, which was encountered by the invading Nordics, was that of the retrograding Danubians blended with the blue man. The Nordic-Danish and the Danubian-Andonite cultures met and mingled on the Rhine as is witnessed by the existence of two racial groups in Germany today.

80:9.4 The Nordics continued the trade in amber from the Baltic coast, building up a great commerce with the broadheads of the Danube valley via the Brenner Pass. This extended contact with the Danubians led these northerners into mother worship, and for several thousands of years cremation of the dead was almost universal throughout Scandinavia. This explains why remains of the earlier white races, although buried all over Europe, are not to be found -- only their ashes in stone and clay urns. These white men also built dwellings; they never lived in caves. And again this explains why there are so few evidences of the white man's early culture, although the preceding Cro-Magnon type is well preserved where it has been securely sealed up in caves and grottoes. As it were, one day in northern Europe there is a primitive culture of the retrogressing Danubians and the blue man and the next that of a suddenly appearing and vastly superior white man.


80:9.5 2. The central white race. While this group includes strains of blue, yellow, and Andite, it is predominantly Andonite. These people are broad-headed, swarthy, and stocky. They are driven like a wedge between the Nordic and Mediterranean races, with the broad base resting in Asia and the apex penetrating eastern France.

80:9.6 For almost twenty thousand years the Andonites had been pushed farther and farther to the north of central Asia by the Andites. By 3000 B.C. increasing aridity was driving these Andonites back into Turkestan. This Andonite push southward continued for over a thousand years and, splitting around the Caspian and Black seas, penetrated Europe by way of both the Balkans and the Ukraine. This invasion included the remaining groups of Adamson's descendants and, during the latter half of the invasion period, carried with it considerable numbers of the Iranian Andites as well as many of the descendants of the Sethite priests.

80:9.7 By 2500 B.C. the westward thrust of the Andonites reached Europe. And this overrunning of all Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, and the Danube basin by the barbarians of the hills of Turkestan constituted the most serious and lasting of all cultural setbacks up to that time. These invaders definitely Andonized the character of the central European races, which have ever since remained characteristically Alpine.


80:9.8 3. The southern white race. This brunet Mediterranean race consisted of a blend of the Andite and the blue man, with a smaller Andonite strain than in the north. This group also absorbed a considerable amount of secondary Sangik blood through the Saharans. In later times this southern division of the white race was infused by strong Andite elements from the eastern Mediterranean.

80:9.9 The Mediterranean coastlands did not, however, become permeated by the Andites until the times of the great nomadic invasions of 2500 B.C. Land traffic and trade were nearly suspended during these centuries when the nomads invaded the eastern Mediterranean districts. This interference with land travel brought about the great expansion of sea traffic and trade; Mediterranean sea-borne commerce was in full swing about forty-five hundred years ago. And this development of marine traffic resulted in the sudden expansion of the descendants of the Andites throughout the entire coastal territory of the Mediterranean basin.

80:9.10 These racial mixtures laid the foundations for the southern European race, the most highly mixed of all. And since these days this race has undergone still further admixture, notably with the blue-yellow-Andite peoples of Arabia. This Mediterranean race is, in fact, so freely admixed with the surrounding peoples as to be virtually indiscernible as a separate type, but in general its members are short, long-headed, and brunet.

80:9.11 In the north the Andites, through warfare and marriage, obliterated the blue men, but in the south they survived in greater numbers. The Basques and the Berbers represent the survival of two branches of this race, but even these peoples have been thoroughly admixed with the Saharans.

80:9.12 This was the picture of race mixture presented in central Europe about 3000 B.C. In spite of the partial Adamic default, the higher types did blend.

80:9.13 These were the times of the New Stone Age overlapping the oncoming Bronze Age. In Scandinavia it was the Bronze Age associated with mother worship. In southern France and Spain it was the New Stone Age associated with sun worship. This was the time of the building of the circular and roofless sun temples. The European white races were energetic builders, delighting to set up great stones as tokens to the sun, much as did their later-day descendants at Stonehenge. The vogue of sun worship indicates that this was a great period of agriculture in southern Europe.

80:9.14 The superstitions of this comparatively recent sun-worshiping era even now persist in the folkways of Brittany. Although Christianized for over fifteen hundred years, these Bretons still retain charms of the New Stone Age for warding off the evil eye. They still keep thunderstones in the chimney as protection against lightning. The Bretons never mingled with the Scandinavian Nordics. They are survivors of the original Andonite inhabitants of western Europe, mixed with the Mediterranean stock.


80:9.15 But it is a fallacy to presume to classify the white peoples as Nordic, Alpine, and Mediterranean. There has been altogether too much blending to permit such a grouping. At one time there was a fairly well-defined division of the white race into such classes, but widespread intermingling has since occurred, and it is no longer possible to identify these distinctions with any clarity. Even in 3000 B.C. the ancient social groups were no more of one race than are the present inhabitants of North America.

80:9.16 This European culture for five thousand years continued to grow and to some extent intermingle. But the barrier of language prevented the full reciprocation of the various Occidental nations. During the past century this culture has been experiencing its best opportunity for blending in the cosmopolitan population of North America; and the future of that continent will be determined by the quality of the racial factors which are permitted to enter into its present and future populations, as well as by the level of the social culture which is maintained.
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« Reply #25 on: February 26, 2007, 01:20:38 pm »



Anboto mountain is one of sites where Mari was believed to dwell.
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« Reply #26 on: February 26, 2007, 01:22:50 pm »

Ancient Basque mythology is centered around the figure of the goddess Mari, and her consort Sugaar (also called Maju). It is considered a chthonic religion as all its characters dwell on earth or below it. The sky is seen mostly as an empty corridor through which the divinities travel and herd clouds.

Mari and her court

Mari is considered the supreme goddess, and her consort Sugaar the supreme god. Mari is depicted in many different forms: sometimes as various women, as different red animals, as the black he-goat, etc. Sugaar, however, appears only as a man or a serpent/dragon.

Mari is said to be served by the sorginak, semi-mythical creatures impossible to differentiate from actual witches or pagan priestesses. The nucleus of witches near Zugarramurdi met at the Akelarre field and were the target of a process in Logroño that was the major action of the Spanish Inquisition against witchcraft. As a result, akelarre in Basque and aquelarre in Spanish are still today the local names of the sabbat.


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« Reply #27 on: February 26, 2007, 01:26:11 pm »

Other creatures and characters
•   Lamiak or laminak: a type of nymphs with bird-feet that dwelled in rivers and springs.
•   Iratxoak: imps.
•   Jentilak (gentiles): giants, sometimes portrayed throwing rocks at churches. They are believed to be Pagan Basques themselves, seen from a partly Christianized viewpoint. A surviving jentil is Olentzero, the Basque equivalent of Santa Claus.
•   Mairuak or Intxisuak are the male equivalent of lamiak in the Pyrenean region, where they are said to have built up the cromlechs.
•   Tartalo: the Basque version of the Greco-Roman Cyclops.
•   Basajaun: the wild man of the woods and his female version: basandere.
•   Gaueko is an evil character of the night.
•   Odei is a personification of storm clouds.
•   Ama Lur: Mother Earth. It may be a modern creation or may be another name of Mari.
•   Eki or Eguzki is the known name of the Sun, considered a daughter of Ama Lur.
•   Ile or Ilargi are the known names of the Moon, also a daughter of Ama Lur.
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« Reply #28 on: February 26, 2007, 01:27:35 pm »

Other minor characters appear only in isolated legends:•   Galtzagorriak are a specific type of iratxoak (imps).
•   San Martin Txiki, a popular local Christian character, is a trickster.
•   Atxular and Mikelatz are said to be sons of Mari, among others.
•   Jaun Zuria is the mythical first Lord of Biscay, said to be born of a Scottish princess who had an encounter with the god Sugaar in the village of Mundaka.
•   Herensuge is the name of a dragon who plays an important role in a few legends.
•   Erge is an evil spirit that takes men's lives.
•   Adur is not a character but the abstraction of luck, destiny or magic. It's said to be the power of soothsayers (aztiak). In common language it also means saliva. It's also the name of a river (vide Adour).
•   Sorginak are both mythological beings that travel with Mari and real witches.

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« Reply #29 on: February 26, 2007, 01:32:25 pm »

Urtzi

Urtzi, Ortz or Ost seems to have been the name by which Basque referred to the sky and the divinities (normally foreign) that embodied it. In the Middle Ages, the Codex Calixtinus by the French pilgrim Aymericus Picaudus mentions that "they call God Urcia". While no legend has survived on the possible nature of this divinity, many composite Basque names (of weekdays or metereological events) seem to point to Ost, Ortz or Urtzi being the old name of the sky and its divine personifications.
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