Euskara, Websites

.eus

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Paul Etxeberri alerted me to the .eus campaign to create a Top Level Domain for the Basque Country.  From puntueus.org, the website promoting this effort:

“An endangered language will progress if its speakers can make use of electronic technology”
David Crystal [ Cambridge University, 2004 ]

“languages without social prestige will disappear”
Amadeu Abril i Abril [ .cat domain ]

The Basque language, Euskara, faces a new challenge: creating its own name on the Internet. In this virtual space, both the existence of something as well as its name go hand in hand. Therefore, something unnamed simply does not exist. And that is the goal that the Community of the Basque Language and Culture [EEKK, according to its initials in Euskara] wants to achieve: the creation of a symbol that allows its international recognition in the virtual space of the Internet: the .EUS domain.

This is why we have started the PuntuEus Association: in order to assure and control .EUS domain creation process.

People, Photos, Tattoos

A Basque tribute in body art

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If you’ve never seen the man, he is down-right impressive. John Ochandorena Descarga, better known as simply Johnny O, is a walking tribute to the Basques, their culture, their history, and his ancestry.  With two arm sleaves, tats up and down his legs and across his chest, Johnny definitely stands out in a crowd.  I had the pleasure of meeting Johnny about 14 years ago at a small festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, where Gauden Bat, the dance group Johnny was a part of, performed.  Maybe a little intimidating at first, due to the abundance of ink on his body, he was a great guy.  It was a great event overall.

Johnny has sent photos of all of the work he has had done, a project that continues to evolve, most recently including the footprints of his daughter, right in the middle of his chest!  Because of the number of photos, I’ve created a separate gallery for Johnny’s tattoos, and he’s given explanations for each one, with photos from multiple perspectives of each arm and leg.

While such ink is not for everyone, it is still a wonder what Johnny has done.  I look forward to seeing what he comes up with next!

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Books, People

Joanes or the Basque Whaler by Guillermo Zubiaga

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Regular readers of Buber’s Basque Page are probably familiar with Guillermo Zubiaga.  Originally from Bilbao, Guillermo now resides in New York.  A graphic artist, he has worked for some of the big comic book companies, including Marvel and Dark Horse.  Recently, Guillermo combined two of his passions — the visual arts and Basque history — into a vivid tale of the daring exploits of Basque mariners on the high seas as they search for the prized catch of the day, whales.

Joanes or the Basque Whaler is inspired by the oldest known texts to be produced in North America, the last will and testament of Joanes de Echaniz, a Basque whaler.  The story follows a fictionalized Joanes as he tries to make his fortune as a whaler in an era when the whales in the Bay of Biscay were scarce.  Joanes is forced to look farther afield, but he doesn’t have the resources to do so.  This is when Guillermo begins to depart from historical fact and weave in elements of Basque mythology.  Joanes consults a witch, who summons a devil from the sea who assists Joanes, but for a price.  The first book ends with the threat of that price tempering the success Joanes and his crew have just had in their first hunt.

The story is told mostly via the visuals, with just enough text to push the story along.  And this both suits the story as well as highlights Guillermo’s talents as an artist.  The detail he brings to the art is wonderful, especially the various types of ships, the animals, and the cities.  He misses no chance to fold in Basque symbolism. His mariners are covered in tattoos of Basque symbols.  His witches wear traditional Basque dress.  Joanes’ boat is also covered in lauburus and rosettas.  But where Guillermo’s art shines, in my opinion, is in the faces of his characters.  They are all distinct and their facial expressions convey the action of the story as strongly as does the text.

Joanes or the Basque Whaler is a fantastic blend of history and mythology that leads to an amazing adventure in what Guillermo refers to as the Wild West era of Basque history, of daring men, amazing exploits, and a vast wilderness.  This is only the first book of a series, and I’m very interested to see where Joanes’ adventures lead him.

Nor Naiz Gu Gara

Nor Naiz, Gu Gara: Blas Uberuaga

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Nor Naiz, Gu Gara (Who I Am, We Are) is a series aiming to explore the meaning of Basque Identity around the world, both within Euskal Herria as well as in the diaspora.  For an introduction to the series, look here.

Blas and his father, Pedro.I am an American, born and raised.  And I’m extremely proud of that fact.  My boyhood hero was Thomas Jefferson and I think that the collection of men that founded the United States was one of the greatest ever assembled.  Growing up in the US, I had an immediate connection to these men, and the others that helped form the US through the history classes I took and the books I read.  However, my connection to these men is a result of no more a coincidence than I was born in the nation they helped found.

My dad isn’t an American.  A Basque immigrant who came to the US to herd sheep, looking for opportunity, he grew up in Franco Spain.  And my grandfather, while born in the US, was the son of two Basque immigrants.  Their histories are not that of the founding fathers, the American Revolution, and the Civil War.  Rather, their’s is of the Carlist Wars, the Spanish Civil War, and the repression of Basque culture; of whalers daring the high seas and an origin lost to history.

It is this reason that I personally identify so strongly as not just American, but Basque-American.  It is an avenue by which I connect to the history and experience of my ancestors, of the people who came before me, but didn’t have the same national narrative.  It gives me some idea, as basic as it might be, of the person my father is, of the boy he was.

And it has gone beyond that as I have delved into the Basque culture.  My dad’s Basque Country was a very different place than the Basque Country of today.  But that connection to the old Basque Country, through my dad, gives me a connection as well to the modern Basque Country, with its punk rock and kalimotxos and Guggenheim museum.  The initial bond through my dad has grown into my own identification, though remote, with the Basque Country as a place that, in some sense, I connect with, that is a sort of home for me.  It is the place of my ancestors, but it is also a place they would be hard pressed to recognize and it is therefore a place also uniquely mine.

Blas Uberuaga

Blas is the son and great-grandson of Basque immigrants to the American West, Basques who left their home in search of better opportunities.  He spent one year in Donosti attempting, with only limited success, to learn Euskara.  He is the creator of Buber’s Basque Page.

Nor Naiz Gu Gara

Nor Naiz, Gu Gara / Who I Am, We Are

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Buber’s Basque Page has been silent a while, as I’ve had work travel and of course Jaialdi (which I hope to write about soon) during the last couple of months.

That said, I’d like to break the silence with a new series, entitled “Nor Naiz, Gu Gara”, roughly translated as “Who I Am, We Are.”  The goal is to explore what it means to be Basque, from many different perspectives.  The question of Basque identity is complex.  For some, being Basque begins and ends at speaking Euskara, hence the word Euskaldun.  For others, it means having so many Basque surnames in your genealogy.  For yet others, it is an expression of their heritage via dance or music.  This series aims to explore these different facets of what it means to be Basque, from Basques all over the world.

I’ve invited a few friends and acquaintances to help me kick this series off, and their postings will be showing up over the coming weeks.  I’ll begin with my own, in the very next post.  Any and all who would like to participate, please feel free to send me a couple of paragraphs about what being Basque means to you, why it is important to you, why identifying yourself as Basque is something you do.  I can’t promise all will make it on the site, but I will do my best.

All of the postings in this series can be found via this link.

Now, on with the show!

today in basque history

Today in Basque History: First Try at Autonomy

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1931: Originally planned for Pamplona, the Assembly of the Basque Municipalities is held in Estella to discuss the Basque Statute of Autonomy.  The meeting was a great success.  The Assembly — representing Araba, Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa, and Nafarroa — approved the draft of the Basque Statute of Autonomy prepared by the Society of Basque Studies.  From that day, the statute was referred to as the “Statute of Estella”.  The statute was presented to the Spanish Cortes the same year, but was not approved.  This effort was the first at trying to gain autonomy for the Basque Country.

Random

The Crime of Old Blas, Part III, by Catulle Mendes

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I found this searching for old texts related to the Basque Country. This story is set in the Basque Country, though that is the only Basque connection of the story. But, it also features two characters named Blas, so I had a particular affinity to it. Part I was posted here and Part II here.

The Crime of Old Blas

by

Catulle Mendes

Part III: The End of the Story of the Little Boy Who Had No Ears, and of the Black Dog Who Smoked His Pipe

He did not return. He crossed the plain, climbed the mountain, slept a sleep full of horrible dreams under a projecting rock, and on awakening, fled again. He feared that he was not far enough away from that river that had taken away his child, from that dear farm-house where now they only wept.

With a few sous that he found in his pockets, he bought some food while passing through a village. People were afraid of him, because he was very pale and was continually looking back, like one who is afraid of being followed. A woman who was sowing corn, seeing him begin to run when he had passed the last house in the village, said to herself, “One would say that that old man had just done something wicked.”

The next day he came to another valley where nobody knew him, because in the Basque country the mountains are frontiers that are seldom passed. As he had only a dozen sous left, he asked a man who was breaking stones on the road if he could not be employed in that work.

Continue reading →

Random

The Crime of Old Blas, Part II, by Catulle Mendes

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I found this searching for old texts related to the Basque Country. This story is set in the Basque Country, though that is the only Basque connection of the story. But, it also features two characters named Blas, so I had a particular affinity to it. Part I was posted here and Part III will be coming soon.

The Crime of Old Blas

by

Catulle Mendes

Part II: The Story of the Little Boy Who Had No Ears, and of the Black Dog Who Smoked His Pipe

“Once upon a time–”

“Where?”

“In a country. Once upon a time, there was a man and his wife, peasants, as we are, but much more unfortunate — a man and his wife to whom nothing ever happened, except that very frequently they had no bread for supper before going to sleep.”

“But soup?”

Continue reading →

People, Photos

Hand-forged Knives by Andy “the Basco” Franco

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Visitors to Buber’s Basque Page likely already know Andy Franco.  Since discovering his Basque roots, he has been very involved in the Boise Basque community.  Owner of Calico Forge and Knife Company, Andy has weaved his Basque heritage into his work.  He made the replica harpoons that were featured in the Boise Basque Museum’s exhibit on Basque whaling and he also created the amazing lauburu that he donated for the 2008 dinner/fundraiser for the Boise Basque Museum and Cultural Center.

His focus more recently has been knives, as evident by his company website.  New Mexico Euskal Etxea asked Andy if he would be interested and able to donate something for our own fundraiser, a Tapas and Wine event to be held on June 19.  Andy seized the opportunity to take his knife-making in a direction he’d been thinking about for some time: kitchen knives.  He made two beautiful knives, pictured below, that he generously donated to NMEE.  He also made an iron stone hunter knife, also pictured (with the rougher-decorated blade).  All three pieces are wonderful.  We thank Andy for his generosity in sharing his amazing skills with us.

today in basque history

Today in Basque History: Death of Henry II King of Navarre

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1555: Henry II, king of Nafarroa, dies. His father, John III or Jean d’Albret, had been defeated in 1512 by Ferdinand II of Aragon, both of whom had claimed the throne of Nafarroa. After that defeated, that portion of Nafarroa south fo the Pyrenees was annexed by Ferdinand while what became Nafarroa Beherea stayed in the House of d’Albert. Henry II tried to recapture the throne, but was unsuccessful. He was later taken prisoner at the Battle of Pavia during the Italian wars, though he escaped under disguise. As King, he restored the Parliament and other Nafarroan institutions in Nafarroa Beherea. He was married to the celebrated Marguerite de Valois. His daughter, Queen Jeanne III, converted to Calvinism and promoted a translation of the Bible into Basque, one of the first works in the language. Her son, Henry IV King of France, was the first of the Bourbon kings.