The second factor that weakened Euskara was the break-up of the Duchy of Vasconia and on the other hand, the division of the Kingdom of Pamplona-Nájera after the death of King Sancho III Garcés, called the Great, that led to the emergence of the new realms of Castile and Aragón, whose starting point were their respective counties. Although a large part of the Castilian and Aragonese population, as well as their first kings were Basque speakers in the 11th century, the Reconquest made the Mozarabic population add increasingly to the initial inhabitants as it advanced south. Then, more and more Mozarabs and therefore Latins were added, what caused that Euskara was gradually relegated to a secondary status as a vehicle of daily communication in those realms.
Since the 14th-15th centuries, Euskara began to be considered a particular language of the Kingdom of Navarre, as a remain of the old Navarrese domination over those lands. The Basque-speaking areas that were directly ruled by foreign legislations started to lose Euskara gradually until it disappeared definitely. Only the territories that kept the Basque foral legislation until recently, that is to say, the seven Basque-speaking regions that comprise Euskal Herria today, were the ones that could preserve Euskara.
Although the Basque foral system (a special system of regional government) served as a safeguard of the own language and culture, it was not enough. While Gascon suffered the consequences of the French language expansion in the continental Basque Country, Euskara bore the worst brunt in the regions of Álava and Navarre (south of the Basque Country) regarding the expansion of the Spanish language, due to their proximity to Castile. However, Euskara is daily used in the northern half of Navarre and in the far north of Álava. Furthermore, colloquial Euskara disappeared in western Biscay as far as the Nervión river, as a consequence of the massive arrival of immigrants of Spanish speech to the powerful steel industry since the late 19th century and middle of the 20th century.
On the other hand, Euskara was considered by Christendom as a pagan and Barbarian language during the Middle Ages. The Latin language and its culture were synonyms of Christianity, since the Basque speaking population were pagan for the most part. As Latin languages and cultures went forward, Christendom advanced. Everything seemed to be against Euskara. It is specially significant that prohibitions against the Jewish, Arabic and Basque cultures began in the Middle Ages since the 14th century, as they represented the Hebrew and Islamic religions, as well as the old pagan religion of Mari (9), which was the one that most of the Basques professed. For further information about the prohibition decrees against Euskara since the 14th century, please visit the page History of the Basque Country.
(9) The ancient religion of the Basques: Mari was the supreme goddess of the ancient Basque religion, and she was also known as Maia. Her cosmic symbol was the sun and its graphical representation was the solar disc called 'lauburu' (it means 'four heads': this symbol is included on the lower right side of this paragraph). The 'lauburu' can vary the number of its arms, although the most widespread and known by the Basques is the one with four arms. The solar discs are found in all the ancient Eurasian cultures from the Iberian peninsula to Alaska and even in the ancient Amerian civilizations, with their respective modifications. The 'lauburu' or Basque cross is easily found today in the tombstones of the Basque Country cemeteries instead of using the christian cross, a custom that still remain since the ancient rites of Mari's religion.
The funerary steles of the Roman period show that almost each Basque village had their own gods that were different in turn from the ones of the nearest settlement, what means that there was a lack of homogeneity in the religion of the ancient Basques. However, the oral tradition through generations has allowed us to know a worship of the ancient Basque gods with names that are repeated in any legend throughout the whole Basque-speaking territory, even in those areas that remained isolated from one another for centuries and how they were able to keep a common religious root.
When the structure of the Imperial Rome collapsed and the Germanic invasions began, a reaffirmation of the Basque culture against the Latin status arose in the Pyrinean area in view of the new situation. The union of the different Basque tribes against the Germans did not only cause the emergence of Common Euskara for all the Basques, but also the standardization of the religious worship since the legends about Mari are common to both sides of the Pyrenees. Those legends also keep remains of ancient gods like Ortzi (similar to the Scandinavian Thor), with some variations of his name like Urtzi, Ost, Ortz, Egu, In or Inko, which are present in the root of the nouns that are used to name the days of the Basque week: 'ostegun' (day of the sky = Thursday) or 'eguen' (day of the sky = Thursday in Biscayan), as well as the weather incidents like 'inar' (beam of light, spark), 'inusturi' (thunder), 'inontz' (dew), 'ortziri' (thunder) or 'osti' (storm), among others. This suggests a sky worship since that is the meaning of the name Ortzi and its variants, where we can observe a clear Indo-European origin that was possibly introduced by the Celts. This worship was the most geographically widespread after the cult of Mari.
It is likely that the cult of Mari was spread or reinforced by the Vascones of Navarre in the areas in which this religious worship was previously held, as a consequence of their leadership on the Basque tribes. This expansion would involve the reaffirmation of the local deities against the ones of foreign origin. The Basque religious worship, of prehistoric origin and with a matriarchal profile, had many similarities with the one of the Minoan Crete (of prehistoric origin as well) and represented a subterranean deity as a supreme goddess, as opposed to the Indo-European gods that were mostly celestial and with a patriarchal profile. This cult that was progressively enriched by the influence of Iberians and Celts over the centuries, would finally impose on the other Basque gods of Celtic, Roman or Iberian origin during the Frankish-Visigothic period, and even on the Indo-European Ortzi (celestial deity), although this god would not disappear completely: the Codex Calixtinus, wrote by the Gaul cleric Aumeric Picaud in the 12th century during his pilgrimage to Santiago, shows a passage in which the writer indicated that the Basques he met in his way referred to God as Urcia.
The goddess Mari usually takes zoomorphic shapes when she is at her underground dwelling (bull, ram, billy-goat, horse, snake, vulture...) and becomes human when she is out. Her appearance corresponds to a long-haired, beautiful and slim woman dressed in a red tunic that extends down to her feet. She also wears a golden ribbon on her forehead and holds a golden castle in her right hand. A dragon (Herensuge) winds itself around her feet, over which stands the figure of Mari. Her underground dwellings are placed in the highest mountains of the Basque Country: Anboto, Oitz or Txindoki, among others. Mari changes her home every seven years and when she moves to her new dwelling, she becomes a sickle of fire that flies through the sky with a great noise.
This religion had a trinity, which comprised Mari and her two sons: Atarrabi (who represented the Good) and Mikelats (the representation of the Evil), from whom the rest of deities and spirits, both good and bad, arose. Mari also had a husband called Sugaar (the 'Male Snake', that was translated to medieval Romance as 'Culebro'), that was also known as 'Maju'. The resemblance of the names Maju and Maia (the other name of the goddess) suggests that Maju or Sugaar was nothing more than the masculine representation of Mari. Therefore, this was the way of expressing that every existing being came from Mari and was part of her nature.
According to the ancient Basque religion, when the Darkness reigned in the Earth, the humans prayed to Mari that she helped them in their fight against the bad spirits that were lying in wait for them. Mari heard their prayers and decided to give life to her daughter Ilargia (the Moon). The humans thanked for her light, but this was not enough to face the Evil. The humans prayed again to Mari that she could give them something brighter and with which they could defeat the Darkness. This time, Mari created her other daughter Eguzkia (the Sun: this noun is feminine in the Basque culture) and this way the day was born. Since then, none of the bad spirits harassed the humans anymore during the daylight.
However, when the Sun immersed herself in the ends of the Earth, in Itsasgorrieta ('The Reddish Seas') to be on her way through the Underground World, the night came. Then, the Evil got out of its lair and kept on lying in wait for the humans. Once again, they asked Mari for something that could help them fight against the Evil during the night and she gave them the Eguzki Lore ('The Flower of the Sun', which is the flower of a kind of thistle: the Carlina Acaulis). Mari advised them not to leave their homes at night and to place the Eguzli Lore on the door to protect them from the Evil. Since then, the humans did what the goddess told them and they never had to face again the harassment of the Evil.
In this way, Mari divided the world into two: the world of the people that live during the daylight (egunekoak) or the livings world that was illuminated by the Sun, and the world of the people that live at night (gauekoak) or spirits and the souls of the deads that were enlightened by the Moon. According to the old beliefs in Heaven, the stars move and when they set in the west, they submerge themselves in the 'Reddish Seas' (Itsasgorrieta) to continue across the Underground World. Therefore, the Sun that illuminates the surface of the world during a part of its journey, enlightens as well the Underground World during the rest of the voyage. The Sun as well as the Moon are feminine deities and daughters of the Earth (Mari), to whose bosom they return every day after their course across the sky.
The meaning of the death was not so dismal for the ancient Basques than it may be from the current Western perspective. When someone died, he just became part of a different existential status. In those times, it was used the following expression: 'Eguna egunekoentzat eta gauga gauekoentzat' (the day is for those who live during the daylight = the livings, and the night is for those who live at night = the dead). In order to ensure the balance between both worlds, there was the spirit called Gaueko (the Guardian of the Night), who was responsible for the compliance with this rule that was accepted by the ancient Basques. If any person prowled at night, the spirit took him away from the livings and led him to the world of those who live at night (the spirits).
The Basque religion had standards of conduct about what the good and the evil were, which should be strictly observed by the Basques. Mari condemned the lies, the theft, the pride and the boasting, not to keep one's word, to be disrespectful to the people, not to help one another as well as to accede to the dwellings of Mari without her permission. The offenders are punished by Mari with the lose or deprivation of what caused their misbehaviour.
The concepts of heaven and hell were also present in this religion, although with a different point of view from the Judeo-Christian religions. When someone died, he became part of the ones who live at night. In the darkness, he was led by the Moon or Ilargia (as said in Euskara, which literally means 'the Light of the Dead') through a path towards Mari's Cave. The deceased was protected from the bad spirits on his way by the symbol of Mari, the lauburu that had been engraved in his tombstone. Once he reached the Cave, he would live eternally with Mari and his ancestors in peace, with happiness and in abundance in the Underground World. This was the concept of Heaven for the ancient Basques. On the other hand, if the deceased would not have behaved according to Mari's rules in his life and would have hurt other people, the moonlight would not be enough to light the path. He would be wandering in the darkness and suffering the harassment of the bad spirits (since the lauburu protects only the people that have done good in their lives) until sooner or later, he was able to find the path to Mari's Cave (the concept of Purgatory: to be wandering for some time), or being wandering in the search for the path without success under the harassment of the spirits eternally (the concept of the Hell).
As we can see, this is a religion of a clear prehistoric origin since the cave is considered a peaceful area, a protective and welcoming place. In essence, the best place where one can live eternally. This belief comes from a remote past in which the Proto-Basques had to look for a shelter in the caves during the glaciation to avoid the cold temperatures and this way, to survive. The fear of prowling in the darkness (the purgatory and the hell) has its origin in the cold glacial nights: if anyone did not find the path to the cave where the tribe lived just before dusk, he was likely to die of cold. The fight for survival was certainly reflected in the Basque religion even though the Basques did no longer need to shelter in caves to survive for thousands of years.
The religion had standards of conduct that were very similar to the Christian ones, so that it should have been apparently easy to move from the ancien religion to Christianity. However, the Basque Country was the region of Western Europe where Chistianity took root later than elsewhere. Initially, the Christian religion only had to match the Basque trinity, gods and spirits with the Christian Trinity and saints. The cult of Mari, thanks to the similarity of the names, became the worship to the Virgin Mary. Even today, the Virgin is called in Euskara 'Andra Mari' (Lady Mari), which was the name used to refer to the goddess Mari. The different places dedicated to the Virgin in the Basque Country, as well as the churches that dot the whole geography, were in fact the ancient places of worship to this divinity. However, Christianity experienced difficulties due to the determination of the Basques, who did not get rid of their ancestral rites and traditions, what caused the late establishment of the Christian religion.
This was so that the denomination of Jesus of Nazareth as well as most of the Christian saints have no translation to Euskara and therefore, Spanish (south of the Basque-speaking area) and French or Gascon names (in the north of the territory) are used to refer to them, in contrast to what happens in the remaining European languages, whose territories received Christianity long before and this allowed them to develop their own forms. As an example of this, there is San Miguel de Aralar in Navarre, who is the patron saint of the Basques: it is said in Euskara 'Aralarko San Migel'. The sanctuary of San Miguel de Aralar in Navarre was an ancestral place of worship in the past. However, there are some exceptions like the names of some apostles that were introduced in Euskara very soon through Vulgar Latin, and the names of several saints that came from Gascon. Their denominations would later evolve structurally and phonetically in order to suit the Basque language.
During the Middle Ages, many Gascon speakers settled in Guipúzoa and in northern Navarre, attracted to the advantageous aids that were granted by the kings of Navarre, so that cities like San Sebastián and Pasajes were established in Guipúzcoa. Since the Gascon population were of Christian religion, their settlements acted as focus of Christiatisation in an environment of Basque religion.
Therefore, there are names of saints that come from Gascon like Donostia (Saint Sebastian), Donibane (Saint John) or Doneztebe (Saint Stephen), in which we can see the prefix -don (that cames from the Latin term dominus) with the meaning of 'saint' in Euskara. The word dominus was a Roman respect treatment that was equivalent to 'Señor' (Lord) and its Spanish evolution to the current words 'Don' (Mr) and 'Doña' (domina / Mrs). The contraction 'don-' comes from the form 'done' and is mainly used in names of Gascon origin. The term 'done' is indistinctly used for masculine of feminine saints, and it can go before or after the name. For example, 'Saint Ignatius' can be said both ways in Euskara:: 'Done Ignazio' or 'Ignazio Donea'.
Only the first saints of Christianity, whose names were introduced in Euskara through Vulgar Latin, receive the form 'Jondoni' like 'Jondoni Petri' (Saint Peter) or Jondoni Jakue (Santiago / Saint James). This term comes from the contraction of the words 'jaun' (Lord) and 'done' (saint). The form 'san' (saint) of Castilian origin is also used in Euskara and goes before the name of the saint. This form is the most used by the Basques today.
At the end of the 19th century, in order to make up for lack of Basque names to refer to the saints and using the Basque Phonetics, several names were developed like Josu (Jesus), Miren (Mary), Kepa (Peter), Joseba (Joseph) or Andoni (Anthony). Those names have been well-received as personal names, but they were unsuccessful when using them to name Jesus of Nazareth or the saints, for whom the Spanish, Gascon or French forms are still used and this way, the tradition continues.
The definitive introduction of Christianity was made therefore by means of the Latin languages: French or Gascon in the north of the Basque-speaking territory, and Spanish as well as Gascon in the south. As Latin languages and cultures advanced, Mari's religion began to disappear gradually and Christianity took its place in turn. According to the chronicles of the time, the Lords of Biscay still made offerings to the goddess Mari in the 14th century, so that they could rule justly and with luck. The ancient Biscayan traditions tell us that the first Lord of Biscay was conceived by Mari and therefore, each Lord of Biscay was a descendant of this deity and was protected by her.
Even though the official religion was the Christian one during the Late Middle Ages and the early modern period, both religions remain coexisting, what led to a mixture process that was similar to what happened in other areas of Europe. Due to this process, the Christian worship was enriched with the local pre-Christian rites.
The Basque areas that remained more isolated from the ecclesiastical authorities kept on practising the ancient rites like the Akelarre (the Field of the Billy-Goat), in which the worship to the Goat (one of the zoomorphic representations of the goddess Mari) was practised. The 'Akerbeltz' (aker=billy-goat + beltz=black) scared away the bad spirits, the diseases and it was a symbol of fertility, according to the old traditions. Even today in the Basque Country, there are many farmhouses that have an 'Akerbeltz' (a black billy-goat) with the rest of the animals of the stable and this way, the tradition remains alive. As the ecclesiastical authorities of those times, given their foreign origin, did not know the local rites and customs and on the need to make this religion disappear, the Akelarres were associated with satanic rites since the Christian iconography linked that animal to the devil worship
This false association carried gradually a greater persecution of the ancient religion until it was definitively lost in the 17th century, when the 'sorginas' (10) were accused of witchcraft by the Inquisition.
(10) The Sorginas: the word 'sorgina' comes from the terms 'sortu' (to be born, to create) and the suffix -gin (realizer). Therefore, it means 'the realizer of births' (midwife) Those priestess of the Basque religion were very similar to the Celtic druids and they were in charge of the places of worship, performing the ceremonies as well as healing the people by using the different herbs and helping the women to give birth. According to the old beliefs, the sorginas gave life to the babies by means of the magic energy that moves the cosmos, called 'The Adur': hence the name of 'realizers of life' (sorgin).
The Basques that remained practising the religion of Mari instead of the Christian faith, as well as hundreds of 'sorginas' were charged with witchcraft and condemned to die at the stake. Since then, the word 'sorgina', which meant 'midwife' in ancient Euskara, came to mean 'witch'.
The only rite of the ancestral religion that still remains today, although greatly influenced by Christianity and the Western traditions, but that keeps its original denomination is the celebration of 'Olentzaro', also known as 'Olentzero'. The name comes from the words 'olendu' (to announce) and 'aro' (season). Olentzero was a spirit that was sent by Mari to all the humans to announce the arrival of the solstices of summer and winter. The Basques should make offerings to him so that both seasons were mild for the harvest and hunting.
Formerly, the Basques had only two seasons in the calendar: Negua (winter) and Uda (summer). The two remaining seasons, 'Udazkena' (autumn) and 'Udaberria' (spring) were later included by Indo-European influences. The Basque week (called 'aste', that means 'the lunation beginning') was also different due to the lunar cycle, so that it had only three days:
Astelehena ('the first day of the week': Monday)
Asteartea ('the day in the middle of the week': Tuesday)
Asteazkena ('the last day of the week': Wednesday)
Due to the Indo-European influence, four more days were added to the primeval Basque week:
Osteguna (which comes from the words 'ost' [sky] and 'egu' [daylight]: 'the day of the daylight in the sky' or Thursday).
Ostirala (which comes from the words 'ost' [sky] and 'irargi' [a variant of 'ilargi', moon]: 'the day of the moon in the sky' or Friday).
Larunbata (which comes from the expression 'lauren bat' [a quarter of the moon]: 'the day of the half moon' or Saturday).
Igandea ('the day of the full moon' or Sunday).
The denominations of some days can vary in any dialect of the Basque language, but those ones are the most widespread in the Basque Country and in the forms of Euskara Batua or Standard Euskara.
The fertility rites in honour of Olentzaro have evolved over time to a similar rite of Santa Claus or the European Father Christmas. Today, he has become a coalman that comes from the mountain and brings gifts for the Basques on Christmas Eve. Regarding the summer rites, they have become the feast of St. John's Eve, in which great bonfires are lighted in all the Basque cities to celebrate the summer arrival. In the ancient traditions, the bonfires had a purifier symbology and their purpose was to scare away the bad spirits.
The existence of the ancestral religion has been preserved to the present thanks to the oral transmission of parables and tales imbued with the old beliefs from generation to generation, the stories that the grandfathers tell their sons and grandchildren.
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The History of Euskara continues on the following page >> The loss of ground of the Basque-speaking area III