Lauburu: Surprises over the next Mountain
By Vince Juaristi
Phileas Fogg, that intrepid adventurer from the imagination of Jules Verne, accepted a bet to go around the world in 80 days. He hopscotched through France, Italy, Egypt, India, Hong Kong, China, Japan, and the United States. At one point, in fact, he even boarded a train from a little known town called Elko en route to Salt Lake City.
When Verne published his adventure story in 1873, there were fewer people of course, maybe 1.5 billion, and no airplanes or automobiles, so the people he described, country by country, seemed distinct, culturally unique, and geographically isolated, each resembling a kind of tribe of earth still surrounded in mystery awaiting discovery.
What a world that must have been, and what a time to be alive, to encounter and be surprised by the cultural purity of enigmatic people over the next mountain, just around the bend, beyond a great prairie, or across a vast ocean.
Today, these surprises are mostly lost. We tend toward a melting pot and a polyglot now, which strips away the unique and mysterious in favor of assimilation. We hyphenate ourselves, and in doing so, often give up a bit of our origins. With nearly eight billion worldwide, this sacrifice may be inevitable.
But I still love surprises, especially of the cultural variety, and I’m not someone who gives up my origins so easily, nor asks anyone else to give up theirs.
I am Basque.
When I say that, I don’t mean it as merely a part of my genetic code, nor as passing reference to some ancestral link confined to paper. I say it as part of me now, as part of my every day. Basque breathes and lives in me as it does in others of my kind.
Basque is my origin, and with it comes ancient stories and mythology; a proud history that includes, long before Phileas Fogg, the first man to circumnavigate the earth; explorers who charted the new world; shipyards that built Spanish armadas; the first Jesuits who gave education to the masses; a functioning republic long before America’s Declaration of Independence or U.S. Constitution; a language isolated from all others on earth; and in general, a remarkable hard working people born of the Pyrenees who stubbornly cling, even today, to their freedom and self determination.
Out of that vibrant past has sprung the Basque of today who, in many ways, have changed very little. They remain entrenched in northern Spain and southern France. They defend their identity fiercely through culture, song and dance, festivals, language, and a flag. They guard their autonomy and freedom like a lioness protects her cubs — Euskaldunak Zapiak Bat — Seven Basque Provinces as One.
What is different, however, is the Basque diaspora, which stretches now to six continents. It would be forgivable to think that by leaving their hideaway in the Pyrenees, the Basque might have lost a part of themselves, that somehow their identity has been watered down, and all their cultural zest has faded. But that hasn’t happened at all.
When the Basque left Spain and France and sought their fortunes elsewhere, they took their identity with them, planting the seeds of their homeland in the adopted soil of a hundred new nations.
Once settled, the Basque flourished. They worked hard, saved, and raised families. They sent their children to some of the best schools in the land. They emerged as doctors, lawyers, business owners, and politicians. Yet, all along, they remembered and embraced their identity. They sang the songs of old and danced. They cooked the old recipes and shared meals. They kept up the ancient language, and flew the ikurriña, the Basque flag. The Basque never had a country of their own, but their fingerprints touched the world.
Despite the many Basque stories that have been told, there are just as many left to be told. Despite the Basque history that has been uncovered, there’s still an equal share yet to be revealed. Countless surprises wait over the next mountain, or just around the bend, and I, like Phileas Fogg, eager for adventure, aim to find the stories, reveal the history, and share my origins, if only in a small way, in this monthly column — Lauburu.
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Vince Juaristi writes a monthly column on Basque history and culture for the Elko Daily Free Press.
