The Hand of Irulegi, an ancient artifact found in an excavation site at Irulegi’s Castle, has provided immense linguistic and cultural impact to the Basque community. Although not fully deciphered, one of the four lines of text on the hand holds incredible significance.
Uncovered in 2021, the only translated word engraved on the hand is the word “sorioneku,” which bears a distinct resemblance to the current Basque word for “good fortune,” “zorioneko.” The Basque people derive from an ancient SouthWestern European ethnic group still present today. Because the hand was once thought to be hanging on the front door of a house, archeologists believe the two words to hold the same meaning, wishing good fortune to the guests and protection to the house itself.
Despite these similarities, there has come to be some controversy surrounding the hand’s accurate translation. Some think this finding’s text is not actually in Basque but Iberian as it uses the Iberian alphabet. Before the hand was found, it was thought that the Romans taught the Basque people to write using the Latin alphabet.
“If the text was indeed in Basque, it would mean that by the time the Romans came, they already knew how to write,” said Eukene Franco Landa, a Basque native working on her doctoral degree in sociolinguistics at the University of Miami.
Linguistically, this finding holds immense significance to the Basque community because if Basque, the hand would prove that the community had a system of literacy before contact with the Romans. Additionally, the Hand of Irulegi predates the preceding examples of Basque texts by 1,000 years.
In addition to the deviation from the usual writing style, some believe the text cannot be assumed to be Basque as most of it has not been translated. However, the extensive similarities between what has been deciphered and the current Basque language cannot be ignored.
“The algebraic possibility that such a word exists in another language is 1/10,000 trillion. We are speaking of a very long word, and all the syllables and consonants and full vowels match with what we say today, and it has the same meaning. So it is very difficult to explain that it is not the Basque word,” said Xabier Irujo, Director of the Center for Basque Studies at the University of Nevada, Reno, who is also Basque.
Within the short time the artifact has been uncovered, it has already caused a magnitude of cultural impacts. As it predates the language by over 1,000 years, the Hand of Irulegi provides the Basque people with a valuable relationship with the past.
“The Irulegi Hand has played an important role in the construction of Basque identity as it serves as a symbol of pride and connection with the past,” said Olatz Barayazarra, a Basque native currently residing in Gernika.
The Basque language itself has gone through many hardships and was once on the verge of extinction, yet the community has nurtured it, fostering its survival relentlessly. Throughout the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, all Basque culture and language was strictly banned, causing a sense of guilt and humiliation within the Basque people. Even though the ban has long since been uplifted, its effects on the Basque community have been long lasting and extensive.
“Most of our families at some point stopped speaking Basque and we have been lucky enough to go to a public institution in Basque to restore that family knowledge that was lost at some point. In most cases, it was due to the prohibition in the dictatorship, but also because of shame and other feelings,” said Franco Landa.
Despite these hardships, the language and culture of the people have prevailed today, and Basque pride is stronger than ever. Being the earliest Indo-European language to date, the Hand of Irulegi has fostered this much needed sense of pride and belonging, regardless of its cultural origin.
“We Basques are very proud of the Basque language and its survival as it has managed to go through dictatorships and prohibitions. Thanks to our Basque ancestors, Euskara perdures today and thanks to all Basque speakers who fight today this ancient and beautiful language will accompany the Basque history for many more centuries,” said Barayazarra.