Lauburu
The Lauburu or the Basque Cross consists of four arms that are shaped like a comma and are comparable to the Japanese Tomoe . This cross shape is fairly common these days.
construction
A Lauburu can be made relatively easily with the help of a compass and a ruler . You start with a square . A semicircle is then drawn from the middle of the sides to the center of the square . The other semicircle, reduced in radius by half, also starts from the center of the square. The last step is to connect the two ends of the semicircle with another semicircle.
Origin of the word
The Basque expression lau buru means "four heads", "four ends" or "four peaks". The origin of the word is not clear.
It is also claimed that the word comes from folk etymology and was associated with the Latin labarum . The Latin word could then have been derived from another, originally Celtic symbol, the so-called lábaro . Conversely, however, the Spanish historian Fidel Fita believed that the Latin labarum , which appeared in the time of Augustus , was adapted from Basque .
meaning
Historians and other researchers argue about the allegorical meaning of the ancient symbol Lauburu. In some cases it is claimed that it stands for Laurak Bat , ie the "four heads" or the "four regions" of the Basque Country ( Álava , Vizcaya , Guipúzcoa , Navarra ). But it does not appear in any of the seven coats of arms of the regions that make up the Basque Country, including Navarre, Guipúzcoa, Vizcaya, Álava, Labourd , Soule and Lower Navarra . The Basque intellectual Imanol Mújica has claimed that the heads symbolize the mind, life, consciousness and form.
Sabino Arana interpreted the Lauburu as a sun symbol in order to substantiate his theory of a Basque sun cult (published in Euzkadi ). However, this theory is based on a wrong derivation of the term.
The symbol is supposed to symbolize life in its positive form (turned to the right) and death in its negative form (turned to the left) . That is why one often finds the left-facing Lauburu on Basque tombstones. But even today there is still various discussions about which direction stands for creation , ie for life and prosperity, and which for destruction , ie death and misfortune.
Another interpretation of the Lauburus is that the round heads are created by the rotation of the cross and thus represent the energetic elements and the energetic universe .
Generally, the lauburu is used as a symbol of wealth.
Spread and history
The symbol was found on old steles . In the following period, that is, after the time of the Antonines up to the modern age , M. Camille Julián could not prove any kind of swastika , neither in rounded nor in straight form, in the Basque Country. Straight line swastikas were not used there until the 19th century.
In the Archidoxis magica attributed to Paracelsus , a symbol appears which is very similar to the Lauburu, which was probably painted for the purpose of healing animals. M. Colas considers a relationship between the swastika and the Lauburu to be unlikely. He sees the origin in Paracelsus and believes that the symbol adorned the tombs of animal and soul healers ( priests ).
According to the current state of knowledge, the first Basque leaf crosses were made in the 15th century at the earliest, i.e. at the time of the late Gothic , which produced very similar patterns with its fish-bubble ornamentation.
At the end of the 16th century , the round swastika appeared frequently as a decorative element in the Basque Country; For example, the symbol can be found on wooden chests or graves , perhaps as a different shape of the grave cross. Today, the Lauburu can also be found in obituaries of Basque nationalists instead of the Christian cross. Many Basque houses have the lauburu above the entrance; they see it as a good luck charm or talisman .
The use of the lauburu as a symbol of Basque culture, like other areas of culture, was suppressed under Francisco Franco . The left-wing nationalist Basque party ANV ( Acción Nacionalista Vasca, Basque EAE, Eusko Abertzale Ekintza), founded in 1930, uses the Lauburu in its party symbol.
See also
swell
- ^ Letter from Fita to Fernández Guerra, reproduced in his work Cantabria , footnote 8, p. 126, reproduced in Historia crítica de Vizcaya y de sus Fueros , edited by Gregorio Balparda, from the website Auñamendi Entziklopedia
- ↑ M. Camille Julián in his foreword to La tombe basque , according to the Lauburu website : La swástika rectilínea (Auñamendi Entziklopedia) .
- ^ Image in the Auñamendi Entziklopedia .
- ^ Lauburu: Conclusiones in Auñamendi Entziklopedia .
Web links
- The Basque Swastika Lauburu and its symbolic history and meaning
- The Basque Swastika Lauburu, its symbolic meaning and history
- Lábaro y lauburu ( Memento of October 16, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), website in Spanish on which the origin of the Roman labarum is traced backto Cantabrian origins.