Let the Revolution Begin
He’s not Basque, he’s Bavarian, but he lives in Basque country, in the Pyrenees, in a mountain village accessible only by mule, and when he first contacted me about setting up a Shard web site, I had my doubts.
He goes by the name François, and he’s figured out how to keep himself off Google; anyone who can do that is my kind of people, and so I gave him a tentative green light while I had my sources check him out.
They didn’t get far–we’re talking about a man who can elude Google. What they did find out was piecemeal. They couldn’t trace his origins or locate family, not even friends or acquaintances. He served in the French Foreign Legion, was taken prisoner in Algeria during the 1954 uprising, and got released in a prisoner exchange. Then he vanished, surfacing again shortly after 9-11, 47 years unaccounted for. He surfaced not in the flesh but on-line, tied into a network of hackers. He disengaged from the network just before it was brought down by Interpol, and in 2006 he began setting up elaborate web sites, free of charge, for individuals around the world that he hand picked.
That’s all my sources were able to turn up on François, and all attempts to make physical contact proved futile, except to generate an email to me that stated: “Call off the amateurs and make your decision.”
I responded, agreeing to let him set up the site, but when I sent a second email, requesting a meeting, it bounced back with an auto-generated tech-head rambling that boiled down to: No such server. After that, all attempts on my part to contact François were rejected, even as the site became a reality.
I had given him carte blanche control in our initial negotiations, with the stipulation that there would be nothing on the site but Shards and graphics. I checked the site daily as it progressed, and it was professional and attractive. His choice of which Shards to include, and how he arranged them, showed a keen understanding of their underlying meaning and how they interfaced. And then the number of hits on the site crested 100,000, and François broke the long silence with an email: ”Are you ready to join the revolution?”
I knew better than to try to send a response, I knew I had to make the decision in my mind, and somehow François would know what that decision was, knew from the start what it would be.
I suspect that when each of the other sites François has set up crests 100,000 hits, that the individuals in whose names the sites were established will also receive an email asking if they are ready, and in their minds, like me, they will answer yes, and the revolution will begin.
Euskara,
jalgi hadi kanpora!
Garaziko herria
benedika dadila,
euskarari eman dio
behar duien tornuia.
Euskara,
jalgi hadi plazara!
Bertze jendek uste zuten
ezin eskriba zaiteien;
orai dute forogatu
enganatu zirela.
Euskara,
jalgi hadi mundura!
Lengoajetan ohi hintzan
estimatze gutitan;
orai aldiz hik behar duk
ohorea orotan.
Euskara,
habil mundu guzira!
Bertzeak oro izan dira
bere goien gradora;
orai hura iganen da
bertze ororen gainera.
Euskara!
Baskoak orok preziatzen,
euskara ez jakin arren,
orok ikasiren dute
orai zer den euskara.
Euskara!
Oraidano egon bahiz
inprimitu bagerik,
hi engoitik ebiliren
mundu guzietarik.
Euskara!
Ezein ere lengoajerik
ez franzesa ez berzerik
orai ez da erideiten
euskararen parerik.
Heuskara,
jalgi hadi dantzara!
Euskara,
sors au dehors.
Que le pays de Cize
soit béni!
Il a donné à l’euskar
le rang qu’il doit avoir.
Euskara,
sors sur la place.
Les autres peuples croyaient
qu’on ne pouvait pas l’écrire.
Maintenant l’expérience leur a prouvé
Qu’ils s’étaient trompés.
Euskara,
Sors dans le monde.
Parmi les langues, tu étais jadis
Tenu en piètre estime.
Maintenant, au contraire, tu dois être
Honoré partout.
Euskara,
Va-t’en dans le monde entier.
Toutes les autres sont arrivées
A leur apogée.
Maintenant, il montera, lui,
Au-dessus de toutes les autres.
Euskara!
Les Basques sont appréciés de tout le monde,
Bien qu’on ne connaisse pas l’euskara.
Tout le monde apprendra
Maintenant ce qu’est l’euskara.
Euskara!
Si tu es resté jusqu’à présent
Sans être imprime,
Désormais tu iras
Par l’univers.
Euskara!
Maintenant,
On ne trouve aucune langue,
Ni le français ni d’autres,
égale à l’euskara.
Euskara,
Sors pour danser.
Euskara,
geh vor die Tür!
Gesegnet sei
das Land von Garazi,
das der baskischen Sprache den Anstoß gab,
den sie brauchte.
Euskara,
geh in die Stadt!
Die andren Leute dachten,
man könne nicht auf Baskisch schreiben;
jetzt haben sie erkannt,
dass sie im Irrtum waren.
Euskara,
geh in die Welt!
Wenig Achtung erfuhrst du
unter den Sprachen;
jetzt aber gebührt dir
umfassender Ruhm.
Euskara,
zieh um die ganze Welt!
Alle andren Sprachen
haben ihren Zenit erreicht;
jetzt wird sich die unsere
über alle anderen erheben.
Euskara!
Alle schätzen die Basken,
obwohl sie deren Sprache nicht kennen,
jetzt werden alle des Gehalts
der baskischen Sprache gewahr werden.
Euskara!
Bis heute bliebst du
ungedruckt,
von nun ziehst du
um die ganze Welt.
Euskara!
Keine Sprache gibt es,
nicht die Französische und auch keine andere,
die sich heute
mit der Baskischen vergleichen könnte.
Euskara,
geh aus und tanze!
Basque,
go forth into the world!
Blessed be the land of Garazi;
For it has given Basque
the rank it deserves.
Basque,
go forth into the street!
Other people thought
it could not be written;
now they have seen
that they were wrong.
Basque,
go forth into the world!
Among tongues you were
held in low esteem;
but now you shall be
the noblest of them all.
Basque,
come forth into the whole world!
All the others
are at their zenith.
Now Basque shall rise
above all others!
Basque!
All hold the Basques in esteem
despite not knowing Basque.
Now all will find out
what Basque itself is like.
Basque!
If in the past you have been
unprinted,
from now on you shall be borne
throughout the world.
Basque!
No language shall be found
—be it French or any other—
to be comparable
to Basque.
Basque,
go forth and dance!
Bernat Etxepare
He was born in Eiheralarre, a village close to Donibane Garazi (Saint Jean de Pied de Port), capital of the part of Navarre that today forms part of France. This priest was the author of the first book printed in the Basque language in 1545. We know little about his life, but we do know he spent some time in prison, probably accused of political involvement at a time when the kingdoms of France and Castile were jostling to take over the old Kingdom of Navarre. In his book, he gathered autobiographical, religious, amatory and patriotic poems, some of which praise the Basque language.
interesting, the poem rendered in four different lanaguages; and interesting to see the Basque language written; would be even more interesting to hear it spoken… thanks for posting.
Eskerrik asko!