Sugaar (euskal mitologia) - Midjourney AI bertsioa

Basque mythology The mythology of the ancient Basques largely did not survive the arrival of Christianity in the Basque Country between the 4th and 12th century AD. Most of what is known about elements of this original belief system is based on the analysis of ...

, (also , , , ) is the male half of a pre-

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous c ...

deity associated with storms and thunder. He is normally imagined as a dragon or serpent. Unlike his female consort, , there are very few remaining legends about . The basic purpose of his existence is to periodically join with in the mountains to generate the storms. In one myth seduces a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

princess in the village of

Mundaka , population_note = , population_density_km2 = auto , blank_name_sec1 = Official language(s) , blank_info_sec1 = Basque Spanish , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

to father the mythical first

Lord of Biscay The Lordship of Biscay ( es, Señorío de Vizcaya, Basque: ''Bizkaiko jaurerria'') was a region under feudal rule in the region of Biscay in the Iberian Peninsula between 1040 and 1876, ruled by a political figure known as the Lord of Biscay. One ...

, '' Jaun Zuria''. This legend is believed to be a fabrication made to legitimize the Lordship of

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. ...

as a separate state from

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

, because there is no historical account of such a lord. Only the fact that the delegates of Mundaka were attributed with the formal privilege of being the first to vote in the (Parliament) of the province may look as unlikely indication of the partial veracity of this legend.

Etymology

The name is derived from (serpent) and (male), thus "male serpent". The suggestions of a formation based on (fire) and (flame), thus yielding "flame of fire" are considered

folk etymology Folk etymology (also known as popular etymology, analogical reformation, reanalysis, morphological reanalysis or etymological reinterpretation) is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a more famili ...

. , another name of the same deity, has two possible interpretations, either a + (former, "old serpent") or + ("high fire"). There is no likely etymology for the third name of this god, .

Local legends on

* In Ataun he is said to have two homes: in the caves of and . He is said to have been witnessed crossing the sky in form of fire-sickle, what is considered presage of storms. In this area is also said that punishes the children that disobey their parents. * In Azkoitia is clearly identified with . He meets on Fridays (the day of the

akelarre ''Akelarre'' is the Basque term meaning Witches' Sabbath (the place where witches hold their meetings). ''Akerra'' means male goat in the Basque language. Witches' sabbaths were envisioned as presided over by a goat. The word has been loaned t ...

or sabbat), conceiving then the storms. * In Betelu is known as and considered a demon. There they say that he travels through the sky in the shape of a

fireball Fireball may refer to: Science * Fireball (meteor), a brighter-than-usual meteor * Ball lightning, an atmospheric electrical phenomenon * ''Bassia scoparia'', a plant species Arts and entertainment Films * ''The Fireball'', a 1950 film starring ...

, between the mountains Balerdi and Elortalde.

References

* {{cite book , last=Dueso , first=José , title=La primitiva religión de los vascos , language=es , trans-title=The primitive religion of the Basques , publisher=Orain S.A. , date=1996 , isbn=84-89077-56-8 Basque mythology Basque and Iberian deities Sky and weather gods Thunder gods European dragons Basque legendary creatures

Etymology

Local legends on

See also

References