AINU and BASQUE, belong in the same language family! INTRODUCTION The language of the Ainu bear-worshipers of the isle of Hokkaido in Northern Japan has generally been considered a language-isolate, supposedly unlike any other language on earth. A few researchers noticed a relationship with languages in south-east Asia and India, others saw similarity with the Ostiak and Uralic languages of northern Siberia. The Ainu look like Caucasian people, they have white skin, their hair is wavy and thick, their heads are round and a few have gray or bluish eyes. However, their blood types are more like the Mongolian people, possibly through many millennia of intermixing. The Ainu are a semi-nomadic hunting and fishing tribe but also practice simple planting methods, which knowledge may have been acquired from the newcomers. The invading people, under their Yamato government, called them the Ezo, the unwanted, and forced the Ainu in fierce fighting to retreat north to the island of Hokkaido. The name Ezo likely is an abbreviation of the Basque word ezonartu (to disapprove of). The Japanese today still disapprove strongly of the manner in which the Ainu women tattoo their bodies and especially around the mouth. A few of the Ainu words were the same as in Basque, but many were extremely close such as ikoro and koro (money), kokor and gogor (to scold), tasum and eritasun (illness), eraman (to get used to and to endure), iska and xiska (to steal). A surprise was the Ainu word nok (testicle), which is much like the Basque word noka (familiarity with women). In English slang the same word is used in "to knock up" meaning "to cause a woman to become pregnant." In Indonesian nok means "unmarried young woman," while dénok means "slender, elegant woman." In Dutch slang the word is slightly altered to neuk (sexual intercourse). There is little doubt that the word goes way back to the Paleolithic. The following words were taken from: “An Ainu Dialect Dictionary” edited by Shiro Hattori and printed mostly in our Latin characters. This work provided a wealth of excellent material for my comparison. The Basque "s" is pronounced as a soft "sh" and our sharp "sh" is written as "x" in Basque. Page #/word #. Page AINU ENGLISH BASQUE ENGLISH 2/5 6/38 6/41 tontone aspa papus to be bald to be deaf lips tontordun aspaldiko papar crested, plumed old, ancient breast 6/69 11/82 12/94 15/130 15/131 16/133 16/134 17/136 17/137 18/149 18/152 19/161 23/188 24/194 24/201 28/1 28/4 29/14 29/15 29/16 29/16 30/22 31/34 31/36 31/38 34/2 34/3 35/7 taspare aske poro monpeh nok pok uka'un meno kupuri kema hera kiski kamihi tur hatcir hotkuku mokor siko hetuku sinki yasumi tasum araka ukikosmare pirika kusuri shuruku okkai meneko sukukur to sigh hand thumb testicle vulva sexual intercourse to menstruate leg, foot to limp hair surface of dirt to fall (down) to stoop sleep to be born to grow up to get tired to rest illness illness to sprain to recover drug poison man woman young man 35/10 35/11 36/12 36/13 36/13 36/16 39/12 40/16 42/31 42/31 42/35 44/52 45/56 45/58 45/59 47/68 47/73 48/75 poro aynu onne kur ekasi hutci ruhne mah pon ona po uriwahnecin irutar umatakikor to kok aukorespa usante umurek ekkur ipakasnokur kusunkur adult old person old man old woman old woman to be very young father child sibling siblings to be sisters son-in-law to be engaged to marry married couple guest teacher enemy asparen esku erpuru noka puki eukan kopor-kopuri kemen herren kizkur kamisoi lur atzeratu kukutu makar zikoina gehitu sinkulin jaso eritasun arakatu ukitu pirri kutsu shurrut oka egin eme sukor kuraia porrokatu onegi ekarri hutsikusle urrumakatu ponte onartzaile poz aurride irutara umatu kok aukeratu usantza umotu ekuru ikaserazi kuskusean to sigh hand thumb familiarity with women vulva (slang) to possess, to have goblet, quantity vigour, strength cripple curly, wavy hair nightgown, the skin dirt to fall (back) to stoop sleep stork to grow up crying, whining to get better illness to be examined to touch, to affect shaky, jittery infection gulp, drink to eat too much female having a temper strength tired benign to contribute, provide fault-finding to sing a lullaby baptismal font authority happiness sibling three different ways to reproduce bellyful to choose, select tradition to have children peaceful, peace of mind to teach spying 50/1 50/2 50/3 50/8 51/10 51/13 51/17 52/18 52/21 52/21 52/23 52/23 52/23 53/32 56/1 57/12 58/15 58/15 58/18 58/19 58/21 58/22 58/23 59/26 59/27 59/28 59/28 60/40 64/1 64/2 64/5 kotan porokotan sinotusi oiakunkur ankahpaaki uraiki kotankoro tono u'ekari u'ekarpa kotan orake kiru sikupu isocise itah kayo ese itasa u'uste sonko senpir sinititak sunke esina etekke eramankorka ennuka itokpa ariki koman eson asin village city open space out of doors foreigner to make war tribal chief official meeting meeting to go to ruin to die out to perish jail language to cry out to answer answer to pass along information backbiting to joke falsehood to conceal confidential to pretend to pretend to mark to come to go to go away 65/12 65/14 66/15 68/33 70/2 70/3 70/5 70/7 72/20 73/24 73/25 75/35 75/35 75/39 76/40 somaketa etaras kus kaya ko'ekari aske'uk ekari arki umusa omonnure kokor unpeki ikohka ukonkep puni inospa oskoni to approach to stop to pass through sail to encounter to invite to go out, to meet to bow to praise to scold punishment strength, contest strength, contest to pursue to overtake -kote porrokatu sinotsu oian ankapetu jarraiki koroa tontor ekarle ekarpen oraka kirru siku isolamendu itano kaio esetsi itaun uste esonde senper sinoti suntsun esinguratu etekin eramankor enulkeria itoka ariketa komandante esonde asi somaketa etapa kuskusean kaiar elkarikusi aske ekarri kilimusi omendatu gogor egin iko ukondoka puntzet inozotu oskol multiplicity, many to destroy strange, unfamiliar forest to trample under foot to attack crowned, glorified plumed, feathered bringer (of news) contribution financial ruin blond shriveled up isolation speaking in second person seagull to argue question opinion advice suffering crazy foolish, idiotic to surround, to block profit, wages tolerant, enduring weakness, debility quickly assignment, activity commander advice to start attention, perception stage, stretch to peek, to snoop very large seagull to see each other free, independent to bring, to provide to bow to praise to scold stone hammer elbowing, forcing a way sword to be intimidated armour 76/41 76/46 77/50 77/51 80/1 80/8 81/12 81/13 81/14 83/29 65/11 87/15 87/17 88/25 88/26 96/38 97/48 97/52 101/15 107/70 133/36 140/79 144/107 158/21 163/23 178/18 187/59 196/2 234/6 253/61 254/65 akkari ikasuy kukocan ese konte uk ipuni esikari iska ikoro rutu pita tekkas atusa hantasine seku suke hu sinpuy sikuni kiru urenka kokarkari eraman ramupeka yukar peko cikuni ekarpa tunas oskoni ainu to outrun to help, assist to refuse to undertake to give to receive to distribute to rob to steal money to move aside to untie, loosen glove naked barefoot to suck to cook raw, unripe water well fuelwood to roll row to wrap to get used to to suffer epic, legend ox tree assemble quick to be on time people akarraldi ikastun uko egin esetsi kontentatu ukan ipuina esi xiskatu koro urrundu pita teka atutxa hankagorri sikui sukutu huruppa osin siku kurubilkatu lerrenka kokarazi eraman pekatzaile eukaristia menpeko sikune ekarpen -tun oskorri ainbanatu to anger student to refuse to attack, to debate to please to have to tell a story fence, enclosure to steal money to move away fishing line pod, covering better world barefoot dry to cook to swallow water well dry to roll row to enclose to endure suffering eucharist controlled by dry place production action daybreak scattered all over The Ainu language appears to be genetically related to Basque because the similarities are just too many to be accidental. Considering that the Ainu have probably been separated from the west for some 9,000 years, if not 13,000, it is not surprising that their language has drifted away from the neolithic language as it had developed in the Sahara. The fact that so many Ainu words are still clearly recognizable as equivalent to modern Basque words, is nothing short of amazing and tells us that the ancient oral traditions had been faithfully maintained since they left the Sahara or Mesopotamia. The Ainu had no writing system but memorized their history and legends as yukar; this means that the poetry and epics were performed by professional memory men/women, the bertsolari, with elaborate display and ritual. The word “yukar” is interesting because the Basque equivalent is eukaristia (eucharist). In western Europe, in pre-Christian times, the universal language was apparently standardized by the bertsolari, regularly getting together, possibly at the central shrine on Malta, where the bertsolari of all the tribes and regions met to re-fresh and standardize their language, rituals and legends. ARCHAEOLOGY. Archaeologists have determined that the Ainu have been living on many of Japan's islands, from Okinawa to Sakhalin, for 9,000 years and very likely much longer (13,000 years has recently been suggested). Their Jomon pottery is found everywhere; it is highly characteristic and can be dated from 5,000 B.C. until just before the Christian era. It is very attractive and is distinguished by the fantasy of its shapes with elegant and imaginative cord decorations. Some of the most striking finds were the clearly anthropomorphic clay and stone figurines resembling pregnant females with mask-like faces and protuberant eyes; very similar to those found in many other parts of the world, especially in Europe and the Near East. A number of stone circles have also been found, similar to those in Cornwall (England) and Senegal (North-West Africa). A few still have slender upright stones in the centre, also found in the British Isles and elsewhere in Atlantic Europe and Morocco. Around 300 B.C., Mongolian type people moved in from Korea and aggressively forced the Ainu north onto the large island of Hokkaido where an estimated 17,000 of them are still living. Some 10 dialects have been recognized, such as those of Sakhalin, Hokkaido and the Kurils, but several are at the point of being lost forever. In Hokkaido young Ainu are now making an effort to restore their ancient language and traditions. RELIGION There are many intriguing resemblances between the religious customs of the Ainu and the Japanese. The Ainu called their God Kami while the Japanese called him Kamisama. The Aleut and Eskimo word kammi means "ancient thing" or "at the beginning," one of a many correlations between Ainu and Inuktitut. (The Eskimo people call themselves the Inuit; note the similarity between the names Inuk and Ainu). Bear worship is still remembered as part of the Ainu religion and is described in detail by Joseph Campbell in “Primitive Mythology”. According to Campbell this paleolithic bear-worship may date back as far as 200,000 years, to the early days of the Neanderthal people. It appears to have been practiced world-wide. Wherever the bear was not found, mainly in Africa and South America, its place was taken by similar panther-worship. Bear worship was not tolerated in those areas later dominated by the major religions, therefore it was only possible for anthropologists to study the religion in the peripheral areas of northern Europe and Siberia. This gave rise to the idea that the Ainu must have moved eastward through Siberia, even though the nearest people of their type are found almost 5,000 miles away. But bear-worship has also been reported from Indonesia where languages similar to the Ainu language are still spoken. Could it be that the Ainu were part of the mass migration of "Caucasian" type Sea Peoples who fled the burning Sahara? As Basque was the universal language of the Sahara, this would make good sense. THE NAMES AND WORDS OF JAPAN In books about Japan it is often remarked that many of the names of Japan's geographical features were taken over from the Ainu. For instance the many names beginning or ending with ama (Goddess) are all thought to be of Ainu origin. In 1994 the newly married prince and princess of Japan travelled to the cave of the Goddess Amaterasu to ask her blessings for their marriage. The name Amaterasu is almost certainly agglutinated from three Basque words: ama-atera-asu ama - atera - asturu Goddess - to come out/to appear - blessings flow ”Blessings flow when the Goddess appears.” This name is made up of perfect Basque! Other well-known names were similarly assembled such as Hokkaido oka-aidu: oka - aiduru big meal – looking forward to ”Looking forward to a big meal”. Fujiyama fa-uji-ama fa - uju - ama happy – cry of joy - Goddess "A happy cry of joy for the Goddess". is uttered by everyone who reaches the top of the holy mountain, just like is still being heard on many other mountains of the world (e.g. at Croag Patrick in Ireland, on the last Sunday of July). The Basques even have a word for this yodel cry for the Goddess, they call it the irrintzi. These astute navigators of the Pacific must also have discovered the west coast of North America at a very early date. A “Caucasian” skeleton was recently found in the State of Washington, USA and was called the Kennewick Man. It has been dated to 9,200 years old. It was suggested that his skeletal characteristics closely resembled that if the Ainu. It may have been about this time that the Aleuts started to spread east into Arctic Canada and eventually reached Labrador where they met Basque whalers. Much to their surprise they could communicate in a simple manner. Basque had journeyed around the earth.
