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 tontone to be bald tontordun crested, plumed
6/38 aspa to be deaf aspaldiko old, ancient
6/41 papus lips papar breast
6/69 taspare to sigh asparen to sigh
11/82 aske hand esku hand
12/94 poro monpeh thumb erpuru thumb
15/130 nok testicle noka familiarity with women
15/131 pok vulva puki vulva (slang)
16/133 uka'un sexual intercourse eukan to possess, to have
16/134 meno kupuri to menstruate kopor-kopuri goblet, quantity
17/136 kema leg, foot kemen vigour, strength
17/137 hera to limp herren cripple
18/149 kiski hair kizkur curly, wavy hair
18/152 kamihi surface of kamisoi nightgown, the skin
19/161 tur dirt lur dirt
23/188 hatcir to fall (down) atzeratu to fall (back)
24/194 hotkuku to stoop kukutu to stoop
24/201 mokor sleep makar sleep
28/1 siko to be born zikoina stork
28/4 hetuku to grow up gehitu to grow up
29/14 sinki to get tired sinkulin crying, whining
29/15 yasumi to rest jaso to get better
29/16 tasum illness eritasun illness
29/16 araka illness arakatu to be examined
30/22 ukikosmare to sprain ukitu to touch, to affect
31/34 pirika to recover pirri shaky, jittery
31/36 kusuri drug kutsu infection
31/38 shuruku poison shurrut gulp, drink
34/2 okkai man oka egin to eat too much
34/3 meneko woman eme female
35/7 sukukur young man sukor having a temper
kuraia strength
35/10 poro aynu adult porrokatu tired
35/11 onne kur old person onegi benign
36/12 ekasi old man ekarri to contribute, provide
36/13 hutci old woman hutsikusle fault-finding
36/13 ruhne mah old woman urrumakatu to sing a lullaby
36/16 pon to be very young ponte baptismal font
39/12 ona father onartzaile authority
40/16 po child poz happiness
42/31 uriwahnecin sibling aurride sibling
42/31 irutar siblings irutara three different ways
42/35 umatakikor to to be sisters umatu to reproduce
44/52 kok son-in-law kok bellyful
45/56 aukorespa to be engaged aukeratu to choose, select
45/58 usante to marry usantza tradition
45/59 umurek married couple umotu to have children
47/68 ekkur guest ekuru peaceful, peace of mind
47/73 ipakasnokur teacher ikaserazi to teach
48/75 kusunkur enemy kuskusean spying
50/1 kotan village -kote multiplicity, many
50/2 porokotan city porrokatu to destroy
50/3 sinotusi open space sinotsu strange, unfamiliar
50/8 oiakunkur out of doors oian forest
51/10 ankahpaaki foreigner ankapetu to trample under foot
51/13 uraiki to make war jarraiki to attack
51/17 kotankoro tribal chief koroa crowned, glorified
52/18 tono official tontor plumed, feathered
52/21 u'ekari meeting ekarle bringer (of news)
52/21 u'ekarpa meeting ekarpen contribution
52/23 kotan orake to go to ruin oraka financial ruin
52/23 kiru to die out kirru blond
52/23 sikupu to perish siku shriveled up
53/32 isocise jail isolamendu isolation
56/1 itah language itano speaking in second person
57/12 kayo to cry out kaio seagull
58/15 ese to answer esetsi to argue
58/15 itasa answer itaun question
58/18 u'uste to pass along uste opinion
58/19 sonko information esonde advice
58/21 senpir backbiting senper suffering
58/22 sinititak to joke sinoti crazy
58/23 sunke falsehood suntsun foolish, idiotic
59/26 esina to conceal esinguratu to surround, to block
59/27 etekke confidential etekin profit, wages
59/28 eramankorka to pretend eramankor tolerant, enduring
59/28 ennuka to pretend enulkeria weakness, debility
60/40 itokpa to mark itoka quickly
64/1 ariki to come ariketa assignment, activity
64/2 koman to go komandante commander
64/5 eson asin to go away esonde advice
asi to start
65/12 somaketa to approach somaketa attention, perception
65/14 etaras to stop etapa stage, stretch
66/15 kus to pass through kuskusean to peek, to snoop
68/33 kaya sail kaiar very large seagull
70/2 ko'ekari to encounter elkarikusi to see each other
70/3 aske'uk to invite aske free, independent
70/5 ekari arki to go out, to meet ekarri to bring, to provide
70/7 umusa to bow kilimusi to bow
72/20 omonnure to praise omendatu to praise
73/24 kokor unpeki to scold gogor egin to scold
73/25 ikohka punishment iko stone hammer
75/35 ukonkep strength, contest ukondoka elbowing, forcing a way
75/35 puni strength, contest puntzet sword
75/39 inospa to pursue inozotu to be intimidated
76/40 oskoni to overtake oskol armour
76/41 akkari to outrun akarraldi to anger
76/46 ikasuy to help, assist ikastun student
77/50 kukocan to refuse uko egin to refuse
77/51 ese to undertake esetsi to attack, to debate
80/1 konte to give kontentatu to please
80/8 uk to receive ukan to have
81/12 ipuni to distribute ipuina to tell a story
81/13 esikari to rob esi fence, enclosure
81/14 iska to steal xiskatu to steal
83/29 ikoro money koro money
65/11 rutu to move aside urrundu to move away
87/15 pita to untie, loosen pita fishing line
87/17 tekkas glove teka pod, covering
88/25 atusa naked atutxa better world
88/26 hantasine barefoot hankagorri barefoot
96/38 seku to suck sikui dry
97/48 suke to cook sukutu to cook
97/52 hu raw, unripe huruppa to swallow
101/15 sinpuy water well osin water well
107/70 sikuni fuelwood siku dry
133/36 kiru to roll kurubilkatu to roll
140/79 urenka row lerrenka row
144/107 kokarkari to wrap kokarazi to enclose
158/21 eraman to get used to eraman to endure
163/23 ramupeka to suffer pekatzaile suffering
178/18 yukar epic, legend eukaristia eucharist
187/59 peko ox menpeko controlled by
196/2 cikuni tree sikune dry place
234/6 ekarpa assemble ekarpen production
253/61 tunas quick -tun action
254/65 oskoni to be on time oskorri daybreak
ainu people ainbanatu 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.