Ikurriña Flag
This flag symbolizes the struggle endured by Basque people for centuries
Ikurriña Flag
Ikurriña Flag
Spanning the French and Spanish border, the Basque Country is home to about three million people, most of whom live on the Spanish side.
Historically, since the ousting of Islamic rule in the 15th century, the area has been strongly Roman Catholic, peppered with a few Occitan pilgrim settlers on their way to and from Santiago de Compostela. The area was relatively autonomous until the realignment of power following the French Revolution (1789–1799) and the Carlist Wars (1833-1876). The struggle has continued since then to regain independence.
Ikurriña just means 'flag' in the Basque language - people there tend to use the Spanish bandera when talking about flags of other nations.
In the late 19th century, Basque Nationalist brothers Sabino and Luis Arana Goiri designed a flag with a red ground to symbolize the lifeblood of the Biscay people, superimposed by a green saltire to symbolize the Gernika oak tree (itself a symbol of Basque freedom), and significantly both red and green superimposed by the pure white cross symbolizing God. Originally the flag was created for the Biscay region but in 1936 it was adopted as the Basque Flag.
During General Franco's rule the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) were driven into exile, Basque autonomy was dissolved, the flag was declared illegal, and the name Ikurriña and the rest of the Basque language was suppressed in favour of Castillian Spanish. After Franco's death in 1975, all these were restored and the Ikurriña flew again as the official Basque flag.
Like the pagan origin of Christmas colours, green and red are opposite ends of the colour spectrum. The two colours oppose each other and struggle to come together. However, the flag does not so much symbolize the struggle of the people (red) coming to terms with the land (green); rather it shows the approval of God (white) of their nation.
See also Basque Cross (Lauburu)
