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[Note:
All Basque words are in Italics and Bold-faced Green]
OGAM
TRANSLATION *
A review derived
from the following: Nyland, Edo. 2001. Linguistic Archaeology: AnIntroduction. Trafford Publ., Victoria, B.C., Canada. ISBN 1-55212-668-4. 541 p.
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THE OGAM ALPHABET
It has been suggested that Ogam came
to Ireland from North Africa with the first Gnostic missionaries who preached
the early Irish Christianity (Nyland
2001). These people believed in magic, just like the pre-Christian
inhabitants did. As Anthony Jackson (1993) discovered, this magic took the shape of
numerical wizardry with letters (see the Saharan Language It is not known if the
original Ogam had an organized alphabet but it is likely. The Gnostic
missionaries used the script to spread the Gospel by marking their Biblical
phrases on Neolithic standing stones to convert the people to Christianity.
Around 650 A.D. Benedictine monks and their grammarians came to Ireland with
instructions to create a distinct language to replace the "iron"
language of the Irish, which they called Cruithin. They found it necessary to
augment the early alphabetic script with five diphthong characters, called Forfeda (see below)
and further develop it to accommodate the linguistic and literary activities
they had in mind. There is no doubt that these people were linguistic
professionals in the best tradition. The Ogam alphabet, as we know it today,
is composed of 15 consonants followed by five vowels. This is the only
alphabet known which organizes consonants and vowels in this manner. The
Benedictines' operation manual, the "Auraicept
na n'Eces", parts of which appear to have been written as
early as 700 A.D., in the very early years of Irish Judeo-Christianity,
described the Ogam alphabet as follows:
Translation by Calder This is their number: five Ogmic
groups, i.e., five men for each group, and one up to five for each of them,
that their signs may be distinguished. These are their signs: right of stem, left of stem,
athwart of stem, through stem, about stem. Thus is a tree climbed, to wit,
treading on the root of the tree first with thy right hand first and thy left
hand after. Then with the stem, and against it and through it and about it.
(Lines 947-951).
McManus clarified this: "This is their number: there
are five groups of Ogam and each group has five letters and each of them has
from one to five scores and their orientations distinguish them. Their
orientations are: right of the stemline, left of the stemline, across the
stemline, through the stemline, around the stemline. Ogam is climbed as a
tree is climbed..." (McManus 1.5). By the time the fifth column of
Forfeda symbols had been added, the script was written horizontally, from
left to right but the above quote still appears to record the original way of
vertical writing, read from the bottom up. The original 20 symbols in both
the original vertical as well as the later horizontal way of writing are
shown. Most of the early inscriptions on stone in Scotland and Ireland are
written in the vertical form. The Ogam texts in books such as the Auraicept and on the petroglyphs in West
Virginia are written in the horizontal literary tradition. At first sight,
the peculiar arrangement of the letters in the Ogam alphabet appears to be
completely unrelated to the pre-existing Greek and Latin alphabets. McManus
searched elsewhere for the origin and found that "there is a clear
connection with the North Etruscan alphabets". Anthropologist Anthony
Jackson from Edinburgh University,
however, discovered that the arrangement was directly related to the ordinal
numbers of the letters in the Latin alphabet:
The total of the ordinal numbers
in the Latin alphabet is 210. The 20 original Ogam characters were divided into
four columns, which, arranged according to a cabalistic system of
calculation, totaled 50, 50, 61 and 49 respectively: N 13 + Q 16 = (1x29) R 17 + I 9 = (2x13) 5x11S 18 + C 3 = (3x7) Z 10 + E 5 = (3x5) 3x3x4V 6 + T 19 = (5x5) NG 15 + U 20 = (5x7) 3x4x5L 11 + D 4 = (3x5) G 7 + O 14 = (3x7) 3x3x4B 2 + H 8 = (2x5) M 12 + A 1 = (1x13) 1x23 ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ 50 + 50 = 100 61 + 49 = 110 21010x5 10x5 (10x10) 1x61 7x7 (10x11) 2x3x5x7 B L V S N / H D T C Q / M G NG Z R / A O U E I. The sequence of the
letters within each column appears to be in relation to the primary numbers,
however, the calculations go beyond the scope of this article. The interested
reader is referred to Jackson's monograph, chapter 7.
Written horizontally:
Note that the "f" in the
horizontal script should be a "v" as it is in the vertical script.
The reason why all 15 consonants are
listed first in the alphabet and the 5 vowels following, has to do with the
special arrangement of the words in the monk's dictionary. The primary
organization of their dictionary is according to the consonants. Half of the
Basque language is made up of words starting with vowel-consonant-vowel (VCV,
sometimes VCCV) and it is mainly this half of the language which the monks
used in the construction of the Romance languages and English. These words
were then arranged according to the first consonants in the words, each
consonant was then subdivided again into 25 VCV combinations such as under D:
ada, ade, adi, ado, adu; eda, ede, edi, edo, edu; ida, ide ..... etc. Under
each such VCV were then listed all those words with their translations
which started with these three letters. This arrangement is still the best
way for us to decode Ogam writing. From this it must be obvious that
such a special arrangement applies only to a language that is organized in
the VCV manner and Basque is the only language that fits the mold. The syntax
of modern Irish (i.e. Gaelic or Celtic) is totally unsuited to this VCV
system and consequently this language cannot be written in traditional Irish
Ogam. Consequently, all Ogam writing anywhere must have been in the Basque
language, which means that the "iron" language of
pre-Roman-Catholic Ireland was the universal language we call Saharan or
Basque today. This explains why "Celtic" scholars have been unable
to translate even one single Ogam inscription correctly. FORFEDA
REVISION
The Forfeda revision
made by the Benedictines, the addition of the five extra diphthong characters,
was almost certainly accomplished in Ireland. Ogam was originally designed
for record keeping and the sending of short messages, not for literary
expression. However, this is what the Benedictine monks of Ireland were using
it for. One of the main "reasons for being" of the Benedictine
Order was the replacement of the ancient pre-Christian, gylanic oriented,
language with a church-approved one. The syntax of the Basque language was
ideally suited for the agglutination of new words, which then appeared to
have no relationship to the original language. The VCV formula made this
possible. However, traditions governing this ancient formula did not allow
two vowels to be written side-by side without a space separation, which
demanded separate words. This rule created problems and restrictions for
those writing in the script. The monks wished to simplify the rules of
writing. They created words and names
with diphthongs in them, by the invention of five new "Forfeda"
characters permitting the combination of each. Now let us look at what the name
"forfeda" really means. The monks obviously were not very happy to
be forced to use the "heathen" Ogam script, but had nothing quite
as ingenious, concise and useful to replace it with, until they had invented their new Celtic language. In the following
analysis of "Forfeda", the first "f" has to be a
"b", a common letter shift; (the second "f" is correct). FORFEDA,
.bo-or.-.fe-eda;
Notice how the word
"forfeda" breaks up into four three-letter VCV roots,
ebo-ori-ife-eda, each composed of vowel-consonant-vowel (VCV), with the
vowels interlocking to form a chain of interdependent roots. This
interlocking is the main characteristic of Ogam writing, is basic to all Ogam
inscriptions and is indispensable in deciphering. Any missing (purposely
removed) vowels in the words analyzed, are represented by a dot until
identified. Forfeda symbols are never eliminated. The monks later embellished
this word to "Foirfeadha", to make it look as if the word had
originated with the "Celtic" language, which is characterized by an
excess of unnecessary vowels and h's. Some remarks in the Auraicept pertain to the creation of
Forfeda characters such as: IN LEBOR OGAIM. in.-.le-ebo-oro-oga-ahi-im.; (5465 etc)
(Note: there is no break in the
interlocking vowels, even though the text is broken into three
"words".oi, ui, io and ae, the use of which then also allowed these
to be part of the creation of new words starting with eha, ohi, uhi, iho and
ahe. The design of the characters they created was totally out of style with
the original script. McManus observed that they "missed the opportunity
of completing the symmetry of the system by having the fifth series mirror
the third in the way that the second mirrors the first" (McManus 1.2). STEPS IN TRANSLATION
Ogam translation
requires the following steps:
Step 2. Replace the
letters c, q, v, w, y with equivalent Basque letters, c and q become k, v
becomes b, the y Step 3. Arrange these
corrected letters into the VCVCV format, placing dots where vowels are
missing, Step 4. Fit these
letters into the VCV formula, Step 5. List the
various meanings underneath each VCV, Step 6. Arrange the
hidden sentence. he best way to explain the process
is with a few examples of real Ogam inscriptions, take for instance: "Cunovato".(Macalister#11.)
Step 1. The middle part of the
inscription was badly damaged, but after much study Dr. Jost Gippert at
Frankfurt University decided that it should read: "Cunavato"
Step 2. All Ogams in Ireland are
based on the Basque language, however, Basque does not have a "C"
or a "V", so the inscription will now read "Kunabato" Step 3. When fitting the letters
in the VCVCVCVCV format, it appears that only one, the first vowel, is
missing, which must therefore be represented by a dot. The inscription to be
translated now reads: ".kunabato".
Step 4. There are four consonants
so this VCVCVCVCV line is then broken up by hyphens into four three-letter
VCV's in which the V's on either side of the hyphens are the same (called
interlocking): VCV1-V1CV2-V2CV3-V3CV, which therefore represents four words: .ku-una-aba-ato Step 5. With the
preliminaries out of the way, the next step in decoding an Ogam inscription
is to list the possible meanings underneath each VCV. In the case of the one
missing vowel, all five possibilities must be tried (aku, eku, iku, oku, uku)
as follows:
(iku) branches shirt to touch, to visit, flag, motto, watchful
Step 6. To discover the hidden sentence we must match up the
words which obviously belong together, starting with the complete VCV's. For
instance take the pair aba and ato and immediately out pops priest and come!,
"the priest says: Come!". Why would he say come!? "To
stimulate" (aku) your "boredom" (una). The translation of
CUNAVATO therefore is:
Occasionally more than one
reasonable meaning appears in which case we have a problem. Lay this work
aside and return to it later; often new insight will be obtained and the
proper translation decided upon. In the following pages you will see hundreds
of decodings and learn that applying the Ogam formula is not an exact
science. Guessing the mood of the monk who made up the word can be fun. Example #2
An Ogam inscription which has two vowels
missing is decoded (Macalister # 364):
Step 2. barkuni
Step 3. .bar.kuni Step 4. .ba-ar.-.ku-uni Example
#3 Step 1. Bladnach
cogradedena and Bladnach cuilen McManus, (page 132). Macalister
#1086, 1949, shows the second word as Cogracetena, which is incorrect. Both
inscriptions are found on a bronze hanging bowl, likely an incense burner, dug
up from a swamp in County Kerry. "They are inscribed along the upper
surface of the rim and on one of the escutcheons" (Mcmanus 7.6) Step 2. Bladnak kogradedena and Bladnak kuilen. Step 3. .B.lad.nak. .kog.radedena and .B.lad.nak. .kuilen Step 4.
.B.-.la-ad.-.na-ak. .ko-og.-.ra-ade-ede-ena, and
.B.-.la-ad.-.na-ak. .ku-ile-en. Step 5. This time the given
VCV's are placed along the left border: Bladnak:.B. abe abe cross .la ela ela story ad. ade adelatu to prepare .na ena ena that ak. aka akabu ultimate, superior kogradedena: .ko ako akorduan euki to remember og. ogi ogizatitze breaking of the bread .ra ira iragan to suffer ade ade adelatu to prepare ede ede edergi to confide in dena dena Deuna Lord
Step 6. The story of the
Cross prepares us for that ultimate remembrance while preparing for the
breaking of the bread (for His) suffering (while we) confide in the Lord. kuilen: .ku eku ekurutasun peace of mind ile ile ilezin everlasting en. ene eneganatu to come over me
The story of the cross prepares me for
that ultimate everlasting peace of mind (which will) come over me. All words and many names in any invented
language have known meanings. This is not the case with the words written
in Ogam and this fact does not make the job of decoding any easier. In
addition, no effort was made to allow easy pronunciation. On the contrary,
all ingenuity was aimed at insuring that the writing looked as awkward as
possible so that only specialists would be able to interpret it. This
disguising was done mostly by applying the VCV Code and the removal of as
many vowels as possible. This followed
the example of Hebrew where often no vowels are left at all; such as the name
Talmud (Oral Law) being written as "lmd", originally from
tala-muda, tala (watch out) mudatu (to alter):
"watch out for alteration", or freely translated: "pass on
unaltered", which is what an oral law is all about. The meaning of the
word Talmud today has been accepted as something like
"instruction". In Scotland, several of the Christian Ogams were
inscribed aggressively over pre-existing animal- and geometrical symbols/totems
which had been carved in the 7th century. These symbols organized marriages
and other co-operative arrangements between groups of (usually) four tribes
(Jackson) and ever since had been regarded with great respect by the
population. The over-writing was probably done to destroy the "magical
powers" of the "heathen" symbols. Deciphering the Ogams
usually poses no real problem as long as the inscription is complete and
legible. RATING
THE CONSONANTS
In analyzing Ogam inscriptions and names or words,
especially those from which too many vowels have been removed, it may be
helpful to know which consonants are easier to decode than others. Nyland (2001) devised a rating system that
was helpful. It involves writing down all the possible VCV combinations and
then counting only those that are found in Aulestia's dictionary. For
instance take "F": afa efa ifa ofa ufa afe efe ife ofe ufe afi efi ifi ofi ufi afo efo ifo ofo ufoafu efu ifu ofu ufu
Out of the 25 VCV
possibilities of "F", only the six italicized VCV's are the first
letters of existing Basque words: afa (pleasing, supper), ifa (north), ife
(infernal, hell), ifi (from ibi, to be, to go), ofi (craftsman, official), ufa
(panting, blowing, scornful). The rating of the consonant "F" is
therefore 6, making it the second easiest of all letters to find meanings
for. The ratings of all the consonants are as follows: Ñ-5, F-6, J-7, NG-13, Z-17, B-18, M-18,
D-20, G-20, S-21, The use of the letter
"R" in the inscriptions poses somewhat of a problem because no
distinction is made between "R" and "RR", each having its
own set of 23 VCV combinations. Also the large number of words associated
with each combination of this letter make it sometimes difficult to select
the appropriate word. The analysis of the "R" or "RR" is
therefore usually kept to the last INVENTING LANGUAGES IS ROUTINE
It has long been known that
languages were being invented, (Wittgenstein 1922) wrote: "Man
possesses the capacity of constructing languages, in which every sense can be
expressed, without having an idea how and what each word means - just as one
speaks without knowing how the single sounds are produced" (Tractatus
B.C.). That is exactly what was done
by the Benedictines and their grammarians when they made up the western
European languages. Even all the names of their saints and monasteries were
constructed without the uninitiated having the slightest idea what each name
meant. By the time Darwin wrote his "Descent of Man" the language
invention efforts had been forgotten because he commented: "No
philologist now supposes that any language has been deliberately invented: it
has been slowly and unconsciously developed by many steps". How soon we
forget! This is discussed by Nyland (2001)
in Benedictines in England |
