Festa di Tana 2021 - Part 3 - "the beautiful darkness"

"A Romance in Darkness"

From reverse label....

 

Apothic Dark

Red Blend

There's a romance in darkness, it draws our curiosity and beckons a desire to taste the unknown.

Apothic Dark blends dark fruit flavors of blueberry with opullent notes of coffee and dark chocolate for a rich, yet silky smooth, wine experience.

www.apothic.com

Vinted and bottled by Apothic Wines, Modesto, CA

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Apothic (along with related words) have numerous different meanings as they progressed through Greek and Latin to English over the centuries.

 

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How do the words "apothic", "apotheca", and "apothecary" correlate?How do the words "apothic", "apotheca", and "apothecary" correlate?

Tarquin_McBeard (reddit.com)

An "apotheca", in Ancient Greek and Ancient Latin, was a word for a warehouse or repository. As far as I know, this word does not exist in English. In later Latin, the word came to mean a shop or store.

This led to the derived term "apothecarius", meaning shopkeeper. It is from this Latin word that we get the English "apothecary", which had narrowed in meaning to refer specifically to the keeper of a drugstore.

And "Apothic" is apparently a brand name for some kind of wine. This word too is derived from "apotheca", because wine casks were stored in warehouses.

 

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apothic

Beautiful or stunning.

Staring deep into the apothic abyss, I found myself feeling as if there were a woman, somewhere down there that had my heart

by Fuzzy Andrews (UrbanDictionary.com)

 

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Apothic

(Definitions.net)

Epic doom on a biblical scale.

These apothic events led to the end of their civilization.

 

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apothecary

(Merriam-Webster.com)

noun

apoth·​e·​cary | \ ə-ˈpä-thə-ˌker-ē, -ˌke-rē \

plural: apothecaries

 

Definition of apothecary
1 : one who prepares and sells drugs or compounds for medicinal purposes
2 : pharmacy

 

Apothecaries, Bodegas, and Boutiques

Apothecary, bodega, and boutique may not look very similar, but they are all related both in meaning and in origin. Each of these words can be traced back to a Latin word for “storehouse” (apotheca), and each one refers in English to a retail establishment of some sort. Although bodega initially meant “a storehouse for wine,” it now most commonly refers to a grocery store in an urban area, especially one that specializes in Hispanic groceries.

Boutique has also taken on new meanings: its first sense in English (“a small retail store”) is still current, but it now may also denote “a small company that offers highly specialized products or services.” Of the three words, apothecary has changed the least; it has gone from referring solely to the person who sells drugs or medicines to also naming the store where such goods are sold.

 

Examples of apothecary in a Sentence

in olden days the apothecary had few drugs that actually cured anything, most substances being little more than pain relievers the historic village boasts an old-fashioned apothecary that's been there for almost a century and a half

Recent Examples on the Web To go with the Grey Hen's new look, modeled after a New Orleans-style apothecary, the cocktails will be served in brown glass medicine bottles and include ingredients historically thought to cure ailments. — Tirion Morris, The Arizona Republic, "These award-winning Arizona bars now serve takeout cocktails. Here's what's on the menus," 11 July 2020 The right tiny glass bottles, which will make your bathroom look like a chic apothecary, can transform your face better than almost anything, short of a visit to the dermatologist. — Jenny Singer, Glamour, "The Ordinary Peeling Solution Completely Transformed My Skin," 20 May 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'apothecary.'

 

First Known Use of apothecary

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for apothecary

Middle English apothecarie, apotecarie, pothecarie, borrowed from Anglo-French & Medieval Latin; Anglo-French apothecaire, ipotecaire, borrowed from Medieval Latin apotēcārius, apothēcārius, going back to Late Latin, "shopkeeper," from Latin apothēca "storeroom, storehouse, repository" (borrowed from Greek apothḗkē, from apothē-, variant stem of apotithénai "to put away, stow away" —from apo- apo- + tithénai "to put, place"— + -kē, noun suffix) + -ārius -ary

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15th century French apothecary

Apothecary (Wikipedia)

Apoth (Wiktionary)

Apoth (Urban Dictinary)

Apotheosis (Wiktionary)

 

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Nighthawk

Last night during a late hike along the trails, I finally saw it. A avian which was not an owl, literally flying at night; a hawk no less! It startled me at first, then I just assumed it was an owl; it wasn't. It was clearly a hawk by its outline. There it was, gliding confidently. Occasionally a bird could be disturbed at night and take to flight, while other times birds can make noises at night. No, this was a hawk likely hunting. The trails are filled with little brush rabbits in the darkness, as I also could plainly see last night. So now I know that "nighthawk" isn't just a fancy marketing play.

A night hike always has surprises. Prior to arriving, I saw a large wolf-like coyote; this always will get your attention. I suspect that, although wolves have long been eliminated from California, wolf DNA still lives on in some coyotes. This sight gave me an ominous feeling; would they attack me along the trail? If in a pack, it's always possible. However, I have encountered a half dozen small coyotes with no problem. The coyotes which I have observed in southern San Mateo County and southward appear to be the typical small variety; while I think some have arrived in the area from Marin County to the north... and probably beyond that. It's possible that they could account for the large sized ones. It was quite a sight.

While hiking I saw what at first looked like some type of "orb" floating across the field ahead. It stopped a few times, then kept moving from left to right and eventually crossing the trail. I thought "could this be some type of paranormal thing?" For a split second, I did catch a glimpse of it; it was a raccoon's eyes, mindful of me as it moved. Somehow it seems that there would be a lot less meaning to be out there if there were no animals, no mysteries about. Even the apex predator of the little region, the large coyote spotted earlier, adds just a slight hint of peril. Hypothetically, if the area was fully developed and paved over... the night peril would merely switch over to the more dangerous creature on two legs. The darkness and desolation is humbling.

At another point, I caught a glimpse of an unknown creature. It may have been a weasel with dark fur. I saw an orange and white weasel once some years ago. I suspect that was what is was, hunting for smaller prey (mice, shrews, gophers). There's a mystery to the darkness. Even if I'm not out there, there's a fascination I feel just looking in the direction of the dark canyon and knowing that there's activity out there.... creatures feeding on vegetation... others hunting for meat... a real struggle for life and death for them as we sleep.

At one clearing along the trail, I came around the bend and startled a raccoon. It scurried up one of several nearby trees, then stood on a limb and held onto a branch with one hand and peered down at me. It almost looked like a little ape in the darkness. After feeling some trepidation while making my way through some thick brush in the darkness amid some cracking sounds and sounds of footsteps, the raccoon provided some comic relief. Since raccoons aren't fast runners, it probably felt the better move would be the safety of a tree.

 

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Nightmare archetypes

"Deep into that darkness peering. Long I stood there, wondering... fearing... doubting..." -- Edgar Allan Poe

One of the standard settings for documentaries and footage of evolutionary struggle in animals is, of course, the African savannah. In particular, the brutal struggle between lions and hyenas. Hyenas are not cowards, despite their so-called "cowardly laugh." Their jaws are so powerful that they can break an elephants thigh bone to get at the bone marrow. Lions, especially male lions, are incredible brutes who can devour one hundred pounds of meat in one sitting. They have the eyes of a killer like perhaps no other animal. One interesting side note is that a male lion always dominate the lion pride; for hyenas, a female is always the queen of the pack. To digress, the African savannah at night is extraordinarily barbaric and bloodthirsty.

I have watched literally hundreds of documentaries and videos of the African savannah in my life. The desperate struggle of life there is in my subconscious I suppose; one of those nightmares that linger in man's psyche that we always read quotes about. A couple of nights after the previous account above, I was again hiking that same trail at night when I came upon the clear outline of a coyote's head in a dark grassy field, black against some distant urban lights. As I shined my flashlight at it, the outline remained black... only with eye shine to go with it! I knew it was a coyote, and had to wonder if it could become aggressive. Just after I took the light off from it, it took off running towards the trail. I again shined my flashlight at it, and could see it moving towards the trail behind me about fifty feet away.

I was fairly certain that it wasn't looking to attack me, but I kept my light on it. It seemed to cross over and move up a hillside. Still, the sight of that black head with white eye shine remained with me. Somewhat coincidentally, later that evening I came upon a video from last summer of a mountain lion which has been seen in a residential neighborhood only about four miles from the trails that I usually hike. I couldn't help but think that maybe a mountain lion could wander up there looking for some new hunting ground. The next night I was hiking in a more remote location in the nearby mountains. Actually I didn't intend on being up there in the dark, but it just got dark on me.

While I walked in the darkness, the images of the mountain lion from the video and my own memory of the black coyote head with the eerie white eye shine merged together in my mind with all the footage of carnage I've watched of the African savannah at night. It was indeed dark, and somehow the very real local presence of a mountain lion conjured up a perception of an African lioness, while the eerie image of that coyote conjured up the perception of a hyena. Somehow all of those quotes that we've all read over the years about "the archetypal nightmares that lurk inside man's dark subconscious"--which we never really take seriously while reading them--suddenly became very real to me!

 

 

As I shined my flashlight out into the dark terrain of grass and shrub, I couldn't help but think of all of those hundreds of videos of the merciless African savannah! The very real possibility of a mountain lion being out there because of the news story and video... made it seem altogether real to me. If that mountain lion was audacious enough to walk down the street of a neighborhood, it certainly could have took to these nearby trails. The fear of that real possibility somehow just got attached to all the other stuff.. the brutal savannah at night. I mean.. it looked like the same type of terrain from all of those videos, the same terrain, the same darkness, and almost a similar remoteness.

Those mountain trails are not somewhere that you want to be at night, which is why I stick to the nearby flatland trails if I go at night. However, here I was; about a forty minute walk back to the street where my car was parked. Now I think I have a newfound appreciation for all of those quotes about "man's archetypal nightmares." My mind was playing tricks on me up there, conflating some real possible dangers with my "African savannah nightmare" scenario. All of those dangerous animals: lions, hyenas, African hunting dogs, hippos, crocs, big poisonous snakes, etc... from all of those videos.

It's very dark up there at night, and as I walked through the blackness of the groves of trees for the last twenty minutes, the uneasy feelings only got worse. Also, I have run across several very strange people on trails over the years in broad daylight, and recalling all of those true crime programs on ID... all of those brutal crimes. Even the dangers of African animals could remind one of the horrific chimpanzee attacks on people in recent years. All one's fears come out in the darkness and desolation. Still, I can't help but think of the walk I took in a much more tame wooded trail a couple of weeks before during the little early spring heat wave we had; the warmth, the stillness, the hoot of an owl above, the howl of a coyote in the far distance, the full moon shining through the tree tops onto the trail... beautiful.

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Your mind is fooled

Roam in your flight

Your sight is blurred

Embrace your might

-- Poem from a Satanist whom I encountered online

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The woman with the hypnotic eyes

I believe that I mentioned this story once on here. It occurred at a time when I was having some type of powerful spiritual awakening. For weeks, every day seemed to bring more and more complex synchronicities. Some of it so unbelievable that I chose not to divulge it. There's just no way to review the events without it sounding crazy. However, I can tell at least this much.

One night I was driving nearby where I live; on the other side of the mountain... so to speak. I recall that it was just after twilight, with a little glimpse of the orange sky at one point far in the distance. The residential street was quiet, no traffic, and it was located nearby the mountains here; the peaks visible in the near distance. As I slowed for a stop sign, a somewhat unusual looking woman came into focus along the sidewalk. She was looking right at me. I don't recall if she was walking or not. She seemed to be late thirties to early forties, had somewhere between long and shoulder length dark hair, probably brown or hazel eyes which looked dark at least in the night, attractive without being beautiful, Mediterranean in appearance, maybe 5'6" to 5'7", wearing darker clothing with some type of cape dress, and last but not least... prominent, hypnotic eyes; the kind've eyes that don't blink!

There was so much energy in those eyes, and she was clearly looking at me, there was no ifs, ans, or buts about it! I found myself looking back into her eyes. They just drew me in. I wanted so badly to just keep looking, to feel the surge of energy, to unlock the mystery of her. Who was she? Why was she looking at me? What is she really like? What's her program? Far from an "energy vampire," she was emitting energy, if anything! The stop sign was another fifteen feet away, and if I just drove up to it I would have passed her. I slowed down slightly, still looking into her eyes. I had full control, I think. The energy from her hypnotic-like stare was more powerful than any feelings of silliness which I may have otherwise felt.

What could I have said? What if I had stopped and pressed the button to roll down the window next to her? Would she have said something? Would she be surprised, angry, calm? Somehow I kind've doubt she would be afraid. Did she have a message for me? Did she pick up something from me, such as a connection of some sort, or energetic recognition? Was she even real? Could I have just stated flatly what I was thinking? She seemed to have walked out from one of the residences, and there's really just no way that she could have been seeking some guy, etc. It wasn't that type of neighborhood at all.

I wish I had stopped and took a chance, rather than just wonder about it. I could have said hello, could have introduced myself, or could have complimented her. Would she have thought I was impressive, brave, silly, stupid? Maybe it wasn't about "getting with her" at all; maybe she had a program. In other words, maybe there was a mystery that had nothing to do with either formal or base sort've things. She couldn't have just been another woman. There had to be something else to it. It was probably a chance worth taking.

 

"It's judgement that defeats us." -- Col. Kurtz

 

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It's kind've like the old story about a flood. A massive flood was engulfing a rural town once. A good Christian man proclaimed that he was going to leave the fate of his family with God! As the water was rising, a policeman drove up and offered to drive them to safety. "Thank you, but no. We're going to have faith in the Lord!" As the water reached the house, a recuse team arrived on a boat and offered to ride them to safety. "No, thank you. We're going to stick it out and have trust in God!" As the water was rising and rising, the family had to take refuge on the roof top. A rescue helicopter came by, and they shouted into a loud speaker, offering to fly the family to safety. "No, we're going to put ALL of our trust in the LORD!!" the man yelled back.

As the story goes, the family all perished in the flood. The man was infuriated as he stormed to the Gates of Heaven. "God, why did you allow us to perish!? We put all of our trust in you, and you let us down!" God then looked at him and said: "What are you talking about? I sent you a car, a boat, a helicopter...."

 

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I've experiences some surreal or paranormal events in my life, but I never shared the experience with anyone else. Again, given the synchronicities which I had been experiencing, I suspect that there was something more to this experience. I may have felt that I was in control, it's hard to say for certain. She had something for me; maybe it was good, maybe not. She wasn't an ordinary person. For some reason, I'm thinking of a line from the film 'Heaven Can Wait', in which the angel-figure "Mr. Jordan" tries to bring the obstinate protagonist out've his fog:

"Joe, come here. I want you to look at me and listen very carefully to what I'm saying. This is not a dream. Life has a certain quality all its own; a certain feeling, and so do dreams. You know that this is not life, and you know now that this is not a dream. This is a place that comes after life, and after dreams."

I suppose I should add that in my perception relative to this event, it would mean aside from life or dreams. I should have at least received the message which she had for me. Sometimes your name is called....

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"I am a forest, and a night of dark trees: but he who is not afraid of my darkness, will find banks full of roses under my cypresses."

-- Friedrich Nietzsche

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Bananarama - Venus (Lyrics)

Audioandlyrics

Artist: Bananarama
Song: Venus
Album: True Confessions
Year: 1986

Photo: https://unsplash.com/photos/3guBQuEqvYM​

~I don't own the song
enjoy!

Copyright Email: Audioandlyrics543@gmail.com

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"Venus: The Roman goddess of beauty and love." -- Bow to the Muffins

Bananarama - Venus (Official Video)

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The Arctic Home in the Vedas: Part 25 - Jötunheim linguistic roots

Excerpt from 'The Tradition of Household Spirits' (Lecouteux; 2000), Chapter 3 ('The Openings of the House'), 'The Windows', page 62:

 

Originally the window was an opening that allowed some light to enter the building as well as to aerate it. The English "window," which derives from the Norse vindauga, "wind eye," and which has a parallel in the Sanskrit vātyāana, "wind passage," allows us to grasp the concept.

There is a clear linguistic connection---literally separated by thousands of years---from the Teutonic homeland of Jötunheim in ancient northern Eurasia, to the Aryan (ancient Persian) invasion of India (2,000 BCE), to modern English! This ancient tongue no doubt spread wherever the Teutons traveled or invaded. This would include the Tarim Basin, Arkaim, ancient Persia, ancient Tibet, Assyria, Phoenicia, and obviously around Europe. English text from the early Middle Ages looks like modern German. As the English language developed, the letter "W" emerged out of "V," but of course to the present day it's still read with a "VEE" sound by German speakers.

 

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Excerpt from 'The Arctic Home in the Vedas: Part 18 - "Arkaim" ':

 

Arkaim

Arka = "Earth"

Im = "Sky"

"The place where the sky touches the Earth"

Odin, the Teutonic "sky god"

Arkaim: "The place where the sky touches the Earth"... "The place where Odin connects with his people"... long ago... on that vast central Asian plain... which may have been a woodland. Unlike the Saturn-worshiping Sumerians, Arkaim was a temple of the Sun.

 

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Bollywood actress with ancient Teutonic DNA

Sanskrit

Sanskrit is an Indo-Aryan or Indic language of the ancient Indian subcontinent with a 3,500-year history. It is the primary liturgical language of Hinduism and the predominant language of most works of Hindu philosophy as well as some of the principal texts of Buddhism and Jainism. Sanskrit, in its variants and numerous dialects, was the lingua franca of ancient and medieval India, predominantly modern day Bangladesh, Nepal, North India and Pakistan. In the early 1st millennium CE, along with Buddhism and Vedism, Sanskrit migrated to Southeast Asia, parts of East Asia and Central Asia, emerging as a language of high culture and of local ruling elites in these regions.

Modern Sanskrit is traceable to the 2nd millennium BCE in a form known as Vedic Sanskrit, with the Rigveda as the earliest-known composition.The phonology, grammatical forms of Sanskrit has remained similar to the Vedic language. A more refined and standardized grammatical form called Classical Sanskrit emerged in the mid-1st millennium BCE with the Aṣṭādhyāyī treatise of Pāṇini. An ancient Proto-Dravidian language has been found to influence the Vedic Sanskrit language. The broader definition of Sanskrit refers to the whole range of mutually intelligible Old Indo-Aryan dialects spoken in North-western India at the time of the composition of the Vedas and thus can be treated as the ancestor of the Prakrits and Pali, and consequently, of all Modern Indo-Aryan languages like Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, Sindhi, Kashmiri, Kumaoni, Garhwali, Urdu, Dogri, Maithili, Konkani, Assamese, Odia, and Nepali. On the other hand, the standardized Classical and Epic Sanskrit was a literary language and not the ancestor of any Indo-Aryan language. Sanskrit has significantly influenced the phonology, lexicology, morphology and grammatical systems of South Indian languages of Kannada, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam.

Sanskrit is an Old Indo-Aryan language. As one of the oldest documented members of the Indo-European family of languages, Sanskrit holds a prominent position in Indo-European studies. It is related to Greek and Latin, as well as Hittite, Luwian, Old Avestan and many other living and extinct languages with historical significance to Europe, West Asia, Central Asia and South Asia. It traces its linguistic ancestry to the Proto-Indo-Aryan, Proto-Indo-Iranian and Proto-Indo-European languages.

 

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Triskelion of Tibet

 

The Triskellion is a very ancient symbol, which may have initially symbolized the early sky gods, the sun, the rotating nature of the universe, and the cycle of life. This symbol has been found wherever Teutonic peoples have roamed, and which had also been perpetrated by culturally Celtic or Proto-European peoples as well. To the right, a triskelion from Tibet in the northern Himalayan Plateau.

 

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Yazidi people of northern Iraq

  

 

This 20 year old Yazidi woman committed suicide. ISIS has been exterminating them (their religion is Armenian Orthodox) and using their women as sex slaves. In other words, they just want to impoverish, punish, murder, rape, and just generally devour them in every way imaginable. It's something to look up and consider. Our government and mainstream media doesn't care very much.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ancient Camunic language and modern Camunian dialect

The ancient Camunian language, and the more modern Camunian dialect, are two different languages. However, the modern dialect likely developed from the ancient language. The Camonica Valley is one of the most remarkable regions in European history. So small, yet able to maintain an incredible cultural continuity for thousands of years. For example, some Rosa Camuna images, as well as other ancient symbols, have been dated at six or eight thousand years, while others are dated at fifteen hundred to two thousand years. The language seems to follow this similar pattern. Also, big upheavals, such as the invasions and/or influence of Gauls, Etruscans, Langobards, Romans, Napoleon, Venetians, and Austrians, over thousands of years, did not interrupt this process.

Camunic language (from Wikipedia; with images):

"The camunic language is an extinct language, spoken in the I millennium BC in some valleys of the Central Alps (Valcamonica, Valtellina) and not deciphered.

"The epigraphic corpus is carved on the rock, as similar as the rock engravings of Valcamonica, in one variant of the north-Etruscan alphabet, known as camunian alphabet or alphabet of Sondrio.

"It is possible that the language was related to camuna Rhaetian language; its name derives from the people of the Camunni, who lived during the Iron age in Val Camonica and was the author of much of the stone carvings in the area.

"Today there are known at least 170 inscriptions in camunian alphabet, that are written in lines even from right to left than left to right. The iscriptions are formed mainly by one or two words, and many are those ending in "-au".

"Were found few alphabetaries (a series of letters aligned to forming an alphabet) in Nadro (Zurla and Foppe localities) and in Piancogno, next to the Annunciata. These alphabetaries presents variants of each other, but allow us to date the inscriptions from the 4th to 5th century BC to 100 BC-50 AD)."

Another area which we have covered in the past is the alphabet of the ancient Camunni. In the link is the information sent to us from Naddeo Michelangelo. For further reading on this subject of ancient text, see his website at http://www.michelangelo.cn/. For a look at the characters of the ancient alphabet of the Camunni, see the following link at Wikimedia Commons.

The modern Camunian dialect is a variation of the "Eastern Lombard" dialect, which is eastern Lombardy. As we have pointed out before, and stated on this Wikipedia page: In Italian-speaking contexts, Eastern Lombard is often generically called a "dialect". This is often incorrectly understood as to mean a dialect of Italian, which actually is not the case, it's not a dialect but a language. Eastern Lombard and Italian are different languages and are not mutually intelligible. Eastern Lombard is, in turn, a sub-branch of the Lombard language.

Mauro Fiora has assembled an online Italian-Camunian translator, which has the lists of words by letter, as well as a Babelfish-syle translator. Needless to say, and please look for yourself, "Italian" (Tuscan) and Camunian are as different as English and Polish. What is further remarkable, is that the village of Sonico, and it's immediate surrounding area, speak even a sub-branch of the Camunian dialect!

I wanted to give just a few examples of Camunian words. First, Al Camònega stands for Valle Camonica, with the "Al" meaning "Valley." As with many words, it's different in "Sonican," ..... "Valàr." Also remarkable is that about half the words do not end in a vowel. Many resemble ancient Germanic or Celtic words, but have a unique flavor of their own, very different than the European regional languages that we may be familiar in the English speaking world: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, etc.

One way to get a real sense of the language is to go to the Italian Wikipedia link: Comunità Montana di Valle Camonica. Then see the list of Camunian villages down on the right side. Click each one, taking you to that respective page, where you can see at the top along with the Italian name.... the Camunian name of that village. In other words, the REAL name. For example, lets take the first one: Angolo Terme. The proper Camunian name is Angól. Monno is Mòn, Gianico is Janec, Borno is Búren, etc.

On the Italian Logos translation website, which seems to be still in the developmental stage, one can search various words in many different languages. Included in these are "Bresciano," "Bergamasco," "Bolognese," "Furlan," as well as other variations of French and others. The translated word, for example, of "family" is family (Engish), famiglia (Italian), familia (Spanish), famille (French), familie (German), familje (Albanian), famija (Brescian), famigghia (Sicilian & Calabrese), famèe (Furlan), and numerous other words in numerous other sub-branches of French, German, etc. "Bresciano" is basically Eastern Lombard, and family in Camunian is famìa. In fact, in Sonican it is Baghècc.

On the television program 'Cake Boss' on the Learning Channel, the show begins with the proprietor of the Hoboken bakery, Buddy Valestro, a Sicilian-American, proclaiming "Mia Famiglia!" Actually, that's TUSCAN. The Sicilian word for "family," as we covered above, is "famigghia." It sort've makes me feel like using the word baghècc just to disagree with the forced paradigm.

I searched the word "market," which earlier had brought me a number of interesting linguistic variations, but it's not working now. In Bresciano, it was "mercàt," (same as in Camunian), as opposed to the Italian "mercato." This is no small potatoes. A language is the birthright of a people! I'm not referring to the United States, as we, or our recent ancestors, accepted the English language.

The Italian book entitled 'Vocabolario Bresciano-Italiano' by Giovanni Battista Melchiori is a more official source for the Bresciano/Camuno dialect of the Lombard language.

[4/12/10 NOTE: Apparently the word "family" is translated as "famija" in all of the Lombard dialects, except Camunian which is "famìa." Also the sub-Camunic variant of "family" is "baghècc" in Sonican, as was covered.

Lastly, I couldn't help but add one other word that really drives home the variations down to Camunian, and Sonican. The word "council" is "consiglio" in standard Italian (Tuscan), "Consèi" in Brescian/Camunian, and "Fabrisiér" in Sonican!

I couldn't easily search out what the word is in Lombard or East Lombard, but we can plainly see that one little community of villages (Sonico) can literally develop it's own language over centuries of continuity. How do we know that this tiny regional dialect wasn't some surviving remnant of ancient Camunian, ancient Langobard, Celto-Alpine, etc?]

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East Lombard, West Veneto, or Orobia?

[Left: Flag of "Orobia" or East Lombardy]


Languages of Italy

I hate to sound overly judgmental or reactionary, but anyone who thinks that there is ONE Italian language is bananas. Italy was hastily put under one roof, just like Yugoslavia was, without any regard for local cultures. The Italian peninsula has numerous languages and cultures. Some developed on their own, stemmed from ancient peoples, and/or were influenced by migrating or invading peoples. "The official language of Italy is Standard Italian, a descendant of the Tuscan dialect..." (Wikipedia: Languages of Italy). For a lot more information and maps, see the Wikipedia web page for Languages of Italy.


Lombard language

From Wikipedia: Lombard language: "Lombard is a language spoken mainly in Northern Italy (most of Lombardy and some areas of neighbouring regions, notably the eastern side of Piedmont) and Southern Switzerland (Ticino and Graubünden). Lombard belongs to the Gallo-Italic group within the Romance languages.

The two main varieties (Western Lombard language and Eastern Lombard language) show remarkable differences and are not always mutually comprehensible even if Western Lombard is generally easier to understand for an Eastern Lombard speakers than the converse. The union of Western Lombard or Insubric, Eastern Lombard and intermediate varieties under the denomination of "Lombard" is a matter of debate, and it has been argued that the two might potentially form separate languages."

From Wikipedia: Lombard language: Usage: "Standard Italian is widely used in Lombard-speaking areas. However, the status of Lombard is quite different between the Swiss and Italian areas. This justifies the view that nowadays the Swiss areas (sometimes referred to as Swiss Lombardy (Lombardia svizzera) have become the real stronghold of Lombard."

From Wikipedia: Lombard language: In Switzerland: "In the Swiss areas, the local Lombard varieties are generally better preserved and more vital than in Italy. No negative feelings are associated with the use of Lombard in everyday life, even when interacting with complete strangers. Some radio and television programmes in Lombard, particularly comedies, are occasionally broadcast by the Swiss Italian-speaking broadcasting company. Moreover, it is not uncommon for people from the street to answer in Lombard in spontaneous interviews. Even some television ads in Lombard have been reported."

Apparently, the Lombard language developed, at least partially, from the ancient Lombardic language of the Langobardi. From Wikipedia: Lombardic language: "Lombardic or Langobardic is the extinct language of the Lombards (Langobardi), the Germanic speaking settlers in Italy in the 6th century. The language declined from the 7th century, but may have been in scattered use until as late as ca. AD 1000. The language is only preserved fragmentarily, the main evidence being individual words quoted in Latin texts."

For much more information and maps about the Lombard and Lombardic languages, see the Wikipedia page Lombard language and the Wikipedia page Lombardic language. I know I'm copying and pasting a lot of this but, there's a lot of information I'm covering and tying together, so bear with me. On the Lombard language page, don't miss the two example images on signs (a restaurant and town hall). It's amazing to see our language in living usage. The one "BAIT DAL CAMUN" looks very unique, needless to say. No vowels, but it's doesn't look German either. It could even have Celti roots.


Eastern Lombard language

From Wikipedia: Eastern Lombard language: "Eastern Lombard is a group of related dialects, spoken in the eastern side of Lombardy, mainly in the provinces of Bergamo, Brescia and Mantua, in the area around Crema and in a part of Trentino.

In Italian-speaking contexts, Eastern Lombard is often generically called a "dialect". This is often incorrectly understood as to mean a dialect of Italian, which actually is not the case. Eastern Lombard and Italian are different languages and are not mutually intelligible.

As per today, Eastern Lombard does not have any official status either in Lombardy or anywhere else: the only official language in Lombardy is Italian."

For more information on the Eastern Lombard language, see the Wikipedia web page Eastern Lombard language.


Orobia

From Flags of the World: Padanian Flag of Orobia (Italy): "This flag on top is neither the actual flag of "Liga Veneta" (= Northern League Venetian section), nor the flag of the "Serenissimi" ("Serenisimi" in Venetian language), indipendentist movement from Veneto, who became famous in 1997 for having "conquered" for some hours the famous Bell-Tower of St. Mark in Venice.

Northern League reused the flag with the sword as the "Flag of Orobia" (= Eastern Lombardy, Provinces of Bergamo and Brescia, which were once dominated by the "Serenisima") where people speak a "dialect" quite different from Western Lombardy (or "Insubria") and hardly understandable for other people: in Italian, when we hear a strange word or phrase, we may say "Che è, bergamasco?" (= What is this? Bergamo idiom?). You can see a small gif at . I daresay that's the top flag modified with blue background!)
Paolo Montanelli, 20 March 2003

It is not the flag of Liga Veneta, but the flag of Eastern Lombardy ("Orobia"): in a project by Lega Nord (even if it's not the official political line of the party) the present Lombardy should be divided in two parts: "Insubria" (Western Lombardy) and "Orobia" (Eastern Lombardy).
Paolo Montanelli, 1 May 2003

The military pattern old Venetian Republic flag (with dark red border) is used by the Serenisima Republic, and now adopted by the Orobico autonomist but with the border changed to gold, and its devices to blue, and the central rectangle changed from dark red to blue according to .
Jaume Olle', 2 May 2003

North League has a different flag for Eastern Lombardy (called Austrasia). So there is two movements claiming a region of Eastern Lombardy? (one Leghiste and other disident?). In my notes Orobia and Austrasia are two different entities: Orobia is Western Veneto, and Austrasia is Eastern Lombardy. Besides, it is not the flag of Liga Veneta, but the flag of Eastern Lombardy ("Orobia").
Jaume Olle', 13 May 2003

What's "Austrasia"? I know only a region called Austrasia about 1,500 years ago and it was not in Northern Italy but in present Central Germany (). Even if I never heard about it, I've found some websites referring to Eastern Lombardy as "Austrasia". But they are very few. Instead, a lot of pages refers to Bergamo/Bèrghem as "capoluogo orobico", Eastern Lombardy as "terra orobica" and so on. Has anyone a description of this flag of "Austrasia"? Is it different from the "bandiera orobica" I located on the web?
Paolo Montanelli, 1 July 2003

The term Orobia never existed, so it is only an invention by North League; the "Orobi" were a pre-roman people that lived in the region of Bergamo, and "Orobie" is the name of the Alps between Bergamo, Lecco and Sondrio.
Fabio Facoetti, 1 July 2003

The Kingdom of Austrasia existed from 511 to 751 in the north-east of Gaul. Its territory covered Rhineland (now in Germany), Luxembourg, a part of Belgium and Lorraine (now in France). Its capital city was Metz, now in Lorraine. I Austrasia was a Merovingian kingdom, in struggle with Neustria, located more westwards. Pepin de Herstal (635-714), from Austrasia, defeated King of Neustrie Thierry III in 687 and unified Austrasia and Neustrie. His son and successor was Charles Martel, father of Pepin le Bref and grand-father of Charlemagne. Charlemagne later invaded the so-called Padania when he suppressed the Lombard kingdom, but I am not aware of any Austrasia he might have created in northern Italy.
Ivan Sache, 1 July 2003

Surely Paolo is right refering with Eastern Lombardy as Orobico (even if is also called Austrasia sometimes). There are several autonomist sensibilities in North Italy. For some, Bergamo was part of the Republic of Venice and is in West Veneto; for others, Bergamo is yet in Lombardy. Who know what were the boundaries of the Celtic tribe that give name to the region? I dont know this and perhaps this is depending of the point of view. Italy has a lot of political parties, coalitions, minor movements, etc... and when is for autonomist groups the situation is complicate (very much complicate!).

I asked Matte Colaone for a clasification of the autonomist movements: Leghiste, League allieds, autonomist out of League, regional italianist, etc... Dozens of flags were published in Flag Report, in several issues. He answered that the clasification will be issued in the next Flag Report, and it seems that this will shed some light on the panorama, but some specifics questions, like this one of Orobia, will remain pending.
Jaume Olle', 1 July 2003

In my opinion, the term "Orobia" never existed. I live 10 kms far from Bergamo, in the land that 2.000 years ago was inhabited by the "Orobi". This people was established in the actual Lombard provinces of Bergamo, Lecco, Como and Sondrio (in fact, the Alps of this region are called "Alpi Orobie"). The origin of Orobi is uncertain (it is not known if they were Celtic or Ligures), and we don't have many documents of their existence, like buildings or objects, because of their backwardness: their region were first occupied by the Etruscan, and then conquered by the Romans, about in 200 B.C., becoming part of the "Gallia Cisalpina" (Cisalpine Gaul).

Roman occupation civilized these regions, with the building of roads and towns. As already said, we people of Bergamo don't have any cultural heritage of these tribes, because many people crossed our territories in the past (Longobard, Ostrogoth, German, Venetian...).
Austrasia is a historical region, completely unreleated to Bergamo and to Italy.
Fabio Facoetti, 2 July 2003

Austrasia was the name of the east lands of Frankish empire (opposite to Neustria). I believe that Austrasia mean "Eastern land" (from germanic ost, derived aust, like Austria) or so, and this is Eastern Lombardy.
Jaume Olle', 3 July 2003

I'm a linguistics student and I only used the term "Orobico" to describe the Eastern Lombardy dialect, which is quite different form that spoken in the western part of Lombardy. I found "Orobico" a much better term than "Bergamasco" (and much more better than "Austrasiano"... ), which is still the most frequent term in dialectology, because that linguistic area also includes Bresciano and Camuno. It's just a question of conventional names.

For example, referring to Northern Italy dialects I use indifferently the words "dialetti gallo-italici" or "dialetti padani" (which do not comprehend neither Venetian nor, of course, Friulian and Ladin) without giving political support to any political party or secessionist project. I'm quite sure the word "Austrasia" has been never used referring to Bergamo and Brescia, either in past times or in recent times, either by sovereigns or by common people...
Paolo Montanelli, 4 July 2003

Austrasia mean the easter lands of any region. To relate current Austrasia with the Frankish kingdom that was known under this name is not the issue. Even if the genesis of the name is the same there is no relation neither simbolic or reivindicative.
Jaume Olle', 4 July 2003

Austrasia is the name of a kingdom whose existence is documented from 511 to 751. At the same time, there was a kingdom of Lombardia, whose eastern part has nothing to do with Austrasia. Wether Austrasia refers to the east or not is absolutely irrelevant in this case. Austrasia cannot be eastern Lombardia.
Ivan Sache, 4 July 2003

[Right: Flag of "Insubria" or West Lombardy]


Western Lombard language

From Wikipedia: Western Lombard language: "Western Lombard is a Romance language spoken in Italy, in the Lombard provinces of Milan, Monza, Varese, Como, Lecco, Sondrio, a little part of Cremona (except Crema and its neighbours), Lodi and Pavia, and the Piedmont provinces of Novara, Verbano-Cusio-Ossola and a small part of Vercelli (Valsesia), and Switzerland (Canton Ticino and part of Grischun). After the name of the region involved, land of the former Duchy of Milan, this language is often referred to as Insubric (see Insubria and Insubres) or Milanese, or, after Clemente Merlo, Cisabduano (literally "of this side of Adda River").

In Italian-speaking contexts, Western Lombard is often incorrectly called a dialect of Italian language, but actually it is a separate language. It has more than a few similarities to French. Insubric and Italian are different languages and are not mutually intelligible, because of lexical, phonetic, and grammatical differences. Western Lombard, more than many other languages spoken in Italy, has many varieties, because of the mountain geography and history of various political divisions.

Western Lombard is divided into four main classes, called by many Italian linguists lombardo alpino (provinces of Sondrio and of Verbania, Sopraceneri of Canton Ticino and Grigioni in Switzerland), lombardo-prealpino occidentale (provinces of Como, Varese and Lecco, Lugano and its neighbors in Canton Ticino), basso-lombardo occidentale (Pavia and Lodi), and macromilanese (provinces of Milan, Monza, Novara and Valsesia of Vercelli). The boundaries are obviously schematic, since the political division in provinces and municipalities are usually independent from languages spoken.

For more information about the Western Lombard language, see the Wikipedia web page Western Lombard language. Roughly, the Western Lombard language is the majority of Lombardy, Ticino (Switzerland), and the southernmost areas of Graubünden (Switzerland, east of Ticino; Grigioni in Italian); and the Eastern Lombard language is in the provinces of Brescia, Bergamo, Mantua, and Cremona.


Insubria

As East Lombardy is called "Orobia," West Lombardy is referred to as "Insubria." The Insubres were a Celti tribe who lived in the region before it was Romanized by conquest. Our Lombardian friend in Italy, Alessio Mezzenzana, stated "The UNESCO classifies Lombardic (Insüber and Orobech) as own Languages, within the Gallo-Romance family." Now these names sound very German. It can be confusing. Also, the West is usually identified with Milano, while the East is usually identified with Brescia or Brescia-Bergamo.

Further strengthening the differences between the two regions, is the fact that the East was an important part of the Venetian Republic for a number of centuries. There's one street in Brescia named "San Marco di Brescia," which always symbolizes this nexus for me. The Brescian Council purposely broke away from dictatorial Visconti rule (Milanese) in order to join with the more progressive statecraft (regarding internal matters) of the Venetians, which became official after the "Treaty of Lodi," in the fifteenth century. Therefore, East Lombardia is almost like the "West Veneto" in some people's minds.

From Wikipedia: Flags of the World: Padanian Flag of Insubria: "That is the historical region where I live [=Lumbardia Ucidental/Western Lombardy(I) + Cantun Tisin/Canton Ticino (CH)]. Insubria flag was born on tne 5th september 1395, created by Emperor Venceslao of Holy Roman Empire for Duca Gian Galeazzo Visconti of Milan
Matteo Colaone, 21 August 2000

I see a connection with Ticino by the II and III quarters, showing a charge quite similar to the arms of Bellinzona. What about the other quarters, what does the black eagle on gold stand for? Roman Empire, in any of it's incarnations?...
Antonio Martins, 30 August 2000

Antonio is absolutely right here, the serpent (in italian "biscione") appearing on this flag is the same as the one appearing on the arms and on the flag of Bellinzona (Ticino).
Pascal Gross, 30 August 2000

Insubria is another term to refer to Western Lombardy. It is taken from the celtic tribe (Insubrae) which settled between the Tessin and the Adda rivers in ancient times. The heraldic flag is the historical banner of the Dukedom of Milan. It was granted by the emperor Wenceslaw in 1395 to Gian Galeazzo Visconti first duke of Milan, being the dukedom part of the Holy Roman Empire. That is why the black eagle appears in the first and fourth quarter. The figure in the second and third quarter is the traditional heraldic simbol of the possessions of Milan first and the Dukedom after. Possession which included the whole of nowdays Western Lombardy, parts of Piedmond and the whole of Canton Tessin in Switzerland.

That is also why the City of Bellinzona still bears the same arms today (in different colours though and without the moor in the mouth of the snake. Bellinzona was always one of the most faithfull cities of the dukedom) and why the people on both side of t! he border speak the same language (that is western lombard). The origin of the use of the snake, apart from the legends, dates back to the first crusade when it was granted by the municipality of Milan to Ottone Visconti one of the leaders of the lombard contingent. Since then it has rappresented the arms of the State of Milan.

The flag has been the official emblem of the Dukedom from 1395 till 1796 when Napoleon dismantled it (together with the Holy Roman Empire) and it appears also in the arms of every emperor of the house of Hapsburg from Carl the fifth onwards (having carried the emperors themselves the title of Duke of Milan after the death of the last Sforza). When the Hapsburgs will re-enter their possessions in 1815 after Napoleon's fall the dukedom will be unified with the former Republic of Venice and Dukedom of Mantua to form the Lombardo -Veneto kingdom.
GianPietro Gallinelli, 29 September 2000

The Padan's Insubria flag was first presented on 4th of June 2000 at Pontida (Bg), Lombardia by Cultural Association "Terra Insubre". See http://www.terrainsubre.com/il_simbolo.htm.
Matteo Colaone, 4 October 2000

In Milan (Lombardy, Italy) page, Jaume Olle said: "Visconti flag 1277-1397. Reconstructed from writen descriptions. In 1397 the use of imperial eagle was granted by Empeor" . Above GianPietro Gallinelli said: "It was granted by the emperor Wenceslaw in 1395 to Gian Galeazzo Visconti first duke of Milan, being the dukedom part of the Holy Roman Empire. That is why the black eagle appears in the first and fourth quarter."

In conclusion the image at Milan's page is, chronologically, the first flag of the Dukedom, and the above flag was the evolution after 1395 of the previous flag , so it should be considered as a political flag in its modern use (autonomist of Insubria), but it is also an historical flag of Milano and Western Lombardy.
Matteo Colaone, 11 November 2000"

Another webpage, which sheds some light on this issue is the Bandiere del Popoli (flags of the people) page for Lombardia.