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Sabino Arana was the founder of Basque Nationalism and set up the main symbols of the Basque Country. From his death in 1903, Arana himself became an essential symbol of Basque Nationalism, due to the mythification of his figure, carried out by his disciples and followers. This paper analyses the cult to Sabino Arana within Basque Nationalism from 1903 to the present, focusing in particular in its heyday during the Spanish Second Republic and its continuity in exile during Franco's Dictatorship. Arana is a very controversial symbol, exalted by Basque Nationalists and, in contrast, disparaged by non-Basque Nationalists, who have never considered him the real Father of the Basque Nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lauburu ("four heads'" in Basque) is a cross with four comma- shaped heads, similar to the swastika. Today it is one of the most important symbols of Basque identity. In this paper, I analyze its origins and history, which is full of contradictions, changes in name and shape, especially until the Spanish Civil War and World War II. The lauburu was created in the 17th century; and in the 19th century it symbolized the unity of four Basque Provinces. The lauburu was later identified with a swastika (symbol of the Basque nation, according Sabino Arana, the founder of the Basque Nationalist Party) almost identical to the Nazi symbol. The Basque nationalist movement used the lauburu until Hitler took power in Germany and permanently adopted the lauburu as it is used today. During the past few hundred years this symbol has been the object of endless interpretations by different political parties and social movements associated with Basque nationalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]