#irulegijo eskua

[beautiful-basque-country]

In regards to the Hand of Irulegi, I noticed that it's unanimous that the hand is considered to be a Right Hand due to the Right Hand's association with good fortune and bestowing things and the main word we have is sorioneku.

However, given the way it is hung at the wrist area, it looks like it would be a left hand. If it was a right hand then the inscription would be on the back of the palm, which seems strange when it is evoking a god or bestowing a blessing. But if we take the inscription as being on the inside of the palm, the orientation would make it a left hand.

Is there reason beyond the ubiquitousness of Right Hand = Good to believe it is a right hand?

Kaixo anon!

Some of your questions are explained in the full article mentioned as the source.

Seemingly, it was an Iberian and Vasconic custom to cut off the hands or heads of the enemies to display them at home or near some roads as a warning. And this is one of the reasons experts think hands - especially right hands - were an important symbol for these cultures.

There are several examples that have been found, all of them right hands:

Also, and weird as it may be, the inscriptions found on these hands are on the back and not on the palm, so the hand of Irulegi just follows this tradition:

As to why right hand = good, we can only speculate. Probably because most people are right-handed and it was regarded as the hand necessary to do almost everything: most importantly, wield a weapon, but also to create art for the deities, feed the babies, cut the wheat, etc.