Land of Sacred Jars III

Beginning at least by the 15th century, Lusung began trading its most sacred jars on the open market. I would submit this was no less than auctioning off the Amrita Kumbha or the Holy Grail. There were interested buyers and they were willing to pay great sums for these unassuming pots.

Jesuit Ludwig Froez wrote about the Philippine jar trade in 1595:

In the Philippines, jars called boioni which are esteemed low there but highly priced in Japan, for the delicious beverage Cie (Cha) is well preserved in them; hence what is counted as two crown by the Filipino; is much higher valued in Japan and is looked upon as the greatest wealth like a gem.

Hideyoshi the Taiko was said to have had a jar made for himself in Rusun (Lusung). He monopolized the commerce in Rusun pottery, seizing possessions from Japanese Christians returning from the Philippines and blocking any other trade of the items. When Carletti came to Japan from the Philippines in 1597, all passengers were searched for Rusun ware which the king wished to purchase.

The Tokiko, a Japanese historical text on early ceramic trade, mentions that Rusun pottery was already considered of the highest value more than a century before Hideyoshi's time.

Despite the pottery's high worth, Antonio de Morga, the governor of the Philippines, was far from impressed with its quality.

On this island, Luzon, particularly in the provinces of Manila, Pampánga, Pangasinán, and Ilócos, very ancient clay vessels of a dark brown color are found by the natives, of a sorry appearance; some of a middling size, and others smaller;
marked with characters and stamps. They are unable to say either when or where they obtained them; but they are no longer to be acquired, nor are they manufactured in the islands. The Japanese prize them highly, for they have found that the root of a herb which they call Tscha (tea), and which when drunk hot is considered as a great delicacy and of medicinal efficacy by the kings and lords in Japan, cannot be effectively preserved except in these vessels; which are so highly esteemed all over Japan that they form the most costly articles of their show-rooms and cabinets. Indeed, so highly do they value them that they overlay them externally with fine gold embossed with great skill, and enclose them in cases of brocade; and some of these vessels are valued at and fetch from two thousand tael to eleven reals. The natives of these islands purchase them from the Japanese at very high rates, and take much pains in the search for them on account of their value, though but few are now found on account of the eagerness with which they have been sought for.

Fedor Jagor and his associates traveling through the Philippines in the 19th century relay a similar account taken from Carletti:

In 1615 Carletti met with a Franciscan who was sent as ambassador from Japan to Rome, who assured him that he had seen one hundred and thirty thousand scudi paid by the King of Japan for such a vessel; and his companions confirmed the statement. Carletti also alleges, as the reason for the high price, "that the leaf cia or tea, the quality of which improves with age, is preserved better in those vessels than in all others. The Japanese besides know these vessels by certain characters and stamps. They are of great age and very rare, and come only from Cambodia, Siam, Cochin-China, the Philippines, and other neighboring islands. From their external appearance they would be estimated at three or four quatrini (two dreier).... It is perfectly true that the king and the princes of that kingdom possess a very large number of these vessels, and prize them as their most valuable treasure and above all other rarities .... and that they boast of their acquisitions, and from motives of vanity strive to outvie one another in the multitude of pretty vessels which they possess.

According to St. John writing in the 19th century, the Sultan of Brunei possessed a sacred "speaking jar." When asked if he would sell it for $100,000, he was said to have replied that he would not part with it for any sum of money. Likewise the Datu of Tamparuli was said to have paid $3,500 for one jar and to have had another of astronomical value. Here we find direct mention of the sacred and magical qualities of these high-priced pots. We should also note that Hideyoshi was known to have presented Rusun wares to temples throughout the country.

We will identify these precious pots in our next blog.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

References

Jagor, Fedor, Comyn, Tomás de, Virchow, Rudolf Ludwig Karl, The former Philippines thru foreign eyes edited by Austin Craig, Manila: Philippine Education Co., 1916.

Land of Sacred Jars II

The animistic spirit of the Tinguian jars is something that is found, however carefully presented, in the stories of the Holy Grail, the relic from the farthest Indies.

The Grail is said to "call" knights to its service as in the case of Parzival and the Templars. Knights serve the Grail, just as the Grail itself serves as implied in the cyclic question "Whom does the Grail serve?" Other instances also give the impression of the Grail as an actor, albeit in a way that would not have offended medieval Christian sensibilities.

The animistic spirit is appears again in late Hermetic texts. In the early 17th century The Ancient War of the Knights written in German, we have an interesting instance of a debate between the Philosopher's Stone, Gold and Mercury. The text is not meant to be comical and one could certainly conclude that some elements of animism are present.

GOLD: I will convince you by the Authority of the Philosophers, that the Truth of the Art may be accomplished with me. Read Hermes, he says thus: "The Sun is its Father, and the Moon {14} its Mother; now I am the only one which they compare to the Sun...

The STONE: At this Discourse, the Stone begun to Laugh, and told them, in Truth you deserve both the one and the other of you, that they should jeer you, and your Demonstration; but it is you Gold that I still the more admire at, seeing that you are so much conceited of your self, for having the advantage which you have to be good for some certain Things. Can you be perswaded that the ancient Philosophers did write as they have done, in a Sense which should be understood in a common Way? And do you believe that one ought plainly to interpret their Words according to the Letter?

During the dialogue, the Stone and Gold even mention the spirit present in seemingly inanimate physical objects:

GOLD: What you have said is no sufficient Proof; for though the Philosophers speak of one only Thing, which encloses it is self the four Elements; and which [Thing] has a Body, a Soul, and Spirit; and that by this Thing they would give us to understand the (Physical) Tincture; at such time when the same has been carried on to its highest (Perfection) which is the Point they aim at; yet this Thing ought at its beginning to be composed of me, who am the Gold, and of my Brother Mercury, as being (both together) the Male Seed, and the Female Seed; as has been said before: For after we have been sufficiently cook'd, and transmuted into a Tincture, we are then both the one and the other (together) the one only Thing which the Philosophers speak of.

The STONE: That goes not as you fancy; I have already told you before, that no true Union can be made of you two; for you are not the only Body {31}, but two Bodies together; and consequently you are contrary, considering the Foundation of Nature: but as for me, I have an {32} imperfect Body, a steadfast Soul, a penetrating Tincture. I have, besides this, a clear, transparent, volatile, and moveable Mercury: And I can operate all those (great) Things, which you boast of with you both, and which however you are not able to perform: For 'tis I who carry the Philosophical Gold, and the Mercury of the Wise (Men) in my Body; wherefore the Philosophers (speaking of me) say, our Stone {33} is Invisible, and it is not possible to attain to the Possession of our Mercury, any other way than by Means of {34} two Bodies, whereof one cannot receive without the other the (requisite) Perfection...

The Grail from the East, like the Grail Castle, is imbued with a spirit that acts and shapes the events of the Grail cycle literature. Any beverage or food that comes from the Grail, or anyone that touches the Grail also links with the same spirit. In a similar way, the holy dip in the Krater or Ganges River brings one in touch with the elixir and in communion with the abiding spirit(s). This is the ultimate self-identification in which one merges with spirit of the sacred object.

Thus, everything around the great cosmic mountain which has been covered with its pyroclastic dust and ash -- the water, trees, fruits -- become agents of immortality. The ancient observer could not help but notice that after the destruction of an eruption, the land suddenly becomes fabulously fertile due to the new rich volcanic soil.

The sacred jars made with the clay released from the Mountain of the Sun and the Mountain of the Moon mixed together possesses truly unique qualities. The two dual principles complement one another and bring the elixir to perfection. These holy vessels, although not much to look at, continued to be sought by kings even after the people of the cosmic mountains had forsaken them.

In ancient times, the pot of elixir was jealously guarded. Indeed, the number who could partake of its mysterious powers was severely restricted by the "gods." Maybe those of the Dragon and Bird Clan who wandered far from home, brought instead of cumbersome jars, only small chunks of volcanic clay in the form of stones -- the Philosopher's Stone.

Modern study of hermetic principles reveal the obvious -- that the transmutation sought after was internal and spiritual in nature, and that any chemical transformation of base metals was at best a secondary consideration.

These ideas were shared with Tantra which saw the cancellation of the polarities through union of the same. We read again from The Ancient War of the Knights:

THE STONE: 'Tis for this Reason the there is no other but only my self, who possesses a Male and a Female Seed, and who is (at the same time) a Thing (entirely) Homogeneal; also am I call'd an Hermaphrodite. Richardus Anglicus witnesses of me, saying, the first Matter of our Stone is call'd Rebis (twice a Thing) that is to say, a Thing which has received from Nature a double occult property, which is the Reason that the name of Hermaphrodite is given to it, as if one would say, a Matter, whereof it is difficult to be able to distinguish the Sex (and to diccover) whether it be a Male, or a Female, it inclining equally to both Sides: The (Universal) Medicine is therefore made of a Thing which is {35} the Water, and the Spirit of the Body.

16th century alchemy lab in Austria

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento