Philippine mtDNA, the Polynesian Motif, and Austronesian expansion

A new study (see below) examines mtDNA in the Philippines, Sulawesi and Taiwan.

The researchers study all the haplotypes tested but focus on the frequent mtDNA haplotypes B4a1a, E1a1a and M7c3c, which they claim support the "Out of Taiwan" model of migration.

Analysis of Hypervariable Segment I sequence variation within individual mtDNA haplogroups indicates a general decrease in the diversity of the most frequent types (B4a1a, E1a1a, M7c3c) from the Taiwanese aborigines to the Philippines and Sulawesi, although calculated standard error measures overlap for these populations.

However, as noted above with each finding the standard error for the comparisons overlapped, so the conclusions are not really meaningful.

What is interesting is the findings on the B4a1a haplotype and particularly those concerning its daughter haplotype B4a1a1, known commonly as the "Polynesian motif."

B4a1a1 is closely associated with Austronesian expansions, in my view specifically with Malayo-Polynesian expansion. While the parent haplotype B4a1a is frequent in Taiwan, the Philippines and Sulawesi, neither its predecessor B4a or the Polynesian motif B4a1a1 were found in the sample of 640 women from Taiwan.

The authors suggests that the Polynesian motif may have originated in the Philippines where it is present in small quantities in Mindanao. However they also conclude that because of the higher diversity of B4a1a in Taiwan that the haplotype must have migrated from there to the Philippines where it is found at the lower diversity. However, the estimated ages of 9,500 BP �4,600 for the haplotype in Taiwan and 7,900 BP �2,400 for the Philippines show an extensive overlap in the standard error calculation.

What seems more important is the presence of the parent B4a, which is present in small quantities in the Philippines but absent from Taiwan.

The estimated ages for the frequent haplogroups that the study focuses on i.e., 7300 BP for B4a1a, 7900 BP for E1a1a, and 11,400 BP for M7c3c, all seem to early to0 correspond to the commonly given dates for an Out of Taiwan expansion of Proto-Austronesian, which is generally place more in the range of 5000 BP.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento
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Mol Biol Evol. 2009 Sep 15. [Epub ahead of print]

Philippine mitochondrial DNA diversity: a populated viaduct between Taiwan and Indonesia?

Tabbada KA, Trejaut J, Loo JH, Chen YM, Lin M, Miraz�n-Lahr M, Kivisild T, De Ungria MC.

DNA Analysis Laboratory, Natural Sciences Research Institute, Miranda Hall, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines.

Relatively little is known about the genetic diversity of the Philippine population, and this is an important gap in our understanding of Southeast Asian and Oceanic prehistory. Here we describe mtDNA variation in 423 Philippine samples and analyze them in the context of the genetic diversity of other Southeast Asian populations. The majority of Philippine mtDNA types are shared with Taiwanese aboriginal groups and belong to haplogroups of post-glacial and pre-Neolithic origin which have previously been identified in East Asian and Island Southeast Asian populations. Analysis of Hypervariable Segment I sequence variation within individual mtDNA haplogroups indicates a general decrease in the diversity of the most frequent types (B4a1a, E1a1a, M7c3c) from the Taiwanese aborigines to the Philippines and Sulawesi, although calculated standard error measures overlap for these populations. This finding, together with the geographical distribution of ancestral and derived haplotypes of the B4a1a sub-clade including the Polynesian Motif, is consistent with southward dispersal of these lineages "Out of Taiwan" via the Philippines to Near Oceania and Polynesia. In addition to the mtDNA components shared with Taiwanese aborigines, complete sequence analyses revealed a minority of lineages in the Philippines which share their origins - possibly dating back to the Paleolithic - with haplogroups from Indonesia and New Guinea. Other rare lineages in the Philippines have no closely related types yet identified elsewhere.

Star and Constellation Names

Two fairly recent works by Dante L. Ambrosio of the University of the Philippines and Meredith Osmond of The Australian National University have compiled many astronomical terms in Austronesian and Philippine languages for stars and constellations. Osmond has reconstructed a number of these terms in upstream language groupings.

Here is a partial listing of the terminology.


Words for Stars and Constellations

(PMP = Proto-Malayo-Polynesian; POc = Proto-Oceanic; Mic = Micronesian; Pn = Polynesian; Ph= Philippine)

Venus, Morning Star, Evening Star

PMP *mantalaq -- 'the morning/evening star, Venus' (Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (ACD))

PMP *(t)ala(q) -- 'star' (Dempwolff)



Big Bird -- constellation that includes Betelgeuse, Canopus, Procyon, Rigel and Sirius

PMP *manuk -- 'bird'

POc *manuk -- 'bird, Bird constellation'



Sirius

Mic: Mortlockese, Carolinian man -- 'Sirius'

Mic: Satawalese man -- 'constellation incl. Sirius'

Adm: Ninigo mānifono ‘Sirius’ (fono ‘head’)

Mic: Kiribati pwāpwā-ni-man ‘Sirius’ (pwāpwā ‘chest’)

Mic: Puluwatese yinekin-mān ‘Sirius’ (yinek ‘body, trunk’)

Pn: Tahitian taurua-faupapa ‘Sirius’

Pn: Maori takurua ‘Sirius; winter’ (Åkerblom 1968:19)

Pn: Marquesan takuua ‘Sirius; July’

Pn: Hawaiian kaulua ‘Sirius; June-July or February-March’

Ph: Palawan Binawagan magakas 'Sirius'



Pleiades

PMP *buluq -- 'a constellation, Pleiades' (ACD)

POc *bulu(q) -- 'a constellation, Pleiades' (Osmond, ACD *puluq)



Southern Cross

Proto-East-Oceanic *bubu -- 'Southern Cross; triggerfish'

SES: Sa’a ape ‘Southern Cross’

Fij: Bauan kalokalo-ni-ðeva ‘Southern Cross’

Pn: Anutan te kupeŋa ‘The Net: Southern Cross’

Pn: Tikopia te kau kupeŋa ‘pole-net handle’

Pn: Rennellese kau-kupeŋa ‘Southern Cross; net handle, net frame’

Pn: K’marangi tina ti raŋi ‘Southern Cross’

Pn: Tikopia te uru a taŋata ‘Southern Cross’
rakau tapu ‘Southern Cross’ (Lewis 1994:407)

Pn: Hawaiian hōkū-kea ‘Southern Cross’

Ph: Sama bunta 'Southern Cross'

Ph: Tagalog camalyng 'Southern Cross'

Ph: Spanish-Tagalog Krus na Bituin 'Southern Cross' ('cross of stars')

Ph: Bikol paglong 'Southern Cross'

Ph: Ilokano sunay 'Southern Cross'

Ph: Ivatan-Spanish trismariiya 'Southern Cross' ('three Marias')



The Pointers (Alpha and Beta Centauri)

SES: Sa’a ro mwane ‘Pointers (to Southern Cross)’

Pn: Samoan lua taŋata ‘Pointers: Alpha and Beta Centauri’ (Åkerblom 1968:27)

Pn: Tikopia rua taŋata ‘Southern Cross’ (Lewis 1994:407)

Pn: Tokelauan na taŋata ‘two stars used for voyages from Tokelau to Samoa’ (MacGregor 1937:89)

Pn: Anutan rua taŋata ‘constellation of two bright stars near the Southern Cross. Centaurus, also known as te kau o te kupeŋa ‘handle of fishing net’’

Ph: Sama, Jama Mapun anak-datu at sahapang 'alpha and beta Centauri'

Ph: Tagalog timbangan 'alpha and beta Centauri'



Polaris

Proto-Chukese *fitū mwakut ‘Polaris’ (lit. ‘star not moving’)

Mic: Puluwatese fūhQ mwakət ‘Polaris’

Mic: Satawalese fuese magut ‘Polaris’

Mic: Carolinian fise mwç xut ‘Polaris’

Mic: Woleaian werewereri iyefaŋi ‘Polaris’

Pn: Tahitian ana-nia ‘Polaris’ (Lewis 1994:403)

Pn: Hawaiian hōkū-paa ‘Polaris or North Star’

Ph: Sanskrit-Maguindanao bituin utala 'Polaris' ('north star')

Ph: Sanskrit-Sama mamahi uttara 'Polaris' ('north star')

Ph: Jama Mapun sibilut 'Polaris'



Aquila

Mic: Mortlockese meilap ‘the constellation Aquila’

Mic: Marshallese mQ clεp ‘constellation Aquila, Altair’ (lit. ‘big eye’)

Ph: Maranao dalomampao 'Aquila'

Ph: Manobo lepu 'Aquila'

Ph: Sama paliyama 'Aquila'

Ph: Palawan sagab 'Aquila'

Ph: Teduray singkad 'Aquila'

Ph: Jama Mapun tanggong 'Aquila'



Scorpio, Antares

Proto-Mic *(d,z)umuri ‘Antares’

Proto-Central-East-Pn *refua ‘a star name, Antares?’ (Biggs & Clark 1993)

Proto-North-Pn *mele-mele ‘Venus or Antares’

Ph: Sama mamahi pagi

Ph: Jama Mapun niyuniyu

Ph: Palawan njug + wasaj

Ph: Sama Dea salokah

Ph: Ibaloi tachong



Delphinus

PMic *tapia ‘Bowl constellation, approximately Delphinus’

Ph: Maranaw anak o karani 'Delphinus'

Ph: Manobo buu 'Delphinus'

Ph: Teduray kenogon 'Delphinus'

Ph: Kankanaey sipat 'Delphinus'

Ph: Palawan tarung 'Delphinus'

Zenith and Zenith Stars

Robert Blust reconstructed the West Malayo-Polynesian form *uRtuh ‘zenith; noon, mid-day' (ACD), which Osmond states refers specifically to the Sun.

However, there are instances when reflexes of *URtuh can refer to stars or other celestial bodies. Among the Mangyan of the Philippines, for example, udto uloy can refer to any celestial body in or near the zenith. In many central Philippine languages, ugto or udto can have general meanings like meridian, mid-heaven, culmination, crest, etc.

Previously, I have written that the Chinese and Indian calendars were based on Spica as a zenith star rather than a vernal equinox marker although there is some linkage also with the spring season. Both calendars begin when with the Full Moon is conjunct or nearest to Spica. The latter star, thus, is also used to determine the division of the zodiac in both cultures.

Now, the differences between the two systems is that the Chinese calendar is tropical while the Indian one is sidereal. The Chinese version has the original year starting when the Full Moon conjoined Spica 45 days before the vernal equinox. There is some indication of this also in the Indian system as the six seasons of the Indian calendar start with Sisira, the cool season, when the Sun enters Aquarius, which was about 60 days before the vernal equinox at one time.

While neither culture mentions anything specifically about the Full Moon in the zenith, there are some indications of this in the names of the star or related constellations, and the related iconography.

Spica is known as Kio in Chinese, which means "horn" referring here to the horn of the Spring Dragon, but also possibly indicating the highest point in the sky. The Western term "spica" refers to a "spike" of grain said to be held up by the woman in the constellation Virgo. Here are some other words for Spica in various languages:

Spar "point" Persian
Sparegha "point" Avestan
Shaghar "point" Sogdian
Akshafarn "point" Khorasmian
Al-Simak "the prop, also al-simak al-a'zal 'the unarmed prop'" Arabic

Chrysococcas called Spica 'the little lance-bearer.' Such names in the West probably ultimately derive from the imagery of the Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar who in some artifacts is shown holding up an ear of grain, a lance, a whip, a fleur de lys-like device or similar object.

Ishtar is known as the Queen or Lady of Heaven, and also as the "Divinity of the Zenith" (Prayer of the Heart to Istar). The goddess is closely related with the zenith, and the word for the latter in Assyrian is ziqpu meaning literally "sharp point." W.F. Albright and others also interpreted the Babylonian "Nebiru" or "Nibiru" with the zenith as it is described as the 'middle of Heaven.'

Now, in the Malayo-Polynesian culture, zenith stars had practical uses linked with navigation and thus Spica would be considered a zenith star for any location only for a certain period. The declination of Spica and other stars changes because of the movement of the Earth's axis. Although neither Osmond or Ambrosio mention Spica, it is found in regional astronomies. For example, in Tahiti it was one of the pillar stars and was known as Ana-rota. It was called Mataroa in Kiribati, Aap in Truk, Paulauru in the Carolines and Da in the Marshall Islands.

In the Austronesian region, the conjunction of the Moon with specific stars is often used in electional astrology. The conjunction of the Full Moon with specific times in the tropical year is also used to detemine the new year, most notably in connection with the well-known swarming of the Palolo sea worms.

Among the Kodi of Sumba in Indonesia, the year indeed is determined by the Zenith Moon, when the Full Moon conjoins or passes nearest to the local zenith. About seven days after this time, the Palolo worms emerge (Janet Hoskins 1993: 65, 72, 353, 358).

Now, the Moon would mainly transit the zenith in tropical areas, but the Moon has different declination limits than the Sun. Thus, the Moon can transit the zeniths at latitudes up to 28.5° N or S. The period when the Full Moon would conjoin with Spica about 45 days before the vernal equinox, as in the Chinese calendar, corresponds to the late 4th millennium BCE.

The following astronomical charts were created with Chris Marriot's SkyMap showing the Full Moon of 3102 BCE from the location of Mt. Pinatubo (click on images for full-size views).


Full Moon at sunset, Mar. 4, 3102 BCE, 44 days before Vernal Equinox (Apr. 16)

Click on image for full size.


Moon and Spica transit zenith at midnight, Mar. 4, 3102 BCE (Location: Mt. Pinatubo)



Moon and Spica in close conjuction, 9:03 am, Mar. 4, 3102 BCE, below horizon at Mt. Pinatubo



Orion's Belt at sunset, Mar. 4, 3102 BCE about 45 degrees above western horizon


Orion's Belt is an important season marker in the Malayo-Polynesian region to this day.

Words for Orion's Belt in the Philippines

atlung Maria, Spanish-Kapampangan ('three Marias')
balatic Magahat, Bilaan
balatik Bagobo, Tagalog, Maguindanao, Bikol
bayatik Mandaya
balbalays Mayawyaw Ifugao
batik Jama Mapun, Sama
belatik Manobo
binabbais Kankanaey
binawagan magsasawad Palawan
bodays Ibaloi
farrais khinaang Fontok
gaganayan Ilokano/Igorot
gendaw belatik Subanen
lubang Bikol
magbangal Bukidnon
mbangal Maranao
seretar Teduray
tatlong Maria Spanish-Tagalog ('three Marias')
trismariiya Itbayaten ('three Marias')

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

References

Ambrosio, Dante L. Sandaidigan at Kalangitan, University of the Philippines-Diliman, 2006.

Brown, Robert. "Remarks on the Zodiacal Virgo," The Yorkshire Archaeological Journal vol. IX, 1886, 441-489.

Hoskins, Janet. The Play of Time: Kodi Perspectives on Calendars, History, and Exchange, University of California Press, 1997.

Manansala, Paul Kekai. Sailing the Black Current: Secret History of Ancient Philippine Argonauts in Southeast Asia, the Pacific and Beyond, Booksurge Publishing, 2007.

Osmond, Meredith. Navigation and Heavens, ANU E Press, 2007.

Postma, Antoon. "The Concept of Time among the Mangyans," Asian Folklore Studies, Vol. 44, No. 2 (1985), 231-240.

Reiner, Erica, David Pingree, David Edwin Pingree. Babylonian Planetary Omens, Brill, 1998, 223, 240-1.

The Nusantao

Think of a people living on boats or on houses built on piles in bays and estuaries. The type of people that still exist today all over Southeast Asia. Some of them like the Badjau, Samal and "Sea Gypsies" are semi-nomadic in lifestyle.

The Nusantao that began migrating north through the Philippines to China sometime before 5000 BC were just such a people. Sometime before the Nusantao, waves of long-range migrations may already have been occuring as per Oppenheimer. What makes the Nusantao important is that with them we see signs of the establishment of a long-distance trade network.

I will show evidence that competition arose in this network, largely clan-based, and this competition also had a spiritual component based on the Austronesian dual system. This resulted in types of global trade wars and global spiritual competition. The latter would not classify as "religious wars" as the "fighting" was mostly on a submerged level, and the belief systems probably were not what we think of as religions today.

In terms of material culture, the Nusantao feasted commonly on fish and shellfish. They discarded the latter into massive heaps known alternatively as shell mounds, shell middens and kitchen middens.

Shell mounds were quite common during the early Paleolithic period around 40,000 to 35,000 years ago when they could be found from Europe to Australia. However it was in Vietnam that these artifices continued into the Mesolithic period (Middle Stone Age) of around 11,000 years ago.

Eventually, the Nusantao began burying their dead in the shell mounds usually in a seated position with the knees flexed. They also used the mounds as platforms on which to build houses or as religious platforms.

We will continue discussion on the Nusantao in the next post.