More on migration of Tantric concepts

In 1977, the anthroposophist Pio Filippani-Ronconi suggested that elements of Ismaili Shi'ism appeared to have originated from the Vajrayana Tantric Buddhist doctrine in Tibet.  Specifically he compared the Vajrayana system of the five Dhyani Buddhas, also called Jinas and Tathagatas, to the Holy Family of Islamic mysticism -- the Five of the Mantle.  Indeed, one could favorably compare many elements, particularly in the areas of cosmology and numerology, within the Tibetan and Islamic mystical traditions, and furthermore extend these westward to the Kabbalistic traditions.

The five Dhyani Buddhas are transcendental enlightened beings (Buddhas) as compared to their earthly, human counterparts known as Manusa Buddhas.  Each of the Dhyani Buddhas is linked with a specific cosmic time cycle, and also with a "family" of beings and attributes.  The five-fold division of the cosmos in line with the Dhyani Buddhas recalls the Wuxing classification in China, but we will not pursue that lead in this article.

Dhyani Buddhas are particularly associated with the five primary colors -- white, blue, red, gold/yellow, and green.  

In Islamic mystic tradition, the Five of the Mantle (or Cloak) -- Muhammad; his daughter Fatima, her husband 'Ali; and the couple's sons al-Hasan and al-Husayn -- become primordial, transcendental beings in Twelver Shi'ism.  They are said to have existed before Creation and are linked with successive cosmic cycles in a manner remarkably similar to that of the Dhyani Buddhas.  Additionally, the five are associated with the "Five Lights" or "Five Colors" a reference to the human incarnations of these transcendental beings.

In Tibetan Buddhism, the five Dhyani Buddhas are combined with a sixth being -- the Adibuddha -- representing the pantheistic totality of the group.  Similarly in Islamic mystical tradition, the angel Gabriel becomes the "sixth of you five," which Henry Corbin describes as the "uni-totality" of the pentad.  In both the Tibetan and Islamic systems, this sixth member is associated with the element of the mind, as Vajrasattva (manas "mind") in the case of the Adibuddha, and as the Ruh Natiqa or "Thinking Spirit" in the Ismaili tradition.


Body of Light

The association of the Dhyani Buddhas and the Five of the Mantle with the five colors links conceptually with the belief found in both schools that spiritual adepts can attain a "body of light."

In the Dzogchen and Bonpo traditions of Tibet, this is known as the Rainbow Body or the Rainbow Light Body.   Upon the attainment of the highest yogic plane before death, the yogi dissolves into the "Five Pure Lights," i.e., the five primary colors of the rainbow achieving union with the Dharmakaya, the pantheistic godstuff.

The Sufi "body of light" or "resurrection body" is attained by the adept who completes a sacred itinerary that is generally thought of as imaginal in nature.  Actually the final part of the journey is that in which the devotee travels to union with the Divine in this subtle body of light.


The Inner and Outer Journey

Both the Tibetan and Islamic mystical traditions include concepts of a pilgrimage that the adept undertakes to attain spiritual transformation.

In the Tibetan case, there are clearly both real world along with imaginal sides to this tradition. The pilgrimage sites are real places that have been traditionally used as such including Kamarupa in Assam, the Gondavari River in South India, and the Himalayan range in Nepal and Tibet.  The only really exotic destination is Suvarnadvipa, which also happens to be a key location in this blog's research.

The Tibetan pilgrimage sites are divided into five major groups -- the pitthas, ksetras, chandohas, melapakas and smasanas -- and these are further subdivided by adding the prefix upa- to each major group.  Thus there are five groups of pilgrimage sites, ten in all including subgroups, that are said to correspond also to ten parts of the human body:

Suvarnadvipa is included in the group known as the upamelapakas, which are associated with the feet and the calves.  According to Jamgon Kongtrul, the inner journey of transformation begins interestingly enough from the head and then moves downward toward the feet.  Suvarnadvipa is found at the eighth stage of awakening and is associated with the sacred ground known as the "Higher Gathering Place."  The sacred grounds of the ninth and tenth stages are known respectively as "Cemetery" and "Higher Cemetery" suggesting that the adept is already passed on beyond this life.

The Sufi and Shi'a sacred journey is represented by the journey of the birds to the East toward Mt. Qaf, the eighth mountain in a system that consists of either nine or ten stages.  The birds never proceed beyond Qaf, which is known as the Footstool of God, for the next stages take the adept to the very Throne of God.

For the Sufi mystics also, the inner itinerary begins from the top, starting in the eyes according to al-Kubra then moving down into the face, the chest, and then the rest of the body.  Like Suvarnadvipa, the eighth stage of the Tantric pilgrimage, Mt. Qaf, the eighth sphere, was located in the furthest East.  Abassid tradition places it "behind," i.e. on the other side of the China Sea.



Kabbalah echoes

The Zohar, the central text of Kabbalah that dates back to 13th century Spain, also emphasizes a journey, mainly spiritual in nature, that the practitioner undertakes to reach Gan Eden -- the Garden of Eden, also known as Pardes.  There are actually two Garden of Edens -- a heavenly one that one attains to after death, and an earthly garden where the Shekinah is exiled.

The Shekinah is the female aspect of the Divine that remained in the Terrestrial Paradise after the banishment of humanity.  The Kabbalah adepts seek to rejoin the Shekinah via a sacred pilgrimage to the primordial garden through mystical paths known as Sephirot.  The Sephirot were likened to the organs of the human body, specifically that of Adam Kadmon, the Primordial Man.


The Sephirot shown in a traditional diagram. (Source:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tree_of_life_hebrew.svg)




 
From Wikipedia:  "Metaphorical representation of the Five Worlds, with the 10 Sephirot radiating in each, as successively smaller Iggulim-concentric circles."


At the top of the body is the first Sephira, Keter, the crown of the head, while the tenth and last Sephira corresponding to Gan Eden is Malkuth, which also represents the feet of Adam Kadmon.  The Hebrew term malkuth is related to the malakut of Islamic mysticism with both words referring to the "realm of kings," an area on the border of the earthly and heavenly regions.


Although the sacred journey of Kabbalah was an inner one, the belief in a real world Gan Eden did exist.  According to medieval documents like the Hebrew letters of Prester John, the location of Gan Eden was 'India ha-gedolah or "Further India," the same area where one finds the Sambatyon River and the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel.

Evidence exists that at least some medieval Kabbalists undertook real journeys to these far-off locations.  For example, Abraham Abulafia attempted to find the Sambatyon River with the idea that he could help the world along toward the end times, but also to help undo the "knots" that hindered his own spiritual development. 


Echoes in the East

Suvarnadvipa (Island of Gold) in the Tibetan version of the spiritual itinerary would equate with the locations of Qaf and Gan Eden in the respective Islamic and Kabbalah traditions. As I have argued often here, the Ming Dynasty kingdom known as Lusung (Luzon) was the political and cultural heir to Suvarnadvipa and located in the same geographical political center.

Here we can still find the concept of cyclic and generational time represented in the image of a human body divided into five parts.  The body thus divided could represent five generations of a clan, and also the cycles of regeneration and reincarnation that existed in the previous belief systems.

I have also suggested previously that the sacred lands of Lusung were apparently divided in a quadripartite fashion based on the imagery of the human body.  Thus, we have place names like Olongapo or Ulo ng Apo "Head of the Lord." 

Another example of the human form representing the cosmos or at least the Earth can be seen in the Tausug house architecture that interlinks Earth, tree, house and human body.





A diagram of a traditional pentagonal Tausug house made with nine posts that create an outline of a human body in the well-known squatting figure motif.  The tree acts as the umbilical cord of the Mother Earth extended by a rope tied to a central post.  After nine months, the period of human gestation, the rope is cut.  (Sources  http://media.photobucket.com/image/tausug%20nine%20square%20house%20numbers/kharl_prado/tausug.jpg)


The house with it's symbolic human figure represents the "child" of the Earth and thus is a copy of the world in microcosm. While the oldest form of the Austronesian house had four corner posts, a central post is often added symbolically to represent the center of the world.  Thus, the five posts create an imagery of the cosmos. In the Austronesian scheme of the base, trunk and tip, the base of the house is the bottom and thus one travels back to the "source" by going from top to bottom.  

In another sense, the mythical family of Pinatubo and Arayat can be compared to the Holy Family of the Mantle in Islamic tradition.  In the local folk legends, this family is often represented with five members, for example, Sinukuan and his spouse and their three daughters. However, an extensive review of the traditions would allow us to logically reconstruct the family as consisting of the two deities of Pinatubo and Arayat, standing for the Moon and Sun respectively;  a single child for each of these deities, more connected with the Earth, who are involved in a battle-courtship; and the offspring of the latter who again has an astronomical relationship representing Venus, the Morning Star.

Islamic mystical tradition normally equates Muhammad with the Sun; 'Ali with the Moon; Fatima with Venus; while the al-Hasan and al-Husayn are sometimes equated with the pole stars.  The emphasis on the luminaries and Venus to the exclusion of the other planets is quite telling. The astronomical links here are clearly associated with the association of these "families" with cyclic time.

We also hear of widespread beliefs surrounding the rainbow in the Philippine region .  In some cases, the rainbow was equated with the Supreme Deity, while elsewhere it is seen as the abode of God or the gods.  Sometimes it is viewed as a bridge or boat by which one reaches the Divine after death.  There was a belief that people who died a noble death by the sword, or who were devoured by crocodiles, or struck by lightning, became anitos (deified spirits) and were united with the pantheistic Deity in the rainbow, or through the vehicle of the rainbow.

In Pampanga, the pantheistic nature of the rainbow can be seen in its name pinanari "loincloth of the King" with the "king" here probably referring to the creative force Mangetchay.

Concepts of transformation are also included in the practice of obtaining a mutya, although in this case the transformation involves those still living on earth.  Mutya refers to a pearl or gem that shines and radiates light.  Grace Odal-Devora states: "...the inherent powers and virtues of the various mutya objects can be the basis for conceptualizing on the nature of the self – that starts from discovering the innate powers and inherent virtues within and using them to transform oneself and one’s society – like the transformation of the pearl from slime, mud, sand or dirt into a gem of light, beauty, healing and purity."


Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

References

Cooper, David A. The Ecstatic Kabbalah. Boulder, Colo: Sounds True, 2005.

Corbin, Henry. Cyclical time and Ismaili Gnosis, http://www.amiscorbin.com/textes/anglais/Corbin%20Cyclical%20Time.pdf.


Idel, Moshe. Studies in Ecstatic Kabbalah. SUNY series in Judaica. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1988.

Karma-gliṅ-pa, and W. Y. Evans-Wentz. The Tibetan Book of the Dead: Or, The After-Death Experiences on the Bardo Plane, According to Lāma Kazi Dawa-Samdup's English Rendering. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.

Katz, Nathan. Indo-Judaic Studies in the Twenty-First Century: A View from the Margin. New York: Palgrave Mac Millan, 2007, 64-5.

Merkur, Daniel. Gnosis: an esoteric tradition of mystical visions and unions. SUNY series in Western esoteric traditions. Albany, NY: State Univ. of New York Press, 1993, 217-245.

Odal-Devora, Grace. 2006. Some problems in determining the origin of the Philippine word "mutya" or "mutia."  Paper presented at Tenth International Conference on Austronesian Linguistics. 1720 January 2006. Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, Philippines. http://www.sil.org/asia/philippines/ical/papers.html.

Reyes y Florentino, Isabelo de los.  Notes in order to familiarize myself with Philippine theodicy : the religion of the Katipunan which is the religion of the ancient Filipinos, National Historical Institute, 1980, 4, 6.

Sakili, Abraham P. Space and Identity: Expressions in the Culture, Arts and Society of the Muslims in the Philippines. Diliman, Quezon City: Asian Center, University of the Philippines, 2003.

Silliman, Robert Benton. Religious Beliefs and Life at the Beginning of the Spanish Regime in the Philippines: Readings. Dumaguete City, Philippines: Reproduced by College of Theology, Silliman University, 1964.

Wallace, Vesna A. The Inner Kālacakratantra A Buddhist Tantric View of the Individual. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.

Zangpo, Ngawang, and Blo-gros-mtha'-yas . Sacred Ground: Jamgon Kongtrul on "Pilgrimage and Sacred Geography". Ithaca, N.Y.: Snow Lion Publ, 2001.

More Romanesque motifs: Tree of Jesse and the Tree of Life

The Tree of Jesse is another Romanesque-Gothic motif worth examining for evidence for the eastern influence that I have suggested was largely brought by Sayabiga settlers -- a segment of which may have become or fused with the people known as Agotes.

In 1929, Ananda K. Coomaraswamy had suggested that the theme of the reclining, sleeping Visnu giving birth to the creator god Brahma through a lotus sprouting from his navel, a form of Visnu also known as Padmanabha or  Anantasayana, was the probable source of the Tree of Jesse motif.  I would add that not only was the Padmanabha a source but also the Tree of Life theme from Southeast Asia, and the related motifs found on totem poles and textiles from the same region.



Visnu reclining and sleeping on a bed of serpents (Anantasesa) in the Milky Ocean gives rise to the creator deity Brahma via a lotus that sprouts from his navel.  The relief above is from Ellora Cave 15 and dates to the late 8th century.  (Source: elloracaves.org)



The oldest complete Tree of Jesse depiction from the Chartres Cathedral in France dating to 1145.  Based on Isaiah's prophecy: "there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots" (Isaiah 11:1), the window shows Jesse at the bottom with the tree rising out of his "navel."  (Source: Sacred Destinations)




The full Tree of Jesse from Chartres showing the lineage of Jesus from Jesse. (Source: Tree of Jesse, Wikipedia) 



Padmanabha image from Hampi, India. (Source: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-photo/lraleigh/youarehere./1175963580/img_2579.jpg/tpod.html)


The prototype of the Visnu-Padmanabha motif is found in the Atharvaveda, generally dated to at least the 6th century BCE, which mentions a Great Yaksa, or tree spirit, that sleeps on the cosmic ocean.  Periodically, a lotus springs from the Yaksa's navel giving birth to the creator Prajapati.  When the worship of Visnu began to come to the fore, that deity took the place of the Yaksa in Vaisnava lore.

Visnu-Padmanabha in more or less full form first appears at the 6th century CE Deogarh Temple in central India although in this case the lotus emerges from in back of Visnu from the ocean rather than from his navel.  The example above from Ellora is an early example of the motif with the lotus and Brahma arising from Visnu's navel.  In many cases, the Tree of Jesse springs from in back of the patriarch rather than from his navel, probably for reasons of artistic preference since the tree trunk must taper to a very small diameter when coming from the navel, and looks like it is coming from the belly when the trunk is depicted in a more realistic proportion.

In some cases, the Tree of Jesse is also shown specifically coming from the navel as in the early13th century Bavarian ivory panel shown below.



Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tree_of_Jesse_Louvre_OA10428.jpg


An example of the Visnu-Padmanabha theme that overlaps with the Romanesque period is the giant bronze statue from Angkor in Cambodia dated to the 11th century.  The surviving fragment of this statue is eight feet long and according to some estimates the entire artifact would exceed 20 feet in length making it the largest bronze statue of the ancient or medieval period still extant, if only partially so. 

While the motif of humans or deities arising from vegetation that springs from the navel of a sleeping, reclining male progenitor seems certainly to come from an Indic source, the specific "family tree" motif seems to have Southeast Asian connections.

Firstly, the form of the "tree" is not the classic "family tree" of modern genealogies.  The tree has a vertical orientation similar to pedigree poles and pedigree lineages displayed in Southeast Asian textiles.  In the case of the Tree of Jesse, the older ancestors are at the bottom starting with Jesse and the lineage is shown in order as one goes higher all the way up to Mary, the mother of Jesus, who appears just below her son.

In a similar sense, the totemic pedigree pole generally shows ancestors in order in a vertical fashion.  And in Southeast textiles, ancestor figures, either anthropomorphic or symbolic, are often shown connected, interlocked or overlapping in a vertical fashion based on order of descent.




Maori totem pole, Mt. Victoria, New Zealand (Source: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/dNAo2GzCDCTMiixEzAVvOA)




Maori totem pole (Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/robdickson/370674999/)


Totem pole from Borneo (Source: http://www.taicollection.com/files/index.htm)



Ikat hinggi from Sumba, Indonesia. (Source: http://www.trocadero.com/stores/cranegallery/items/946080/item946080.html)




Mandaya ikat from Mindanao, Philippines with anthropomorphic figures. (Source: http://www.trocadero.com/bundok48/items/930832/en1.html)



Moai or stone statues from Easter Island are found in ceremonial plots known as ahu, which is also the name of the descent group associated with each group of moai.  The statues, the earliest dating back to about 1000-1100 CE, are believed to be those of prominent ancestors and they face towards the lineage's community.  The arrangement in neat rows could possibly show order of descent as in the totem pole, although for practical reasons the moai could not be arranged vertically. (Source: http://www.world-mysteries.com/easter_island.htm)

If one looks closely at the Tree of Jesse images above (click on source links for full size options) from Chartres Cathedral, the figures are not clearly seated (although they could be leaning on the tree trunk) and have their arms outstretched holding the branches of the tree.  One could interpret this as a variation of the squatting figure motif mentioned in the post "More on "Tantric" influence on Romanesque art," with the hands raised up. As mentioned in that article, the squatting figure motif often has ancestral significations.  A similar type of positioning is seen at York Minster dating to 1150, and from Canterbury Cathedral from the late 12th to early 13th century, although in the latter case the figures are seated on throne-like chairs.


Tree of Life motif in Southeast Asian pedigree representations

The burial poles of indigenous peoples of Borneo like the Iban and Kenyah and known by names like pantar and sanggaran are decorated with mythical motifs like the hornbill, the serpent or dragon, spears, swords, and jars.  In the local belief system, these burial poles are seen as symbols of the Tree of Life.



Totem burial pole at the Sarawak Museum. These poles are seen as representing the Tree of Life. (Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/32734523@N08/3060638554)

The vegetative motifs and the birds and serpents often displayed on Maori totem poles indicate that a similar belief system may have also operated at one time with these memorial carvings.

In a similar system, representations of ancestors and totems on Southeast Asian textiles are often shown together with representations of the Tree of Life.



A ba baby carrier from Borneo showing a squatting guardian figure clutching a stylized Tree of Life. (Source: http://www.lelong.com.my/Auc/List/2010-04DeStd58768938_AUCTION_-Traditional-BABY-CARRIER-beads-craft-art-antiques-Dayak.htm)


Tree of Life in Southeast Asia and Oceania

Waruno Mahdi and Stephen Oppenheimer have studied the importance of the Tree of Life theme in the regions of Southeast Asia and Oceania.  Mahdi compared beliefs in this region to those in South Asia, while Oppenheimer studied the Tree of Life myths worldwide.

According to Mahdi, the Tree of Life in Southeast Asia, Oceania and South Asia was predominantly associated with Ficus species due to the characteristic of having aerial roots.



Aerial roots at Ta Promh, Cambodia (Source: http://www.myseveralworlds.com/2007/11/09/the-banyans-of-ta-prohm/)


Aerial roots (Source: http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/1131080103044331310ksDLmg)

Aerial roots extending from the branches to the ground were seen as representing the connection between sky and earth, between the upper and lower worlds in many Austronesian cultures and also in other regional mythologies.  The important of the aerial roots relates not only to the mythology, ritual and folklore, but also apparently to shamanic practices, for example, the Tree of Life motif appears on textiles used in regional shamanic ritual.

However, it was not simply symbols of the Tree of Life that were used. More commonly actual Banyan or Benjamin type trees were placed on temples or ceremonial platforms, or such structures to include meetings houses were located adjacent to particularly significant trees.  Also, ritual ceremony and dance grounds were often marked off by perimeters that corresponded to the shadow cast by a great Ficus with aerial branches. In some cases, the ritual center was carved out of the tree itself.



The Hindu-Buddhist Kalpataru Tree at the Borobudur stupa in Java. Geese and possibly half-geese kinnaras-kinnaris are shown under the tree. (Source: http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=225953707&albumID=495816&imageID=3808997)



Stylized Orang Ulu Tree of Life from Sarawak with aerial roots spiraling to ground.  (Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/87453322@N00/3877832454/)




Tree of Life at the Wat Xieng Thong Temple built in 1560,  Luang Prabang, Laos. (Source: Luang Prabang)



Some Romanesque trumeaus and the Tree of Life

Both Mahdi and Oppenheimer note in their studies the close linkage between the Tree of Life and the bird and serpent/dragon motif.  The bird and serpent can be seen as types of opposites that represent both conflict and also the creative aspect of union. The Tree of Life itself covers many aspects of duality including the opposition of sky and earth, male and female, and death and resurrection, along with related themes involving warring brothers, jealousy, greed, and fertility.

The trumeau, or tympanum column, below is from Sainte-Marie, Souillac, France dating to 1120-35.


Source: http://www.wga.hu/html/zgothic/1romanes/po-12c11/12f_1100.html

For the full size image of the trumeau, click here.

You can see that from three corners of the capital there appear to be what could be interpreted as aerial roots curving down all the way to the base of the trumeau. The claws of the topmost bird figure can be seen clutching one of these roots or branches.

While the scenes involving various creatures gnawing at each other have been interpreted as "hellish," there are obvious Biblical references included on the column such as the Sacrifice of Isaac.

The Sacrifice of Isaac might be appropriate here for it is viewed a symbol of the death and resurrection of Christ, which in turn is a model of the dying and rising tree i.e., the Tree of Life. The gnawing beasts -- griffins, dragons, reptiles, lions -- might represent the conflict associated with the journey from birth to death.  Scenes of violence, hunting, biting, etc. are also often also displayed in Southeast Asian depictions of the Tree of Life.

In trumeaus from Moissac that are believed related to the Souillac one, the bodies of human figures (St. Paul and Prophet Jeremiah) are shown elongated with especially the legs looking like the aerial roots or branches as shown in the Souillac trumeau.



Note the long, root-like legs.  Source: http://employees.oneonta.edu/farberas/arth/Images/arth212images/Romanesque/Moissac/trumeau.jpg




Source: http://employees.oneonta.edu/farberas/arth/Images/ARTH212images/Romanesque/Moissac/trumeau_paul.jpg


One can also view the scrolling branches and the scrolls held by the prophets to side of each ancestor in the Chartres Jesse Tree above as representing aerial roots.  The scrolls held by the prophets flanking Jesse seem to fall down from above their heads and reach all the way to the ground.

Tightly-interlocked animals and humans on the Souillac and Moissac trumeaus might also be seen as similar to a mass of intertwined aerial roots.  The practice of closely interlocking or compressing animals in totemic designs can be found in both Southeast Asia and the Pacific as seen in some of the examples below.





Maori totem pole with highly stylized representations of birds (beaks) and other creatures. (Source: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/wQbwaprEGJRy7xRciJK0Gw)





Maori totem pole (Source: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/xzN3UmPwlz4vCFNG350lAQ)

From Oppenheimer, illustration 32, depicting spirit brothers Lawena and Dawena with one of the cockatoos holding a severed head in its beak, from incised bamboo, Kambot, Papua New Guinea.

From Oppenheimer, illustration 16, Wain and followers showing images tightly compressed in space with many of the creatures biting at the genital areas of others, from incised bamboo, Kambot, Papua New Guinea.



Totem pole from Borneo with stylized hornbill and other creatures. (Source: http://mykambatikworld.blogspot.com/2009/07/blog-post.html)


A modern Maori totem pole designed for tourists.  Here the stylized animals are transformed in to realistic Western-style representations. (Source: http://www.fly-to-neverland.com/nz/nz7.html)


Sets of motifs

The suggested cognates in motifs between the Visnu-Padmanabha theme from India and the Tree of Jesse are:

• Male ancestor or primordial deity is shown reclining with vegetation rising out of navel.
• The said figure is usually shown as sleeping with eyes closed.
• The head is often resting on or propped up by hand.
• The said figure is usually reclining on right side with head on right hand.
• The vegetation can sprout either out of the navel or from the rear of the said figure, in the case of the Tree of Jesse sometimes from his side.
• Humans or deities are sitting, standing or squatting on the vegetation rising out of the navel.

Tree of Jesse (Capuchin's Bible, c. 1180) showing the patriarch reclining on his right side with eyes closed and head resting on right hand, compare with images of Visnu above.  (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:JesseTree.JPG)



 Tree of Jesse (Scherenberg Psalter, c.1260), with head propped on right hand and eyes closed. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cod_St_Peter_perg_139_Scherenberg-Psalter_7v_.jpg)


The Southeast Asian Tree of Life motifs found in common with the Tree of Jesse motif are:

• Vertical arrangement of ancestors in order of descent.
• Ancestors are placed in or around tree.
• Ancestors may be framed in branches/aerial roots of tree, and may be grasping these branches/aerial roots.
• Ancestors may be shown in variation of squatting figure motif -- front-facing with arms outstretched to the side and hands raised.
• The ancestor figures are often connected -- by the trunk of the tree, a root/vine, a line, etc. 
• The Souillac and Moissac trumeaus appear to have representations or stylized representations of aerial roots and the depiction of animals on the columns is similar to that seen on totem poles and other indigenous art in Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

Dating of the motifs in Southeast Asia and the Pacific can be difficult.  For example, squatting figures may be found arranged in either vertical or horizontal lines, and may be connected together, but we cannot say for sure that this represents an ancestral lineage.

Also, in modern times, something as simple as a triangle can represent the Tree of Life to one set of textile weavers, the Cosmic Mountain to another, and both motifs to yet another group of weavers.  However, we do not know for sure that such simple symbols had the same meaning long ago.

However, the combination of South Asian and Southeast Asian motifs fits in nicely with the idea of Sayabiga transmission during the Romanesque period.  The kingdom of Zabag (Sabag) was highly influenced by Tantric Buddhism and other cultural streams from India, and of course, they would have been very familiar with Southeast Asian symbolism.


Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

References

Coomaraswamy, Ananda K. "The Tree of Jesse and Indian Parallels or Sources," The Art Bulletin, Vol. 11, No. 2 (Jun., 1929), pp. 216-220.

Mahdi, Waruno. "Linguisitc and philogical data towards a chronology of Austronesian activity in India and Sri Lanka," IN: Roger Blench, Matthew Spriggs. Archaeology and Language IV: Language Change and Cultural Transformation, Routledge (UK), 1999.

Stephen Oppenheimer. Eden in the East: The Drowned Continent of Southeast Asia, Phoenix, 1999.

Mandalas, Wheel Windows and Rose Windows

Following up on my posts on the evidence of "Tantric" eastern influences in Romanesque Europe, one very interesting element that pops up in Romanesque churches is the wheel window.

The wheel window generally adorns the west fronts of these churches staring in about the 12th century.  The subsequent rose window is widely believed to have been derived from the wheel window.  Most scholars see the wheel window as a development of the earlier Roman oculi, a circular opening in structures for ventilation and lighting.

However, most do admit that the designs of the wheel and rose window may indicate foreign influences. For example, some have suggested that the designs may have come from the six-petaled rosettes of the Khirbat al-Mafjar in Jordan.

A stronger argument exists, I think, linking the wheel window with the dharma cakra (wheel of law), and the initial rose window designs with the mandala.  These cultural elements could have been brought over, again, by the Sayabiga and related peoples.

Firstly, many of the earliest wheel windows have eight "spokes" as in these examples from 12th century Norman England:


Patrixbourne


Barfreston 



Castle Hedingham


(Source for photos:  Mary Berg at the Kent Archaeology Page)


The dharma cakra appears very early in Indian art, for example, in the Asokan architecture, but the spoke number can vary.  By the late ancient period though, the eight-spoked dharma chakra becomes well-established and it is the classical type used in Tibetan Buddhism.  At churches with eight-spoked wheel windows, we often see that many motifs also occur in groups of eight.

Another noteworthy similarity found in many early wheel windows is the use of the column motif for the "spokes."  In the Barfreston and Patrixbourne examples above, these column-spokes form a likeness of a trefoil arch between each spoke.

A traditional widespread form of the dharma chakra displays trefoil-like "knobs" that appear to protrude from each "spoke" through the "rim" of the dharma wheel as in the examples below:


 A dharmacakra on the flag of Sikkim.  Note the trefoil-like knob at each quadrant. (Source: Wikipedia)


A dharma cakra manufactured in Xining, China with large trefoil designs, one for each spoke. (Source: Wikipedia)


Another similarity is that the "rim" in both the dharma chakra and the window wheel is wide and often very ornately decorated, for example, with vegetative motifs.

A very striking comparison can be made between the wheel window of Barfrestron and the dharma cakras found on the Sun Temple of Konark, eastern India, which dates to the 13th century.  In both cases, the rims are decorated with the respective bestiaries of each culture.

Bestiary on rim of Barfreston wheel window includes griffins, winged lions, harpies, crabs and other creatures both real and fabulous. (Source: http://www.green-man-of-cercles.org/articles/bestiary_arches.pdf)

Rim of dharma wheel at Sun Temple of Konarak has elephants, swans, deer, deities, mythical creatures and sensuous couples displayed in a circular vine motif.


Rose windows

The early rose windows were obviously similar to the wheel windows that came before.  For example, the following window from the cathedral at Chartres dating to the late 12th century is sometimes called a rose window and sometimes a wheel window.



Wheel window at Chartres Cathedral (Source:  http://www.sacred-destinations.com/france/chartres-cathedral-photos/)


Here there are twelve column-like spokes in the central figure creating arch-like "petals."  The design is very much like the mandalas of Tibet.

While Tibetan tradition states that mandalas were originally taught by the Buddha, the first mandalas to appear on murals date from about the 10th century.  By the 11th century, highly-sophisticated textile mandalas were made.  While the word "mandala" can refer to any circular type of design, but in Tibetan art it generally referred to a representation of the cosmos that was concentric in nature.

The concentric design of mandalas often resulted in fractal patterns. For example, many Buddhist mandalas  display the fractal plane known as the Sierpinski Carpet.  Even a simple design of concentric circles is fractal in a way -- the outer circle surrounds a circle that in turn surrounds a circle surrounding a circle.

More complex fractal patterns can include, for example, a circle of Buddhas encircled by smaller circles of Buddhas.



The Mandala of the Six Cakravartins dates at least to the 11th-12th century Vajravali text, although it is based on an earlier prototype.  The mandala above was created in the 19th century.  In this mandala, a Cakravartin, or World Emperor, is enclosed in a circle surrounded by eight deities in lotus petal-like containers. The lotus is encircled and placed in a square with cruciform "gates."  Five other Cakravartins in similar presentation surround the central figure. (Source:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mandala_of_the_Six_Chakravartins.JPG)




A 14th century Vajravarahi Awakening Mandala shows a central eight-petaled lotus or rosette with deity figures surrounded by smaller six-petaled lotuses. (Source: http://www.asianart.com/mandalas/page14.html)


In the wheel window of Chartres Cathedral the central lotus or rose-like figure has twelve "petals" and has a rosette-like figure at its center with twelve apses.  The rose is surrounded by smaller circles with eight apses.

These figures with the apses may possibly be related to the description giving in Titurel during the 13th century of the Grail Temple:




Grail Temple plan after Ringbom (A. A. Barb, 1956: 34) following descriptions in Titurel. 


In the following sand painting of a Mandala Palace, the outermost lotus figure has 22 petals, which can be compared to the 22 apses of Titurel's Grail Temple.  The number 22 in Tibetan Buddhism can represent the 22 deities of the Kalacakra Deity's Palace, the 22 Bodhisattvas, etc.



Source: http://buddhistsymbols.info/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/mandala.jpg


  
Architectural changes during the Romanesque period

Changes in design and orientation are also supportive of the idea of eastern influences in line with those already described in this and previous posts.

For example, we see the rise of cruciform churches during this period.  The new architecture is generally seen as a fusion of the Visigothic cruciform church and Mozarabic design elements.  However, one interesting feature is the idea of the church representing Paradise -- something that is carried on into the Gothic period.

The churches now have gates or portals that can be viewed as entrances into a representation of either the divine or the terrestrial paradise.  One interpretation of the trees, vegetation and rivers represented in Romanesque and Gothic churches is that they are intended to represent the Garden of Eden. The palm tree, in particular, is represented as the Tree of Paradise.  In a similar sense, the terraced pyramid temple of Southeast Asia, which also had a cruciform building plan, represented the cosmic mountain, the axis mundi.

Additionally, during this period the churches began to be pointed in an eastward direction.  The high altar was placed at the "top" of the cross in the easternmost part of the church.  However, the churches were not oriented directly at the rising Sun during the equinoxes.  They usually diverged from a few degrees to 15 or more degrees from true East.  Previously Christian churches had no particular orientation and could be facing in any direction.

Now the great majority of temples in South and Southeast Asia traditionally had the same orientation -- toward the East but rarely toward true East.

Various explanations have been given for the orientation of Romanesque churches including the idea that they faced the Sun on first day of building or on the patron saint's day.  Some have also suggested that compasses were used for orientation and that they were thrown off by magnetic declination.

One possibility that could be tested is whether the churches or a subset of them were oriented toward a fixed geographical location like the mosque was oriented toward Mecca.  Giving the paradisaical themes of Romanesque churches, they may, for example, have been pointed toward the perceived location of the Garden of Eden in the East.  If this were the case, then we should see that the churches tend to face more southward as the church's location is more eastward in longitude and northward in latitude.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

References

Abrahamsen, Niels. Orientation of Romanesque Churches and Magnetic Declination in the 12th Century in Denmark. GeoSkrifter, 23. Aarhus: Geologisk Institut Aarhus Universitet, 1985.

Brunius, Teddy. "Old nordic churches and the points of compass" Konsthistorisk Tidskrift/Journal of Art History 66.4 (1997). 03 May. 2010.

Cowen, Painton.  The Rose Window, London and New York, 2005

Grabar, Oleg. Constructing the Study of Islamic Art 2 Islamic Visual Culture, 1100 - 1800. Aldershot [u.a.]: Ashgate Variorum, 2006, 387.

Graham, Robert Maxtone. The Sculptures at the Church of St Nicholas, Barfreston, http://www.green-man-of-cercles.org/articles/bestiary_arches.pdf, 2008.

Hoare, Peter G., Caroline S Sweet, "The orientation of early medieval churches in England," Journal of Historical Geography, Volume 26, Issue 2, April 2000. 

Hughes, Robert. Heaven and Hell in Western Art. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1968.


Kubach, Hans Erich. Romanesque Architecture. History of world architecture. New York: Abrams, 1975.

More on Tantric Influence in Grail Legend

Let's take a deeper look at the suggestion of "Tantric" influence on the Holy Grail legend.

Much research exists on the "Oriental" influences in Grail literature. German scholars have long supported the idea that the Grail epic was modeled on one or more Persian tales. Most of the theories involved pre-Islamic influences. One of the champions of direct Islamic influence was P. Ponsoye in his book L'Islam et le Graal.

Various etymologies were suggested, all open to question, for the unusual names in the Grail legend. The 19th century German writer Josef von Gorres suggested that Parzival was derived from Arabic Parsi-fal meaning "Pure Fool," a suggestion later followed by the composer Richard Wagner. Fridrich von Suhtshek explained the true form of the name as Parsi-wal meaning "Persian flower" or "pure, chaste flower."

Suhtshek also offered Persian prototypes for just about every other character in the Grail epic. Max Unger and Theodore Baker suggested that word "grail" was derived from Persian gohar "pearl" compounded with al "coruscating color." The latter also identify the location of the Grail Castle with the Persian fortress of Kou-i Kouadja. Swedish scholar Lars Ivar Ringbom suggested the Takht-i-Suleyman "Throne of Solomon" in Azerbaijan, which closely matched the descriptions given by Albert von Scharfenburg in Jüngere Titurel written around 1270.

Henry Corbin and Pierre Gallais have done an enormous amount of work equating the Grail with the Iranian Xvarenah jewel, and seeking roots of Grail concepts in Persian dervish-inspired Islamic mysticism.

Other Near Eastern influences have been suggested, but possibilities from further East are treated only more rarely. Alfred Nutt in the 19th century explored the possibility that the Holy Grail originates from the Patra, the Buddha's alms dish. Scholars though have generally avoided comparisons of Grail mysticism with Tantric beliefs except to mention such possibilities. There is however a fair amount written on this subject in popular and "New Age" literature.

One though can piece together two different areas of research to construct a framework for such influence. The area of origins and exchange between Islamic mysticism and Tantra is dealt with fairly thoroughly. In the same sense, the links between Shi'ite, Sufi, Ismaili and similar Muslim groups with European culture at the advent of Grail literature and the direct impact on the latter is equally well-studied.


Indian Influence on Dervishes

Many a scholar has suggested that the Persian dervish, rather strange to ancient Iranian religion, originates from the begging ascetic of India.

W. Ivanow suggested that the group known in Islamic literature as Zutt, originally from the Sind in India, helped spread these practices throughout the Middle East. The Zutt are thought to be related to the present-day Jats and are almost always mentioned in the literature together with the Sayabiga, a group thought to have originated in Zabag but to have domiciled in the Sind and along the Persian Gulf.

The Zutt have been linked both with the Islamic underworld group of entertainers, artisans and con artists known as the Banu Sasan, and with the origin of the Dom Gypsies. Ivanow found an element of Dervish jargon words used both among the Banu Sasan and all Middle Eastern Gypsy groups. The Qasida Sasaniyya of Abu Dulaf mentions that the Zutt were members of the Banu Sasan and we see a number of Indian words mixed in with this jargon speech.

Groups of Zutt and Sayabiga were relocated to the region of Antioch by the Islamic Caliphate, just north of the area that would later become the stronghold of the Syrian Assassins. This fact will become important when we examine the time frame of the first Grail stories.

Previously in this blog, it was suggested that the people of Zabag, or Suvarnadvipa as it was known in India, were deeply involved with groups in Tibet and India in the development of the Kalacakra Tantric doctrine. Thus, the Sayabiga along with the Zutt would have played a role in diffusion of Tantric-like ideas in the Middle East.

In India, where the Sind region was the early major stronghold for Islamic mysticism in South Asia, the mingling of Tantrism with both Sufi and Ismaili sects is historical and beyond doubt, but the early story in the Middle East is more fuzzy.

We find that one of the most important elements in Tantric doctrine in India is the importance of the feminine principle as compared to the situation in the previous brahmin-dominated system. In the Mahacinatantra, it states:

According to the Brahmayamalatantra, after meditating for a thousand years on the shore of the ocean Vasistha was visited by Devi who told him "he had adopted an altoghter wrong path; her worship was unknown in the Vedas; it was known only in the country of Mahacina; and that Vasistha would gain his object if he received instruction from Vishnu now residing there as Buddha.

The word "Devi" above refers to the female divinity, which in the Tantric view was not sufficiently recognized in Vedic religion. In Tantrism we also find a more important place for women in ritual, and just an overall better treatment of women in general.

We can see then that the most powerful male Tantric deities, including the supreme Kalacakra Deity, appear in icons embraced together with their female consorts. In addition, there are important independent female deities like Tara and Prajnaparamita, and a host of lesser goddesses like the Dakinis that are considered important for spiritual development. In many places in India associated with Tantrism, the worship of the goddess Sakti prevails especially among the royal families and in the villages.

While the place of women in Tantric religious ritual has declined, due probably to the "shocking" nature of some rites, a few more politically-correct remnants survive. For example, among the Newars of Kathmandu we find the ritual marriage of the specially-chosen goddess-child known as Kumari to the King of Nepal was practiced until very recently. Also found among the Newars is the symbolic marriage of young virgin girls known as Gauris to Suvarna-kumara of Suvarnabhumi (Golden Land), the latter represented by a bel tree fruit or a golden coin.

While there was no universal dictate against the disabilities that existed for women at the time, in many areas women achieved rights nearly equal to men in areas where Tantrism dominated. However, in some other areas, only marginal changes were made despite the increased stature of women in religious life in which all areas of initiation and worship were open to them.

Further to the West, we find that the Sufi mystics focused much more attention on the feminine principle in theology than was previously the case. Sufism produced great women saints like Rabia, a tradition that continued for centuries. The importance of marriage for both men and women was stressed less than in orthodox Islam. However, it was among the Ismaili sects that we witness some of the most marked developments in divine feminine thinking. Here we see the recognition of the dual principles -- the Kuni as the female and the Qadar as the male principle. Kuni was predominant and she is said to actually create Qadar from her own light. Ismaili women in many areas can lead prayers and religious ceremonies, and they pray and worship alongside their men.

Now even farther to the West, with the advent of the romance cycles we find that the Holy Grail, that was seen by some as a relic of Christ or as a manifestation of Divine Grace, was tended by Grail Maidens and borne in procession by a female Grail Bearer. Even the Grail itself as a cup, chalice, bowl, platter or stone had a decided female imagery. Even more important may be the identity of Cundrie, the woman from the East Indian kingdom of Tribalibot, as the Grail Messenger. Cundrie teaches, chastises, guides and even at times sustains not only the quester Parzival but also the entire Grail company.

Although this outlook as found in Grail literature had little impact on the role of women in the Catholic Church, the rise of "courtly love" and chivalry as present in medieval epics did signal a generally more favorable position and better treatment at least for women of the noble classes.


Human Body as Microcosm of Cosmos

Earlier in this blog, the Kalacakra belief that cosmic time cycles were mirrored in the human body was discussed. This is part of a strong Tantric belief that the human body represents the universe in microcosm.

We find the same sentiments in Islamic mystic tradition. Corbin discusses various beliefs that can be categorized as pantheistic, panentheistic, monist, etc. among the Dervish-inspired sects. Self-realization can be described as discovering one's own Oneness with the Cosmos and even with the Deity.

Among the Ismaili we find a belief in a pattern of history that is both cyclic and linear. There are seven Ismaili eras, each inaugurated by a prophet known as Natiq. Each era was further subdivided into periods related to a Samit "Silent One" and seven Imams, the last of which becomes the Natiq of the new Era. The seventh Imam of the seventh Era is the Mahdi or Qa'im who ushers in the Resurrection. The six previous Natiqs are Adam, Nuh, Ibrahim, Musa, 'Isa, and Muhammad.

In Kalacakra Tantrism, although there is an underlying belief in infinitely repeating time cycles as found in classic Buddhism and Hinduism, the predominant focus is in the progression of Kulika Kings each connected with a century long period. The final Kulika King or "Rigden" conquers the evil forces of the world bringing in a new Golden Age.

Both the Kalacakra and Ismaili cycles are rife with astrological linkages. In Kalacakra thinking, the planetary cycles are further mirrored within the human body. The Muslim astrologer Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi, known in Europe as Albumasar, developed a concept of world ages based on conjunctions of Saturn and Jupiter. These ideas were translated into European languages from Muslim Spain beginning in the mid-12th century with the works of John of Seville, not long before the first Grail stories appeared.

In Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival, one of the most highly-lauded scenes occurs when Cundrie relates Parzival's destiny through the seven planets using Latino-Arabic nomenclature.

"Mark now, Parzival:
The highest of the planets, Zval,
And the swiftly moving Almustri,
Almaret, and the bright Samsi,
All show good fortune for you here.

The fifth is named Alligafir.
Under there the sixth is Alkiter,
And nearest us is Alkamer.

I do not speak this out of any dream. These are the bridle of the firmament and they check its speed; their opposition has ever contended against its sweep.

"For you, Care now is an orphan. Whatever the planets' orbits bound, upon whatever their light is shed, that is destined as your goal to reach and to achieve. Your sorrow must now perish. Insatiety alone will exclude you from that community, for the Grail and the Grail's power forbid false friendship. When young, you fostered Sorrow; but Joy, approaching, has robbed her of you. You have achieved the soul's peace and waited amid sorrow for the joys of the flesh.

These verses have been interpreted widely as applying to everything from the announcement of a new age marked by the World Year to the declaration of world dominion for the new Grail King. More to the point for this work, Cundrie's words are thought by some to imply that Parzival's destiny represents a microcosm of events in the greater cosmos. Whatever the case, given that Wolfram admits his use of an Oriental source from Toledo, it seems likely that at least there are some connections with the ideas of Albumasar if not with those of the Ismailis.

Now is a good time to return to the theory offered here for the transmission of the Grail legend, or at least the related source materials, from East to West.


Sources for the Grail Epics

Three authors are connected with the beginning of the Grail literature -- Chretien de Troyes, Robert de Boron and Wolfram von Eschenbach.

All three appear to have been contemporaries to some extent as they all wrote their works around the end of the 12th and the beginning of the 13th century. Chretien's work is generally thought to be the oldest, and Wolfram mentions it in his own book. However, some scholars have suggested that Boron had no knowledge of Chretien and he does not mention either of the other two authors.

All three attribute their works to external sources. Chretien states that he based his version on a book given to him by Philip, Count of Flanders. Boron states that he received a "great book" from "great clerics." Wolfram mentions the bard Kyot who obtained the story from Flegatanis, a "heathen" from Toledo. He also claims to have researched the archives of the House of Anjou.

There is some linkage between Chretien's source and Wolfram's research in Anjou. Earlier it was already suggested that von Eschenbach's tale contained veiled references to the House of Anjou with Gahmuret representing Geoffrey Plantagenet with Parzival as his son Henry II. Gahmuret was an Angevin not in the line of succession who becomes a king through his marriage to the emperor's widow.

There was of course one historical Angevin who fits this description -- Geoffrey Plantagenet.

As it turns out, Philip the Count of Flanders was the son of Sibylla de Anjou, Geoffrey's sister. Philip ventured to Jerusalem to visit his first cousin, Baldwin IV, the last King of Jerusalem from the House of Anjou, a leper with no male heir. He came with the express purpose of marrying his vassals to Baldwin IV's daughter but was rejected and insulted by competitors among the nobility of Jerusalem. He left the city to fight the Muslim enemy in the principality of Antioch instead.

When Philip returned to Europe, he employed Chretien to render his mysterious source book into verse. Using the hypothesis offered here, Wolfram's Anfortas, the Grail King of Montsalvat (Jerusalem) would be Baldwin IV's father, Amalric I of Jerusalem. Baldwin IV, the heir-less king and last Angevin to rule the city would then be represented symbolically by the wounded leg of Anfortas. Wolfram probably threw in some inconsistencies as to maintain a degree of deniability that his story applied to real people. Thus, it is Gahmuret rather than his wife who is a sibling of Anfortas.

Parzival states that the celibate knights who guarded the Grail are Templars and that the first Grail King Titurel established the order. Thus it would have been Baldwin II of Jerusalem, who first accepted the Knights Templar, who answers to Titurel. The latter's son Frimutel is Fulk V, who in reality was the son-in-law of Baldwin II becoming the Angevin King of Jerusalem through his marriage to Melisende.

When Chretien wrote his Grail work between 1180 and 1191, Baldwin IV may have already died and Jerusalem may have fallen to Saladin (1187), although the fall of the city is never hinted at in any of the three early Grail books. Instead we find the development of a cycle of literature that introduces a new concept -- that of the Holy Grail.

Grail kingship is linked originally with the title of King of Montsalvat-Jerusalem, and King of the Grail Temple/Palace in the same location. The Grail was guarded by Templars and previously in this blog it was noted that the object had some of the same characteristics of the pusaka or sacred heirlooms of Southeast Asia tied to the succession of royalty, chiefs and clan leaders. The Grail kingship had hereditary components but was not entirely linked to male primogeniture. One fascinating similarity is the animistic character of both the Grail and the pusaka heirlooms.

Like the talking jars of the sultans and datus of Insular Southeast Asia, the Grail communicated with and guided those in the Grail company. This is one facet that did take hold as much in South Asia or the Middle East. However, it may be that such ideas were retained by the Sayabiga who along with the Zutt were relocated to Antioch. These Sayabiga may have maintained some contact through the trade routes with their former home of Zabag. The Templars appear to have borrowed much in terms of their own organization and structure from the Ismaili Assassins of Syria located directly to the south of Antioch principality. They also maintained unusually close political relations with the Assassins. In 1165, emissaries from Prester John, who is linked here with the King of Zabag, delivered a letter from the latter king to the Pope and Christian emperors. Parzival and other Grail legend authors closely connect Prester John with the Holy Grail, albeit anachronistically.

Even Chretien seems to have borrowed from Prester John's letter, which mentions a table in the king's palace with legs of ivory. Parzival and Jüngere Titurel describe the table bearing the Holy Grail in the Grail Castle as having ivory legs. Chretien says the same table has ebony legs and an ivory top. The palace of Prester John, like that of the King of Shambhala and the Grail Castle, have strong mystical links.

The round churches of the Templars were said to have been modeled on the Dome of the Rock, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, sometimes referred to as the 'Temple of Solomon.' The Templar headquarters was originally located in or next to this mosque in Jerusalem. Ringbom has shown, quite conclusively I think, that the Grail Temple as described in Titurel was inspired by the Takht-i-Suleyman, the "Throne of Solomon" in Azerbaijan. In both cases, we find round, domed and lavish buildings with the stars, marked by rubies in the Takht and red jewels in Titurel, and heavens displayed on the domed ceiling. In both cases, the buildings have only three entrances, and the outer circle of the building is divided into 22 parts each marked by an ornamental tree. The temple described in Titurel was probably inspired by the Takht as partially rebuilt by the Shi'ite and heavily Sufi-influenced Ilkhanate dynasty in the 13th century.

Ringbom has also shown that both the Grail Temple and the Takht are types of mandalas. A mandala is a representation of the universe used in Tantric ritual. It usually consists of a circular design on the outside with usually a square design within, but also at times another circle. There usually is at least one instance in a mandala where an outer design is replicated in smaller form within the mandala, an example of the macrocosm-microcosm principle.



Grail Temple plan after Ringbom (A. A. Barb, 1956: 34) following descriptions in Titurel. Note mandala-like replica of building structure at central sanctum where Holy Grail was kept. The domed ceiling was said to display the celestial vault further giving the idea of a cosmic representation. Ringbom also found mandala-like features in the sanctuary of the Ismaili "Old Man of the Mountain," the leader of the Assassins at Alamut.

Now with the Grail acting as the token of the holy kingship, even the looming loss of Jerusalem would allow a 'sacred lineage' to prevail at least in the eyes of those closely connected with the House of Anjou. Thus, it may not be entirely by coincidence that Henry II's son and heir (by force) Richard I would lead the efforts of the Third Crusade to retake Jerusalem, although he was forced by election to accept Conrad of Montferrat as King of Jerusalem. When the latter was killed by Assassins before his coronation, Richard was widely suspected in the plot. He married his nephew Henry II of Champagne to the widow Isabella eight days after the death making Henry II the pretender King of Jerusalem. Angevin hopes for the Holy City though ended as they could not persevere against Saladin's forces.

Quite likely some type of Holy Grail really existed, maybe first among the Templars who had shown they were quite amenable toward Eastern mysticism. However, such ideas may not have been strange either to the House of Anjou.

Robert de Boron's "great clerics" who authored the source of his Grail book may very well have been Templar clerics. The Templar bond with the House of Anjou in Jerusalem was natural. The sources found by Wolfram at the county seat in Anjou may have consisted of the same or similar works as found with Boron. Philip, Count of Flanders, who gave Chretien his source book had obvious enough ties with Anjou through his mother Sibylla. He also helped mediate disputes between Henry II, on the one hand, and Louis VII of France and Thomas Beckett on the other. Henry II of course in addition to being the English king was also the Count of Anjou at the time.

Philip had shown keen interest in establishing marital ties with the Angevins in Jerusalem, at which time he could have easily come across the same source materials as Boron and Wolfram. It might be worth noting also that Henry II had close relations with the Templars and was the first to grant them land in England, and that Guy de Lusignan, the king who succeeded Baldwin IV in Jerusalem was Henry II's vassal.

From the Angevin and Templar connections, we can suggest that the eastern links of the Grail literature are quite likely. The Tantric influences would have come from the same sources that influenced Ismaili and other Islamic mystic traditions.




Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

References

Barb, A. A. "Mensa Sacra: The Round Table and the Holy Grail," Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, Vol. 19, No. 1/2. (Jan. - Jun., 1956), pp. 40-67.

Bosworth, C. E. The Mediaeval Islamic Underworld: The Banu Sasan in Arabic Society and Literature, Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1976.

Corbin, Henry. Temple and Contemplation, translated by Philip Sherrad & Liadain Sherrad, London: KPI & Islamic Publications, 1986.

__, The Voyage and the Messenger, translated by Joseph Rowe, Berkeley, California: North Atlantic Books, 1998.

Daftary, F. The Ismailis. Their History and Doctrines, Cambridge, 1989.

Galais, Pierre. Perceval et l'Initiation, Paris: Editions Sirac, 1972.

Ivanow, Wladimir. "On the Language of the Gypsies of Qainat (in Eastern Persia)," J(R)ASB, N.S. 10/11, 1914, 439-55. Idem. "Further Notes on the Gypsies in Persia," J(R)ASB, N.S. 16, 1920, 281-91. Idem, "An Old Gypsy-Darwish Jargon," J(R)ASB, N.S. 18, 1922, 375-83. Idem, "Jargon of Persian Mendicant Darwishes," J(R)ASB, N.S. 23/1, 1927, 243-45.

Nutt, Alfred. "The Legend of the Buddha's Alms Dish and the Legend of the Holy Grail," Archaeological Review 3 (1889), 267-71.

Ponsoye, Pierre. L'Islam et le Graal étude sur l'ésotérisme du Parzival de Wolfram von Eschenbach, Éditions Arché, 1976

Ringbom, L. A. Graltempel und Paradies. Beziehungen zwischen Iran und Europa im Mittelalter, Stockholm, 1951.

Suhtshek, F. von. La Traduction du Parsiwalnama par Wolfram d'Eschenbach," Forschungen und Fortschritt, nr. 10, Berlin, 1931.

Woodroffe, John. Shakti and Shakta, Madras: Ganesh & Co., 1975.