Glossary: Magnetic Mountain

In the lore of the cosmic mountain and axis mundi we find repeatedly the theme of the "Magnetic Mountain" or the "Magnetic Isles." Other names include "Loadstone Mountain" and the "Great Loadstone."

Myths of the "whirling mountain" like Mount Mandara in the Sea of Milk may be related to the magnetic mountain theme where a whirling motion is also described.

Given the idea of magnetism and a whirling geography, late medieval writers in Europe naturally equated the Magnetic Mountain with the North Pole. However, the early references to this mysterious mountain place it instead in the "Indies."

Pliny mentions a magnetic mountain in this region during the first century. In the second century, Ptolemy identifies the ten magnetic isles of Maniolae in the Gangetic Gulf between Sri Lanka and the Malay Peninsula, where ships built with or carrying iron dare not approach.

Two centuries later we find in the Chinese text Nan Zhou Yi Wu Zhi, the mention of a similar place where only wood joint vessels should venture located in the extreme southern ocean off the coast of Tongking or Cochin-China (Giaochi). Muslim geographers like Kazwini and Idrisi mention the Loadstone Mountain and it is found in the tales of the Arabian Nights. In all cases, the geologic anomaly occurs in the "Far East" rather than in the North.

Roman de Ogier le Danois of the 14th century locates the Great Loadstone in Avalon "not far on this side of the terrestrial paradise, whither were rapt in a flame of fire Enock and Helios." Ogier is shipwrecked there after the iron nails and bolts of his vessel are pulled out by the areas's magnetic forces, and it is there he encounters Morgan le Fay. He also meets the fire-breathing fairy horse Papillon "famed for his skill and wisdom" with whom he returns to France from the Indies.

During the same century, John of Mandeville places the 'Adamant Islands' where ships use wooden pegs rather than iron nails in the eastern kingdom of Prester John.

Esoteric meaning

While the references to magnetic mountains or isles may be only an explanation of the wooden joint ships of the Indian Ocean, the theme often took on deeper meanings.

Arabic literature like the One Thousand and One Nights tell of a brazen/bronze horseman and brazen horse on the black, whirling Magnetic Mountain (The Story of the Third Kalendar). On the chest of the brazen horseman is a tablet of lead with mystical engraved names and talismans. A king is requested to climb the mountain and shoot the rider off the horse with his own lead arrows after which the sea will rise and engulf the mountain. After that the king was told he would be rescued by a man in a boat.

When the king accomplishes the tasks and shoots the brazen rider off his brass horse, the sea rises and swallows the mountain rendering it harmless to passing ships. In the approaching boat is a brazen man with a lead tablet on his chest engraved with names and talismans. The man rescues him and takes him back to his kingdom.

Medieval tales of Virgil the Magician, starting in Norman times, mention both the Magnetic Mountain and the brazen or bronze horse and horseman but in separate legends. Here the brazen horseman points with his brass lance toward the enemies of his kingdom.

Similar legends were told about the brass or bronze horseman mounted on the top of the Palace of the Green Dome of Caliph Mansur, the father of Harun al Rashid. In 1038, Khatib mentions this brass statue magically pointing toward the direction of impending attacks on the Caliphate. A similar brazen horseman was said to be found in Granada, Spain at the Hill of the Albaycin during Moorish rule.

The black mountain of the Arab tales was transferred as the Rupes Nigra in late medieval Europe to the North Pole. Eden also was moved to this location in this school of thinking playing on old legends of northernly or northwesternly journeys to the lush paradisical lands of Hyperborea and Avalon. There, people could frolic au naturel throughout the year. A type of supernatural explanation sometimes based on the magnetism of the Rupes Nigra itself explains the unusual suggested warmth in the polar region.

Taking the concept of the Great Loadstone to new heights, William Gilbert in his 1600 book De Magnete proposed a "magnetic philosophy" that ascribes an animistic spirit in all things to geomagnetism. One of the greatest proponents of this philosophy was Athanasius Kircher. A scientist, orientalist and occultist, Kircher spent years researching subterranean forces including the volcanoes of Etna, Stromboli and Vesuvius. He was even lowered into the crater of the latter volcano to study its dimensions. Kircher's two-volume Mundus Subterraneus was exceptionally highly regarded during his time.

Pinatubo and Magnetism

The Zambales (Sambal) range, where Mt. Pinatubo is found, is home to one of the world's major and best preserved ophiolites. An ophiolite is a geological formation that causes magnetic anomalies creating its own magnetic and gravity fields.

Most ophiolites have been broken into many parts by ocean action, but the Zambales ophiolite is a massive intact formation measuring 150 kilometers long and 40 kilometers wide. This area has long been known for its remarkably pure magnetic iron ores containing 75 to 80 percent metal.

Aside from the magnetism of the ophiolite and magnetic iron deposits, Zambales also contains large amounts of magnetic lahar deposited after Pinatubo's last eruption. Pinatubo is described, by Imai et al., as an "east-dipping subduction of the Eurasian plate at the Manila Trench." The Zambales Ophiolite acts as its basement rock.

Pinatubo magnetic dacite pumices are divided into strongly magnetic types known as ferromagnetic, and weakly magnetic types known as antiferromagnetic.

Most of the pumice and lithic deposits of Pinatubo have reversed magnetism with respect to the geomagnetic field direction. Some ancient stone deposits, however, have scattered natural remanent magnetization.


Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

References

Beard, Charles R. Luck and Talismans: A Chapter of Popular Superstition, Kessinger Publishing, 2004.

Bina, M., J. C. Tanguy, V. Hoffmann, M. Prévot, E. L. Listanco, R. Keller, K. Th. Fehr, A. T. Goguitchaïchvili & R. S. Punongbayan. "A detailed magnetic and mineralogical study of self-reversed dacitic pumices from the 1991 Pinatubo eruption (Philippines)," Geophysical Journal International, Volume 138, July 1999, p. 159.

Dimalanta, C.B., Yumul,G.P.,Jr., De Jesus, J.V. and Faustino, D.V., 1999. Magnetic and gravity fields in southern Zambales: Implications on the evolution of the Zambales Ophiolite Complex, Luzon, Philippines. Geol. Soc. Malaysia Bull. 43, 537-543.

Imai,Akira, Eddie L. Listanco, and Toshitsugu Fujii. "Highly Oxidized and Sulfur-Rich Dacitic Magma of Mount Pinatubo: Implication for Metallogenesis of Porphyry Copper Mineralization in the Western Luzon Arc," FIRE and MUD: Eruptions and Lahars of Mount Pinatubo, Philippines, http://pubs.usgs.gov/pinatubo/contents.html, 1999.

The Kings of Fire and Water

Among the Austronesian-speaking Jarai and Rhade people of the Central Highlands of Vietnam and Cambodia exist the famed Kings of Fire and Water.

The following excerpt gives some information on these regents whom Frazier classifies as "departmental kings of nature."

---

The first mention of these mysterious shamans in any European account was in the 1666 account by Father Giovanni Marini of his travels through Tonkin and Laos.Writing of leaders in Tonkin, he observes that "one counts five princes who are sovereigns and if one wants to include certain people who live in the more remote and wild mountains and who follow two small Roys called the Roy of Water and Roy of Fire, then there would be seven."

Later Marini explains that "the sixth and seventh [sovereigns] are found in the Rumoi, where the savages live, and some of them obey the two little Roys of Fire and Water as I have noted above." 11 It was not until the mid-nineteenth century that additional information about the King of Fire and the King of Water began to appear in European works.Early French visitors in Cambodia became intrigued with stories about the two shamans, so they began inquiring about them.After visiting the ruins of Angkor Wat in 1850 (ten years before Henri Mouhot, who often is credited with "discovering" them), Father C. E. Bouillevaux traveled into northeastern Cambodia, reaching the country of the "Penongs" (a Cambodian term for the mountain people) in September 1851. There he was told that farther north among the Charai (Jarai) there was a man called the King of Fire and Water who did not have any real authority but who nonetheless commanded considerable respect because he was the keeper of a! sword and other objects to which the Jarai attached "une importance superstitieuse." Bouillevaux's informants added that the kings of Cambodia and Cochinchina sent gifts to the King of Fire and Water every three years. 12

Subsequent accounts by French scholars made it clear that there was not one shaman but two, and some associated the sacred saber of the King of Fire with the Prah Khan, the fabled sword possessed by Khmer royalty.In an 1883 publication, Etienne Aymonier reports that according to Norodom, the Cambodian monarch at the time, the Prah Khan was made for King Prah Ket Mealea (who is considered to be a legendary ruler). Norodom added that if it should rust it would be a bad omen for the kingdom. Aymonier also was told that the hilt of the Prah Khan was in the hands of the Sdach Phloeung (King of Fire) and the sheath was held by the Sdach Toeuk (King of Water). The blade of the Prah Khan, however, was in the care of the Baku, the strange Brahmin priests who maintained a Hindu cult in the royal palace and served as guardians of the royal treasure. 13

In his 1888 work, J. Moura reported that the King of Fire had a sacred saber and the King of Water possessed a sacred liana that had been cut centuries before but had remained alive and green.He mentions that the Cambodians and Cham believed that the talismans once belonged to the Khmer and Cham rulers.Expressing the view that these highland figures were "good peasants" without any real political authority who lived by their labor and the gifts of followers, Moura concedes that nonetheless their supernatural powers were unquestioningly acknowledged by the people.

Their reputations, he notes, were widespread throughout southern Indochina.On the occasion of marriages and rituals honoring the spirits, the people would summon the King of Fire.A special place was prepared for him, white cloth was placed on the ground, and his path was strewn with ribbons of cloth. The faithful would press behind him, holding the train of his loincloth and shouting with joy. When the Kings of Fire and Water appeared in public, everyone must bow, for if this homage was not rendered, terrible storms would ensue.

The Jarai, he writes, feared above all the powerful talismans, which also were known throughout the region. Illustrating the fame of the sacred saber, Moura notes that the kings of Siam and Cambodia as well as Pu Kombo, the well-known Cambodian rebel at the time, all had attempted to gain possession of this weapon because it would have enhanced their prestige and guaranteed them success in battle.The spirit in the saber did not permit this, and the Jarai retained ownership of the famous talisman, which they kept wrapped in exquisite silk further protected by cotton cloth. 14

Moura was the first Westerner to give any details about tributary relationships between the Kings of Fire and Water and the Khmer rulers.He writes that until Norodom ascended the throne in 1859, the Khmer sovereigns sent annual gifts consisting of a richly harnessed young male elephant, some brass wire, glassware, iron, cotton cloth, and elegant silk cloth to wrap the sacred saber.These gifts were taken upriver to the governor of Kratie, who was responsible for transmitting them to the highland kings.Moura was unable during his visit to the Cambodian province nearest the highlands to locate anyone who had been in the land of the King of Fire and the King of Water.

The Cambodians expressed fear of the dreaded "forest fever" in the highlands and claimed that there were no routes or means of transport or any authority to whom one might turn in case of trouble.

The Kings of Fire and Water reciprocated by sending "their august Khmer brother" a large loaf of wax bearing the thumbprint of the King of Fire and two large calabashes, one filled with rice and the other with sesame seeds.Sometimes they also sent ivory and rhinoceros horns. Upon arrival in the Khmer capital, these presents were put in the care of the Baku, and Moura notes that when he visited the royal treasure, it still contained one of the rhinoceros horns sent by the Kings of Fire and Water. The wax was used to make candles for ceremonies at the palace.During times of distress such as epidemics, floods, or war, some of the sesame, the rice, or both was cast on the ground to appease the evil spirits.

The relationship between the Cambodian kings and the highland shamans appears to have included a military alliance, with the Kings of Fire and Water responsible for guarding the northeastern approaches to the Khmer kingdom.Moura reports that when King Ang Duong ( 1841 or 1845 to 1859) was warring with the Vietnamese, the Kings of Fire and Water sent him nine elephants to aid in his struggle.They were driven by Jarai mahouts to the capital at Oudong, and there was a celebration to welcome them.When they set out, laden with gifts, for the return journey to the highlands, some of the mahouts fell victim to smallpox and died. The following dry season, the King of Fire sent a request to the Khmer king to have the mahouts' bodies returned to the highlands.

Unfortunately, their remains could not be found, so Ang Duong arranged to have special gifts sent to the King of Fire as compensation.Moura adds that in 1859 Norodom ceased sending the traditional gifts to the Kings of Fire and Water, and only a few years before Moura's arrival in Cambodia some Jarai notables approached the governor of Kratie to inquire why gifts were no longer being sent. Norodom did not respond, so the Jarai returned to the highlands.This event marked the end of these tributary relations.

Pétrus Ky's mention of the court of Hue's sovereignty over the King of Fire and the King of Water is a reference to tributary relations established between the two, probably during the reign of Vo Vuong ( 1738-65). The first recorded exchange of tributary gifts took place in 1751. In the Official Biographies of Dai Nam found in the royal archives at Hue it states that in the thirteenth year of Vo Vuong's rule, Thuy Xá and Hóa Xá (the King of Water and the King of Fire, respectively) sent an emissary bearing tribute. 15 The two upland leaders were rewarded by the emperor, and until the Tay Son Revolt became intense in 1773, tribute was sent regularly. ------------------

Kingdom in the Morning Mist: Mayraena in the Highlands of Vietnam. By Gerald Cannon Hickey - author. Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press. Place of Publication: Philadelphia. Publication Year: 1988. Page Number: 69 - 72.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

The "Manilamen" and New Orleans

Some interesting tidbits given the recent tragic news from New Orleans on the "Manilamen," mariners from the Philippines who worked on the Spanish galleons and settled on the banks of Lake Ponchartrain.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento
---

Manilamen: The Filipino Roots in America
Copyright 2002
(Excerpted from The Filipino Americans (1763-Present): Their History,
Culture, and Traditions by Veltisezar Bautista. Bookhaus Publishers.
Hardcover, 8 1/2 x 11, 256 pages, $29.95.

St. Malo House Drawings - From Nestor Palugod Enriquez Collection

About 235 years ago, a settlement was established by Filipino deserters
from Spanish ships at Saint Malo in the bayous of Louisiana, near the
city of New Orleans, Louisiana. The people who settled there were
called Manilamen, who jumped ship during the galleon trade era off New
Orleans, Louisiana, and Acapulco, Mexico, to escape Spanish
brutalities. Known as Tagalas,* they spoke Spanish and a Malay
dialect.** They lived together-governing themselves and living in
peace and harmony-without the world knowing about their swamp
existence.

Thus, they became the roots of Filipinos in America.
It was only after a journalist by the name of Lafcadio Hearn published
an article in 1883 when their marshland existence was exposed to the
American people. It was the first known written article about the
Filipinos in the U.S.A.
(Note: This write-up was adapted from Hearn's article entitled Saint
Malo: A Lacustrine Village in Louisiana, published in the Harper's
Weekly, March 31, 1883.)

The Times-Democrat of New Orleans chartered an Italian lugger-a small
ship lug-rigged on two or three masts-with Hearn and an artist of the
Harper Weekly on board. The journey began from the Spanish fort across
Lake Ponchartrain. After several miles of their trip, Hearn and the
artist saw a change in scenery. There were many kinds of grasses,
everywhere along the long route. As Hearn described it, "The shore
itself sinks, the lowland bristles with rushes and marsh grasses waving
in the wind. A little further on and the water becomes deeply clouded
with sap green-the myriad floating seeds of swamp vegetation. Banks
dwindle away into thin lines; the greenish, yellow of the reeds changes
into misty blue."

Then later, all they could see was the blue sky and blue water. They
passed several miles of unhampered isolation. They found a cemetery in
the swamp where dead light-keepers were believed buried. They passed
Fort Pike and a United States customs house, the eastern part of the
Regolets; later, they reached Lake Borgne.

I. THE DESTINATION

And then the mouth of a bayou-Saint Malo Pass appeared. Afterwards,
they finally reached their destination: Saint Malo! The sight that
first attracted their attention was the dwellings of the Manilamen. The
houses were poised upon supports above the marsh. Then they saw the
wharf, where unusual dwellings were grouped together beside it.
Fishnets were hung everywhere. Almost everything was colored green: the
water, the fungi, the banks, and "every beam and plank and board and
shingle of the houses upon stilts."

Manila-style Houses. Hearn described the houses:

All are built in true Manila style, with immense hat-shaped eaves and
balconies, but in wood; for it had been found that palmetto and woven
cane could not withstand the violence of the climate. Nevertheless, all
of this wood had to be shipped to the bayou from a considerable
distance, for large trees do not grow in the salty swamp.

Below the houses are patches of grass and pools of water and stretches
of gray mud, pitted with the hoof-print of hogs. Sometimes these
hoof-prints are crossed with the tracks of the alligator, and, a pig is
missing. Chickens there are too-sorry-looking creatures; many have
but one leg, others have but one foot: the crabs have bitten them off.
All these domestic creatures of the place live upon fish.

There were about thirteen or fourteen large dwellings standing upon
wooden piles. Considered as the "most picturesque" of these houses
was perhaps that of Padre Carpio, the oldest Manilaman in the village.

Carpio was like a judge in the settlement. All quarrels among the
inhabitants were submitted to him for arbitration and decisions.
Carpio's house consisted of three wooden edifices; the two outer
edifices looked as if they were wings. The wharf was built in front of
the central edifice probably for convenience.

To protect themselves from bites of mosquitoes and other insects, the
dwellers had every window closed with wire netting. During warm
weather, sandflies attacked the fishermen, and, at all times, fleas
attacked them. Reptiles, insects, and other animals abounded in the
swamps.

What Do They Looked Like? Hearn described the dwellers:

Most of them are cinnamon-colored men; a few are glossily yellow, like
that bronze into which a small proportion of gold is worked by the
moulder. Their features are irregular without being actually repulsive;
some have the cheek-bones very prominent, and the eyes of several are
set slightly aslant. The hair is generally intensely black and
straight, but with some individuals it is curly and browner....None of
them appeared tall; the great number were under-sized, but all
well-knit, and supple as fresh-water eels. Their hands and feet were
small: their movements quick and easy, but sailorly likewise, as of men
accustomed to walking upon rocking decks in rough weather.

In the fishing village, there was one white man called the Maestro (the
Tagalog word for teacher) who had been the ship's carpenter. There
was one black man, a Portuguese Negro, who was believed to be a
Brazilian castaway.

The Maestro spoke the Manilamen's dialect (probably Tagalog, the
dialect in Manila). There were times that he acted as a "priest" or
man of God by conferring upon some non-Christian dwellers the sacrament
of the Catholic faith.

According to the Maestro, the Manilamen often sent money to friends in
Manila to help them emigrate. Usually, the Filipino seamen continued to
desert at every chance from Manila galleons when they docked in New
Orleans, Louisiana, or in Acapulco, Mexico. They settled in the
marshlands of Louisiana where no Spaniards could reach them.

Living there, they had their contacts with inhabitants of Louisiana,
particularly with residents of New Orleans, only a few miles away from
the swamplands.

II. THEIR WAY OF LIFE

The Filipino fishermen seldom got sick, although they lived mostly on
raw fish that was seasoned with oil and vinegar. (There was no mention
of rice, even though rice was and still is the staple food of
Filipinos.) There was no liquor found in any of the houses.

Those Manilamen were polite. In fact, every man in the settlement
greeted Hearn and the artist with buenas noches when they met them at
night.

For Men Only. No woman lived in the settlement during Hearn's visit.
The fishermen with families had their wives and children in New Orleans
and in other localities.

There were two occasions in the past, however, during which two women
dwelled in the village. The first woman left after her husband died.
The second woman departed after an attempted murder was made on her
husband.

One night a man attacked her husband, but the woman and her little son
helped subdue the culprit. The villagers tied his hands and feet with
fishlines. Then the man was fastened to a stake driven into the muddy
land. The next day he was dead. The Maestro buried him in the gray mud.
A rude wooden cross was placed on the grave.

No Tax Man, No Policeman. In the settlement, the Manilamen promulgated
their own rules and laws. This was done even though they had no
sheriff, police, or prison. The settlement was never visited by any
Louisiana official, even though it was within the jurisdiction of the
parish of St. Bernard. No tax man ever attempted to go there, either.

During busy fishing seasons, the settlement usually had about a hundred
men. In case of disputes, the problem was usually submitted to the
oldest man in the settlement, Padre Carpio. Usually, Padre Carpio's
decisions were final; no one contested them. If a man refused a verdict
or became a problem, he was jailed within a "fish-car." Naturally,
due to hunger and the harsh weather conditions, coupled sometimes with
rising tides, he would usually change his mind and obey any rule or
decision. Even if the settlers were all Catholics, a priest rarely went
to the village.

No Furniture. There was no furniture in any of the dwellings: no table,
no chair, and no bed. What could be considered as mattresses were
filled with what Hearn called "dry Spanish-beard." These were laid
upon "tiers" of shelves faced against the walls. The fishermen
slept at night "among barrels of flour and folded sails and smoked
fish."

Art Treasures. What could be considered art treasures preserved at the
village were a circus poster and two photographs placed in the
Maestro's sea-chest. One was a photo of a robust young woman with
"creole eyes" and a bearded Frenchman. They were the wife and
father of the Maestro, the ship's carpenter.

Saint Malo-New Orleans Connection. The swamp dwellers had contacts with
the city of New Orleans as it was in New Orleans where some of their
families lived. It was also the headquarters of an association they
formed, La Union Philipina. Furthermore, when a fisherman died, he was
usually buried temporarily under the reeds in the village. A wooden
cross was planted on his grave. Later, the bones were transported to
New Orleans by other "luggers" where they were permanently buried.

At the Restaurant They Eat. There was a restaurant in the locality of
Lake Borgne. Formerly owned by a Manilaman and his wife, but owned by
some Chinese during Hearn's visit, the eatery was mostly patronized
by Spanish West Indian sailors. Even businessmen of New Orleans
frequented it. The cost of food was cheap and the menu was printed in
English and Spanish.

Father and Son. A half-breed Malay, Valentine, was considered as the
most intelligent among the fishermen. Educated in New Orleans,
Valentine left his job in the city to be with his father, Thomas de los
Santos, in the settlement. His father, married to a white woman, had
two children, Valentine and a daughter named Winnie. Valentine became
the best "pirogue oarsman" among the swamp dwellers.

Latin Names for Men and Boats. Some Latin names (many of which are
still today's Filipino names with different spellings) of the swamp
dwellers were Marcellino, Francesco, Serafino, Florenzo, Victorio,
Paosto, Hilario, Marcetto, Manrico, and Maravilla. Some had names of
martyrs. Boats were also named after men and women.

"Let's Play Monte." It was at Hilario's casa (house) where
dwellers entertained themselves at night after a hard fishing day's
work. They played monte or a species of Spanish keno. The games were
played with a cantador (the caller) who would sing out the numbers.
Such singings were accompanied by "the annunciation with some rude
poetry characteristics of fisher life or Catholic faith:"

Paraja de uno;
Dos picquetes de rivero-

a pair of one (1); the two stakes to which the fish-car is fastened.

Farewell, Manilamen! After Hearn and his group said goodbye, they
departed. Hearn described his farewell:

Somebody fired a farewell shot as we reached the mouth of the bayou;
there was a waving of picturesque hands and hats; and far in our wake
an alligator splashed, his scaly body, making for the whispering line
of reeds upon the opposite bank.

III. MANY YEARS AFTER

In 1988, Marina Espina, then a librarian in the University of New
Orleans, published a book entitled Filipinos in Louisiana (A. F.
Laborde & Sons, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1988). Included in the book's
front matter is an excerpt from Larry Bartlett (Dixie, July 31, 1977):

The year was 1763, and the schooner had unloaded its cargo at the
Spanish provincial capital of New Orleans. Then its crew of Filipino
sailors jumped ship and fled into the nearby cypress swamp....

1763 was thus recognized by the Filipino American National Historical
Society (FANHS) as the year that the Manilamen arrived and settled in
the marshlands of Louisiana. In fact, in 1988, it marked the 225th
anniversary of the first Filipino settlement in Louisiana. The
association that was organized in 1982 by Frederic and Dorothy Cordova
has branches in different parts of the country.

Espina published her book after an extensive research on the first
Manilamen who settled in the United States.

According to Espina's findings, every year, during those early years
of American history, some of the Filipino sailors jumped ship off
Acapulco, Mexico. Afterwards, many of them migrated to the bayous of
Louisiana and other gulf ports. Since they spoke Spanish, others
married Mexicans, and they assimilated easily with the population
there.

Saint Malo, Etc. According to Espina's accounts, Saint Malo was only
one of the Filipino settlements. The other settlements were the Manila
Village on Barataria Bay in the Mississippi Delta by the Gulf of
Mexico; Alombro Canal and Camp Dewey in Plaquemines Parish; and Leon
Rojas, Bayou Cholas, and Bassa Bassa in Jefferson Parish, all in
Louisiana. The oldest of these settlements was Saint Malo. But Manila
Village on Barataria Bay was considered as the largest and the most
popular of them all. Houses were built on stilts on a fifty-acre
marshland.

Because there were no Filipino women, the Manilamen courted and married
Cajun women, Indians, and others. Some of them enrolled their children
in schools in New Orleans.

Filipinos in the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. According to oral
history passed from generation to generation and later cited by
Filipino historians, Filipinos took part in the Battle of New Orleans
in 1815 as part of the War of 1812. Those were the men who signed up
with the famed French buccaneer, Jean Baptiste Lafitte to join the army
of Major-General Andrew Jackson.

On January 8, 1815, a British army numbering about 8,000 men prepared
to capture New Orleans, Louisiana. Under the command of Major-General
Sir Edward M. Pakenham, the British soldiers were pitted against the
American army composed of only 1,500 under the command of Major-General
Jackson. The American Army consisted of "regular army troops, state
militia, western sharpshooters, two regiments and pirates from the
Delta Swamps." (Could the Manilamen have been mistakenly identified
as pirates having come from the swamps?)

The British moved directly into New Orleans. The English soldiers
attacked the American entrenchments. The Americans had fortified their
positions behind the earthworks and the barricades of cotton. The
battle lasted only half an hour. The British suffered 2,000 casualties,
with 289 killed. On the other hand, the Americans had only 71
casualties with 31 killed.

Actually, the battle was meaningless. It occurred before news of the
Treaty of Ghent arrived on December 24, 1814, ending the so-called 1812
War.

The Filipinos participation in the war, however, was not recognized in
American history.

Here's an excerpt from the book The Baratarians and the Battle of New
Orleans by Jane Lucas de Grumond. ((Louisiana State University Press,
Baton Rouge, Louisiana.)

Cochrane (Admiral Cochrane of the invading British fleet) had sent two
officers in a boat to reconnoiter the area below New Orleans via Bayou
Bienvenu. They were disguised as fishermen and some of the Spanish
fishermen were their guides. They reached the bayou and ascended to the
village of the fishermen.

Perhaps the fishermen had something to do with the situation. They were
accustomed to fish in Lake Borgne and then to take their fish in
pirogues to the canals of De Laronde's and Villere's plantation...

In the above quote, the author mentioned "Spanish fishermen" and
the fact that they were used to fishing in Lake Borgne. The only known
fishermen in the Lake Borgne area, who spoke Spanish, were the
Manilamen. Could there be other Spanish fishermen in the area? Or could
they be the Filipinos who were not known as Filipinos but might be
known as Spaniards because they spoke Spanish? Could some of the
Filipinos from the fishing village have been signed by Lafitte to join
the American soldiers? It is indeed a great possibility.

Shrimp Drying. It was at the Manila Village that they started their
shrimp-drying industry. The Filipinos built platforms for drying shrimp
in an area southeast of New Orleans in the early 1800s. The Manilamen
were considered to have introduced in the state and in America the
drying of shrimps. The Saint Malo settlement was destroyed by a strong
hurricane in 1915 and the Manila Village was washed away by Hurricane
Betsy in 1965.

(End of excerpt from The Filipino Americans (1763-Present): Their
History, Culture, and Traditions by Veltisezar Bautista. Illustrations
drawn many years ago are included in the book. For more info about the
book, click here.

The Black Banners of the East

Although the imagery is more stylized than earlier descriptions of the fiery, smoking mountains of Eden and the Sinai, the basic ideas are still present. The sea of glass/crystal mingled with fire, for example, is reminiscent of the great quantities of volcanic glass such as obsidian produced by eruptions.

However, the localization is never quite complete. The great 'war in heaven' is still placed in the mount of Eden, the cosmic site of the original conflict. It was here that Tala, the Morning Star, descended to earth. The motif linking the stars with the cycle of conflict occurs in many traditions including those of the Hebrews and Zoroastrians.

It is said that from the east and from the quarters of Hind or China (he will appear) and as appears from the religion, the sign at his birth will be the falling of the stars.

The Persian Rivayats of Hormazyar Framarz and others

The Muslims also naturally incorporated these ideas into their prophetic views of the latter days.

The Black Banners will come to you from the East, their hearts are like iron. Whosoever hears about them let them go crawling -- even over ice!

Hadith of Thawban

The predicted "Army coming from the East" is led by a man called Mansur. Generally the location of the "East" is obscure although it is indicated that he shall approach Mecca from the direction of Transoxania (Uzbekistan and parts of Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan). Some modern fundamentalists believe that Osama bin Laden is none other than the Mansur who will lead his troops from Afghanistan in a great world battle. These armies carrying black banners come to the aid of al-Mahdi, the future messianic king.

In certain Hadiths, al-Mahdi and some of his companions are described as "Masters of the Dwellers of Paradise."

We are the children of Abd Al Muttalib, the Masters of the Dwellers of Paradise myself, Hamza, Ali, Jafar, Al Hasan, Al Hussain and Al Mahdi

Anas

Although the Muslim version appears to localize things more in Central Asia, we still have ideas similar to those in the Jewish and Christian traditions. For example, the water that seems to be at the same time fire, and the paradise that appears as hell, but in this case associated with al-Dajjal the Antichrist:

The anti-Christ will appear and with him will be both water and fire. That which people perceive to be water will be fire that burns and that which people perceive to be fire will be cool and sweet water. If any among you encounters him, you should jump into that which you perceive to be fire because it is sweet and palatable water.

Hadith of Ribi

I shall tell you something about the anti-Christ that no Prophet has told his people -- he is one-eyed and will have with him what appears to be Paradise and Hell. That which he calls Paradise will be Hell, and that which he calls Hell is Paradise.

Abu Hurayrah

Among the Ismailis, the Hidden Imam is stationed in the "Green Isle" where the Tree of Paradise and the Spring of Life are found. The Hidden Imam in this tradition returns as al-Mahdi. Paradise is viewed often as an archipelago of five linked islands although the location is obscure. In latter times, it was said to be in the "intermediate East" a location sometimes earthly, sometimes otherworldly of the pre-heavenly abode of the departed.

Muslim views of the apocalypse thus hold much in common with those found in the religions that preceded it in the region.

Ideas of a great end-times battle in various traditions are also found in prophecies which give some rather specific details including chronological dates. We will examine how these timings appear to correlate with the epoch of the ancient eruptions suggested here as initiating the great cycle of conflict.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala

The Dueling Dual Volcanoes

The following translation of a Kapampangan legend by Michael Panglinan will help us unravel the socio-political situation of the Nusantao that developed. I have added a few translations of notes.


"The history of the Kapampangan opened with the great war in heaven. They were siblings (I don't know if they are brothers or brothers and sisters...but they were siblings) Aldau (the Sun) and Bulan (the Moon) were fighting for control of the earth.

From the heavens they descended on the banks of the great river, from which they pulled out two bamboo poles each. In the ensuing battle, Aldau, the sun had struck the light out of one of Bulan's eyes and its brightness dimmed. Aldau was victorious and Bulan surrendered. Magnanimous, Aldau lifted his capatad up and divided his rule between himself and Bulan. He even let Bulan sit on the throne first. Thus Bulan ruled by bengi (night) and Aldau ruled by aldau (day).

They settled on the two sacred mountains of the great river bank plains. On earth, Aldau chose as his abode Alaya, the center, the navel of the world. Thus the words 'paralaya' meaning going towards Alaya, the home, the base, the navel, and 'padauba' which means to go away from the center, or to go down to the flatlands. Paralaya also came to mean east since it is the abode of the sun.

On earth, Aldau came to be called by man as Apung Sukû meaning antiquity or even summit or zenith. Bulan, on the one hand settled on the source of eight rivers, Pinatubu, from which man derived its food and livelihood as the rivers became not only a source of fish, but was also the watering hole of game and fowl.

Man favoured Bulan with the name Apung Mallari, to whom all things were possible. He was said to be more approachable than the distant Apung Sukû.

Apung Sukû, the Sun, had for his children: Munag Sumalâ (Dawn) who was betrothed to Manalastas (the rooster), Abac, Ugtu (known also as Lakandanup who devoured shadows at noon), and Gatpanapun (the prince who knows only pleasure).

Apung Mallari had two daughters. The most beautiful was Sisilim (sunset) who was devoted to her uncle Apung Sukû by welcoming him in the western skies with songs of the cicadas at sunset. The other daughter was Kapitangan.

All things went well with their reign over man on earth till the rains came. The rains did not stop. The eight Rivers of Pinatubu overflowed. Man's possesssion were washed away and the fowls, game and fish went to seek calmer waters or went deep into the mountains. Man hungered. Man despaired. Finally man called upon Apung Sukû for help.

Apung Sukû then sent his grandson Tala (the planet Venus), son of the red serpent Munag Sumalâ and the bird Manalastas, to be born as a man.

Deep in the forest of Mount Alaya, an old manalaksan (wood cutter) went to the pool of Sapang Tacûi to quench his thirst. There in the middle of the pool, a tucal flower blossomed. in the midst of it was a healthy baby crying. The old manalaksan took pity and took the child to his old wife mangkukuran (potter). There the child began to speak and walk. The couple bowed low to the ground and paid homage to the god child.

Soon the child grew up to become a strong bayani. Riding on his friend Damulag, the guardian against the storm, Tala descended the mountain chewing on a sugarcane. On the slopes of the mountain he fell in love with a woman called Mingan. Together they made love. As they did so, Tala took some of his seeds and placed them in Mingan's hand. "Plant them on the flooded ground," he said. Mingan was doubtful at first since nothing grew on the flooded soil save for lumut or algae.

Immediately after Mingan planted the sacred seeds, a curious green looking plant sprouted from the ground. These were the first palai, rice plants. Tala showed her how to cook nasi, from the unhusked seeds of the palai plant. Soon Mingan's tribe was able to conquer all the flooded plains and convert them to fertile rice fields. Tala went back to the sky.

Soon, man forgot about the goodness of Apung Mallari before the floods. They endlessly praised Apung Sukû for sending them his grandson Tala. In anger and jealousy, Apung Mallari threw a huge boulder to the perfect summit of Apung Sukû's abode, Bunduc Alaya. The earth trembled. But worse was Apung Sukû's anger at the insult. From that day on, Apung Mallari was cursed. He was to be called as Punsalang (the source of enmity, the enemy).

Apung Sukû took all the huge boulders of the great river bank plains and threw them all at Bunduk Pinatubu. Apung Mallari, now Punsalang, saw his abode crumble. Seeing her father lose miserably, Sisilim decided to stop her uncle the sun but she too was struck and she fell dead. Seeing this, Punsalang shouted in anguish and surrendered to his brother Apung Sukû. From then on, Apung Sukû was Apung Sinukuan (to whom everyone surrendered)."

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento