Bering Sea Cultures

The movement of southern peoples into Arctic areas like the Bering Sea possibly did not start with the Nusantao. There is a leading theory that the Jomon originated in the south and eventually migrated into the Siberia region.

The Sundadont dental pattern is believed to have originated in Southeast Asia, probably specifically Sundaland. The Jomon were strongly Sundadont. They had other anthropological and cultural traits pointing to the south. Some cultures in contemporary southern coastal China and Vietnam had similarities to Jomon culture.

At least 17,000 years ago, the Jomon had reached Japan. Despite their probable southern origins they were able to proceed further northward into the cold expanse of Siberia. The Jomon were a maritime culture and practiced shellfish gathering and sea/aquatic mammal hunting. In other words, they were very similar to the Nusantao who followed them.

Hunting sea mammals provided skins and blubber that were important in surviving in the Arctic. The Nusantao practice of building on mounds eventually led to semi-subterranean structures, according to Russian researchers, that also helped in adapting to extreme cold weather environments. The Arctic maritime people built both semi-subterranean homes and plank-built longhouses.

Shellfish were available everywhere even in places where agriculture was impossible as long as the sea or a river was available and this was yet another advantage in migrating northward.

The early Bering Sea and Eskimo/Inuit cultures appear to have been influenced by the Nusantao in the same way as the Shandong and Yayoi cultures.

We find shell middens with net sinkers, fish hooks, toggling harpoons, projectile points and other implements similar to those used further south. There are similar designs on paddle-stamped pottery. This type of pottery was also found in Neolithic Southeast Asia.

Old Bering Sea paddle-stamped pottery with "lizard man" and sun designs

Jade and nephrite was was used, and some of this likely came from the Yangtze delta, the major source for eastern Asia. A peculiar motif that occurs in the Lianzhu culture of the Yangtze Delta known as the taotie is of particular interest. The taotie is a stylized "face" with circle dot eyes (a sun symbol).

Taotie face with circle dot eyes from Liangzhu culture, Yangtze delta, Neolithic

Lapita pottery



Bronze age axe from Roti, Indonesia


Tunghat "winged" design on Old Bering Sea harpoon

The winged design of the Tunghat above has been compared to the bicephalous Sisiutl motif of the maritime Northwest coast Kwakwaka'wakw Indians. The winged and bicephalous designs are similar to those found on lingling-o and the bicephalous pendants of the Sa-Huynh-Kalanay culture of Southeast Asia, which we have noted was a middle period Nusantao derivative.

Sisiutl of Kwakwaka'wakw Nation

Bicephalous lingling-o

"Winged" and other Lingling-o (http://madeinthephilippines.com)

The movement to the north also appears to have brought the bifid ship construction used by Arctic and sub-Arctic maritime cultures. This particular technology together with lashed-lug construction appears even much further away in Scandinavia, something we will deal with later in this blog.

Als boat from Denmark (http://axelnelson.com)

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

Migrations toward the North

As noted earlier, Solheim believes the Nusantao were instrumental in transmitting Yayoi culture from Shandong to Korea and then from there to Japan.

Susumo Ohno and Shichiro Murayama have studied the Malayo-Polynesian component of the Japanese language. It is often said that Japanese is similar to Altaic languages like Mongol and Turkish in grammar, but has a Malayo-Polynesian sound system (phonology).

Solheim identified the important indicators of this northern branch of the Nusantao which he believes was responsible for bringing rice cultivation northward from southern China:

The complex of artifacts associate with rice cultivation in Korea has been noted before, in part (Kim Won-yong 1964; Kaneko 1966:18-21; Kim Jeong-hak 1978:78-81; Solheim 1990, 1992) . . . Kim Won-Yong (1964) brings together rice, the semi-lunar stone knife, and the stepped adze. . . . The artifacts that appear to me to be a part of the rice associated complex include: the table and capstone dolman, cist grave, double burial jar, semilunar or crescent stone knife, stepped adze, pediform adze, perforated disk [probably a spindle whorl], stone dagger, concave based and longstemmed polished stone arrow- or spearhead, the so called plain pottery of Korea, and relatively rarely carved-paddle pottery.

(Solheim 2000)

The northern branch was highly megalithic in culture -- they erected large unfinished stones for different purposes. In insular Southeast Asia, we see evidence of two "waves" of megalithic people.

The earlier set of megaliths is associated with people who used only Neolithic tools. The more recent megalithic culture is connected with bronze tools.

We also see in the Neolithic the development of curved blades like the semi-lunar knife and the round axe. The linguistic reconstructions show that a number of blades that in latter times were of the curved type existed possibly back into Proto-Malayo-Polynesian or even Proto-Austronesian times.

*sun(dDj)ang	"kris"	Proto-Austronesian (Biggs)
*p@dang	"(curved) sword"	Ur-Austronesian (Dempwolff)

The northern Nusantao and others allied with them may have carried a variant of the human polyomavirus known as haplotype MY. The distribution of this haplotype suggests early migrations following the Japan Current to the Americas. The MY marker is found mostly along the Pacific coast of America from northwestern Canada to the southern central coast of South America.

The clade from which MY descends is apparently associated strongly with Austronesian migrations into the Pacific as we have shown in an earlier map.

There is other genetic evidence supportive of early Japan Current migrations:

http://www.geocities.com/pinatubo.geo/austro.htm

Rebecca Cann and J.K. Lum have studied the possiblity of gene flow between Polynesian and Amerind populations based on mtDNA findings (R.L. Cann and J.K. Lum, "Mitochondrial Myopia: Reply to Bonatto et al.," (letter to the editor), Am J. Hum. Genet. 59:256-258, 1996; Cann, R.L., (1994) "mtDNA and Native Americans: a southern perspective," Am. J. of Hum. Genet. 55:7-11.) and have raised the following questions:

"Why is the B-lineage clade, a clade most common on the western coast of the Americas, not found in Beringia? Why does the B-lineage clade have lower sequence diversity and a different mismatch distribution than do the major A, C, and D clades (as well as others recently documented by T. Schurr and colleagues) in Amerindians? Why are other lineages, not just in the B group, found in Pacific and Amerindian populations?

Finally, how do we account for the prehistoric distribution of the sweet potato in Oceania (Yen 1974)? [Cann and Lum, p. 258]

Dr. Rebecca Cann can be contacted regarding her research at rcann@hawaii.edu.

Dr. Cann's work has recently been supported by other research (Leon-S, F E; Ariza-Deleon, A; Leon-S, M E; Ariza-C, A; Parham, P.,(1996) "Peopling the Americas," science Volume 273, Number 5276, pp. 721). In this article, these interesting points are brought to light suggesting seaborne migration from Southeast Asia and Japan to South America in pre-Columbian times via the Japan Current (using the route of the
Manila Galleons):


1. A new allele found in the Cayapa or Chachi of Ecuador displays molecular similarity in aldehyde dehydrogenase deficiency to that found in Southeast Asia and Japan, but not in Northeast Asia.

2. HTLV-I strains from Japan similar in molecular structure to those found in South American (including Chile, Columbia and Brazil).

3. HTLV-II present in South America and Japan but not in far eastern Siberia.

4. Similarities in major histocompatibility complex type 1 (MHC-1), MHC type II, haplotypes and mtDNA found in Japanese, Pacific and South American native populations but absent in far eastern Siberia.

Movement along the Japan Current would have brought the Nusantao into the Bering Sea region. The weather here, of course, was extreme, but the Nusantao had some advantages that would have helped them to adapt quickly.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

Prediction and Prophecy

Early European visitors to Tahiti found that the people were skilled at the art of weather forecasting:

"What took me most in two Indians whom I carried from Otahiti to Oriayatea was that every evening or night, they told me, or prognosticated, the weather we should experience on the following day, as to wind, calms, rainfall, sunshine, sea, and other points, about which they never turned out to be wrong: a foreknowledge worthy to be envied, for, in spite of all that our navigators and cosmographers have observed and written about the subject, they have not mastered this accomplishment (B.G. Corney, (ed. )(1913-19) The Quest and Occupation of Tahiti by Emissaries of Spain during the Years 1772-6 (3 vols.), London, 286-287).

J.C. Beaglehole wrote regarding Tahitian weather prediction:

"The people excell much in predicting the weather, a circumstance of great use to them in their short voyages from Island to Island. They have many various ways of doing this but one only that I know of which I never heard of being practised by Europeans, that is foretelling the quarter of the heavens from whence the wind shall blow by observing the Milky Way, which is generally bent in an arch either one way or the other: this arch they conceive as already acted upon by the wind, which is the cause of its curving, and say that if the same curve continues a whole night the wind predicted by it seldom fails to come some time in the next day; and in this as well as their other predictions we found them indeed not infallible but far more clever than Europeans." (J.C. Beaglehole, (1962) Endeavour Journal Vol. I, 1768-1771, Sydney, p. 368)

Similar accounts of accurate weather forecasting are found in other parts of Polynesia and Micronesia.

The ability to forecast weather no doubt relied on a deep understanding of lunar, solar and other cycles and the way they interacted. This understanding of interaction between polar forces in weather extended by analogy from weather prediction to all cosmic phenomenon.

In binary divination, like the knot system of Micronesia, one gets answers in a form that represents some interaction of two dual forces. To the trained mind, the logical result from this representation can be interpreted.

Another way of predicting the future involved contact with spirits -- gods and ancestors. In the great clan war, the ancestors and friendly spirits were important allies in battle. They had a way of seeing that earthly beings ordinarily do not. The medium could be a woman as with the baylan of the Philippines, or a man. Possession by spirits often resulted in frenzied activity on the part of the medium or oracle.

The spiritual batttle can not go on without consulting the ancestors since they, after all, were the ones who would have started the whole thing. They would know things long since lost through the ravages of time.

Some people in all cultures were also said to be blessed with the gift of foresight. The Nusantao were no different. Probably this can be seen best in the messianic culture of present-day Java.

One hears about prophecies of the Ratu Adil "the King of Righteousness" and the Satria Piningit "Hidden Warrior" in everyday discourse, in news editorials and even in popular comic books and television cartoons. The words of popular or even street soothsayers often make front-page headlines.


Ratu Adil comic book

Messianic cults are first recorded back in the time of King Joyoboyo in the 11th century. His predictions on the future Ratu Adil have been used as a measuring stick in judging Indonesian history and current events.

Sociologists and pyschologists have speculated on humanity's need for future messiahs. Some say that millennial prophecies are borne of desperate times, but there are instances of doomsday prophets in even the most prosperous of societies.

I would propose that among the Nusantao, at least, prophecies were a way of showing that there was really something to their claims of a war between the angels of Heaven. It was a way of showing that they were not mad. In some cases, prophecies were made that would be fulfilled only long after the prophet was gone. One has to believe that they believed in their own abilities to foretell the future.

Painting of Rigden Drakpo from Nicholas Roerich Museum

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

The Return of the King

Many comparative mythologists have seen parallels between the Christ story and a host of ancient regional motifs.

In particular, the theme of the crucifixion and the resurrection strongly resembles the death and resurrection of Dumuzi (Tammuz). Even the cross is referred to as a tree, a reference that points towards Dumuzi's identity as the personification and lord of the tree of life.

I mentioned earlier my views that the upper and lower case letter "T" symbol, i.e., the cross, represents the tree of life and, at the same time, the home domain of the bird clan.

Church painting of Christ with bamboo scepter, Oaxaca, Mexico

In the painting above, the vegetative crown, loincloth, cape and bamboo scepter might, with some alterations, fit the garb of a Nusantao prince of Eden!

Christ is the son of a carpenter and befriends fisher folk. He fits the Fisher King archtype. The pastoral environment of the Old Testament gives way to one in the New Testament where we constantly encounter water, boats, nets, fish, etc.

Dumuzi, whose names indicate a close association with the waters of the Abzu, also is considered a shepherd. The Fisher King, the Shepherd King and the Sea King all share a link with nature. They are not divorced from the wild as in the more conventional royal court. Their native environment is linked with the town or even the village rather than the city.

In Sumerian literature, the bringing down of kingship from Heaven is described in terms of Inanna planting the cosmic tree upon a mountain. The cross on Mt. Zion would represent the same thing. The emblem of the bird clan would appear again later in the form of the Dove, the spirit that guides the church, i.e., the kingdom.

In Revelation, Christ or one of his angels returns on a white horse from the east just like Kalki of Hindu belief and the Tibetan savior-king Rigden Drakpo. The concept of the returning savior is an important one.

We see it in many cultures -- Lumauig among the Igorots, Lono among the Kanaka Maoli, Quetzalcoatl among the Toltecs.

The return of the savior is part of the cycle. His antithesis must also return. In the same way, the morning stars return to their stations at the end of the year.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

The Ruler's Rod

The word "ruler" comes ultimately from Latin regula "a straight piece of wood," one of the rex-derived words.

Bamboo was used as an early measuring stick in Asia. The cane of this plant is divided into segments of relatively equal length similar to a ruler. If the measuring stick of the king originally was a carpenter's and/or navigator's tool, it eventually took on other meanings associated with royalty.

The rod became a symbol of justice as measured out equally by the king as judge. It could also symbolize the armies of the ruler as a weapon, or an instrument of punishment. The bamboo stick is still a popular weapon in some parts of Southeast Asia.

As an emblem of the ruler, it could symbolize the entire nation. A similar example would be the use of the phrase "the crown of France" at one time for the nation of France.

In the latter sense, it is interesting that the word bansa "nation" in western Malayo-Polynesian languages is linked with the word for "bamboo."

I have argued with Waruno Mahdi, Ross Clark and others on the Austronesian list who think bansa and related words were borrowed from Sanskrit. Here's how I recapped my own views on the subject in that forum:

* Indo-Aryans coming from Central Asia would not have known of
bamboo. Thus they either had to borrow a word or make one up. Monier-Williams who usually was passionate about finding IE sources for Sanskrit words could not find one for _vaMza_.

* A root from Austronesian is readily available in the form of b-(n)(t/s)-(ng) which could account for PPH *b-t-ng "bamboo" and PPH *b-ns- "bamboo flute." Similar types of transformations can be seen as in Tagalog lansa and lantong.

* The argument for a west to east borrowing would have been stronger if bansa/bangsa had additional meanings like bamboo or cane, which are in fact the primary meanings of _vaMza_ in Sanskrit. However, they lack the broad range of meanings found.

* The Austronesian words have been reconstructed by Dempwolff and Lopez. Also by Zorc and Charles in PPH which would be too early for a supposed late first millennium borrowing.

* Bansi/Bangsi is less likely for "flute" than bansa/bangsa or at least one should see both forms as in Sanskrit. Also, the specification "bamboo flute" indicates the term is more ancient.

* The evidence indicates that Sanskrit /v/ became /w/ in both Javanese and Malay. A good indication of this is the names of the gods which would have been among the first words borrowed from Sanskrit in both Javanese and Malay. The words showing a /v/ to /b/ change often display characteristics of NIA, where Sanskrit /v/ had already changed to NIA /b/.

* It can be easily demonstrated that the Philippine words have a change from PPH *ng (*N) and not from Malay /ng/.

A reed scepter was used by Mot, the god of the Canaanite underworld. There are those comparative mythologists who think this is related to the New Testament story of Christ receiving a reed, often thought of as bamboo, scepter.

In my next post, I will show how many motifs we have discussed appear in the story of Christ.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

Spice merchants and Sea Kings

The early term for "merchant" in Austronesian is *dagang (Dempwolff) and this word is very similar to one of the terms for "ocean."

That the word for merchant might be derived from the word for ocean would make sense in light of archaeological evidence showing the earliest Nusantao trade involved coastal shell tools traded further inland. The tradition of maritime trade would expand to unprecedented levels with the introduction of spices and precious metals.

The movement of spices from Southeast Asia to Tanzania and other ports of southeastern Africa continued well into medieval times. The Muslim texts speak of merchants from Zabag and Wakwak in Southeast Asia conducting regular trading missions to Africa. The merchants from Zabag and Komr appear to have had a friendler trade relationship with Africa at this time, while Wakwak was more militaristic. Madagascar may have been populated originally by people engaged in the spice trade. The local Malagasy language is of Austronesian origin.

By the time the spice trade was roaring around 3,500 years ago, the names of spices coming via the clove route, even those of certain Southeast Asian origin like cloves, usually were of Indic origin further west in Europe and the Middle East. Those coming via the cinnamon route usually had more Austronesian-looking names in the West. This would indicate that the Nusantao were mostly only traveling as far as India on the clove route, but were moving all the way down the line along the cinnamon route.

For such long distance trade to work in this early period, autonomous sea kings had to manage things in their own regions along the spice routes.

Torsten Pedersen has reconstructed *H-r-g- as a probable Austronesian word linked with these early types of rulers.

*H-r-g-

Regarding the word rex, Torsten quotes E. Benveniste:

Rex, which is attested only in Italic, Celtic, and Indic - that
is at the Western and Eastern extremeties of the Indo-European
world, belongs to a very ancient group of terms relating to
religion and law. The connexion of Latin rego with Gr. orégo:
“extend in a straight line” (the o- being phonologically
explainable), the examination of the old uses of reg- in Latin
(e.g. in regere fines, e regione, rectus, rex sacrorum)
suggests that the rex, properly more of a priest than a king
in the modern sense, was the man who had authority to trace out
the sites of towns and to determine the rules of law.

However, Torsten suggests the rex words may belong instead "to a very ancient group of terms having to do with navigation which were introduced by invaders arriving from the east into exactly those Western and Eastern extremeties of the IE area because they have a coastline."

He links rex and related terms with the idea of a ship captain whose duties include ship-building and navigation. Indeed, one of the Austronesian terms for "ruler" is ratu/datu, which can also mean captain of a ship (barangay). Some likely cognates of this word in the Pacific -- ratu and latu -- have the meaning "master builder."

The builder and navigator must both use measurements for accuracy.

The idea of a builder is strengthened by some ancient images associated with early kings.

Fu Hsi and Nu Gua as part sea-serpents with entwined tails (sometimes fish tails) and holding carpenter's square and bow compass respectively (Shandong temple)

Shamash shown holding the royal lapis lazuli measuring rod and looped measuring cord

The practice of ship burial of kings and chiefs may be another remnant left by the ancient Nusantao sea kings. The practice was found in ancient Egypt, among the Vikings and of course among the Austronesians.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

Heaven and Hell

A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth; the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yes, and nothing shall escape them.

Joel 2:3

The quote above refers to the great battle of good and evil predicted by the biblical prophet Joel. It does illustrate, though, a common theme found in many cultures -- the ancient knowledge of a place at the same time both paradise and hell. On the Austronesian discussion group, I discussed this at length with other participants such as Loreto Bagio, Robin Day and Torsten Pedersen.

The recent sombering and humbling catastrophe in southern Asia is a well-documented example of how a tropical paradise can suddenly become a land of death. Some of the world's most popular winter tourist destinations stretching from Thailand to the Maldives were destroyed within a few hours. Damage was experienced as far as East Africa.

Oppenheimer writes of "superwave" myths common in the Pacific and among the aboriginal peoples of Taiwan. Mountain-topping superwaves are mentioned in connection with flooding events of longer duration.

Paradise is often linked with fire as in the revolving flaming sword that guards the way of Eden, or the Lake of Fire in Osiris' realm in Egyptian cosmology. The dichotomy of the lush tropical island homelands and the fiery wrath of the volcano left its imprint on the dual mind of the Nusantao.

A people living in an area so plagued with volcanoes, earthquakes, floods, tidal waves and typhoons would benefit greatly from close observation and understanding of nature. Among a few peoples still remaining today, remnants of ancient knowledge exist in pieces here and there. One such people are the Morgan Sea Gypsies of Thailand who speak Yawi Malay and Thai.

The news report posted below from CNN comments on how their ancient knowledge saved them and others from the wrath of the tsunami:

CNN News

Report: Sea gypsies' knowledge saves village
Newspaper says Thai fishermen warned of tidal wave

Saturday, January 1, 2005 Posted: 1:20 PM EST (1820 GMT)


BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- Knowledge of the ocean and its currents passed down from generation to generation of a group of Thai fishermen known as the Morgan sea gypsies saved an entire village from the Asian tsunami, a newspaper said Saturday.

By the time killer waves crashed over southern Thailand last Sunday the entire 181 population of their fishing village had fled to a
temple in the mountains of South Surin Island, English language Thai daily The Nation reported.

"The elders told us that if the water recedes fast it will reappear
in the same quantity in which it disappeared," 65-year-old village
chief Sarmao Kathalay told the paper.

So while in some places along the southern coast, Thais headed to the beach when the sea drained out of beaches -- the first sign of the impending tsunami -- to pick up fish left flapping on the sand, the gypsies headed for the hills.

Few people in Thailand have a closer relationship with the sea than the Morgan sea gypsies, who spend each monsoon season on their boats plying the waters of the Andaman Sea from India to Indonesia and back to Thailand.

Between April and December, they live in shelters on the shore
surviving by catching shrimp and spear fishing. At boat launching
festivals each May, they ask the sea for forgiveness.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

The "Apples" of Eden

When Marco Polo visited India he said that the locals considered the banana as "Adam's apple."

Muslims and medieval Christians also believed the banana was the forbidden fruit and that Adam and Eve used banana leaves to cover themselves after the temptation. Previously we mentioned that the banana tree fit fairly well the description of the tree described in the Book of Enoch.

Greek legend speaks of the golden apples of the "Garden of the Hesperides" that was located "beyond the river Oceanus at the outer limits of the world."

The banana tree occurs as the tree of life or the tree of death, the two are related, in many Southeast Asian and Pacific cultures. In ancient Persia, the fruit was thought to grant perpetual youth. Interestingly in some Pacific cultures, as in ancient Hawai`i, the tree was forbidden to women -- something that reminds us of the temptation of Eve and the Freudian aspects of the banana. The taboo on bananas for women may be connected with the widespread notion in the Pacific that bananas increase male potency.

From the health standpoint, bananas are rich in mucilage, fiber, vitamins and minerals. THe plant is good at absorbing nutrients from the soil in the form of colloidal minerals. They are also one of the best sources of tryptophan, which regulates serotonin the neurotransmitter that affects mood and emotion.

An ester in banana oil gives the fruit's sweet fragrance which is known to strongly attract mosquitos.

Bananas may have been one of the first domesticated fruit crops. The practice of vegetative propagation of crops in Southeast Asia and the Pacific dates back to at least 17,000 years ago and possibly goes back even 30,000 years. The banana appears to have been cultivated starting at least 10,000 years ago.

The area between Indonesia and New Guinea is believed to have given rise to the diploid banana, the plantain and the hybrid "Maia Maoli/Popoulu" banana. The diversity of plantains is highest on the island of Luzon.

According to archaeologist Dr. Felix Chami the oldest bananas in Tanzania, using associative dating, may go back more than 4000 years. Evidence of bananas in southern Cameroon dates to about 2,500 years ago.

The diversity of banana species around the Great Lakes region suggests this is the area to which they were introduced from the east. Evidence of plantains in the same region dates to at least 3,000 years ago. The "Maia Maoli/Popoulu” banana seems to have been introduced into Ecuador during pre-Columbian times via transoceanic voyages possibly some 2,000 years ago.

If the banana was considered beneficial to health, how much more so those that came from the islands of the blessed where all the plants and mushrooms were thought to bestow renewed youth.

Here is an example of a myth with the banana as the tree of life/death:

http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/1998/11/01/lifestyle/life02.htm

An Indonesian legend gives the banana a crucial role at the beginning of human society: the Creator one day let down a stone on the end of a rope, as was his way with his gifts to his creatures. But the first man and woman scorned the stone and asked for something else.

The Creator complied, the story continues, and hauled away at the rope; the stone mounted up and up till it vanished from sight. Presently, the rope was seen coming down from Heaven again, and this time there was a banana at the end of it.

The man and woman were delighted, but then heard the patriarch's voice boom out: "Because ye have chosen the banana, your life shall be like its life. When the banana tree has offspring, the parent stem dies; so shall ye die and your children shall step into your place. Had ye chosen the stone, your life would have been like the life of stone, changeless and immortal."

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

References

De Langhe, Edmond, Banana and Plantian: the earliest fruit crops? 2003, http://www.inibap.org/publications/annualreport/IN020267_eng.pdf

L. Vrydaghs1 and E. De Langhe, Phytoliths: an opportunity to rewrite history, 2003, http://www.inibap.org/publications/annualreport/IN030369_eng.pdf

Scents of Paradise

The word "paradise" in most cultures refers to a tropical paradise not by accident. In the same sense, the scents associated with paradise -- aloeswood, ginger, camphor, cinnamon -- are not coincidental. If the idea of paradise as a group of islands (of the blest) has its origins rooted in a real place.

In Austronesia, aromatics were derived more from fresh flowers and plants rather than dried ones like spices. Of course, the shipment of aromatics in dried form is a practical consideration.

The Tahitians extracted the essences of fragrant flowers into coconut oil used as for perfume, massage and skin therapy. In the mountains of the Philippines, warriors rubbed themselves with fresh ginger before battle. People all over Austronesia adorned themselves with the most odiferous flowers strung together as leis or crowns, or placed behind the ear.

Aromatherapy and fumigation with aromatics was widely practiced. The widespread of citrus in herbal medicine derives in large part from the fragrance of these fruits. Fragrance also plays an important part in the cuisine of many Austronesian peoples. Lemongrass, lemon, ginger and mint are common fragrances associated with cooking in the region.

For a people where the sense of smell is so important to culture, it would be natural that they would also like to bring at least some of these scents with them.

Ancient tropical Asian spices found at ancient sites

Cloves, Terqa, 1,700 BC

Whole orange, Thebes, 19th Dynasty

Opium poppy, Deir el-Bahri, 1473-1458 BC

Black pepper, Mummy of Ramses II, 1279-1212 BC

Camphor, Mummy of Ramses V, 1153-1147 BC

Silk, Egyptian mummy dated at about 1,000 BC

Cinnamon, northern Mediterranean, 6th-7th cent. BC

Cinnamomum camphora, PUM II mummy, 2nd cent. BC

The sacred incense and anoiting oil in many cultures consists primarily or entirely of aromatics originating in Southeast Asia. For example, the holy anoiting oil of Exodus 30:23 is believed by some experts, using ancient sources, to consist of myrhh, cinnamon, cassia and lemongrass ('sweet calamus'). Three of these four ingredients originate in Southeast Asia.

These aromatics were used often to recreate the atmosphere of Paradise -- the Garden of Eden. Aloeswood, the main ingredient in holy incense used by Buddhists, Christians and Muslims throughout the world is associated with the Eden in Jewish, Christian and Muslim tradition.

The Muslims also considered ginger and camphor as scents coming from Paradise:

"The first group (of people) who will enter Paradise will be (glittering) like the moon on a full-moon night. They will neither spit therein, nor blow their noses therein nor relieve nature. Their utensils therein will be of gold and their combs of gold and silver; in their censers the aloeswood will be used, and their sweat will smell like musk." (Bukhari 4:468)

"They will be given to drink therein of a cup tempered with ginger." (Quran 76:18-19).

The virtuous shall be given a drink which is tempered with camphor from a spring wherefrom the servants of Allah drink. They cause it to gush forth through their own efforts." (Quran 76:6-7)

For those who had been there, the scents of Paradise transported them back to Eden, for others it gave a whiff of the wonders the blessed lands.

These spices are still important today in more than religious ceremonies. One of the best examples of this involves a look at the formulas for the various cola drinks now popular worldwide. The following flavorings are used in the original Coca-Cola recipe and the Pepsi-Cola recipe, notice that with the exception of coriander all the other flavors are of southeastern Asian origin:

Original Coca-Cola

Oil Orange
Oil Cinnamon
Oil Lemon
Coriander
Nutmeg
Neroli

Pepsi-Cola

Lime Juice
Oil Lemon
Oil Orange
Cinnamon Oil
Oil Nutmeg
Oil Coriander
Oil Petit Grain

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento


References

de Vartavan, C. and V. A. Amorós 1997. _Codex of Ancient Egyptian
Plant Remains: Codex des restes végétaux de l'Egypte ancienne_.
Triade Exploration's Opus Magnum Series in the field of
Egyptology [TOMS.E] I. London: Triade Exploration Ltd.

Dalby, Andrew, Dangerous Tastes The Story of Spices, 2000, Berkeley: University of California.

Lucifer

Hebrew tradition calls the leader of the fallen angels by the name Lucifer. He is also known as the Morning Star. The same term is used by early Jewish Christians to describe the Messiah.

Both the Messiah and Lucifer claim the throne of the mountain of God, the holy assembly. Indeed, there are two astronomical morning stars -- Venus and Mercury alternate in that position depending on their orbit relative to the Sun and Earth.

The Bible uses two analogies for Lucifer's camp of fallen angels -- the cities of Tyre and Babylon. Both were known for their rich markets and international trade. As the king of Tyre or Bablyon, Lucifer entices the rulers of the earth to enter into trade relations by the promise of riches.

By increasing his wealth and power, Lucifer attempted to raise himself above the heavens:

Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou has said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God...By thy great wisdom and by thy traffick hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches.

Ezekiel 28:2-4

The prophetic condemnations of Tyre and Babylon have more of a moral sense than a focus on idolatry. The luxurious nations through their commerce have become haughty and their greed has engendered violence. They attempted to rival the seat of God with the beauty and wealth of their great cities.

Sometime before the middle of the second millennium BC, we see evidence of a great spike in trade between Southeast Asia and the regions of eastern Africa and West Asia. The trade consisted primarily of aromatics and precious metals.

The earliest hard evidence of the spice trade comes in the discovery of cloves at Terqa in ancient Syria dated to 1,700 BC. These dates were confirmed just in 2004 after lab tests at UCLA. Before modern agricultural techniques, the clove flower grew only in selected locations of insular Southeast Asia mostly in the eastern Malay Archipelago.

After much study, I believe there were two main spice routes out of Southeast Asia, each controlled by one of the clan confederacies until medieval times. The cinnamon route was controlled by the fallen angels camp, while the traditionalists controlled the clove route.

The Spice Routes

The clove route started in the Moluccas and southern Philippines, the source of cloves, and continued northward to the mainland and then along the coast of Asia to marsh ports in present-day Iraq. The cinnamon route started in Indochina and southern China, one of the main sources of cinnamon and cassia, and went southward into Indonesia, and then across the Indian Ocean to the port of Punt in present-day Tanzania.

As long as they were not at war (of the non-spiritual or non-commercial type) both confederacies could use the other's routes after paying the appropriate tariffs.

Because spices were consumed and perishable, the hard evidence of tis trade has been hard to come by. In ancient Egypt dating from the New Kingdom to the Ptolemaic period, we find evidence of black pepper, orange, camphor and nutmeg. Aloeswood, the most precious aromatic that was and is more costly than gold, has not been found in ancient sites likely because it was rare and nearly always burnt as incense.

However, there is one more durable type of evidence that may be able to unlock the earliest dates and most intricate geographic details of the trade. Cowrie shells used as money endure very well in all types of climates. Although cowries have a wide natural distribution, the different sub-species are more limited in geographic origin. A study of specific sub-species of cowries found at ancient sites can offer valuable clues in reconstructing early long-range trade.

For example if a certain type of cowrie shows up at sites from a specific period at two locations, but not at intervening sites from the same period, it may be seen as a clue pointing toward direct trade between the two locations.

The great opening of the spice trade to the west coincides with the expansion of the southern Nusantao culture known as Lapita. Sailing technologies were improving allowing for easier long distance journeys. It was this advance that allowed the fallen angel camp to open a major transoceanic trade route. Previously the northern, more coastal route, had been dominated by the dragon and bird clan.


Relief of ocean-going outrigger ship from Borobodur, Java

The increased competition helped bring about a period of increasing wealth and social divergence. The first signs of strong class resentment begin to appear in the literature. The empires of luxury were rather distasteful to some of the regional peoples especially those of pastoral background. The great wars of conquest were about to begin. The signature of these wars is the heap of one destroyed city directly upon the heap of another. Today, these heaps appear in the region as hills, some of them quite high in elevation, testifying to the level of human destruction.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

The Chosen Land

People choose sacred sites for different reasons. Among some of the reasons are special events that occur at those sites, or geographical features like the elevation of mountains for example.

Both of these factors were likely important factors for the Nusantao. As observers of nature, phenomenon of heaven and earth were indicators of the will of the dual forces and the workings of the spirit world. The growing clan divergence in the Nusantao trade network was certainly something that had its mirror in nature.

The Nusantao shamans observed signs and timing of events. The eruption of two volcanoes in conjuction with certain celestial phenomenon would have been an unmistakable sign. The war had broken out. The Sun and Moon had chosen their locations for combat.

Naturally each camp had selected a site that suited its own nature. Thus, the mountain of the Moon had ideal Yin characteristics while the mountain of the Sun had ideal Yang energy. The incinerated ejecta or bhasma from these volcanoes mixing together created a mingling of the two polarities -- the elixir of life.

Thus, the entire chosen land is coated with the new alchemical product and becomes necessarily associated with immortality. The fruits, water and even the soil and clay possess the balanced properties of Sun and Moon.

Although the Nusantao trade developed into one involving mostly spices, precious metals and timber, the most valuable items were those from the sacred mountains. These were very difficult to obtain, but the Nusantao were originally not willing to reliquish them to others. However, people of great means, sages and rulers from abroad, sought them.

Eventually, as the thalassocracy (sea empire) of the dragon and bird clan went into decline and decay, the masses forgot the value of the sacred mountains. At this time, these items became much more available.

The legendary region was thought of as tripartite in geography as evidenced in the names Sanfotsi and Mishima, and also in the Chinese legend of the three Islands of the Blessed. Even Atlantis of Greek legend was described as consisting of three concentric islands surrounded by concentric rings of water.

While the Greeks thought of Atlantis as located in the West, we have to remember that the Atlantic Ocean to them was the World Ocean that stretched across the globe. The three isles of the blessed ruled by Cronus are yet another example.

We shall examine later how the Nusantao actually came to the region of Europe partly from the direction of the West.


Reconstructed Greek Maps (notice position of Oceanus and the Atlantic)
Hecataeus, 6th cent. BC
Eratosthenes, 195 BC
Strabo, 18 AD

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

Apung Iru

The deity Apung Iru was often visualized as a gigantic crocodile that supported the earth on its back. The crocodile was located under the great World River.

If angry, Apung Iru caused all the rivers to flood, so at Bayung Danum the "New Water," the beginning of the year and the flood season, a fluvial procession was celebrated to propitiate the deity. This festival occured in June like the ancient Egyptian new year which also marked the beginning of the inundation.

Today, the Bayung Danum is celebrated either as a fluvial parade for St. Peter on the Pampanga River or as a time when everyone sprinkles each other with water.


Libad (fluvial procession) of Apung Iru during the Full Moon nearest to the summer solstice

In Sumer, Enki, often portrayed as a part-dragon creature in latter cultures, was known as the Lord of the Abzu and the Illu. The word illu refers to the flood or deep waters i.e., the Lord of the Flood. The flood could also refer to a river or the sea. Thus, when the Hebrews were said to have come from the 'other side of the flood' it probably refers to the rivers of Mesopotamia.

In ancient Egypt, the start of the year and the flood season began with the heliacal rising of the dog star Sirius. This season again was called Akhet, which also was the name of the twin-peaked "Mountain of Light." And, as you may remember, the great eruptions we propose here also would have occured during the month of June near the time of a Venus transit/conjunction and the heliacal rising of Sirius.

It was during a period of flooding and misery when the people cried for help that the sun god Apung Sinukuan sent Tala, the Morning Star, to rescue the world. This motif of a god sending a savior or coming to save in person during times of crisis recurs quite often in Austronesian mythology.

In the great clan war, the king with the title Apung Iru must come to save the day at a time of great decay and despair. This is part of the great cycle. His role is like that of Tala at the start of the cycle.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

The Magic Battlefield

The spiritual clan wars were fought on two planes -- the earthly and the shamanic. Where ever the clan confederacies went they almost certainly marked their territory.

Boundary markers were both emblematic and talismanic. The marks were as permanent as possible -- petroglyphs on stones, cave walls or their own or others megaliths. The shaman's sacrifice was used to expel "evil" spirits and propitiate the beneficent ones.

For the Nusantao, more important than "owning" land was gaining the alliance of the local forces of nature.

In the syncretic Devaraja or "Divine King" practice of Southeast Asia, the king's authority was strongly linked with the construction of a ziggurat or at least a simple mound of earth. It was through this pyramid or mound that the royal power came as the monarch had no rights except through the sacred mountain.

Gaining ground in both the trade and spiritual wars required the shaman's work to bring the natural and spirit world into a type of spiritual treaty.

I wrote about this naturalistic view among the Dong Yi, and a Confucian commentary on the I Ching has a relevant sentiment regarding the coalition of the ruler with the forces of nature.

The great man accords in his character with heaven and earth; in his light, with the sun and moon; in his consistency, with the four seasons; in the good and evil fortune that he creates, with gods and spirits. When he acts in advance of heaven, heaven does not contradict him. When he follows heaven, he adapts himself to the time of heaven. If heaven itself does not resist him, how much less less do men, gods, and spirits!

(Translated by Richard Wilhelm and Cary F. Baynes)

By aligning themselves with nature, the clans sought to further their cause.

If the title of Lord of the Mountain was important of equal or more importance was that of Lord of the River. In Kapampangan, this title is Apung Iru, which is also the name of the River God. The river is important for two reasons -- the link with the old river-based dual kinship system and the "control" of the waters of life in the underground World River.

In modern times, Christians have used the term Apung Iru to refer to St. Peter as the founder and leader of the Church and was also a fisherman. Sometimes a very respected person known for their mystical powers is also referred to by this title. In ancient times, it was also the title of the King of the Mountain, the priest-king of the dragon and bird clans.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

Helpful reading suggestions

Jumsai, Sumet, Naga: cultural origins in Siam and the West Pacific, 1988, Singapore.

Chatterji, S.K., “India & Polynesia: Austric Bases of Indian Civilisation and Thought,” Bharata-Kaumudi, 193-208, 1945, Allahabad.

Wilhelm, Richard and Cary F. Baynes, The I Ching, 1990 Princeton University Press, Princeton.

Shun-Shang, Ling, A Study of the Raft, Outrigger, Double and Deck
Canoes of ancient China, the Pacific and the Indian Ocean,
Taipei:Nankang, 1970.

Seven Heavens

Many cultures think of the universe as consisting of seven heavens or layers. The concept may relate to some ancient Paleolithic thinking, to independent invention even possibly to diffusion. Whatever the case, what is more unusual is that they should represent the seven heavens in the form of a seven-staged ziggurat.

Yet we find that from Sumer to India and Southeast Asia and across the seas to Central America, the seven-staged cosmic mountain isthe default type.

Whatever the significance of the number seven, whether it is related to some astronomical phenomenon or the like, I do believe I know the source of the general prototype. As I mentioned earlier, the land of the sacred volcanoes was often represented by the spiral.

The spiral represents a serpent, the daughter of the Sun. This serpent was seen as lining the horizon at dawn with the double-peaked mountain in the foreground giving it a wavy appearance. The serpent is also mentioned in the Churning of the Milky Ocean story where a giant snake is used as a rope wrapped around Mt. Mandara.

If you think of a serpent coiled along the sides of a mountain looking down at the mountain from the top, a spiral appears. Starting from the outside of this spiral as you work your way toward the center you ascend the mountain.

This spiral motif easily converts into the Mt. Meru symbol of concentric circles. These circles, again from the top view, represent from the outside towards the center different stages of ascent of the mountain. Such a concept of a staged mountain would come natural among people who terraced hillsides for agricultural purposes.

Rice Terraces

According to the Japanese treatise on pottery trade, the Tokiko, all jars coming from the island of Rusun were marked with the rokuro (spiral) symbol:

Rokuro

The Japanese had great interest in jars coming from a region of islands in the southern seas known as Mishima, the "Three Islands." These islands were called Rusun, Amakawa and Formosa. In Taoist belief there are three islands linked to the search for immortality somewhere to the east of China but inaccessible in early times. These islands were thought to have floated around in the sea before being anchored down by giant sea turtles. This may be an allusion to the apparent movement of islands due to rising sea levels.

The Tokiko also mentions that pottery made with clay from Rusun is marked with symbols resembling and upper or lower-case letter "T". I mentioned earlier that this symbol likely is that of the tree of life and is connected with the bird clan.

While it is difficult to know how far back the practices mentioned in the Tokiko extend, we do know that the symbols involved appear often in the area deep into antiquity.


Mt. Meru designs on bracelets from Ban Chiang

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

Pyramid as Model of Sacred Volcano

The pyramid as a model of the World Mountain is found in far corners of the Earth. Whether this is due to diffusion of ideas or independent development has long been a subject of controversy.

Those Nusantao far from the sacred volcanoes may have desired to create models of these mountains for worship.

In Egypt, I have mentioned the glyph Akhet which is often translated as "horizon." However, at times the glyphs refers to the "Mountain of Light" in Egyptian cosmology, or to pyramids or temples as in Akhet Khufu "the Pyramid of Khufu." The word can also refer to the start of the summer solstice season and, according to one theory, to the solar eclipse.

The Mountain of Light is a twin-peaked "stairway to Heaven" which has folding double doors. The Sun is said to rise between the two peaks on the fiery pillar of god Shu. The fiery pillar rising between the peaks is strong imagery of a volcano. The Mountain of Light is the same thing as the "Isle of Fire" or "Primordial Hill" in the Egyptian Book of the Dead, which rises from the sea, and from which the first Sun is said to arise.

Hieroglyph of the Primordial Hill

The pyramid is a model of the Primordial Hill. Also the Benben Stone upon which Atum as the Isle of Fire alights is said to be the abode of the Sun. The Benben Stone is often in the form of a truncated pyramid with a pillar rising from its center. This pillar may represent the flames that shoot up from the Mountain of Light.

The Benben Stone

In Southeast Asia, where many of the Hindu and Buddhist temples are believed to be built on previous indigenous ziggurats, the concept of the holy volcano is often preserved by the placement of a jyotir lingam, representing a pillar of fire, at the top of the temple. A similar practice is found in South India.

The Southeast Asian temples are usually models of Mt. Meru, which itself has the double mountain coded into a single symbol. In this case, Meru has two peaks, Sumeru and Kumeru, the latter located on the opposite side of the world. A similar idea is found far away in Mesoamerica, where the sacred mountains are represented as two opposing triangles connected at their bases.

Indeed the double mountain motif often is compacted into one symbol. This usually takes the form of a mountain with a hole at its base through which the Sun enters at sunset in the West. The Sun then travels through the underworld at night and arises through a hole at the summit of the mountain in the East at dawn.

In some cases, both the western and eastern parts of the mountain are represented as peaks, although in these cases the eastern part is itself still viewed as twin-peaked.

The alignment of the mountain of the Sun to the east (paralaya) and the mountain of the Moon to the West as found in the Kapampangan myth referenced earlier is fairly closely represented at Teotihuacan. There the Pyramid of the Sun stands to the southeast of the Pyramid of the Moon.

Both the Mayans and Aztecs had ideas of the Sun rising from the top of a pyramid. Among the Aztecs the Sun of the fifth and present era in their calendar arose in such a way.

Among the Sumerians, the ziggurat was called the "Mountain of Heaven and Earth" or by similar names which represented both the world and duality. Anu, the god of Heaven, came to earth on the top of the ziggurat and this was also the location of the sacred marriage between mortal and god. In the same sense, Mt. Mashu was seen as a portal to both Heaven and the Underworld from which the Sun arose.

The idea of a mountain with an opening at its summit associated with the Sun and a pillar of fire clearly gives some idea of a volcano. The concept of the double mountain or a mountain with two peaks also is found repeatedly together with the cosmic duality. Is this too many coincidences to suggest independent invention? Could the Nusantao have spread the idea of the pyramid as a model of the dual volcano to so many widely-scattered peoples?

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

Tower of Babel

We have already discussed the evidence of Austronesian linguistic influence along China's coast northward to Japan.

My friend Torsten Pedersen has conducted extensive research demonstrating even much longer range influence. Torsten, a former linguist turned computer expert turned avocational linguist again, has set up an excellent website detailing his research:

Torsten Pedersen's Research on Austric Languages

Torsten believes that much of the evidence used to reconstruct the massive Nostratic super-family of languages actually originates from early Austric, mostly Austronesian, contributions. He notes that many of the cognate words reconstructed for Nostratic also appear in Austric and other languages.

Many of these words are related to traveling, boats, cargo and the like. He also found a relationship between words indicating social position and those indicating command of a ship. Some of these words appear based on a polarity of straight/orderly vs. crooked/wavy/chaotic.

At first he attributed these links mainly to Proto-Austronesian but recently has modified this to Proto-Malayo-Polynesian as per discussion on the Austronesian discussion group.

In particular, Torsten has researched the influence of pre-Indo-European substrate languages on Proto-Germanic and other northern European languages. These substrates have been called variously by such names as Old European, Atlantic, Folk, the "bird language," and the "language of geminates."

Many scholars believe the name of rivers and other bodies of water (hydronyms) in northern Europe originate from the substrate
language(s).

The area of linguistic research investigating Nusantao migrations is an exciting one. I will try to connect some of the dots with regard to the numerous languages included in Torsten's study.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

Twin and Triple Peaked Mountain

The earliest shell mound people did not apparently have any special usage for the mounds they built. As time goes by, we see they eventually use the artifices as religious platforms and burial sites.

Possibly the religious nature of the mounds is linked directly with the worship of mountains. The first Sumerian ziggurats were constructed upon large mounds and they were models of the sacred mountain.

The idea of the dueling volcanoes is often contained in a hybrid motif. These types of motifs were quite common among the ancients. The dragon in Chinese art, for example, can contain features of the snake, crocodile, fish, bird, goat and bull. Each part of the hybrid motif might have very important symbolic significance. Unfortunately, in many cases this significance is lost.

The twin-peaked mountain could represent both a single volcano with its caldera, and two closely positioned volcanoes, at the same time. Mandara, the mountain involved in the Milky Ocean story, is described in the Ramayana as having two peaks.

There are a number of symbols of a three-peaked mountain showing either the middle peak collapsed or with the Sun representing the third peak and, at the same time, a volcanic eruption. In the image below we see the Sumerian cuneiform representation of "mountain," the Chinese character Shan with the same meaning and possibly the higher middle peak also representing a volcanic dome, and the Egyptian hieroglyph Akhet representing the twin-peaked mountain in which the Sun resides and from where it arises. The lower part of the image shows the sun god Shamash standing between the twin peaks of Mashu.



Similar types of symbols can also be found among the Moche of Peru and at Teotihuacan in Mexico.

The Chinese geographer Chau Ju-Kua states that in Sanfotsi a "Buddha" known as the "Hill of Gold and Silver" was worshipped. This may be a symbolic reference to the double volcano. Gold often represents the Sun and Yang polarity, while silver represents the Moon and Yin polarity, although sometimes this order is reversed.

In Southeast Asia, the names of two early kingdoms, the Sailendra and probably Funan, both translate to "King of the Mountain." Similar titles are found throughout the region.

These titles derive ultimately from the priest-king of the clan confederacies.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

Abgal or Counselors

Sumerian tradition states that Enki sent seven abgal to Sumer to instruct humanity. The number seven matches the number of archangels in Hebrew tradition. One can also find instances of seven messengers/instructors in many other cultures.

Some researchers believe the number seven may relate more to the date of an event more than anything else. The seven sages are often compared directly to seven stars -- the Pleiades or the Great Bear.

The heliacal rising of the Pleiades was recognized very widely in Austronesian and other cultures as the beginning of the new year and the agricultural season. This might indicate that the sending of the abgal took place at a time when the heliacal rising of the Pleiades coincided with or was very close to the spring equinox, a logical date to begin planting.

At the same time, the heliacal rising of Sirius, the dog star, would have been close to the summer solstice. Indeed, if the great volcanic eruptions took place during a Venus transit sometime around the middle of the 4th millennium BC, these transits would have occured close to June and inferior conjunctions would occur in that month.

There are various historical traditions of an ancient "conjunction" of Venus and Sirius although these celestial bodies have such differing declinations that this would be astronomically impossible.

Could such a conjunction instead refer to the coincidence of a Venus transit/inferior conjunction and the heliacal rising of Sirius?

If so, the eruptions would have taken place during the typhoon and rainy season in June. Volcanoes, all by themselves, can generate their own storms through heat convection and other factors. Combine this with a natural weather system or typhoon and the effect can be even more cataclysmic.

A recent example of this would be the June 1991 eruption of Pinatubu that coincided with the impact of Typhoon Yunya.

The image of a smouldering volcano shrouded in the clouds of Heaven with flashing lightning and thunder presents the idea of Heaven and Earth in battle. The Underworld and Heaven appear linked through the volcano.

If the number seven and the star connection does indicate a timing of events, then we have further evidence to place the great eruptions in the 4th millennium BC.

I have mentioned that in many cultures Venus and Sirius are closely related. For example, both are associated with the goddesses Innana and Isis. In Austronesia the word tala and its cognates can mean either Venus, as the Morning Star, or Sirius, as the brightest star in the heavens.

The abgal helped set up a system of priest-kings who ruled specific geographic areas each under a patron/matron god. These priest-kings were linked with a ziggurat temple that represented the holy mountain/volcano.

In the same sense, the priest-king leader of the clan confederacies was the leader of the families of ritual officials of that same holy mountain/volcano. Even today in the region, the tradition of mountain guardians has persisted.

The mountain guardians live or camp on or near the sacred mountain. Their job is to prevent profanation of the area or to set up special sacred spots. These are taboo regions were one must not engage in activity that will anger the mountain spirits.

The idea of taboo locations or activities on sacred mountains is very widespread. In ancient times, these taboos were instituted by the local ritual officials.

The abgal might also have introduced the shell money system (PAN *huwaN) to Sumer. Shell money in Sumer was of the string type.

In Austronesia today, string shell money is valued depending on the quality of the shell and the length of the string. The size of the coin-like shell discs is regulated.

In the western Pacific, the shell color is of importance in judging value. The general scheme would have a descending order of value of pink, orange, brown, white and black.

In Yap, the giant stone rai appear to have originated from string shell money. They even still have the hole in the center. Here both the quality and size of the stones is important. The rai are so big that they traditionally were not moved. Instead rai were collected in "banks" and the ownership of the rai was recognized through an honor system.

Anybody could make money, but of course they had to find the right shells or stones and finish them to the correct standards.

The abgal also acted as personal counselors to the king. This may have been the start of the tradition of the royal vizier.

The sending of the abgal demonstrates again that there was some agenda involved. And the number of the abgal along with their association with stars may encode the timing of the event.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

The Marine Folk

In Robert Temple's The Sirius Mystery, the author explores widespread testimony of ancient water beings that were usually part human or humanoid and part fish, serpent, dragon. Often the human part was replaced by a bull or horned goat.

These creatures were nearly invariably linked with the sea. While there are theories that these marine fish folk might even have come from other star systems, the most logical terrestrial explanation cannot avoid the Austronesian hypothesis.

The shell mound culture belonged to the marine people par excellence. At the end of the last Ice Age, the shell mound folk in Asia were mostly harvesting around shallow intertidal areas or in freshwater rivers and streams near the seacoast. With the coming of rising sea levels, the shellfishing gathering activities moved more into mangrove estuaries and the coral reefs.

The archaeological evidence suggests they became skilled at fishing and sea mammal hunting producing a wide range of gear -- net sinkers, spindle whorls, fish-hooks, harpoon heads, etc.

I mentioned previously that there is early Paleolithic evidence of beyond-the-horizon navigation. Toward the beginning of the Nusantao period, the evidence appears again in apparent voyages from mainland Southeast Asia to the Philippines and Taiwan. The latter was, at the time, a much smaller target than today as most of the island was still underwater.

Unfortunately it is difficult to reconstruct the earliest ships of the Austronesians, although some good basic clues exist. We do have fairly good knowledge of their vessels by about the 3rd century thanks to archaeological finds, Chinese texts and the famed Borobodur relief.

According to historian Pierre-Yves Manguin the largest ships could carry up to 1,000 people and 250-1,000 tons. The ancient Chinese writer Wan Chen wrote that the ships stood from 15 to 23 feet above the water and resembled 'flying galleries,' possibly a reference to the appearance of outriggers as "wings." The author describes ships with four obliquely set sails that allowed sailing in strong winds and high waves.

The boats used to this day by the Badjau, Samal and other "sea gypsies" of Southeast Asia are both lashed-lug and bifid. The lashed-lug construction gives tensile strength to boats as the frames are flexibly tied to cleats on the hull's planks. Instead of nails, wooden pegs or bindings are used again to decrease rigidity in the structure.

The bifid construction involves the use of a dugout as the base of the ship upon which the lashed-lug plank-built boat is added. This design results in "split" or bifid ends.


Lepa-lepa boat, Sabah, with bifid and lashed-lug construction

Many of the sea gypsies like the Badjau continue to live on their boats or on houses suspended over the water on stilts along the coast. They depend on fish and other marine life for sustenance moving from place to place according to tide and season.

Strongly linked with the tales of marine folk are the Fisher Kings. These watery monarchs figure largely in various Grail bloodline scenarios of the "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" type.

What we clearly see though in the various cultures that possess this motif is that the Fisher Kings are ultimately traced to sea peoples. The kings themselves often arise out of the sea dressed in fish costumes or portrayed as part fish. And they tend to have a fish diet and/or to teach fishing.

What is indicated is the extreme maritime adaptation mentioned by Oppenheimer.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

The King of the East

The medieval descriptions of Shambhala, Prester John's kingdom, Sanfotsi and Zabag all allude to local volcano-like activity, and in the case of the first three to subterranean regions.

The two are of course linked as volcanoes produce vents and lava tubes which, when dormant, become extensive cave systems leading deep into the earth -- the Underworld. The idea of the "water of life" located in a netherworld lake or in a volcano occurs repeatedly in Southeast Asian and Pacific myth.

The water of life will be discussed more later in this blog. It served not only as a metaphor but as something real and valued among the Nusantao and others. The water of life stand for nothing more complicated than the quest for a long happy life on earth and, abstractly, immortality after death. The Egyptian phrase: "Ankh, udja, seneb!", or "Life, prosperity, health" sums up this idea quite well.

The quest for immortality is, on the earthly plane, a quest for health and long life, and few objects were more valued than the water of life in this quest.

The Juili confederacy of Chiyou, as mentioned earlier, was divided into nine tribes and 81 clans. A Hmong religious incantation Jiao E Ke You translates literally as "Nine Buffalo Chiyou" referring possibly to that leader's buffalo totem. The Hmong who claim to have come from Chiyou's united tribes adorn their shrines and central rooms with buffalo horns.

Interestingly, the angels of the Bible have also been classified into nine groups or "choirs."

In Ezekiel 28:12-19, the "covering cherub," usually identified with Satan, is adorned with nine gems thought to represent nine "tribes" of angels. In the same way, the High Priest of Israel wore a breastplate of 12 jewels representing the twelve tribes of Israel.

The idea of nine choirs first came into vogue among the early Church fathers Ambrose and Dionysius and became established in the time of St. Gregory. The choirs include the Thrones, Dominations, Principalities, Powers, Virtues, Archangels, and Angels mentioned in the New Testament.

From the Old Testament are added the Seraphim and the Cherubim.

The descriptions of Shambhala mention a kingdom shaped like a lotus with nine petal-shaped provinces extending from the central mountain. I believe this points to the holy volcano from which eight rivers descend dividing the land into eight parts. Thus, when the central region is included, there is a division of nine areas.

This original partition into nine geographic tribes later served as the basis for the non-geographic organization of the confederacy.

Chiyou was credited with founding the art of smelting and metal weapons in Chinese texts, and it was only the alliance of his enemies that allowed his defeat. He immediately became deified as a god of war.

In the same sense, the messenger sages in Sumer and Israel were also associated with arts, crafts and other valuable skills. The transfer of societal models and technology undoubtedly made an impact on the area as the texts make clear. The changes associated with the expulsion from the Garden were revolutionary.

Interestingly, the move toward "civilization" did not bode well for women. Although today we often associate liberated women with more urban enviroments, there is no indication of this in the reconstruction of our past.

As many thinkers of the Enlightenment recognized, the position of women among indigenous and so-called "primitive" peoples was often much better than that found in more "modern" societies. Women could inherent property instead of being viewed as property themselves.

They sat on councils of elders and not infrequently they stood on an equal level to men. In rarer cases, their position was superior to that of men.

From ancient archaeological sites we can say that this appears also to be the case in older pre-urban societies. The cult of the Mother Goddess ruled, at least iconographically, and women had burials equal in all respects to those of men.

In Dawenkou and Lungshanoid China we see an interesting divergence. With growing social stratification, we see in communities associated with Upper Yellow River the appearance of male-only elite burials, while those of the Lower Yellow River continue to accord elite burials to both men and women although the grave riches are much more modest.

The exclusion of women as property holders only meant more gravy for the in-group of men in the patriarchal society.

Although both clan conferacies were dominated by men in the military hierarchy, for the traditionalists the power of the union must always draw from both sides. The female component, of course, represented by the Dragon Clan.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

The "King of the East" in ancient and medieval tradition

The concept of the King of the East is intimately linked with that of the King of the Underworld.

In Sumerian literature, Enki, the King of the Abzu, swims to Sumer from the island of Dilmun in the east. The entrance to both the underworld and skyworld was found on Mt. Mashu in Dilmun in the Sea of the Rising Sun.

Enki in the form of a fish-human is the main advisor to humanity from among the Annunaki who had come to Sumer. Among the things conveyed was the idea of the priest-king. Each Sumerian city had a patron god whose instrument was the priest king. The temple of the god was usually in the form of a ziggurat.

The ziggurat is a terraced, truncated pyramid that symbolized the holy mountain of the Sumerians. The flat top of the ziggurat is similar to the appearance of a volcano's profile. Enki would send fish-being sages known as abgal (Akkadian apkallu) from Dilmun to advise the priest-kings.

In ancient India, the first king Yama is also the lord of the underworld both for good souls (Devachan, Yamasabha, Pitriloka, etc.) and bad souls (Kamaloka, Patala, etc.).

Although the location of the underworld is a bit more ambigious here there are both eastern and southern indications. Devachan in Buddhist tradition is placed in Sukhavati, a blessed land to the east of India. The Devas themselves in Vedic literature always come from the East and one faces in that direction when praying to the Devas. On the other hand, one faces the South when praying to the Pitris, the departed ancestral fathers. The southern course of the Sun is known as the way of the Pitris.

The underworld was also associated with the ocean. Patala was said to be located under the earth and in the ocean.

As Dharmaraja, Yama was associated with dharma, the mundane and spiritual law. In fact, the word yama can also mean dharma. Although kingship and priesthood diverged in Indian society, the spiritual law or yama is personified by Yama. He is also the model for kingship in Indian tradition according to the dharmasastras (lawbooks).

The Indian view of the renewal of the ages involves the rise of the king known as Kalki, an avatar of god Visnu, from the village Sambhala. This is similar to the Tibetan tradition of the Golden Age prophesied king Rigden Drakpo who comes from Shambhala, which is likely the same place as in the Indian prophecy. Shambhala is associated with the Sita River, which among the four great rivers of Indian tradition is the river of the East. Shambhala is likely also linked with the Milky Ocean where Visnu is said to slumber on a bed of serpents. The Puranas state that Kalki rises out of the ocean on a white horse during the last days. In the Churning of the Milky Ocean myth, the white horse Ucchaisravas ascends from that ocean.

Indian tradition links the apocalypse with an underwater fiery formation known as the Vadavamukha or "Mare's Head" located far to the east and south. The Vadavamukha sounds much like an underwater volcano and in Indian literature the world is destroyed in a cataclysmic explosion.

Among the Hebrews we also find the idea of an apocalyptic King of the East contained in the prophecies of Isaiah and the Book of Revelation. These prophecies were likely the source of the King of the East motif in the writings of the medieval astrologer Nostradamus.

In Persia also during medieval times, the King of the East as a future savior appears in the Rivayats and other works. The savior king is said to come from the direction of Hind (the Indies) and China.

In Hebrew literature, Melchizedek, the priest-king who meets Abraham may be modeled after the Sumerian prototype. The name Melchizedek means "King of Righteousness" and Hebrew tzedek "uprightness" is roughly the equivalent of the word dharma in India. Thus Melchizedek is very close in meaning to Dharmaraja, the title of Yama.

In medieval times, the King of the East becomes the King of the Indies. The model for Prester John, the king of the Three Indias, and Shahriyar, the 'king of the Indian Isles and China,' in the One Thousand and one Nights is likely the real-life medieval king of the kingdom known to the Muslims as Zabag and to the Chinese as Sanfotsi.

This was a late Nusantao realm located in the eastern Malay Archipelago.

The Medieval Geography of Sanfotsi and Zabag

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

References

Meisami, Julie S. "The King from the East and the End of Days: Myth,
History, and Politics in the Samanid Milieu" (Oxford: Oriental
Institute: 1997.

Moens, J.L., "Srivijaya, Yava en Kataha," Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol XVII, 1940.

Land of Gold

In addition to the spice trade, Southeast Asia became associated with precious metals especially gold at an early date.

Indeed, a major discovery in the area of metal technology was made at Ban Chiang in Thailand which has produced the earliest radiocarbon dates for bronze technology. These dates have been the focus of much dispute. Recently a socketed bronze adze from the Balobok Rockshelter shellfish gathering culture in the Philippines was dated to 5,140 years ago.

The early date would help confirm the Ban Chiang dates and also suggest long-range trade as tin, a component of the bronze alloy, is not readily available in this region.

There are two other important indicators of early metal technology in this area, the discovery of a brass needle at Musang Cave in the Philippines dated to 4,000 years ago, and the distribution of the tumbaga word for a gold-copper alloy.

The word tumbaga and related forms appear in Central and South America also for an alloy of gold and copper. It was once thought that these words had traveled over from the Philippines during the Spanish galleon trade. However, archaeological evidence now clearly shows that metal technology including the smelting of tumbaga predates European contact (see Prof. Dorothy Hosler's site). In fact, the earliest metal working may go back 3,000 years ago.

Words for gold and other metals have been reconstructed for the languages of this region:

*lujang "brass" PAN Dempwolff
*luyaN "brass" PAN Lopez
*timah "tin" PAN Dempwolff
*bulaw "gold" PAN Dyen
*bulaw-an "gold" PAN Streseman
*hemas "gold" PAN Lopez
*bari "metal" PAN Blust

PAN = Proto-Austronesian

The ancient Indians knew Southeast Asia as the Gold Land or the Gold Islands. The ancient Greeks had the same terminology. The texts are a bit ambigious but there is some suggestion that Dilmun was a source of gold and silver. The ships coming from Dilmun were also said to have carried tin although it is not specificed exactly where this metal came from.

In latter Biblical and Phoenician literature, we hear of long trade journeys that lasted three years and brought back gold, silver, tin and lead among other products of tropical nature. These trade missions started from the port of Ezion-geber on the Red Sea. According to the historian Josephus, the destinations of these voyages was Southeast Asia, the Land of Gold.

The Phoenician writer Sanchuniathon tends to confirm this when he states that the Phoenicians sailed across the Erythraen Sea during these trade voyages.

The mention of tin is important because this metal was very rare in the ancient world. The known sources in Central and West Asia and in Europe are not nearly sufficient to have supplied the tin used during the Bronze Age.

The greatest source of tin in the world is Southeast Asia specifically Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. Tin here is derived from alluvial deposits as was most ancient world tin. This metal also occurs naturally here with copper, thus offering a convenient situation for the discovery of the bronze alloy.

The Bronze Age in China also relied on Southeast Asian sources of tin from Yunnan and possibly from further south.

Thus, the Nusantao trade may well have supplied the tin necessary for the bronze age. It is also possible that bronze technology was an invention of Daic peoples from Thailand and was carried by Nusantao seafarers to other locations.

Then there is evidence suggesting the transfer of tumbaga and at a late date possibly brass technology.

Large amounts of gold and silver were brought from Southeast Asia helping provide the capital that created empires of wealth in different regions of the world.

The wealth and technology also had its negative consequences. The dragon from the sea had brought with it the ingredients for wars of conquest and greed.

May the mountain overpower you!
May the mountain hold you back!
May the mountain conquer you!
May the mountain frighten you!
May the mountain shake you to the core!
May the mountain hold you in check!
May the mountain subject you!
May the mountain cover you!
May the mighty mountain fall on you,
May you be held back from my body!

-- The Conjuration of Mt. Mashu

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

The Noble Savage

If modern humans have been around for about 150,000 years as anthropologists suspect, then for less that 4 percent of that time has there been evidence of significant social stratification.

While there almost certainly was some minor difference in standards of living, people were more or less "equal."

During the last 4 percent of modern human history there has been an explosion of social divergence which has led to extreme gaps in standards of living. The disparity contributes in no small way to the amount of instability and conflict seen in our world.

The ancient way of life was a simple one and probably much more democratic. Rosseau spoke of the "Noble Savage" and Marx admired the Iroquois and other indigenous nations for their equality.

The traditionalists among the Nusantao must have seen the increasing trade competition as a formula for world conflict. Greed after all is more infectious than any disease.

The Nusantao, like all Austronesians, were keen observers of nature. The Chinese texts relate this quality among the Dong Yi, and Fu Hsi was said to have studied natural phenomenon. The Austronesian mariner was a keen observer of the weather, ocean conditions, migratory birds, etc. as such observation was essential to survival.

They looked also for signs from the spirit world. They had binary divination systems which they used to inquire about personal matters and possibly also cosmic matters. These systems include the dice divination of the Ayta and the knot divination of the Caroline chain.

Fu Hsi's trigrams were based on the idea that weather patterns are similar to patterns of human events. For the Nusantao, the dualistic eruption in nature could have meant only one thing.

For the traditionalists among them, the cosmic balance had been disrupted. A cycle had been started that had only one possible conclusion.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

The Message

In Eden in the East, Oppenheimer uses techniques practiced by geneticists to arrive at a most likely origin location for a large body of ancient myths.

Myths are combinations of motifs. As they diverge from their area of origin, each group branching away tends to contain only a subset of the original motifs. Also, new motifs emerge in each branch. This phenomenon is known as drift. Consequently the original motifs become less diverse the farther one moves from the place of origin. While the original location retains the greatest diversity of motifs.

With so many myths of apparent Southeast Asian/Pacific origin found far from the home region we can see that the eastern sages were really effective "messengers."

And it seems as though the message they had to deliver was usually presented in the form of analogy or allegory. In this sense, it was characteristically Austronesian. In ancient Hawai`i the kaona or "hidden meaning" is more important than the obvious one. The same thing can be found in proverbs and wisdom throughout Austronesia.

The most common way to convey hidden meanings was to give examples in nature. The Austronesian generally brought three animals with them during their migrations -- the dog, the chicken* and the pig. Sometimes, at a later date, they also brought the water buffalo and zebu. These animals were often used in conveying messages.

We posted previously an image of water buffaloes in Sumer and also mentioned the copious use of water buffalo horns adorning the heads of Sumerian gods and kings. Worship of buffaloes and bovines in general is widespread in this region extending eastward to the Harappan civilization. At the ancient site of Ban Chiang in Thailand, we also see the use of miniature zebu and buffalo statues that have been interpreted as religious objects.

In Chinese tradition the Dong Yi king Chiyou is depicted with a bull's head. Such bull-headed humans also appear in Sumerian myth, usually associated with the water buffalo.

The water buffalo thus represents authority, either divine or royal. In my home province of Pampanga, accomplished warriors would wear gold-plated water buffalo horns in their turbans. The water buffalo head is a sign of power throughout Southeast Asia.

In South Asia, the "Lord of the Beasts" motif includes the great divinity sporting buffalo horns. In latter times, during the royal asvamedha horse sacrifice, the primary queen called the Mahisi (literally buffalo-cow) would take part in a fertility ritual with strong sexual overtones. Many see this ritual as rooted in Harappan iconography included those using buffalo imagery.

Buffalo sacrifice & mortuary ritual

Yama the first king in Indian tradition and the model of the Dharmaraja or "King of Righteousness" has a water buffalo as his vehicle.

Thus when we see Enki providing the Abzu waters to water buffalo via his ever-overflowing jar, the buffalo represents something else than simply the animal. It could represent the gods or the king, and thus heaven and/or earth.

Another interesting animal in both Sumerian and Hebrew myth is the sea dragon. It is known as Tiamat in Sumer and Leviathan among the Hebrews. Oppenheimer and others have wondered whether this creature has its origin in the saltwater crocodile of Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Certainly there is some resemblance.

Tiamat

Shang Dynasty dragon as crocodile

Both Tiamat and Leviathan are sometimes seen as representing malevolent forces possibly in reference to saltwater intruding on freshwater sources. Oppenheimer notes that the saltwater crocodile becomes a threat to human populations mainly when flooding allows saltwater to encroach into freshwater estuaries.

Another possible meaning here is that Tiamat and Leviathan point to another threat from the sea -- the mercantile trade.

Not that Austronesians saw trade as inherently evil at all. People living in small island networks need trade much like those living in the steppe or in the Arctic tundra. A tiny atoll, for example, has only very limited natural resources.

For thousands of years trade flourished in this region with little sign of any connected social problems. Then during the Nusantao period we see the rather sudden extreme stratification resulting eventually in signs of human slavery and deadly clan warfare. What brought about this change?

While external factors like the expansion of trade routes and the possible development of shell money certainly helped, the Nusantao sage would probably offer a more fundamental cause. That cause lies in the concept of balance.

Previously in this blog we mentioned the dual phratry system based on residence on opposite sides of a river. To some extent this survives today. Arranged marriages, for example, in my paternal grandfather's hometown usually involved finding a spouse from the other side of the river.

Crossing over to the other side to find a spouse was a way of maintaining balance. Even the practice of taking heads found among some indigenous peoples had a concept of equilibrium involved that prevented all-out war. As long as balance was maintained, bloodshed was limited. In the native healing arts, the words for native physician often translates literally as "balancer."

At some point the Nusantao became unbalanced according to this line of thinking. The reason we can surmise from the myths is simple desire and greed. While it is certainly mathematically possible for people in a society to become rich without impovershing others, we see rather the opposite by the end of the Nusantao Middle Neolithic.

In the story of the temptation of Adam and Eve and their expulsion from Eden, the serpent manipulates desire to tempt the couple into partaking of the forbidden fruit. Immortality can be seen as a metaphor for a stable society. The loss of immortality comes from giving into excess desire or greed. The couple was unable to be satisfied with the other fruits of Paradise. The lost immortality points to a society of imbalance and thus conflict that must eventually come to a head and cause the death of the society.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

*Chickens may be present in the Aegean as early as the Neolithic (A. Sampson, E neolithike periodos sta Dodekanesa (Athens 1987) 135-145). Chicken egg shells and bones suggesting domestication are verified by the Aegean Bronze Age. Wild chickens are present only in the rainforests of tropical Asia.