Recapping the Timeline VI

The Nusantao eventually began to move toward the export of spices and metals from their home region. By the middle of the second millennium BC, this trade appears firmly established by both African and Asian trade routes.

The home regions of the Nusantao became widely known by these valuable products. They added to the mystique of the lands, which were also famed for agents of immortality. Like many peoples, we can safely presume that the Nusantao tended to idealize their homeland when far away.

The Altaic peoples did the same thing with the golden Altai mountains when they wandered far from home. Medieval Christians tried to make Jerusalem the center of the world on their early maps, completely distorting correct proportions in the process.

For the Nusantao, much of the idealization had some basis in reality. There were indeed precious aromatics from whence they came, perfumes whose value is still recognized to this day -- such as aloeswood, which commands higher prices than gold. Nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, cassia and other local odiferous products have been prized by many cultures and the cause of many wars. Rich sources of alluvial gold, tin and other metals existed.

The lands were lush and beautiful to behold abounding in natural diversity of all kinds.

In the same sense, this paradise could suddenly turn into a fiery or stormy hell via the forces of nature. This too was conveyed in the stories of paradise, sometimes said to be guarded by a flaming sword.

The idealized homeland became the destination in the quest for immortality. For the Nusantao, the natural interaction of the great cosmic principles is evidenced through the workings of nature itself. Theology was of secondary importance -- whether one believed in one or countless gods -- the workings of duality were equally apparent.

If one desired to meet deity, the cosmic axis mundi, the holy volcano where the three worlds met, was the place to seek. It was here that one accessed all planes of cosmic existence.

With such a concept of their home land and with such precious commodoties to offer from the region, the location became literally a place of wonder and myth in the minds of those who had heard the stories.

The wondrous tales probably aided the Nusantao in speading their trade and spiritual influence far and wide judging from the available evidence.

Artifacts, traces of their language, elements of their mythology and culture turn up in regions practically spanning the globe. Their seafaring ability combined with fierce clan competition would have drove them on distant journeys for new prospects.

The practice of shellfish gathering, fishing, sea mammal hunting, and living in semi-subterranean homes helped them in quickly adapting to foreign and hostile climates.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

Recapping the Timeline V

The conflict of the Nusantao trading clans appears in an interlaced series of motifs, the complexity of which would alone argue against independent evolution. The set of motifs are not identical though because as they drift apart, some motifs get lost and news ones are borrowed or invented. In some cases, motifs are converted to fit local viewpoints.

However, it is still possible to see the underlying elements that link a dualistic conflict with what can be interpreted as a volcanic catastrophe. In many cases, these stories also offer geographical directions to the scene and, less frequently, the timing of the events, which agree also with archaeological and other evidence.

I believe the Chinese recorded the alliance of the dragon and bird clans in the story of the marriage of Fu Hsi and Nu Gua. This union involved the Dong Yi peoples of the eastern coast, whom archaeologists have connected with the neolithic Dawenkou culture. In turn, the Dawenkou is thought by researchers such as Solheim and Ling to indicate Nusantao or Austronesian presence.

Indian literature speaks of the wars of Devas (gods) and Asuras (demons) during the Churning of the Milky Ocean in the East. From the churned sea arise a number of important cultural items including the conch trumpet, the long bow and the pot of elixir. These can be interpreted as representing influences dispersed by people migrating from this natural disaster.

In Sumer, the same information would come flowing from the people of the shell mounds. The conflicts of the Annunaki appear to have been absorbed into Hebrew myth as the war of the good and fallen angels.

These and stories from other mythologies give us ideas such as "paradise lost" and the Promethean fall which so many have tried to explain as common psychological devices to conceive worldviews. However, too often the details fit to well with the actual hard evidence to accept such speculation.

Thus, following the clan marriage of Fu Hsi and Nu Gua, tradition tells of wars between clan and tribal chieftans such as Yandi, Yao, Shun, Huangdi and Chiyou. Indeed, the archaeological evidence supports the idea of conflict with the growing presence of heavily-fortified settlements. We also see certain clan emblems begin to spread over wide distances.

The trade conflict coincides also with the appearance of economic systems often based, at least in part, on the use of shells as a form of currency.

In some cases, even some details on the inner organization of the clans seems apparent. There is suggested in several instances the division into groups of nine and/or seven. The first classification, I would suggest was based on the actual geographic divisions found in the area around the central mountain. This was divided into 8 parts like the eight provinces of Shambhala, which together with the central capital formed nine regions.

The seven-fold division, on the other hand, appears based on the levels of the mountain itself, which was used as a spiritual model for the whole cosmos.

Mythology and history were not separated. Ancestors, for example, were promoted to deity status as is still the case among some peoples to this day. The worldview of the Nusantao clearly interlaced the spiritual and mundane worlds in a way that matched their overall dual vision of the cosmos.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

Recapping the Timeline IV

The motif of the erupting volcano or volcanoes linked with a war or conflict is very widespread, and I have suggested that geographical clues all point to a specific location.

The timing of the epoch that I believe is related to this event, based on various traditions, is around a few centuries before the third millennium BC. This dating may have passed directly or indirectly to a number of cultures ranging from Egypt to Central America as a particular astronomical configuration.

Later, as these cultures independently developed their own calendar systems, they back-dated the astronomical legend but using different methods. Thus, they arrived at differing but still rather close start points. Of particular importance in the suggested configuration are Venus and/or Sirius which appear in many cultures to be interlinked.

The dated eruption that I have identified is that of Mt. Pinatubo (15.13 North, 120.35 East) around 3,500 BC, although there is a margin of error here of about 500 years. There was also an apparently Neolithic eruption of near-by Mt. Arayat (15.16 North, 120.76 East) on virtually the same latitude as Pinatubo, but this event has not been dated by radiometric means.

Legend suggests these volcanoes may have erupted simultaneously or at least close enough in time to allow for natural mixing of the volcanic deposits. The story also suggests this took place during the ceramic period corresponding with the first introduction of rice agriculture into the region.

At that time, the Nusantao trade network was established over vast regions. They appear to have been trading mostly in fragrant woods, jade, nephrite, obsidian, shells (including tortoise shell), glass and shell beads and possibly some metals such as gold. In some regions, the rice and sugarcane trade likely continued to flourish.

Just prior to the volcanic eruptions there appears to have been a union of important clan networks among the Nusantao. The two leading clans had the dragon and bird totem respectively. The legends suggest these came from the traditional camp which at the time was secondary in power to the exclusive ideology clans. The alliance however threatened the existing status quo.

This new confederacy was formed in the region of the volcanoes itself. Tradition suggests that the eruptions coincided with the outbreak of hostilities between the newly-formed alliance and the established elite-oriented clans.

In the naturalistic and dualistic minds of the Nusantao, the volcanic events must have been of cosmic significance, for both sides. The eruptions became etched in their worldview and the model of the great erupting mountain was carried far and wide on their journeys and trade missions. In the ensuing battle for the mountains of Sun and Moon, the old guard -- the fallen angels -- were expelled from "Eden."

The conflict is recorded in traditions, oral and literate, throughout the geographic expanse of the old Nusantao trading network. Indeed, the battle itself was brought in one form or another to many of these places.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

Recapping the Timeline III

History gives us many examples of groups that expanded geographically with the purpose of transmitting some religious or spiritual views. Among the well-known cases are those of Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam.

Sometimes, the spread of such views is known only through later analysis. For example, Africanists have noted the division in African society centered around the blacksmith taboo. This division of society may have taken place in the Sahel at some ancient epoch. According to Pierre Clement and C.A. Diop, a pro-blacksmith group consisted of artisan kings, who valued manual labor, and had an open, non-caste society.

The other opposing group taboos the blacksmith, has warrior kings, despises manual labor and has a closed, casted society. This societal division had spread throughout much of Africa in ancient times and is still present to some extent today.

In the Austronesian dual world, the division of the Nusantao trading clans along some idealogical lines would be a natural enough development. I have suggested that this was along traditionalist versus exclusivist lines. The traditionalists wanted to preserve the older rather egalitarian society in which equality was valued, while the exclusivists sought to build powerful elites by strictly limiting membership into the upper classes/castes.

To some extent this division may have still been present in the conflict between the medieval kingdoms of Zabag and Wakwak. Numerous notices of Wakwak mention slaves or the slave trade, while these are largely absent with regard to Zabag except during the latter's decline. In Neolithic China, the Dawenkou culture gradually stratified its society but did not adopt human slavery until close to its demise, possibly under the influence of the southern Liangzhu culture. Among the latter, such intense social stratification seems to have been present from the beginning.

Diop states that in Africa the closed society that carries the blacksmith taboo often blames the blacksmith for having stolen the secrets of the gods. This, of course, reminds us of the myth of the fallen angels and Prometheus.

Among the Nusantao, the exclusivist camp though appears as those who wish to share their knowledge. This also is apparent in the stories of the fallen angels and Prometheus, although in this case there is no clear division between open non-casted as opposed to closed casted societies. The knowledge transmitted is thought to lead to the downfall of humanity, and I would suggest this originates from the early situation within the Nusantao clans.

These divisions are brought to a head by the great volcanic eruptions that send shockwaves through the trading network. I have suggested that the stories of the eruptions and the linked clan wars, sometimes fashioned into battles of gods or spirits, are rooted in reality.

The evidence suggests they are not independent inventions to explain phenomenon of one sort or another as might be suggested by some mythologists. The different accounts scattered over various parts of the world provide independent and generally consistent geographical pointers as to the location of these events.

Although these geographical clues are sometimes vague, when taken as a whole they provide a clear picture that indeed correlates with the archaeological and other evidence.

There are real events and real migrations that can account for the wide dispersal of these myths, which in and of themselves literally direct us, with varying degress of clarity, to their own epicenter.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

Recapping the Timeline II

The migrations of the Nusantao prior to 5,000 BC were related to the expansion of trade networks. Important items of exchange consisted of shell, jade and nephrite. Solheim has suggested perishable goods like rice and sugarcane were also traded.

Long distance exchange practices may have been inherited from the earlier obsidian trade in the western Pacific. Obsidian continued to be important to the Nusantao, although jade and nephrite appear to have replaced it in many cases.

With the exception of obsidian, all these items continue to show up on lists of transoceanic trade goods found thousands of years later in medieval texts.

The Sundaland flooding involved what was by far the greatest populated land mass submerged during the Holocene period. By the latter stages of these sea floods we see quite clearly the development of a coastal marine-oriented people. In some cases, the evidence points to fully-fledged sea nomads who built only semi-permanent or seasonal settlements associated with shell mounds and sand dunes.

This marine and trade orientation facilated rapid geographical expansion of settlements. Their ability to navigate the open oceans is evidenced by contacts with places like Taiwan which was then a much smaller island in the Pacific, and by blue-water mammals, fish and other species associated with their shell middens.

Competition also appears to have played a role in geographical expansion. The growth and distribution of clan emblems, and the testimony of Chinese literary sources recording ancient legends give us an idea of these conflicts.

Most of what we know about the early Nusantao, aside from that revealed through archaeology, was preserved in the form of oral tradition. In some cases, these continued solely as oral records, but in other cases they were eventually put down to writing. In most instances, the chronicles involved were not of Nusantao origin, and some are thousands of years old.

The gradual development of social stratification in cultures of coastal Neolithic China appears directly linked with the Nusantao trade. Among some of the items found in the Dawenkou burials of present-day Shandong are whole or partial tortoise shells and jade ceremonial objects from the southern Liangzhu culture. Pigs also seem to have been a symbol of social status and many pig skulls have been found in the tombs.

The largest Dawenkou tombs usually contain Liangzhu jade and ceramics and there seems to be a trade link here between the elite. There are also many elite status Lianzhu tombs near the Yangtze River, and in both cultures we find the practice of mortuary human sacrifice. This occurs only in late Dawenkou burials and may have been adopted from the Liangzhu. The latter had some advanced technologies including the use of diamonds to polish sapphire-rich stones. There are some who think they also used magnifying glasses and diamond-tipped pens in carving ornate jade ritual items. They lived in semi-subterranean dwellings and apparently utilized slaves for labor.

The evidence gives stark testimony as to how the pursuit of wealth can corrupt human behavior. Such social changes created an environment that fostered conflicts of a spiritual and social nature to augment the existing economic competition.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

Recapping the TImeline

Prehistoric shellfish gatherers were rather active in the Paleolithic from 50,000 to 30,000 years ago. In some locations they continued to leave sites such as in South Africa between 100,000 to 18,000 years ago, and Vietnam from 33,000 to 11,000 years ago.

Starting in the Holocene period after the last Ice Age, we see a significant increase in the building of shell mounds as noted by anthropologist Katherine Szabo:

From about 17 000 years ago until about 7000 years ago the sea steadily rose as the ice of the last glacial maximum melted, inundating many areas of land that were previously dry. It is at this time that we see an increase in the number of sites with shell midden deposits. This has been an archaeological talking point over the last few decades - why did people start intensively exploiting marine resources at this time?

Some researchers have called this phase the "mega-midden" period because of the vast size of shell mounds created.

Shell mound builders in coastal Vietnam and probably also in Sundaland began expanding with the rapid rise in sea levels during the Holocene. One particular culture of Hoabinhian affinity developed an advanced fishing and sea/aquatic mammal hunting culture.

They made earthenware perforated spindle whorls for fishing nets, and also similar-looking earthenware net sinkers. They used whole shells, particularly cowries, for various purposes including as burial goods. Among the notable types found are Cypraea moneta (money cowrie), Cypraea tigris (tiger cowry) and Cypraecassis rufa (red helmet).

They made beads of shell and also apparently in some places of opaque glass. Jade/nephrite tools appear in regions associated with the culture. and less frequently tools made of shell.

The Nusantao, most likely Malayo-Polynesian or Proto-Malayo-Polynesian speakers, established distant settlements in areas explored earlier by others including their Proto-Austronesian ancestors. These events occured initially during the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition period, which I believe in this case is linked with earlier edge-grinding practices.

Some researchers have commented negatively on shellfish gatherers as people who acquired low status, and have characterized shellfish as a secondary protein source inferior to land-based game.

However, these concepts may be overly-simplified. Some shellfish today, for example, such as lobster are among the most expensive sources of high-quality protein and are generally thought of elite food. Oysters have a similar reputation and the oyster shell was conceived in Roman myth as the throne of the goddess Venus. Indeed, shellfish collection among fishing cultures is generally performed by women, while men take to the seas to fish and hunt.

One thing that modern research has shown is that shellfish and marine fish are
much higher, sometimes by many fold, in brain-specific fats as compared to meat and other protein sources.

For thousands of years shells, albeit of the non-edible kind, were used as money over most of the world throughout. Indeed, if we look at many cultures, the rise of status-based civilization is often linked with the sea-coasts, and in some cases with peculiar people depicted as amphibious humans.

I've suggested that these marine humans were none other than the Nusantao, whose sea-based lifestyle may have seemed peculiar to other observers. By virtue of their long-range travel, these people had a major impact by transferring ideas to and fro, and also because they had an inter-related economic and spiritual agenda.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

Transition

Before the end of the 16th century, the Lusung kingdom had been colonized by the West although the specific Sambali area where Mt. Pinatubo is located was largely covered with forest growth at this time, and was fiercely guarded by Aeta and Sambal peoples.

The spread of Islam to the north had been stopped but just barely. We won't explore what happened to the old kings of the mountain, but instead will investigate how the Dragon and Bird Clan influenced the world of prophecy and messianism in much of the world.

But first we will recap the historical outline we have presented here. Then after the section of prophecy we will have an epilogue bringing us to present times after which the narrative portion of this blog will be completed. From that point, I will compile as extensive a glossary as my time permits of the symbology, archetypes, myths, artifacts and other evidence presented here, as well as some not yet presented. Also, periodic news briefs related to this blog well be posted. I will also try to arrange the blog into one easy-to-read and ordered pdf file for download, hopefully with some interesting new images.

Let's start off with a timeline of some the events suggested here (approximate dates):

Nusantao Timeline 33,000 - 11,000 BP:  Shell mound building culture in Vietnam and possibly Sundaland  |  | 20,000 BP:  Edge-ground tools in Australia, classified as "Hoabinhian" by Solheim  |  | 17,000 BP:  Jomon culture in Japan makes first pottery,  build "mega-middens"  |      |      |      Toggle harpoon by 7,000 BP  | 11,500 BP:  Rapid-rise sea floods, Hoabinhian  migrations    |      |  |  Spirit Cave culture near Thai-Myanmar border  | 9,000 - 8,000 BP:  Proto-Austronesian migrations due to  sea flooding, fully-polished tools  |                        |  |        Maglemose shell mounds, Denmark prior to 8,000 BP  | 7,000 BP:  Nusantao trade network already underway,  E. Indonesia to China coast  |                            |                                  |  |  Ubaid mounds in Persian Gulf    Siberian/Arctic shell mounds  |  | 5,500 BP:  Pinatubo eruption, allied Dragon and Bird  Clan dominate Nusantao network  |                                                    |  |          Rival clans expelled from "Eden," move southeast  | 5,500 BP:  Extended contacts with eastern African coast  |  | 5,000 BP:  Nusantao established in Sumer and on  Atlantic coast of Europe, contacts increasing with Americas  |  | 4,000 - 3,500 BP:  Nusantao spice routes are firmly  established to Africa, extended Pacific exploration/colonization     |                           |  |        Wave of Bronze Age Nusantao influence in N. Europe  | 2,000 BP:  Roman ships begin sailing western leg  of northern spice route, Hindu-Buddhist influences in SE Asia  |  | 1,800 BP: Southeast Asia/South Asia exchange builds  up rapidly  |  | 1,400 -- 1,000 BP:  Islam spreads quickly through  Asia threatening Nusantao trade routes  |  | 1,100 -- 900 BP:  Kalacakra doctrine from SE Asia  filters back to India and Tibet  |  | 1,000 -- 900 BP:  "Prester John" makes significant  contacts with West  |  | 700 BP:  Map-making revolution, European exploration  begins gradually  |  | 500 BP:  Major expansion of European exploration,  "discovery" of "Golden Land"

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

Land of Sacred Jars IV

From the unanimous testimony of eye-witnesses, the sacred jars were not particularly comely in appearance. They were of medium to small size like ordinary water or wine jars, and de Morga describes them as having a brown color. They definitely, then, were not celadons or porcelain, which were recognized by the Europeans and the whole world as the finest type of ceramic.

Indeed the extant evidence shows these pots were not even stoneware, but only simple earthenware as you might find anywhere in the world. If you had no other information about these pots, for example, that they were made of the primal clay of Sun and Moon, they would appear nearly worthless. No other explanation would suffice as to why kings would refuse any offer for these plain clay containers.

The confusing point of the matter is that the Tokiko also mentions fine Rusun wares including celadons. Archaeological discoveries over the past few decades have shown that the country was indeed a destination, and possibly even a source, for many fine Chinese-type porcelain pieces. In fact, the Philippines has one of the world's greatest collections of Sung dynasty celadons and the highly-prized Shu-fu wares used by the Mongol royal family and the few others that received it as gifts.

However, the Tokiko does seem to distinguish the porcelain from the tea canisters and jars that commanded such high prices.

Of pottery vessels of Luzon, there is a large variety. As a rule, poeple call only jars (tsubo) and tea-canisters (chaire) Luzons. Owing to the fact that all other articles of Luzon bear out a similarity to those of Hagi, Karatsu, Seto, Bizen, Tamba, Takatori, Higo, Oribe, and Shino, Luzons are erroneously believed to be restricted to the above two articles...The tea canisters of Luzon are of the best quality.

-- Tokiko II

The author goes on apparently describing more Chinese-influenced porcelains, which may or may not have been made on Luzon, to the plain but highly-valued tea-canisters and jars. He mentions one tea-canister he found with Chinese characters suggesting the word Lusung-chi "made in Lusung." The "genuine" Luzon tea-canisters were said to have concave bottoms and to be compact and dense.

The more recent pottery-making traditions of the Philippines concentrated around two main types with close links to styles used in Vietnam. These were the older Sa-Huyhn-Kalanay ware which lasted about 3,000 years and the more recent Geometric pottery, sometimes called "Bau-Malay" which arose around the seventh century. Older pottery though dates back to the early Neolithic or Mesolithic and is characterized particularly by burial jars and associated ware.

Although de Morga states the tea jars were no longer made in the Philippines during his time, in the northern reaches of Luzon which had resisted Spanish colonization, the Kalinga and other peoples continued to make earthenware pots. Later this tradition was revived in other places.

The ordinary medium to small-sized wine and water jars often called volnai, bolnai, etc. may be the boioni mentioned by Froez. These tend to be of globular shape and brown or dark reddish in color.

In addition to the rokuro mark used to identify jars that were made in Luzon, other marks indicated jars made in Japanese kilns but with Luzon clay. Those made in the Imbe kiln had the mark , those from the Bizen kiln had this mark: , while tea-canisters from the Bizen kiln made of Rusun clay had the following mark repeated three times: .

The Tokiko says these markings are in the Rusun-no kokuji "the national writing of Luzon." Indeed, the symbols for Luzon clay do resemble characters in the baybayin script. These include the characters for la in Kapampangan, Tagalog, Bisayan and Ilokano, the na character in Kapampangan and Tagbanua, and the ka character in Tagbanua.

In addition, these characters also resemble the symbology that we mentioned before. I stated that the rokuro spiral would represent the dragon clan, while the "T" symbols used for Rusun clay, would stand for the cosmic tree and by implication the bird clan.

Some examples of these holy jars have been found in Japanese collections. One piece brought from Japan to the Ethnographical Museum matches quite perfectly the description provided by de Morga. It is of brownish color earthenware and small in size. De Morga says of the clay pots purchased by the Japanese that they "overlay them externally with fine gold embossed with great skill, and enclose them in cases of brocade."

In a similar way, maybe to compensate for their unsightly appearance, the Sultan of Brunei's talking jar was "generally enveloped in gold brocade."

The Ethnographical Museum piece was said to be made of composite pieces welded together with the joints, apparently at a latter time, overlayed with gold. In the certificate that came with the jar we find an interesting notice on the sacred nature of this pottery.

"This earthen vessel was found in the porcelain factory of Tschisuka in the province of Odori, in South Idzumi, and is an object belonging to the thousand graves.... It was made by Giogiboosat (a celebrated Buddhist priest), and after it had been consecrated to heaven was buried by him. According to the traditions of the people, this place held grave mounds with memorial stones. That is more than a thousand years ago. ....In the pursuit of my studies, I remained many years in the temple Sookuk, of that village, and found the vessel. I carried it to the high priest Shakudjo, who was much delighted therewith and always bore it about with him as a treasure. When he died it fell to me, although I could not find it. Recently, when Honkai was chief priest, I saw it again, and it was as if I had again met the spirit of Shakudjo. Great was my commotion, and I clapped my hands with astonishment; and, as often as I look upon the treasure, I think it is a sign that the spirit of hakudjo is returned to life. Therefore I have written the history, and taken care, of this treasure.–Fudji Kuz Dodjin."

-- translated by Austin Craig

The Datu of Tamparuli filled his jars with water and dispensed it to the sick across the country. The Sultan of Brunei was quoted as saying that his sacred pot howled during the night of his first wife's death, and made similar noises before any unfortunate event. Craig also notes: "St. John states further that the Bisayans used formerly to bring presents to the sultan; in recognition of which they received some water from the sacred jar to sprinkle over their fields and thereby ensure plentiful harvests."

These humble pots were minature models of the Primordial Hill, Mt. Mandara, Mt. Meru, Mt. Eden and other variations of the great holy volcano with a caldera lake -- the Krater. They combined the clays of Sun and Moon or were said to be made by the Sun and Moon gods. Like the Holy Grail, they were imbued with spirits that aided or even guided the owner. Tabooed for millennia, they were now put on sale to the highest bidder.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

Land of Sacred Jars III

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We will identify these precious pots in our next blog.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

References

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

Land of Sacred Jars II

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

16th century alchemy lab in Austria

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

Land of Sacred Jars

The pot of elixir was generally depicted as a globular vessel similar to the purna kalasa or "full pot" motif used in Hindu-Buddhist art, and often appearing in a reddish or brownish hue. Sometimes the pots used in ghata worship of the goddess as during the Devi and Durga puja rituals has the same shape. Similar pots occur in the early forms of the vessel of flowing water found in Mesopotamian art.

In the representations of this "merveilleux symbole qui etait comme le Saint-Graal de l'epopee chaldeenne," to quote the words of one of the greatest scholars of Sumerian antiquities, there can be recognized an "evolutionary" and more or less chronological sequence of types. At first there are plain globular vases, held by standing or seated personages, one hand below and the other on the vase.

-- Ananda Coomaraswamy, Yaksas

The amrita kumbha or "pot of elixir"

The sacred earthenware pots of Lusung were also generally of a globular shape and brownish or reddish color. They were of medium size that could be easily carried even when full of water.

In Japan, where we find the world's oldest known pottery, sacred jars are mentioned in the literature detailing the founding of the empire. The Japanese used these jars for storage and also for ritual sacrifice. In the Nihongi, the first emperor Jimmu Tenno meets a divine visitor during a war with his enemies and is told to make a great pot sacrifice to gain victory:

The Emperor, indignant at this, made prayer that night in person, and then fell asleep. The Heavenly Deity appeared to him in a dream, and instructed him, saying, "Take earth from within the shrine of the Heavenly Mount Kagu, and make from it eighty Heavenly platters. Also make sacred jars and sacrifice to the Gods of Heaven and Earth. More over pronounce a solemn prayer. If you do this, the enemy will render submission of their own accord."

In Southeast Asia, sacred jars were of several types. In addition to those used to store beverage and food, others were used for the practice of secondary burial. Both of these types of jars could also be handed down as sacred heirlooms known in Indonesia as pusaka. Jars were important status symbols and were used especially during marriage negotiations as one of the most coveted forms of bride wealth.

Pot worship was especially important in the Philippines, Borneo, Taiwan, among the Moi of Indochina and in certain other areas of Indonesia. Pottery is often the most important burial item in these regions where it is sometimes broken first, so the animistic spirit may accompany the deceased.

In latter times, Chinese celadons and large vessels known as dragon jars a type of stoneware, which, though of obvious Chinese influence, may have been of Southeast Asian manufacture. The simple earthenware pots became neglected and forgotten by the local people, but cherished by those abroad who had coveted them for ages.

Many fantastic traditions surround the sacred jars in insular Southeast Asia. In Borneo, the jars are said to be made of the gods from the same clay used to make the Sun and Moon (and sometimes also the Earth). Among the Tinguian of the Philippines, a certain jar named Magsawi was said to be able to converse, to take long journeys and even eventually got married to a female jar from a neighboring province. They eventually had a child jar with the same characteristics! According to the Tinguian, the sacred jars are the products of Kabonian, a deity with solar affinities.

Another tale of living jars comes from the tale of Gimbangonan:

Not long after he started, and when he arrived in the pasture, all the jars went to him, and all the jars stuck out their tongues; for they were very hungry and had not been fed for a long time. The jars were somadag, ginlasan, malayo and tadogan, and other kinds also. When Aponitolau thought that all the jars had arrived, he fed them all with betel-nut covered with lawed leaves. As soon as he fed, he gave them some salt. Not long after this they went to the pasture, and they rode on the back of a carabao [water buffalo].

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

Amrita Kumbha

If the name "Lusung" comes from the native word meaning "mortar," we could see here a relationship with "Krater" which can mean "mixing bowl" or "volcanic crater."

The alchemical mixing or pounding together of dual materials ejected from the dual erupting volcanoes of Lusung produced a sort of Philosopher's Stone. According to legend, the Philosopher's Stone was used to transmute base metals into gold and to create the "water of life," which was envisioned as water with gold, or gold and silver (electrum), suspended in solution.

However, the gold and silver here may refer instead to the Gold and Silver mountains, also known as the mountains of the Sun and Moon. The "white powder of gold" associated with the Philosopher's Stone may be simply a type of volcanic clay.

The mixed clay formed into jars which were used to store water and other beverages constitutes the basis, in my view, for the "pot of elixir" motif found in the tale of the Churning of the Milky Ocean. This pot known as the amrita kumbha appears time and time again in tales where the Asuras (Demons) attempt to steal it from the Devas (Gods).

Pot worship of this type is rather rampant from India to Southeast Asia. In the Pacific, the gourd symbolically replaces the pot. In ancient Sumeria, we find the motif of jars containing the water of life, sometimes with the water flowing out from the mouth of the jar.

Indeed, the concept of the Holy Grail as a chalice, bowl or vessel from which to drink would derive from the same idea. The original clay vessel can be seen as a manifestation of the larger volcanic Krater, but holds drink rather than the holy bathing lake. The principle though is the same.

Water, wine, tea or other drinks stored in these simple earthenware jars supposedly took on special qualities that were considered nothing less than magical. They became the aqua vitae or elixir vitae, the water or elixir of life.

When the pot of elixir arose from the Milky Ocean, the Asuras immediately grabbed the jar and a chase ensured. It is said that each place the Asuras stopped they left a bit of amrita behind that dropped from the jar. These locations became places of pilgrimage and include the Ganges River, the site of the grand Kumbha Mela festival where pilgrims come to take a holy dip in the river.

Amrita is associated with a mountain to the East across the Milky Ocean, usually Mt. Mandara. The great mythical bird Garuda went to steal the elixir to gain the release of his mother, who had been captured by the Asuras. The amrita kumbha was said to be found off the shores of the Milky Ocean on the mountain where Indra creates the monsoons.

In Sumerian iconography, Enki is often shown with water flowing directly from his shoulders, but in the oldest forms of this motif we see instead a yoke placed on the back with a water-spouting jar on each side of the head. These waters are linked with the underworld Apsu, the royal domain of Enki. The traditional entrance to the Apsu, again, is at the twin gates of Mt. Mashu in the furthest East.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

Circling the globe

The significance of Nicolo de Conti's contributions are best seen in the light of the maps of the world preceding his revelations.

Comparison of medieval mappa mundi. Pietro Vesconte's World Maps, 1321, from Marino Sanudo's Liber secretorum fidelium crusis; Andrea Bianco's World Map, 1432; Giovanni Leardo, Mapa Mondi Figura Mondi, 1442; Catalan-Estense Map, 1450-60; Fra Mauro's Map, 1459.

Fra Mauro's map, 1459

The comparison of maps above show the level of the art up until Poggio Bracciolini relayed de Conti's travels in 1447. The Catalan and Fra Mauro maps do not appear to have used de Conti as a source at least with reference to the globular shape of the earth.

It was not until Toscanelli as shown earlier in his reconstructed chart that we see the changes as suggested by de Conti. For the first time, we begin to see the world portrayed graphically as a globe rather than in the medieval scheme of a flat circular earth surrounded by Oceanus. The Behaim and Laon globes first give the idea that it is possible to reach the East by traveling toward the West.

We know that Austronesians were aware of the curvature of the earth. Generally speaking they conceived of the earth as having the same shape as the sky. Indeed, one Proto-Austronesian word *banua "earth, land, world" often has the derived meaning "sky, heaven, sidereal year." Polynesian myth describes the earth as a shell or a dome. In the Philippines, there are myths that the Creator dropped a floating stone into a great sea in creating the world.

De Conti sharpened the image of Asia dramatically. Why Cipangu is portrayed as one massive island though is puzzling. Was this an attempt to make it appear as a larger and safer target?

Columbus apparently thought that Cipangu, his El Dorado, lie at about 19 degrees North latitude while Magellan was headed for his land of gold at 13 degrees North.

About a century earlier, Zheng He was preparing for his great treasure voyages but not before trying to subdue the kingdom of Lusung to the southeast. As mentioned earlier, a large eruption occured at Pinatubo around the year 1450, not long after de Conti had left the region of the East Indies.

Lusung and its kings, who had long before resorted to Machiavellian practices, was approaching the final stages of descent.

The Achenese and Malay empires had expanded Islam over most of the area to the south and had begun to infiltrate Lusung society itself through royal intermarriages. The old spirituality had long been in decline. The anti-materialists were themselves not immune to the temptations of wealth, which they had accrued to a spectacular degree at the height of the Sanfotsi/Zabag empire.

The Japanese of the 15th century linked the kingdom of Lusung (Rusun) with those of Taiwan and the unidentified island of Amakawa. The three islands were known collectively as Mishima. During these desperate times, the Dragon and Bird Clan resorted to something their ancestors apparently had never dared.

They began marketing one of the most sacred items their land had to offer -- the sacred jars of the cosmic mountain.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

References

Streicher, Friedrich, "Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli" in Catholic Encyclopedia, http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14786a.htm.

Tafur, Pero, Travels and Adventures: I435-I439, http://www.corvalliscommunitypages.com/Europe/iberianonislam/pero.htm.

Route of Columbus upon reaching "New World"

Voyage to Cipangu

Marco Polo's confusion of Japan and the easternmost Indies had a lasting effect on European geographers up until the time of Columbus' voyages.

Mapmakers tended to show Cipangu as a vast island covering sometimes more than 30 degrees of latitude from near the equator to 35 degrees north or more. In other words, Cipangu included most of Taiwan, the Philippines and the Moluccas. That this was the case is evident in the fact that many maps including the Behaim Globe show locations known as the Nutmeg Forest and the Pepper Forest in the extreme south of Cipangu. Neither of these spices, or the gold or pearls the island was famous for were abundant, if existent at all, in Japan.

Furthermore Cipangu was shown always in the "Indian Ocean" usually off the coast of Champa, or off the coast between Champa and Manzi.


The world according to Paolo Toscanelli, 1474, reconstructed by Hapgood.


A reconstruction from the Laon Globe of 1493


A section from the Waldseemüller map showing the southern end of Cipangu at about 5 degrees North with the north end at about 35 degrees North.



Toscanelli recreated by Hapgood showing how close Europe thought Cipangu was from the West

As one can see from the last map, European geographers of the time thought the East Indies were much closer to the West than was actually the case. This was due in large part to the incorrect distance assigned to a degree of longitude. As noted earlier, this fault extends back to Marinus and Ptolemy. According to my theory, it would have been in the interests of the Dragon and Bird Clan to allow this error to persist.

Columbus is said to have corresponded with Paolo Toscanelli, and he carried a globe with him during his journeys. The two surviving globes from the period just prior to his journey -- the Laon and Behaim globes -- both show Cipangu in very much the same position as Toscanelli.

Apparently, Columbus also believed that Cipangu was the ancient source of spices like nutmeg, cloves, cassia and Indonesian cinnamon. He expressly stated that he was destined for that island in search of these types of aromatics.

The expedition first made landfall in the New World while cruising at 24 degrees North longitude. Columbus then sailed southwest in his search for Cipangu. He believed that the fabled golden kingdom was that of Cibao, located in the modern nation of the Dominican Republic at about 19 1/2 degrees North latitude. This shows quite clearly that the explorer believed Cipangu was located in the tropics although he greatly underestimated its distance to the West. As you may remember, navigators at this time could accurately determine latitude but not longitude.

There is one important thing we must note regarding Columbus' explorations. Paolo Toscanelli is said to have been the first person to suggest a westward voyage to the Indies and Cipangu. The first documentation of this is a letter by Toscanelli to the confessor Canon Ferdam Martins of Lisbon, which Columbus had read. This started a correspondence between the two geographers.

The important link here is the man generally known as one of Toscanelli's main informants -- Nicolo de Conti. This Venetian traveler had spent many years traveling throughout the East including the island regions of Southeast Asia. Most importantly, de Conti claimed to have had a close personal relationship with Prester John of the Indies!

Pero Tafur, a Spanish traveler met de Conti along the Red Sea near the Sinai during one of his journeys. The Venetian nobleman explained how he had gotten lost in India and finally ended up in the court of Prester John in India Major (Greater India):

When I arrived in India I was taken to see Prester John, who received me very graciously and showed me many favours, and married me to the woman I now have with me, and she bore me these children.

Unfortunately, de Conti does not give any specific details on just where in Greater India Prester John was located. However, he does provide some details of his kingdom:

I asked him concerning Prester John' and his authority, and he told me that he was a great lord, and that he had twenty-five kings in his service, although they were not great rulers, and also that many people who live without law, but follow heathen rites, are in subjection to him.

Notice that the number of kings under Prester John is reduced from the 72 monarchs claimed in his 1165 letter.

De Conti also tells Tafur that the king had a great interest in the Chrisitan kingdoms of Europe and that he had twice witnessed emissaries sent to "Christian princes" but was unaware if they had ever completed their mission:

I learnt from Nicolo de' Conti that Prester John kept him continuously at his court, enquiring of him as to the Christian world, and concerning the princes and their estates, and the wars they were waging, and while he was there he saw Prester John on two occasions dispatch ambassadors to Christian princes, but he did not hear whether any news of them had been received

Many of the items related by Tafur are confirmed by accounts given to Poggio Bracciolini, the papal secretary. Pope Eugenius IV had ordered de Conti to furnish his history in penance for his renunciation of Christianity during his wanderings.

As for de Conti as a source his accounts are generally considered the best journals of the East during the entire 15th century. He was the first person in Europe to clearly distinguish Sri Lanka from Sumatra. He also was known to have suggested traveling to the East by sailing around Africa. While there is no direct evidence that de Conti ever suggested a westward voyage, the connection with Toscanelli leaves this as an irresistable possibility.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

Letters of Prester John

Over a period of several centuries, some 100 manuscripts have been linked with Prester John. These include letters that were taken very seriously by Popes, emperors and kings. Even into the 16th century, some such letters were still taken as authentic in Europe.

Was this really the greatest hoax ever perpetrated, or was there real substance to these letters?

Some scholars claim the letters were forgeries made by Nestorian Christians and Cochin Jews from Malabar in India.

How easy would it have been to fool Popes and emperors at that time? One has to think that no simple ruse could have worked. Even in those times, leaders had sufficient resources at their disposal to verify claims of these types. Merchants, travelers and spies did manage to make their way to the East and certainly would have been consulted for independent confirmation.

After the Mongol invasions, three main theories regarding Prester John arose in Europe as travelers began bringing back tales from faraway places. These were the original one of Prester John of the Indies, an Ethiopian version and a Central Asian one.

Marco Polo and Friar Odoric were among those who claimed that Prester John was a Central Asian Kereit khan who had adopted the Nestorian religion. Jordanus was the first to claim that the kingdom lie in Ethiopia.

In the 15th century, an emissary of the Negus of Ethiopia proclaimed that the emperor was Prester John motivating the navigators of Portugal to explore Africa. In the following century though, we again hear of letters from Prester John of the Indies, some written in the Hebrew language.

The book Igeret Orhot Olam, written by Abraham Farissol in the early 16th century claimed that Prester John's kingdom lied somewhere "beyond Kalicut" a port in South India.

If you remember, Malabar was the beginning of India Major, one the three "Indias" according to medieval European geographers. It was to here that the Portuguese explorers came on their way to the East Indies, establishing the colony of Goa located in the present-day state of Kerala.

Europeans eventually found the islands of spices and the gold islands that they had heard about, but never quite resolved the mystery of Prester John. Maybe part of the problem is that the closer they came to the actual kingdom, the smaller and more isolated the latter became. By the time full-fledged expeditions had reached the actual location, the ancient empire for the most part had vanished, and only legends existed.

Even up to the time preceding Magellan's 16th century voyage, tales of a mysterious kingdom in the Indies persisted. Mendes Pinto, writing about a decade earlier, tells of the kingdom of the Lequios, the Liu-Kiu of the Chinese, located between the coast of China and Mindanao to the south. He gives a latitude of 9N20 for this kingdom and strongly suggests that the kings of Europe make an expedition there.

When Magellan neared the Philippines he had set his course a bit further north at 13N heading for "Gaticara" according to Pigafetta and Albo.

The Chinese Liu-Kiu was probably the same location described by the Japanese as Mishima "Three Islands." It included Taiwan, Luzon and another island of unsure location. The neighboring region was called Pi-she-yet by the Chinese, which may be a corruption of Bisaya, the central Philippines region.

Duarte Barbosa wrote of the Lequios/Liu-Kiu:

From Malaca they take the same goods as the Chins [Chinese] take. These islands are called Lequios. The Malaca people say they are better men, and richer and more eminent merchants than the Chins. Of these folk we as yet know but little, as they have not yet come to Malaca since it has been under the King our Lord.

Barbosa thought the Lequios were inhabited by "white men" who resembled Europeans, a belief possibly generated by the medieval romances.

I would suggest that the letters of Prester John were part of an overall campaign by the empire of Sanfotsi/Zabag to arrest intrusions on its trade routes. Not that Prester John penned these himself, as the letters suggest he had others in his service including westerners who could have composed them with his instruction.

Starting as early as the late 10th century, Sanfotsi began requesting assistance from the Sung emperors against their neighbors and competitors to the south. At the same time, they began strenghtening their relations with kingdoms in eastern India and Tibet. These kingdoms were on the edge of the Islamic expansion. They may have hoped here not only to gain allies but to strengthen the resolve of the nations to resist the Muslim juggernaut.

The Tibetans knew of the Shambhala king and his great palace where nearby was located a "park called Malaya where sandalwood trees grow...with the scent of camphor, which seems, so one feels, to remove all the sufferings of existence."

About a century after the Kalacakra Tantra, with its battle machine recommendations, reaches Tibet, we begin to hear of eastern contacts with the Christian world. These culminate in the famous letters of Prester John in the middle of the 12th century.

But as time rolls on the priest-king loses much of his hand, and he must resort to bluffing more and more as the empire decreases. Although the letters took a life of their own, it's difficult not to see historical reality behind them.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

References

Bar-Ilan, Meir, Prester John: Fiction and History, http://faculty.biu.ac.il/~barilm/presjohn.html

Bernbaum, Edwin, The Way to Shambhala, Boston: Shambhala Publications Inc., 2001.

The Holy Grail IV

The palaces of Prester John and the Rigden of Shambhala share a number of similarities. Although the details differ both palaces were constructed with costly materials.

The Shambhala palace was said to be built of gold, silver, turquoise, coral, pearl, emerald, moon crystal, and other precious stones. This is similiar also to the description of Kai Khusraw's palace in Kang-Dêz which had seven walls of gold, silver, steel, bronze, iron, crystal and precious stones. Prester John's palace was equally rich but with more of a wood construction described in his letter of 1165:

The palace in which our Superemincency resides is built after the pattern of the castle built by the apostle Thomas [Judas the Twin] for the Indian king Gundoforus. Celings joists, and architrave are of Sethym wood, the roof ebony, which can never catch fire. Over the gable of the palace are, at the extremities, two golden apples, in each of which are two carbuncles, so that the gold may shine by day and the carbuncles by night. The greater gates of the palace are of sardius with the horn of the horned snake inwrought so that no one can bring poison within. The other portals are of ebony; the windows are of crystal; the tables are partly of gold, partly of amethyst; the columns supporting the tables are partly of ivory, partly of amethyst. The court in which we watch the jousting is floored with onyx in order to increase the courage of the combatants. In the palace at night, nothing is burned for light, but wicks supplied with balsam.

The description above is apparently copied to a great extent by John of Mandeville who adds some additional details:

And above the chief tower of the palace be two round pommels of gold, and in everych of them be two carbuncles great and large, that shine full bright upon the night. And the principal gates of his palace be of precious stone that men clepe sardonyx, and the border and the bars be of ivory. And the windows of the halls and chambers be of crystal. And the tables whereon men eat, some be of emeralds, some of amethyst, and some of gold, full of precious stones; and the pillars that bear up the tables be of the same precious stones. And the degrees to go up to his throne, where he sitteth at the meat, one is of onyx, another is of crystal, and another of jasper green, another of amethyst, another of sardine, another of cornelian, and the seventh, that he setteth on his feet, is of chrysolite. And all these degrees be bordered with fine gold, with the tother precious stones, set with great pearls orient. And the sides of the siege of his throne be of emeralds, and bordered with gold full nobly, and dubbed with other precious stones and great pearls. And all the pillars in his chamber be of fine gold with precious stones, and with many carbuncles, that give great light upon the night to all people. And albeit that the carbuncles give light right enough, natheles, at all times burneth a vessel of crystal full of balm, for to give good smell and odour to the emperor, and to void away all wicked airs and corruptions.

One of the startling similarities between the palaces of Prester John and the Rigden of Shambhala are mirrors or lenses that allow the ruler to see everything that happens in the kingdom. Those in Shambhala were described as light-giving crystals with lenses. The following comes from the 1165 letter of Prester John:

Before our palace stands a mirror, the ascent to which consists of five and twenty steps of porpyry and serpintine ... This mirror is guarded day and night by three thousand men. We look therein and behold all that is taking place in every province and region subject to our sceptre.

Although many aspects of the great palace were probably fantastic, the notice of such a great structure persists into latter times. In many ways, the fabulous palace matches descriptions of the New Jerusalem in Revelations. Also it appears the structure is transferred to the West in Parzival where it is found as the Castle of Wonders in Montsalvat. This castle has sort of an animistic spirit and helps the seekers in their search for the Grail.

One interesting note of a great palace comes from Marco Polo in his description of Cipangu during the 13th century. Although Cipangu was the name for Japan, the Italian traveler apparently mixes up descriptions of two different places.

First of all he describes Cipangu at the beginning of his relation of the "isles of India." He also places the island in the 'Sea of Manzi,' that is the sea off the coast of southern China which was known to Europeans as Manzi as compared to northern China which was known as Cathay.

Manzi comes from the Chinese words meaning "Southern Barbarian," while Cathay is derived from the Kara-Khitai empire, a Turko-Mongol kingdom that ruled northern China prior to the Mongol invasion.

He also says the island is very rich in gold and pearls, none of which is true of Japan. On the other hand, he describes the Mongol invasion of Japan in his description of Cipangu.

Thus, it's not entirely sure whether the Cipangu palace Polo describes is in Japan or in the Indies location, but it is of interest nonetheless:

I will tell you a wonderful thing about the palace of the lord of that island. You must know that he has a great palace which is entirely roofed with fine gold, just as our churches are roofed with lead, insomuch that it would scarcely be possible to estimate its value. Moreover, all the pavement of the palace, and the floors of its chambers, are entirely of gold, in plates like slabs of stone, a good two fingers thick; and the windows also are of gold, so that altogether the richness of this palace is past all bounds and all belief.

Prester John and the Rigden were also associated with special gardens -- the Garden of Eden and Malaya, respectively. Malaya is described as a "pleasure grove" erected by Rigden Sucandra, while Eden is the garden planted by God.

During the time of Prester John's early letters and the work of Wolfram von Eschenbach, the Garden of Eden was squarely placed in the extreme East, in India (the Indies).

Here is a table of correspondences showing how both kingdoms closely resemble contemporary descriptions given of Sanfotsi and Zabag.

Description	Prester John's kingdom	Shambhala	Sanfotsi/ Zabag
Located in the "Indies" during the same general period	*		*
Pygmies	*		*
Cannibals are present	*		*
Brahmins included among their subjects	*	*	*
The use of fire-proof clothing	*		*
Subterranean zone	*	*	*
Extensive empires	*	*	*
Fabulous natural wealth	*	*	*
Tamed elephants	*	*	*
Giant eagle-like bird	*		*
Phoenix	*		*
Adultery is strictly prohibited.	*		*
Amazonian tradition	*		*
Priest-king	*	*	*
Apocalyptic battle	*	*	*
Volcano	*		*
Kings had great knowledge	*	*	*
Kingdoms existed during same general time	*	*	*
Royal succession not by primogeniture		*	*
Land of Gold	*	*	*

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

The Holy Grail III

Many theories have been put forward on the origin of the Grail. Links to Manicheanism, Mandeanism and pre-Christian European religions among others have been suggested.

However, we must remember that Wolfram connects the Grail firmly with the Far East and "India." That is the region where it originated and returned, and from which those most knowing of the relic, particularly Cundrie, have come. Certainly other influences abound in the work.

Cundrie, for example, not only speaks the language of far-off Tribalibot, but is fluent in Arabic and knows the names of the stars in that language.

One interesting study by Henry and Renee Kahane, in collaboration with Angelina Pietrangeli, links the Grail with the Krater of the Corpus Hermeticum. The Hermetic texts are said to be ancient Egyptian works translated into Alexandrian Greek.

The word "krater" from which we get English crater can refer either to a stone mixing bowl, or to the mouth of a volcano. Kahane et al., stress the mixing bowl but the text they use from the Hermetic literature suggests something more like Plato's vulcanic krater which was said to contain the light of the Sun. The following is a conversation between Tat (Thoth) and Hermes taken from the Hermetic texts:

Tat: Tell me then, father, why did God not impart intellect to all men?

Hermes: It was his will, my son, that intellect should be placed in the midst as a prize that human souls may win.

Tat: And where did he place it?

Hermes: He filled a great Krater with intellect, and sent it down to earth; and he appointed a herald, and bade him make proclamation to the hearts of man: "Dip yourself in this Krater, you who are able; you who believe that you will ascend to Him who sent this Krater down; you who know for what purpose you have been born." Now they who have heed to the proclamation and were baptized in intellect, those men got a share of gnosis, and they became perfect men because they received intellect. But those who failed to heed the proclamation, those are they who possess the gift of communication and reasoning, to be sure, but not more, since they have not received intellect and know not for what purpose they have been made, nor by whom they have been made. The sensations of these men are very close to those of beasts without reason, and since their temper is in a state of passion and anger, they do not admire the things worthy of contemplation; they give heed only to bodily pleasures and desires, and believe that man has been born for such things as these. But as many as have partaken of the gift which God has sent, these, O Tat ... they see the Good ... Such, O Tat, is the science of the intellect, which provides an abundant possession of things divine and the comprehension of God, for the Krater is divine.

The Krater as something one would take a dip in reminds one of a lake formed in the caldera of a volcano. It is also obviously a location that one must strive to reach:

Hermes: "...Do you see, my son, through how many bodies we have to make our way, and through how many troops of demons, through which continuous succession, and through how many courses of stars, in order to press on to the One-and-Only?"

As on Heaven, so on Earth and within the Body. The Krater of the volcano represents the alchemical ideal as found on Earth where the elixir is created. To journey to the Krater, and to bathe in its waters, is to self-identify with the Earthly model of what one desires to create within. It is the same type of self-identification that the Tantric practitioner and shaman strive to achieve.

The same purpose would be served by the grail, cintamani, anting-anting or mutya (pearl) in that the object represents the acquisition of the inner goal or desire.

The herald appointed to proclaim the Krater, I would say, is none other than Prester John himself. He is descended from Manalastas "the herald" of rooster totem on his father's side. The way he proclaims it though may be a bit more subdued and subtle than a rooster announcing the rising Sun.

The sacred bath or dip in a lake, river or ocean is a common theme found in examples like the Kumbha Mela of India and the Bayung Danum of Apung Iru. The specific idea of a herald calling people to take a sacred dip reminds us of John the Baptist. We saw that two persons named John from the Indies appear after the start of the Crusades -- one named Patriarch John and the other Prester (Priest) John.

In addition to the explanation given by Mandeville, there were other ideas on how Prester John acquired his name. These include theories connecting him with John the Baptist or the St. John who wrote Revelations.

It's said that not long after the Crucifixion
a man who had never seen death made his way to Asia
where he founded a huge and puissant Christian kingdom.
Some people believe this man was John the Baptist
while others say he was Our Lord's favorite disciple.
All we know is that someplace in Asia he still reigns,
untouched by age, and calls himself Prester John;
and most of us would surrender everything we possess
for the priviledge of entering his settlement.

-- Evan S. Connell, Points for a Compass Rose

The idea of the ageless John may also be behind the name of the "Wandering Jew" - John Butta Deus. However, Prester John may have been like the Baptist in other ways. He mentions in his famous letter of 1165 some fantastic sacred water-spots connected with his kingdom:

Between the sandy sea and the said mountians, in a certain plain, is a fountain of singular virtue which purges Christians and would-be Christians from all transgressions. The water stands four inches high in a hollow stone shaped like a mussel-shell. Two saintly old men watch by it and ask the comers whether they are Christians or are about to become Christians, then whether they desire healing with all their hearts. If they have answered well, they are bidden to lay aside their clothes and to step into the mussel. If what they said be true, then the water begins to rise and gush over their heads. Thrice does the water thus lift itself, and everyone who has entered the mussel leaves it cured of every complaint.

Another location near "Mt. Olympus" is a fountain of youth, and stones that restore sight:

At the foot of Mount Olympus bubbles up a spring which changes its flavor hour by hour, night and day, and the spring is scarcely three days' journey from Paradise, out of which Adam was driven. If anyone has tasted thrice of the fountain, from that day he will feel no fatigue, but will, as long as he lives, be as a man of thirty years. Here are found the small stones called Nudiosi which, if borne about the body, prevent the sight from waxing feeble and restore it where it is lost. The more the stone is looked at, the keener becomes the sight.

And yet another site is linked with a mysterious underground cave system and also special precious stones:

Near the wilderness trickles between barren mountians a subterranean rill which can only by chance be reached, for only occassionally the earth gapes, and he who would descend must do it with precipitation, ere the earth closes again. All that is gathered under the ground there is gem and precious stone. The brook pours into another river and the inhabitants of the neighborhood obtain thence abundance of precious stones. Yet they never venture to sell them without having first offered them to us for our private use. Should we decline them, they are at liberty to dispose of them to strangers. Boys there are trained to remain three of four days under the water, diving after the stones.

The fantastic nature of the claims is rather common in writing of the times, however, we might deduce from Prester John's letter is that he is creating a great desire to visit his kingdom. All the classic temptations to venture to the East are included. Was this a strategic move on the part of the "King of the Three Indias?"

It is also worth noting that the Templars were accused of worshipping John the Baptist. Some claimed the skull known as Baphomet and allegedly revered by the Templars, was believed by them to be that of the Baptist.

The Johannites and Mandeans openly worshipped the Baptist placing him higher than Christ. These two groups have been linked by some with the Qumram community that existed a few centuries before Christ and practiced a ritual baptism of initiation. It may be that Prester John related his own position as priest-king of the holy Krater, as Apung Iru, with that of the Baptist.

The connection of the Christian baptism with the Biblical flood ((I Pet. 3:19-20) reminds us of the Bayung Danum festival celebrated during the yearly flood season. The flooding waters renew the earth for the New Year, and, through self-identification, the waters of the river renew the individual also.

The Krater

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento


References

Badia, Leonard F., The Qumran baptism and John the Baptist's baptism, Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1980.

Kahane, Henry and Renée. The Krater and the Grail: Hermetic Sources of the Parzival, University of Illinois Press, 1984.

The Holy Grail II

While the historicity of the romances is certainly open to question, a sober look at works like Parzival reveal an easy link to better-documented historical events.

For example, if Gahmuret is indeed Geoffrey "the Fair" Plantagenet, he is said not to have been heir to a throne, but to have risen to power only through marriage to a widowed emperor. This, of course, was true of Geoffrey who, although a count, claimed a throne only through his marriage to Maud of England, widow of the Holy Roman emperor.

The early romance literature tends to agree in stating that the Grail resided in the West only for a short time -- two or three generations depending on whether the Fisher King is the son or grandson of Titurel. Then it is returned back to the uttermost East. The duration was similar to that of the House of Anjou in Jeruslam, which has been interpreted by many as the Montsalvat or "Mount of Salvation" in Parzival.

That such stories about the Grail and Templars could have circulated so widely -- and the romances were very popular -- at a time when the Templars were still in existence is telling.

Whatever the form of the Holy Grail, in all cases it becomes the object of the quest. Wolfram describes it as a stone that has fallen from heaven -- lapis exilis -- reputedly the emerald that fell from Lucifer's crown during the war in Heaven.

In Kalacakra Buddhism, this reminds us of the Cintamani, the wish-fulfilling fire pearl. The Cintamani is mentioned in Hindu texts as arising out of sea during the Churning of the Milky Ocean. The word "mani" here means "pearl" while "cinta" is "desire, love."

In Tibetan, Mongolian and Korean tradition, the Cintamani is often thought of as a stone that falls or is dropped from Heaven. It is the state jewel of Shambhala in Kalacakra belief, and it is carried out of that realm on the back of a horse known as the "Wind Horse" or the "Best of Horses." The pearl is engulfed in flames representing the inner desires the stone fulfills.



The Tibetan story of 'Indrabhuti and the Wish-fulfilling Gem' has many similarities to the Grail story. Here the "wounded king" is blind and infertile. The infertility extends to the entire kingdom. As his doman sinks into poverty, Indrabhuti makes a decision:

Rather than adopt any policy not in accord with the precepts of the Dharma, the King decided to risk his own life for the good of his people and obtain from the Nagas, who dwelt beneath the waters of the ocean, a wondrous wish-granting gem.

The king sets sail for the "Isle of Jewels," apparently another reference to Shambhala, and after many hardships receives the Cintamani from the "Azure Lady." His infertility and blindness are cured and further yet he is able to see a divine child known as Padmasambhava hidden in a lotus, whom he adopts and makes heir to the throne.

Like the Cintamani, the Grail is credited with giving sight. Not everyone can see and touch the Grail, only those who have reached a certain spiritual level. The Cintamani and Grail fulfill the inner desire (cinta) of the quester but only after they have suffered the necessary trials and learned the important lessons. Simply reaching the destination is not enough.

However the sacred object and the sacred destination are important in their own right as they, like Tantra, provide a "shortcut" to enlightenment. By seeking them one burns through to the inner core to discover what is truly important, and the reality of one's inner desire. At a much earlier period, Gilgamesh also ventures to the bottom of the sea in Dilmun to obtain the flower of immortality but only after a long spiritually and physically ardous journey.

For the Dragon and Bird Clan, in crisis after having reached their pinnacle, the quest also offers a form of political propaganda to help with the geopolitical situation they faced. It was a way of attracting the military/religious elements eastward to head off the Islamic advance.

The relationship between the Grail and the Templars appears inextricably linked with the House of Anjou (Angevins) according to Wolfram. Kyot appears to have had no problem accessing an Angevin genealogy that conflicted with the "official" one and placed the family's origin in the fairy-land of Feimurgân.

The Angevins and the offshoot Plantagenet line were always considered a bit suspect among the high nobility of Europe. Legend says that one of the counts of Anjou had married a half-dragon woman known as Melusine. Bernard of Clairvaux, the founder of the rule of the Templars, was quoted as saying at the birth of Geoffrey the Fair "From the Devil he has come, to the Devil he'll return."

The existence of the heathen calf-worshipping Flegatanis in formerly Muslim Toledo is equally telling. It was from him that Kyot claimed to have learned about the Grail, but he had to confirm some things in the heathen manuscript by consulting the chronicles of Anjou and other kingdoms.

One is forced to conclude that the fairy descent of the Plantagenets is somehow linked to the their close relationship with the lineage of Prester John as found in the romances, and it is at least partly through Anjou that the Grail and other "treasures" come to the Templars.

If the Plantagenets were a bit offbeat, the Templars followed their example well. While the latter were undoubtedly subject to many false accusations, it's hard not to conclude that they absorbed many more "heresies" than other military orders.

In the 1120s, the order had no major sponsors in Europe until Fulk IV "the Rude" came to Jerusalem for pilgrimage. This was the start of the relationship between Anjou and the Templars. He promised to raise funds for them on an annual basis, and became an associate member. He may have also been responsible for the first major land grant -- the Castle of Baghras between Syria and Asia Minor, an important fortification near the city of Antioch.

In 1128, after the Council of Troyes granted papal approval for the order, the first grandmaster Hugh de Payens visited Fulk from April to May. The council's ruling was the beginning of the extraordinary growth of the Templars.

Recruits and donations poured in at an extraordinary rate. In 1131, Fulk became King of Jerusalem through his marriage with Melisende and was brought closer to the eastern Templar activities.

There is no agreement as to why Philipp IV of France and Pope Clement V decided to eventually destroy the Templars some 200 years after their birth. The other major orders -- the Hospitalers and the Teutonic Knights -- survived to present times. While the official explanation was that the Templars were heretics, other suggestions range from fear of their growing power to the debt owned the order by Philipp.

As noted earlier, the order was cleared of charges in Portugal and their name changed to the Knights of Christ. Here they became deeply involved in maritime exploration. Henry the Navigator became grandmaster of the order, and Vasco de Gama was an ordained knight.

When Columbus sailed to America his three ships displayed the red pattee cross of the Templars, which also could have been interpreted as an emblem of the Bird Clan.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento