Researchers to trace sea voyages of Lapita voyagers and domesticated animals

The press release below from Durham University announces a proposed recreation of Lapita voyages into the Pacific by Keith Dobney and Greger Larson.

The two researchers will sail in double canoes along the proposed routes of Austronesian speakers into the remote Pacific. They will test domesticated animals along the way hoping to learn more about their diffusion into this region. Dobney and Larson are already well-known within the field for their research on the migration of humans and domestic animals in ancient times. Their most recent research concentrates on chickens and pigs, two animals that were carried into the Pacific by the Lapita colonizers.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento
---

Public release date: 6-Nov-2008


Contact: Dr. Keith Dobney
k.m.dobney@durham.ac.uk
44-191-334-1119
Durham University

6,000km trip to reveal clues to ancient migration

Epic voyage to discover the origins and migration routes of the ancestors of ancient Polynesians and their animals

Two Durham University scientists are to play a key part in a 6000km trip following the migration route of ancient Pacific cultures.

Drs Keith Dobney and Greger Larson, both from the Department of Archaeology, will be joining the voyage, which will be the first ever expedition to sail in two traditional Polynesian boats - ethnic double canoes - which attempts to re-trace the genuine migration route of the ancient Austronesians.

The main aim of the voyage is to find out where the ancestors of Polynesian culture originated but the Durham University researchers will also be examining the local wildlife.

Dr Larson will be joining the expedition as it sets off from the Southern Philippines in late October, and Dr Dobney will join it in February with another researcher linked with the University, Prof Atholl Anderson, when it leaves the southern Solomon islands en-route into the Pacific.

They will be furthering their own research work along their way, taking hundreds of samples from animals such as dogs, cats, chickens and pigs to use in their ongoing investigations into the origin of these important farmyard animals which the ancient Polynesians carried with them into the remote Pacific.

Work by Drs Larson and Dobney - which probes the genetic make-up of domestic and commensal species linked with human migration - has gained international media attention. Recent findings have focused on the origins and dispersal of domestic chickens and pigs.

The trip, called "Lapita-Voyage", will be crewed by two Polynesians, two scientists, a cameraman and the initiators James Wharram, Hanneke Boon (catamaran-designers) and Klaus Hympendahl (author and organiser of the project).

At the end of the voyage the two double canoes will be presented to the inhabitants of the small Polynesian islands of Tikopia and Anuta, acknowledging the debt owed by Western yachtsmen to the Polynesian inspiration for their 'modern catamarans'.

###

Asian migrations as indicated by Y chromosome YAP+ haplogroup

The following two abstracts of article deal with Y chromosome haplogroup D, a type of the YAP+ haplogroups found in Africa and Asia. Most YAP+ haplogroups are found in Africa with the exception of haplogroup D.

The first study suggests that Japanese and Tibetan populations are made up of two primary waves of male ancestors as indicated by Y chromosome types. The D haplogroup apparently spread out over much of East Asia at an early date from more southern parts of Asia, and then was displaced later primarily from migrations of peoples among whom the O haplogroup was dominant. These latter peoples also migrated from the South to the North. In Japan, YAP+ is most frequently found among the Ainu people of Hokkaido.

In the second study, frequencies of YAP+ carriers in Yunnan, a southwestern province of China, are given. The Primi (Pumi), a Tibeto-Burmese-speaking group, has the highest frequency (72.3%) of YAP+ not only in Yunnan but throughout eastern Asia.

The scattered distribution of YAP+ in Asia resembles that of another marker, haplogroup C, which however, is oriented more toward the Pacific islands.

Y chromosome evidence of earliest modern human settlement in East Asia and multiple origins of Tibetan and Japanese populations

Authors: Hong Shi, Hua Zhong, Yi Peng, Yong-li Dong, Xue-bin Qi, Feng
Zhang, Lu-fang Liu, Si-jie Tan, Run-lin Ma, Chun-jie Xiao, Spencer
Wells, Li Jin and Bing Su
BMC Biology 2008, 6:45

The phylogeography of the Y chromosome in Asia previously suggested
that modern humans of African origin initially settled in mainland
southern East Asia, and about 25,000-30,000 years ago, migrated
northward, spreading throughout East Asia. However, the fragmented
distribution of one East Asian specific Y chromosome lineage (D-M174),
which is found at high frequencies only in Tibet, Japan and the
Andaman Islands, is inconsistent with this scenario.

Results: In this study, we collected more than 5,000 male samples from
73 East Asian populations and reconstructed the phylogeography of the
D-M174 lineage. Our results suggest that D-M174 represents an
extremely ancient lineage of modern humans in East Asia, and a deep
divergence was observed between northern and southern populations.

Conclusions: We proposed that D-M174 has a southern origin and its
northward expansion occurred about 60,000 years ago, predating the
northward migration of other major East Asian lineages. The Neolithic
expansion of Han culture and the last glacial maximum are likely the
key factors leading to the current relic distribution of D-M174 in
East Asia.

The Tibetan and Japanese populations are the admixture of two ancient
populations represented by two major East Asian specific Y chromosome
lineages, the O and D haplogroups.



---

Sci China C Life Sci. 2003 Apr;46(2):135-40.

The geographic polymorphisms of Y chromosome at YAP locus among 25 ethnic groups in Yunnan, China.

Shi H, Dong Y, Li W, Yang J, Li K, Zan R, Xiao C.

Human Genetics Center of Yunnan University, 650091, Kunming, China.

The genetic polymorphisms of Y chromosome at YAP locus in 25 ethnic groups (33 populations) of China were analyzed in a total of 1294 samples. The average YAP+ frequency of the 33 populations was 9.2%, coinciding with published data of Chinese populations. Primi has the highest YAP+ frequency (72.3%), which is also the highest YAP+ among all the eastern Asian populations studied. The YAP+ occurred in 17 populations studied including Tibetan (36.0%), Naxi (37.5% and 25.5%), Zhuang (21.3%), Jingpo (12.5%), Miao (11.8%), Dai (11.4%, 10.0%, 3.3% and 2.0%), Yi (8.0%), Bai of Yunnan (6.7% and 6.0%), Mongol of Inner Mongolia (4.3%), Tujia of Hunan (2.6%), Yao (2.2%) and Nu (1.8%). The other 15 populations are YAP-including Lahu (2 populations), Hani, Achang, Drung, Lisu, Sui, Bouyei, Va, Bulang, Deang, Man and Hui and Mongol of Yunnan and Bai of Hunan. The YAP+ frequencies varied among the different ethnic groups studied, and even different among the same ethnic group living in different geographic locations. Using the genetic information, combined with the knowledge of ethnology, history and archaeology, the origin and prehistoric migrations of the ethnic groups in China, especially in Yunnan Province were discussed.

Circum-Philippine Sea Small Boat Symposium

The Circum-Philippine Sea Small Boat Symposium was held on Oct. 17 at the University of Guam as part of the 21st annual Micronesia Island Fair.

Speakers discussed efforts to revive traditional ship-building and seafaring in Guam with the theme "Year of the Proa." Below are photos of the construction of a Chamorro proa during the event.

The building of a Chamorro proa by the members of Traditions About Seafaring Islands, or TASI, begins to take shape. When complete, the side should be about four feet tall, according to Frank Cruz, president of TASI. (Pacific Sunday News file photo)

Master navigator Manny Sikau of Tradition About Seafaring Islands, or TASI, and others works on shaping one of the wood planks that will be used in the building of a traditional Chamorro proa. The proa was completed recently and named the "Saina." (Pacific Sunday News file photo)

Tradition About Seafaring Islands President Frank Cruz, foreground, works on shaping one of the wood planks that will be used in building of a traditional proa. Master navigator Manny Sikau is seen assisting in the background. (Pacific Sunday News file photo)

Read the whole article.

Peace in Nature and the Golden Age

Many cultures throughout much of the world believe that in a past golden age, animals and humans all lived together in harmony, often in perfect peace. In some cases, such a state of peace is expected to return in the future renewal of the ages.

Such myths of a time of peace in nature are widespread among Bantu peoples in Africa and in the ancient Near East, and extend through India, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific all the way to the Americas.

Hesiod wrote of the Golden Age in which all creatures lived in peace, a theme repeated by latter Greek and Roman writers. In Japan, such a revered earlier age is known as natuskashii, and among the Pitjantjara Aborigines of Australia the tjukurpa refers to the perfect dream-time of yore.

In the Pampangan province of the Philippines, Apung Sinukuan, the deity of Mt. Arayat, was said to have reigned at a period before the creation of humans in perfect harmony with animals and plants. Later after the creation of humans, wild animals remained gentle in his mountain domain and were cared for and even bedecked with golden jewelry. Sinukuan had the power to understand and speak with animals, a theme also found in other similar mythologies.

In Rabbinic and Muslim tales of King Solomon, the monarch is said to have the ability to understand animals and particularly birds. Solomon served as a model of the ideal monarch associated with a time of great prosperity that was again a model of the golden messianic age. The ability to communicate with animals is often referred to as the mystical "language of birds" that can only be understood by gifted individuals.

Many commentators have seen the reference to birds as symbolizing angels, enlightened individuals, spirits flying around the divine presence, etc., but we must also consider the natural explanation. Indeed, birds act as messengers themselves in various mythologies.

Among the Cheyenne, the primordial age was one in which humans and animals all lived in peace with each able to communicate with the other. Then, when humans began to hunt animals, great floods and destruction occurred until the "Great Medicine" took pity and saved the world. However, after the floods, humans could no longer talk with the animals except for a chosen few magicians gifted with "supernatural wisdom." In the presence of these savants, the fiercest animals became gentle and approachable.

Among the Malawi, Chewa and Mang'anja of Africa, God originally dwelt with humans and animals in early times when there was peace in nature. It was after humans discovered fire that animals retreated into the woods and humans began hunting them. Seeing the violence and destruction of wildfires, God retreated from the world into heaven and took away humanity's previous immortality.


'The wolf shall dwell with the lamb'

Ancient Near Eastern mythology often associated peace in nature with the far-off land of Paradise. In Mesopotamia, this was the land of Dilmun, the place were humanity could still obtain immortality.

In Dilmun the raven utters no cries, the ittidu-bird utters not the cry of the ittidu-bird. The lion does not kill, the wolf snatches no lamb, unknown is the kid-devouring wild dog.

Vegetarians and animal advocates argue that the Hebrew Bible portrays the Garden of Eden in much the same way with early humans and animals both subsiding on plants and herbs but not shedding blood.

And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

-- Genesis 1:29-30

To strength this argument, they point to the verses related to Noah and his progeny after the Great Flood in which God permits humans to eat other animals in contradiction to the earlier practice.

And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered. Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. [emphasis added]

-- Genesis 9:1-4

So after the Flood, humans are given the meat of all things just as before the Flood they were given every "green herb" to consume. The provision that they should not however consume the blood of animals is added, since the life of living beings was found in the blood.

Vegetarian advocates argue that the Great Flood itself was caused largely due to the violation of taboos against shedding blood. They cite for example the Ebionite texts that claim that the fall of humanity came after the intercourse between the Nephilim, a class of angelic being, and human women when humans began lusting after blood and killing animals for meat. In the 2nd century BCE pseudepigraphal Book of Jubilees, a period is described when all creatures began to devour each other in the lead-up to the Great Flood. The episode is obviously drawn from Genesis in the Old Testament.

And it came to pass when the children of men began to multiply on the face of the earth and daughters were born unto them, that the angels of God saw them on a certain year of this jubilee, that they were beautiful to look upon; and they took themselves wives of all whom they chose, and they bare unto them sons and they were giants. And lawlessness increased on the earth and all flesh corrupted its way, alike men and cattle and beasts and birds and everything that walks on the earth -all of them corrupted their ways and their orders, and they began to devour each other...

-- Book of Jubilees, 5:1-2


And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them. That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them...And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

-- Genesis 6:1-7, 13

Punishment by flood in many cultural traditions comes as a result of violence particularly the killing and/or eating of totem animals/plants. Already mentioned is the African tradition of humans losing their immortality and the presence of God because of their disturbance of the ecological peace through wildfires and hunting.

It is worth noting that many Jewish and Jewish Christian ascetic groups like the Essenes, Therapeuts and Ebionites were vegetarians apparently due to the belief that this represented the purest and holiest state of nature.


The return of peace

The Arthavaveda, one of the four holy Vedic books of India, tells of a time when all creatures shall live in peace and harmony.

Supreme Lord, let there be peace in the sky and in the atmosphere, peace in the plant world and in the forests; let the cosmic powers be peaceful; let Brahma be peaceful; let there be undiluted and fulfilling peace everywhere.

In the Arthavaveda we also find the Prithvi Sukta, or Hymn to Earth in which it is stated: "Unslain, unwounded, unsubdued, I have set foot upon the Earth, On earth brown, black, ruddy and every-coloured, on the firm earth that Indra guards from danger. O Prithivī, thy centre and thy navel, all forces that have issued from thy body. Set us amid those forces; breathe upon us. I am the child of Earth, Earth is my Mother."

The unity of all beings, of course, was a dominant theme in the religions of India and helped in the formation of the doctrine of ahimsa or "non-killing" of others.


Jewish and Christian visions of the messianic age also see a return to the peace in nature that prevailed in the Garden of Eden and during the pre-diluvian period. Carnivorous animals will again become vegetarian and live in harmony with humans.

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard lie down with the kid ; and the calf and the young lion together ; and a little child shall lead them; the cow and the bear shall feed ; and their young ones lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like an ox.

-- Isaiah 11:6-9


The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.

-- Isaiah 62:25


For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field:

and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee.

-- Job 5:23

Taoists believe that the Eight Immortals lived in the Happy Isles in perfect peace with animals and plants. The Immortals were closely associated with birds like the crane, phoenix and raven on whose backs they flew to other lands. Often the Immortals appear confused with birds, and there was the belief that the Immortals themselves grew feathers and wings.

The Taoist ideal was one of harmonious coexistence of all:

Redeem the lives of animals, and abstain from shedding blood. Be careful not to tread upon insects on the road, and set not fire to the forests, lest you should destroy life. Burn a candle in your window to give light to the traveler, and keep a boat to help voyagers across rivers. Do not spread your net on the mountains to catch birds, nor poison the fish and reptiles in the waters. Never destroy paper which is written upon, and enter into no league against your neighbor.

-- Yin Chih Wen ("Book of Secret Blessings")

Taoist prophecy predicts that in a future time when humanity takes to satisfying the appetites of demons with immolated animals, a great cleansing deluge will occur. After the apocalyptic flood, the world shall enter into the blissful state of the Immortals abode, a period known as Taiping "the Great Peace."

Studying myths throughout the globe, we find commonly recurring themes such as the primordial age when humans and animals lived in a state of peace and harmony, often able to communicate with one another. This peace in nature is disturbed, almost always by humanity, through violence and destruction brought about by fire and hunting/slaughtering animals. God, the Great Spirit, nature itself or some similar entity punishes humanity by rendering them mortal, or in the Biblical version shortening the human life span; by withdrawing the divine presence; and by sending a great deluge.

After the punishment, a different antagonistic relationship exists between humans and animals, and between different species of animals. In some cases, certain select individuals from each species have the power to recreate in isolation the earlier peace in nature including the ability of cross-communication. And we find often also that in the future, there will be a new age coming when once again the primordial natural harmony will prevail.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

References

Cesaresco, Countess Evelyn Martinengo. The Place of Animals in Human Thought, Kessinger Publishing, 2004.

Jamieson, Dale. A Companion to Environmental Philosophy, Blackwell Publishing, 2007

Linzey, Andrew and Dorothy Yamamoto. Animals on the Agenda: Questions about Animals for Theology and Ethics, University of Illinois Press, 1998.

Luttikhuizen, Gerard P. Paradise Interpreted: Representations of Biblical Paradise in Judaism and Christianity, BRILL, 1999.

Walters, Kerry S. and Lisa Portmess. Religious Vegetarianism: From Hesiod to the Dalai Lama, SUNY Press, 2001.

Symbiosis

Indian yogis claim that a latent force, spirit, being, etc. known as the Kundalini dwells within humans in a type of sleeping state.

Through yogic meditative practices, the Kundalini can be aroused causing the practitioner to enter a state of entasy or meditative absorption and unity with the divine. The Kundalini is often portrayed as a serpent or serpent-like creature that dwells in the sacral region until awakened in a fiery conflagration when it ascends upward toward the head.

In Christianity, the Holy Spirit is thought of as a spirit that descends from Heaven and dwells within believers causing a state of ecstasy. The Holy Spirit is also a type of spirit guide that leads people to speak in tongues, prophesy, etc. This spirit is portrayed generally as bird, specifically a dove. In the New Testament, when Jesus is baptized at the Jordan, he is also anointed by the Holy Spirit from above in the form of a dove.

In Christian art and literature, the Holy Spirit is usually depicted as a dove hovering above, flying toward or around, or actually standing on a person's head. The New Testament also depicts the Holy Spirit as flames on the heads of the disciples.



The symbolism of bird and serpent would of course be familiar to those who have followed this blog, which is partly named after these creatures. The cosmic tree has been discussed here that is commonly depicted with a serpent at its roots and a bird resting in the topmost branches. Interestingly, in the yoga of Kundalini, the spinal column is also viewed as a type of cosmic tree in microcosm.

When aroused, the Kundalini serpent ascends the spine toward the top of the head. Like the Holy Spirit, the Kundalini is seen also as a form of the Divine, in this case of the female principle or Goddess known as Sakti. About its fiery awakening, it ascends to unite with male divine principle located at the top of the head bringing the subject into a state of divine union or entasy.

The Holy Spirit, instead descends from Heaven in dove form, as a part of the Trinity it is also one with Divine and communes with the subject by entering or resting upon the head causing here a state of ecstasy and union.


The Kundalini took the form of a coiled serpent.






Devaraja

In medieval Southeast Asia, the Devaraja royal cult made the king into a form of the Divinity. Not so much as an avatar though, but as a host for the Deity.

For example, an avatar is usually seen as god that incarnates at birth as a human. But in the Devaraja system, it is only the installed King who is identified with the god. Thus, the Crown Prince is not also seen in the same divine light as the King.

In the scholarly literature, the spirit of the Deity is known as the "royal ego." In Java and Cambodia, the royal ego was permanently located in a linga, a phallic symbol, placed atop the king's royal ziggurat.

When the king was installed, the royal ego, or part of it, descends upon the king giving him divine status. When the king dies, the royal ego returns to the linga. When the crown prince succeeds his father in ritual ceremonies, the royal ego then descends once more from the linga to commune with the new kingly host.

Again, readers of this blog will recognize the pyramidical temple of the king as a form of the holy mountain or volcano. The linga itself can be seen as the cosmic tree that usually is depicted as resting atop the sacred mount, a form of the fiery pillar associated with a volcanic eruption. It doesn't take much to see the royal ego as a bird perched in the branches of the cosmic tree that descends to anoint the new king. In the same sense, the linga has serpent or dragon connotations in this belief system.

In relation to this, we can note also the widespread concept in Insular Southeast Asia of the bird-double or bird-spirit. This is apparently a symbiotic form of the self that can leave the body on flights of spiritual exploration. In the primal Austronesian sphere, especially in those areas characterized by hydraulic engineering, the domains were centered around mountains, and the domain leaders were invariably linked with these central mountains.

While the Kundalini, Holy Spirit and Royal Ego are forms of symbionts that dwell within the body of the host, there are other forms of symbiosis that involve spirits that dwell instead in objects like amulets, fetishes, talimans and icons. The stories of the Holy Grail serve as one example.


Holy Grail

Grail scholars have long argued as to whether the spirit associated with the Holy Grail was in fact the Holy Spirit.

Robert de Boron, in his early Grail romance, claimed that the voice of the Grail was that of the Holy Ghost. Wolfram von Eschenbach states that every Good Friday, the Holy Spirit descended upon the Grail to renew its powers. The main objection to this among Christian apologists is that the Grail was said to be sent away to some island or to Heaven in the romantic literature.

However, this problem did not dissuade all later authors. Certain literature like The Count and the Quest, Didot-Modena Perceval, Perlesvaus and Titurel indeed claim that the Holy Ghost was carried away to some distant place.

What the Grail authors agree upon is that the Grail acts as a guide to the Grail Knights, Maidens and King, all of whom it personally chooses.

Far away to the East, the concept of objects invested with guiding spirits is linked in the study of the Austronesian world with the related terms anitu, anito, nitu, etc. The anitu is the spirit or soul that can be associated with any type of object from a rice plant to a volcanic mountain. In this blog, the anitus of the sacred jars, the pusaka heirlooms, and the anting-anting amulets have been examined in particular.

In the case of the sacred jar or the lusung rice mortar, we have seen these objects as forms or symbols of the sacred volcano of the Nusantao. Anitu are often related with deified ancestral spirits and in the belief systems around Mt. Pinatubo and Mt. Arayat, the Earth together with the Sky or Sun are the ultimate ancestors. The "tibuan" is the earth that acts as mother to all things, being derived from the root "tubo" as in Pina-tubo, the sacred volcano.

Therefore, the sacred jar is in a sense a form of the cosmos, the cosmic mountain, in microcosm. The "voice" from the sacred jar is linked with anitu, which in this case can be associated with the Divine or with Nature as the ultimate principle. In a similar sense, the Grail becomes a type of vessel or home for the Holy Spirit according to one interpretation.

In the Philippine region, the ancient idea of communion with the divine was rooted in concepts related to time. The pantheistic or monistic Deity is often identified with Sacred Time. The related sets of words niu, nio, nu, nuan and nunu; and calma, karma, karkarma are connected to these concepts of universality. These word sets use the same root source to convey the meanings of ancestors, especially deified or beatified ancestors; the soul of the individual; and one's destiny or fortune.

From the view of cyclical time, the ancestors represent the past; the soul stands for the present; and one's destiny or fortune is the future.


Cyclic Symbiosis

Buddhist and Indian religious texts outline the belief of a cyclic ruler known as the Cakkavatti or Chakravartin, who like the Buddha, appears rarely at the downside end of cyclic periods.

When the dharma or law has decaded to its lowest state, the Cakkavatti is born and there eventually arise certain treasures that are said to aid this new king in washing out the old and bringing in a new golden age.

The most important treasure is the Cakkaratana, an animated discus or wheel-like "being," that descends out of its place in Heaven known as the Cakkadaha. It has the appearance of three concentric wheels moving at once. Like the Grail, the Cakkaratana seems to have a spirit of its own. It travels to the Cakkavatti King, who then anoints it with water and talks to the Cakkaratana asking it to help him conquer the world.

When the Cakkavatti is about to die, the Cakkaratana knows this and eventually disappears only returning after his successor has lived righteously for seven days.

I have discussed previously how the treasures of the Cakkavatti resemble those that arose during the Churning of the Milky Ocean episode found in Hindu texts. This geologic event I interpreted as alluding to a volcanic eruption.

Now, volcanic eruptions in this blog are explained as occurring during the meeting of Heaven and Earth, or specifically the Sun and the Sacred Volcano. The fiery conflagration during this encounter produces the "milk" i.e. the volcanic ash that creates the Ocean of Milk. And from this ocean, arise the treasures of the New Age.

Kundalini yoga also envisions the Kundalini as a serpent creature dwelling in the sacrum covered with sulfur, one of the substances closely linked with natural volcanoes. Indeed, the fiery awakening of the Kundalini has been likened with both a volcanic eruption and the mythic Churning of the Milky Ocean. The arousal is even specifically described as "churning" in certain traditional texts. Rising up the spinal column the female Kundalini unites with the male principle at the top of the head, the Crown Chakra.

Interestingly, the Holy Spirit also has fiery association and is depicted as flames rising from the heads of the Apostles.






In the cyclic interpretation of symbiosis, there arises periodically a new spirit or anitu, a product of Heaven and Earth that unites with the destiny of humanity acting as a guide in the process of renewal.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

References

Malalasekera, G. P. Dictionary of Pali Proper Names: Pali-English, Asian Educational Services, 2003, 1343-4.

Sharan, Mahesh Kumar and Mahesh Kumar Sharan Abhinav. Studies in Sanskrit Inscriptions of Ancient Cambodia, Abhinav Publications, 2003, 259-9.

Waite, Arthur Edward. The Holy Grail: The Galahad Quest in Arthurian Literature, Kessinger Publishing, 1993.

Inscriptions found on Intramuros pottery shard

A new dig at the old city of Intramuros in Manila, Philippines has uncovered a pot shard with inscriptions around its shoulder.

The Calatagan Pot had writing in the same location and was carbon-dated to the Neolithic period, although researchers have generally rejected this as too early. The inscriptions on the latter pot have never been satisfactorily deciphered although the script resembles known writing systems in the Philippines.

These is no comment in the following article on whether any attempt has been made to decipher the new inscriptions.

http://www.malaya.com.ph/sep22/news4.htm

A NATIONAL Museum team has dug up a pot shard with an inscription
around its shoulder, similar to the world-renowned Calatagan pot, at
the San Ignacio archeological site in Intramuros.

The find, lying 140 centimeters below the surface at the ruins of the
San Ignacio church, is seen as evidence of another ancient form of
writing in the Philippines.

Most of the writing systems in the Southeast Asian region are derived
from an ancient script used in India.

In contrast to other countries, the Philippines has very few artifacts
that provide evidence of the earliest form of writing. These include
the Laguna copper plate (900 AD), Butuan ivory seal (9th to 12th
centuries), Butuan silver strip (14th to 15th centuries) and the
Calatagan pot (15th century).

When Spanish conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi came in 1567, he
observed that inhabitants read and wrote in their own system of
writing using an alphabet.

The Tagalogs had their own alphabet, the baybayin, which was similar
to those used by people in the South. The baybayin was in wide use in
the 16th century, but its users began to wane in the following century.

Among ethno-linguistics groups in the Philippines, only three have
retained the use of their syllabic scripts: the Hanunoo and Bahid
Mangyan of Mindoro, and the Tagbanwa of Palawan.

The archaeological excavation at San Ignacio is another project being
implemented jointly by the Cultural Properties and Archaeology
Divisions of the National Museum and the Intramuros Administration.

This project is undertaken in connection with the plan of the IA to
develop the area where the church ruins stand into an ecclesiastical
museum.

Digging was started in June by the National Museum team made up of
curator Angel P. Bautista, researchers Alfredo Orogo and Carmencita
Mariano, artist Ernesto Toribio Jr., and Jimmy Fingcale.

Excavation in five squares yielded 500 pieces of archaeological
material, of which the pot shard with inscription is considered the
most significant find.

Complete human skeletons found in Perak, Sarawak

Archaeologists have discovered late Neolithic human remains in peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak on the island of Borneo.

Complete skeletons like those found in this discovery are rare and the researchers suggest that the two finds involve two separate physical types, "Mongoloid" at Perak and "Australo-Melanesian" in Sarawak.

Both burial grounds were associated with similar types of cultural artifacts.

The Sarawak remains were apparently associated also with cave paintings.

Prehistoric human remains found in Perak, Sarawak
By Himanshu Bhatt

GEORGE TOWN (Sept 18, 2008): Archaeologists have made the most sensational discovery since Perak Man with almost simultaneous unearthing of two separate groups of complete Neolithic human skeletons in peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak, both dating back some 3,000 years.

Neolithic skeletons found in Gua Kain Hitam, Sarawak at the laboratory of USM's Centre for Archaeological research. In the background are the principal archaeologist and researchers in the project.

A total of three males with Mongoloid features, aged between 25 and 35 years, were found submerged in a coastal mangrove swamp in Pulau Kalumpang, near Taiping, Perak.

Another eight skeletons, including seven males aged betwen 25 and 45 years, were discovered in Gua Kain Hitam, at a back portion of the sprawling Niah caves complex near Miri.

Bearing Austro-Melanosoid features (similar to Australian aborigines), they were found laid in flat positions one metre underground. The only female here was between 35 and 45 years old when she died.

Coincidentally, both sets of remains, excavated over the last two months, were part of prehistoric burial grounds, and surrounded by ceremonial items like beads, pottery, shells and animal bones.

Experts say the findings are significant as they reveal details about early indigenous societies that lived in the country. Ancient paintings were also found on the walls of the cave in Sarawak.

Assoc Prof Dr Mokhtar Saidin, Director of USM's Centre for Archaeological Research shows a lower jawbone with some teeth intact, from a skeleton found at Gua Kain Hitam, Sarawak.

"These remains are very important as the skeletons are almost fully complete," said assoc Prof Dr Mokhtar Saidin, director of the Malaysian Centre for Archaeological Research (PPAM) in Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) at a press conference today.

The skeletons measure from 156 to 161 cm in height.

He stressed that the Pulau Kalumpang skeletons are more than 98% complete, compared with the 11,000 year-old Perak Man, discovered in Lenggong in 1991, who was 90% complete.

The Pulau Kalumpang project was conducted by a Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) team headed by veteran archaeologist Datuk Prof Nik Hassan Shuhaimi. USM assisted by providing technical and laboratory facilities.

The Guan Kain Hitam project, meanwhile, was led by Assoc Prof Dr Stephen Chan of PPAM, with a Sarawak Museums Department team headed by deputy director Ipoi Datan.

The research was funded by the National Heritage Department and USM.

Chan said this was the most important discovery in the Niah caves complex since Tom

An archaeologist unearthing the remains of a Neolithic human skeleton at mangrove swamp in Pulau Kalumpang, Perak.

Harrison’s project in the late 1950s and the Datuk Prof Zuraina Majid-led excavations there in the 1970s.

"We believe there are many more remains yet to be found further below the earth and in other parts of the cave," he said.

Chan stressed that the discovery helped to make the Niah caves complex the most significant site for prehistoric human remains in Southeast Asia.

Most of the remains are now at the PPAM laboratory, where they are being carefully analysed. The three skeletons which were submerged in sea water are also being desalinated.

The local authorities have invited Japanese paleoanthropologist Dr Hirofumi Matsumura, from Sapporo Medical University, to study the bone remains to shed more light on the prehistoric humans and their lifestyles.

Also present at the press conference was Sarawak Museums Department director Sanib Said.

Was Mexcaltitán the ancient Aztec homeland?

The following news article covers the theory that Mexcaltitán, an island off the Pacific coast of Mexico is the ancient Aztec homeland of Aztlán.

Chicano activists have long claimed that Aztlán was somewhere across the border in California, the Southwest and even more distant areas. As the original homeland was, according to this theory, located in the U.S. they claim the right of Mexicans to immigrate at least to these ancestral lands.

Aztec legend claims that their ancestors migrated from Aztlán to Tenochtitlan, an island city of canals and "floating gardens" said to be modeled on the original island homeland. Mexcaltitán's streets turn into canals when they are inudated during the rainy season.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento
---

Pacific island claims to be the roots of Mexico

Location of Aztec homeland has been sought and debated

By JEREMY SCHWARTZ Cox News Service

Aug. 30, 2008, 5:34PM

MEXCALTITÁN, MEXICO — In the pre-dawn darkness, the fishermen return with nets brimming with plump shrimp and tie up their canoes behind homes of mud and wood.

It's a way of life that's hardly changed over the past 1,000 years in Mexcaltitán, an isolated Pacific coastal island that's been dubbed the Venice of Mexico because its sunken streets become canals during the rainy season.

But embedded in that humble daily ritual may lie clues to one of the hemisphere's great historical mysteries: Where did the mighty Aztec civilization come from?

For local officials and some historians, Mexcaltitán is nothing less than the mythical Aztlán, birthplace of the ancient Aztecs.

Immigration flashpoint

According to legend, the Aztecs left an island in 1091 and wandered for two centuries before settling in what is now Mexico City. There, they founded the legendary city of Tenochtitlan, an island city of canals and floating gardens, and lorded over an empire that stretched from Guatemala to northern Mexico before the Spanish conquered them in 1521.

But the location of Aztlán is no mere academic exercise: the term has become a flashpoint in today's raging U.S.-Mexico immigration debate.

Entering "Aztlán" in an Internet search is to be immersed in a fierce, often nasty, ideological battle over immigrant rights.

Historians and archeologists are bitterly divided over the location of Aztlán, or even over whether the place ever existed.

With some theories placing the Aztec homeland in the U.S. Southwest, Utah or California, the notion has become fraught with political overtones.

For decades, the idea of an Aztlán located within the United States was an important part of the growing Chicano pride movement.

Anne Martinez, a University of Texas history professor, said the embrace of Aztlán reflected a desire by Mexican-Americans to forge a clear geographical link, and thus a belonging, to the United States.

"It was also the idea that wherever Mexicans are outside of Mexico that that is Aztlán," she said. "That we take Aztlán with us."

'Powerful idea'

Today, the term is more likely to be used by anti-immigration groups warning of a reconquista, or reconquering, of the Southwest U.S. by Mexican immigrants. The Just Build the Fence blog defines Aztlán as "the enemy encamped within our own borders."

"(Aztlán) is a very powerful idea," said Mexican archeologist Jesús Jáuregui, a leading expert on Aztlán theories. "It can mean something different to each person."

In Mexcaltitán, located in the Pacific state of Nayarit, clues that this was once Aztlán are tantalizing.

In Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs (who called themselves the Mexica), Aztlán means "place of whiteness" or "place of herons." And the village is indeed a favorite haunt of white herons, which nest in the surrounding lagoon, as well as seasonal blooms of white water lilies.

Héctor Apodaca, a guide at the village's museum, argues that local fishing holes have the same names as Aztec places like Toluca.

Apodaca says that Cora Indians, who were among the last indigenous groups to be subdued by the Spanish and speak a version of Nahuatl, still come to the island every year to make offerings.

"That's because they believe that this was a ceremonial center of the Mexica," Apodaca said.

A living replica

Others point to Mexcaltitán's striking physical resemblance to Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital whose ruins sit under Mexico City. Some historians say Mexcaltitán's circular shape and cruciform design are similar to that of Tenochtitlan, which Spanish conquistador Bernal Diaz described as "an enchanted vision."

Tenochtitlan was destroyed in 1521, long before the invention of the camera, and officials in Mexcaltitán say their village is the closest thing to a living replica.

Local officials are so certain that Mexcaltitán is Aztlán that they've dubbed the state of Nayarit the "cradle of Mexicaness" and changed the state's official seal to include a diagram of the Aztecs' departure from Mexcaltitán.

But despite the local certainty, historical debate rages on. No definitive archeological evidence has yet been uncovered to prove Mexcaltitán's connection to Tenochtitlan.

Jáuregui, the Mexican archeologist, believes Aztlán is more myth than place and says the official sanctioning of Mexcaltitán as Aztlán stemmed from political, rather than historical reasons.

He said that during the 1960s and 1970s, Mexican officials grew alarmed by Chicano and Mexican-American assertions that the ancient homeland actually sat outside the boundaries of Mexico. He argues that such a possibility embarrassed and potentially undermined what has become Mexico's creation myth.

And the state of Nayarit, traditionally one of the poorest in Mexico, was in need of a tourism boost.

"Mexcaltitán is a beautiful place," he said. "But that's a lot different than saying it's Aztlán."

In Mexcaltitán, any collective memory of the Aztecs' presence there seems to have been lost.

Antonio Osuna Carbajal, a Mexcaltitán fisherman, smiles slyly when asked if his home is Aztlán.

"That's what they tell us," he said. "But the bad thing is that the older generations didn't leave us any writings or anything like that."

Early Bronze found in Hubei, China (middle Yangtze)

In a new study provides more evidence for an early Bronze Age in eastern parts of Asia.

Sediments from Liangzhi Lake in Hubei Province suggest bronze working by about 3000 +/- 328 BC. Hubei is in south-central China (middle Yangtze), and the findings could be associated with Daxi or Qujialing cultures.


Hubei province, Wikipedia


Similar radiocarbon dates have been obtained for bronze in Thailand (Non Nok Tha, Ban Chiang) and the Philippines (Balobok).

Environ Sci Technol. 2008 Jul 1;42(13):4732-8.

Seven thousand years of records on the mining and utilization of metals from lake sediments in central China.

Lee CS, Qi SH, Zhang G, Luo CL, Zhao LY, Li XD.

Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong.

A 268 cm section of sediment core from Liangzhi Lake in Hubei province in central China was used to assess the use and accumulation of metals in the lake in the past 7,000 years. The concentrations of trace metals, including Cu, Pb, Ni, and Zn, and major elements, Ca, Fe, and Mg, in a 14C- dated segment of sediment core were analyzed. Historical trends on the input of metals to Liangzhi Lake from around 5000 BC to the present were recorded in the sediments, representing about 7,000 years of history on the mining and utilization of metals in central China. The concentrations of Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn increased gradually from about 3000 +/- 328 BC, indicating the start of the Bronze Age in ancient China. During the period 467 +/- 257 to 215 +/- 221 AD, there was a rapid increase in the concentrations of these metals in the sediments, indicating enormous inputs of these metals at that time. This era corresponded to China's Warring States Period (475- 221 BC) and the early Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), during which copper and lead were extensively used in making bronze articles such as vessels, tools, and weapons. From 1880 +/- 35 AD to the early 1900s, there was also a significant increase in the concentrations of metals such as Cu, Ni, and Pb, which probably reflected the metal emissions and utilization during the early period of industrial development and weapon manufacture during the wars in China. The Pb isotopic analysis showed that the surface and subsurface sediments had lower 206Pb/207Pb and 208Pb/ 207Pb ratios than the deeper layers, reflecting the additional input of Pb from mining activities that took place during the Bronze Age era and in modern times. This study provides direct evidence of the environmental impact of the mining and utilization of metals in the last 7,000 years in one of the important regions of Chinese civilization.

Neolithic burial site discovered in Batu Niah

Malaysian archaeologists have discovered Neolithic burials in the Niah-Subis limestone hills in Batu Niah on the island of Borneo.

Eight skeletons were discovered along with other artifacts including pottery. I hope that they will try to extract some genetic material from these skeletons. It will also be interesting to see, especially if the earlier dates of around 3,000 years ago are valid, as to whether there is any linkage with the Lapita-type pottery of Oceania.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

ANCIENT BURIAL SITE DISCOVERED IN BATU NIAH

Bernama - Saturday, August 2

KUCHING, Aug 1 (Bernama) -- A research team from the Centre For Archaeological Research Malaysia, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and the Sarawak Museum Department has discovered an ancient burial site, believed to be from the Neolithic period, at Gua Kain Hitam in the Niah-Subis limestone hills in Batu Niah, Miri division.

Sarawak Museum Department deputy director Ipoi Datan said today the excavations at the site, funded by the National Heritage Department in 2007 and the USM Research University Grant last year, has so far uncovered more than eight human skeletons, dating back 2,000 to 3,000 years ago.

"The human skeletons as well as the associated artifacts such as pottery, ornaments and food remains like shells and animal bones are currently being analysed in order to extract more information about the burials and lifestyles of the ancient people who lived in the Niah-Subis region during that time," he said in a statement here.

He said the new finding would not only enrich knowledge on the early history of Sarawak and the nation but also expected to attract more local and foreign tourists to visit the site, which is located in the Niah National Park.

The Sarawak Museum Department is asking for public cooperation in not disturbing or encroaching into the site as the finds had no commercial value but only contained valuable research and academic significance, he said.

-- BERNAMA

Thousands of Wooden Poles found at Yunnan Neolithic Site

Chinese new sources are reporting an exciting find from Yunnan, in southwest China. The discovery in Dali may turn out to be the largest Neolithic site anywhere in the world. So far it covers an area of 1,350 sq. meters and could eventually span 4 sq. kilometers.

Some 2,000 wooden poles sunk deep into the ground (4.5 meters) were uncovered. Archaeologists surmise that these are more than 3,000 years old and the article mentions they may be older than the Hemudu Culture of the Yangtze region, which would mean that it is still thousands of years older. Hemudu Layer 4 is generally dated to 5000 BCE. Yan Wenming of Peking University says the poles might have been used to support housing structures, which brings to mind the type of pile-raised architecture found further south or east along the maritime coastlines in Southeast Asia and South China. Ancient Yunnan is often associated with Daic and Austro-Asiatic speaking peoples prior to the arrival of Sino-Tibetan speakers. The latter are believed to largely descendants of the Di-Qiang people mentioned in Chinese literature as migrating into Yunnan from the north. And most, with the most notable exception of the Lolo, still mainly inhabit northern Yunnan.

Thousands of Wooden Poles at Yunnan Neolithic Site

DALI, Yunnan -- More than 2,000 wooden poles recently unearthed at a site in Jianchuan county, have been found to be more than 3,000 years old.

The poles, still standing, were dug 4.5 m into the ground.

Archaeologists said carbon tests showed the poles were from the Neolithic age, and were probably the foundations for a structure built by a community that existed at the time in southwest China.

Archaeologists excavate a site from the Neolithic age in Jianchuan county, Dali, Southwest China's Yunnan Province. [China Daily]

They said this community may turn out to be the largest Neolithic one of its kind that has ever been discovered in China, or even in the world. It could be older than the Hemudu community in Yuyao, Zhejiang province, birthplace of the Yangtze River civilization.

"I was shocked when I first saw the site. I have never seen such a big and orderly one. This could be only a small fraction of the actual community that existed at the time," Yan Wenming, history professor at Peking University, said.

Excavation of the site is still going on. A total of 28 excavations have been made so far of an area that covers 1,350 sq m. Min Rui, a researcher at the Yunnan Archaeological Institute who leads the excavation, said the area could eventually cover 4 sq km

Yan said the poles could have been the foundations for a house as these types of structures have been found in Hubei, Guangdong, Zhejiang and other provinces, the most famous being the Hemudu site.

"Right now there is also such a site being excavated in Switzerland. But that site is smaller than the one in Yunnan. The Yunnan one could be the largest in the world," Yan said.

Archaeologists have also found more than 3,000 artifacts made of stone, as well as pottery, wood, iron and bones. The most eye-catching piece is a red jar, Min said.

The site, which lies on the banks of the Jianhu Lake, was discovered in 1957 during the construction of a canal. Broken pieces of pottery were found nearby. Excavation started in January this year - five decades after the discovery.

Genetic history in mainland SE Asia as revealed by ancient and modern mtDNA

A new American Journal of Physical Anthropology article studies the mtDNA from both ancient human remains in northeast Thailand, and modern human samples from the same area and surrounding regions.

The findings basically show that the two ancient groups, from the Bronze and Iron ages, resemble Austro-Asiatic-speaking populations. The modern Tai-Kadai speakers were more closely related to Southeast Asians than to East Asians, but they formed a separate group in the region. Among Southeast Asians the Tai-Kadai of Thailand are closest to the Khmer and this is explained by the researchers as related to the Khmer subjugation of the Tai-Kadai after their arrival in Thailand in the 10th-11th CE.

American Journal of Physical Anthropology

Published Online: 9 Jul 2008

Genetic history of Southeast Asian populations as revealed by ancient and modern human mitochondrial DNA analysis

Patcharee Lertrit, Samerchai Poolsuwan, Rachanie Thosarat, Thitima Sanpachudayan, Hathaichanoke Boonyarit, Chatchai Chinpaisal, Bhoom Suktitipat

The 360 base-pair fragment in HVS-1 of the mitochondrial genome were determined from ancient human remains excavated at Noen U-loke and Ban Lum-Khao, two Bronze and Iron Age archaeological sites in Northeastern Thailand, radio-carbon dated to circa 3,500-1,500 years BP and 3,200-2,400 years BP, respectively. These two neighboring populations were parts of early agricultural communities prevailing in northeastern Thailand from the fourth millennium BP onwards. The nucleotide sequences of these ancient samples were compared with the sequences of modern samples from various ethnic populations of East and Southeast Asia, encompassing four major linguistic affiliations (Altaic, Sino-Tibetan, Tai-Kadai, and Austroasiatic), to investigate the genetic relationships and history among them. The two ancient samples were most closely related to each other, and next most closely related to the Chao-Bon, an Austroasiatic-speaking group living near the archaeological sites, suggesting that the genetic continuum may have persisted since prehistoric times in situ among the native, perhaps Austroasiatic-speaking population. Tai-Kadai groups formed close affinities among themselves, with a tendency to be more closely related to other Southeast Asian populations than to populations from further north. The Tai-Kadai groups were relatively distant from all groups that have presumably been in Southeast Asia for longer-that is, the two ancient groups and the Austroasiatic-speaking groups, with the exception of the Khmer group. This finding is compatible with the known history of the Thais: their late arrival in Southeast Asia from southern China after the 10th-11th century AD, followed by a period of subjugation under the Khmers. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2008. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

Renaissance of Ancient Maori New Year

Here's an interesting article from the New Zealand Herald that describes the traditional Maori New Year marked by the rising of Matariki, the constellation known in the West as the Pleiades. The ancient celebration has now become popular again as a cultural festival in New Zealand.

Rawiri Taonui: Matariki - A time for New Zealanders to shine as one

5:00AM Thursday June 12, 2008
By Rawiri Taonui

Matariki - Maori New Year

This month heralds the beginning of Maori New Year festivities with the dawn rising of Matariki (the Pleiades). An increasingly popular celebration among New Zealanders, the renaissance of Matariki reflects our journey as a nation.

Humans have always marvelled about the significance of the heavenly bodies. Many cultures held particular regard for a small glittering star cluster in the northern sky. The Greeks named them the Pleiades, the seven daughters of the gods Atlas and Pleione. The English called them the Seven Sisters, others the Jewel Box. To the Japanese they were Subaru.

Polynesians know the constellation by the cognates Matali'i (Samoa), Matari'i (Tahiti), Makali'i (Hawaii) and Matariki (Rarotonga and New Zealand) through star lore that stretched far back into the pre-European Pacific.

Centuries before Christopher Columbus sailed tentatively into the unknown, the Austronesian-speaking ancestors of the Polynesians, navigating by the sun, moon, planets and stars, settled hundreds of islands across the Pacific and Indian oceans - Madagascar, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, the Marianas, Caroline and Kiribati islands, the Solomons, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Tahiti, Hawaii, Marquesas, Tuamotus, Rarotonga, Easter Island and New Zealand.

The ancestors of the Maori adapted that knowledge to the New Zealand environment, instituting 12 or 13 month lunar calendars. The pantheon of lore was as elegant and exquisite as Greek mythology.

Each month and every day and night of the waxing and waning moon was named. Prominent stars, such as Whitikaupeka or Pekehawini (Spica), Whakaahu (Castor and Pollux), Te Kakau (Regulus) and Poutu te rangi (Altair), the bloom and fruiting of plants and the migratory behaviour of birds, whales, fish, eels and whitebait, heralded different months. Stars like Takurua (Sirius) and Rehua (Antares) marked whole seasons. Grand constellations adorned the sky as canoes, store houses, mythological heroes, giant sharks, whales, carvings, ancestors, baskets of knowledge and birds.

Tribes differently marked the New Year when Matariki or other stars, such as Puanga (Rigel), Tautoru (Orion) or Takurua (Sirius) were first seen, or on the day of the first new moon after they had risen.

Matariki means the "eyes of god" (mata-ariki) or "little eyes" (mata-riki). One tradition says the "eyes" are the storms of Tawhirimatea, the god of the winds. Others believe Matariki is a mother and her six daughters who assist the sun, weakened by winter, on its daily journey across the skies.

Another account says the god, Tanenui-a-rangi, created the constellation when he shattered a heavenly orb containing all the knowledge in the universe.

Matariki delineated the seasonal cycles. The aphorisms "Ka puta a Matariki, ka rere a Whanui" (When Matariki rises, Vega has flown) and "Matariki nana i ao ake" (Matariki has risen), instruct that the autumn harvest and food gathering governed by the star Vega is now replaced by Matariki, who rules the new cycle, beginning with preparing the earth for the spring planting of kumara.

"Nga kai a Matariki" (the foods of Matariki) and "Ka kitea a Matariki, kua maoka te hinu" (When Matariki is seen, game is preserved) referred to the collecting and storing of food for the winter period. "Matariki ahunga nui" (Matariki heaped up) refers to the "heaping up" of furrowed ground to protect seed kumara from frost.

Matariki marked the winter solstice and shortest day and portended the year ahead. If the stars were clear, a productive season lay ahead, with planting in September. If hazy, winter would be cold and the planting would begin in October.

Matariki also signified a time of remembrance, learning and festivity. Tribes would remember those who had died, celebrate past successes, conduct learning sessions and plan the year ahead. Much of this lore was lost under the yoke of colonisation, which banned tohunga (priesthood), imposed Western schooling that looked at stars in books rather than in the skies and replaced the Maori calendar with the more scientific but ultimately less reliable Georgian version.

Matariki celebrations dwindled, with very few tribes continuing them past 1900. The last traditional festival occurred around 1940. The current Maori renaissance has spurred a revival of Matariki celebrations.

There have been some adaptations to traditional lore. The focus is singularly on Matariki, whereas pre-European tribes acknowledged different stars.

Resurrected calendars are based on Gregorian weeks and months with Maori names. There are attempts to ascribe a single date for the rising of Matariki, when the traditional practice was that the new year began from when stars were first sighted on whatever day of what we now call June and from the first new moon after that.

But Matariki is positive; its rising emblematic of the rebirth of Maori identity and the dawning of a new age.

More Pakeha and immigrants are also embracing Matariki. When celebrations were first organised in Hastings in 2000, about 500 people attended. In 2003, 15,000 turned out. This year's celebrations will be the largest ever, with scores of observances in pre-schools, schools, museums, art galleries and libraries throughout the country.

The small constellation of glittering jewels reflects our journey as one nation, two peoples and many cultures - a time for New Zealanders to shine as one.

Dr Rawiri Taonui is head of the School of Maori and Indigenous Studies and kaiarahi (joint Maori adviser) at the College of Arts, University of Canterbury.

Gold of Ophir

One of the most spectacular museum exhibits in the Philippines is display at the Ayala Museum in Makati (Metro Manila).

"Gold of Ancestors: Pre-Colonial Treasures in the Philippines," is found in the Special Collection Room of the Ayala, the country's finest museum. The display consists of mostly 10th to 13th century gold artifacts, particularly those belonging to the private collection of Leandro and Cecilia Locsin.

"Many of the precious objects were recovered in association with tenth to thirteenth century Chinese export ceramics."

Many of the gold items show Indic or Tantric influence.



Garuda ornaments based on the mythical bird from Hindu-Buddhist mythology.





Object described as "anthropomorphic plaque" of a Lady or "Binibini"


One item, considered one of the most stunning artifacts, is called an upavita referring to the sacred thread worn by brahmins in India. However, from my knowledge the upavita or sutra is actually a thread, while the gold object is a large tubular sash-like object that could not go around the groin like an upavita.




The "upavita" from the Ayala Museum (photo from Manuel Quezon III's album on Flickr).


Some other objects in the Ayala exhibit from Manuel Quezon III's album and from the Ayala Museum site:




Gold belt




Described as a "kinnari," a half-woman, half-bird creature.

Location of Eden

When Columbus set out in search of the Indies, he had in mind the lands of Tarshish and Ophir, the great isle of Cipangu and also the Terrestrial Paradise -- the Garden of Eden.

The Earthly Paradise was generally set in the dominion of Prester John, and for this reason in medieval roll of arms, for example, Prester John of the Indies (Prester Johan de Ynde) was listed first in precedence followed by the King of Jerusalem, the Emperor of Rome and the Emperor of Constantinople in that order, followed by other Christian kings.

From the Herald's Roll (late 13th century)

1 Prester Johan de Ynde

Azure a cross or (attributed arms)

2 Roye de Jerusalem

Argent crusilly and a cross potent or

3 Emperor de Rome

Or a double headed eagle displayed sable

4 Emperor de Constantinoble

Gules a cross or

In the millenarian environment of Europe during Columbus' time, the honor of ruling over the Garden of Eden would certainly suit the prophesied king, the Encubierto, as many fancied Columbus' patron Ferdinand of Spain. Technically such an honor would rank even higher than reconquering Jerusalem.

On his way home from his first voyage, Columbus wrote in his Diario that the land he had discovered must be Paradise Terrestrial which 'sacred theologians and philosophers' had located in the 'end of the East' ("en el fin de oriente"). One of the admiral's favorite books, Imago Mundi, placed the Garden of Eden at the extremity of the East where the Sun rose for the first time on the morning of creation.

The idea that Cipangu and China could be reached by sailing West and that the distance was not that great appears to have originated with Nicolo di Conti and/or the mysterious ambassador from the East Indies -- from a Nestorian Christian nation 20 days beyond Cathay (China). These two are mentioned together by Poggio after the latter's interview of de Conti.

Both had influenced Paolo Toscanelli and others, and Toscanelli is believed by many to have encouraged Columbus to undertake his fateful mission. Previously, under the Ptolemaic system it was believed that the Indian Ocean was landlocked and that the eastern coast of Asia could not be approached by sea from the West. Pierre d'Ailley, the author of Imago Mundi had these concepts in his book, but later gave up the idea of an open Indian Ocean after reading the Latin Ptolemy.

At this time, the view that the distance from the Canaries to Cipangu was relatively small became current. Toscanelli estimated it at only 85 degrees, while Martellus put it at 90 degrees and Behaim at 110 degrees. Some scholars believe the idea of such a short distance originates with Marinus of Tyre, but even the latter but the distance at 135 degrees. In reality, the measure was about 225 degrees.

Whatever the source of the idea, Columbus believed that he was sailing along the coasts of southeastern Asia when he discovered the Americas. After his third voyage, he wrote in a letter to Ferdinand and Isabella: "I am completely persuaded in my own mind that the Terrestrial Paradise is in the place I have said...just above the Equator, where the best authorities had always argued Paradise would be found."

The idea that Eden was near the equator was related to the idea of climate and the lack of extreme changes of hot and cold seasons. Eden was thought of as a lush place with a dazzling variety of living creatures. In 1554, an anonymous English author writes:

All who have gone there agree that the best and greenest fields and countrysides in the entire world are to be found there, the most pleasant mountains, covered with trees and fruits every kind, the most beautiful valleys, the most delicious rivers of fresh water, filled with an endless variety of fishes, the thickest forests, always green and laden with fruits. As for gold, silver, and other kinds of metal, spices of all kinds, and fruits desirable both tor their taste and touch and for the salutary effects they have: so abundant are they that until now it has not been possible even to imagine that they could be as many elsewhere as here. In conclusion, it is now thought that the earthly paradise can only be located on the equinoctial line or close to it, for the only perfect spot on earth has its place there.

In a letter that Columbus wrote to his son after his voyages, he said:

Certain it is that I have served Their Highnesses with as great diligence and love as I might have employed to win paradise and more; and if in somewhat I have been wanting, that was impossible, or much beyond my knowledge and strength.

Probably the paradise that Columbus mentions above is that of the eternal reward after life, but after his time, the idea of reaching the Garden of Eden began to fade. Explorers may have realized the futility of such an endeavor, but they continued to look for other fabled lands including Cipangu, Tarshish and Ophir, and Cattigara.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

References

Delumeau, Jean. History of Paradise. The Garden of Eden in Myth and Tradition, Trans. Matthew O'Connell. New York: Continuum Publishing C., 1995, 111.

Morison, Samuel Eliot. Admiral of the Ocean Sea a Life of Christopher Columbus, Little Brown & Co., 1942.

The Wakwak Tree

The Vaqvaq or Vaq Tree is said to be located near Mount Qaf in Muslim literature. This fabulous tree is described as having fruit in the form of heads that talk and make prophecies. The tree is also known as Wakwak, Waqwaq, Wak, Waq, etc. and is located in the Bilad al-Wakwak, the 'Isles of Wakwak.'

Instead of heads, the Wakwak Tree is also said to have fruit in the form of beautiful women that hang off the tree by their hair as mentioned in the Arabian Nights.

Every morning at sunrise these heads cry, ' Wak-wak! Praise be to God, the author of all this tricktrack!' By this cry we always know when the sun has risen. The very same thing occurs at sunset. For the rest, the inhabitants of that island are, as here, women, who do not suffer any men to live among them. They are subject to the great king of the genii, who has under his command an innumerable host of genii, demons, devils, and goblins of all sorts.

As can be seen, the Isles of Wakwak relate well to the Island of Women or the Kingdom of Women discussed earlier in this blog.

The various myths related to the Wakwak Tree appear to conflate aspects of the Fusang Tree, the talking tree, the tree of knowledge, the coconut tree and other motifs. The coir of the coconut husk resembles hair and the coconut fruit itself has a head-like shape. In India and Southeast Asia, the coconut is often used as a substitute for the head in religious rituals.

According to Indian myth, the sage Visvamitra created the coconut as a substitute for the head to replace human and other sacrifice. In India, the coconut fruit is seen as having facial features including eyes, a beard and plaited, long hair.

In China, the coconut was once known as "head of the king of Yueh":

Chi Han writes that a popular name for the coconut was Yueh-wang-t 'ou, "head of the king of Yueh," a designation explained in terms of a feud a king of Yueh supposedly had with the king of Champa (southern Indochina). According to the tradition, an assassin was sent to kill the king of Yueh and hang his head on a tree, and when he did so, it immediately turned into a coconut. The king of Champa, angered, had the coconut cut open to use as a cup, as still done by southerners in Chi Han's day. The Li of modern Hainan have a story vaguely resembling this one, but it entails decapitating the heads of prisoners and planting them, with coconut trees then springing up and bearing head-shaped fruits that yield a tasty juice which ferments into a delectable wine. (Frederick J. Simoons, 1991:289)

Solar Tree

Muslim literature states that the Wakwak Tree announces the rising and sometimes also the setting of the Sun, possibly hinting at a link with the Fusang Tree. Like the Fusang, the Wakwak was located in the extreme East of the world.

The goddess Xihe is said to have bathed her sons, the Ten Suns, before they perched in the branches of the Fusang Tree prior to sunrise. These Ten Suns had in addition to solar and anthropomorphic form, also a bird form as the Sun Crows.

Alfred R. Wallace believed that the legend of the Wakwak Tree arose from the morning cry of "Wak wak!" made by the Bird of Paradise from its tree homes in the Aru Islands.

In the Philippines, the crow is called Wakwak in some languages, and in others this is the name of a mythical crow-like bird whose cry of "wak wak" or "wuk wuk" is thought to be a foreboding omen. Another possibility is the name for the Wakwak Tree comes from the Sanskrit word vaq "to cry (as a bird or animal)".

John Mandeville in the 1300s mentions a Tree of the Sun and Moon located in the islands of Prester John that spoke to Alexander foretelling his death. This theme is borrowed in part from the 12th century Roman d'Alexandre in which Alexander visits the Kingdom of Women at the end of the world where he encounters the talking tree.


Alexander visits the talking tree on the Island of Women, where the tree prophesies his death. From a late 15th century manuscript of Shah Namah.



Musa ibn al-Mubarak visits the Queen of Wakwak from a manuscript of al-Qazwini's Aja'ib al-Makhluqat. Notice the Wakwak Tree in the foreground.



Alexander visits the Island of Women from Nizami's Iskandarnamah (1501 CE).


Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

References

Arnold, Thomas. Painting in Islam. New York: Dover Publications, Inc. (reprint), 1965.

Simoons, Frederick J. Food in China, CRC Press, 1991.

Wallace, Alfred R. "The Birds of Paradise in the Arabian Nights," IN: Jenks, Edward and Charles Roden Buxton. The Independent Review, T.F. Unwin, 1904, 379, 561.