Ritual drinking in eastern Asia and the Pacific

Ritualized drinking was once very widespread in the areas of eastern Asia and the Pacific and still survives in many areas as evidenced by the existence of the kava bowl, rice wine jar, chanoyu tea pot and similar ritual drinking implements.

In Southeast Asia and the Pacific, in particular, ceremonial drinking is often the most important social activity were even informal gatherings often involve at least some ritual. Drinking plays a part in many of the most sacred events and sometimes the ceremonies revolve specifically around the ritual drinking itself.


Communal drinking of rice wine from jars with bamboo straws in the Central Highlands of Vietnam (Janowski et al., Kinship and Food in South East Asia, 262).


Vessels that appear linked with drinking, and thus possibly ritual drinking, are found in Neolithic sites of Asia. The first written evidence from this region comes from the Shang dynasty of China in which drinking rituals were of great importance. Shang ritual drinking vessels like the hu, lei and jue appear to have been modeled on earlier prototypes with the same shapes and characteristics from the Lungshanoid culture, the apparent ancestor of Shang dynasty culture.

Following some of the suggestions of Solheim, I have argued that Lungshanoid culture ultimately was influenced by the red-slipped ware from Southeast Asia. The red-slipped ware was often marked with cords and/or baskets, and decorated with impressed circles often filled with lime; and dentate/triangle patterns.

The establishment of trade routes by the Nusantao allowed for a sudden rapid expansion of trade during the Middle Neolithic that gave rise to Lunghanoid type wares. This was a bidirectional movement of people and culture through trade more than a major demographic migration event like the Austronesian expansion, as suggested by some.

Lungshanoid or Lungshanoid-like wares are characterized by tripods, usually with tapering, hollow legs; and ring-feet bases often decorated and perforated. Shang wine vessels also are dominated by tripods and ring-feet. In Taiwan and Southeast Asia, the Lungshanoid type wares tended to be red-slipped, plain or polished black. In mainland China, these types were polished black or plain. In all these areas, Lungshanoid wares were often cord-marked.


Perforated ring-foot vessels from left to right: Neolithic pottery dou-like vessel with ya-shaped perforation in foot from Zhengzhou (Sarah Allan, The shape of the turtle, 89); Iron age vessel similar to the pan water basin, from Novaliches, Philippines; perforated ring-foot vessel from South India (last two images from: Waruno Mahdi, Archaeology and Language IV: Language Change and Cultural Transformation).

Origins

Interestingly, Chinese myth links the wine culture of the Shang dynasty with Emperor Shun Di, who is also known as Jun Di, a Shang ancestor from Tanggu "Hot Water Valley," the country of the Fusang Tree located beyond the 'Southeastern Sea.'

Emperor Shun was a potter before becoming king, and he was considered a patron of pottery-making and was especially linked with wine vessels and earthenware. His daughter is often credited with the invention of wine. This "wine" known as jiu and chang was not made from fruit but from rice or millet and was not distilled, so it was technically a beer. Grape wine also came to be known but was much less common and was mostly associated with Turkic peoples in the far West.

Judging from latter practices, rice wine would have been made mostly from glutinous rice although normal rice and other grains were also used. This is noteworthy as some research indicates that glutinous rice, also known as sticky or sweet rice, was domesticated only once and in Southeast Asia.

When the Zhou succeeded the Shang, the wine ritual became much less important and the hu wine vessel took a backseat to the ding food cauldron. Indeed, one text in the Book of Documents known as the "Admonition on Wine," castigates the Shang people for excessive drinking of liquor and that opinion held sway in latter Confucian China.

The Shang drank wine that had been offered in sacred ceremonies to gods, ancestors and spirits. In Southeast Asia, ritual drinking is also commonly associated with and offered to departed ancestors, and used in mortuary rituals. Ceremonial drinking was also an important part of many types of initiation such as that of warriors or priests.

However, the hu wine vessel as noted in this blog took on a different role in the practice of alchemy that was to develop in latter times.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

References

Bushell, Stephen W. Chinese Art, H. M. Stationery Off. by Wyman and Sons, 1904, 52.

Chang, Kwang-chih . The Archaeology of Ancient China,Yale University Press, 1963.

Janowski, Monica and Fiona Kerlogue. Kinship and Food in South East Asia, NIAS Press, 2007.

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

Google Earth armchair archaeology

Using tools like Google Earth, maps.google.com or other free online mapping services, one can comfortably explore for sites just like an aerial archaeologist.

Actually you can cover ground faster than an aerial archaeologist but with more image resolution limitations.

What you look for generally are different kinds of "marks" known as crop marks, soil marks and shadow marks.

Crop marks: Former human activity often effects the growth of crops on the surface above the buried sites. For example, crops or vegetation grown over an old buried ditch tend to grow higher, while crops grown over a stone wall or structure will have stunted growth.

Soil marks: Soil marks occur usually when one moves one kind of soil from one location to another as when building dikes or mounds. Often the soil is of different color. Sometimes the soil becomes stained as in the case when old wooden structures have decomposed leaving marks that are sometimes discernible.

Shadow marks: These are marks caused when old structures cause uneven elevation on the ground's surface above. During certain times of the day when the Sun's angle is right, the ridges, mounds, etc. can be detected from above by the shadows they cast.

From: GIS and Remote Sensing for Archaeology

From: Western European Archaeology. Soil mark from a leveled mound. The combination of eye altitude and resolution here is better than what you will get in most areas using Google.


From: Prospection aérienne en Étampois. Crop marks.


Aerial/satellite spotting can also be effective in locating shipwrecks underwater especially in tropical seas where the water is very clear.



Click image for full size

In this Google Earth image, we can see underwater traps in the Pampanga Bay, Philippines. There are also two outrigger vessels near the center of the picture.


Beyond the armchair

If you believe you have discovered an archaeological site, you can report it to professional archaeologists.

In most countries, digging for artifacts is only allowed with government permission, However, if you get no response on your find, you could scan the site in person especially if it is on public land. Often you can also treasure hunt, but again you need to be acquainted with local laws.

In many areas, all artifacts found are the property of the government. In other areas, you may be able to keep objects found at certain depths. Note that many professional archaeologists are not particularly fond of treasure hunters, at least the kind that engage in the commercial selling of antiquities.

However, in some areas, like underwater archaeology, treasure hunters often work together with specialists from universities, museums and the government.

The treasure hunter's main tool is the metal detector. In certain conditions, metal tools, jewelry, coins, etc. can last for long periods underground. Gold, in particular, is highly resistant to corrosion, and because of its value, a great find for treasure hunters.

Professional archaeologists on reaching a potential site will conduct test digs usually starting with what is known as a test trench looking for signs of habitation.

Metal detectors, some of which can scan very deep below the surface, allow you to quickly cover a lot of territory. If you find something, you may be able to convince archaeologists to excavate the site, and then volunteer to help out on the dig.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

Pre-Columbian chickens, dates, isotopes, and mtDNA

Below is the abstract for the latest in a series of studies involving pre-Columbian chickens in the Americas. The issue is a highly-politicized one.

The article basically defends the original contention of Storey et al. claiming evidence through carbon dating and mtDNA testing of pre-Columbian chickens at El Arenal, Chile. There was a surprinsingly quick response by Gongora et al. claiming to refute Storey et al. on both the mtDNA analysis and the isotope dating.

Unfortunately, I have not yet had a chance to read this article and the Storey et al. defense. The original study compared chicken mtDNA from El Arenal-1 to similarly-dated samples from Kualoa on O'ahu, Anakena on Rapa Nui and in Tonga and Samoa.

Pre-Columbian chickens, dates, isotopes, and mtDNA

Alice A. Storey et al.

Published online before print November 24, 2008, doi: 10.1073/pnas.0807625105 PNAS December 2, 2008 vol. 105 no. 48 E99

Recently Gongora et al. (1) stated that their analyses of chicken mtDNA and potential offsets for dietary marine carbon cast doubt on “claims for pre-Columbian chickens” in the Americas. We present additional data supporting the interpretation of Storey et al. (2) showing that evidence for pre-Columbian chickens at the site of El Arenal, Chile, is secure.

Gongora et al. (1) analyzed …

[Full Text of this Article]

Philippine team to recreate Austronesian voyages

A Philippine team that recently became the first from the nation to scale Mt. Everest is now out to recreate voyages by ancient Austronesian mariners.

The team will enlist the help of two Badjao boat builders from semi-nomadic seafaring groups from Sibutu and Sitangkay in Tawi-Tawi to build a boat based on the Butuan Barangay from the 10th century CE. The crew will also include two Badjao seafarers and a "master mariner" from the Philippine Coast Guard who was part of the team that climbed Everest.

Zoom

Sketch of a sailing boat from the southern Philippines.

Remnants of a barangay boat at the Butuan Museum in Mindanao.

The group will engage in three voyages over three years. The first will circle the Philippines; the second, visit Southeast Asian ports; and the third, attempt a bold recreation of the journey to Madagascar. The article claims that the voyagers will use ancient navigation techniques:

It will sail the natural way—by adhering to celestial navigation, observing the migration of birds, cloud formation and waves....“We would build a boat the way it was, sail it the way it was and trace the migration route of the Austronesian-speaking people,” says Art Valdez, head of Kaya ng Pinoy, a group that pushes for projects that uphold national pride.

However, later on the article the authors suggest the vessel will only hug the coastline, which is not the way the ancients sailed these waters. Also, it suggests that as many as 50 people may be crammed into a 15 x 4.5 meter boat. There are models of larger seagoing craft that the team could choose from to make trade wind journeys. They would be advised to work with navigators who still sail beyond the sight of land without instruments as some can still be found in places like Micronesia.

RP Everest team sails on to new quest

By Erika Sauler
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:02:00 12/05/2008

MANILA, Philippines—After sending the first Filipinos to the summit of the world’s highest peak, the leader of the first Philippine expedition team to Mt. Everest is embarking on another epic adventure—to navigate the waters of the archipelagic areas of Asia as the early Filipinos did on a replica of a balangay, a pre-colonial boat.

The same Mt. Everest team will steer the balangay around the Philippines in 2009, then proceed to Southeast Asia in 2010 and on to Madagascar off Africa in 2011...

Read the whole article

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

The sacred hu 壺 vessels

The hu 壺 vessel was a ritual drinking container for wine and water used from at least Shang dynasty times. Vessels similar to the Hu jars date back to Neolithic times, and during latter periods there were earthenware, laquerware and bronze hu.

Hu vessels were somewhat gourd-like in shape and the original word hu 壺 means "gourd."

According to Liezi (4th century BCE), one of the three islands of the blessed was shaped like a hu with a square mouth. Starting in the Han dynasty, we see the production of boshanlu censers and jars meant to represent mountains on the three paradise islands of the southeastern seas. These mountains were Peng-hu on the island of Peng-lai, Fang-hu on Fang-chang, and Ying-hu on Ying-chou. Notice the "-hu" element in all these names.

The hu mountains were conceived as resembling hu jars in shape and with open mouths at the top.

On one of the mountains represented on the boshanlu, known as the "Mountain without peer," a hole was placed on top to allow smoke to rise from the peak. The smoke symbolized the "cinnabar furnace" that was supposed to exist within this mountain creating the elixir of immortality.

From this elixir, the Qin emperor was advised to create vessels of transmuted gold, with the help of beings from Peng-lai, that would convey long life. I have suggested that this "transmuted gold" is alchemical jargon for the clay of said vessels that was thought to have special properties. This clay was the elixir or philosopher's stone that originated from the cinnabar furnace of Peng-hu in the seas to the southeast.

In this same region, the dog deity or ancestor known as Pan-hu was also placed by ancient Chinese texts. The "hu" in Pan-hu's name again means "gourd" and Pan-hu was known as "emperor of the center" apparently a reference to the idea that this region was the center of the earth. From this center one gained entrance to Heaven through the axis mundi. Chinese cosmological texts sometimes identify Pan-hu with the primoridial dumpling from which cosmos was created. The southern peoples, whom the Chinese called Man, linked Pan-hu with the primordial gourd sometimes said to have carried the first ancestors. This gourd or dumpling was represented in microcosm by the hu-like mountain at the center of the world in Peng-lai.

Interestingly in royal Shang tombs of the cross (ya) shape variety, a dog is buried in the center of the tomb, the location possibly representing the entrance to Heaven. In Chinese astrology, the dog is also associated with the gate of Heaven. Earlier I have written that the dog guardian represented the royal lineage entrusted as custodians of the sacred volcanoes.

So the central mountain, or Peng-hu was seen as the axis mundi and as a crucible for the creation of the elixir. Indeed, the Chinese alchemist Wei-Po Yang called the pot, used in latter practices to make an artificial form of elixir, by the name Peng-hu after the mountain on Peng-lai. Chinese texts describe the hu mountains as containing the "Sun and Moon" an imagery that we have linked in this blog with the idea of a volcanic eruption. It was this eruption that produced the "elixir" i.e. the volcanic ash that later weathered into clay used to make sacred vessels of longevity.

Bird and sun-moon motif on jade ring from Liangzhu Culture (3500 BCE-2250 BCE), left, bird on cartouche and sun-moon on bi disc, Liangzhu. The sun-moon motif, in one case combined with what could be a 'fire mountain' motif appear also on Ling-yang-ho vases (4300 BCE-1900 BCE) from Shangdong, source: Wu Hung, "Bird Motifs in Eastern Yi Art." I have interpreted "crescent sun" motif as a symbol of a great Neolithic volcanic eruption that occurred centrally along the routes of the Nusantao maritime trade and communication network. The turbulent volcanic islands beyond the southeastern coast were also linked with the "Mulberry Fields" that were said to periodically rise above the sea, possibly an allusion to the still significant sea level changes in this region that continued well into the Middle Neolithic period.

Hu vessels and the Luzon jars

Japanese merchants called the region from which they purchased the fabled Luzon jars by the name Mishima "Three Islands" referring specifically to Luzon, Formosa and an unidentified island known as Amakawa, possibly Macau. I have not found anything yet to link these three islands specifically with the three islands of the blessed in Chinese literature, and there are other areas known as "Mishima" in both ancient and modern Japan. There is a Mishima mentioned in the ancient epic Kojiki, for example. However, interestingly one type of important pot brought back from Mishima was known in Japanese as tsubo, specifically the Ruson-tsubo "Luzon jar."

Tsubo in Japanese kanji script is represented by the character 壺 i.e., the same one that represents hu in Chinese.

While the Chinese appear to have lost at an early date the linkage of the clay as the sacred element of the hu jars, they nonetheless preserved the ideas surrounding the production of the "elixir" used to make these vessels. In Southeast Asia and Japan, the idea that the sacred jars drew their powers from the special clay with which they were made had survived.

And I have suggested that this was known as the clay of the Sun and Moon, taken from the dual volcanoes -- the mountain of Aldo (Sun) known as Arayat, and the mountain of Bulan (Moon) known as Pinatubo, and used to make the highly-valued Ruson-tsubo (Luzon Jars).

I have resided all my life between Heaven and Earth, with my constant residence in the Penglai Isles. I rely on the sun, moon, and stars to aid my life, and on the Five Pneumata to complete my body. I have received the Dao methods transmitted by the Lord Lao and have become enlightened to the Mysterious Perfection. By day I travel on simurghs and cranes to the Penglai Isles, at night I fly on clouds to stay at the immortals' pavilions. I honor the lords of the South Pole and the Eastern Florescence as my landlords, and the Northern Dipper and the Western Mother as my neighbors.

-- The Story of Han Xiangzi (17th century)

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

References

White, David Gordon. The Alchemical. Body: Siddha Traditions In Medieval India. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1997.

Stein, Rolf A., Phyllis Brooks (translator). The World in Miniature: Container Gardens and Dwellings in Far Eastern Religious Thought, Stanford, Calif., 1990.

Yang Erzeng; Philip Clart (translator). The Story of Han Xiangzi: The Alchemical Adventures of a Daoist Immortal. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 2008, 238.

Study suggests Potyvirus lineage carried to Australia by Austronesians

A new study suggests that the bean common mosaic virus, which is commonly transmitted to crops and wild plants by aphids, originated in "south-east and East Asia, Oceania or Australia" and diverged about 3,580 years ago.

The authors suggest that one sub-lineage of the seven lineages studied was carried by Austronesian seafarers to Australia about 2,005 years ago.

The bean common mosaic virus belongs to the genus Potyvirus; the latter suggested in one study to have diverged about 6,600 years ago with the early spread of agriculture.

Arch Virol. 2008 Nov 22. [Epub ahead of print]

The bean common mosaic virus lineage of potyviruses: where did it arise and when?

Gibbs AJ, Trueman JW, Gibbs MJ.

, 7 Hutt St, Yarralumla, Canberra, ACT, 2600, Australia, adrian_j_gibbs@hotmail.com.

There are more than 30 species in the bean common mosaic virus lineage of the genus Potyvirus. We have used their partial coat protein gene sequences to infer their phylogenies and have compared these with host and provenance information. Members of six species of the lineage have been isolated from crops distributed around the world, but three of these show clear links with South and East Asia. Members of the remaining species have been found in wild plants, minor crop species or ornamentals, and the majority of these have only been found in south-east and East Asia, Oceania or Australia. This phylogeographic pattern suggests that the bean common mosaic virus lineage arose in that region. Maximum-likelihood trees of the sequences were dated using the report that the initial major radiation of all potyviruses was 6,600 years ago. In this way, the bean common mosaic virus lineage was found to have first diverged 3,580 years ago, and one sub-lineage of seven species, found only in Australia, probably diverged there 2005 years ago. We discuss the ways in which the viruses could have moved from south-east Asia to Australia and note that their movement coincided with the spread of the Austronesian sea-faring/farming culture from China/Taiwan throughout the islands of the southern and eastern Pacific Ocean. Our study shows that virus isolates from wild or minimally domesticated plants, and from islands, are probably more useful indicators of the origins of viruses than those from widely grown well-travelled crop species.

Zimbabwean village chickens originate from Southeast Asia and India

A new study shows that village chickens (Gallus gallus) in Zimbabwe originate from two maternal mtDNA lineages. One of these lineages is from Southeast Asia, while the other is from India. The research also identified a third lineage that did not appear in Zimbabwe or other African chickens and likely originates in South China.

These chickens could have been brought by sea trade and logically then they would be related to the chicken species in Madagascar.

Anim Genet. 2008 Dec;39(6):615-22.

Mitochondrial DNA D-loop sequences suggest a Southeast Asian and Indian origin of Zimbabwean village chickens.

Muchadeyi FC, Eding H, Simianer H, Wollny CB, Groeneveld E, Weigend S.

Institute of Farm Animal Genetics, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Höltystrasse 10, 31535 Neustadt, Germany.

This study sought to assess mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) diversity and phylogeographic structure of chickens from five agro-ecological zones of Zimbabwe. Furthermore, chickens from Zimbabwe were compared with populations from other geographical regions (Malawi, Sudan and Germany) and other management systems (broiler and layer purebred lines). Finally, haplotypes of these animals were aligned to chicken sequences, taken from GenBank, that reflected populations of presumed centres of domestication. A 455-bp fragment of the mtDNA D-loop region was sequenced in 283 chickens of 14 populations. Thirty-two variable sites that defined 34 haplotypes were observed. In Zimbabwean chickens, diversity within ecotypes accounted for 96.8% of the variation, indicating little differentiation between ecotypes. The 34 haplotypes clustered into three clades that corresponded to (i) Zimbabwean and Malawian chickens, (ii) broiler and layer purebred lines and Northwest European chickens, and (iii) a mixture of chickens from Zimbabwe, Sudan, Northwest Europe and the purebred lines. Diversity among clades explained more than 80% of the total variation. Results indicated the existence of two distinct maternal lineages evenly distributed among the five Zimbabwean chicken ecotypes. For one of these lineages, chickens from Zimbabwe and Malawi shared major haplotypes with chicken populations that have a Southeast Asian background. The second maternal lineage, probably from the Indian subcontinent, was common to the five Zimbabwean chicken ecotypes, Sudanese and Northwest European chickens as well as purebred broiler and layer chicken lines. A third maternal lineage excluded Zimbabwean and other African chickens and clustered with haplotypes presumably originating from South China.

The Royal Way

In the first Google Earth image below, the main river leading from the Manila Bay to the confluence at the southern portion of Masantol is shown.

The river is flanked by two massive dikes or earthen barriers. Masantol was formerly a barangay (district) of the now-sleepy and backward town of Macabebe. When the Spanish first arrived in this area, Macabebe was one of the largest population centers of what is now the Philippines. The confluence could be known in the local languages as "sambal" or "sabang" and this is the area that I equate with the medieval Zabag.

About half the distance to Masantol is one of its barangays known as Malauli. It is at this point that the water turns from salt/brackish to freshwater. Here also local legend says that the king who opposed Martin de Goiti and the invading Spaniards resided, although now it is very sparsely populated. He is known variously as Rajah Bambalito or Rajah Soliman. Click on the images below for the full image size.


Click on image for full view

Medieval texts also state that the king of Zabag lived in a estuary that was salty during high tide and sweet during low tide. One could view such an area as the real beginning of the river, the point at which the sea, represented by saltwater, ends.

In this blog, I have suggested that the king of Zabag was the "Lord of the River" and thus his position at the entrance point would have been traditional. However, we should note that the divergence area of salt and sweet water may have varied over long periods. The king would guarded the way to the emporium at the sabang/confluence or Zabag.



Click on image for full view

In the image above, we see a closeup of the confluence near the southern end of Masantol town proper (Barangay Santa Lucia). The dikes, known as pangpang, pampang and bangbang, give the local province its name of "Pampanga." These massive dikes, unlike anything else in the province with houses and roads built on top, begin here at the confluence and end at the mouth of the river along the Manila Bay.



Click on image for full view

In addition to guarding the way to the market of Zabag, the king would even more important control the recognized waterway for visiting the sacred mountains of Pinatubo and Arayat to the north. Visitors could continue on boat using the rivers to reach Betis from where they presumably would proceed on foot. The distance from Masantol to Pinatubo is about 28.5 miles as the crow flies, and 19.5 miles to Arayat.



View Larger Map

You can grab this image above with your mouse, or use the arrows, to navigate up the river toward Masantol.

More on Luzon Jars

I have received some comments in correspondence as to whether the value of Luzon jars in Japan (known as Ruson-tsubo) might be due just to their antique and practical value rather than to any sacred valuation.

As I have noted previously in this blog, the Japanese had an old mythological tradition of jar worship going back to the epics Kojiki and Nihon Shoki. Jars were associated with food production even before rice agriculture, something that may hearken back to Jomon times. The jar sacrifices and festivals were instituted by Jimmu and linked with the far-off fairyland Takamagahara.

Evidence that the Luzon jars, used in the tea ceremony (chanoyu) since at least the early Muromachi period (1334—1467), were considered sacred may first appear, in European sources at least, in the notices of Carletti during the 1590s.

In describing the Luzon jars in Japan, Carletti noted that "the king of this Japan and all the other princes of the region have an infinite number of these vases, which they regard as their principal treasures, esteeming them more than anything else of value."

Referring to tea or cha, Carletti has this to say about their relationship with the Luzon jars.

But to return to the aforesaid cha, besides the many special properties that they attribute to it, they say that the older the leaf the better it is. But they have great difficulty in preserving it for a long period and keeping it in prime condition, as they do not find containers, not even of gold or silver or other metals, which are good for this purpose. It seems a superstition, and yet it is true, that cha is preserved well only in the aforesaid vessels made simply of a clay that has this virtue...

Carletti notes that the Japanese consideration of the old and homely Luzon jars seemed beyond reason and linked with some superstitious or supernatural belief in the clay used to make the vessels. In Appleton's Journal (1875), a description is given of the tea ceremony and the imperial tea utensils, which further accentuates these beliefs:

Clothed in light, white garments, and without weapons, the members of the Cha-no- yu assemble round the master's house, and, after resting some time in the anteroom, are conducted into a pavilion appropriated exclusively to these assemblies. This consists of the most costly kinds of wood, but is without any ornament which could possibly be abstracted from it ; without color, and without varnish, dimly lighted by small windows thickly overgrown with plants, and so low that it is impossible to stand upright. The guests tread the apartment with solemn, measured steps, and, having been received by the host according to the prescribed formulas, arrange themselves in a half-circle on both sides of him. All distinctions of rank are abolished. The ancient vessels are now removed with solemn ceremonies from their wrappings, saluted, and admired ; and, with the same solemn and rigidly-prescribed formulas, the water is heated on the hearth appropriated to the purpose, and the tea taken from the vessels and prepared in cups. The tea consists of the young, green leaves of the tea-shrub rubbed to powder, and is very stimulating in its effect. The beverage is taken amid' deep silence, while incense is burning on the elevated pedestal of honor, toko; and, after the thoughts have thus been collected, conversation begins. It is confined to abstract subjects ; but politics are not always excluded. Many of these old jars, wrapped in costly silken folds, and preserved in chests lacquered with gold, are preserved among the treasures of the Mikado with all the care due to the most costly jewels, together with documents relating to their history. Those coming from the Philippine Islands are said to surpass all others in value, from some distinctive virtue supposed to be imparted by their material to the tea.

Quite obvious from this description is that the tea vessels were considered sacra, sacred traditional objects, and that the material (clay) of the ancient jars was considered to have some special quality that was imparted to the tea. It is also worth noting that the text above mentions "documents relating to their history," in reference to the old jars, something that would be worth investigating.

Previous blog posts have discussed the sacred jars in the Philippines and Borneo, where old, rude earthenware pots were so esteemed they would not be sold by the owners at any price. Since these items were in all cases ancient, they were either handed down as heirlooms, traded as antiques or discovered in ancient caches. George Windsor Earl, writing in 1837, gives a curious account of Dyaks of western Borneo who recovered such ancient sacred wares from what were apparently burial mounds.

The relics of an ancient people are also to be met with in the inland parts of the west coast, and, although the information I was enabled to collect concerning them was extremely vague, I came to the conclusion that they were a race distinct from the Hindus near Banjar Massin. These relics consist merely of tumuli, in which are sometimes found small earthern jars, and being supposed by the Dyaks to be connected in some manner with the ashes of their forefathers, are in all probability graves. The jars are very scarce, and are so highly valued by their possessors on account of their supposed oracular powers, that the offer of a sum equal to five hundred pounds sterling has been refused for one of them. The jars are consulted by their owners before they undertake any expedition, and they believe that it will be prosperous or the contrary according to the sound produced, probably by water being poured into it. I much regretted being unable to inspect one of these vessels, as their materials and manufacture might possibly throw some light upon the relation which the natives of Borneo bear to the people of some other parts of India.

The traveler Fedor Jagor also mentions in reference to Luzon jars a story from Japan of the priest Giogiboosat that also indicates a connection of sacred vessels with burial mounds.

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 Shakudjo is returned to life. Therefore I have written the history, and taken care, of this treasure.

So, in Borneo, Japan and the Philippines, we see that jars were seen as sacred and having mystical powers and even personalities. In ancient Japanese mythology, jar deities known as Mika were animate and said to produce progeny -- beliefs similar to those found in the Philippines and Borneo. In Japan, the early jar worship was related to food production, first pre-rice agriculture and then specifically linked with rice crops. In Southeast Asia, sacred jars were considered more as storage vessels for holy water or beverages.

During some time at or before the Muromachi period, jars again take on a new sacred function as containers of tea leaves and beverage in the tea ceremony of chanoyu. That there is some link with the practice further south is strongly indicated by the fact that the Japanese sought ancient earthenware jars just for this purpose from Southeast Asia, putting great price on the value of these items. And it was the material, the clay, of which these vessels were made that was considered as granting their special sacred qualities. Previously in this blog, we have recorded how in Southeast Asia sacred jars are also linked with special divine clay.

Regards,
Paul Kekai Manansala
Sacramento

References

Appletons' Journal, "Among the Philippines," Appleton's Journal vol. 14, 1875, 228.

Earl, George Windsor . The Eastern Seas: Or, Voyages and Adventures in the Indian Archipelago, in 1832-33-34, Comprising a Tour of the Island of Java -- Visits to Borneo, the Malay Peninsula, Siam ..., W. H. Allen, 1837, 274-5.

Fairchild, William P. "'Mika'-Jar Deities in Japanese Mythology," Asian Folklore Studies 34 (1965): 81-101.

Jagor, Andreas Feodor, Fedor Jagor. Travels in the Philippines, Chapman and Hall, 1875, 166-7.

Varley, Paul, Isao Kumakura, Kumakura Isao. Tea in Japan: Essays on the History of Chanoyu, University of Hawaii Press, 1994, 116-7.

Google Earth: 'Pangpang' System of Lower Pampanga

Google Maps has expanded its satellite photo coverage of the Lower Pampanga region making it easier to see the extent of the system of rivers, canals, flooded rice fields and fish-ponds. It is this system of transplanting agriculture that gives the province its name from the Kapampangan pangpang "canal, dike."



View Larger Map

The Lower Pampanga drainage and irrigation system is delineated by the dark green area from Minalin and Lubao to the north, to just south of Orion on the Bataan peninsula to the southwest, and to the outskirts of Manila on the southeast. Formerly this system extended to Tondo, which is now a part of Metro Manila.



View Larger Map

A closer view showing the rivers and canals. You can use the arrows to pan about, and zoom in/out with the plus/minus buttons; or move the map by 'grabbing' it with your mouse.

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.