-:- the house of the sky -:-
-:- notes and references -:-
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Notes
(*1) What is interesting about this point is that this essays second introductory quote (from the Huarochir Manuscript) is prefaced in the original with the words In ancient times, the world wanted to come to an end This, in itself, is an extraordinary expression.
(*2) With the exception of Atlantis, which in any case is the long forgotten and much exaggerated dim and distant retelling of how an enormous volcanic eruption caused a tsunami which brought that once-powerful Cretan Minoan civilisation to its knees, and how the barbarian mainland Greeks overran it and pillaged it for all it was worth.
(*3) - Strangely enough, this even held for the Incas, despite them being located in the Southern Hemisphere. For many peoples all over the world, north equals up and that is where heaven - the World of the Gods - lies.
(*4) - Roughly speaking. Actually its around 24 hours and about 3 minutes making up a day. Theres even a number of definitions about what constitutes a day is it when the Earth itself has rotated around 360 degrees, or is it when the Sun has rotated around the sky 360 degrees (also known as a sidereal day)? The two lengths of time are actually different.
(*5) - Although we have been using the term 'ancients' to apply to the people that understood this method of mythical astronomy, the Incas held this tradition until well into the last millennium, as did the Aztecs as the cultural descendants of the Classical Maya. It was only at the Spanish Conquest did such beliefs begin to wane among these peoples. In the Old World, however, few cultures maintained this tradition beyond about 500BC. It is therefore testament to the excellent traditions of the Incas that this mandala of experience was preserved in such a pristine form until 1532AD. In fact, there are still a few scattered villages and shamans across the Andes who still hold to this old way.
(*6) - If there should be any doubt at this point that people believed that they went to the Southern Sky when they died, try to think about all the ancient stories of the Underworld more mythically. If, as in Note 3, 'north' equalled 'up', then presumably 'south' equalled 'down' - namely under the earth. There are still people in the Andes who point in the direction of the Southern Sky when asked where the Underworld lies.
(*7) - There's a psychological interpretation to this type of myth which is commonly given: Do not fail to see what is inside the person before you, do not judge by appearances, wisdom often comes in strange packages. These of course are also perfectly valid interpretations of this particular tale that do not in any way detract from the astronomical interpretation here. Mythology is like that: it allows for multiple interpretations to be applied to the same story. A further interpretation of this Wiraqocha tale might be simply: Respect The Elderly, an interpretation which seems increasingly lacking as this particular world comes to an end.
(*8) - Any exposure to Finnish mythology to which the reader can gain will always be an extremely rewarding experience. Not only has the Finnish sense of poetics been highly developed since ancient times, even a casual wandering into works such as The Kalevala will take one back many thousands of years. Like the Incas, the Finnish have been extremely conservative with their mythologies, and as such they have maintained some extremely ancient traditions now sadly lacking from most others.
(*9) - It should be remembered that 'Hinduism' per se is not a religion, but a collection of religions centred around a variety of major gods, all of which are in some way interconnected. The situation is rather similar to how pre-Christian Europe might have been. Thus, Brahma devotees will insist that the world is merely Brahma's dream, others say that Vishnu or Kali created the world. The creation myth given here, however, is of extremely ancient providence.
(*10) - And the text continues after this passage: "Whoso hears this story of the birth of Lakshmi from the Milky Sea, whosoever reads it, that goddess of good fortune shall never leave his house for generations three; strife or misfortune may never enter where the hymn to Lakshmi is sung." What a wonderful ending!
(*11) - And here again, we find another example of a Dragon being the Guardian of sacred treasure, the truth or paradise - in this case, the World Mill.
(*12) - We might therefore also conclude that the notion of the end of the world has to do with the transformation of character that such rites entail. The world of childhood ends and the world of adulthood begins. As in note *7, this is a valid psychological interpretation that does not in any way detract from the theory being built here.
(*13) - Pioneer 10 has been travelling out towards interstellar space since the 1970s. At the time of writing, it has not yet reached the heliopause, the boundary between the solar wind and interstellar space, but by some reckonings it is due to arrive there sometime in the next decade. Do I detect the words 2012AD somewhere in this prediction?
References
J. Eric S. Thompson - 'The Rise & Fall of Maya Civilisation' - 1996, Pimlico Imprint
Giorgio De Santillana & Hertha Von Dechend - 'Hamlet's Mill - An Essay investigating the origins of Human Knowledge and its transmission through myth' - 1977, David R Godine Publishing
Robert Graves - 'The Greek Myths - Combined Volume' - 1990, Penguin Books
Joseph Campbell - 'The Masks Of God - Volume I: Primitive Mythology' - 1959, Bollingen Series
Joseph Campbell - 'The Masks Of God - Volume IV: Creative Mythology' - 1968, Bollingen Series
Frank Salomon & George L. Urioste - 'The Huarochirí Manuscript: A Testament of Ancient and Colonial Andean Religion.' - 1991, University Of Texas Press
William Sullivan - 'The Secrets Of The Incas' - 1997, Crown Publishing
Elias Lonnrot (translated by Keith Bosley) - 'The Kalevala' - 1999, Oxford Paperbacks
Ananda K. Coomaraswamy and Sister Nivedita - 'Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists' - 1967 Dover Publications
Judy Grahn - 'Blood, Bread And Roses - How Menstruation Created The World' - 1994, Beacon Press
Charles E. Hulley - 'The Rainbow Serpent' -1999, New Holland Publishing
Ronald M. Berndt - 'Djanggawul - An Aboriginal Religious Cult' - 1952, Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd
(c) Bruce Rimell, June 2005
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