Comments on: Concepts of sacredness and beauty

By: auditoriumniemeyer.info

auditoriumniemeyer.info — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:59:39 +0000

Make Your Lawn Beautiful Garden With Waterfalls…

Many people today are spending more and more time at home and realize the importance of their environment is quite nice. In this respect take care of their homes and gardens. Indeed gardens are one of the best ways to make your life better in many resp…

By: Christine

Christine — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 23:49:32 +0000

Ahhh. It would seem that all cultures are self-referential before they are outward looking. I don’t believe Europe would be the only civilisation to consider itself as central rather than peripheral…but then the question always needs to be asked: central to what? peripheral to what?

Still not convinced about the evolutionary and migratory paths of humans – but still much is in the realm of speculaton at present.

By: Tom Turner

Tom Turner — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 07:14:44 +0000

Astrophysicists have set an interesting example by concluding that certain principles and particles (eg the Higgs Boson ) MUST exist. A comparable historical-archaeological principle, which I think MUST be correct, is that most belief systems have their origins in Central Africa and, subsequently, Central Asia. Whether the hypothesis will ever be confirmed is doubtful - but the etymology of Omphalos is a contributory piece of evidence. Europeans have spent too long think itself the hub of civilization, instead of a peripheral incident.

By: Christine

Christine — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 23:38:52 +0000

Again considering the etymological connections is interesting:

In a most thorough study on the subject, Wilhelm H. Roscher (Omphalos) showed that the Indo-European term for these oracle stones— navel in English, nabel in German, etc.—stem from the Sanskrit nabh, which meant “emanate forcefully.” It is no coincidence that in the Semitic languages naboh meant to foretell and nabih meant “prophet.” All these identical meanings undoubtedly harken back to the Sumerian, in which NA.BA(R) meant “bright-shiny stone that solves.”

It would be interesting to consider the difference between spirit oracles, for example,
[ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nechung_Oracle ] and object oracles.

By: Christine

Christine — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 23:25:43 +0000

ps. Perhaps looking at other ancient temple based cultures may assist in understanding some of the relationships between heaven and earth?
[ http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sitchin/stairway_heaven/stairway09.htm ]

By: Christine

Christine — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 22:55:29 +0000

Hard to say. But it seems as a historian Melvyn has a longstanding interest in archaeology.

Supposedly the etymology of Shinto is from the Chinese:

“Literally translated the word ‘Shinto’ is composed of two words from the original Chinese Shêntao: ‘shin’ meaning gods or spirits and ‘to’ meaning the philosophical way or path.”

They continue on the Kwintessential site:

“The origins of Shinto are hidden in the mists of time. According to the historical chronicles of ancient Japan (AD712), the sun goddess Amaterasu Omikami presented the Imperial Regalia to her grandson, Ninigi no Mikoto. The Imperial Regalia (sanshu no jingi) are holy relics which appear in Japan’s ancient myths. In order of importance, they consist of the sacred mirror, the sacred sword and the curved jewels, all stored in separate specific shrines. They are the symbols of the legitimacy and authority of the emperor. He in turn is meant to have passed them on to his descendants, the emperors, the first of whom was Emperor Jimmu.”

By: Tom Turner

Tom Turner — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 07:52:05 +0000

I like the idea that the two rocks in your photograph are the children of a marriage between Izanagi no Mikoto and Izanami. The BBC had a discussion of Shinto yesterday, chaired by Melvyn Bragg, tracing its origins to China and the animism of Central Asia. I wonder if he got the programme idea from this blog!

By: Christine

Christine — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 02:46:23 +0000

Sorry for my silence Tom…I must have been too careful observing the male speaks first etiquitte!

Gosh, yes it does raise a million questions about gendered relationships in a cross-cultural context…

…not to mention marriage relationships.

By: Jerry

Jerry — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 22:41:00 +0000

Why there is nobody reply Tom?

In China （Hongkong），there is also a special stone which name is ” 望夫石“ http://a0.att.hudong.com/07/34/01000000000000119063417629307_s.jpg

By: Tom Turner

Tom Turner — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 06:41:10 +0000

More info, on the place of Meoto Iwa in Japanese mythology, from Wiki:
Japan’s creation narrative can be divided into the birth of the deities (Kamiumi) and the birth of the land (Kuniumi). The seventh and last generation of Kamiyonanayo were Izanagi no Mikoto (“Exalted Male”) and Izanami no Mikoto (“Exalted Female”), and they would be responsible for the creation of the Japanese archipelago and would engender other deities.To help them to achieve this, Izanagi and Izanami were given a naginata decorated with jewels, named Ame-no-nuboko (“Heavenly Jeweled Spear”). The two deities then went to the bridge between heaven and earth, Amenoukihashi (“Floating Bridge of Heaven”) and churned the sea below with the halberd. Drops of salty water formed the island, Onogoro (“self-forming”). The deities descended from the bridge of heaven and made their home on the island. Eventually, they fell in love and wished to mate. So they built a pillar called Amenomihashira around which they built a palace called Yashirodono (“the hall whose area is 8 arms’ length squared”). Izanagi and Izanami circled the pillar in opposite directions, and when they met on the other side, Izanami, the female deity, spoke first in greeting. Izanagi didn’t think that this was proper, but they mated anyway. They had two children, Hiruko (“leech child”) and Awashima (“pale island”), but the children were badly formed and are not considered gods in their original form. (Hiruko later became the Japanese god, Ebisu.)
The parents, who were dismayed at their misfortune, put the children into a boat and sent them to sea, and then petitioned the other gods for an answer about what they had done wrong. They were informed that Izanami’s lack of manners was the reason for the defective births: a woman should never speak prior to a man; the male deity should have spoken first in greeting during the ceremony.[5] So Izanagi and Izanami went around the pillar again, and, this time when they met, Izanagi spoke first, and their union was successful.From their union were born the Ōyashima, or the eight great islands of Japan.
Meoto Iwa (夫婦岩?), or the Loved one-and-loved one Rocks, are a couple of small rocky stacks in the sea off Futami, Mie, Japan. They are joined by a shimenawa (a heavy rope of rice straw) and are considered sacred by worshippers at the neighbouring Futami Okitama Shrine (Futami Okitama Jinja (二見興玉神社?)). According to Shinto, the rocks represent the union of the creator of kami, Izanagi and Izanami. The rocks, therefore, celebrate the union in marriage of man and woman. The rope, which weighs over a ton, must be replaced several times a year in a special ceremony. The larger rock, said to be male, has a small torii at its peak.