A study of Navajo symbolism - Free History Ebooks

took me to see a holy man or teacher wholived in a frugal way in the suburbs of Calcutta,Guru Bijay Krishna Chatter jee. TheGuru, who spoke idiomatic English, was amost direct, simple and impressive person.Mrs. Choudhuri, who was a handsome, energeticand vital elderly lady, was not only fullof help for the schools in Calcutta, but alsoan accomplished musician.My information about Persian parallelscomes from Dr. Phyllis Ackerman, formerlyof the Iranian Institute, New York.TibetDuring my stay in India I was able to obtainuseful information on Tibetan worship fromconversations with Air. David Macdonald ofKalimpong, near Darjeeling, who had beenBritish Trade Agent in Tibet from 1905 to1925, had written several books on his experiences,and had married a Tibetan. His familiaritywith Tibetan written sources is indicatedby an acknowledgment by Sir CharlesBell ( 193 1, pp. 199-200) for help in translatingportions of Tibetan histories to Mr. Macdonald,"who speaks and writes Tibetan moreeasily than English."Horses play an important role in Tibet.Sir Charles Bell (1924, p. 11) mentions theTibetan geographical notion that the TsangpoRiver rises from the mouth of a horse andflows through "Tibet, the land of horses." Hefurther observes: "The Tibetan pony is certainlyone of the characteristics of the country.Princes and peasants, men and women,ali ride; and children too, from an early age.And with the mule, the donkey, and the yak,the pony, agile and hardy beyond those ofmost countries, transports their merchandiseand household goods across the plateaux, andup the rough valley and high passes that connectthem."Emil Schlagintweit, in describing Tibetanceremonies for ensuring the assistance of thegods, includes (pp. 253-56) the invocation ofLungta, "the airy horse, the horse of wind,"who permits his rider "the king of the goldenwheel, the governor of the four continentsA STUDY OF NAVAJO SYMBOLISM(in Sanskrit Maha Chakravartin Raja)" totraverse the world between morning and nightwithout experiencing fatigue. Lungta is thesymbol of harmony, for it unites in harmonythe three conditions of human existence —Srog (the vital principle breath), Lus (body)and Vang (power or moral energy) — uponthe union of which happiness depends; itstrengthens these conditions so as to cause aunion salutary to man. As the efficacy of anyDharani, or mystical sentence, for happinessin this existence is made more certain by thepresence of Lungta, the likeness of the airyhorse appears on many such Tibetan blockprints, as well as on the Derchaks, or prayerflags (p. 199), that are met with in front ofreligious buildings along the roads. The invocationof Lungta ensures a safe and pleasantjourney. He also defends against maleficentplants, and deprives hostile constellations ofthe planets of their obnoxious influence.At Lhasa in the spring, during a ceremonydesigned to hasten the coming of the Buddhaof the Future, known to Indians as Maitreyaand to Tibetans as Gye-wa. Cham-pa (ConqueringLove), there is a race of riderlesshorses, the emblem of speed, and wrestling,the emblem of strength. Bell describes thisfestival in The People of Tibet, pp. 272-84.The wild ass appears in Persia in the decorationsof Susa I (3500 b.c.) before the horse,and in the Navajo creation story he was personallycreated by the great god Begochiddy,whose favorite he was.Sir Charles Bell ( 193 1, pp. 8-20) describesthe pre-Buddhist P6n religion of Tibet as aform of Shamanism or Nature worship, similarto that formerly followed by different tribesof Turkish stock, by the Finns, Lapps anddwellers in the north of Asia on the bordersof the Arctic circle, as well as the Manchusand the Indians of North America. OfficialChinese histories of the fifth and sixth centuriesa.d., when the Ponist religion was in fullforce, mention sacrifices of men, horses, oxenand asses in Tibet. In spite of the introductionof Buddhism in Tibet, the Ponist faith still survivesamonor the Lepcha, Limbu, Lolo, Lissuand Moso tribes east and southeast of Lhasa,while the epic of Ke-sar is still recited ineastern Tibet. Bell mentions men and womenwho can recite this epic of Ponist Tibet forten days without repeating themselves. Mr.David Macdonald told me that offerings ofhorses and fowl were given to the war godKe-sar in Lhasa, and that now two images of