Tn Cooperation with the e ETS MAEM Cems AI ilkol it “Austronesian MYTH or HISTORY? J.G. Cheock In Cooperation with the Kasaysayan Hunters FRONT COVER Figure 1. Side and font views of erey green Nepnite jade ‘tained redcin brown of Phoenic with aars, amalgamated ‘wth a human face mask. Clever transformation from fl Bird {om te toto ings in sice view. Luzon, Philippines Length: 38 em, Height: 47 em With 1.9 em, Weight 40g.“Sa pag-awit ng adarna, nagsasalaysay rin ito ng kasaysayan ‘na para bang ang kuwento ng nagdaan ay kailangan sa paghihilom.” ~Edgar Calabia Samar, 101 Kagila-gilalas na Nilalang. [The song of the Phoenix also tells of history, ‘almost as ifthe tale of our past is necessary for healing. Figure 2. Translucent white Nephrite Jade. {ang toothshaped form wn Phoenix head, ‘wing tobeak.Phiippines, Length: £3.6m, Vieth: 8 cm, Weight: 10 eremsTable of Contents Introduction: Myth as a Recorder of History, p6-7 I. Out of the Flood (3rd millennium BC), p8-26 A. First Austronesian Ancestor Deity, p8-11 B. Austronesian Celestial Gods, p1z-20 1. Ruler of the Bull of Heaven, p12-16 2. Birth of the Phoenix, p17-20 C. Starting Over, p21-26 Dispersion by Family and Language. p2 Taming the Waters, p24-26 I. Phoenix in the Palace (Later half of the 3rd millennium BC-2251 BC), p2 A. Rulers of the New Age. p27-30 B. The Second Austronesian Ancestor Deity, p31-33 IL. Phoenix at the Gate (2250 BC - 772 BC), p34-90 A. Flying Home, p34-38 B. ‘The Phoenix in the Three Dynasty Period, p39-50 4. Xia Dynasty, p39-41 2. Shang Dynasty, p4i-44 3. Western Zhou Dynasty, p45-50 C. A Thousand Years of Civilization, p50-88 1. The Phoenix and the Griffin, p35-65 2, Austronesian Bird tribe Lands, Warriors, & Ships, p66-72 3. Death of the Phoenix, p73-90 IV. Phoenix in the Meadow (773 BC- 256 BC), po1-121 ‘A. Too Many Suns, p9i-93 B. Open Season for Colonizers, p94-109 C. Rebirth in Fire, pz10-121 IV. Conclusion: Rising from the Ashes, p12: References, 124-133 Figures, p134-142, 148 Bonus: Advanced Austronesian Neolithie Writing, p143-147 Figure 3. Magnoie Biack Stin Nophrie Jad wity high iron cortent exiieed red. Sized man in squatting positon wity Bid shaved cap Panay. Philopires Height 25.3 em, Length: 8.9 em, Width: 7-4 em, Weight 2.063 kg,Myth as a Recorder of History Within the world of myths, we may find literary documentation of information that forgotten ancestors deemed important enough to encapsulate and transmit to their descendants. “..myths may be considered as an aid to human memory in recording, major historical events of extreme natural, mental, and social significance.”1 The earth is full of disjointed artifacts of the pas, left over the eons, Remnants of tools, structures, arts & crafts that may give us glimpses through the muddy waters of unknown history. Yet assembling the puzzle that they represent leads to a myriad of possibilities as far as our own imagination may lead The ancestral gift of mythology, transcending space and time, assists in guiding us regariling their experiences. And when these symbolic accounts of historical events are correlated with the material evidence and sciences, it could yield a plausible account. Myths could be seen as a recorder of salient historical points, with artifacts allowing insight into the subtle nuances, myths. .reorded human history..art reflects the twists and turs."> Ancient texts and oral traditions that have been handed down through generations, may take on a mythical form as key characters become larger than life. Dramati embellishments were used to make them easier to remember and pass on. Touted as a book of myth and legends, the Bible had been criticized not so long for creating the ‘fictional’ Canaanite and Hittites peoples --until archaeological evidence proved them real The Shu King, Shih King, and Hsiao King were considered legendary histories of China until the discovery of high eity walls, grand buildings, palaces and thousands of artifacts that corroborated their records. Amateur archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann followed the clues in Homer’s Iliad to Scholars have learned to be careful not to dismiss what has been labelled myth and legend too easily. There is a growing movement of those who are paying attention to what our predecessors did not want us to forget. If our ancestors saw these events significant enough to let us know it, it may be important enough for us to listen Figure Phoenix nond wit Austene outle Ox nose perforation al the nape. Phiippnes. Height: 6S em, Length: Gem, iat: 3. em, WEIQMt: 127 9. Making Myths How big must the event be to become a myth? Consider that over the past 500 years of recorded history, no new myth has arisen to join the compendium of stories told and retold in the Philippines. Myths are firmly embedded in the soul of anation, These are not told to amuse litle children, Historical narratives preserved in cultural tradition. Myth & legends belong to a people, as a people belong to their myths and legends. It is 4 treasured ownership of a valuable inheritance. One does not easily include foreign stories into the treasury of myth, It would be quickly rejected just likea n object introduced into our own physical bodies, There are many interesting stories fabricated over the centuries, however as quickly as they appear, many are soon forgotten. Those that surviv through the ages are regarded as the fiction they were meant to be. Consider the power of myths that have endured over hundreds to thousands of years. Many of what some eall myths were given to those who were closer to the events then wwe were, some were eye- witnesses who could have easily refuted them as utier nonsense. In the New Testament book of Acts, Peter spoke to a crowd, some of which had been at the crucifixion of Jesus, about the miracles, and signs that included the sun turning. dark and the moon becoming blood red. His credibility was shown when instead of ridicule, three thousand people believed «When world myth resonates with the story of a great flood in every continent, how great would it have been to be captured in mythology? In 1931 China had a flood with an estimate of over Three million deaths. Do you remember it? Have myths and legends been written about it? How much greater must the events have been to permeate world consciousness? Many of what we now call myths were actually handed down as histories to folks who may have actually been there to witness the event itself, or close enough to the event to see the evidence of it still fresh in their time, Only the most major “world-changing” events ‘would be captured in mythology, landmark moments erucial to the formation of a civilization’s identity Figuies, Introduetion: Myth asa Recorder of Hi So tory Austronesian Myths Austronesian speaking peoples are recognized as the first humans to develop inter- continental vessels and sailing technologies capable of crossing oceans s ‘The Austronesian language family has one of the largest geographical spread. Beginning from the third millennium BC, our ancestors crossed oceans and spread out to Madagascar in Aftica, Southeast Asia, Taiwan, Oceania, New Zealand, and possibly even the Americas.s A civilization cannot travel across the globe and establish communities unnoticed. Therefore, not only will we be able to rely on the wealth of myths & legends from the Austronesians themselves, but alse from the civilizations they impacted. Ancient artifacts found in the Philippines seem to indicate that the Austronesian speaking peoples may have been one of the earliest civilizations to have developed a form of writing.» Unfortunately, some time in our turbulent past we had lost this skill, and are currently unable to comprehend the texts left behind by our ancestors, (One day, itis my hope that talented linguis's would be able to translate these nephrite jade artifacts from the Philippines, so I have included some pictures and tracings of the characters at the end of this book (figures 221-232) Austronesian Myth or History’ is book 4 in the Austronesian series, Book 1 explored discoveries of ancient structures and arifacts that linked the Philippines to the Neolithic Liangehu Culture from the Lower Yangize River area. The 2nd book, The Austronesian Dilemma, discussed the Austronesian totems and sh civilization that may have built a central port city for the elite rulers who worked as a support structure for expansion to the islands and coastal areas. The Austronesian Story in Westem Zhou Bronze, book 3 linked Austronesian peoples and its central port city to the foreign Yi Bird Tribes who lived to the Southeast of the Chinese Mainland before leaving to establish their nations along the coastlands and islands, AS We wait for future developments and discoveries, this book is presented with the understanding that modifications and changes may very well be made later on. But right now, this is what the stories preserved by our ancestors seem to be telling us. Thope you do too. ‘ustionesian-Liangrhu Double added axe, ale rey green jade stared brownish ed, extersive roct damage & cleaving venns. Goa Face Mask Motit Total of 37 incised! charactor. High paich Phtippnes, Height 23.7 om Length: 10.5. with 2.7 cm at op Weight 1.181 ka Figure 6, details: (left) Extome close up of charectars show evidence of fre ancient machining, ciaractensicot Austronesian Langer diamond ening Yecrnetogy, (cen) perforation wth regular dll pattern and canta jit wheve two tubular dis me, {cight) God Face Mask Motf soon to have exignated from Neaihic Cosmic Bird mets.Out of the Flood “Kanino pikpik inin kalibutan, dile kanan Dios [Who made this world if not God}?"s From ancient times, Pilipinos have understood that the world we live in was created by a divine being. “..it is to be noted that these people have and revere one God, the maker of all things, whom some call Bathala, others Malayari, others diwata The concept of each person possessing an unseen etemal soul was acknowledged. fiom the earliest times and was recorded in Philippine myth. The Maranao totem bird Itotoro («.k.a. Sarimanok} has an unseen spirit-win Inikadowa, Their ancestors had twin children, one visible and the other invisible, * Seen became the ancestors, of the modern-day Maranao people and Unseen is the spirit that they pay tribute to during rituals and rites."w It is the birds that make contact between the seen and unseen worlds. The family of Austronesian speaking peoples, like most ancient civilizations, saw it as.a matter of fact that heaven and earth was created by God. This is why, more often than not, cosmogonies (origin stories) of a people group do not start from the creation, but from a cataclysmnie global deluge where a handful of survivors repopulate the whole world. From the major global event of the flood that led to the dispersion of al living things over the face of the earth, scholars of ages past have traced their histories. First Austronesian Ancestor Deity Phoenician historian Sanchuniathon (c.1300 BC) began his cosmogony' with a boundless dark windy watery chaos, which went on for a long time and produced a lot of watery mud [Mot]. Celestial orbs that had moved like clockwork, were suddenly seen to behave capriciously and were named Overseers of Heaven --the Sun, the Moon, and the Stars. Heat on the earth and sea ereated clouds and heavy rains falling down to rise up again in a continuous hydrological cycle. The historian claimed that this same account was recorded in the Cosmogony of Thoth Egyptian Priest-K ing Thoth’s creation story inscribed on the Shabaka Stone tells of how the God Ptah “...conceived ideas in his heart, considered them with his reason, and then spoke the words with his mouth. As the words dropped from his tongue, they turned into physical entities.”\2 Ancient Egyptian creation myth is strikingly similar to the Genesis record of God speaking the world into being Iis clear then that both the ancient Phoenicians and Egyptians did not consider this story of watery chaos as the first beginning, but that of the second bx mankind, In the Cosmogony of the Phoenician historian, he met that humans before these ‘First Men’ lived on a diet of plants. Logical were those wio were before these ‘First Men’ then they were not seen 2s the First created human beings, but the First Men of this new age after the Deluge. at Figure 6 Bird form plaque, Blackened pettery perforation at ‘nape, nurmen ands, Phiipprnes, Heignt.7on Length: 45 em Weight 48.9 Patriarch of the family who survived the flood was called Utnapishtim in the Epic of Gilgamesh, and Atrahes Atrahasis Epic. Anci refer to him as Manu, Xisuthrus to the Babylonians, the Phoenicians named hhim Quranus (Heaven), Uranus to the Greeks, and Noah to the Hebrews, Historians of antiquity who included the story of the Deluge with details on the ark which bore humanity's survivors in their records included: Nicolaus of Damascus, the Egyptian Hieronymus the Phoenician Antiquities, Berosus the Josephus was even bold enough to name the mountain as “The Place of Descent’ knowa to the Armenians and claimed that the curious could still go there to see the remains of the ark. First century historian Josephus noted that, “the ark rested on top of a certain mountain in Armenia; which when Noal understood, he opened it..when the water was decreased to a greater degree, he sent out a raven, as desirous to leam...whether he might go out of the ark with safety: but the raven finding the land still overflowed, returned to Noah again. And after seven days he sent out a dove...which came back to him covered with mud, and bringing an olive branch..."First Austronesian Ancestor Deity Noah's use of birds as his initial scouts were echoed in the Epic of Gilgamesh where Utnapishtim had sent out a dove, a swallow, and a rayen.is The Babylonian Berosus ‘wrote that Xisuthrus released birds that returned to the ship with muddy claws, but knew that land had appeared when the next birds he released failed to retur.1s The use of birds would have naturally been an unforgettable highlight of the Deluge narrative to the Austronesian peoples who had chosen the Bird as their primary totem. Myths from Austronesian Oceania tell of Tengaroa -God of the Oceans, progenitor of and guardian of boats. It was he who sent out the bird named Tuli over the waters, only to return with the report that there was no land. So Tangaroa threw down stones to ‘make the islands. Tangaroa is one of the oldest Polynesian gods, “known as Tagaloalagi in Samoa, Takaroa in Hawai’, Tanaca in Marquesas, Ta’aroa in Tahiti, and Tangaroa in Rarotonga...” Origins of the new age of man in myth from the Philippines were preserved in the Boxer Codex. “They say that before there was land, there was only the sky and the sea _-and there was a bitd that used to fly always between the sky and the sea without finding a place to rest."17 The bird decided to make the sky and sea fight in order to make a land for it to ali ng up to the sky and down to the sea the bird caused conflict between the sky and sea. The sky began to throw rocks down at the sea, and the sea began to rise as if it would overwhelm the heavens. After things had settled down, “the bird saw the emerging earth as the sea subsided, it flew down very happily, having found a place to rest from its continuous flight. And while resting on the land, it saw a piece of bamboo floating on the waters. This had two nodes, and was being carried by the undercurrent to the shore where the bird was perched...the bird began to peck ‘vigorously at the bamboo until its nodes split open, and later a man appeared from one of the nodes and a woman from the other. They became the first man and woman in the world.”17 Parallels to the flood story include the rising of the waters, the absence of any land for the bird to light on, the bird finds the first land to appear after the water had subsided, and the role of the bird in bringing the first men of the new age out of the vessel ‘The Man “Lalaki’ told the Woman ‘Babae’ that the world would be populated by their children, but she was hesitant to marty him because she was his sister. ‘The First man Of this Philippine origin myth recognized that they were siblings ~-children of the same parents. If they had parents, then they were obviously not the first ereated humans, but the first of this new age of flood survivors, Phoenician historians wrote that Ouranus (Heaven) and his sister wife Ge (Earth) were counted as the First Men after the Deluge.is Sima Qian, Grand Historian of China, started the historical narrative with Fu Xi (Heavenly Sovereign) and his sister wite Nu Wa (Earthly Sovereign) who were seen as the parents of mankind after they hiad survived a world changing calamity~a great flood.» Like the First humans Lalaki and Babae, the Phoenician and Chinese survivors had parents. Noah represented the 10th generation of man from creation, thus it would not have been socially unacceptable at Figure r. ‘Tivee Bird Face Mask cay paves with that early time for brother and sister to marry, Even the biblical Patriarch Abraham, nat ria yes and beak, deccratveireced ground 2000 BC, married his half-sister Sarah, It wasnt until the law was given through on lover poman, mssvoow on backs. Moses (¢. 1400-1300 BC) over 500 years later, that marriage to elese family members, Rodstane evden ‘was no longer allowed, possibly due to defects caused by the increasing simila PPhilppines. Height 5.0-5.4 on Cees ee OAS aay genetic information over time.In Philippine myth, the vessel that carried the flood survivors were sometimes s 1 be bamboo or coconuts. China’s histories simply tell us that Fu Xi"s element was Wood. The Biblical Genesis account. tells us that the ark was made of gopherwood and gives specific measurements on its dimensions. Scientists who studied the given proportions have found that it exceeds modern ships in stablity.21 The wooden vessel was not streamlined for speed but for extreme stability and buoyancy. Perhaps the best local comparison for the Austronesian storytellers was the bamboo oF coconut, that was not built for speed but could float actoss the vast ‘waters with its contents intact, Almost every Filipino child is familiar with this origin myth taught as part of school curriculum. Legazpi in 1567, recorded the myth, identifying the bird who could find no rest between water and sky as a hawk. The bird who played a crucial role in the re-creation and re-population of the earth after the deluge has been called Tigmamanuikan (a.k.a. Sarimanok), and was so important to the Austronesian nos that “chronicler Antonio de Morga thought the Tagalogs saw the bird as their ultimate deity. The snonymous author of the Boxer Codex (1590 b, 379) also nearly made this mistake, but was advised by the Tagalogs not to equate the two, because the Tigmamanukan was not the creator god "but only his messenger.’ Historical narrative of the Deluge would naturally resonate within the psyche of the maritime Austronesians who travelled to the islands and coastlands of the world, carrying along with them all the necessities of life in order to fulfill the mandate of colonization and repopulation. With the Patriarch of the flood survivors as their divinely inspired model, the family of Austronesian speaking communities crossed ‘oceans to establish a broad geographic dispersion that was unmatched by any other people group of that age, On their seaworthy crafts, Austronesians carried along with their families, male and female of their domesticated animals and the seeds for cultivation. Each journey mimicking the watery voyage of those who had emerged fom the ark to establish their community with culture intact, Figure 8. Terracotia Phosnix masineed vesce! wth ‘hinge and cued tat Sled boatman massing padale. Philopires. Height 11.5 om Lengmn: 20 6m Wat 13.4 er Weight: 473 3 The foreign Yi 38 peoples who appear repeatedly in Chinese historival exis from the earliest dynasties, have been linked by linguistie studies to the Austronesians.2: (More information on the Austronesian-Yi connection in hook 3, The Austronesian Story in Westem Zhou Bronze). Numerous non-Chinese YVitibes exist, but one of the most important group were the Tai Heo Vi JKBRAK, also called the Niao Vi 3 Bird Tribes in the Shu King.2s Tai Hao 26H was another name for Fu Xi (aka Utapishim, Manu, Noah), who was recognized as the Ancestor deity of the Austronesian-Yi. “Tai Hao 268 (also written 238) "Great Brightness"ss may refer 10 his connection to the Heavens, particularly dhe Sun and its astronomical motions. Ancestor Deities were not unusual in this early age, aceording to the historian Diodorus Siculus, “As regards the gods, then, men of ancient times have handed down to later generations two different conceptions: Certain of the gods, they say, are eternal and imperishable, such asthe sun and the moon and the other stars ofthe heavens, and the winds as, well and whatever else possesses a ilar to thers...But the other gods, we are told, were terrestrial beings who attained to immortal honor and fame because of their henefactions to mankind,..Regarding these terrestrial ‘gods many and varying accounts have been handed down by the writers of history and mythology Diodorus explains that celestial bodies and forces of nature were deified by the ancients in their histories. Likewise, ‘men and women who had accomplished ‘great things in the early ages were also made into pods. Noah had accomplished the amazing feat of perpetuating theSeefetoh Austronesian tinaing oid. y Celestial Gods eodenl tors Hanad Universi, 7 fae Global flood y7ths and legends Fink the Deluge to the capricious activity of celestial bodies, Phoenicians record the Sun, Moon & Stars behaving unusually ‘uring the cataclysm, The Book of Enoch notes, “the moon shall alter her ‘order, and not appear at her time, [And in those days the sun shall be seen and he shall journey in the evening on the extremity of the great chariot in the west]..nd many chiefs of the stars shall transgress the order (prescribed), and these shall alter their orbits and tasks... Yea, they shall err and take them to be ‘gods."2» The changes in the motions of the heavenly bodies were mistaken by ancient observers as if done by their ‘own will and power, and they were perceived as gods, fier the Deluge, it may have taken hundreds of years for the celestial bodies to “settle down’ to a less fearful state. During this period, because of the cyclical nature of celestial mechanies, there may have been repeated close ‘encounters that had deep psychological and physical impact on our planet. human race through the catastrophic flood, reestablishing human civilization on ‘earth, Maritime Austronesians traced their lineage all the way baek to the first man of the new age, and in the custom of that early age, deified him. Each of the Austronesian communities would intrinsically understand that as they launched off ‘with their wife and children, and everything they would need to start again on a new land, they were reverently following in the footsteps of their primary ancestor deity. An ancient Han dynasty stone relief of Fu Xi shows him holding a compass with ‘one hand, while lifting the Sun with the other. The compass was an instrament used to determine astronomical observations. Myths and legends connect the Patriarch Of the flood survivors with the Heavens. He probably ensured that his deseendant would have an understanding of the movements of the heavenly bodies. The ancestors of the Austronesians would have taken such knowledge to heart, seeing that it was erucial for their maritime endeavours as well as for rice eultivation. At the center of the Sun held by Fu Xi is a Bird (figure 9). As in the story of the Deluge, the Bird totem of the Austronesians flies out to find land. And after he has found the land on which he would build a home, the bird may or may not return 10 is point of or Plato gives insight to the rationale behind the making of such ancestor gods. He explained how the founders of civilizations found it easier to direct the people by directing their beliefS. Rather than physical coercion, “..they directed from the stem where the living creature is easiest to turn about, laying hold of the soul by persuasion, as by a rudder, according to their own disposition; and thus they drove and steered all the mortal kind.” The Classical Greek Philosopher saw the power of divine inspiration in moving the hearts of humans into action with the analogy of directing a ship. Maritime Austronesians would hnave totally understood this Principle of faith as they went off into the vast oceans with everything they held @ «dear nestled within their crafts, making their voyage over the waters to begin life in anew world, - Figure 10. Male cast bronze Batak Phoenx. Austonesian artis. Pniippines ‘Length: 7 3 om Weight 56 gRuler of the Bull of Heaven Carved in 25 tons of basalt, the Aztec Calendar Sun Stone tells of five ages, also called the five Suns. The First Age of men had been destroyed by “jaguars” sent down from Heaven by Quetzalcoatl.»» Dark flashing meteorites streaming down to earth from space could very well have been described as ‘jaguars’ from heaven. Myths from Oceania say that Tangaroa threw stones from the sky. In the myth from the Philippines, the angry sky had thrown down rocks as the sea rose higher and higher, Biblical accounts of the Deluge connects it to the opening of the floodgates of the sky. Isaiah gives us insight into what that meant. “..for the windows above are ‘opened, and the foundations of the earth shake, The earth is broken asunder, the earth is split through, the earth is shaken violently."\0 Myth from Austronesian Maori of New Zealand, the Kauwae-runga, relates how Mataaho with instructions from Io, uses the forees of the ocean, wind, and rain to force Papa (Earth) to face downward, Afterwards Mataaho and Whakaruaumoko (spirit behind earthquakes and volcanoes) had the job of rearranging the Earth ‘mother so that she may lie in @ proper position.s1 Maori myth named two personalities: Mataaho and Whakaruaumoko for the destruction and reconstruction of the planet. Aztec myth calls them Quetzaleoat! and Tezeatlipoca, who had caused Quetzaleoatl to flee, retuming in a $2 year cycle. Quetzalcoat!’s return and departure has been correlated to astronomical observation, of 52 year conjunctions of Earth and Venus. Quetzalcoat! literally means the ‘Feathered Serpent’, and may have appeared like a long snake with a feathery crown, A coma around the nucleus of the comet with a long dust orion tail would mate it appear on earth as a fearsome celestial serpent. But Venus is a planet and not a comet, so how could it be Quetzalcoatl? If we assume that the way things are, are the way they have always been, then this, would be a problem. According to the testimony of our ancestors, this was not so. Inumanuel Velikovsky published his book Worlds in Collision (1950),12 concluding that Venus had been a comet that had eaused planet wide destruction in ancient times. He predicted that if he was correct then, 1. Venus must be very hot (Scientists at that time predicted Venus” mean ground temperature at a cool 17 degrees) 2. Venus would have a dusty hydrocarbon gaseous atmosphere, and 3. Venus would have a retrograde rotation, opposite that of every planet in our Solar System. Every prediction is now acknowledged as scientific fact. In 2003 the scientific community discovered that Venus had a tail that may have extended for millions of kilometers and a teardrop-shaped ionosphere found around comets.» It seemts that planet Venus had a colorful past before deciding to settie down to its benign orbit, (Read more on the destruction of the ages in World Myth or History?) ‘The Austronesian myth of stones falling from heaven was echoed by many ancient civilizations including the record from the Book of Noah of something in the skies breaking apart to strike earth, causing massive impact craters. “I saw ina vision how the heaven collapsed and was borne off and fell to the earth. And when it fell to the earth I saw how the earth was swallowed up in a great abyss, and mountains were suspended on mountains, and hills sank down on hills, and high tees were rent from their stems, and hurled down and sank in the abyss. .the earth is destroyed."34 Babylonian Enuma Elish epic of the battles of Tiamat and Marduk seems to ‘Venus and Mars. On a destructive rampage, Tiamat had brought her many children on an unstoppable course across the Earth, “Tiamat our mother has grown angry with us...he has convened an assembly, .angry scheming never lying down night and day. making warfare...added countless invincible weapons, gave birth to ‘monster serpents...causing them to bear auras like gods.":s ‘Venus’ (Tiamat) children may refer to ‘cometary fragments that had broken off from the main celestial body. They Would have appeared 10 obediently follow along their mother’s cometary ness the pull of earth’s gravity brought them crashing down with disastrous consequences. Vedic hymns called these terrifying brood of meteorites Maruts, deseribing them as an army. “May your march be brilliant, © Maruts...shining like snakes. May that straightforward shaft of yours, 0 Maruts, bounteous givers, be far from us, and far the stone which you hurl!”36 Although some cultures like the Greeks, Sumerians, and Phoenicians perceived a ‘mother with her children --to the Vedic and Austronesian ancestors, they were troops marching tirelessly onward as they followed the god of War. Chinese historian Sima Qian wrote of the War god Chi You and his army, who had defeated Gong Gong and invaded his territory --another celestial body who had wreaked havoc during the «great Deluge. “In ancient times GongGong and Zhuan Xu fought, each seeking to become the thearch. Enraged, they crashed against Mount Buzhou; Heaven’s pillars broke: the cords of Earth snapped. Heaven tilted in the northwest, and thus the sun and moon, stars and planets shifted in that direction, Earth became unfull in the southeast, and thus the watery floods, and mounding soils subsided in that direction.” Chi You who had been undefeated in numerous battles was capable of ereating a fog so dense that his enemies lost their way. The War god Chi You was assisted by the Earl of the Winds and Marshall of the Rains. As a large comet passing close to earth, Venus may have been surrounded by thick clouds of smoke, gas, and dust. Its proximity to our planet would have caused atmospheric disruptions that may have included rain and powerful winds. Quetzaleoatl was also known as the Wind God Ehecat! Only when the Yellow Emperor teamed up with the Flame Emperor, and assisted by various heavenly beings, that Chi You was finally conquered. According to some ands, it was Yin Long, a Wi inventor of metallurgy, Chi You's weapons were thrown to earth where they became forests, and his limbs were scattered among many tombs, The book MenQ Bitan tells of a tomb “from which red vapour emanated that even coloured the salt of the salk lake of Xiezhou.”s» Legends say that after Chi You’s death, it rained blood for some time, Red rain has been documented in connection with meteors vapotizi ‘when entering carth’s atmosphere, while the scattering of Chi You's body and ‘weapons can easily be seen to describe the stones falling from the sky. “The Tale of Heike mentions a comet "of the type called Chiyou's Banner or Red Breath.” Ancient civilizations considered the celestial gods to have been conquered or killed when they were sufliciently “injured”, If daring the ‘battle’ sizable chunk had chipped off or numerous cometary fragments had fallen or if the celestial body appears to have been made to go away. Chi You was one of the oldest gods that over time had been humanized to the point that many different peoples and tribes claim him as their ancestor, including the ie Li tribes, the Zhong Li, and the Nine Yi tribes, The diverse groups of the Hmong people, the San Miao, the Man peoples of the South, and Eastern Yi, all claim him as their ancestor deity. He is even seen as one of the founding fathers of China. This controversy may be resolved when we understand that Chi You could have been a deified celestial body feared and revered in ancient times by all these people groups. The tribes of Chi You, or more appropriately, the tribes who worshipped Chi You as 4 god in the third millennium BC, “developed near the present-day borders of Shandong, Hebei, and Henan, and expanded towards the west.” This area was home to several Neolithic jade cultures, including the Hemudu Culture, seen 2s the Austronesian mother culture, and the Liang7iu Culture that has been found to have a deep phylogenetic connection to Austronesians. As populations of the non-Chinese tribes grew, tervitorial disputes and infringement over the lands of the Yellow Emperor and Red Emperor may have escalated to full scale wars. Myths tell us that tribes who followed the god of War were undefeated in Nine major battles and over 80 minor skimishes, possibly due to advancements in metallurgy that afforded them superior armor and weapons. War god Chi You was ‘beheaded’ in the 10th battle, and his people were scattered and forced to find other lands. ‘The Eastern Yi and the Nine Vi (the many Yi tribes), linked to the Austronesian-Ligngzhu Culture, which may have established a central port capital in the Philippines, claimed ties to Chi You ~a celestial god who seems to have been revered in conjunction ith their primary ancestor deity. Myths tell us that planet Venus was viewed as both the destroyer of the previous aze, and the creator of the new one. A strange description of Chi You comes from the “lost book Guicang SBI, {quoted in the encyclopaedia Chuxueji )BAC, said that Chi You had eight arms and eight feet..."¥2 The eight pointed star (figure 11) has been used as «symbol of Venus in Mesopotamian civilizations. Eight pointed stars made of highly magnetic black Nephrite jade have been found in the Philippines (figure 12) along with other similarly worked Neolithic jade artifacts. The Philippine artifact has a double eight pointed star, the inner star may have been seen as eight ams and the outer star as eight feet. Figure tt Eigh! point Stor, ancien: symto\ of Venus Hames Clark. Tae Bul of Heaven |” The Classical Astrologer. 2021) Figure 12, Eignt pointed Say, Blactskin Jade with high ito content, Philppines. Dameter:72.cm Woight:127 gVariations of the eight pointed star symbol may appear as flower petals or even four intersecting lines that result int eight projections (figure 13). These eight pointed celestial symbols used for Venus in the ancient world have been called Sun, Star, Celestial Wheel and Lightning Wheel. In Southeast Asia itis known as the Dhammajak, Wheel of Dharma, and Dharmachakra where itis still one of the eight ‘most important symbols for Jainism, Hinduism, and Buddhism. As the Wheel of ‘encompasses creation and destruction, life and death. ‘Variations of the eight pointed star have been found on nephrite jade artifacts, particularly in relation to the bull or homed animal imagery (figures 14, 15). jode artifacts of a bull with the eight pointed star of Venus between its horns may have represented an important Austronesian Philippine deity. “In some sources, Chiyou had certain features associated with various mythological bovines: his head was that of a bull with owo homs..."% ‘The Age of Taurus, when the Bull of Heaven rose from the Vemal Equinox (4300 BC-2150 BC) would theoretically cover the period of the destruction and reconstruction of the world after the Deluge. During this age many civilizations recognized planet Venus as the *Ruler’ of Taurus. The planet Venus was also known as the Morning Star and the Evening Star. “At the superior conjunction, Venus is on the far side of the Sun, with the Sun standing exactly between the Earth and Venus. This was seen as her descent into the underworld, from which she was resurrected as the Morning Star. This is rich with significance, First of all, Venus is the ruler of Taurus. Moreover, Taurus is the noctumal expression of Venus.” ss Figure 13 Eight pointed star Varatons Figure 14, (op) Eight panied Star on Grey green Nephvite Jade Bull'Carabao' Phippines. Length: 7.8 em, Height 2.3 on, Weight: 72 9 Figure 45. (et) Eight pointed Star on White Neptite Jade staned red Bull head omament Phiigpnes, Length: £3 om, Height: 54cm, Weight 199 Austronesian Tagalog myth tells of the goddess Talass who was the Morning and Evening Star, She is credited for the ‘reation of the traditional Tagalog constellations. Ancient mariners relied ‘on the goddess Tala fo guide them through the night with the celestial orbs of light to bring them to safe harbors, ‘The significance of the guiding goddess to the maritime people on their long voyages through open waters cannot be ‘over emphasized. In another myth from the Philippines, the gocldess Tala identifies herself as the Evening Star that notifies the rest of the stars when it is safe to come out at night. Tala, the eldest daughter of the moon Jeads and protects the constellations from being consumed by the Sun.is Kapampangan is an Austronesian language whose mythology holds that it was the bright star Tala who brought Wet rice farming to the islands.46 Knowing the correct time for ri cultivation and harvesting is crucial to the survival of the community. And this knowledge was made available through careful observation of the celestial mechanies. Thus, itis apparent that a deep understanding of astronomy was available to the peoples of prehistoric Philippines who have been cultivating rice since Neolithic times. Many of the myths regarding Tala “Bright Star’, were shared across India and the Malay Peninsula. For those who may be confused between the male and female portrayals of the planet Venus in Austronesian myth, it may help to understand that the Austronesian language does not ‘emphasize gender in most expressions. In Tagalog, “brothers and sisters’ are simply *kapatid’, “kings and queens’ use the genderless *hari’, ‘she and he” becomes ‘siya’. The most ancientAustronesian Celestial Gods Austronesian myths regarding the planet that ruled over the age of Taurus may not There are times when an active comet's have been linked to any specitie gender. Planet Venus nestled between the horns of the Bull of Heaven, where she passes and dust around th along her heavenly joumey was graphically shown in Egyptian art (figure 16). Isis comet that glows b (Venus) was shown with the planetary orb cradled within the homs of a bull. coma forms an elliptical cloud of gas e main body of the ight as it enters the Solar System and is heated by the Sun Compare her crown to that wom by a statue of Chi You (figure 17) revered by the Seen from earth, it may appear like a Hmong people. Similar to the Egyptian Isis Chi You's crown has a central object horned beast in the heavens. positioned between two horns. Compare to a jade homed beast statue found in the Many examples of a myst tial disk nestled between its two homs (fig Philippines with a cel Figure 16, Isis (Verus) wth Solar Disk between ern. lames Clark. “The But of Heaven | The Classical Astrologer 2021} Figure 17. State cf Chi You, Hmong & Miao [Joyce Boy, “Ont You Cs.” Civilisation ae History. 2021. ious ‘Horned Beast’ made of Nephrite Jade have been found by archzeologists in China’s Neolithie jade working cultures, The homed bull faced beast was most ‘commenly shown with an anthropomor- -phic body sitted in what ancient texts alled the FEHE/4E "Winnowing Basket Sitting Position” ‘wherein bent legs slightly spread out while sitting with the buttocks touch the seat or the ground, This ‘barbarian sitting position has been ascribed by texts to the Austronesian-Yi people, and is still a common sitting position used by numerous Austronesian communities today, Numerous jade homed anthropo- morphic bovine figure artifacts have been found on the Philippines, made with Neolithic earving technologies and style like that of the Jade Cultures in stern region of ancient China ures 19 & 20), Sitting position was a very important marker of different cultures. Classical China looked down on this type of iting position. They considered the kneeling position with buttocks resting on their heels as much more civilized (figure 21), likely due to the ease of transitioning to bowing and kneeling to superiors when necessary. Figure 18, ‘Antheopomomphic Bul of Heaven with Colestial Bi disk between its hems. Black groen nephrte jade with high iron content, onzed red. Two low fale! caracters an Sk Height 25cm, Length: 88 cm, Weight: 1 881 ko| Austronesian Myth or History? Book 4G Chock, 2021 Out of the Flood (grd Millennium BC) a = Figure 19. wnte jade nomned beast stained redeien brown Philippines. Length: 2 om, Height: § cm, Weight: 60 9, ‘nails Translucent white jace Figure 20. kneeling Chinese official Black jade Philpginos. homed beast Length: 26 em, Philipines, Height 6.3 om Length: 35 om, Wight: 33.9 Hight: 8.7 em, wieght: 104 9, The most unusutal description of Chi You, found in “The book Shuyifi say that he had a human body, but birds feet, Four eyes and six feet, and a hom upon his head." ‘Wouldn't it be interesting to find an ancient jade artifact in the Philippines matching this description? Actually we have just that (figure 23). The homed \warrior in pale green jade has a human body with clawed bird’s feet. The figure has four eyes, two on his head and two on his wing-like arms that transform into bird’s heads. Six feet could be represented by the six points of the two, three pronged claws. A similar figure to the Philippine artifact has been found among Zhou dynasty period artifacts ) that may indicate that this imagery was used around 4000 years ago. I's not unusual to find Austronesian-Liangzhu Culture Jade arti isks and Cong tubes) in Late Shang to Zhou dynasty tombs, Figure 22. Professor George Rawlinson considered Genesis 10 “the most authentic record that we possess for the affiliation of nations...in accordance with the earliest classical traditions, and with the latest results of modern comparative philology.”s2 According to the book of Genesis, after the Deluge, the world was divided and repopulated by the three sons of Noah: Shem, Ham and Japheth. They are called Cronos, Titan and lapetus in the Sibylline Chronicles. The three sons of Manu bom before the Deluge were called Sharma, C’harma, and Jyapeti in Vedic texts Toldoth Beni Noah” noted that it was from the descendants of Japheth who traditionally recieved the Northen part of the world, above the Mediterannean Sea, from Europe to China, that “the coastlands of the nations were separated into their lands, every one according to his language, aecording to their families, into their nations."» Tarshish was among the sons specified who were to reside in the waterways. Note that they were not a nation with coastlands, but they would live in the coastlands of the nations. Implying that they would be fine living with another “nation’ or “family”, as long as they were siven the lands beside the waters. This, Millions rely on the Ganges River that courses through India and Bangladesh Could this river have been a prehistoric public works project? Ancient Sumerian texts fell of Utu who \was sent in response to the land of Dilmun, possibly present day Bahrain, to help in resolving their water issues, Utu was able to direct the waters into large reservoirs, purify the waters and provide a flow of fresh water, & caused the fields to be irrigated. His works made the land of Dilmun habitable.ss ‘These histories or myths were handed down and passed on to people who were very close to the event horizon, some of whom may have actually been there to work on the projects. If these events had been fiction, they would have easily been refuted by the general community there and then. But the fact that these records were kept and treasured, passed cn from generation to generation should give us reason to pause and consider their veracit Archaeologists discovered the earliest hydrological enterprise in China from 5,100 years ago, around the same time that these civilization builders claimed to have accomplished these wonders of hydrological engineering,Starting Over ‘The Austronesian-Liangzhu Culture site has been described as a hydraulic complex that “one of the largest efforts of hydraulic landscape engineering in the ancient world.”ss The site developed around the 3rd Millennium BC in the Lower Yangtze River area was a salty marshland with deep marine deposits of layers of grayish clay. A sedimentary layer that seems to indicate that prior to their construction, the land had been inundated by a flood of seawater. Both inside and surrounding the city, natural river channels were augmented by a network of artificial moats, ditches, and canals, in total messuring about 30 km in lengih”o: Fight water gates controlled the water levels within the walled city, 51 rivers so far have documented, along with several sophisticated miulti-ievel dams and levees. Scientific dating shows that the high dams were made first, then the low dams and levees, before the construction of the walled city. The planning behind such large scale and organized construction projects leading to a unified goal that required the mobilization and support of thousands of workers indicates a remarkable level of political and religious control in this early age. It seems that central planning had started long before the first stone was laid in the walled city In fact the dams, rivers and canals were useful for city building, as stones sourced from the high mountains were transported via the waterways, “The immensity and internal complexity of the hydraulic system and city at Liangzhu undoubtedly required advanced planning, design, and logistics in construction, operation, and continual maintenance.”ss Thus, when the Austronesian -Liangzhu communities left around 2250 BC, the site was overcome with layers of yellowish clay representing numerous flooding events that began around 2200 BC. Figure 37, cone photooraph of Binuangan Island, ala geometric platform made of compacted hard soilwith squore eu store foundations. The locse sol ercund Muzon River haul eroded Under the pcuncing waves of Mania Bay, leaving wals that nad drecc its currents. Photo by Le arthur Aeeh Tu ‘Could this impre site have been made as a temporary ‘center of operations as they planned and constructed their massive central port city in the Philippines? Modelled on their 300 ha walled central city for the lite that governed numerous satellite ‘communities, could the central city in the Philippines have assisted in the establishment of Austronesian ‘communities in the islands and ‘coastlands of the nations? To the Austronesian-LZ communities, the rivers and seas were the roads easily travelled by their advanced maritime vessels. The waters were not an obstacle but the pathways that would connect their intemational network. (On May 31, 2018 a formal expedition \was organized by the Kasysayan Hunters team that included archaeologists, researchers, and members of the academic community to present sites from Manila Bay to Bulacan where large ancient man-made structures and walls that had been dug out by the violence of the waters were exposed. There were massive walls that went on as far as the eye could see, Black Sand islands almost a kilometer long enclosed by walls, Large geomettic-shaped platform islands, and augmented waterways. As the soil around the rivers were ‘washed away by brackish Manila Bay waters, the river should naturally merge and lose itself in the larger body of water. What no one anticipated was the presence of walls along both sides of numerous rivers and ereeks. Earthen walls were observed along Kalayaan (Creek and numerous unnamed creeks and waterways along Binuangan, Lawa, Hulo and San PascualThere were walls directing the paths of Batasan River, Muzon River, Dampalit As the Austronesian speaking peoples River, Tullahan River, Meycauayan River, and Santa Maria River. And these may set up colonies on the islands, the Just be the tip of the iceberg. In Balagtas Bulacan many kilometers away, aerial would bring seeds for cultivation and photos taken by a drone piloted by Lt. Arthur Archie Tiu clearly revealed rammed domesticated animals. Studies ‘earth walls sticking out about a meter from the soil, following the course of the river, Chicken DNA reveal that the Locals in Balagtas tell stories of how many have drowned because unlike the Austronesian dispersion across the natural way of rivers, there are no sloping banks along its sides. Instead like a tall Pacific in Polynesia and Micronesia wall, the river has a sudden drop of 3 to 5 meters. Residents had gotten used to this originated from the Philippines. fact and no longer found anything strange about it. Much study needs to be made “Two modem specimens from the regarding the scope of the hydrological complex that may haye covered most of Philippines carry haplotypes similar to Luzon and even areas that are now under water. Fishermen recount seeing walls _the ancient Pacific samples, providing that continue far out under the waters of Manila Bay. Structures like those noted, _clues about 2 potential homeland for the have been reported to us for as far away as the coastal regions of Northern Luzon. Polynesian chicken.”»s The Philippines ‘was the only Island Southeast Asian Another important function of the Austronesian-LZ Culture hydrological complex location where this ancestral chicken wvas to ensure the cultivation oftrice. The hydrological system included irrigation _ line was detected in Camiguin and and flood controls to manage the proper water levels for abundant and consistent Manila, confirming other lines of harvest. In the Cordillera Mountain range of Luzon, rice terraces with ingeniously evidence connecting the Philippines to engineered hydrological irrigation systems cover 10,360 square kilometers. Above carly Austronesian orig the terraces are man-made forests shown to capture rainwater which was gradually ironically appropriate that the maritime released. The maximum capacity of operation may have been in the distant past, _travels of the humble ‘Chicken’ would since less than half of the original agricultural network survives today. “Banaue’s _play a part in recording Austronesian original 40,470 hectares of rice producing paddies yielded enough food to feed Bird Tribe history. several million people ata time when conventional archaeologists believed that humans throughout the whole Pacific mumbered fewer than 100,000."%s Departing from the Central Austronesian Port City in the Philippines, Austronesian speaking communities would have been socially organized and provided with every thing they needed to establish their communities. Myths from Vietnam says that Figure 38. Transivcent their Founding Father had travelled West to their land, Note that the island of Luzon, vyelon geen jade Philippines is the first place you will hit directly east of Vietnam. In the 3rd_ Giceuro: eo Millennium B.C. Vietnam had formed States that cooperated io construct - tobase. ripoines systems to prevent flooding from the Red River. “The Red River valley formed a Height 46 cm natural geographic and economic unit, bounded to the north and west by mount mca and jungles, to the east by the sea and to the south by the Red River Delta."os Genetics seem to corroborate the Austronesian dispersion launched from the Central Port city in the Philippines when, “On 16 January 2020, the personal genomics ‘company 23andMe added the category “Filipino & Austronesian” after customers with no known Filipino ancestors were getting false positives for 5% or more “Filipino” ancestry in their Ancestry Composition report (the proportion was as high as 75% in Samoa, 71% in Tonga, 68% in Guam, 18% in Hawaii, and 34% in Madagascar).”s7 It scems that the prehistoric Austronesian dispersion from the Pacific to the coasis of Afriea was indelibly written in our DNA.The Phoenix in the Palace (mid 3rd Millennium BC to 2250 BC) Figure 90. ‘nien’ character Almost 3,000 years of Austronesian Bird Tribe history was encapsulated by the for Huai Yi #698 Husinanzi in this eryptic text. “[In the time of] the “tivo ancients,” (FuXi and Shen Nong) a phoenix came to the palace. During the Three Dynasties (Xia, Shang and ’ W. Zhou), it came to the gate. In the Zhou (Easter Zhou), it came to the meadow. e As Potency became coarser, the phoenix kept itself more distant; As Potency becomes more refined, the phoenix will approach more closely."» Pi 3 v Described as a collection of treatises or an encyclopedia of sorts, the Huainanzi 3809 literally translates to “Sons of the Southern Water Bird Tribes’. A Bird flying over owing waters (figure 39) was the ancient character used for Huai Yi, aname that may have been used in China to referto the foreign Austronesian Bird Tribes (Read more in The Austronesian Story in Westem Zhou Bronze). R ‘The Phoenix was considered the chief of all the birds, and its appearance was seen as a sign of peace and prosperity. Civilizations recognized the Phoenix as a creature of justice, loyalty, and obedience. Austronesian iird Tribes who had appropriated the Phoenix as their totem was a powerful force in ancient times. Egyptian myth linked the Phoenix with the rising and setting Sun, fiom the eastern to western end of the world. Following the path of the Sun over the tropical to subtropical regions of the earth, the Austronesian language family faithfully spread out. Chinese equate the Vermillion Phoenix with the South. The Philippines, located in the eastern edge of the ancient world where the Sun rises, a land to the South of China, seems a likely candidate as homeland for this creature. Myths, legends, and histories allow glimpses into the past and why things are @s they are now. Pan Gu 8% literally translates to ancient plate’, But the Classical script contains much more information. Character for Pan £8 is composed of # “boat” and & ‘stal¥” or “lance” which connotes a “shepherd! or ‘ruler’. Under this combination of characters is “dish’ or ‘sacrificial vessel”. Th name carries the idea of the ancient one Rulers of the New Age who came from the boat to shepherd the people, serving as a sacrificial vessel One of the most confusing things about ancient texts and myths are the many names given to the same person. Like in the Dionysiaea that describes the deeds of Dionysus then in the same breath talks about a person named Bacchus, which would be confusing if you didn’t know that they were actually one and the same. So far several names given to the Patriarch of the Flood had been discussed. In China alone, he went by Fu Xi, Mi Xi, Pao Xi, Tai Hao, and Xi Huang. He was also y54e came new names, Noah beeame the known as Pan Gu who was “considered to be the fits living being and creator of the jeyendary Leader of the New Age and world, Emerging from an egg containing the entire cosmos, his birth released the a5 recognized asthe First Emperor universe.”ico The ‘egg’ or the ark did actually contain all that they would need (0 Ruler of Heaven, Phoenicians ealled restart their world fiom every seed to cultivate, every animal to propagate, and ie OMe while he Geese lel every human that would populate the earth. Similar to the myths of the Austronesian ry Uranus -both names mean *Heaven” Bird tribes that describe the vessel from which the first humans, animals and seeds G4; came out from as an egg. As tribes dispersed over the earth by family and language to establish and build their nations in the territories allotted to each one, the Patriarch of the Flood took on a new role, and with the a knew him as the Jade Emperor, the Heavenly Emperor.