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SYMBOLISM OF THE EAST & WEST H. MURRAY-AYNSLEY Symbolism of the East and West By Mrs Murray- Aynsley With Introduction by Sir George C. M. Birdwood, m.d., k.c.i.e., c.s.i., ll.d. With Plates and other Illustrations ^ London George Redway 1 900 — — ' As compressed within the bounded shell Boundless Ocean seems to surge and swell, Haunting echoes of an infinite whole Moan and murmur through Man's finite soul."- Mathilde Blind. " In a symbol there is concealment and yet revelation, silence and speech acting together, some embodiment and revelation of the infinite, made to blend itself with the finite, to stand visible and, as it were, attainable there." Thomas Carlyle. "Then knew I that he had given me the symbols of the four quarters of the earth, and of all the worlds of the universe ; the stone for the North, the sword for the East, the spear for the South, and the cup for the West."— Fiona Macleod. ' Our spirits have climbed high, » * * * * And from the top of sense, looked over sense To the significance and heart of things Rather than things themselves."— Elizabeth B. Browning. STACK ANNEX C3 j-75 PREFACE My knowledge of India began twenty-one years ago, and almost the half of this interval has been spent in wanderings over that vast continent, from Cape Comorin in the South, to Peshawar on our Northern frontier ; a large portion of the remainder has been occupied in European travel, dur- ing which I always sought for, and noted in museums and elsewhere, any objects or customs bearing upon Eastern Symbolism. Since their original appearance in the Indian Anliq2iary much has been added to these papers relative to Folk-Lore and Folk-Customs in Europe. One of the results of the present increased facilities of locomotion has been a growth of new ideas in various countries, and especially in some hitherto isolated districts ; thereby many curious old customs and superstitions (of much assistance to us in tracing; the connection between East and West) are doomed to speedy extinction. No time is to be lost, then, by travellers who would witness and record their existence. It would seem, therefore, most desirable to stimulate research in this direction, and by the publication of a work like the present, to enable the individual traveller to recognise any ancient customs or symbols he may meet with. In the following pages I have to some extent brought together the results of laborious researches made by various students, but I hope also that some of the ideas and features of my work will be found to be new ones. Their chief object VI Preface is to furnish a collection of facts, bearing upon customs and symbols in particular, gathered during many journeys in various lands, and of Folk-Lore in general, as shown in many superstitions still abiding, even in England ; and I pro- pose also to illustrate this work with drawings of the different symbols, to assist those who may not be able to wander as far as I have done to prosecute further researches into the most interesting, but to a great extent, unsolved problem of the origin of certain peoples and races in Europe and elsewhere. HARRIET G. M. MURRAY-AYNSLEY. Srinagar, Kashmir, September 1896. —— CONTENTS CHAPTER I INTRODUCTORY PAGE Supposed date of commencement of Stone Age—Aryan and Non-Aryan races Stone Age—Bronze Age and Iron Age—Scandinavia did not receive Chris- tianity till the eleventh century—Bearded and non-bearded races— Similarity of type and feature between the Eskimo and the people of the Spiti Valley in the Himalayas—Dress of the women in the Kulu Valley (Western Himalayas) and of the Bedouin women in the Sahara—Great similarity in the colours and designs of the needlework of various races —Dances of Ladakh and the Devil's Comedies of the Tyrol ........ 1-13 CHAPTER n SUN WORSHIP Sun-Worship, probably the most ancient of all superstitions— It still exists in Hindostan— Eclipses of the Moon— How regarded in India—Traces of the same feeling in the British Isles —Tyrolese superstitions about the Moon— Fire- Worship—A form of Sun-Worship — Persian Sun Worshippers— Worship of the Sun-god Mithra—Sun, Fire, and Snake- Worship intimately connected—Passing through fire, practised in India—By the Hebrews also — Analogous customs in Brittany and the British Isles — Le Retour du Soleil .... 14-2S CHAPTER HI SUN AND CUP AND MOON SYMBOLS The Sun styled the Eye of Varuna, the god of the clouds and of the sea—Two Rajput races of India call themselves children of the Sun and of the Moon— Singular prehistoric monuments in the Maisur State —The Eastern aspect given to the doors of Hindi'i temples —The Orientation of Christian Churches —European customs regarding "the way of the Sun"—Sun symbols most numerous in Northern lands—Examples of Sun symbols—Wizard's Drum from Lapland Cup (or Moon) markings in Brittany—Sun and Moon or Cup markings in Kashmir, in India, and in the British Isles ..... 29-45 — viii Contents CHAPTER IV THE SVASTIKA PAGE The Svastika an emblem of the Sun—Typical also of Fire— Used in Hindu temples at the present day to kindle the sacred fire—Also by the Greeks and Romans down to a late period—This symbol found on ancient Egyptian articles of common use— Discovered in the ruins of Troy, and used in Spain at the present day, as well as in Scandinavia and other parts of Europe during the so-called cinque-cento period—The various forms assumed by the Svastika— It was the special emblem of Thor, the Scandinavian god of fire and of lightning and thunder—A phase of Sun and Fire symbolism existing now amongst us—The Svastika on Central Asian carpets—Note on the Svastika by Major R. C. Temple .......... 46-62 CHAPTER V SOME CONNECTING LINKS BETWEEN THE TAU OF EGYPT, THE CROSS AS A HEATHEN AND A CHRISTI.\N SYMBOL, AND THE H.^MMER OF THE SCANDINAVIAN GOD THOR The TAU recognised on various Continents as a sacred symbol —Also amongst savage races—The iaii, a form of the Cross in England in the seventeenth century—The Cross as a pre-Christian symbol both in Southern and in Central America—The Greek Cross known to the mound builders of St Louis, and also in Ohio, U.S.A. —Astronomical signs and symbols used by aboriginal Indian tribes in North America, and adopted as a means of communication by different tribes when difference of language was a bar to nearer intercourse Scandinavian sjTnbolism —Scandinavia became Christian in the eleventh century — Its peoples retained for a time the Sun symbols belonging to their former faith —Their great god Thor—His hammer both a tau and a cross—The Maoris of New Zealand—An Indian myth and belief ..... 63-76 CHAPTER VI SACRED STONES The sacred stones of the Saiva and Vaishnava sects—The Vaishnavas and the Jains worship the impression of the soles of two feet — Stone Worship in Kashmir A box of lucifer matches offered to the impression of Vishnu's foot at Gaya in Bengal—Before Muhammad the ancient Arabs paid reverence to a stone called AUat— Stone Worship not unknown in Europe as late as the eleventh century Forbidden in England in the seventh, tenth, and eleventh centuries, and at Tours in the sixth century—Spherical or oval stones exhibited for sale at Benares—Curious Japanese legend —Stone circles and Monoliths in India, Britt.iny. and the Channel Islands—Stones still reverenced in Brittany—The Tibetan J/fl«!j or walls of sacred stones ...... 77-99 — —— Contents ix CHAPTER VII SOME IDEAS ABOUT THE FUTURE LIFE PAGE Wide-spread belief that the soul has to undergo a process of purification — Ancestor worship in India —Ancient and modern Greece—Great Britain the Land of Souls —The dead must pass over water, or over a perilous causeway, or a sharp bridge —This idea common to savage peoples, as well as to Hindus and Muhammedans —A dog the necessary attendant on the dead —Dogs are kept in the Buddhist monasteries in Ladakh, in order that they may eat the bodies of the dead Muhammedan idea that absolution is necessary after death for sins done in the body —This notion held by Greek Christians also — Poetical idea of the Tyrolese re- garding the saving of a Soul— Customs of the Laplanders—Of the natives of the Fiji Islands—Hindu ascetics — Their performance of Dharna — Burman and Egyptian customs as regards funerals ..... 100-109 CHAPTER Vni SACRED TREES Tree on Persian carpets —The two sacred trees of India — Tietro dclla Valle's descrip- tion of a banian-tree at Cambay— Sacred tree in the Fort at Allahabad — Sacred trees of Scandinavia —The Deodara, the sacred tree of the Himalayas—The cypress and the palm sacred to the Mexicans — Gospel Oaks in England —Trees used as lioundaries— Herefordshire customs regarding trees—Tyrolese customs and legend— Propitiatory offerings to trees and other objects in India and in Europe — In Asia — Holed stones or trees are used to typify a new birth of the Soul— In Europe—The healing or new birth of the Body . 1 10-125 CHAPTER IX SNAKE WORSHIP Snake worship found over the length and breadth of India—The head-dress of the women of Ladakh — Superstition in Coorg regarding the Cobra—German-Swiss legend of the viper —Snake worship in Maisur—Certain Rajputs believe in their immunity from snake bite—Arizona, its snake dances —Japanese Legend of the Snake goddess—La Sirena of Naples— Holy water stoup at Larums, Pyrenees France—Traces of snake worship not numerous in Europe—Singular customs in the Abruzzi—Tyrolese and Swiss tales about snakes .

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