Ancient Goths: Worship of nature or animist sites in Asia, Europe and in the Nordic & Russian areas

Tuesday, 9 February 2010

Worship of nature or animist sites in Asia, Europe and in the Nordic & Russian areas

Photos and text about Buddhist (Animist?) worship place in Gandhara: The Gandharan Civilization

Tashinlhunpo Mahayana Buddhist Pilgrims in Tibet

Tashinlhunpo Pilgrims
Originally uploaded by reurinkjan

Jens Andreas Friis wrote that the Laplander people in the Nordic areas worhipped pictures of deities and snakes (reptiles): En sommer i Finnmarken, Russisk Lapland og Nord Karelen (1880). The text is in Danish language.

Sami people's worship of the thundergod in Porsanger, first part of 1700s by Knud Leem.
Knud Leem was from 1725 the second christian missioner in Porsanger, Finnmark (Norway), before him was Rasmus Rachlew from 1718 - 1722: Knud Leems Beskrivelse over Finmarkens Lapper: deres tungemaal, levemaade og forrige avgudsdyrkelse By Knud Leem, Johan Ernst Gunnerus, Erik Johan Jessen, 1767.

Sami people of the Nordic areas, worship of Gods in nature. From Picarts work about the religons of the world, 1600 - 1700s.

”Cérémonies et coutumes religieuses de tous les peuples du monde” by Bernard Picart, 1724-25.

Take a closer look at the illustrations in the book by Bernard Picart Ceremonies et Coutumes. Volume 4 Image Index

Sami people worship seita. Picart, 1600 - 1700s.

Laplander people worshipping in front of a prayer banner. Picture by Olaus Magnus 1555.

India:

Prayer flags in the Ladakh mountains
Originally uploaded by Joyce McClure

Prayer flags, gompas and the ever present mountains. Flickr photo by Laughing Buddha, 2005

Metal poles and gompa in Sikkim, India. Pelling monastery. Photo by Carol Mitchell, 2005

Chorten and prayer flags Druk Path Trek, Bhutan. Flickr Photo by jmhullot, 2008

The Stupa also known as Chorten, is a Buddhist monument which represents Buddhas body. Lamayuru, Ladakh, Leh, India. Photo by rutu.r, 2009

The prayer room
Originally uploaded by tashimaiya in Tibet

Ancient Rome, Pompeii before 79 CE. Offering of a boar, a ram, a bull that are to be killed, and then part of the flesh will be burned on the altar to please the Gods. Picture from Buried Cities, Part 1, Pompeii by J. Hall (1922). The Nordic Laplanders did the same type of offerings as can be seen from the Sami "runebomme" that are religious drums with sacred symbols.

A rare painted depiction of Roman men wearing togae participating in a religious ceremony (probably the Compitalia) where they are offering animals. Fresco on a building outside Pompeii, Italy.

Pay attention to the Asian appearance of these ancient Greeks. Ancient 6th c. BC representation of an animal sacrifice scene in Corinth.The plaque represents a procession to an altar to sacrifice a lamb to the sound of the flute and the lyre. Dedication to Thanksgiving (Charity) is shown with the names of Euthydika, Eukolis, Etheloncha and on the side, the name of the painter whose still not as origin, Corinthian. Around 540-530 BC. AD National Archaeological Museum of Athens, No. 16,464." Photo downloaded by PD-ART.

Fire alter worship. Indo-Parthian stone palette. Ancient Orient Museum. Photo by World imaging 2006.

In the footsteps of Alexander the Great: A video from Kalash where you can see how they worship nature Gods with offering blood:

BBC - In the footsteps of Alexander (The Kalash) 23.

You can see the rest of the series at Youtube: In the footsteps of Alexander The Great.

The ancient people of the Nordic and western Russian areas offered deer blood to their Gods, they where the ancient Laplanders and Goths of Northwestern Europe. The Goths likely came to the Nordic during Iron Age a few hundred years before the common era.

History about the ancient history in the Nordic is rewritten and redefined by the later Protestant Christian colonizers starting after the reformation in the 1520's. However there are are a few old texts about the practicing of pre-Christian religion of the Laplanders. John Scheffer and Olaus Magnus have documented some of it, and you can find more information and literature sources in the following post of Saamiblog.

John Scheffer (1674), page 144 Chapter X: Sami men run a sharp knife through the heart of a reindeer buck and gather the blood from the heart. The image of Thor is placed on an altar and is offered to by drawing crosses with the blood on the chest of the deity. Some of the fat is also offered, and the horns of the sacrificed deer, the skull and its feet are placed behind the deity. The rest of the animal is placed in a coffer and is used in the household. The Sami offered to Thor in the autumn.

Laplander people on the Nordic areas.

Laplander people is slaughtering an offering deer.
Cérémonies et coutumes religieuses de tous les peuples du monde In English: “The ceremonies and religious customs of the various nations” , (1725) av Bernard Picart. The source of the next picture is the same.

Laplander men is offering blood to the Thunder God Thor or Thora Galles in the 1600's.

1 comment:

☆sapphire10 February 2010 at 16:38
Hello

Thank you very much for this very interesting post! I didn't know about the religion(?) based on animism in the Nordic area. So intriguing!!
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Holy Tree "Saiva Moura" - Bodhi Tree: Saraca Indica Linn

A small temple beneath the holy Bodhi tree, Bodh Gaya, c. 1810. "The Bodhi tree" is the same as the "The Asoka tree" also called "Saraca Indica Linn". It was mentioned in the Rig Vedas ca. 1000 BCE.

The name of the holy or sacred tree of the Nordic Sami people is "Saiwa Moura" i.e. "Saiva Moura". Is "Moura" related to ancient "Maurya" of India? Tree is also a symbol of a clan. There are holy trees in the Hellenistic era and in archaic Roman Empire (e.g. depicted in Naples and Pompeii). Saiwa i.e. Saiva means "holy" in Sami language. As you can see the Bodhi tree has another name with Saraca and interesting enough the fertility Goddess of the earthly level of the ancient Sami cosmology had the name Sarakka.

“Bodi” is in Sami language a conjugation of the verb "to come" in dative: bodi - bodime- bodide - bodiga - bodimek - bodidek. Source: "Ræsonneret Lappisk sproglære efter den sprogart: som bruges af fjældlapperne i Porsangerfjorden" (1832) by Rasmus Rask.

Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli (inv. nr. 147501). Da Boscotrecase, Villa di Agrippa Postumo.

The ancient spread of the Dharma & Dhamma

Dhamma missions of Asoka spread throughout the world. The ancient Maurya Empire of present day India, Pakistan and the Himalalaya areas was established 340 BCE by Chandragupta Maurya followed by Binasara, the father of Ashoka Raja (Ashoka the Great). The expansions were documented in the edicts of Raja Asoka or Ashoka of the Maurya Empire (260 – 218 BCE) which are transcribed and translated, e.g.: The Edicts of King Ashoka, Edicts of Asoka and Edicts of King Asoka. Ashoka mentions the Hellenistic kings of the period as a recipient of his Buddhist proselytism, although no Western historical record of this event remain: “The conquest by Dharma has been won here, on the borders, and even six hundred yojanas (5,400-9,600 km) away, where the Greek king Antiochos rules, beyond there where the four kings named Ptolemy, Antigonos, Magas and Alexander rule, likewise in the south among the Cholas, the Pandyas, and as far as Tamraparni (Sri Lanka)." (Edicts of Ashoka, 13th Rock Edict, S. Dhammika). (End of quote from Wikipedia: Maurya Empire - Buddhist missions to the west).

Ashoka Bindusara Maurya. Title: Samrat Chakravartin. This is a relief of a 1st century BCE leader that might be Ashoka. Andhra Pradesh, Amaravati. Musee Guimet. Photo by World Imaging, 2005.

Taxila and Nalanda

An ancient Buddhist Monastery at Jaulian, Taxila that dates back to 3rd century BCE to 3rd century CE. Photo by Waqas Usman, 2006. Read more: A guide to Taxila (1918) by Sir John Hubert Marshall (1876 - 1958). Free download book. You can see photos in my blog about: The ancient Indo-Greek Buddhist art of Gandhara.

Ancient Nalanda University in Bihar, India, some parts of it dates to the Mauryan Asoka (273 BCE -232 BCE) era. "Nalanda was the greatest seat of Buddhist learning in India. The monks of Nalanda, to the number of several thousands, are men of the highest ability" (p. 412-13). Buddhism by Monier-Williams, W. (1890). Two videos: 1) Ancient Nalanda. 2) Nalanda&Buddhism A blog about ancient Nalanda and early Buddhism and Saivism (i.e. assosiated with Shiva, also shaivism) of India: Nalanda

Saiva & Light: Ancient India and the Nordic areas

"Jul" and "Juovla" (Nordic Sami language) was a light feast in the ancient Nordic. In sanskrit the word "Jvala" means "flaming, blazing, shining, brilliant" or "javlam" means "flame, blaze, light". It is related to Sun, Shiva and Skanda worship in ancient India and surrounding countries. "Jvalanãsman" means "the sun-stone" [surya-kãnta] and "Jvãlã-linga" or "flame-linga" at the temples of Shiva. In the following video you can hear that the word "Jvalam" is pronounced as "Tjomalam". "Jumala" or "Jomala" is a general world for "God" in Nordic Finnish and Sami languages. The people of the ancient Nordic areas were light and sun worshippers. There are 465 words for "light" in the Nordic Sami language (sámegiella)

A book written in french has the title: "Traces de buddhisme en Norvége avant l'introduction du christianisme" by Christopher Andreas Holmboe (1857). The title is in English: Traces of Buddhism in Norway before the introduction of christianity.

. Indo - Tibetan / Chinese: Mantra of Arya Avalokiteshvara (Sanskrit) The text of "Mantra of Arya Avalokiteshvara namo ratnatryaye namah aryajnana sagar vairocana vyuharajaya tathagatayah arhate samyaksambuddhayah; namah sarva tathagatebhyah arhatebhyah samyaksambuddhebhyah; namah arya avaoliketshvaraya bodhisattvayah mahasattvayah mahakarunikakayah; tadyatha: om dhara dhara dhiri dhiri dhuru dhuru itiye vitiye cale cale pracale pracale kusume kusumvaraye ili mili cetam jvalam apnaye svaha.(Mid-length mantra of Arya Avalokitesvara also known as the mantra of 1000 Armed Avalokitesvara [cenrezig] ) namo amitabha!" "Jumadi" is a name that resembles the Nordic description "Jumala", in India Jumadi is a merged form of Shiva and Parvati.

Bhure Bhure - Bure Bure - Bures Bures. Bhure or Bure – Punjabi and Hindi. In Nordic Sami language (Sámegiella) "Bures, Bures" mean "Hi, Hi" or "Hello, Hello".

Place names starting with “Bure” “Bures” are found in e.g. Belgium, France, Germany, India, Iran, Israel, Mongolia, Netherlands, Pakistan, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, USA, Ethiopia and in several other African countries. Many place names start with "Bure" all over Norway and there are 66 matches of place names that starts with “Bure” in Sweden. Places with the exact name -”Bure” are for instance found in the Swedish counties: Västerbotten, Värmland, Gävleborg and Jönköping. Then there are for instance Buren, Burens, Burensvik, Bureberget and Buredal. “Bure” is a region name in Switzerland, France and Italy. In Norway places with the exact name “Bure” is found in the county of Ringerike, and there are for instance names like Bureheim, Bureken, and Buren.

Asoka: Buddhism from Asia to Scandinavia's photostream

Lapp-names: Is there a common ancient European history to be told?

In the Nordic areas there are other indications of an ancient common history such as the word "Lapp". "Lapp" is both a name of the Sami people and it is common in place names: Examples of such names in the southern parts of the Nordic countries are in Norway e.g. Lappetjørna in the county of Hordaland, in Finland e.g. Läpp in Etelä-Suomen lääni and Lappa in Urjala, and in Sweden e.g. Lapp in Stockholm County, Lappe in Södermanland and Lappabo in Småland.

The noun "Lapp" is additionally an indication that the Sami people and the Nordic history is related to a larger ancient history of Europe via place names for instance in Greece (e.g. Lappa and Lappei at Crete), in Italy (e.g. Lappano, Lappago, Lappato and Lappola), in United Kingdom (e.g. Lappie, Lappa Valley, and Lappoch Rock east of the Isle of Arran), and in Germany (e.g. Lapp Berg and Lappersdorf). Source: Wikipedia: Sami people.

“Lappion” is a region in France, and Lappach & Lappano & Lappato is region names in Italy. The surname “Lapp” is most frequent in the following countries: Highest frequencies in Germany and USA, then in France, in Canada, Switzerland, Slovenia, Hungary and Demark, Lower frequent in Argentina, India, Spain, Italy, United Kingdom/ UK, Netherlands, and in Norway. Lower frequencies e.g. in Sweden, Poland and a number of other countries. Source: Worldnames.

The Roman poet Menander was a Buddhist

Fresco of Menander found in Pompeii dates to before 79 CE

Partha Mitter writes in ”Indian Art” (2001) that judged from his scripts ”Discourses of Menander”, Menander was almost certainly a Buddhist. Mitter describes how western Hellenistic art influenced people in Asia and Asian art influenced people in the west, for instance in the buried city of Pompeii in Ancient Rome. Pliny the elder of Rome wrote that Rome was drained of gold because of unfavorable balance of trade with India (Source: Partha Mitter, 2001). Pliny the Elder was historian of the early Roman Empire born 23 CE.

Asoka (Saraca Indica Linn) – A cultural and scientific evaluation An article by Biswas, T.K. and Debnath, P.K. (1972) about the Asoka tree that was mentioned in the Rig Veda: Angivesa Caraka Samhita about 1000 BCE. According to Robert Beer: The handbook of Tibetan Buddhist symbols (2003) The Ashoka Tree is in Buddhism the same as the Bodhi or Bodi-tree.

In this site you can see Early Roman Dragon Ships, Pompeii before 79 CE.

Rigveda Samhita translated to English

Rig Veda Samhita also to German

The hymns of the Rig-Veda in the Samhita and Pada texts by Friedrich Max Müller Atharva-Veda Samhita 1 translated with a critical and exegetical commentary by William Dwight Whitney. Revised and brought nearer to completion and edited by Charles Rockwell Lanman, 1905).

Atharva-Veda Samhita 2 translated with a critical and exegetical commentary by William Dwight Whitney. Revised and brought nearer to completion and edited by Charles Rockwell Lanman, 1905.

From Iron Age in Denmark: Asian looking Silver Valkyrie

Silver Valkyrie figure with slanted eyes found in Denmark, dated to Iron Age. Exhibited at the National Museum of Denmark. Photo by :bloodofox:, May 27, 2008. Source: Wikimedia Commons file.

Ancient Greek figurine

Photo by Rama, 2009. Wikimedia Commons. (Exhibited at Louvre Museum).

Iron Age Bog Man found in Denmark, likely of ancient Nordic Goth origin

This is a Bog man found in Denmark, it is dated to Iron Age. Probably he belonged to the ancient Goths (i.e. a people of Indo-Greek- Roman origin) that had settled these areas from before the Common Era. Dating is always controversial: The Grauballe Man is dated to 290 BCE.

Two old scripts just added to one of the blogs

Oscan script and language of the Roman Samnites (Greek - Roman)

Varang Kshiti alphabet (Orissa). There are good reasons to doubt the story told in this site that the Varang Kshiti alphabet was invented by Dhawan Turi in the 13th century. If so, it likely developed from a similar scripts in the area. In old Gandhara there were scripts that to some extent resembled the form of the ancient runes in the Nordic, that is categorized as Kharosti, but is different from it.

Blogs about: Vedic Archeology Discoveries

Asoka and his missions:

King Asoka and Buddhism. Historical & Literary Studies. Edited by Anuradha Seneviratna. Buddhanet.net.

Buddhism in South Asia. India and Sri Lanka.

The history of Buddhism by Dr. C. George Boeree, Shippensburg University.

Buddhism. Our message of Peace, Non-violence abd Goodwill

Heritage of Tibet by W. Zwalf

Rishi (Sanskrit)

Samaveda

Origin of Music Sama Veda

4 Languages in the Nordic in the early 1500's: Russian, Swedish, Lappish and Götisk

The Swedish Catholic archbishop Olaus Magnus told that there were four spoken languages in the Nordic countries in the early 1500's and made the following illustration: From the left a Russian Muscovite, a Swede, a Laplander and a Geat or Goth (with the crossbow). The illustration is from a book by Olaus Magnus "Historia de Gentibus Septentrionalibus" (History of the Nordic Peoples), published in Rome 1555. Olaus Magnus was archbishop in Uppsala, Sweden: This particular picture is from the collection of Lars Henriksson.

Who were the Vikings?

A mosaic depiction of a Viking from 1040 - 1050, Nea Moni-Chios Island, Byzantine.

This illustration of Viking Varangian troops near Moscow is from the chronicle of Skylitzis, he was a Greek historian, dead c. 1100.

Where the Vikings and the ancient Goths or Göter the same as the pre-Christian Romans mixed together with local populations?

People from Ancient Rome about 250 CE.

Stele di Castionetto Italy

SLIDESHOW FROM POMPEII: EARLY ROMAN EMPIRE before 79 CE. Pompeii was in Pre-CHRISTIAN time, Christianity started to spread significantly within the Roman empire in the 4th Century CE from Judea. The Western Roman Empire fell in the 5th Century.

The Cambridge ancient history (1923)

The tetrarchs meaning "Four rules" in Greek, they were the four co-rulers that governed the Roman Empire as long as Diocletian's reform lasted. Here they were portrayed embracing, in sign of harmony, in a porphyry sculpture dating from the 4th century CE. Photo by Nino Barbieri, Wikimedia GNU file.

Classical i.e. Archaic Roman Empire art from Greece, a bronze lamp base with hooded Silenus. 50 BCE - 50 CE. Photo by Sailko, 2011.

Compare this Shakyamuni Buddha Pada with the Nordic Sami drum

Shakyamuni- Buddha Pada. Picture is from PDF lecture 9 by John C. Huntington.

Compare the stone image over with the symbols on this Norwegian Sami drum (see more in Saamiblog)

This is an image from a Sami drum confiscated in Finnmark (Norway), 1691. "Ibmel Acce" (God father) likely is Radiens’ son and is very likely identical with Odin or Woden. He is marked with the runic symbol [w] (Sigurd Agrell, 1934;117). A very similar script symbol as the W rune-sign can be seen on the Indo-Greek Buddhapada from ancient Kushan Gandhara. Buddhapada (Sakyagotrabhiksu)

Identical symbols in India BC and Iron Age Nordic and Celts

Buddhapada Amarvati India 1st Century BC/BCE. Look at the larger image of this Buddhapada and you will see exactly the same whirling sun-cross as those found in the Nordic and that are dated to Iron Age. Take a closer look (enlarged photo) at the following Buddha footprint image: Buddhapada

It is displayed at the British Museum.

buddhapada-limestone-panel-amaravati-stupa-india-1stC-BC-BritMuseum

Originally uploaded by christine.sterne

The swirling swastika symbols in this Indian Buddha footprint is IDENTICAL to those from Iron Age Nordic areas. See more such findings from the Nordic areas by scrolling down this blog.

This particular one is from Marnadal in Norway, Swastika brooch dated to ca. 300 CE.

In the Buddha footprint you can also see the resembling serpent patterns as found in Celt and Nordic ancient artefacts.

Buddha as a God of Warfare in Woden, Oden or Odin

A soldier is battling an animal. Gandhara frieze Musée Guimet. Photo by PHGCOM 2007

George Stanley Faber argues for Buddha being the same deity as Woden, Oden or Odin and that the religion of early Europe was a modification of Buddhism.

“To this conclusion it may naturally be objected, that the character of the ferocious and military Woden bears no great resemblance to that of the mild and philosophic Buddha whose religion prohibits the shedding even of animal blood. Such an objection, however plausible, admits of a sufficiently easy answer. In the first place, I know not why we are bound to suppose that the very ancient theology of the Buddhists was always distinguished by its present characteristics: On the contrary, it seems probable, that those characteristics were imposed upon it at a comparatively late period (Vide Supra, Book IV, ch. 5. § VIII.1). And, in the second place, even if we admit that the Buddhic theology was always a theology abhorrent of blood; yet, that the military tribes of Cuthic extraction in the course of a long period of erratic warfare should have transformed the mild Indian deity into the God of battles, is nothing more than might have been obviously anticipated from their peculiar circumstances. … there is sufficient evidence to prove that they are one God both in name and in person” (end of quote).

Read from page 354 to learn more….

Vol. 2, The origin of pagan idolatry ascertained from historical testimony and circumstantial evidence by George Stanley Faber, 1816. Eventually download PDF. Very relevant is chapter V in this book: page 327 - 476.

An image of the Nordic and Russian Pagan Deity that likely is Woden or Odin. Christians have redefined religion and history since the medieval and particularly after the Lutheran reformation. The ancient "pagan" Sami mythology is in the course of history made rather incomprehensible and Woden and Odin is totally absent in the descriptions. The christian priests redefined this one to be the image of the thunder god Thor or Thoragalles, in spite of the fact that the Thor deity is defined by a quite different image. Read more in Saamiblog.

Frame drum (left) Greek God Dionysos on a Throne. Painting in Casa del Naviglio, Pompeii, Italy. Archaic Roman & Greek.

Text from the book "The Mythology of all Races" by Gray.

Deutsche mythologie by Grimm & Meyer, 1854; p. 124: Wodan aus seiner himmlischen wohnung, scaut durch ein fenster sur erde nieder, vollkommen der altnordischen vorstellung gemals. Odinn hat einen Thron. (German)

Zeus the Greek God of the Gods carries a thunderbolt (Vajra) in the same way as Indian Vajrapani and protector of Buddha.

Roughly translated as: Wodan was a god in heaven, that observed what was going between humans. Odin had a throne.

European Pagan God, described as Saxon Thor. This is likely an image of Woden or Odin.

Manual of Mythology by Murray, 1898.

Buddhas on Altar from Ancient Gandhara and Sarnath

Seated Buddha from Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh, India. Exhibited at British museum

2nd century Gandhara. Tokyo National Museum. Photo by PHGCOM 2005

Buddha on an altar. Nswag, Pakistan, Gandhara, Swat Valley, Kushan Period, III century. Photo by Sailko, 2009

DSC_8323 Originally uploaded by Lightreaver

The crowned figure over is exhibited at Asian art at Musée Guimet, Paris.

Pay attention to the devotees near the feet of the sitting Buddha figures. In the Nordic and in Europe similar figures are seen in the medieval sculptures with the Roman Christian names St. Olaf (Olof) and St. Michael (Mikael) or St. Magnus. Scandianvia were first Christianized by the Romans, before the Lutheran reformation in the early 1500s. These figures likely had traditions back to the pre-Christian i.e. pagan period. Some of these are in the Nordic depicted as small people and some like for instance dragons.

Scandinavia

cruisemac

The picture over is St. Michael from the St. Olaf’s Cathedral in Trondheim, Norway.

Saint Olof or Olav in Overselo Church Sweden.The Church is clearly early Roman, established in 1200eds Originally uploaded by saamiblog St. Olof in Overselo Church that was established about 1200s in Sweden

Buddha figures found in Iron Age Scandinavia and Sun-Crosses

A Gandharan Buddha: Found among Iron Age [ca. 500 BCE (BC) - ca. 400 CE (AD)] holy objects in a settlement at Helgö Island in Sweden. Photo by Berig, 2008.

Study this Buddha, click here:

Visa föremål | Sök i samlingarna | Historiska museet

It is believed that this Buddha was imported. May be it was imported to the Nordic areas with the ancient Goth, Göter or Gotan people that settled in the Nordic a few hundred years before the Common Era. Here is another statue that might be related to the style of the Gandharan Buddha from Sweden: A religious female statue in Bronze from an Era categorized as ”Roman Iron Age” (0 – 375 CE), because of resemblance to the Roman style. It is believed that she illustrates a Roman empress. This statue is found in Gräsgård,in Öland, Sweden. Visa föremål | Sök i samlingarna | Historiska museet It is interesting that while the Gandhara Buddha is not categorised as Roman, however this statue in a similar style is.

SUN CROSS SYMBOLS

Swastika symbols were found on seals in the Indus Valley civilization from the Ravi River Phase that is dated from 3500 BCE (controversial) or for certain from 3300 BCE. Indus Valley Civilization, i.e. Harappa Civilization

Buddha found in Oseberg Vikingship Grave, Norway. Dated to 834 CE. This Buddha figure is not believed to be imported, but to be a product of the Iron Age culture in Norway.

Swastika from Wilson 1857, Chinese Potters Mark, China.

Jain Svastika, India. From Wilson 1857.

Buddha Myklebostad Norway by Arnybo, 2008 Creative commons licence. Cropped. This Buddha figure is not believed to be imported, but to be a product of the Iron Age culture in Norway. Click on the image.

Two heads and a Swastika ornament on a handle found in Løland, Lindesnes, Vest-Agder, Norway. Date c. 900 CE. Click on the photo.

Swastika cross found at Aak in Rauma, More og Romsdal, Norway about 300 CE.

Marnadal in Norway, Swastika brooch dated to ca. 300 CE.

The same type of swirling swastika symbols that were common in the Iron Age Nordic areas were also common in the Buddhist art of India several hundred years BCE and they are also found on coins for instance from Taxila.

In both these pictures you see ancient Buddhist swastika Symbols from BCE Sirkap, Taxila in present Pakistan. The Swastika symbol was commonly used by the early Buddhists.

These sun-cross symbols have an ancient history in Asia, Scandinavia and in the Middle East, America and many other places around the globe. Swastik symbols from 7000 BCE from the Geghama Mountains in Armenia. Another neolithic swastika (10000 year BCE) was found in the area of Mezin in present Ukraine. Read more in this article: Swastika origin theories

Old Musical instruments from Asia and the Nordic areas

A bronze lur from Sweden. Dated to Bronze Age. It is identical to the Indian Kombu. Read about the Kombu in the following site.

India: Wind musical instruments history

Photo from Flickr Unfort, 2009. Karnal or Karnaal and Narsinga, Narshingha or Narsiha, belong to a group of mucial instruments called Panche Baaja (s) in Nepal. Traditional Music instruments

Kombu played in Kerala

Lama musicians . Project Gutenberg. Click on the photo.

Bronze lurs in Denmark.

Buddhist Bull horn or Long horn come in different lengths and used during ceremonials. This instrument is typical for mountainous areas and resembles the Nordic Lur.

monk Originally uploaded by Saxon9

Villa del Casale Sicilia, Classical Antiquity - Roman Empire, 4th century CE. photo by Psub, 2007 Wikimedia Commons

A Sami woman Sweden playing Lur after nature by E. Edwall Stockholm 1800 eds Originally uploaded by saamiblog

Pre-Christian Crosses, Crucifixes and Trinity symbols in the Nordic and in Asia

The Cross symbol predates Buddha and Christianity. Cross ornaments were found in the ancient Harappa Indus-Valley Civilization: Indus Valley Cross.

Indo - Corinthian Capital at the Butkara stupa dated to 20 BCE or earlier. Representing a Buddhist devotee. Turin City Museum of Ancient Art.

Photo b Alun Salt, 2005. The supposed workship of Phidias at Olympia, where it is said he fashioned the cryselephantine statue of Zeus or Zevs, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

A pre-Christian cross. Detail from the ancient Greek temple of Olympia. Photo by Alun Salt, 2005.

Compare the Ancient Greek Cross seen over with the one from Iron Age (Viking era) found in Gällivare, Lapland in Sweden. Photo from Nordiska Museet in Stockholm, Sweden.

Bilden http://www.historiska.se/data/?bild=28287 som visar objektet http://www.historiska.se/data/?foremal=106676

Yliali Asp SHM

Square Coin from Taxila that probably dates back to a few hundred years BCE. On one side there is a cross symbol among other Buddhist symbols.

A coin from ancient Buddhist Era Taxila BCE. On one side there is a cross symbol and on the other an ancient symbol of Buddhist Triratna or Trinity.

SWEDEN:

Cross form silver amulet from the Iron Age, likely with religious value. This is very unlikely a Christian Cross. Visa bild Sök i samlingarna Historiska museet

Likely a religious Sun Cross Amulet from Gällivare in Lappland, the material is lead from the Iron Age. Visa föremål Sök i samlingarna Historiska museet

Crosses from graves at Birka, Sweden about 900 CE.

Cross Amulet with enamel found in Gällivare, Lappland, Sweden. Iron Age. Visa föremål Sök i samlingarna Historiska museet

Different cross amulets found in Gällivare, Lappland, Sweden from the Iron Age, ulikely that these are Christian Crosses. Visa föremål Sök i samlingarna Historiska museet

Crucifix amulet found in Gällivare in Lappland, Sweden. Iron Age, Viking Era. It is unlikely a Christian symbol. Visa föremål Sök i samlingarna Historiska museet

NORWAY:

Crosses and Beads found at Saksøy, Nord-Trondelag, Norway, 900 CE.

Cross found at Slemmedal, Grimstad in Aust Agder, Norway 900 CE.

Cross and beads found at Kaupang, Larvik, Vestfold 900 CE.

TRINITY OR TRIRATNA SYMBOLS:

Ancient Buddhist symbols from India. Two versions of Triratna or Buddhist Trinity.

Two versions of Buddhist triratna = trinity. Click the image for more information.

A trinity symbol at a Buddha Footprint from 1st Century Gandhara.

Iron Age brooch from Hedemark, Norway. This symbol was common in the Nordic during the Iron Age and resembles a triratna or trinity symbol.

Iron Age Brooch from Hurum, Buskerud, Norway. This symbol was common in the Nordic during the Iron Age and resembles a triratna or trinity symbol.

Perseus is killing medusa. A trinity symbol is seen on his garment. Drawing after a Greek vase at British Museum. See the image on the real vase here: Perseus and Medusa, 550-540 BCE Attic Greek Vase. Exhibited at British Museum

Documented by the christian priest Knud Leem in the early 1700's (published in 1767) was a offering place of the Sami in Norway, a place with X-crosses. Pay attention to the X's on the bow and raised on the stones. Similar X-crosses have been used in ancient Greece a few hundred years BCE.

The disciples of Mahavira (Jain) and Gautama Buddha

Mahavira is by the Jain Buddhists considered to be the preceptor of Gautama Buddha. Mahavira died 543 BCE. In The sacred books of the Jainas Vol. V - Gommatsara Jiva-Kanda (The Soul) (1927) Shri Nemichandra Siddhanta Chakravarti and Rai Bahadur J.L. Jaini writes: “Having bowed to the apostle Gautama (the chief apostle or Ganadhara of lord Mahavira)…” (page 838). More Sacred texts of the Jain Buddhists.

Mahavira had 11 disciples and one that he lost. All 12 disciples are listed by Mānikyachandra Jaini (1908) in Life of Mahavira:

Indrabhuti (Gotra: Gautama)

Angibhuti (Gotra: Gautama)

Vayubhuti (Gotra: Gautama)

Arya-Vyakta (Gotra: Bharadvaja)

Sudharma (Gotra: Angi Veshayana)

Manditputra (Gotra: Vashistha)

Mauryaputra (Gotra: Kashyapa)

Akampita (Gotra: Gautama)

Achal-vrata (Gotra: Haritayana)

Maitreya (Gotra: Kandinya)

Prabhas (Gotra: Kandinya)

Makkhali Gosala. This is the name of the disciple that Mahavira lost.

THE DISCIPLES OF GAUTAMA BUDDHA WILL BE ADDED LATER

People of Interest

There are clearly people with some ancient Asian descent here in the Nordic, i.e. meaning that that Europeans and Asian people have merged in the Nordic areas since thousands of years ago. The first Scandinavian Goths were likely the ones that arrived from southern Europe (e.g. Greece and Rome) in the Iron Age, with some people that descended from Asia, and these people later intermarried with the Laplander people of ancient Nordic origin. Here are some Asian people of interest:

People of Interest

Children from Jammu and Kashmir c. 1890.

The Panjab, North-West Frontier Province, and Kashmir by Sir James McCrone Douie, 1916

Kushana

Khotanese

History of Bengal

Photos of Khotan Misgar and Hunza people

Ladakh

INDIAN TRIBES H-N

Flikr: Gujarat and Jat People

Old Indian Photos Blog

Gil and Ariane's Scrap Book

Ladakhi information

Kanbi people: Gujarati history

Gujarat golden pearl of India

Kunal Khemu, Kashmiri Pandit

Kunal Khemu is an Indian Movie star that descends from Kashmiri Pandits. Kashmiri of Pakistan Information

Uygur, Yutian of China Information

Kalash child at rest Originally uploaded by curtis welsh

Kailash Valley, Northern Pakistan

Kalash Photos

Hotan Xinjiang Photos

Ancient Khotan Books

Language of the Ancient Khotan by F.W. Thomas.

Indo European Languages

Indo-Uralic languages

Sampo

Khotanese manuscripts in the British Library

Silk Road

Ancient Indian Costume: Kushan Period [130B.C. - A.D. 185]

Western China

Tibet from Project Gutenberg.

Serindia : vol.3 Detailed report of Explorations in Central Asia and Westernmost China" by Sir Aurel Stein, 1921.

Karasahr

People of Leh and Kaza

Ancient Buddhist art India, Kashmir

Read about the Khotan and Buddhism in “A history of China” by Wolfram Eberhard of the University of California. University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1969.

Page 98 - 100

Page 133 – 136: The spread of Buddhism

"The important deities of Khotan Buddhism are Vaišramana and Kubera, (research by P. Demiéville, R. Stein and others).—Where, how, and why Hinayana and Mahayana developed as separate sects, is not yet studied." (End Quote from Eberhard, 1969).

Scythia (10th - 4th c. B.C.)

Photos from Ladakh or Ladakhi in India:

THE ANCIENT PEOPLE OF GANDHARA IS VERY LIKELY THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF EASTERN AFGANISTAN & PAKISTAN, NORTH WESTERN INDIA - KASHMIR & JAMMU AND WESTERN TIBET.

Map ancient Kushan kingdom 130 BCE - 185 CE

Traditional dress of Ladakhi Changpa India

Traditional dress of Ladakhi Changpa Originally uploaded by Kungavo

A Kalash woman Pakistan

A Kalash woman Originally uploaded by imranthetrekker (chitralguy), Back from Everest

Kalash people in Zhoshi, Pakistan

zhoshi Originally uploaded by Kalash People's Development Network

Kalash girl in Zohsi, Pakistan

Zohsi Originally uploaded by Kalash People's Development Network

Parure festive chez une femme Kalash (Pakistan)

Parure festive chez une femme Kalash (Pakistan) Originally uploaded by roger.blum

Changthang woman dress Tibet

Changthang woman dress Originally uploaded by Kungavo

Pointy Shoes Originally uploaded by owilybug

Mount Kailash in Tibet

Chiu Gompa and Gang Rinpoche,Mt. Kailash,གངས་རིན་པོ་ཆེ། Originally uploaded by reurinkjan

Chiu Gompa and Gang Rinpoche

Kalash men Jabar & fluit pay singer Pakistan

Jabar & fluit pay singer are with their programs Originally uploaded by Kalash People's Development Network

Kalash man in Chitral Pakistan

beChitral1Kalashaguy2AA Originally uploaded by jitenshaman

Kalash boy in Pakistan

cousin Originally uploaded by kalasha

Girls from Chitral in Northern Pakistan

azChitral3kalashatrio1AAA Originally uploaded by jitenshaman

Indian and Himalayan folk and tribal art

Coin of Bronze found in Torslunda, Öland, Sweden. Dated to the 6th Century CE. Tierkrieger. Exhibited at the History Museum in Stockholm. Photo by Schristian Bickel, HAF 932, 2010.

Part of a helmet, bronze. From the Vendel Era, Iron Age Sweden.

Helmets and swords from Sweden, 500 - 800 CE.

Helmets and sword from Sweden, 500 - 800 CE.

Vendel Era, Iron Age Sweden.

Hvor er alle vikingtidshjelmene? by K.Wester . An illustrated article about the Viking Era Helmets in Norwegian language.

Horned helmet figure at the Cauldron found at Gundestrup, Himmerland, Jutland, Denmark. This area were earlier inhabited by the ancient Scandinavian Goths. Denmark and parts of southern Sweden were then called Dacia. Photo by fuzzypeg (2008), Wikimedia.

Banquet of the Gods by Mel Copeland. Take a look at the Indian Valley seals in this page, one is very similar to the Gundersturp Claudron scene.

Many horned figures on an Indus Valley Seal

Other interesting Indus Valley seals

Unpublished Indus Valley seals

India and south east Asia: the ancient art and architecture

Symbols of the Indus Valley

Indus Valley Mohenjo- Daro civilization seal showing Pashupati or Paśupati (sanskrit). Proto-Shiva figure with a horned helmet in yoga position. Compare this to the Gundestrup Cauldron from Jutland in Denmark, 1st century CE.

Horned helmet or a triratna on a coin from Gandhara, Taxila from about 200 - 100 BCE. Taxila is in present Pakistan. Photo by PHGCOM 2005 Wikimedia. Read more about Ancient India Coinage.

Indus Valley tablet

A Coin showing king Ases I or Azes I that ruled the Gandhara areas at the end of the Indo-Greek era.

Ashnagar page 641

Ashnagar page 50

Ashnagar page 280

Elizarenkova. The world of ideas of Rigveda Aryans

Yali are mythological temple guardians that resembles the Trolls of Scandinavia

Yali figures in Ikkeri at the Aghoreshwara temple, Karnataka, India by Dinesh Kannambadi, 2008. Click on the photo and take a closer look at the smaller figures.

Yali is most often depicted as Lions. There were temple lions related to early Saivism also in Gandhara (2) and Mathura, however if they had the same mythological meaning as the southern Indian Yali is unknown to me. In some instances Siva or Shiva is represented as a lion.

Yalli, Ziba and Mukha are monsters mentioned in the ancient texts of Skandha Purana. This mythology is part of Saivism and it is lord Shiva who created a monster called Jalandhara. Some monsters have “animal heads” (e.g. dog, lion, horse) and some have “human heads” (i.e. nir-vyala. This is a photo from Japanese Buddhism that show one with eleven heads.

Kannon (ekadaza mukha) from the 9th Century. Public domain photo.

Read more here: Yalli & Mukha. Google search the word “Yali” and you can see more depictions.

In Iron Age Norway there are archaeological finds of carved lion alike animals in the Oseberg Viking Ship mound grave from about 834 CE.

Photo from Flickr by Side78, 2008.

Trolls in Norway have developed more human like features. In medieval times trolls were mythical creatures in nature that could mess up or disturb people lives and activities. The trolls were part of the religious mythology of the Sami people, and Thor (the thunder god) protected people by killing the trolls with his lightning or arrows. Thor was believed to shoot these creatures and his bow was the rainbow (information from The History of Lapland, by Scheffer, 1674). In the late 1600eds there had already been immense efforts going on for a long period to Christianise the pagan people in the Nordic. What religious meaning the "Trolls" had in Nordic during the "pagan era" is today unknown.

Main purposes for making this Blog is to learn more about:

1) If the first Scandinavian Goths***, Geats or Gotan might have come from Southern Asia before Common Era, in particular from the Himalayan areas of Pakistan and India, such as in and near Kashmir and Jammu, Himachal Pradesh and other areas along the fringe of Himalaya. People that later migrated towards the coastal areas of present Pakistan and India and from where there were sent Buddhist missions to for instance Greece and Rome. From these locations Asian people might have come to northern Europe and merged with the indigenous people of different areas, for instance with the Nordic Laplanders. Both Lapland and Gottia & Dacia were located on a map from about the second century AD (Ptolemy). An Asian origin of the first Nordic Goths is supported by many archaeological findings. Many Iron Age and Medieval period items and ornaments seem related to early Buddhism in Asia. There are a few remaining texts that is supportive of the Nordic Goths – Asian connection, there are people of old Nordic origin that have genetic connections to Asia.

***Comment to the text in the URL: The Ancient Nordic Goths are by some confused with the later invading Christian Crusaders that came to the Nordic primarily from the areas of present Germany starting about 1000-1200 CE. Most Christians colonized the Nordic much later, particularly after the Lutheran Reformation (protestantism) in the early 1500s. This reformation was supported from Germany, from where many new people later migrated to particularly the Southern Nordic areas. Important happenings was for instance Stockholm’s bloodbath, or the murder of monks in monasteries as Nydala in Sweden or Munkholmen in Trondhein, Norway. The old people of the Nordic practiced both the old and christian religion until the 1700-1800s.

2) Did the ancient Scandinavian Goths practice an early version of Buddhism?

3) Might there have been at least two influxes of Asian people to the Nordic areas? One early migration with seafaring people with the ancient Goths and a much later influx of people from Southern Central Asia via the Central Asian steppes, the Volga River and to Scandinavia via Finland.