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Post by Charlotte on Aug 24, 2018 8:15:31 GMT -5
Read this and the other and thought I'll learn a bit about the Moors, Berber, hoping to chance on their Mysteries, Andalusia and Granada.
Wikipedia
"The term "Moors" refers primarily to the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the I berian Peninsula, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, and Malta during the Middle Ages. The Moors initially were the indiginous Maghrebine Berbers. The name was later also applied to Arabs.
"Moors are not a distinct or self-defined people, and the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica observed that "The term 'Moors' has no real ethnological value. Europeans of the Middle Ages and the early modern period variously applied the name to Arabs, North African Berbers, and Muslim Europeans.
The term has also been used in Europe in a broader, somewhat derogatory sense to refer to Muslims in general, especially those of Arab or Berber descent, whether living in Spain or North Africa."
Wenn über Granada der Tag erwacht und die Sonne lacht in herrlicher Pracht.
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Post by Charlotte on Aug 25, 2018 8:46:40 GMT -5
Getting acquainted with the Moors, perhaps it should read their contribution to the Renaissance.
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Post by Charlotte on Aug 26, 2018 9:29:24 GMT -5
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Post by Charlotte on Aug 28, 2018 8:29:11 GMT -5
Al-Andalus philosophy
"The historian Said al Andalusi wrote that Caliph Abd-ar-Rahman III had collected libraries of books and granted patronage to scholars of medecine and "ancient sciences". Later, al-Mustansir (al Hakam II) went yet further, building a university and libraries in Córdoba. Córdoba became one of the worlds leading centers of medecine and philosophical debate."
Takes a while to get somewhere
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Post by Charlotte on Aug 29, 2018 7:48:08 GMT -5
Initially, the Moors were Berbers, found St. Augustine of Hippo and Apuleius to be of Berber descent. After Caliph Abd-el-Rahman, power was ceded to "Al-Mansur was a distinctly religious man and disapproved of the sciences of astronomy, logic, and especially of astrology, so much that many books on the sunjects, which had been preserved and collected at great expence by Al-Hakham II, were burned publicly. With Al-Mansur's death in 1002, interest in philosophy revived. Numerous scholars emerged, includin Abu Uthan Ibn Fathum, whose masterwork was the philosophical treatise "Tree of Wisdom". Maslamah Ibn Ahmad al-Majriti (died 1008) was an outstanding scholar in astronomy and astrology; he was an intrepid traveler who journed all over the Islamic world and beyond and kept in touch with the Brethren of Purity. He is said to have brought the 51 "Epistles of the Brethen of Purity" to al-Andalus and added the compendium to this work, although it is quiet possible that is was added laterby another scholar with the name al-Majriti. Another book attrubuted to al-Majriti is the Ghayat al-Hakim. "The Aim of the Sage" which explored a synthesis of Platonism and Hermetic philosophy. Its use of incantation led the book to be widely dismissed in later years, although the Sufi communities continued to study it." Astronomy, Astrology, Tree of Wisdom, Brethren of Purity, the Sage, Plato and Hermes, bless the Sufis. St. Augustine, born 354 AD, son of a Christian mother and Pagan father "who coverted to Christianity on his deathbed. ... In his writings, Augustine leaves some information as to the consciousness of his African heritage. For example, he refers to Apuleius as "the most notorious of us Africans," to Ponticianus as "a country man of ours, insofar as bein African," and Faustus of Mileve as "an African Gentleman". Apuleius' "most famous work is his bawdy picaresque novel, the Metamorphoses, otherwise known as The Golden Ass. He relates the ludicrous adventures of one Lucius, who eperiments with magic and is accidentally turned into a donkey." Apuleius was from Algeria , "studied Platonism in Athens, travelled to Italy, Asian Minor, and Egypt, and was an intiate in several cults or mysteries." No wonder then that he became humble and found gold. St. Augustine, his heart aflame looks at Truth en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustine_of_Hippo#/media/File:Saint_Augustine_by_Philippe_de_Champaigne.jpg |
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Post by Charlotte on Aug 30, 2018 7:44:00 GMT -5
Legends and Romances of Spain The Arabian Astrologer "Aben Habuz, King of Granada, had in his old age earned the right to repose. But the young and ardent princes whose territories marched with his were in mind that his old age should be free from the alarms of war, and although he took every precaution to ensure his possessions against the incursions of such hotheads, the constant menace of an attack from one or the other of them, no less than the unrest which occassionally raised his head within his own dominions, filled his declining years with irritation and anxiety. "Harrassed and perplexed, he cast about him for an adviser capable of assisting him to strengthen his postition, but among the sages and nobles of his Court he experienced such a cold selfishness and lack of patriotic fervour as restrained him from adopting any of them as his confidant in high affairs of state. While he meditated on his friendless condition it was announced to him that an Arabian sage had arrived in Granada, whose fame as a man of wisdom and understanding was proverbial throughout the East. The name of this pundit was Ibrahim Ebn Abu Ajib, and it was whispered of him that he had existed since the days of Mohammed, of one of his personal friends he was the son. As a child he had accompanied the army of Amru, the Prophets general, into Egypt, where he had remained for generations, employing his time in the study of those occult sciences of which the Egyptian priests were such consummate masters. Old as he was—and his appearance was most venerable—he had walked the whole way from Egypt on foot, aided only by a staff on which were engraved hieroglyphs of deep and hidden import. His beard descended to his girdle, his piercing eyes bespoke insight and intelligence almost superhuman, and his bearing was more grave and majestic that that of the most revered mullah in Granada. It was said that he possessed the secret of the elixir of life, but as he had attained this knowledge when already well on in years, he had perforce to be content with his aged exterior, although he had already succeeded in prolonging his existence for upward of two hundred years." Sacred Texts d2gg9evh47fn9z.cloudfront.net/thumb_COLOURBOX11509322.jpg |
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Post by Charlotte on Aug 31, 2018 8:15:32 GMT -5
Could not find a video of historical of Basra, Iraq, but found that Sinbad the Sailor journeyed from Basra.
Looked up "The Brethren of Purity" - "Brethren of Sincerity", who were "a secret society of Muslim philosophers in Basra, Iraq, in the 8th or 10th century CE."
The Muslim Mystics
"The Rasa 'il Ikhwan al-Safa' (Epistles of the Brethren of Purity) consists of fifty-two treatises in mathematics, natural sciences, psychology (psychical sciences) and theology. The first part which is on mathematics, groups fourteen epistles that include treatises in artithmatic, astronomy, geography, and music, along with tracts in elementary logic, inclusive of: the Isagoge, the Categories, De Interpretationate, the Prior Analythics and Posterior Analythics. The second part, which is on natural sciences, gather seventeen epistles on matter and form, generation and corruption, metallurgy, meteorology, a study of the essence of nature, the classes of plants and animals, including a fable."
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Post by Charlotte on Sept 1, 2018 8:01:05 GMT -5
"The third part, which is on psychology, comprises ten epistles on the psychical and intellective sciences, dealing with the nature of the intellect and intelligible, the symbolism of temporal cycles, the mystical essence of love, resurrection, causes and effects, definitions and descriptions. The fourth part deals with theology in eleven epistles, investigating the variety of religious sects, the virtue of the companionship of the Brethren of Purity, the properties of genuine belief, the nature of the Divine Law, the species of politics, and the essence of magic. "The define a perfect man in their Rasa'il as "of East Persian derivation, of Arabic faith, of Iraqi, that is Babylonian, in education, Hebrew in astuteness, a disciple of Christ in conduct, as pious as a Syrian monk, a Greek in natural sciences, an Indian in the interpretation of mysteries and, above all a Sufi or a mystic, in his whole spiritual outlook". There are debates on using this description and other materials of Rasa'il that could help with determanation of the identity, affiliation (with Ismaili, Sufism, ...), and other characteristics of Ikhwan al-Safa." According to this Wikipedia entry, Humanity was greatly advanced by the 'Brethren of Sincerity' of "Arabic" faith. I would like to think that currently, aside from the lamentable, misdirected beliefs and energies, there are yet Brethren of Purity who live and work in seclusion or in plain sight. The description also has resonance with Wagner's "Parzifal", a Persian, whose father is said to be an Arabian Prince who died while Parzival was yet in his mother's womb traveling to Europe. One version is that Wolfram von Eschenbach found and old manuscript of Parzival in Toledo, Spain. The Dervish whirl to their still centre, and the Grateful Dead whirl when in doubt  www.ephesustoursguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/whirling-dervish-monastery.jpg |
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Post by Charlotte on Sept 2, 2018 10:11:49 GMT -5
Afrits, Nature Spirits, "supernatural creatures in some Middle Eastern stories", some benevolent, others malevolent according to the writ.
Reading on the Afrites years ago, I though it was the origin of the word 'afraid'.
According to The Free Dictionary:
"A British scientist who reached this spot in 1910 declared the tree to be a symbol of everything magical about the desert, (I did not search for this tree) a land where afrits, ghuls, genii, and all other creatures of native superstition are matters of everyday occurrance; where lost oasis and enchanted cities lie in the desert sands."
The atmosphere in the desert is magical, perhaps because there is much 'empty' space for spirits to have their being. The locals living about the Pyramids insist that there are genii, one man told me a story about 'meeting' one and showed me an imprint on his arm left by the ginn. I believed him owing to sensing spirits, and one can tell by tone and demeaner whether it is a made up story or the truth. There is always more to it.
The wonderful Old Books of Light
Madam Blavatsky writes about the Books of Alexandria, "The Glory of the World", which were not all burned, but according to Thedas "hundreds and thousands of the choicest books were safely stored in his own house and those of other scribes, libraries, students, and philosophers". That these traditions are not oftener communicated to Europeans is not strange, when we consider how apt our travellers to render themselves antagonistic to the natives by their sceptical bearing and, occasionally, dogmatic intolerance." Not only in writing but walking about the Pyramids one can hear the non-sense told to people.
"When exeptional men like some archaeologists, who knew how to win the confidence and even friendship of certain Arabs, are favored with precious documents, it is declared simply a "coincidence." And yet there are widespread traditions of the existence of certain subterranian, and immense galleries, in the neighborhood of Ishmonia -- the "petrified City," in which are stored numberless manuscripts and rolls. For no amount of money would the Arabs go near it. At night, they say, from the crevices of the desolate ruins, sunk deep in the unwatered sands of the desert, stream the rays from lights carried to and fro in the galleries by no human hands. The Afrites study the literature of the antediluvian ages, according to their belief, and the Djin learns from the magic rolls the lesson of the following day."
This requires to carefully enter the mystical realm since a Gjin might be at the door, but we can let the Nile raise to its measure.
"In the Jewish Kabala, the nature-spirits were known under the general name of Shedim and divided into four classes. The Persians called them all devs; the Greeks , instinctly designated them as demons; the Egyptians knew them as afrites."
Why would these and other peoples spend time writing on native superstitions?
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Post by Charlotte on Sept 6, 2018 9:30:23 GMT -5
The Palm Land of the Berber.
"Siwa Oasis is one of Egypt's most isolated settlements, with about 33,000 people, mostly Berber..."
"Although the oasis is known to have been settled since at least the 10th millennium BC, the earliest evidence of any connection with Ancient Egypt is the 26th Dynasty, when a necropolis was established. Ancient Greek settlers at Cyrene made contact with the oasis around the same time (7th century BC), and the oracle temple od Amun (Greek:Zeus Ammon), who, Herodotus was told, took the image here of a ram. Herodotus knew of a "fountain of the Sun" that ran coldest in the noontime heat. During his campaign to conquer the Persian Empire, Alexander the Great reached the oasis, supposedly by following birds across the desert. The oracle, Alexander's court historian alleged, confirmed him as both a divine personage and the legitimate Pharaoh of Egypt, though Alexander's motives in making the excursion, following his founding of Alexandria, remain to some extent inscrutable and contested. During the Ptolomaic Kingdom, its Ancient Egyptian name was -- Field of Trees".
This goes somewhat into the Mysteries as Alexander is said to have cut the Gordian Knot with his sword , unearthed the Emerald Tablet of Hermes and buried it again.
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Post by Charlotte on Sept 7, 2018 10:10:24 GMT -5
Alexander reached Siwa "supposedly by following birds across the desert", were, according to Herodotus was a "Fountain of the Sun" that ran coldest in the noontime heat". Perhaps the Macedonian Star is meant. i.pinimg.com/236x/b3/4a/2c/b34a2ccbfaec8c2f045dd1cff4d708f9--macedonia-greece-dion.jpgAlexander's motives of visiting the oasis are unknowable and contested. We can consider that early in his life his teacher was Aristotle, whose teacher was Plato, whose teacher was Socrates, whose teachers were Parmenides and the Priestes Diotima, who taught that "the most correct use of love of other human beings is to direct one's mind to love of Divinity". Prior to this time was Egypt, the likes of Pythagoras and like great Minds working to meld and preserve knowledge, so the Macedonian Prince had a tremendous momentum moving him foreward and upward to create "the largest Empire by the age of 30" to distribute and gather knowledge. Plutarch describes Alexander as having "a melting glance of his eyes", that "he was of a fair colour, as they say, and his fairness passed into ruddiness on his breast particularly, and in his face. Moreover, that a very pleasant odour exhaled from his skin and that there was a fragrance about his mouth and all his flesh, so that his garments were filled with it, this we have read in the Memoirs of Aristoxenus." Beautifully told by Plutarch. "I am indebted to my father for living, but to my teacher four living well", and wise was he: "Remember upon the conduct of each depends the fate of all". Then and now. Got sidetracked, thinking and writing on history is entering and being tangled up in a field of information. |
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Post by Charlotte on Sept 12, 2018 12:01:52 GMT -5
Alexander followed the birds across the desert to reach the Siwa Oasis, where, accrding to Herodotus, he came upon the "Fountain of the Sun" which ran cold during hot days and warm during cold nights. Adding Plutarch's description of Alexander in my last post, takes one a few steps deeper into history, legends, and the climes of the times. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fountain_of_Youth#/media/File:Al-khidr.jpg"A story of the "Water of Life" appears in the Eastern version of the Alexander romance, which describes Alexander the Great and his servant crossing the Land of Darkness to find the restorative spring. The servant in that story is in turn derived from Middle Eastern legends of Al-Khidr, a sage who appears also in the Qur'an. Arabic and Aljamiado versions of the Alexander Romance were very popular in Spain during and after the period of Moorish rule, and would have been known to the explorers who journeyed to America. These early accounts inspired the popular medieval fantasy The Travels of Sir John Mandeville, which also mentions the Fountain of Youth as located at the foot of a mountain outside Polombe (modern Kollam) in India. Due to the influence of these tales, the Fountain of Youth legend was popular in courtly Gothic art, appearing for example on the ivory Casket with Scenes of Romances (Walters 71264) and several ivory mirror-cases, and remained popular through the European Age of Exploration. "European iconography is fairly consistent, as the Cranach painting and mirror-case from 200 years earlier demonstrate: old people, often carried, enter at left, strip, and enter a pool that is as large as space allows. The people in the pool are youthful and naked, and after a while they leave it, and are shown fashionably dressed enjoying a courtly party, sometimes including a meal. "There are countless indirect sources for the tale as well. Eternal youth is a gift frequently sought in myths and legends, and stories of things such as the philosopher's stone, universal panaceas, and the elixir of life are common throughout Eurasia and elsewhere. An additional hint may have been taken from the account of the Pool of Bethesda in the Gospel of John, in which Jesus heals a man at the pool in Jerusalem." i.pinimg.com/736x/87/23/c0/8723c0266eaca435f655ea2f80e998cc.jpg |
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Post by Charlotte on Sept 13, 2018 9:00:00 GMT -5
The 'Fountain of the Sun' at Siwa running hot and cold respectively to balance opposites pertains also to our daily life, after all an Oasis is a place for rest and refreshment, Alexander and his servant 'crossing the Land of Darkness to find the restorative spring', Parsifal having to wander through a wasteland, the Children of Israel, Us, wandering through the desert toward the Land of Milk and Honey, sustained only by Mana from Heaven, connote our own 'Journey Perilous' to the
Fountain of Youth
"The Fountain of Youth is a spring that supposedly restores the youth to anyone who drinks and bathes in its waters. Tales of such a fountain have been recounted across the world for thousands of years, appearing in writings by Herodotus (5th century BC), the Alexander romance (3rd century AD), and the stories of Prester John (early crusades, 11th/12th centuries AD). Stories of similar waters evidently prominent among the indigenous people of the Caribbean during the Age of Exploration (early 16th century),who spoke of the restorative powers of the water in the mythical land of Bimini.
"The legend became particularly prominent in the 16th century, when it was attached to the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon, first Govenor of Puerto Rico. According to an apocryphal combination of New World and Eurasian elements, Ponce de Leon was searching for the Fountain of Youth when he traveled to what is now Florida in 1513. The legend says that Ponce de Leon was told by Native Americans that the Fountain of Youth was in Bimini and it can restore youth to anyone."
I heard of Bimini but never that it is mythical, so have to check. In any event, we know that bathing in a fountain refreshes us, makes us feel clean and good, but surely the 'restorative spring' here is 'to be born a second time' as how the Egyptians put it, since the Philosopher's Stone and elixir of life are mentioned. Why would there be "countless indirect sources" pointing the way to the Fountain of Youth, so-called here.
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Post by Charlotte on Sept 15, 2018 8:38:38 GMT -5
Tales of the Fountain of Youth "have been recounted across the world for thousands of years" including stories of Prester John, which give insight of this fountain. "Prester John is depicted as a descendant of the three Magi, ruling a kingdom full of riches, marvels, and strange creatures", the Priest's "fabulous wealth was demonstrated by his emerald scepter", his adoptive father was Frederick Barbarossa whose uncle was Otto of Freising. "Wolfram von Eschenbach tied the history of Prester John to the Holy Grail legend in his poem Parzival, in which the Prester is the son of the Grail maiden and the Saracen knight Feireviz. "Feirefiz is a character in Wolfram von Eschenbach's Arthurian poem Parzival. He is the half-brother of Parzival, the story's hero. He is the child of their father Gahmuret's first marriage to the Moorish queen Belacane, and equals his brother in knightly ability. Because his father was white and his mother black, Feirefiz's skin consists of black and white patches. His appearance is compared to that of a magpie or a parchment with writing on it, though he is considered very handsome". In great company this morning The Macrobians "The Macrobians were a legendary people and kingdom positioned in the Horn of Africa mentioned by Herodotus. Later authors (so Pliny on the authority of Ctesias' Indika) place them in India instead. It is one of the legendary peoples postulated at the extremity of the known world (from the perspective of the Greeks), in this case in the extreme south, contrasting with the Hyperboreans in the extreme north. "Their name is due to their legendary longevity, an average person supposedly living to the age of 120. They were said to be the tallest and handsomest of all men. At the same time, they were reported as being physically distinct from the general inhabitants of the region below the Sahara. ... Macrobia was also noted for its gold, which was so plentiful that the Macrobians shackled their prisoners in golden chains". Hydrating the mind with droplets from the legendary Fountain of Youth. |
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Post by Charlotte on Sept 16, 2018 9:35:32 GMT -5
The connection of Bimini with Atlantis is well known, so I looked for the 'Fountain of Youth' the Native Americans told Juan Ponce is in Bimini, which means 'two islands'. Since one is mythical, described here is probably the one on Terra Firma.
"Found within the brackish mangrove swamp that covers 6 kilometer (3½ mi) of the shoreline of North Bimini is the The Healing hole, a pool that lies at the end of a network of winding underground tunnels. During outgoing tides, these channels pump cool, mineral-laden fresh water into the pool. Because this well was carved out of the limestone rock by ground water thousands of years ago it is especially high in calcium and magnesium".
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Post by Charlotte on Sept 17, 2018 9:01:12 GMT -5
Happened upon an informative site Didn't know or forgot that Alessandro de Medici was a Mulatto, we also have a "Freising Moor". www.taneter.org/moors2.html |
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Post by Charlotte on Sept 18, 2018 8:37:57 GMT -5
Etymology
"The name "Berber" derives from variants of the root "barbar," which exists in most Indo-European sub-languages and Arabic. The Greek word ... (or English transliteration, "barbaros") was initially used to refer to non-native speakers (also non-citizen) in a manner quiet similar to the sefinition of the Sanskrit word "barbara," which also means stammering".
Interesting sound bar-ba-ra similar to abrakadabra.
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Post by Charlotte on Sept 21, 2018 8:35:30 GMT -5
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