Maize in the hands of temple deities – an indigenous concept of iconography.

 

Maize, called as "ChOLam" (சோளம்) in Tamil is thought to have been indigenous to Mesoamerica. The Mayans were known to have cultivated it since before the start of the Common Era. It was only after the European connection with Americas in the 15^th and 16^th centuries, cultivation of maize started in Europe. As a result, maize was thought to have been brought from Europe to India, after colonial connection with India. This idea got a beating when sculptures of deities holing maize in their hands have been noticed in India. Predominantly belonging to the Hoysala period in Karnataka, these figures were dated at 12^th to 13^th century CE when maize was not even known in Europe. This gave rise to a notion that Mesoamericans and Indians had connections earlier which was responsible for having brought maize from the Mayan lands in Mexico. Pity that they never like to give credit to Indians and that maize went from India to Mexico!

 

A broad based articulation on this issue had been written by Dr S.Kalyanaraman which has been reproduced below. He has shown that maize-type depictions and sculptures are there in West Asian Meluhha hieroglyphs and even in the Vatican. I am giving here my insights in this topic.

 

First of all let me take up the maize- holding sculptures of the Indian temples. Till today, no temple image is made without following the guidelines of iconography of the olden texts of Shilpa sastra.  If a temple image is seen with maize in hand, it must be understood that it was done within some rule of iconography. It cannot be done by someone's whims and fancies when a fruit was imported from a foreign land. Another point is that the foreign vegetables such as carrot, beetroot etc are still not used by orthodox Hindus (there are many in South India) mainly because they are not indigenous and have no sanction from our Dharma texts. Therefore it can be said without any hesitation that a vegetable product like maize, if not available as an indigenous product could not have found its way in the temple sculptures.

 

The second issue is why maize found its way in temple sculptures of a specific period in a specific locality.  For this, one must know that no major deity of Vedic pantheon had been described to hold maize. However in the case of other or lesser deities, the general rule is to represent suitable items that depict the characteristics of the said deity. One can read such a verse in the vaastu text of "Mayamatham",chapter 36, verse 288 under the caption "Saamaanya vidhi". So whatever figures we find in temples with maize in hand, we must know that they are deities with combined characteristics that are related to some idea denoted by maize.

 

Thirdly, there does exist in Iconography a concept called "Sriphala", a fruit held by Lakshmi.  In chapter 36, verse 250 of Mayamatham, it is said that Lakshmi is depicted as holding Sriphala in her left hand. Sriphala means wood apple or Vilva floweror any fruit that exudes splendour or cocoa-nut or indigo plant.  For example, the following figure found at Somnathpur near Myosre, is that of a female deity with maize in the left hand. This is a depiction of Sriphala, a splendorous fruit that shows Aishvarya (prosperity) and growth.

 

 

The following figure from the same temple at Somathpur has a twin image of female deities holding the maize in opposite hands to complete the notion of a pair.

 

The following image is from Belur and the next one is from Halebid in Karnataka. The maize is in the left hand of the female deities.

Belur

 

Halebid

 

What these females hold in their right hand is not clearly seen. But from another figure in Belur we come to know that it is "chamaram" or fan. This shows that these females are attendants or secondary deities.

Belur.

 

The maize is representative of Sriphala or the exquisite fruit that signifies prosperity. Karnataka is a region that grows millets of which maize is one. Therefore this crop is depicted in the iconography. It is a rule of iconography that local tradition must be followed in the case of ornaments, adornments and costumes. We can see this followed in temples even today such that the main deities are adorned with costumes suitable for the season. Unless maize is a local crop and a crop that is a traditional one, it could not have found its way into the sculptures.

 

There are figures of females with maize in right hand. What she holds in the left hand is not seen. But that would denote some quality represented by her.

Somnathpur

 

The following figure from Halebid shows a rosary in right hand and maize cone in the left.

Halebid.

In iconography rosary is associated with Four-faced Brahma and Saraswathi representing knowledge (gyana).  The above figure represents Gyana (rosary) and Aishvarya (prosperity) as denoted by maize.

 

We can see a similar figure, but that of a male with 6 hands of which one holds the rosary.

The following figure is from my collections, but its location is not known.

 

One hand is missing but of the five hands, the left hand holds maize and right hand in sin mudra holds a rosary. The sin mudra is an unmistakable sign of Gyana or teaching. Another right hand holds Chakra, an important weapon of Lord Vishnu. The corresponding hand on the left is missing, but inferred that the conch must have been held by that hand. The Shanku – Chakra indicates that the image is that of Vishnu. Though Vishnu is depicted with 4 hands in iconography, the depiction of 6 hands might perhaps represent the 6 qualities of Bhaga that characterise Him as Bhagavan.

 

The 6 qualities are Gyana, Bala, Aishvarya, Veerya, Shakthi and Tejas.  The rosary represents gyana and maize, Aishvarya. The two attendant- looking females near the feet could perhaps be Sridevi and Bhudevi. The local factors that are easily identifiable by the people are employed in sculpting deities and attendants. The presence of maize shows that the location of this sculpture is in Karnataka / Deccan plateau where this crop is predominantly grown and is a major source of food.

 

A similar looking female figure has been shown by Dr Kalyanaraman.

The depiction of Shanku and Chakra makes her Vishnu Durga, whose name is "SeyyOL" (செய்யோள்) in olden tradition as known from Silappadhikaram. She was the female representation of Vishnu and Lakshmi together. The names Paavai, Kolli, Kollur etc are associated with her. SeyyOL tradition by that name existed 2000 years ago. She looks beautiful and dances well. The representation of maize shows that maize is indigenous to the region as no foreign or imported ones were mixed with deities.

 

Coming to Tamil texts, Maize or ChOLam as how it is called in Tamil, was actually called as "iRungu" (இறுங்கு) in olden Tamil. There are quite many references to millets in Sangam poems, where thinai (தினை) is the millet often mentioned. There were eight grains and not nine,  in cultivation in Tamil lands known by a term "EN padam" (எண்பதம்) (IlakkaNa viLAkkam – verse 619 – commentary)  They are நெல், புல், வரகு, தினை, சாமை, இறுங்கு, துவரை, இராகி {rice, some grass variety, white millet,  fox tail millet, saamai, Maize, Toor and ragi}.

 

Rice was grown in Marudha lands that were irrigated well, while other regions grew only millets. Maize's popularity is known from a popular Tamil proverb "ஆனைப் பசிக்கு சோளப் பொரி" {aanaip pasikku chOLap pori} meaning, "can maize pops satisfy elephant's hunger?" This and other  terms connected with cultivation of maize such as ChOlath thattai, ChOLak koNdai, ChOLak kadir, ChOLak kollai, ChOLak kaadu etc make it known that this crop had been around for more than 2000 years.

 

The presence of many references to millets in Sangam texts make me think that maize is indigenous and perhaps was taken from here to Mesoamerica. There was a Mayan who published his book called "ainthiRam" (ஐந்திறம்) in the 2^nd Sangam assembly. The existence of this book came to light when the famous sculptor, Dr V.Ganapati Sthapati discovered an edition of this text in Saraswathi Mahal Library of Tanjore.  Written as verses in Tamil, this book has a self proclamation that it was authored by Maya, the architect. Though the book dwells on mind control and concentration on Pranava for a successful sculptor, it does make a reference to the land when it was written. Such a reference makes note of the 7 X 7 = 49 lands of Kumari! This is same as what is available in other texts such as Silappadhikaram and its commentary.

 

The verse is as follows:

"குமரி மாநிலம் நெடுங்கலை ஆக்கம்

அமர்நிலைப் பேரியல் வெற்புறம் திறனாய்

பலதுளி யாற்றுப் பெருமழை திறனிலைப்

புக்குறும் நிலைத் திறன் ஏழேழ் நிலமும்

ஏழேழு நாடென இயம்புறும் காலை"

(ainthiRam – 812)

 

This puts the period of this text to 3500 years BP. This poem shows that a people called Maya who had expertise in building techniques had interacted with Tamils and spoken Tamil.  The following illustration shows the spread of architecture that is similar and of Mayan. 

(Pic courtesy:- http://frontiers-of-anthropology.blogspot.in/2012/01/voyages-of-pyramid-builders.html "Voyage of the pyramid builders")

 

The interaction between these regions had existed for long. The building technique had been the same in all these places. But the description of these techniques exists nowhere else in the world, but in India. The above ideas were derived from Mayamatham – a book of Vaastu attributed to Mayan and re-written in Sanskrit and copied for generations by the Mayan school of sculptors.

 

Either the Mayan sculptors have moved around the world on call or sculptors from different regions learned the same architectural techniques. Since all the monuments are to do with religious places, we can make a tall claim that India or the Vedic society was the source of the views on architecture of temples anywhere in the world. The presence of a Mayan in Tamil Sangam –II makes it possible that he and his ilk had taken the crops from India or South Asia to Mexico which was the last stop for them in the recent past. I call Mexico as the last stop because previously Mayan was associated with Southeast Asia, Lanka, Northwest India, Himalayas etc for which we have references in Hindu texts.

 

From here it is not difficult to find out how the Pop cone got into the courtyard of Vatican Museum.

 

This is the replica of the statue of the 2^nd century tomb of Emperor Hadrian. The originals can be seen in the Braccio Nuovo Gallery inside the Vatican Museum. (see here for details).

 

What surprises me is the presence of peacocks. There was no knowledge of peacock in Europe until Alexander's conquests towards India. But peacocks were seen in the motifs in Greece which were described as "Persian birds" by Aristotle. Hera's chariot was driven by peacocks but none had an idea of what those birds were.

(http://www.mythindex.com/greek-mythology/H/Hera.html )

 

Hera was also depicted as holding a pomegranate in her hand. This is similar to Sriphala, the wood apple which also had many kernels inside. Fruits like wood apple, pomegranate and maize have a common thread among them in having many pearl like seedlings that signify growth and prosperity.

 

Peacocks which are indigenous to India and South Asia have seeds and millets as their main food. The Sangam Tamil text called  "Kurinjip paattu" (குறிஞ்சிப் பாட்டு) which describes the life in the hills (where the main God is Skanda whose vehicle is peacock) , gives a detailed description of how young girls guarded the millets cultivated in their lands. At the time of maturing of crops, parrots and other birds used to feed on them. The girls used to spend their time on a shed built on a tree in the middle of millets to chase away the birds and to keep guard on the plants.  The pop-cone of the Vatican reminds of one such a scene when peacocks descend on the fields of ripe millet crops. This scene was a common place scene in Tamil lands of KuRinji (low level hilly tracts) in the Sangam period.

 

Another Sangam text called Perum PaanaaRRup padai describes peacocks dancing in small forests. They were not dense and woody forests, but small ones with short crops. ("மஞ்ஜை ஆலும் மரம் பயில் இறும்பின்"  - line 495). As millets and grains are the staple food for peacocks, these small forests could refer to ChOlak kaadu (maize forests) or ChOlak kollai (maize fields).

Any motif depicting the peacock could have corn or pomegranate or any fruit that had small seeds or kernels arranged on it or within it, as they are favourite food for the peacocks and can be plucked easily by them.

 

 It is another story how Hera and Zeus were Parvathy – Shiva replicas and their son Ares was Skanda replica which I will write in another article. Here I wish to point out that the Vatican Pop cone which was a remake of the grave –statue Emperor Hadrian of Rome had its original idea somewhere in Tamil lands or South Asia. As an admirer of Greek art, Hadrian  must have got this motif from Greece and wished it to be incorporated in his grave. How this motif came to Greece is a mystery that can be solved by Tirayan connection to Greece. The root came from South Asia in early Tamils' culture.

 

There is yet another issue I want to say on this topic of maize in the hand of deities of temples. The only other image with a maize like or bud like vegetation is that of Vishnu in reclining posture. Describing the iconography of Anantasayin in Chapter 36 and verse 26, Mayamatham says that Vishnu in ananta sayana ( reclining posture on snake-bed) must be depicted with 4 hands. Upper two hands would hold Shanku and Chakra.  Of the other two, the left hand holds a flower and the right hand holds his weapon, the mace.  Mayamatham mentions "sapushpO Vaama hasthE". It does not say what flower it could be.

 

But according to Vishnudharmotthara (III – 81- 6a), Vishnu holds "Sanatana Manjari" in his left hand. A Manjari could be a sprout or pearl or bud or a clutter of blossoms or sprig or foliage or some flower. Manjari also means parallel line or row. This meaning fits with maize that has parallel rows of kernels.

Vishnu as Kurma with cone shaped lotus bud in his left hand.

Vishnu with maize having parallel rows of pearl like seeds.

Maize had taken the place of Sanatana Manjari as it fulfils the description of it.

 

That iconography has undergone modifications, though not on what they depict, can be seen by comparing the following image, with Vishnu of the above image. The following image is excavated from Dwaraka .

 

The Shanku or conch is seen in the left hand. The shape of the conch is long and not like how it is depicted generally. By the presence of Chakra (discus) in his right hand, we deduce that it is conch in his left hand. Though the concept of shanku- chakra had remained, the shape had changed over time.

 

Sometimes modifications had been made – perhaps by force of authority of the king. One such example is Lord Padmanabha swamy of Trivandrum. This deity comes close to the description of Ananta sayin of Mayamatham.

Moolavar – the main deity

The left hand holds lotus and the right hand is stretched out. There is a Shiva linga beneath the right hand. This is how the deity is seen in the temple.

 

The following image of Padmanabha swamy is the replica of the above image and is made of gold.

http://vakkomsen.blogspot.in/2011/07/sree-padmanabha-tempe-treasure-tight.html

This is one foot height and not in puja in the temple. This image is different from the main deity of the temple in that the right hand is in the pose of doing Puja (offering flower on a Shiva linga). This is an unusual posture that does not obey rules of iconography. Why and how this difference came in to place is a question. What I am going to say here as an explanation may not be palatable to some but there exists some unreported event that could throw some light on the difference in this posture.

 

This deity is mentioned twice in Silappadhikaram. Trivandrum or the abode of this God was known as "Adagamaadam" (ஆடகமாடம்) in Silappadhikaram. {Aadagam means Gold}. Madhari, the Yadava woman who did the famous Aicchiyar Kuravai song- dance in Silappadhikaram died by entering into fire after she heard the sad end of Kovalan and Kannagi. In her next birth she was born in the family of the Priest of Padmanabha swamy temple. Silappadhikaram says this and in that context the info on Lord at Adagamaadam comes. ("ஆடகமாடத் தரவணைக் கிடந்தோன் சேடக் குடும்பியின் சிறுமகள் ஈங்குளாள்" Silappadhikaram chapter 30, line 51)

 

Another context is that the Cheran King Seguttuvan was preparing to go on his Northern expedition to the Himalayas. At that time the priests of Padmanabha temple were waiting to offer him the "Sedam" (sevadi > Sadaari  - meaning the feet) of Lord of Adagamaadam. But the king did not take it on his head as he already had Lord Shiva's feet on his crown. So he took up Lord Padmanabha's sEdam on his shoulders. Commentators write that this sEdam is the garland. Since Lord Shiva's sedam (garland) was on his head, the king could not take Padmanabha's sedam on his head and so he took it in his shoulders.

I differ from this view. By the description that Shiva's feet (Sevadi), it is deduced that he is an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva and "sedam" refers to Sevadi or feet of Lord or sadari..

This is how the Sadari looks. It has Lord's feet embedded on a crown.

 

This crown will be touched on the heads of devotees as a mark of Lord's feet touching the devotee's head.

The priest puts the sadari on a devotee's head in the picture below.

 

The priests of the Shiva temple had already offered the SEdam – Sevadi  to the Cheran king. (Today there is no practice of offering Sadari in Shiva temples) Or else the king had the feet of Shiva engraved on the crown on his head. Or the king could have offered his prayers to Lord Shiva by placing his head on the feet of Lord Shiva. Now the priests of Vishnu temple (Padmanabha swamy of Adagamaadam) had come to meet him to offer the sEdam of Lord Padmanabha. But the King did not take up the sadari on his head but instead took it on his shoulders. The Silappadhikaram verse makes a veiled reference to his 'tolerance' towards other Gods. (1)

 

This makes me think that this Cheran king could have established the supremacy of Shiva in his kingdom. This could have prompted him to make changes in the iconography of Lord Padmanabha by having removed the mace from his right hand and instead placed the Shiva linga under that hand. This gives an impression that Vishnu was doing Puja to Shiva and therefore Shiva was superior to Vishnu. To make this a perpetual one, he could have made the golden image of Padmanabha with his right hand holding a flower as though doing puja to the Shiva linga. This king was powerful and even brutal. No one could have gone against him had he really wanted to make a change like this. This incident could have never even been murmured around and that is why there is no way to know that he was instrumental in making the change. But the Silappadhikaram verse gives an indication that there is scope to believe that he visited the Shiva temple to take up the sEdam. By not taking the Vishnu's sEdam on his head, he had shown his allegiance to Shiva more than Vishnu.

 

This is being told to show that changes in traditional ways of iconography could have been possible at times. But it is very rare and there is no explicit record of such changes as seen in Padmanabha image. On such occasions, if at all such occasions existed,  the changes could have been suggested by sages and teachers (Guru) based on some ideology or concept of religious significance and not by sheer force alone.

By this it is suggested that the appearance of maize in the hand of the deities of Hoysala period was the result of adaptation to local culture not in opposition to traditional notions of iconography.

 

Notes:

(1)    The verse from Silappadhikaram chapter 26, lines 61 to 67.

'குடக்கோக் குட்டுவன் கொற்றம் கொள்க' என,

ஆடகமாடத்து அறிதுயில் அமர்ந்தோன்

சேடம் கோண்டு, சிலர் நின்று ஏத்த,

தெண்- நீர் கரந்த செஞ் சடைக் கடவுள்

வண்ணச் சேவடி மணி முடி வைத்தலின்,

ஆங்கு- அது வாங்கி, அணி மணிப் புயத்துத்

தாங்கினன் ஆகி, தகைமையின் செல்வுழி-

 

 

- Jayasree

 

*********

 

From

http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2013/11/maize-and-pine-cone-meluhha-hieroglyphs.html

 

Maize and pine-cone Meluhha hieroglyphs of ancient Indo-Eurasia 

 

Maize and pine-cone Meluhha hieroglyphs of ancient Indo-Eurasia

 

'Maize' and 'pine-cone' are two hieroglyphs depicted, respectively, on Indian sculptures at Somnathpur (Lakshmi, divinity of wealth) and on sculptures and reliefs of Ashur (Nimrud). Rebus readings are evidence of presence of Meluhha speakers in the Ancient Near East who participated in the bronze-age inventions of tin-bronzes and created the writing systems of deploying hieroglyphs together with cuneiform and Indus texts.

 

Hieroglyphs: kandə ʻpineʼ, 'ear of maize'. Rebus: kaṇḍa 'tools, pots and pans of metal'. Rebus: kāḍ 'stone'. Ga. (Oll.) kanḍ, (S.) kanḍu (pl. kanḍkil) stone (DEDR 1298).

Hieroglyph: Ash. piċ -- kandə ʻ pine ʼ, Kt. pṳ̄ċi, piċi, Wg. puċ, püċ (pṳ̄ċ -- kəŕ ʻ pine -- cone ʼ), Pr. wyoċ, Shum. lyēwič (lyē -- ?).(CDIAL 8407). Cf. Gk. peu/kh f. ʻ pine ʼ, Lith. pušìs, OPruss. peuse NTS xiii 229. The suffix –kande in the lexeme: Ash. piċ-- kandə ʻ pine ʼ may be cognate with the bulbous glyphic related to a mangrove root: Koḍ. kaṇḍe root-stock from which small roots grow; ila·ti kaṇḍe sweet potato (ila·ti England). Tu. kaṇḍe, gaḍḍè a bulbous root; Ta. kaṇṭal mangrove, Rhizophora mucronata; dichotomous mangrove, Kandelia rheedii. Ma. kaṇṭa bulbous root as of lotus, plantain; point where branches and bunches grow out of the stem of a palm; kaṇṭal what is bulb-like, half-ripe jackfruit and other green fruits; R. candel.  (DEDR 1171). Rebus: kaṇḍa 'tools, pots and pans of metal'.

 

Hieroglyph: కండె [ kaṇḍe ] kaṇḍe. [Telugu] n. A head or ear of millet or maize. జొన్నకంకి.

Allograph: Kur. kaṇḍō a stool. Malt. kanḍo stool, seat. (DEDR 1179). Tu. kandůka, kandaka ditch, trench. Te. kandakamu id. Konḍa kanda trench made as a fireplace during weddings. Pe. kanda fire trench. Kui kanda small trench for fireplace. Malt. kandri a pit. (DEDR 1214).

 

In 1998, Carl Johannessen wrote a remarkable article on the depiction of 'maize' cobs on scores of sculptures in India.  This article, together with the Ashur hieroglyphs are presented in this note, providing Meluhha rebus readings for both the hieroglyphs and possible allographs in the context of bronze-age metallurgy and writing systems.

             

 

The Vatican has honored pine cone by erecting this monument:

Vatican Museum: giant pine cone. Description: Vatican City: Vatican Museum: giant pine cone (gilt bronze, originally a Roman fountain dating from 1st or 2nd century AD) (Cortile della Pigna, Courtyard of the Pine Cone)

http://www.cambridge...PC1617681e.html

[quote] Detail of pine cone. Standard Inscription.Palace of Ashurnasirpal, priest of Ashur, favorite of Enlil and Ninurta, beloved of Anu and Dagan, the weapon of the great gods, the mighty king, king of the world, king of Assyria; son of Tukulti-Ninurta, the great king, the mighty king, king of Assyria, the son of Adad-nirari, the great king, the mighty king of Assyria; the valiant man, who acts with the support of Ashur, his lord, and has no equal among the princes of the four quarters of the world; the wonderful shepherd who is not afraid of battle; the great flood which none can oppose; the king who makes those who are not subject to him submissive; who has subjugated all mankind; the mighty warrior who treads on the neck of his enemies, tramples down all foes, and shatters the forces of the proud; the king who acts with the support of the great gods, and whose hand has conquered all lands, who has subjugated all the mountains and received their tribute, taking hostages and establishing his power over all countries.

When Ashur, the lord who called me by my name and has made my kingdom great, entrusted his merciless weapon to my lordly arms, I overthrew the widespread troops of the land of Lullume in battle. With the assistance of Shamash and Adad, the gods who help me, I thundered like Adad the destroyer over the troops of the Nairi lands, Habhi, Shubaru, and Nirib. I am the king who had brought into submission at his feet the lands from beyond the Tigris to Mount Lebanon and the Great Sea [the Mediterranean], the whole of the land of Laqe, the land of Suhi as far as Rapiqu, and whose hand has conquered from the source of the river Subnat to the land of Urartu.

 

The area from the mountain passes of Kirruri to the land of Gilzanu, from beyond the Lower Zab to the city of Til-Bari which is north of the land of Zaban, from the city of Til-sha-abtani to Til-sha-Zabdani, Hirimu and Harutu, fortresses of the land of Karduniash [Babylonia], I have restored to the borders of my land. From the mountain passes of Babite to the land of Hashmar I have counted the inhabitants as peoples of my land. Over the lands which I have subjugated I have appointed my governors, and they do obeisance.

I am Ashurnasirpal, the celebrated prince, who reveres the great gods, the fierce dragon, conqueror of the cities and mountains to their furthest extent, king of rulers who has tamed the stiff-necked peoples, who is crowned with splendor, who is not afraid of battle, the merciless champion who shakes resistance, the glorious king, the shepherd, the protection of the whole world, the king, the word of whose mouth destroys mountains and seas, who by his lordly attack has forced fierce and merciless kings from the rising to the setting sun to acknowledge one rule.

 

The former city of Kalhu [Nimrud], which Shalmaneser king of Assyria, a prince who preceded me, had built, that city had fallen into ruins and lay deserted. That city I built anew, I took the peoples whom my hand had conquered from the lands which I subjugated, from the land of Suhi, from the land of Laqe, from the city of Sirqu on the other side of the Euphrates, from the furthest extent of the land of Zamua, from Bit-Adini and the land of Hatte, and from Lubarna, king of the land of Patina, and made them settle there.

I removed the ancient mound and dug down to the water level. I sank the foundations 120 brick courses deep. A palace with halls of cedar, cypress, juniper, box-wood, meskannu-wood, terebinth and tamarisk, I founded as my royal residence for my lordly pleasure for ever.

Creatures of the mountains and seas I fashioned in white limestone and alabaster, and set them up at its gates. I adorned it, and made it glorious, and set ornamental knobs of bronze all around it. I fixed doors of cedar, cypress, juniper and meskannu-wood in its gates. I took in great quantities, and placed there, silver, gold, tin, bronze and iron, booty taken by my hands from the lands which I had conquered. [unquote]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/brankoab/7673434338/

New York city Art museum. Ashurnasirpal. Kalhu Ear-ring and pendant with a pine cone glyph

Pine cone glyphs adorn the side stools and is atop the 'altars' or 'standards'. [quote]Description: The 'Garden Party' relief from the North Palace of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh. This carved stone picture hides a gory secret. King Ashurbanipal and his Queen are enjoying a party in their garden. Can you see the Queen sitting down facing her husband? A harpist on the left plays music while they eat and drink. But in the tree beside him is the severed head of King Teumann, a local ruler who had tried to fight against Ashurbanipal. The picture was on the wall in the royal palace, to warn any visitors not to try the same thing. It should also be noted that depictions of women are rare in Assyrian art. (Source: British Museum website) Date: c.645 BCE [unquote]

Assyrian Period, reign of  King Ashurnasirpal 11 (883 -- 859 BCE) Alabastrous Limestone Height 110.5 cm. Width 183 cm.  Depth 6.4 -- 9.6 cm. Miho Museum http://www.shumei.org/art/miho/miho.html

Assyrian) alabaster  Height: 236.2 cm (93 in). Width: 135.9 cm (53.5 in). Depth: 15.2 cm (6 in). This relief decorated the interior wall of the northwest palace of King Ashurnasirpal II at Nimrud. On his right hand, he holds a pine cone. Examples of reliefs of king ashur-nasir-pal II

The Egyptian Staff of Osiris, dating back to approximately 1224 BC, depicts two intertwining serpents rising up to meet at a pinecone. (Photo: Egyptian Museum, Turin, Italy)

Johannessen, Carl L., Maize diffused to India before Columbus came to America,  in D.Y. Gilmore and L.S. McElroy, eds., Across Before Columbus?: Evidence for Transoceanic Contact with the Americas prior to 1492, New England Antiquities Research Association, Edgecomb, Maine, 1998, pp. 109-24.pp.109-124

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Maize in Pre-Columbian India

Carl L. Johannessen and Anne Z. Parker, "Maize Ears Sculptured in 12th and 13th Century A.D. India as Indicators of Pre-Columbian Diffusion," Economic Botany 43 , 1989, 164-80, argue that stone carvings of maize ears exist in at least three pre-Columbian Hoysala stone block temples near Mysore, Karnataka state, India. Their article provides 16 photographs of a few of the sculptures in question.

Johannessen has now made three large-scale color photographs available online at http://geography.uoregon.edu/carljohannessen/research.html (new URL, 10/06), with a brief discussion These photos reveal considerable detail that is lost in the reduced scale black and white reproductions that appeared in the journal article. His photos are the source of the thumbnails on appearing this site, and may be viewed full size by clicking below:

Further photographs appear in his 1998 article, "Maize Diffused to India before Columbus Came to America" (see references below).

In his 1998 article "Pre-Columbian American Sunflower and Maize Images in Indian Temples: Evidence of Contact between Civilizations in India and America" (see references below), Johannessen goes on to cite several appearances of the sunflower, another New World crop, in pre-Columbian Indian temple sculptures. To view Figure 1 from that article, enlarged and in color on his website, click on

the thumbnail below:

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The following review has been published in the Midwest Epigraphic Journal, vol. 12/13, 1998-99, pp. 43-44.

An earlier version appeared in 1998 on the newsgroup sci.archaeology.

Indologist Confirms Maize in Ancient Sculptures

by J. Huston McCulloch

 

Indologist and Ethnobotanist Shakti M. Gupta of Delhi University confirms the presence of maize and at least five other New World plants in pre-Columbian temple sculptures in India in her new book, Plants in Indian Temple Art (B.R. Publishing Corp, Delhi, 1996. ISBN 81-7018-883-0).

 

Maize had previously been reported in several Hoysala temples by Carl Johannessen and Anne Z. Parker ("Maize Ears Sculptured in 12th and 13th Century AD India as Indicators of Pre-Columbian Diffusion," Economic Botany vol. 43, 1989, pp. 164-180). Photos of a few of these sculptures are online athttp://geography.uoregon.edu/carljohannessen/research.html, http://econ.ohio-state.edu/jhm/arch/maize.html, andhttp://www.globalserve.net/~yuku/dif/wmzpix.htm.

 

Vocal critics of Johannessen and Parker have argued that it was their lack of understanding of the intricacies of Hindu iconography that prevented them from realizing that what is depicted in these sculptures is in fact not maize, but rather something else - variously muktaphala (lit. "pearl-fruit", an imaginary fruit made of pearls), some exotic tropical fruit, or even, by one account, the Kalpavrksha, a mythical wish-granting tree (!).

Gupta's earlier books, including Plant Myths and Traditions in India (1971), Vishnu and His Incarnations (1974), Legends around Shiva (1979), and Festivals, Fairs, and Fasts of India (1990), establish her as an authority on Indian mythology and, in particular, the role of plants in Indian mythology. Now, she has provided a definitive text identifying some 70 varieties of plants depicted in Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist temple art in India.

Prof. Gupta writes,

Different varieties of the corn cob [Zea mays Linn.] are extensively sculpted but only on the Hindu and Jain temples of Karnataka. Various deities are shown as carrying a corn cob in their hands as on the Chenna Kesava temple, Belur. The straight rows of the corn grains can be easily identified. In the Lakshmi Narasimha temple, Nuggehalli, the eight-armed dancing Vishnu in his female form of Mohini is holding a corn cob in one of her left hands and the other hands hold the usual emblems of Vishnu. .... In the Trikuta basti, Mukhamandapa, Sravanbelgola, Karnataka, a 12th century A.D. sculpture of Ambika Kushmandini sitting on a lotus seat under a canopy of mangoes holds in her left hand a corn cob. Plate 223 depicting a Nayika holding a corn cob in her left hand is from Nuggehalli, Karnataka.

Temples where the sculptures of corn cobs are found are dated 12-13th century A.D. The common belief [!] is that maize originated in Mexico and came to India by the 11th-12th century. By the time these temples were constructed, maize would have been fairly common in India. (p. 176).

Gupta does not stop with maize, but goes on to identify sunflower, pineapple, cashew, custard apple and monstera, all new world species, in pre-Columbian temple art.

She finds Sunflower (Helianthus annuus Linn.), a native of Central and South America, in the Rani Gumpha cave, Udaigiri, 2nd century B.C. (p. 30). Johannessen independently reports sunflower in his article, "Pre-Columbian American Sunflower and Maize Images in Indian Temples: Evidence of Contact between Civilizations in India and America" (in Davis Bitton, ed., Mormons, Scripture and the Ancient World: Studies in Honor of John L. Sorenson, FARMS, Provo UT, 1998).

 

Pineapple (Ananas cosmosus [Linn.] Merrill), a plant indigenous to Brazil, is, according to Gupta, "clearly depicted" in Udayagiri cave temple, Madhya Pradesh, circa 5th century A.D. (p. 18). Cashew (Anacardium occidentale Linn.), a native of Brazil, is depicted in a Bharhut stupa balustrade relief, circa 2nd century B.C. (p. 17). Gupta finds custard apple (Annona Squamosa Linn.) sculpted at Bharhut, circa 2nd century B.C., and at Kakatiya, Karnataka, 12th century A.D. (pp. 19-20). According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, this plant is native to the New World tropics and Florida. And finally, monstera (Monstera deliciosa Liebm.), also known as split leaf philodendron, a large evergreen climber native to Central America, appears in Hindu and Jain temples in Gujarat and Rajastan from the 11th to 13th centuries (pp. 108-9).

According to Gupta, the chili pepper (Capsicum annuum Linn.) is mentioned in the Siva and Varmana Puranas, circa 6-8th centuries A.D. Unfortunately she does not give page references or indicate the term used for it there, and the only temple carving she has found of it dates to the 17th century A.D. This very important native of Mexico and Latin America deserves further investigation.

The naga lingham, the flower of the South American and West Indian cannonball tree (Couroupita guaianensis Aubl.), was, according to Gupta, "cultivated in India from very early times." In her timeframe, this would mean very early pre-Columbian times. She notes that it figures into the worship of Shiva at several temples. Nevertheless, the only sculpture of it she shows again dates from the 17th century A.D. This plant also merits further research.

Gupta's book contains a wealth of evidence for pre-Columbian contacts between the New World and the Old, despite the fact that she is not particularly interested in, or even aware of, the possibility. She does repeatedly reject reports that such-and-such plant was introduced by the Portuguese in the 16th century, but in her conclusion suggests that perhaps plants such as the pineapple and custard apple "were indigenous to India." Despite the "common belief" (evidently Johannessen and Parker's) that maize was brought to India from Mexico prior to the construction of the Hoysala temples, she reports that "Maize is also believed to have an Indian origin..." It is my understanding that this is botanically impossible, although it is quite conceivable that maize was present in the subcontinent for many centuries before the Hoysala dynasty, and that distinctively Asian varieties were developed early on.

Despite Gupta's confirmation of maize in the Hoysala sculptures Johannessen and Parker discuss, she argues that the similar but distinctly squatter objects that appear in earlier sculptures are not maize but rather Citron (Citrus medica var. Limonum of Watt.) or Lemon (Citrus limon [Linn.]), both Old World plants (p. 53). Perhaps so, but it is noteworthy that the "citron" she says is held by a Yaksha in an 8th century A.D. sculpture from Aihole has kernels aligned in maize-like rows. A citron looks like a large lemon with a deeply puckered skin, but the puckering is random, and does not simulate maize kernels as in her very clear photograph.

 

Unfortunately, Gupta makes no mention of Johannessen and Parker or their predecessors, or of the lively debate that surrounds the "maize ears." She also makes no mention of "muktaphala," or "pearl-fruit," the Sanskrit name said to be associated with these objects. My own hunch is that this was actually a name that was used for maize.

Gupta's book is a little hard to find in the United States. I had to have the Ohio State University libraries order it specially, and at present it has one of only two copies in the entire Ohiolink university library consortium. At $110 it is a little pricey, but it is informative, attractive and well done. The photos are good but almost all black and white. All the illustrations are well annotated.

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The following comments first appeared in 1998 on the newsgroup sci.archaeology.

Comments on Andrews (1993)

by J. Huston McCulloch

A 1993 article by Jean Andrews, "Diffusion of Mesoamerican Food Complex to Southeastern Europe," Geographical Review 83: 194-204, is pertinent to the issue of the timing of the introduction maize and other New World crops into the Old World.

 

Andrews' purpose is to explain how New World maize, capsicum peppers, beans, squash, and turkeys came to be introduced into Europe in the 16th century from the Turkish domains to the East rather than directly from Iberia, whose navigators had supposedly just discovered the New World for the first time in 1492.

 

A particularly tight squeeze is the Mexican pepper, Capsicum annuum var annuum. Cortez did not penetrate Mexico until 1519, yet Fuchs' herbal of 1542 (written as early as 1538) already has it established in Central Europe, presumably through Turkish influence.

 

This problem was already described in 1958 by E. Anderson, she says, as the "Anatolian Mystery": "Oddly, the Ottoman Turkish Empire, especially Anatolia, rather than Iberia became a center of diversity for squashes, pumpkins, popcorn, and possibly other American crops..."

 

Her solution is that the Portuguese, not the Spanish, introduced these crops to the Old World, and then not to Portugal but rather to their African colonies. From there they took them to India, where they became established and eventually passed through Persia or Arabia to Turkey, then to the Balkans, and finally to Central and Western Europe.

 

She admits this scenario is "improbable" (p. 194, 198, 203), and requires some "remarkably" fast transmission (200). Indeed, any quarterback who carried the ball twice the length of the field to make a touchtown rather than simply step across the line would receive a double Heisman trophy! (Either that or be penalized for Unsportsmanlike Conduct...)

A further problem is that the Portuguese were barred by the Treaty of Tordesillas from the Mesoamerican source of most of these crops. This limitation she dismisses as "more theoretical than real in the early sixteenth century."

 

Her principal area of expertise is capsicum peppers. Her solution to the early Turkish possession of the Mexican variety C. annuum var annuum, rather than the West-Indian South American - Brazilian C. chinese, aka aji, is that, contrary to most opinion on the subject, the former must have in fact been present in the West Indes when Columbus arrived.

 

(Note that early botanists thought that even the aji originated in the Orient, whence C. chinese.)

It seems to me, at least, that a far simpler solution is Johannessen and Parker's -- that there was some contact between India and Mesoamerica before Columbus. This would explain both the sculptured maize ears in India, and miscellaneous evidence of Oriental influence in Mesoam as noted by Michael Coe. At the same time, it would give these crops more time to variegate and spread from Asia into Europe.

 

If Andrews in 1993 was aware of the 1989 J&P article, she makes no mention of it. She does cite three papers by M.D.W. Jeffreys, upon whose suggestions J&P built, but only as an authority for the presence of maize in Cape Verde, Sao Tome and Principe as early as 1502. She makes no mention of the fact that Jeffreys firmly believed that maize was present in Africa and/or India ten crucial years before that. The papers she cites do not include his piece in the 1971 Man Across the Sea volume, where he most forcefully makes his case.

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New Evidence on Maize in China

Uchibayashi (2005) reports an illustration of maize in a 1505 Chinese herbal entitled Bencao Pinhui Jingyao. He deems it unlikely that maize could have diffused all the way to China in just 13 years after 1492, and hence interprets this as "clear evidence" that maize must have been in China "at least a few decades before 1505."

 

Uchibayashi also reports the use of the word yumi (maize) in the poem Youwu zashu, written by Xie Yingfan circa 1368. Two additional references, to yumai-zior corn-silk, appear in works dating to the 15th century, though it could not be ascertained that these were not later additions to the original works.

 

Uchibayashi (2005), which reports the new finds, is in English. Uchibayashi (2006a) is a Japanese extension of Uchibayashi (2005). Uchibayashi (2006b), also in Japanese, is a survey of earlier work on the pre-Columbian maize issue.

 

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