Live
Science dot com recently carried an article on humanity’s oldest ever cave
art discovered in a cave in the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Older than the previously
oldest art of hand
stencils found in Sulawesi and also at Spain
dated around the same period of 40,000
years BP, the present art dated around 44,000 years before present depicts a ‘supernatural being’ according to the report.
This
therianthrope, showing a human figure with a tail, is part of the hunting scene
found in cave art in Leang Bulu' Sipong in Indonesia. (Image: © Ratno Sardi)
Among the hunting scenes by spear wielding humans in
the 4.5 metre long art, this human like figure appears with a snort on its
face! Treating this as the artist’s imagination of supernatural beings, the
researchers are of the opinion that this being is climbing a tall tree.
The report says, “During a survey for rock art,
study co-author Pak Hamrullah noticed "what appeared to be the entrance to
a cave located high up in a limestone cliff face, and he
climbed several meters up a fig tree vine to investigate it," study
co-author Adam Brumm, an archaeologist at Griffith University in Brisbane,
Australia, told Live Science.”
As one having seen the native tree-climbers in my
region, this figure appears to me as that of a tree climber and not a super natural
being. With thick and long ropes made of plant fibres hanging around the body which
locks them firmly with the tree while climbing and the feet-of-the-frog like accessories
for firm grip on the trunk of the tree, I don’t find much difference between
them and this man in the cave art in the act of climbing. With Sulawesi being native
to tall Eucalypt trees, the figure seems to be proof of tree- climbing as the
oldest surviving activity or profession of mankind.
Here is a picture of the native tree climber of
India that I could spot in the net, but this man is not actually fully equipped
with his accessories.
Here is another I picked out from a blog.
The tree climber in the cave art is using more than
one circular rope to climb the tree. The snort on his face could be some head
gear, as the tree climbers use head gears. The man in the picture (below) is
using the frog like feet accessory for climbing. This is somewhat similar to
the feet gear of the man in the cave art.
The feet accessory ties up the two feet and helps
the climber in moving the legs up simultaneously. In the cave art, the feet accessory
looks like a semi circular base put around the tree on which the climber rested
his feet. The feet are tied to the base which he drags up while climbing.
Though the appearance is different, the concept is the same.
With tall trees dotting the tropical Indian Ocean
islands starting from Madagascar to Polynesia in the Far East, tree climbing must
have been an occupation by itself since long. Normally we are led to think that
island countries must have been thriving in fishing and sea-faring activities.
The tropical islands are also known for tall trees such as coconut and palm
varieties, facilitating the growth of a class of people who specialise in
tree-climbing and also of others making goods from tree-products. Connection
through sea helps in easy transmission of specialists and also spread of the
skill.
The land forms of the 2nd Sangam age reflect
this kind of sea-based life style and occupation. During the times before
c.1500 BCE, (when 2nd Sangam age was thriving) seven types of land
forms had existed that can be matched with island based living. ‘Adiyārkku
Nallār’, the olden commentator for Silappadhikaram had given the
names of these lands. There were forty nine countries categorised into seven on
the basis of the nature of the land that had existed mostly off the southern shores
of India and stretching towards east in South East Asia. I have given below their
names along with the meanings.
7 Thenga naadu (தெங்க நாடு) (coconut country)
7 Madurai naadu (மதுரை நாடு), (Inland countries or cities with settled life)
7 Mun paalai naadu (முன் பாலை நாடு), (desert country in early part (of the year))
7 pin paalai naadu (பின் பாலை நாடு ) (desert county in later part (of the year))
7 kundra naadu (குன்ற நாடு) (Mountainous country)
7 GuNakarai naadu (குணகரை நாடு) (Eastern shore country)
7 kurumpanai naadu (குறும்பனை நாடு) (Short palm country)
Of the seven types, two are identified by the presence
of coconut and palm trees (7+7 = 14 countries were of these two types). Such regions
are found as far as Polynesia. For example Tonga, one among 169 islands of
the Polynesian Archipelago traces its name to the meaning “southwards” which is
‘thekku’ in colloquial Tamil and ‘therku’ in grammatical Tamil. The word Tonga resembles
Thenga country of 2nd Sangam age.
There are other similarities too, mainly the fire-walking ritual in this region
to justify the spread of a people of the same culture between Indian shores and
Polynesia that could have housed sea based countries among the 49 countries of
the 2nd Sangam age.
The submerged western ghat-extension running upto
Madagascar where Seychelles and Maldives are located fits the bill for the
seven mountainous countries. One might recall the Valmiki Ramayana verse of
Agastya once having made the end of Mahendra Mountain enter the ocean. (VR:
4.41.19). That was metaphorical of subduction of the extension of the Western
Ghats south off Kerala into the Indian Ocean. (Wherever rise or subduciton of
land forms are indicated, there Agastya’s name will also be present).
Of interest here for this article is the scope of commonality
in this vast stretch among people of tree-climbing occupation. With the olden
tree- climbing methods still continuing in parts of South India, the cave art
of Sulawesi seems to be proof for the presence of the same occupation from long
past in the regions connected by Indian Ocean.
