It is Wednesday - Odin's Day - and so therefore, as has become our custom, some fine devotional (a)art-i. Except this exquisite piece is not from the Northlands of Scandinavia - rather, its provenance is that most mysterious of Indo-European lands … far-flung Central Asia. Khotan, amidst the deserts and mountains fringing China's western edge in … Continue reading Sirius In Central Asia – Soma, Tisya, Tishtrya, Rudra
Linguistics (Comparative & Otherwise)
Midhvan for Monday – Lord Rudra’s Day
It is Monday - Lord Shiva's Day. And therefore - fine Roudran (A)Art-i. In this case - potentially - as Midhvan, and we shall explicate that term momentarily. Now, when one thinks of a figure of rather … apocalyptic significance turning up riding a white horse, it is perhaps rare that one's mind would immediately … Continue reading Midhvan for Monday – Lord Rudra’s Day
Interview With A Nuristani – The Mediation Via Memory Of Some Detail Of Their Once-Living Faith
Earlier this week, we ran an article looking at some of the issues with Kalasha / Nuristani religion - specifically, why claims of its being a somehow 'more pure' and 'pre-Vedic' Indo-Aryan faith don't really stack up. I said in the course of that piece that I'd be adding more substantive material in subsequent efforts, … Continue reading Interview With A Nuristani – The Mediation Via Memory Of Some Detail Of Their Once-Living Faith
On Indo-European Nana
It is Friday - Devi's Day. And therefore … a most beautiful silver depiction from Chorasmia, in the heart of Central Asia. And one which, as per usual, I am going to take a completely different view of as compared to much of academia. Now, this style of depiction is not exclusively Chorasmian - far … Continue reading On Indo-European Nana
On The Tocharian-Sourced Indo-European Toponymy For The Qilian Shan – And Associated Mytho-Linguistic Elements Running Right The Way Up To Kailash
For the past few days, I have been looking once more at Indo-Europeans in Central Asia - and even proximate to China. It is quite remarkable what there is out there, even if much of it has been forgotten or elsewise obscurated via the ravages of time. Now, these days the Qilian Shan refer to … Continue reading On The Tocharian-Sourced Indo-European Toponymy For The Qilian Shan – And Associated Mytho-Linguistic Elements Running Right The Way Up To Kailash
On Wolves Against Zoroastrian Identification
Something else that has been playing upon my mind as applies that fine Sogdian funerary sculpture's purported Zoroastrian provenancy … is the name of the Sogdian whose tomb it was. In his own language, it is Wirkak - that is to say, 'Wolf', from the same root a Sanskrit 'Vrka', etc. Now, why that is interesting … Continue reading On Wolves Against Zoroastrian Identification
Ganesha – The Lord On The Gun
It is Tuesday - the Day of Mars (and, for that matter, Mangala). Therefore … an Indian Jawan ['soldier' or 'paramilitary'] with a certain devotional image tied to the foregrip of his rifle. Now, I have occasionally made semi-joking reference to the notion of "Gun-Esha". Of course, this is not the proper understandings for Lord … Continue reading Ganesha – The Lord On The Gun
Of Monsters And Demonstrations – An Excerpt
Monster, is from the same root as ‘Demonstrate’ – and interestingly, the ‘Mon’ within this is a form of PIE ‘Men’ (i.e. Spirit, Mind, Mental Activity .. and a potential root for ‘Man’/’Men’ as our species (self-)designation … a perhaps rather better one than ‘Doubly Wise Man’ (‘Homo Sapiens Sapiens’), but, then, I digress). It … Continue reading Of Monsters And Demonstrations – An Excerpt
Towards An Indo-European Theory Of Demonology – Chaos, Devourers, Outsiders, Messengers and Monsters
Something I have long meant to pen is a sort of explanatory typology for 'Demons' in Indo-European understanding. There's almost certainly an entire book which could be written upon the subject - and it is undeniably significantly intriguing. After all, many a great and epic myth requires a suitably monstrous foe in order for the Hero … Continue reading Towards An Indo-European Theory Of Demonology – Chaos, Devourers, Outsiders, Messengers and Monsters
The Birth Of Athena – On The Indo-European Genesis Of Tritogeneia
Earlier this week I encountered something which has, by now, become regrettably familiar to me - although this did not dull my rage at its ridiculous (re-)appearance. Somebody proclaiming that Athena - in amidst a veritable 'Who's Who' of the Greek pantheon - was part of a clade of "certain mythological stories or deities that … Continue reading The Birth Of Athena – On The Indo-European Genesis Of Tritogeneia
arya-akasha 