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asia without borders

NO. 106
ISSUE 4/2014

A Time

No. 33
Issue 4 | 2014

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WorldMags.nettimeless
By Theodora Goss

You ask where you will find her. Beside the singing fountains,
where orange trees are blossoming and perfuming the air,
where night is like an orchard, with orange blossoms shining,
and the spirit of the fountains unbinds its wild blue hair.
Ask courage of the clockwork bird and follow where it tells you,
the talking bird that maps the long brown road to hearts desire.
Pass by the groaning forests, and boars that speak in parables,
and stop your ears as you approach the taunting realms of fire.
When you have reached the final citadel, youll find the trousers
that give a man a league at step, the zither that is wise
enough to know how you can open all the cut-glass doorways.
Release the cat that smiles and blinks its dreaming amber eyes.
Then, after chasm and abyss, and after crystal mountains
that dazzle and confuse the mind like vertical green seas,
youll come at last beneath the trees of fragrant orange-orchards
where the princess in the singing fountains bathes her soft white knees.

THEODORA GOSS poems and stories


have been collected in The Rose in Twelve
Petals and Other Stories and In the Forest
of Forgetting, as well as published in
numerous magazines and anthologies. She
won the 2004 Rhysling Award for Best Long
Poem, and the 2008 World Fantasy Award
for Short Fiction. Her poetry collection
Songs for Ophelia will be published in
2014. She lives in Boston, Massachusett,
where she teaches at Boston University.
www.theodoragoss.com
In Fairyland: A Series of
Pictures from the Elf-World
by William Allingham
(Longmans, Green and
Company, Lon
ndon, 1875)

PHOTO BLUE LANTERN STUDIO/CORBIS

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chairman

LIM Geok Khoon

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No. 106 Issue 4/2014

departments
E DI TOR I A L

publisher/editorial director
John THET thet@asiangeo.com

picturesque

senior editor

Lunita S V MENDOZA lunita@asiangeo.com


features editor

14

Selina TAN selina@asiangeo.com


contributing editor
Ian SELDRUP ian@asiangeo.com

ASIAN Geographic magazine is a recipient of the Ngee Ann School


of Engineering Internship Programme/Sponsorship of Industrial
Projects appreciation award for the academic year 2010/2011.

A DV E R T I S I NG & M A R K ET I NG
business developement manager
Collin NG collin@asiangeo.com
advertising/marketing manager

Cassandra Ann DRAGON


cassandra@asiangeo.com
NG Yuan Ting ting@asiangeo.com
senior events & marketing executive
Karter LEE karter@asiangeo.com
events & marketing executive
Guanyu LAU guan@asiangeo.com
DE S IG N
senior graphic designer
Eric WONG eric@asiangeo.com
graphic designer
Justin Ong justin@asiangeo.com
web/it officer
Jonathan SOH jonathan.soh@asiangeo.com

the geographic

26

22

Inked in History

40

Singing Mulan to Life

heritage

exploration
46

Vanquishing Humbaba
Among the oldest of all recorded
tales, the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh
recounts how the heroes Gilgamesh and
Enkidu travelled to the Cedar Forest to
fight the monsters there and be the first
to cut down its trees. ASIAN Geographic
travels to the original place in Lebanon
that inspired this grand tale.

reflections

E DI TOR I A L I N T E R NS

Aiswarya DEVI

Surreal Sensations

Russias Mad Monk

BY YD BAR-NESS

wildlife
80

The Mother of Wheat


memories

93

Behind the Myth


of Shangri-La

96

The Mermaid

ocean

72

Sinbad the Sailor


From the world-famous collection of
tales One Thousand and One Nights
comes the adventures of Sinbad
the Sailor and his seven voyages.
An old manuscript indicates that the
appearance of this narrative on the
Arab-Islamic culture scene probably
took place shortly before the advent of
the ninth or even the eighth centuries.
ASIAN Geographic lays out the realities
that informed this momentous story.

icon

C I RC U L AT ION
senior circulation/distribution manager
Victor OW victor@asiangeo.com
circulation/administration executive
Sheila DEVI sheila@asiangeo.com
traffic/production executive
Kamille PANLAQUI kamille@asiangeo.com

BY HASAN EL-SHAMY

conservation

F I E L D E DI TOR S

84

Doug Perrine USA


YD Bar-Ness Australia
Oliver Benjamin Thailand
Renyung Ho Singapore
Scott Bennett Canada
Stephen Burrows Hong Kong
Dr Rachel Einav Israel
Zann Huizhen Huang Middle East

A Mynah Thing
Just as Old-timers reminisced about
the days when they were young in
Mele da Mynahs Noisy Ohana, we
too remember the days when the Bali
mynah flourished on the island. Today,
its close-to-extinction status has left
a bitter taste and conservationists
are struggling to keep this stunningly
beautiful starling flying high.

SC I E N T I F IC A DV I SOR S

Dr Simon Pollard Dr Doug Fenner


Dr Nicolas J Pilcher Dr Dionysius Sharma
Dr Carl Grundy-Warr

BY STEPHAN M FUNK

Editorial Submissions editor@asiangeo.com


Photo Submissions photo@asiangeo.com
Subscriptions sub@asiangeo.com
Advertising ads@asiangeo.com
Feedback info@asiangeo.com

Copyright 2014 by Asian Geographic Magazines Pte Ltd. No material may be reproduced without written permission. This publication
is purchased with the understanding that information is presented from many sources for which there can be no warranty or responsibility by the
publisher as to accuracy, originality, or completeness. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering product endorsements or providing instruction as a substitute for appropriate training by qualified sources. All content provided is accurate at the time of publishing.

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MICA (P) 010/10/2013; PPS 1367/04/2013 (022956) ISSN 0219-3310


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BRONZE

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the greatest tales of asia
features

54

32 Yann Martels Life of Pi

54 David and Goliath

Life of Pi is faction, a genuine


combination of fact and fiction,
inspired by real experiences the
writer had in a coffee shop in
Pondicherry, India. It is in this
furnace of sweltering temperatures
and exotic smells unfamiliar to
the storys Canadian author that
an Indian boy named Piscine, a
Bengal tiger called Richard Parker,
a carnivorous island and an army of
meerkats were forged in the creation
of the greatest fantasy adventure
novel in recent memory.

64 Worlds Most Famous

The biblical story pitting a towering


giant against a red-headed shepherd,
the future king of Israel, has become
a mainstay of Jewish and Christian
folklore. Yet the Valley of Elah, near
Jerusalem, where the battle took
place, may be visited today, and its
easy to picture the standoff between
Israelites and the warmongering
Philistines. So how much truth is
there to this epic legend?

Old World Monkey

ASIAN Geographic looks at the


two major original stories of this
irreverent monkey, in ancient India
and ancient China, and sees how
these stories resemble each other.
We look at how the Monkey King has
thrived to this day his story told in
new forms throughout the world.
BY YD BAR-NESS

BY DR RACHEL EINAV

BY DR MURALI SIVARAMAKRISHNAN

on the cover
Taken in Surin, Thailand, this brave
model provided a solemn pose to
echo the calm demeanour of the
elephant.

PHOTO ON THIS PAGE: LEBRECHT AUTHORS/LEBRECHT MUSIC & ARTS/CORBIS

Official publication

AsianGeo

Asian Geographic Magazines Pte Ltd

@asiangeographic

asiangeodigital@gmail.com

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Photo: Manuel Librodo

{ editors

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ASIAN Geographic can be found onboard


and for your reading pleasure at:

note

If you want your children to be intelligent, read


them fairy tales. If you want them to be more
intelligent, read them more fairy tales.
Albert Einstein

grew up listening to fairy tales being read to me and then

devouring them when I was old enough to read. Sometimes, the


characters I got to know from the pages of these fables kept me
company, allowing me to be my own free self, without judgement,
while I and my fairy tale posse go on adventures and discover secret
gardens, flying carpets, little tunnels in the ground, elves and new
nooks and crannies; the places where candy huts exist alongside
rainbow runners.
No doubt, it taught me the concepts of escapism and honed the
inexorable march of creativity in so many of lifes facets perhaps
even bestowing the ability to dream and reach for the stars.
I hope this issue inspires the need to read, more so now, in
a transient world swept away with shallow glamour and empty
distractions. At least in the parallel universe of parables, all that
glitters is gold and mysteries make for substantial adventures that
are bound to take you on worlds youve never imagined.
Shalom, salam, om shanti,

newsstand distribution
ASIAN Geographic can be found in the following countries. If you have
difficulty finding us on newsstands, please contact our distributors:
australia Gordon & Gotch Australia Pty Ltd; china and hong kong
Times Publishing (HK) Ltd; indonesia Java Books; philippines
Alpha Stream Marketing; malaysia Pansing Marketing Sdn Bhd;
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Holdings Ltd; taiwan TEP; thailand Asia Books Co Ltd; usa Speed
Impex

media correspondents
asia
india, sri lanka RMA Media, Faredoon KUKA
india@AsianGeo.com
nepal, bangladesh Media South Asia (P) Ltd
nepal@AsianGeo.com
malaysia Kennedy THALAYAN
malaysia@AsianGeo.com
Theresa THAM (East Malaysia)
theresa@AsianGeo.com
thailand Radius thailand@AsianGeo.com
australia Publicitas Australia Pty Ltd, Charlton DSilva
cdsilva@publicitas.com
china Hainan Periscope Social Media Company
china@AsianGeo.com
japan Keiichi ARANTANI japan@AsianGeo.com
russia Andrey BIZYUKIN russia@AsianGeo.com
oceania
australia Publicitas Australia Pty Ltd
australia@AsianGeo.com
europe
germany, switzerland, austria IMV Internationale
Medien Vermaktung germany@AsianGeo.com
sweden, norway, finland, denmark, iceland
M&M International Media AB sweden@AsianGeo.com
n. america north america Matt WEISS america@AsianGeo.com

other asian geographic magazines pte ltd publications:

A Victorian children's
book illustration from 1893,
published by McLoughlin
Brothers: The story is a
morality tale with a long
history, also in the song,
Froggy Went a Courtin'

ILLUSTRATION SWIM INK/CORBIS

ASIAN Geographics editor received the prestigious


Editor of the Year award at the 2011, 2012 & 2014 MPAS Awards.

ASIAN Geographic is published every 45 days by Asian


Geographic Magazines Pte Ltd 20 Bedok South Road,
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SUBSCRIBER LUCKY DRAW FOR THE


MONTHS OF JULY AND AUGUST 2014

An exciting new compilation

The Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen (Taschen)


presents the most famous Hans Christian Andersen
stories, including classics such as The Little
Mermaid, The Ugly Duckling and The Princess and
the Pea, in a highly esteemed 194 2 translation by
Jean Hersholt. This lovingly designed book contains
a selection of beautiful artwork from the 1840s to the
1980s by such artist greats as Kay Nielsen, the beloved
Arthur Rackham, the eccentric Tom Seidmann-Freud
(niece of Sigmund Freud), and the groundbreaking film
animator Lotte Reiniger, as well as many exciting, newly
discovered talents. Meant for the whole family, this
precious edition shares the eternal magic of the Danish
authors tales, celebrating his tender, heartfelt stories
that have entered both our collective imagination and
the literary canon.

Dear Editor,
I recently picked up your Great Asian Journeys Edition (No 102
Issue 1/14) at a corner shop in Kuala Lumpur and I think in all the
years, this is the best issue ever. I love it, from the cover

to every story inside. Just when I think youve


done your best, you give me better. Thank you.
sally yeoh, kuala lumpur, malaysia

The author

Dear Editor,
I absolutely loved the Editors Note in your Great Asian Journeys Edition (No
102 Issue 1/14). It has given me inspiration to climb mountains and conquer
forests in our amazing region called Asia. I aspire to be like you and hope I
can get the kind of experience you have over the years. Thank you.

Hans Christian Andersen is known today as the most


famous Scandinavian writer ever, and his brilliant talent
for storytelling has endeared him to millions. He was
born into poverty on April 2, 1805 in Odense, Denmark,
a day that has since become known as International
Childrens Book Day. Andersen was one of the first
European writers to create fantasy stories for childrens
sake, spreading an ancient Asian phenomenon of
make-believe stories told from the childs perspective.
By the end of his life, Andersens tales had made him
famous worldwide and he was deemed a national
treasure by the Danish government.

lena chiang, sydney, australia

Dear Editor,
I managed to get my hands on an old copy
from last year and I think Ive become a fan.
I was totally mesmerised by the colours of
the Asian eyes and it has taught me that
beautifully coloured eyes do not just belong
to Europeans. I even think the most strangely
beautiful eyes belong to the most beautiful
Asians. Thank you for this issue (Colours of
Asia Edition, No 98 Issue 5/13).

lesley bai, taipei, taiwan

Subscribe to ASIAN Geographic and


stand a chance to win The Fairy Tales of
Hans Christian Andersen !

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[ AWARD ]

PEOPLE PHOTOGRAPHER
OF THE YEAR 2015
PEOPLE OF ASIA
This category takes in portraits and persons in
Asia, reflecting one of Asias greatest offering,
the warmth and beauty of its people.

[ AWARD ]

ARCHITECTURE/LANDSCAPE
PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE
YEAR 2015
LANDSCAPE OF ASIA
From the most iconic Asian representation to
the most distinctive of Natures architecture,
the category welcomes the best look at Asias
structural designs, manmade or otherwise.

[ AWARD ]

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WILDLIFE OF ASIA

SPECIAL CATEGORY: ENVIRONMENT

Some of the most unique and rarest of wildlife


exist in Asia, topside and underwater. This
category looks at some of the best wildlife
found in the vast region of Asia.

One of the most important constitutions of ASIAN


Geographic is conservation. Paying homage to this very
important aspect of the geographic, this category hopes
to highlight some of the most relevant conservation
issues. Photos must be taken within the Asian region.

WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER
OF THE YEAR 2015

ENVIRONMENTAL PHOTOGRAPHER
OF THE YEAR 2015

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picturesque

Surreal Sensations
what dreams are made of
Text & Photos Manuel Librodo

This is a combination of two


pictures. The model posed
in front of a white wall and
the background was later
added using Photoshop. The
background is a picture I took
in one of my workshops in
February 2014. Located in
Ubon Ratchatani, Thailand,
the place is known as
Samphanboke (3,000 holes).
(Hungarian model Dorka
Banki styled and made up by
Swanti Sethi.)

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above I learned about this


place located in Antique,
a province in central
Philippines, through a
picture posted by one of my
friends. Taking advantage
of this rare phenomenon
of visible seaweeds during
the low tide, I convinced an
Ilongga model and beauty
queen Angelie Candelario to
travel with me to this place.
(Styling: Courtesy of her
uncle, Jun-G Candelario.)
left Taken in Bali, Indonesia,
Swiss-Indonesian model
Nora Luthie posed with a
lot of flowers made into a
headdress and strewn as
props. I wanted to show a
contrast of various elements
soft and hard, colourful and
plain, black and white

I love taking photos. It started as a


hobby, an effort to document what I
saw during my travels, but before long,
I realised that my forte was portraiture.
Still, one cannot travel all the time
nor casually ask strangers to pose for
the camera, so I found myself taking
pictures of models. Initially, they
would be formal portraits. Later, the
outfits became more sophisticated,
sometimes outlandish, sometimes
more like the clothes I saw in my
dreams when I was a child.

17
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above I never imagined


a place like this existed
in Thailand. Located in
the province of Ubon
Ratchatani, Samphanboke
looks surreal at times. Thus,
with the amazing styling of
Norwegian makeup artist and
stylist Hilde Marie Johansen,
I convinced Thai model Yok
to give me yogas balanced
wheel pose lying down.

above right The hair flipping


done by Thai supermodel
Bow complimented the
outlandish look of this photo.
It made the picture look more
dynamic.

18
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picturesque

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Eventually, the stylists and makeup


artists were waving their magic wands
and creating something extraordinary.
And I was hooked. So when I sit in
front of the computer to post-process
the raw images, I like making my
pictures look even more surreal.

19
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But why this style of photography? Its
hard to say. I just adore the colours. I
love pictures with a certain feeling of
light-heartedness. I like the light to be
pleasing and the mood, very dramatic.
Everyone should be able to relate,
because everyone has experienced
childhood. The pictures can be as
colourful as a butterfly, as light as a
feather, and as full of emotion as a
dramatic movie.
Maybe these images are my way of
escaping lifes not-so-perfect reality:
bills to pay, traffic jams, sleepless
nights trying to finish retouching
another photo, and the pressure from
people expecting more and more
from me every time I embark on a
new project.
My first love is travel photography. But
for now, I have to accept the fact that I
cannot go to places I want to go to, as
I need to work. With my photography,
though, I can go anywhere in the
world, and beyond. I can go back to
my childhood days and daydream with
my eyes open. What would my life be
without photography? ag

above Taken in Surin,


Thailand, this brave model
provided a solemn pose to
echo the calm demeanour of
the elephant.
left Filipina model Emmerie
Cunanan was dipped in a
pool filled with Indian Holi
powder and a lot of flowers.
The result was a colourful,
elegant and classy picture of
a painted lady.
(Makeup was done by Hilde
Marie Johansen.)

MANUEL MANNY LIBRODO has achieved


worldwide fame with his particular style of
digitally retouched portrait photography.
Born in the Philippines and now living
in Thailand, Librodo spends most of the
year holding workshops and seminars on
digital photography and editing. He gained
global recognition when UNICEF published
his portrait of a Burmese child on the
cover of their 2009 calendar. Since then,
Librodo has received numerous awards
and commendations for his creative work,
including being named one of the five best
photographers in the world by renowned US
photographer and author Scott Kelby.

21
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reflections

Inked in History
The

origins of Indian ink


despite the name can be traced back
to ancient China. In 2697 BC, a great
Chinese philosopher and thinker TienLcheu developed a dark liquid that
was used for marking stone and paper,
the latter of which also originated in
China. The need for ink was a result of
the evolution of art from stone carving,
and the bluish fluid was originally
intended for blacking the surfaces of
raised stone-carved hieroglyphics.
Tien-Lcheu concocted his ink out of the
soot of pinewood and oil from lamps,
which he mixed with gelatine made
from the skin of musk and donkey.
Ink was a popular invention, and by
1200 BC, people in China had refined
ink to various colours, using natural
dyes such as extracts from plants and
berries. Ink was eventually stabilised
using gums, nutgalls and iron salts.

[ china ]

The Chinese
develop a solid
ink that can
be stored as a
stick or cake. To
write, one simply
shaves some
ink off the stick
and mixes it with
water. This type
of ink is still used
today throughout
Asia.

The Greeks
invent the reed
pen.

1270 bc

500 bc

Inks popularity
increases in China.

Spotting a tradition

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105 ad
Paper is invented
by Tsai Lun.
Paper and ink
are used widely
in China, before
spreading to the
rest of the world
through the Silk
Road.

300 ad

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[ europe ]

Block-book
printing is
invented by the
Chinese.

400 ad
Ink on seals
is stamped on
paper in China.

With the advent of wood fibre,


which would later form the basis of
paper, the perfect writing duo ink
and paper was realised in 105 AD. It
was at this time that the technology
of ink crossed Chinese borders and
rose to fame in Japan, and from there,
spread to European shores by the
Arabs. Although many types of ink
liquid ink, coloured inks, ball point
ink, printer inks, to name a few have
been developed over the years, the
greatest impact of ink began in Europe
in 1448 with the work of a German
blacksmith. Johannes Gutenberg, a
pioneer of the printing press, modified
the previously water-based ink to an
oil-based one to complement his metal
type. Needless to say, dissemination
of information was revolutionised, and
the Gutenberg Bible became the first
mass-produced book printed in the
West. Following this, literacy spread
throughout Europe all from one
bluish-black spot.

The Europeans
adopt the
Chinese method
of block printing.

510 ad

700 ad

1423

The quill pen


becomes the
favoured writing
instrument for
most of the
Western world.

Echoes of a Chinese invention

BY AISWARYA DEVI
PHOTOS ON SPREAD, FROM LEFT: ASTOCK/CORBIS, IMAGE SOURCE/CORBIS

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The Origins
of Fairy Tales
An Indian revelation

The Arabian Nightss, said to


have been inspired by The
Panchatantra
t

"C
lil and
d Dimna"
Di na" or the Arabic
"Calila
translation of The Panchatantra
(14th Century)

The Panchatantra is an ancient Indian


interrelated collection of animal fables in
verse and prose, in a frame story format. The
original Sanskrit work, which some scholars
believe was composed around the third
century, is attributed to Vishnu Sharma. It
is based on older oral traditions, including
animal fables that are as old as we are able to
imagine. It is certainly the most frequently
translated literary product of India, and these
stories are among the most widely known in
the world.
According to Franklin Edgerton in The
Panchatantra Reconstructed (1924), there are
recorded over two hundred different versions
known to exist in more than fifty languages,
and three-fourths of these languages are
extra-Indian. As early as the eleventh century
this work reached Europe, and before 1600
it existed in Greek, Latin, Spanish, Italian,
German, English, Old Slavonic, Czech, and
perhaps other Slavonic languages. Its range
has extended from Java to Iceland it has
been worked over and over again, expanded,
abstracted, turned into verse, retold in

prose, translated into medieval and modern


vernaculars, and retranslated into Sanskrit.
And most of the stories contained in it have
gone down into the folklore of the storyloving Hindus, whence they reappear in the
collections of oral tales gathered by modern
students of folk-stories.
The Panchatantra is also known, in
different form, as The Fables of Bidpai (or
Pilpai, in various European languages) or The
Morall Philosophie of Doni (English, 1570).
The work is also the origin of several stories in
Arabian Nights, Sinbad and of many Western
nursery rhymes and ballads.
Scholars have noted the strong
similarity between a few of the stories in The
Panchatantra and Aesops Fables. Similar
animal fables are found in most cultures of
the world, although some folklorists view
India as the prime source. For example,
India is described as the chief source of the
worlds fable literature in Funk and Wagnalls
Standard Dictionary of Folklore Mythology
and Legend. The noted French fabulist Jean
de La Fontaine (16211695) acknowledged

Written in Spain c. 1281, this collection of tales in


rhymed prose, with added didactic material, was
designed to replace translated works with original
Hebrew stories

This is a printed edition of a book originally produced


in manuscript around 126378. It is a Latin translation
made by a Jewish apostate

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revealed

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...the stories of European folk tales
had originated in India and had been
transferred by oral tradition to the
different countries of Europe.

his indebtedness to The Panchatantra in the


introduction to his second Fables: I have to
acknowledge that the greatest part is inspired
from Pilpay [Bidpai], an Indian Sage.
The Panchatantra has gone through
many different versions and translations. The
original Indian version was first translated into

a foreign language (Pahlavi) by Borzuya


in 570
AD. The Persian Ibn al-Muqaffas translation
of The Panchatantra from Middle Persian

to Arabic, Kalilah
wa Dimnah, in 750 AD, is
considered the first masterpiece of Arabic
literary prose. Perhaps most importantly, it
was translated into Hebrew by Rabbi Joel in
the 12th century. This version was, in turn,
translated into Latin by John of Capua as
Directorium Humanae Vitae, or Guide for
Human Life, and printed in 1480. It became
the source of most European vers ons.
A German translation, Das Buch der
Beispiele, was printed in 1483, making
this one of the earliest books to be printed
by Gutenbergs press after the Bible. An
Italian version by Antonfrancesco Doni in
1552 became the basis for the first English

translation in 1570: Sir Thomas North


translated it into Elizabethan English as The
Fables of Bidpai: The Morall Philosophie of
Doni (reprinted by Joseph Jacobs, 1888).
German scholar Theodor Benfey, in his
introduction to Pantschatantra (Leipzig, 1859),
suggested that the stories of European olk
tales had originated i India and had been
transferred by oral tradition to the different
countries of Europe. This, according to
folklorist and historian Joseph Jacobs, entirely
undermined the mythological theories of
the Brothers Grimm and German philologist
Max Mller and considerabl reduced the
importance of folk tales as throwing light upo
the primitive psychology of the Aryan peoples.
Benfeys research was followed up by
French folklorist Emmanuel Cosquin who, in
the elaborate notes to his Contes de Lorraine
(Tales of Lorraine), Paris, 1886, largely
increased the evidence both for the common
European popularity of many of the tales and
incidents, as well as for the parallels to be
found in Oriental collections.

Sunita Parasuramans version of The Panchatantra

The Tortoise And The Geese: And Other Fables Of Bidpai,


a paperback by Maude Barrows Dutton Lync from
The Panchatantra

Aesop's Fables: a collection of fables credited to Aesop,


a slave and storyteller believed to have lived in ancient
Greece between 620 and 560 BC

Pandit Vishnu Sharmas version of The Panchatantra


in Hind

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Commonly known as Grimm's Fairy Tales, the first


volume of the first edition was published in 1812

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the geographic

Vanquishing
Humbaba
the cedars of earliest history

Text YD Bar-Ness

The Epic of Gilgamesh


Translated by Maureen Gallery Kovacs
Electronic Edition by Wolf Carnahan, 1998

He who has seen everything, I will


make known (?) to the lands.
I will teach about him, who experienced all things alike,
Anu granted him the totality of knowledge of all.
He saw the Secret, discovered the Hidden,
He brought information of (the
time) before the Flood.
He went on a distant journey,
pushing himself to exhaustion,
But then was brought to peace.
He carved on a stone stela all of his toils,
And built the wall of Uruk
-
Haven, the wall of the sacred Eanna
Temple, the holy sanctuary.
Look at its wall, which
gleams like copper
Inspect its inner wall, the likes
of which no one can equal!
Take hold of the threshold stone
-
It dates from ancient times!
Go close to the Eanna Temple,
the residence of Ishtar,
Such as no later king or man ever equalled!
Go up on the wall of Uruk and walk around,
Examine its foundation, inspect
its brickwork thoroughly
Is not (even the core of) the brick
structure made of kiln?
-
Fired brick,
And did not the Seven Sages themselves lay out its plans?

One League City, one league palm


gardens, one league lowlands, the
open area of the Ishtar Temple,
Three leagues and the open area
of Uruk it (the wall) encloses.
Find the copper tablet box,
Open the of its lock of bronze,
Undo the fastening of its secret opening.
Take and read out from the
lapis lazuli tablet
How Gilgamesh went through
every hardship.
Supreme over other kings,
lordly in appearance,
He is the hero, born of Uruk,
the goring wild bull.
He walks out in front, the leader,
And walks at the rear, trusted
by his companions.
Mighty net, protector of his people,
Raging flood
-
Wave who destroys even walls of stone!
Offspring of Lugalbanda, Gilgamesh
is strong to perfection,
Son of the august cow, Rimat
-
Ninsun Gilgamesh is
awesome to perfection.
It was he who opened the mountain passes,
Who dug wells on the flank
of the mountain.
It was he who crossed the ocean,
the vast seas, to the rising sun,
Who explored the world
regions, seeking life.

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An 1839 illustration of a
cedar forest by George
Harvey: The inspiration
for the Epic of Gilgamesh,
considered the worlds first
truly great work of literature

It was he who reached by his own sheer


strength Utanapishtim, the Faraway,
Who restored the sanctuaries (or:
cities) that the Flood had destroyed!
For teeming mankind
Who can compare with him in kingliness?
Who can say like Gilgamesh: I am King!?
Whose name, from the day of his
birth, was called Gilgamesh?
Two
-
Thirds of him is god, one
-
Third of him is human.
The Great Goddess [Aruru]
designed(?) the model for his body,
She prepared his form
Beautiful, handsomest of men,
Perfect
-He walks around in the enclosure of Uruk,
Like a wild bull he makes himself
mighty, head raised (over others).
There is no rival who can raise
his weapon against him.
His fellows stand (at the alert),
attentive to his (orders),
And the men of Uruk become anxious in
Gilgamesh does not leave a son to his father,
Day and night he arrogantly

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PHOTO BROOKLYN MUSEUM/CORBIS

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4

2
3
1

Horsh Arz el-Rab

Mo

un

tL
eb

an

on

1 Egypt
2 Israel
3 Jordan
4 Lebanon
5 Syria

Stuff of Legends

Described by Homer, Plato,


and the Old Testament,
these once-richly forested
mountains and their most
famous inhabitant, the
Lebanese cedar (Cedrus
libani) have inspired
writers and poets throughout
the centuries

Cedars

have a graceful strength


that has been linked to myth and
divinity since the earliest human
stories. From Morocco to China,
the trees of the genus Cedrus
grow in dark, solemn groves on
the mountain slopes, and from
the earliest days of agricultural
civilisation, they have been the
wild and magnificent forests above
and beyond familiar farm fields and
fertile river valleys.

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The cedar forest is an important


setting for the action in the very oldest
of all legends: the 4,000-year-old
Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh. In this
story, the King of Ur, Gilgamesh, and his
wild companion Enkidu travel seven
mountains distant from the river valley
up to the cedar forests, the domain
of the gods. Upon their arrival, they
audaciously begin to cut at the tallest of
the trees and are attacked by the forests
defender, the terrifying demon Humbaba

PHOTOS ON SPREAD, FROM LEFT: ROGER TIDMAN/CORBIS, YD BAR-NESS

After a battle of great physical and


supernatural energies, Gilgamesh
and Enkidu defeat the demon among
the towering trees. As he is begging
for mercy, Gilgamesh kills him. By
vanquishing Humbaba, he gained
dominion and thus utilisation of
the wild forest.
In his last breath, Humbaba cursed
Gilgamesh to outlive Enkidu and to
never know peace. Four thousand
years later, we can perhaps cast

above Cedrus libani is a


tall evergreen tree, which
has been prized for its high
quality timber, oils and
resins for thousands of years
left A close-up of a cedar
of Lebanon cone: Turning
from green to brown when
mature, the female cone
is covered in broad seed
scales, each of which
covers two winged seeds
which are released when the
cone breaks up at maturity

29
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These massive trees


(genus Cedrus) of
the Asian and African
mountains are among the
very largest and tallest
of all trees, but few oldgrowth forests remain.

Humbaba in a new light. This demon


was a protector of the forest, and
Gilgamesh himself a merciless threat
to a pristine landscape. Humbabas
curse can be seen as a warning to
wisely conserve our life-giving forests.
The Epic of Gilgamesh offers a
tantalising glimpse of the onceextensive Cedrus libani forests that
grew above the lands of the Fertile
Crescent. Now referred to as Lebanese
cedars after their last refuge on Mount
Lebanon, they evoked a mystery and
magic to the Sumerians that we can
still detect today. If you pay a visit
to wild stands of their near relatives,
the Himalayan deodar cedars
(Cedrus deodara) and North African
atlas cedars (Cedrus atlantica),
you can feel the same sense of
monumental sanctity that Gilgamesh
would have experienced.
To the Hindu people, the cedars
are sacred to Shiva and are known
as deodar, or dev daru, meaning
the divine tree. In Judaism,
Christianity and Islam, the cedar trees
are remembered primarily as the
construction material for Solomons
Temple in Jerusalem. The ancient
Egyptians connected the god Osiris
to the cedar trees. After teaching all
useful skills to humanity, but before
his resurrection, his coffin floated
down the Nile River and northwards,
where it became lodged in the trunk of
a massive tree.
These massive trees (genus Cedrus)
of the Asian and African mountains are

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among the very largest and tallest of


all trees, but few old-growth forests
remain. Despite the respect in which
these trees were held, they were not
immune to exploitation. Today, large
areas of atlas and deodar cedars
remain in their mountain holdouts,
but the Lebanese cedar forest has
been reduced to tiny fragments. On
the Mediterranean island of Cyprus,
you can see the last remaining groves
of the endangered Cedrus brevifolia,
another species that humans have
used since prehistoric times.
The march of civilisations
Sumerian, Babylonian, Phoenician,
Assyrian, Hebrew Roman, Arabic,
Crusader, Ottoman, British and
others have all found these forests
to be a bountiful gift and a valuable
resource. The trees reliably provided
the timber for shipbuilding, the
beams for palaces, the material for

PHOTOS YD BAR-NESS

railways and, most consistently, the


fuel for fireplaces.
Today, the Lebanese Government
has protected the largest of the
remnant forests in the World Heritagelisted Forest of the Cedars of God
(Horsh Arz el-Rab) reserve and the
cedar tree is proudly shown on the
national flag.
A premier component of Lebanons
tourism and cultural resource, the cedar
forests also help preserve a critical
biogeographical link midway between
the Himalayan deodars and the African
atlas cedars. They can remind us of the
cool, evergreen forests that stretched
clear across the highlands of Asia and
North Africa. While their survival is
still subject to serious threats, after
thousands of years silently serving
humans, Humbabas cedar forests can
once again became a place of reverence
and mystery. ag

above Cedars in other parts


of Asia: The great Jageshwar
temple complex in India is
located in a beautiful valley
covered with thick forest of
cedar trees. The complex
was built by the Chand and
Katyuri rulers between the
eighth and 12th century AD
left The national emblem
of Lebanon, the cedar was
famously used to build
the Temple of Solomon in
Jerusalem, as well as the
ships and temples of the
Egyptian pharaohs

YD BAR-NESS is a conservation ecologist


based in Fremantle, Western Australia. As
a scientist, he specialises in climbing trees
to explore the canopy biodiversity and as a
conservationist, he seeks to use geography
and photography to create environmental
education materials.
www.outreachecology.com

31
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inspired by real experiences the writer had in a coffee shop in
Pondicheerry, India.
Life of Pi
Chapter 3 (excerpt)
Mamaji studied in Paris for two years, thanks to the
colonial administration. He had the time of his life. This
was in the early 1930s, when the French were still trying
to make Pondicherry as Gallic as the British were trying
to make the rest of India Britannic. I dont recall exactly
what Mamaji studied. Something commercial, I suppose.
He was a great storyteller, but forget about his studies
or the Eiffel Tower or the Louvre or the cafs of the
Champs-Elysees. All his stories had to do with swimming
pools and swimming competitions. For example, there
was the Piscine Deligny, the citys oldest pool, dating
back to 1796, an open-air barge moored to the Quai
dOrsay and the venue for the swimming events of the
1900 Olympics. But none of the times were recognized
by the International Swimming Federation because the
pool was six metres too long. The water in the pool came
straight from the Seine, unfiltered and unheated. It was
cold and dirty, said Mamaji. The water, having crossed
all of Paris, came in foul enough. Then people at the pool
made it utterly disgusting. In conspiratorial whispers,
with shocking details to back up his claim, he assured
us that the French had very low standards of personal
hygiene. Deligny was bad enough. Bain Royal, another
latrine on the Seine, was worse. At least at Deligny they
scooped out the dead fish. Nevertheless, an Olympic
pool is an Olympic pool, touched by immortal glory.
Though it was a cesspool, Mamaji spoke of Deligny with
a fond smile.

{ india }

Yann
Martels
Life of Pi
In the magic circle
of the storyteller
text
Dr Murali Sivaramakrishnan

Life of Pi is a 2001 fantasy


adventure novel by Canadian
author Yann Martel

ILLUSTRATION JUSTIN ONG

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feature

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To tell a tale well is to allow imagination to create


another reality. And that too in a most convincing
manner, fit enough to make the reader live through the
experience of the tale. Of course, a tale includes over
and above the reader the narrator and the chief fabric:
the text. Therefore, all good narratives are fabrications
a fusion of fantasy with reality, in more ways than one
telling lies craftily, creating a magic circle. And the more
fantastic the lie, the more evocative the narrative.
When Sinbad in the Arabian Nights narrates his
adventures, the magical circle is so potent that the
genuine reader loses sight of lived reality and floats
about with the Roc bird and the magic carpets. So is
the case, but of course with a slight difference, when
Ishmael tells his tale of the one-legged Captain Ahab
and the huge White Whale. While under the grip of
a good tale, our grip on what we usually call reality

above From an incredible


book comes the movie and
the rest, as they say, is history

right Recent photos of the


actual coffee shop (above)
and the inspiration of Pis
zoo (below) located in
Pondicherry

undergoes a genuine transformation and then we have


to willingly suspend our disbelief.

Life of Pi is faction a genuine


combination of fact and fiction
as the narrative unfolds like an
old-world scroll.
So then, the point of it all may not be whether
Pondicherry does have a zoo or whether one could
survive a shipwreck alone for so long or even whether a
Bengal Tiger named Richard Parker could survive on a
rickety boat for so long in the sole company of an Indian
boy, as Yann Martels tale of God and faith sets it out to
be; on the other hand, the whole point might be that the
tale does hold us in its grip for as long as it lasts and we
float around in the magic carpet of the narrative. Life of
Pi is faction a genuine combination of fact and fiction
as the narrative unfolds like an old-world scroll.
In brief, the storyline is simple enough. Pi, a Tamilspeaking boy from Pondicherry, is the protagonist of

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yann martels life of pi

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PHOTOS TEJASWI MURALI

35
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the tale strangely named after the Piscine Molitor,


a Parisian swimming club with two pools that
Adirubasamy, the teller within the tale, used to frequent!
His father, who ran a zoo, moves with his family to
Canada and on June 21, 1977, they set sail in a cargo ship,
along with a crew and many cages full of zoo creatures.
The ship is wrecked and the boy finds himself in a boat
out in the open sea in the company of an orangutan,
a zebra, a hyena and a tiger. The major portion of the
narrative is about his adventure to survive and comes to
terms with his faith in God and life.
In his authors note, Martell explains that he travelled
from his home town in Canada to India because he was
feeling restless, and while sipping coffee in an Indian
coffee house on Jawaharlal Nehru Street in Pondicherry,
he met Francis Adirubasamy, an old man who offered
to tell him a story fantastic enough to give him faith
in God. This tale is that of Pi Patel. The narrative then
moves into the story itself, but not before informing the
reader that the account will come across more factually
if it is told in Pis own voice. And Pi takes over.
There is an actual Indian coffee house in Jawaharlal
Nehru Street in Pondicherry. (Alas, it was demolished

fairly recently to give way for the increasing traffic


and shopping complexes, but will be rebuilt later.)
There was an actual chair and coffee table on which
perhaps, as the author says, he sat contemplating his
own miserable existence, when fate brought him face
to face with the old man! But then when Martel shifts
gears and takes us into the realms of fantasy, he invents
a zoo in Pondicherry, along with a Gujarati family who
speaks Tamil and owns this zoo with a Bengal tiger
called Richard Parker.

There is an actual Indian coffee


house in Jawaharlal Nehru Street
in Pondicherry.
What Pondicherry does have is an aura of an Old
World colonial town once frequented by the French,
whose lifelines are visible even today in the well-laid
out streets and the charming white-washed villas and
boulevards. The picture perfect seaside town has a
botanical garden, which once housed a small toy train

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PHOTOS ON SPREAD, FROM LEFT: FREDERIC SOLTAN/SYGMA/CORBIS, FELIX HUG/CORBIS

yann martels life of pi

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}
I

Real Life
Inspiration

This modern fairy tale begins


in Pondicherry, India, a
bustling city of 650,000
people

Pondicherr y

left The French-inspired


Church of Dame des Anges:
The former French colony
of Pondicherry is a union
territory with a special
administrative status

Jawaharlal
Nehru
Street

below A bicycle stands in


front of a typical Pondicherry
wall

that ran under the huge trees and through the clumps
of flower-filled bushes. The friendly people around here
still appear to relish their old French connection, in that
many do speak French and enjoy a good long siesta in
the humid afternoons.
The east coast of India can boast of temperatures that
can rise to 38 degrees Celsius during the long, humid

summers and frequent equatorial storms. Little wonder


that the Canadian author chose to invent his protagonist
in this part of the world well-known for its quaintness.
The setting is already touched with a little magic; all that it
required was a cauldron of lies and the magic wand of the
narrator. As every tale reinvents itself in its own course,
the fabric of the Life of Pi takes on uncanny dimensions,

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Martel has allowed this magic to
penetrate his narrative: Pi grows
up to discover the worlds major
religions and their search for God.
while on land and at sea. Richard Parker is a Bengal tiger,
and Orange Juice is the orang-utan; the zebra shows
indefatigable courage to live, as it is slowly being eaten by
the hyena. Martel apparently permitted Darwin to have
his say in the grand struggle of the survival of the fittest
when fate throws in all these animals along with the boy
in a small boat on the rough seas.
Among the many dimensions that the novel invokes
there is this one about faith and religion. And of course,
Martel has chosen to locate his tale in Pondicherry,
which is an apt locale for its unique geographical
position as contained within the Tamil country and
yet sticking out of it, and occurring at the crossroads
of all the major religions of Hinduism, Islam and
Christianity. In fact, life in this part of the world is
multi-planed, multilingual and multicultural at the
same time. Sometimes, one wonders whether time
stands still around here. The clangs of temple bells mix
in right harmony with the call of the muezzin and the
murmurs of the mass and church ceremonies. The ease
with which people pass through days and nights in
supreme harmony with God and animals might sound
like magical realism for an outsider.
Martel has allowed this magic to penetrate his
narrative: Pi grows up to discover the worlds major
religions and their search for God. His fathers
rationality and his mothers simple faith create a filter
for his dreams even while at sea and lost. God speaks
to him in his own voice when he lets go of all hope.
Even when, towards the end, they pull up to an island
where strange trees grow out of mere vegetation and
where thousands of meerkats throng and where Pi
discovers the carnivorous nature of the island, it is
not simply fortuity that lets him slip though, but it is
perhaps his own faith that he rediscovers. Ultimately,
when they hit the Mexican shore, and Richard Parker
jumps out and walks away without a backward glance,
Pi is heartbroken: he has apparently lost a friend, along
whose company he had regained a new faith in life. The
tale is certainly about faith faith in oneself. And the
misadventures that befall the Pondicherry boy on the
rough sea whip him on to a new awareness.
Finally, when the Japanese ship company that
owned the ship which was drowned refuses to believe

in his tale, Pi reinvents another parallel one with


humans instead of animals which goes into the records.
Perhaps we humans are always afraid of reality; we
need to reinvent familiar stuff. This sort of Orwellian
double think actually pervades the entire narrative
whether it is that of Yann Martel or the old man,
Francis Adirubasamy, or Pi, or Orange Juice, or the
zebra and the hyena, or Richard Parker. After all, it
is the manner in which the teller tells the tale that
makes it entertaining. This is the case with the tales
from the ancient Indian collection of animal fables,
the Panchatantra, and the fables credited to the slave
storyteller from ancient Greece, Aesop.
But then, just as all lies will not be tales, all tales
need not be lies. Sauntering along the streets of
Pondicherry beside the towering mosque at the south
end of the boulevard, the church on Mission Street, the
Sri Mankula Vinayagar Temple at the heart of the town,
one learns to believe in realities beyond the seen and
the felt. The old name of Pondicherry is Vedapuri, the
land of the Vedas, and the Saint Agasthiyar is supposed

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yann martels life of pi

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left The interior of a church


in Pondicherry, reminiscent
of the church Pi first visits
and discovers the various
concepts of religion

below A map of Pondicherry:


A union territory of India
formed out of four enclaves
of former French India and
named after the largest

to have lived here. Hundreds of siddhas have flourished


in this hallowed region. So much for the small town
that lives on myths and legends on the southeast coast.
The tsunami that almost washed it off the map of
India a few years ago brought it more global limelight.
The Life of Pi, conceived amidst Hollywood fantasies,
magical-realist narratives, animated cartoon networks
and the cyber world, worked as another curtain raiser
for the mega-event that is Pondicherry. Yann Martels
hero is cast in the similar lines of Ishamael and Sinbad
a survivor and a narrator and I only am escaped
alone to tell thee. ag

PHOTOS ON SPREAD, FROM LEFT: DINODIA/CORBIS , STAPLETON COLLECTION/CORBIS

DR MURALI SIVARAMAKRISHNAN, poet, painter and critic, is


Professor and Head of the Department of English, Pondicherry
University, India. He has authored a number of books on
aesthetics and literature and five volumes of poetry. His paintings
have gone on display at several major exhibitions. He is the
founder President of ASLE India. His Nature and Human Nature:
Literature, Ecology, Meaning (2009) is a pioneering work on
Indian eco-criticism. Its sequel, Ecological Criticism for Our
Times: Literature, Nature and Critical Inquiry (2011) has also
received high accolades. He is guest-editing a special issue on
Ecocriticism for CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture
16.4 (December 2014). In 2014, he was awarded the Lifetime
Achievement Award for literature by the Guild of Indian English
Writers, Editors and Critics.

39

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Many in the West know Mulan from the 1998 animated


Disney film of the same name. But the legendary tale of
Chinas famous girl warrior originates with a ballad first
recorded in the Han Dynasty.
ILLUSTRATION BY ERIC WONG

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ocean

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{ china }

Singing
Mulan
to Life
Chinas fabled female
fighter
text
Wang Juan

The Ballad of Mulan


(excerpt)
Tsiek tsiek and again tsiek tsiek,
Mulan weaves, facing the door.
You dont hear the shuttles sound,
You only hear Daughters sighs.
They ask Daughter whos in her heart,
They ask Daughter whos on her mind.
No one is on Daughters heart,
No one is on Daughters mind.
Last night I saw the draft posters,
The Khan is calling many troops,
The army list is in twelve scrolls,
On every scroll theres Fathers name.
Father has no grown-up son,
Mulan has no elder brother.
I want to buy a saddle and horse,
And serve in the army in Fathers place.
In the East Market she buys a spirited horse,
In the West Market she buys a saddle,
In the South Market she buys a bridle,
In the North Market she buys a long whip.
At dawn she takes leave of Father and Mother,
In the evening camps on the Yellow Rivers bank.
She doesnt hear the sound of Father and Mother calling,
She only hears the Yellow Rivers flowing water cry
tsien tsien.
At dawn she takes leave of the Yellow River,
In the evening she arrives at Black Mountain.
She doesnt hear the sound of Father and Mother calling,
She only hears Mount Yens nomad horses cry tsiu tsiu.

Hua Mulan: A female hero


personifying the stuff male
heroes usually carry

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She goes ten thousand miles on the business of war,


She crosses passes and mountains like flying.
Northern gusts carry the rattle of army pots,
Chilly light shines on iron armor.
Generals die in a hundred battles,
Stout soldiers return after ten years.
On her return she sees the Son of Heaven,
The Son of Heaven sits in the Splendid Hall.
He gives out promotions in twelve ranks
And prizes of a hundred thousand and more.
The Khan asks her what she desires.
Mulan has no use for a ministers post.
I wish to ride a swift mount
To take me back to my home.
When Father and Mother hear Daughter is coming
They go outside the wall to meet her, leaning on
each other.
When Elder Sister hears Younger Sister is coming
She fixes her rouge, facing the door.
When Little Brother hears Elder Sister is coming
He whets the knife, quick quick, for pig and sheep.
I open the door to my east chamber,
I sit on my couch in the west room,
I take off my wartime gown
And put on my old-time clothes.
Facing the window she fixes her cloudlike hair,
Hanging up a mirror she dabs on yellow flower powder
She goes out the door and sees her comrades.
Her comrades are all amazed and perplexed.
Traveling together for twelve years
They didnt know Mulan was a girl.

The he-hares feet go hop and skip,


The she-hares eyes are muddled and fuddled.
Two hares running side by side close to the ground,
How can they tell if I am he or she?
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singing mulan to life

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left From ballad to book,
the story of Mulan has been
a part of Asian childrens
storybook collection for
generations

bottom left A recent


retelling: The legend of
Mulan continues to be retold
in movies

below A statue depiction of


Hua Mulan from Singapores
Chinese Garden

The Ballad of Mulan was first recorded in the Han


Dynasty (206 BC220 AD) by some officials of Yuefu
(), a government office for collecting folk songs
and ballads. The ballad told a story about a girl named
Mulan whose aged father was conscripted. Mulan,
unwilling to see her father fighting in a war, disguised
herself as a man and joined the army.
Mulan was a brave warrior and participated in
many battles over the course of the war. After 10 years,
the enemy was defeated and Mulan was rewarded for
her outstanding military exploits. However, Mulan
returned home, relinquishing the accolades bestowed
upon her by Kehan, the emperor. Later, when Mulans
brothers-in-arms visited her home, they realised that
she was actually a woman.

Some scholars have argued that


the story had a Western origin
because of the lack of Chinese
cultural elements in the piece.
Initially, the ballad was only a story sung orally by
ordinary people. The most fascinating part of the story
was that Mulan, a beautiful girl, could successfully
disguise herself as a man for over a decade. Some
scholars have argued that the story had a Western
origin because of the lack of Chinese cultural elements
in the piece.
During the Southern and Northern Dynasties
Period (420589 AD), the ballad was included in Zhi
Jiangs () famous work, Ancient and Modern Songs
(), rising to fame since then. It was
around the Sui and the Tang Dynasties (581907 AD)
that people began to believe there must be a real girl
named Mulan. The legend of Mulan gradually became
very popular during the Tang Dynasty.
Unlike in the Han Dynasty ballad, the Tang-era
legend of Mulan had a tragic ending. As the legend
had it, Mulan was a girl whose family name was
Wei (). It was said that during the Sui Dynasty, there
was a war against the enemy from the north. Since
Mulans father was old and her brothers were still very
young, Mulan went to the battlefield in the place of her

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The story of Mulan continues to be


a subject for present-day writers
and dramatists even if most new
adaptations still follow Xus version.
father. As in the ballad, Mulan was very brave, so after
the war, the emperor offered to reward her generously
for her valour and skill in battle. However, Mulan
declined and returned home.
Later, when the emperor learned that Mulan was a
girl, he wanted her to be his concubine. Mulan again
refused, and fearing that the emperor would force
her to go back to the imperial palace, she committed
suicide. The emperor deeply regretted Mulans death,
and later conferred on her the posthumous title of
female general with chastity and filial piety.
A temple and tomb dedicated to Mulan can be
found in the supposed birthplace of the brave warrior
Yucheng County, Shangqiu, Henan Province. On
the temples stone tablets, the inscriptions tell of the
life and deeds of Mulan. In Huangpi, Hubei Province,
however, people believe that Mulan was born in their
district and that her family name was Zhu. Here, there
is a mountain named Mulan and on its summit another

Mulan Mountain: At 582


metres above sea level,
Mulan Mountain has been a
famous religious shrine for
1,000 years. The religious
activities here dated from the
Sui and Tang Dynasties, and
culminated in the Ming and
Qing Dynasties

temple dedicated to her, which was built during the


Tang Dynasty under the order of Emperor Taizong in
recognition of Mulans deeds.
Famous poets, such as Du Mu of the Tang Dynasty,
have also written poems about the revered female
fighter. The Tang Dynasty saw various Chinese cultural
elements being attached to the legend of Mulan, such
as filial piety, chastity and loyalty. With such tangible
relics as a temple, a tomb, and tablet inscriptions, as
well as the poetry of well-known poets, many people
have a strong belief that Mulan really did exist.
During the Ming Dynasty (13681644), a famous
scholar named Xu Wei (, 15211593) wrote a drama
based on the Han Dynasty ballad called Lady Mulan
(), where the main character
enters the army in her fathers place. In the drama, Xu
gave Mulan the family name Hua. The story of Mulan
has since developed into the legend of Hua Mulan, and
the name Hua Mulan is still used today.
Xu also added many literary figures, including a
young scholar named Wang Lang, who is attracted by
Mulans filial piety. At the end of the drama, Wang Lang
becomes a successful scholar and finally takes Mulan as
his wife a happy ending quite unlike that of the tragic
legend from the Tang Dynasty. After Xus adaptation,

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singing mulan to life

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left The Temple of Hua


Mulan was first built in the
Tang Dynasty. Later, during
the Taihe Period of the Jin
Dynasty, the supervisor
Wudasahuci in Yingcheng
Town, Gushu County, Guide
Prefecture, renovated three
audience halls and three
worshipping halls and
moulded a model of
Hua Mulan

the tale of Hua Mulan had become more in accordance


with traditional Chinese values, because apart from
filial piety, chastity and loyalty, important elements
such as imperial competitive examination, family and
marriage were also incorporated.
The story of Mulan continues to be a subject for
present-day writers and dramatists even if most new
adaptations still follow Xus version. The 1998 Disney
animated film Mulan introduced the Han legend to
Western audiences to mostly critical acclaim, though
it was reported that Chinese audiences saw Mulan as
not Chinese enough and the storyline as departing too
much from the myths. Still, regardless of how she has

above Located in Mulan


Town (Wuhan, Hubei
Province), Mulan Lake is
next to the famous Mulan
Mountain, which is 60
kilometres away from central
Wuhan city

been depicted down through the ages, theres no doubt


that Mulan has become one of the most celebrated
figures of Chinas rich past. ag

DR. WANG JUAN serves at Associate Professor at the Chinese


Department of Peking University. She received her PhD in
Comparative Literature from Peking University and her MA in
Folklore at the University of California, Berkeley. Her research
interests include folklore, folklore theories, folk beliefs, folk
festivals, folk art and architecture.

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Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin,


baptised on January 22,
1869, murdered on December
30, 1916, was a Russian
peasant, mystic, faith healer
and private adviser to the
Romanovs

ILLUSTRATION BY JUSTIN ONG

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exploration

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{ russia }

Russias
Mad Monk
The legend
of Rasputin
text
Max Lovell-Hoare

But we would never be together in Paris. For a dark


shadow had descended upon the house of the Romanovs.
His name was Rasputin. We thought he was a Holy Man.
But he was a fraud, power-mad and dangerous.
Anastasia, 1997

When it comess too the Russian Revolution of 1917, which put


an end
d to th
he 300-ye
year rule of the House of Romanov, there
is no mo
m re conte
t ntious a figuree thaan Grigori Rasputin.

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The memory of Anastasia


lives on: Her dubious
whereabouts inspired books,
plays and movies, including
an Academy Awardwinning
film starring legendary
actress Ingrid Bergman.

The villains of this version of the


story are not the Bolsheviks,
however, but the sinister Grigori
Rasputin, who has cursed the
Romanov family and is pursuing a
personal vendetta to ensure that
Anastasia, the last in the Romanov
line, is killed

The

animated fairy tale Anastasia is an


imaginary story inspired by the possible
survival of Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna, a
17-year-old Romanov princess, who may or may not
have survived the brutal murder of her family by the
Bolsheviks in 1918. The villains of this version of the
story are not the Bolsheviks, however, but the sinister
Grigori Rasputin, who has cursed the Romanov family
and is pursuing a personal vendetta to ensure that
Anastasia, the last in the Romanov line, is killed.
The story told in Anastasia is more a work of fiction
than fact: Rasputin was in reality murdered in 1916,
18 months before the assassination of the Romanovs;
and DNA evidence extracted from bodies in 2007
confirmed, once and for all, that all the Romanov
children died together in July 1918 and their bodies were
buried along with those of their parents in the woods
outside Ekaterinburg, Sverdlovsk Oblast, located in
the middle of the Eurasian continent, on the border of
Europe and Asia. Anastasia, sadly, did not escape.

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The legend of a little girl:


Anastasia was the daughter
of the last Russian tsar,
Nicholas II. After she and
her family were executed,
rumours claimed that she
might have survived.

PHOTO UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD/CORBIS

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After his death the memoirs


of those who knew Rasputin
became a mini-industry:
He has appeared as a
fictionalised version of
himself in numerous other
media, such as comics,
bands, etc.

Rasputin is still a mysterious figure, though,


and public opinion of him during his lifetime, and
immediately after it, was deeply divided. On the
one hand, he was a religious man: he had spent time
studying in a monastic seminary, wore the robes of an
orthodox priest and was believed to have the power
to heal the sick. It was his apparent ability to stem the
bleeding of Alexei, the crown prince of Russia and
a haemophiliac, that brought him close to the royal
family and to the Tsarina in particular.
His critics, however, felt him to be dangerously

It is Rasputins death that is the


stuff of legend, and also where
my familial connection with the
story emerges
manipulative, decried him as a rapist and child
molester, and believed his interference in matters of
state to be a major contributing factor to the downfall
of the Romanov Dynasty. And then there is the matter
of his death: unlike an ordinary man, this devil just
wouldnt die.

right page There is much


uncertainty over Rasputins
life and the degree of
influence he exerted over the
Tsar and his government
accounts are often based on
dubious memoirs, hearsay
and legend.

It is Rasputins death that is the stuff of legend,


and also where my familial connection with the story
emerges: Samuel Hoare, 1st Viscount Templewood,
was a cousin of my grandfather. Hoare was MI6s
liaison officer with the Russian Intelligence Service
in St. Petersburg, and the man who informed the
British Government of Rasputins demise. In his own
words, the event was so unbelievable that he was
writing in the style of the Daily Mail because it was
so sensational that one cannot describe it [as] one
would if it were an ordinary episode of the war. Some
Russian sources suggest that Hoare was even involved
in the murder plot, but the authorised history of
MI6, MI6: The History of the Secret Intelligence Service
(19091949), does not support this claim. The truth
may never be known.
What we do know is that a frozen body was pulled
from beneath the ice of the river in December 1916.
The policeman who pulled out the corpse instantly
recognised it as Rasputin, and the body was sent to
the Chesmenskii Hospice for an autopsy. The doctor
who examined it recorded that the corpse had been
brutally mutilated: the right eye had been torn from
its cavity; an ear was partially detached; the face had
been beaten with a cosh, as had the genitals; the neck

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PHOTO HULTON-DEUTSCH COLLECTION/CORBIS

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left Prince Felix Felixovich
Yusupov, Count SumarokovElston was a Russian
aristocrat, a prince and
count, best known for
participating in the
assassination of Grigori
Rasputin.

right Ekaterinburg city


centre, Russia: The Russian
Imperial Romanov family
and all those who chose to
accompany them into exile
were shot in the vicinity on
July 17, 1918

multiple injuries that in normal circumstances should


have killed him, and it was the final bullet to the brain
that actually finished him off. Even this was insufficient
for the killers to be confident that Rasputin was gone
for good, though, and so they dropped his body into
an ice hole in the Malaya Nevka River, the southern
distributary of the Bolshaya Nevka, immediately
followed by his fur coat and some chains. This time he
really was dead.
With question marks hanging over both Yusupov
and Hoare, academics have also pointed the finger of
responsibility for Rasputins death at another British
agent, Oswald Rayner. Rayner had been a friend
of Yusupovs since they studied together at Oxford
University, and he had been in Russia for more than a year
by the time Rasputin was killed. Though it was denied by
Rayner, Yusupov and the British authorities at the time,
later in life Rayner did admit to family that he had been
in the palace that fateful night, and this information was
ultimately incorporated into his obituary.

showed a wound from a noose; and bullets from at


least two different guns had been fired at point blank
range into the stomach and liver, a kidney, and through
the forehead into the brain. There was also a weeping
wound in the side of the torso.

Rasputin survived multiple


injuries that in normal
circumstances should have killed
him, and it was the final bullet to
the brain that actually finished
him off.

Malaya Nevka River

Bolshaya Nevka

Officially, Rasputins murderer was Prince Felix


Yusupov, who claimed to have encountered Rasputin
in the palace, and given him cakes laced with cyanide
before shooting him through the heart. No trace of
this poison was found during the autopsy, however,
and the doctors report suggests the murder was a far
more prolonged and arduous affair: Rasputin survived
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U S

S I

Real Life Inspiration

The murder of Rasputin has


become something of a legend
there are very few facts about
the events between the night
he disappeared and the day his
corpse was dredged up from the
Malaya Nevka River, the southern
distributary of the Bolshaya
Nevka near Saint Petersburg,
Russia.

russias mad monk

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Even more conclusive evidence comes from the


findings of modern ballistics experts. The gunshot that
actually killed Rasputin came from a lead, non-jacketed
bullet fired at point blank range from a revolver. The
only man known to have been in the vicinity who
possessed such a gun (a British-made .455 Webley
revolver) was Rayner; Yusupov had a Browning and
his co-conspirator, Grand Duke Dmitrii Vladimir
Purishkevich, had a Sauvage.
The last mystery of Rasputins death, then, is how
he saw it coming. Increasingly unwelcome at court, he
wrote to Tsar Nicholas some months before his death
with an eerie prediction:

If I am killed by common assassins and especially


by my brothers, the Russian peasants, you, Tsar of
Russia, have nothing to fear for your children, they will
reign for hundreds of years in Russia.
if it was your relations who have wrought my death,
then no one in your family, that is to say, none of your
children or relations will remain alive for two years.
They will be killed by the Russian people

PHOTOS ON SPREAD, FROM LEFT:


HULTON-DEUTSCH COLLECTION/CORBIS, BRUNO MORANDI/CORBIS

I shall be killed. I am no longer among the living. Pray,


pray, be strong, think of your blessed family.
Grigory

The Tsars relations (or at least those acting on their


instruction) did kill Rasputin. And less than two years
later, Tsar Nicholas, his wife and all their children were
shot dead too. The Bolsheviks, the Russian people,
killed them all, and Rasputins words and, some might
say, curse came true. ag

MAX LOVELL-HOARE is a special advisor on international


co-operation and economic development, and works with
government departments, intergovernmental organisations and
private sector businesses through his consultancy firm Maximum
Exposure Productions. He is the co-author of guides to Tajikistan,
Uzbekistan and South Sudan, and has also contributed to guides
on China, Kazakhstan and the Silk Road.
www.facebook.com/maximumexposureproductions

53
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From the
e Heb
H rew Bible: Davi
vd
h sts
hoi
s the severed he
head of
Goliath.
h Goliath or Goliath of
Gath
h (one of fiv
fi e city sttates
of the
th Ph
P ilistines
nes) is a gi
g ant
an
Philis
istine warr
a ior de
defea
feated
ted by
t young
the
g Da
avid
vid,, the
the fut
future
ure
king of Israel,
l, in
n th
the
e Bibl
Bible's
e's
Books of Sam
muel
el

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feature

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israel

Davidand
Goliath
A tale of
historical proportions
text
Rachel Einav

Th bib
The
iblilica
call sto
story
ry pitt
ittin
ingg a to
towe
weri
ring
ng gia
iant
nt aga
gain
inst
st a reedhead
he
aded
ed she
h ph
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erd,
d, the fut
utur
uree ki
king
ng of Is
Isra
rael
el,, ha
hass be
beco
coome a
main
ma
insta
stayy of Jew
ewis
issh an
and
d Ch
Chri
risti
stian
an fol
olkl
klor
ore.
e.
LITHOGRAPHY: ADOC-PHOTOS/CORBIS

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The source of the tale is


inscribed upon the Israeli
nations collective memory, and
it appears in the First Book of
Samuel, Chapters 13 and 14.

The

epic story of David and his battle against


Goliath in the Valley of Elah near
Jerusalem about 4,000 years ago is described in the Old
Testament; and for generations, it has inspired warriors,
scholars and artists. The source of the tale is inscribed
upon the Israeli nations collective memory, and it
appears in the First Book of Samuel, Chapters 13 and 14.
The story clearly explains why God chose David to be
king of the Israelites and stresses Davids character as a
brave young man determined, enterprising, faithful
and fully prepared to sacrifice himself.
The actual battle is described quite simply and,
perhaps for this reason, has captivated readers hearts
throughout the ages. Some claim that it is pure folklore,
while others are certain that the narrative describes
an actual formative historical event. Perhaps it is
a little of both. In this article, we will examine the
historical relationship between the act, the geographical
background and the legend.
David, a red-headed youth with beautiful eyes, was
a shepherd at the time, a very respectable occupation.
The Bible explains that he had been guarding his fathers
herd when he chanced upon the scene of the battle (in
the Valley of Elah), quite by accident. In those days,
the Israelites, under King Saul, and the Philistines were
locked in a sporadic war and much blood had been shed.
The Bible describes these battles in general terms, not in
detail, as is the case with David and Goliath.
The Philistines emerged from their central towns of
Gat and Ekron Gat being identified with Tazpit Hill
near todays Kfar Menachem. At the foot of the hill, the
Elah River connects with the Lachish River as it flows

westward towards the Mediterranean Sea. Ekron is the


present-day Miknah Hill, near Kibbutz Revidim. The
Philistines were therefore advancing eastward towards
Azekah (Azariya Hill).

Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war


and assembled at Sokoh in Judah. They pitched camp
at Ephes Dammim, between Sokoh and Azekah.
(Samuel I 17:1)

and the Israelites assembled and camped in the


Valley of Elah. (ibid. v2)

The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites


another, with the valley between them. (ibid. v3)

Across from them, the Israelites were camped on


the hill overlooking the Ella Valley, through which
until today the Ella River flows. The two camps
waited and waited, the Philistines hoping to penetrate
eastward towards Bethlehem and Jerusalem, ultimately
to conquer the Judean Kingdom. The threat was
imminent, and the entire nation, including Davids
three brothers, had been mobilised to protect their
homes and villages.

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david and goliath

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An insspir
pirati
ation
on
n ffor
orr ma
many
nyy boo
books
ks
a mo
and
movie
viess ther
he eaft
eafter,
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the
e
o gin
ori
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o the
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show
w Dav
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ass the
a
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g of
of Isra
srael.
e

PHOTO HISTORICAL PICTURE ARCHIVE/CORBIS

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RICHARD T. NOWITZ/CORBIS

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Israel: Spring flowers carpet


the Beit Guvrin National Park
and surround a lone fig tree,
in the Valley of Elah in southcentral Israel.

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ISREAL
Lachish River
Kibbutz Revidim

Azariya Hill

Kfar Menachem
Elah River

Valley of Elah

Dead Sea

A Biblical
Destination

The Valley of Elah has gained


new importance as a point of
support for the argument that
Israel was more than a tribal
chiefdom in the time of King
David. At Khirbet Qeiyafa,
southwest of Jerusalem in
the Elah Valley, Prof. Yosef
Garfinkel has discovered a
fortified city from the Iron
Age IIa dated sometime
between 1050 and 915 BC.

the Valley of Elah, where passage is comparatively


narrow and the Philistine army could be checked by
the Israelites, who had occupied the hills north of the
valley. Thus, they could flank the Philistines should
they try to advance.
Visiting the site, one can easily imagine the armies
facing each other on opposite banks of the river. Neither
side would desire to be the first to attack compelling
them to leave the safety of higher ground in order
to advance down the slopes and into the valley. The
sources claim that this stalemate continued for 40 days.
In todays terms, this may sound hasty, but the number
may simply be typological. In any case, 40 days or even
fewer was sufficient to create a shortage of food in Sauls
camp; and so David the younger brother was sent
with 10 packs of cheese for his soldiering brothers.
Apparently, the Philistines too were growing weary
with the waiting, and so Goliath a resident of Gat
began taunting the Israeli camp, as was customary
at the time. He attempted to stain their honour by
tempting them with a decisive duel:

Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I


not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul?
Choose a man and have him come down to me. If he is
able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects;
but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become
our subjects and serve us. (Samuel I 17:89)

,
n easily
imagine the armies facing each
other on opposite banks of
the river.
Now, Goliath was a giant. Later scholars reported
his height as six cubits and a span (a cubit was an
ancient measurement equalling about 45 centimetres),
which would have meant he stood almost three metres
tall. The earliest manuscripts offered a somewhat more
conservative four cubits and a span but that still
equated to 1.9 metres (about six foot three) in a world
where the average height was no more than a 1.5 metres
(a little under five foot).
Suffice it to say, Goliath was large and impressive.
He was powerful and well equipped; and nobody from
the Judean camp dared oppose him, notwithstanding
the kings far-reaching promises of prizes and benefits
including his own daughter for the one who
vanquished the Philistine.

The king will give great wealth to the man who kills
him. He will also give him his daughter in marriage
and will exempt his family from taxes in Israel.
(Samuel I 17:25)

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david and goliath

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PHOTOS ON PAGE, FROM TOP: RICHARD T. NOWITZ/CORBIS,


NATURAL SELECTION DAVID PONTON /DESIGN PICS/CORBIS

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The responsibility was too great, even for the most


experienced of warriors. There may also have been a
problem of credibility that later turned out to be wellbased: after losing, the Philistines turned and fled to
their fortified towns, rather than surrendering, as had
been previously agreed.
The only one to step forth was David, whom
the king did not hurry to appoint as the nations
representative. But David, as is often the case with
redheads, was persistent, telling the king that he had
already smitten a lion and a bear that had threatened his
herd lions and bears being, at the time, still common
in the region.

you are only a young man, and he has been a


warrior from his youth. (Samuel I 17:33)

Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear
(ibid. 36)

And so, Saul, whether convinced or simply


desperate, succumbed and sent David to fight Goliath.

Goliath was armed with state-of-the-art gear his


body fully armoured in chain, a bronze helmet and
shield, and bronze pads over his knees. Not so, David.
Although the king offered him his own personal tools
of battle, David, with gritty wisdom, chose to utilise his
experience as a shepherd and make do with a slingshot
and stone. Shepherds, you see, are known to while away
their time with target practice.

The only one to step forth was


David, whom the king did not
hurry to appoint as the nations
representative.
A slingshot is a contraption comprised of two ropes
connected by a cloth or leather patch into which one
places a stone. It is then twirled vigorously over ones
head. When the proper speed has been attained, the
rope is released, propelling the stone forwards and,
hopefully, towards the target. David was aware that his

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slingshot made an imprecise, inferior weapon, and so


he took five pebbles from the riverbed, expecting to
miss four times.
When David was in eye- and earshot, he and Goliath
exchanged taunts, thankfully censored by the biblical
scribe. Goliath advanced closer to enable him to reliably
thrust his strong and heavy spear. The duel presumably
took place in the morning hours, since David was
entering from the east the direction of the Israelite
camp with the sun at his back, dazzling the giant.
David suddenly ran towards Goliath and still out
of spears range scored a hit upon the giants exposed
forehead the only part left unprotected to enable
optimal vision. Goliath did not die immediately, but
rather was stunned from the impact of the stone. As he
slumped forward under the weight of his armour and
weapons, David rushed up to him, drew the giants own
sword and beheaded him with it!
The surprise was universal, the Jews cheering in
triumph and the Philistines seeing their champion
felled as an evil omen from the gods, suggesting that
perhaps the battle may not go in their favour. Although
PHOTOS ON SPREAD, FROM LEFT: RICHARD T. NOWITZ/
CORBIS,ATLANTIDE PHOTOTRAVEL/CORBIS

above left Israel: Red and


pink anenomes bloom in a
field in the Valley of Elah, site
of the biblical tale of David
and Goliath

above West Bank: The


Judean desert near
Bethlehem

they did not surrender as agreed, neither did they dare


attack the Israelites, but instead fled for their lives to
their protected citadels.
As for David, son of Yishai, he eventually became
the third king of the Judean Kingdom and the
founder of a dynasty that ruled for 400 years, until the
destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem. Besides
being a brave warrior, he was an intellectual who loved
to sing and play his harp. He also authored The Book of
Psalms and was, according to both Jewish and Christian
belief, the seed of the Messiah. ag

DR RACHEL EINAV is an ecologist and environmental consultant


specialising in marine environments and water systems as well as
in natural habitats of the Middle East. www.blue-ecosystems.com

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The Worlds
Most Famous
Old World
Monkey
Short tales of
a long history
text & photos
YD Bar-Ness

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feature

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ASIAN Geographic loo


ooks
ks at th
thee tw
twoo ma
majo
jorr
orig
or
igin
inal
al st
stor
orie
iess of thi
hiss ir
irre
reve
vere
rent
nt mon
onke
key,
y, in
anci
an
cien
entt In
Indi
diaa an
and
d an
anci
cien
entt Ch
Chin
ina,
a, and see
eess
how
ho
w th
thes
esee sto
stori
ries
es res
esem
embl
blee ea
each
ch oth
ther
er..

Who

can leap over mountains, infuriate the


gods of heaven and battle the forces of
evil? Theres an ancient legend of a heroic warrior
King of the Monkeys who combines the strength and
fearlessness of the animal world with the wisdom and
purpose of the human world.

He has fought demons, rescued


princesses and served faithfully
through adversity and challenge.

Sun Wu
Wukon
kong,
g, als
also
o know
known
n as
as
the Mo
Monke
nkeyy King
King,, is
is cons
conside
idered
red
by som
some
e scho
scholar
larss to
to be
b
influe
inf
luence
nced
d by
by the
the Hin
Hi du dei
eity
ty
ayana.
Hanuma
Han
uman
n from
from th
the
e Ramaya
People
Peo
ple in
n Si
Singa
ngapor
pore
e have
ave been
en
worshi
wor
shippi
pping
ng the Mo
Monke
n y God
G d
since
sin
ce as ear
early
ly as 192
1920,
0 whe
when
n
the Ti
Tiong
ong Ba
Bahru
hru Qi Tian
a Gon
Go g
Temple
Tem
ple,, whic
which
h is
is alle
alleged
gedlyy the
firstt Monk
firs
Monkey
ey God te
templ
mple,
e, was
es abl
est
ablish
ished.
ed.

He has fought demons, rescued princesses and


served faithfully through adversity and challenge. He
has interacted with the community of Hindu gods, the
Bodhisattva and the Buddha himself. His adventures
and superpowers have inspired centuries of boisterous
children. He has changed the very map of the world
lifting mountains and building rock bridges. He is
irreverent, powerful and familiar across most of Asia.
This monkey is a true legend... but who is he? Where
did he come from?
Lets start with the basic attributes of the Monkey
King. He originates from the wind of heaven, and in
his youngest days, was an over-energetic child playfully
menacing the celestial order. He is outrageously strong,
has a prominent tail and can jump impossible distances.
He carries a resizable club, can transform his own shape
and is invulnerable to all mortal weapons.
The Monkey King rules over a band of supernatural
military monkeys who reside in a cave in a lush
mountain forest. From this kingdom, the Monkey King
travels out to join a band of heroes on an epic quest
and in the course of that venture, mobilises the army
to save the day. Like all of us, he means well, but is also
irascible and a bit unpredictable.

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ILLUSTRATION BY ERIC WONG

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Epic of Rama, Prince of India


Book I: Sita-Swayawara
AYODRYA, THE RIGHTEOUS CITY

Rich in royal worth and valour, rich in holy Vedic


lore, Dasa-ratha ruled his empire in the happy days of yore,
Loved of men in fair Ayodhya, sprung of ancient Solar
Race, Royal rishi in his duty, saintly rishi in his grace,
Great as INDRA in his prowess, bounteous as KUVERA
kind, Dauntless deeds subdued his foemen, lofty faith
subdued his mind!
Like the ancient monarch Manu, father of the human
race, Dasa-ratha ruled his people with a fathers loving grace,
Truth and Justice swayed each action and each baser
motive quelled Peoples Love and Monarchs Duty every
thought and deed impelled,
And his town like INDRAS city tower and dome and
turret brave Rose in proud and peerless beauty on
Sarayus limpid wave!
Peaceful lived the righteous people, rich in wealth in merit
high, Envy dwelt not in their bosoms and their accents
shaped no lie,
Fathers with their happy households owned their cattle,
corn, and gold, Galling penury and famine in Ayodhya
had no hold,

above A scene from the


Ramayana showing Ramas
monkeys battling the King
of Lankas demons, as Rama
tries to free his kidnapped
wife, Princess Sita.

Neighbours lived in mutual kindness helpful with their


ample wealth, None who begged the wasted refuse, none
who lived by fraud and stealth!

Destroyer of Demons Hanuman!

In the Hindu epic, the Ramayana, the Monkey King


is clearly named Hanuman, and is an avatar of Shiva
the Destroyer. He helps the prince Rama himself
an avatar of Vishnu to rescue the captured princess
Sita from the clutches of the rapacious demon Ravana.
Like Ramas younger brother Lakshman, Hanuman
is a valuable and devoted ally, and yet, Hanumans
accomplishments are unparalleled. While the two
brothers are skilled archers, they lack the strength of
numbers to fight Ravana.
Hanuman singlehandedly penetrates Ravanas
fortress on the island of Lanka, makes contact with
Sita and sets fire to Ravanas kingdom. Using giant
stones, he builds a bridge across the straits from India
to Lanka and leads the monkey army to a victory over
the demon hordes. In another epic, the Mahabharata,

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PHOTOS ON PAGE, FROM LEFT: CORBIS

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Hanuman aids the warrior king Arjuna and is honoured


by being depicted on his armys standard. Underneath
a banyan tree at the battlefield of Kurukshetra, he is
present when Krishna descends to Earth to dictate the
Bhagavad-Gita to Arjuna.
Hanuman is revered as a living deity today, and not
just for his appearance in these two important legends.
His potent combination of irreverence and faith can
serve as a valuable model for young boys seeking to
apply their growing strength and energy. Throughout
India and the Hindu diaspora, Hanuman is a popular
god worshipped in countless temples, homes and
private prayers.

Journey To The West


TRIPLE THEFT OF A MAGIC FAN

The road to the west is perilous and long,


Where Tripitaka, in search of Buddhist sutras,
hurried on.
He rode upon White Dragon, his mount,
Pigsy toted his muckrake and a case of documents,
Sandy had the baggage, monks staff on shoulder sitting;
Up front scouting out the path was the Heavenly Rioter,
Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Dear Monkey!
As teacher and disciples continued on their way,
The farther they went, the hotter it becae.
Pigsy, from behind, kept up his complaint
I say, Brother Monkey, lets rest for a bit ere you press
on again.
This place is so terribly hot
Old Pigsy may be finished off.
From top to toe Im oven-broiled,
My hearts a bubbling pot of oil.
My mouth is dry, my tongues on fire;
Each breath my last ere I expire.
If we go on without a rest,
Old Pigsy will have breathed his last.
Tripitaka called out, Monkey, disciple, lets stop here
I too am drenched in sweat; the heats hard to bear.
The height of late autumn should be coolest of all;
Why is this place just like a cauldron?
Monkey said, Teacher, for now, wait by the roadside.
Once Ive found the cause, a plan well devise.

way on an arduous journey west, then south through


regions now known as Uzbekistan and Afghanistan, and
onwards through the Himalaya into India. He visited
the pilgrimage sites near the Ganges River, honouring
the Buddhas life and kept a detailed memoir of his
experience. He became a noted scholar at Nalanda,
the worlds first university, in the modern-day state
of Patna, and travelled extensively throughout the
northern subcontinent. Sixteen years later, he returned
to China with an important collection of religious texts
and spent his later years as an honoured scholar.
Xuanzangs legacy is remarkable: his translations of
ancient Buddhist texts established a key foundation for
East Asian Buddhism and his travel memoirs form a
uniquely valuable record of Asia 14 centuries ago. Fully
1,000 years later, his story already familiar to many
prompted the writing of the Xiyouji, or Journey to the
West, attributed to Wu Chengen. In this supernatural
tale of adventure, we follow Xuanzang (also called
Tripitaka) on his adventures, accompanied by a horse, a
river ogre, a pig and a monkey.

The Travelling Scholar: Xuanzang


In the year 629, spurred by a dream, the Chinese
Buddhist monk Xuanzang began a pilgrimage over
the mountains to the heartland of Buddhism on the
Ganges River. In clear violation of the Emperors
proclamation forbidding foreign travel, he made his

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PHOTO IVAN VDOVIN/JAI/CORBIS

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The Journey
of the
Monkey God
}
The novel Journey to the West was
based on historical events. Xuanzang
(602664), a monk at Jingtu Temple in
late-Sui Dynasty was motivated by the
poor quality of Chinese translations of
Buddhist scripture and in defiance of
Emperor Taizong of Tangs ban on travel,
he travelled via Gansu and Qinghai to
Kumul (Hami), thence following the Tian
Shan mountains to Turpan. He then
crossed what are today Kyrgyzstan,
Uzbekistan and Afghanistan, into
Gandhara, reaching India in 630.
Xuanzang travelled throughout the
Indian subcontinent for the next 13
years, visiting important Buddhist
pilgrimage sites, studying at the ancient
university at Nalanda and debating the
rivals of Buddhism.

U Z B E K I S T A N
K Y

Z S T A N

A F G H A N I S T A N
C H
PHOTO MATTHIEU PALEY/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY/CORBIS

a l an

I N

Little Pamir mountains,


Borders of China, Tajikistan
and Pakistan: A herd of yaks
returning home, trekking
through the high altitude
plateau, where the Afghan
Kyrgyz community live all
year round

I A

S R I
L A N K A

Khiva, Khorezm Province,


Silk Road, Uzbekistan: The
Ark Palace at Itchan Kala
protected city, listed as world
heritage by UNESCO
PHOTO MARC DOZIER/CORBIS

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I N A

short tales
Ala Kul Lake, Issyk Kul
Oblast, Kyrgyzstan: This
lake is situated 3,560 metres
above sea level

N G O

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PHOTO BRUNO MORANDI/CORBIS

Khar Nuur Lake, Zavkhan


Province, Mongolia: It is one
of Mongolias six largest
lakes with a surface area of
575 square kilometres and is
situated at a height of 1,132
metres above sea level

L I A
PHOTO VIEWSTOCK/CORBIS

Dujiangyan, Chengdu,
Sichuan Province, China:
Around 250 BC, during the
Warring States period, Li
Bing, a governor of Shu
(present Sichuan Province) in
the Qin state, with his son,
directed the construction
of Dujiangyan.

PHOTO KEREN SU/CORBIS

Nalanda Mahavihara, Bihar,


India: Nalanda is an ancient
centre of higher learning
from 427 to 1197. Established
in the fifth century AD not
far from what is today the
southern border of Nepal,
it survived until 1197. It was
devoted to Buddhist studies,
but it also trained students
in fine arts, medicine,
mathematics, astronomy,
politics and the art of war.
PHOTO PETER LANGER/DESIGN PICS/CORBIS

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Turfan, Xinjiang Uygur


Autonomous Region, China:
Ancient ruins of Jiaohe
From the years 108 BC to 450
AD, the city of Jiaohe was the
capital of the Anterior Jushi
kingdom, concurrent with
the Han Dynasty, Jin Dynasty
and Southern and Northern
Dynasties in China.

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Travelling West with Sun Wukong

below The Fine Arts


Department of the National
Theatre of Thailand perform
the traditional masked dance
drama Khon, depicting the
story of Ramakien, the Thai
version of the ancient Hindu
epic Ramayana

bottom A boy in a formal


Thai costume dances a
scene from the Ramayana as
Hanuman, the Monkey God

This monkey, named Sun Wukong, is a powerful ally


and protector. In the first chapters of Journey to the
West, we learn of his childhood misbehaviour in heaven,
his exploits of strength and daring as a youngster, and
his Kingdom of Monkeys.
Long before Xuanzangs real-life journey, there were
stories and awareness of a supernatural monkey. Folk
tales of a white demon monkey were well known in
Sichuan: a lustful primate captured and ravaged human
women, and was then slain by one vengeful husband,
a skilled archer. The story of Hanuman has clearly
interacted with these earlier stories in the form of Sun
Wukong: Both are involved with archers, princesses
and demons, and they share the same personality,
abilities, equipment and origins.
In Journey to the West, the travel companions
surmount numerous obstacles in the deserts of Central
Asia. Together, they cross fiery mountains, defeat giant
spider-women, fight a falcon-demon, cross the River
of the Dead and survive countless other encounters.
Finally, they meet the Buddha himself, and are granted
a selection of texts with which to return to China.
These teachings, of course, find great resonance with
the people and are remembered to this very day.

Ramakien
DEMON KING TOTSAKAN SEDUCES HIS
NIECE IN THE MISTAKEN BELIEF THAT
SHE IS PRINCESS SITA

With the help of Sukreep, Hanuman and the other monkey


warriors, Prince Ramas army defeats the army of the
demon king Totsakan, and advances towards his palace. In
desperation, Totsakan devises a ploy to defuse the cause of
the war. If Princess Sita were dead, he thinks, Prince Rama
would discontinue the war. He therefore orders his niece,
Princess Benjakai, to transform herself into Princess Sita,
feign dead and float pass Prince Ramas camp on the river.
Princess Benjakai listens to his order and later
re-appears before him as the beautiful Princess Sita.
Totsakan is so taken by the transformation that he
mistakes her for the real Princess Sita with whom he is
madly in love and begins to seduce her with unrelenting
ardour. Princess Benjakai tries to convince him that she is
his niece, not Princess Sita. Eventually she succeeds, and
carries out his order to feign dead and float in the river to
Prince Ramas camp.

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PHOTOS ON PAGE, FROM TOP: JOHN VAN HASSELT/CORBIS,


JACK KURTZ/ZUMA PRESS/CORBIS

short tales

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Jumping Mountains and


Bridging Oceans

left A statue of Lord


Hanuman the mighty
monkey-god is displayed
at the Tri-Mandir Temple,
Gujarat, India. Among the
most popular gods in the
Hindu pantheon, Hanuman
is worshiped as a symbol of
physical strength

In retellings of these two remarkable legends, the


Monkey King steals the show. With humour, strength
and devotion, this monkey leaps over the Himalaya and
knits together the ancient stories of China and India.
He has also travelled outwards into the world, crossing
oceans and having new adventures. You can find
depictions of the Monkey King almost everywhere: in
downtown Delhi, in ancient Southern Chinese temples,
as a giant statue in the Caribbean nation of Trinidad
and Tobago, and even as a video game character.
The Ramayana has been retold in various forms
and shapes throughout Asia: The Thai epic Ramakien
includes a chapter in which a mermaid, Suvanamacha,
falls in love with Hanuman. The Kawakin Ramayana is
told in Indonesia as a shadow puppet play with entirely
new episodes. In Cambodia, the Khmer Reamker
retells the story of Ram in a Buddhist context, and
Hanuman and the other characters appear as statuary
at the famous ruins of Angkor Wat. Within India, the
people of the Jain faith tell the story of Rama as the
Paumacariya, removing the supernatural elements of
their adventures and creating an intensely humanistic
story. In more recent times, the animated film Sita
Sings the Blues has reinterpreted the Ramayanas gender
dynamics from the simultaneous perspectives of the
captured princess Sita and a New Yorker living in
modern India.
PHOTOS ON PAGE, FROM LEFT: PAUL LIEBHARDT/CORBIS,
STEPHANE LEMAIRE/HEMIS/CORBIS

centre Java, Indonesia:


A shadow puppet show
called Wayang Kulit,
depicting Hanuman

right Derived from


the Ramayana and the
Mahabharata: Versions from
the different ethnic groups
of the Philippines exist.
The Maranao version is the
Maharadia Lawana (Maharaja

Ravana).
Lam-Ang is the

version of the
Ilocanos,
along

with many verses from the


Hud-Hud of the Ifugao

Similarly, Journey to the West has also been retold


over the centuries, in countless incarnations as
books, TV shows, video games, stage performances,
comics, and films. In the English world, a 1980s BBC
translation of Monkey Magic, a Japanese production
filmed in Mongolia, brought the story to a generation
of English and Australian children. In 2013, a Chinese
retelling called Conquering the Demons
broke box-office records to become one of the most
successful Chinese films to date.
The Monkey King not only offers an entertaining and
informal bridge between two of Asias oldest cultural
centres, he also helps us to understand the flow of
stories and ideas throughout the wider world. He has
achieved the impossible kindled the wrath of heaven,
defeated the most powerful demons, and rescued
princesses but hes done something even more
unexpected. He is simultaneously symbolic of both
irreverent disobedience and utter faithfulness.
This is as audacious and difficult as hopping over the
Himalaya, but the Monkey King can do it! ag
YD BAR-NESS is a conservation ecologist based in Fremantle,
Western Australia. As a scientist, he specialises in climbing trees
to explore the canopy biodiversity and as a conservationist, he
seeks to use geography and photography to create environmental
education materials. www.outreachecology.com

71
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Sinbads voyages throughout


the seas east of Africa and
south of Asia witness our hero
going to fantastic adventures,
magical places, meeting
mag
monsters and encountering
g
supernatural phenomena
a

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ocean

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{

saudi arabia

Sinbadthe
Sailor
The inspiration
of ocean adventures
text
Hasan El-Shamy

Tales our mothers read us: Sinbads world in The


Arabian Nights has spread a quasi-iconic status
in Western culture and has led to his name being
appropriated for a wide range of uses in both serious
and not-so-serious contexts, frequently with only a
tenuous connection to the original tales.

From the wor


From
orld
ld-f
-fam
amou
ouss co
colllect
ectio
ion
n of tal
ales
es One Th
Thoousand and
One Nights com
omes
ess the adv
dven
entu
ture
ress of Si
Sinb
nbbad the Sai
ailo
lor
r and
r
hiss se
hi
seve
v n vooya
yage
ges.
s.

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Many of the narratives this
anthology contains gained
their appeal independently of
their home collection, which is
especially true of the adventures
of Sinbad the Sailor and his
seven voyages.
Few literary works have gained the worldwide
popularity achieved by the Thousand and One
Nights. Many of the narratives this anthology
contains gained their appeal independently of their
home collection, which is especially true of the
adventures of Sinbad the Sailor and his seven
voyages. An old manuscript indicates that the
appearance of this narrative on the Arab-Islamic
culture scene probably took place shortly before the
advent of the ninth or even the eighth centuries.
In Baghdad, the heart of the Muslim Empire under
Abbasid rule, unprecedented amounts of wealth were
accumulated by average members of society. At the same
time, a new social class, schooled mostly in religious

PHOTOS GRAPHICAARTIS/CORBIS

below A book illustration


from The Arabian Nights,
published 1909: The Persian
name Sindbd ("Lord of
the Sindh River") hints at a
possible Persian origin. The
oldest texts of the cycle are,
however, in Arabic and no
ancient or medieval Persian
version has survived.

writings, emerged. Its members were in search of literary


excitement. They received with great enthusiasm the
new adventurous accounts attributed to the imaginary
character of Scheherazade the raconteuse.
Luxurious consumer goods were acquired from
faraway places. The Silk Road, stretching from China
to cities in the heart of Muslim lands, provided one of
the major commercial arteries for meeting the demands
for sumptuous living among inhabitants of these cities.
Another route, a part of the seafaring traditions of
the Gulf regions of Arabia and Mesopotamia, was the
naval route to the Orient, notably China, the Malay
Archipelago and the fictitious Waq el-Waq (probably
Japan). These regions constituted the inspiration

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sinbad the sailor

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left ca. 1893: A book


illustration by Will and
Frances Brundage from
The Arabian Nights

bottom A mosque on
Joumouriah Avenue in
modern Bagdad, Iraq

Sinbads seven seafaring


experiences began from the
famed seaport of Basra at the
tip of the Gulf leading to the
Indian Ocean.
for Sinbads adventures. Sinbads seven seafaring
experiences began from the famed seaport of Basra at
the tip of the Gulf leading to the Indian Ocean.
The cycle of seven intricate stories each constituting
a voyage begins with a situation that may be
characterised as indicative of the emergence of conflict
between social classes. Thus, a rich gentleman, Sinbad
of the Sea, tells an envious and disgruntled porter how
he earned his fortune, and that success and wealth are
gained by risk-taking and hard work including travel.
Sinbad introduced himself to the poor porter as
having once been a rich heir who squandered all his
inheritance on frivolities. Finding himself bankrupt
and penniless, he sold the meagre remains of his
belongings and borrowed a little money, thus raising a
modest capital. From Basra, he boarded a ship headed
eastward. Violent Nature, unforgiving sea, inexorable
fate and unique geographical circumstances thrust him
into near-fatal events out of which he, with a great deal
of resourcefulness and divine help, extracted himself
and was able to return home with consumer goods that
netted him a profit.

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PHOTOS, FROM TOP: BLUE LANTERN STUDIO/CORBIS, CHARLES & JOSETTE LENARS/CORBIS

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The stories of Sinbads travails, which were a relatively late addition
to Thousand and One Nights, were based on the experiences of
merchants from Basra (Iraq) trading under great risk with the East
c. 850).
Indies and China, probably in the early Abbsid period (750c.

mediterranean sea
baghdad
kufa
alexandria
cairo

salahat

basra

suez

east indies
(via persian gulf)

arabian felix

socotra

the first voyage of


sinbad the sailor

the second voyage of


sinbad the sailor

After dissipating the wealth


left to him by his father,
Sinbad goes to sea to repair
his fortune. He sets ashore
on what appears to be an
island, but this island proves
to be a gigantic sleeping
whale on which trees have
taken root.

Sinbad tells how he grew


restless of his life of leisure
and set out to sea again,
"possessed with the thought
of traveling about the world
of men and seeing their cities
and islands".

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astola island

masirah

arabian sea

bay of bengal

andrott

sri lanka
(serendib)
the third voyage of
sinbad the sailor

the fourth voyage of


sinbad the sailor

the fifth voyage of


sinbad the sailor

the sixth voyage of


sinbad the sailor

the seventh and last voyage


of sinbad the sailor

Restless for travel and


adventure, Sinbad sets sail
again from Basra.

Impelled by restlessness
Sinbad takes to the seas
again.

"When I had been a while on


shore after my fourth voyage;
and when, in my comfort and
pleasures and merry-makings
and in my rejoicing over my
large gains and profits, I had
forgotten all I had endured
of perils and sufferings, the
carnal man was again seized
with the longing to travel and
to see foreign countries and
islands."

"My soul yearned for travel


and traffic".

The ever-restless Sinbad sets


sail once more.

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indian ocean

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Some of the most insightful
economic principles with farreaching political consequences
serve as foundations for the
Sinbad narrative cycle.
Here are a few of the scores of wondrous things that
Sinbad reported:
Fabulous creatures
A whale mistaken for an island
Giant vipers
Rhinoceros
Elephants
Fish with animal-like faces
Mythical or legendary beings
Ogres, cannibal pygmies
Fabulous horses from the water world
The roc bird, whose egg resembles a large dome
A giant one-eyed cannibal reminiscent of the
Greek Polyphemus
A city where men grow wings and fly periodically
Fantastic places and natural phenomena
Valley of diamonds
Open pit mining with the help of vultures, where
diamonds stick to meat
Island of camphor
Island of amber
Sea storms generating mountain-size waves
A magnetic mountain
Social customs
The spouse that survives the other is buried alive
with the corpse along with valuables of the deceased
A kingdom where saddles for horses are unknown
A king decreeing that a useful foreigner is to be invited
to settle in a host country and become a citizen
Merchant reports his kings policies to a foreign ruler
Kings exchanging presents

The Close

Having heard the details of his hosts hazardous


quests, the envious porter realised that his criticism
was unjust and offered an apology. Sinbad bestowed
on the porter gifts and made him a member of his

intimate social circle.

The Reasons

Sinbad cited numerous reasons for undertaking


his voyages:
1) Making a profit through selling-and-buying
2) Need for mixing with other races (ethnic groups)
including marriage
3) Seeing other lands, wonders of nature and other
peoples (i.e., tourism: a critical facets of modern
economic life)
4) Being with other merchants and hearing news;
5) Obeying the urges of human nature for
adventurous living
These considerations, as they stood 11 centuries
ago, may be seen as similar to those motivating the
current globalisation movement.

Reality Redux

Some of the most insightful economic principles


with far-reaching political consequences serve as
foundations for the Sinbad narrative cycle. These
include instilling the ethic of the necessity of
work: He who seeks high honours [high rank]

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...the Sinbad cycle can be seen


as promoting an Islamic principle
of voluntary sharing through
philanthropy, rather than via the
secular ideology of socialism...
must stay up nights [at work]. It also promotes
the principles of capitalism and the development
of conditions that gave rise to maritime trade and
the accumulation of great wealth by traders. The
basis for this ethic is that goods and services are
to be marketed where they are unknown or scarce,
thereby resulting in high prices and bringing
extraordinary profits.
The cycle also promotes the need for
accommodation among social classes through
philanthropy and the sharing of wealth. It illustrates
how social harmony can be achieved between rich
and poor; Sinbad reported that after returning
from a voyage he dressed, fed or otherwise assisted
the needy. These themes may also shed some
light on the reasons for the failure of socialism

far left Baghdad, Iraq


today: A small art shop
thrives in the Basra
neighbourhood

above Yemen: A tree grows


in the rocky landscape,
overlooking the ocean here
at Homhil Protected Area,
Socotra

and its ideology in Arab and Muslim lands in


modern times. Thus, the Sinbad cycle can be seen
as promoting an Islamic principle of voluntary
sharing through philanthropy, rather than via the
secular ideology of socialism, which introduced laws
limiting the amount of private property. ag

PROFESSOR HASAN EL-SHAMY received his PhD in 1967 in


Folklore, with additional interdisciplinary training in Psychology
and Anthropology. He is currently a professor in the Department
of Folklore and Ethnomusicology, the Department of Near Eastern
Languages and Cultures, and an affiliated professor of the African
Studies Program at Indiana University, USA.

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PHOTOS ON SPREAD, FROM LEFT: PETER TURNLEY/CORBIS, JOHN LUND/BLEND IMAGES/CORBIS

ALL DATA TREATED IN THIS ESSAY CAN BE FOUND IN A MOTIF INDEX OF THE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS
(INDIANA UNIVERSIT Y PRESS, BLOOMINGTON, 2006) BY HASAN EL-SHAMY.

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{ isr a e l }

above Separating wheat from


chaff: The Last Judgment is a
triptych attributed to German
painter Hans Memling and painted
between 1467 and 1471

The Mother of Wheat


discovering wild emmer wheat in israel

King James Bible


Matthew 3:12
Whose fan is in his hand, and
he will thoroughly purge his
floor, and gather his wheat into
the garner; but he will burn up
the chaff with unquenchable fire.

right A drawing from Aaron


Aaronsohn book, Reliquiae
Aaronsohnianae published in 1940

Text Dr Rachel Einav

The source of domesticated plants


is an important and fascinating area
in science, which draws botanists,
geneticists, archaeologists and
historians alike. The process of plant
domestication begins in a period
unattested by written record about

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far right Aaron Aaronsohn


(18761919), the discoverer of wild
emmer, was a Romanian Jewish
agronomist, botanist and Zionist
activist.

10,000 years ago; and four of the five


most important food staples in the
world are grains: wheat, barley, maize
and rice; the fifth is the potato.
Having gathered and collected
food directly from Nature for hundreds
of thousands of years, prehistoric

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both out of interest and in a desire


to improve crops. Wild varieties are
often more resistant to disease and
may be crossbred with cultivated ones
to create an improved hybrid. This is
not always successful, as in the case
of maize, whose original form has not
yet been discovered or was perhaps
destroyed or is hiding in some
faraway jungle.
Wild emmer wheat (Triticum
dicoccoides) was first discovered
by Aharon Aharonson (18761919)
on Mount Hermon, on Israels
northern border, and then in other

man realised that by growing plants


himself, it would be easier to harvest
and improve them. Soon after farming
began, permanent living areas were
established, rulers were appointed,
and the wise dedicated their time to
learning. Meanwhile, child mortality
gradually declined and children
began helping parents in the fields,
contributing to the rise in world
population and to the formula that
equates resource production with
population increase.
Wheat has always been one of the
plants that, though not consequential
to the plant world, is nevertheless
one of the most important plants
known to mankind. Wheat seems

to have been one of the first plants


to be domesticated. It provided
sustenance for prehistoric man
during the Neolithic Era (beginning
about 10,000 BC and ending between
4,500 and 2,000 BC), the Bronze
Age (c. 3200600 BC) and the Iron
Age (c. 1200 BC 400 AD). It was the
principal grain in the Mediterranean
during the Period of the Patriarchs.
And it was probably the source of
other kinds of wheat and large-grain
wild wheat that convinced prehistoric
man that these should be stored for
food and later dispersed as seed
in the vicinity of the homestead.
Researchers seek wild plants,
the forebears of cultivated plants,

places in the country. It resembles


domesticated two-grained spelt,
and it is generally acknowledged
that cultivation began in places
where various species, defined as
initial types, coexisted gradually
migrating to other places. The
discovery of emmer wheat by
Aharonson, a handsome agronomist
who hailed from the town of Zikhron
Yaakov, raised the status of the
Middle East by hinting that the land
of the Bible and the birthplace of
monotheistic religion was perhaps
also the birthplace of modern
human society.
Without doubt, the discovery of
emmer wheat and its domestication

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It is the second most important grain in

occurred in a region where it grew


wild in the fields. The discovery in
Palestine in 1906 was a sensational
breakthrough around the world.
Soon after, Aharonson embarked for
Europe and North America, where he
was received with much fanfare and
respect. In the US, he participated in
several conferences and the University
at Berkeley approached him to serve
as the dean of its agriculture faculty
in spite of the fact that he did not
hold a PhD.
Lest you underestimate this early
discovery, it should be pointed out
that it is never sufficient to simply
throw grains upon the earth in order
to cultivate them. Cultivated wheat
is a unique mutation of wild wheat.
Whereas other types of grain spread
their germs upon ripening, cultivated
wheat seeds stay attached to their
stalk. This characteristic may seem

existence, and its growth prevails over


other forms of traditional agriculture
throughout the Mediterranean.

inconsequential, but it enables


gathering with a sickle thus making
the seed gathering process more
efficient. One may then select the
larger grains, the types that hold more
grains, or the smaller types But this
is all relatively trivial: the major leap
forward occurred with the discovery of
wheat that does not fall apart.
This is not the place to itemise
the various types of wheat; and it
would suffice to refer to cultivated
wheat as common wheat, or bread
wheat, from whose grain most of the
worlds bread is manufactured. The

flour manufactured from this wheat is


superior to any other type of wheat,
and through baking, it swells to
become the soft and pleasant bread
we eat. Its yield is also greater than
any other type. This hard wheat was
developed in the first century AD. It is
the second most important grain in
existence, and its growth prevails over
other forms of traditional agriculture
throughout the Mediterranean. It is
also the basis for many types of pasta.
Wheat can grow nearly everywhere,
with modern technology accompanying
nearly every stage in the cultivation

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preparing prikey
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Ingredients
Green wheat stalks
Bonfire

procedure: mechanical sowing,


sophisticated spraying techniques that
prevent the intrusion of foreign weeds,
combine harvesters that thresh as they
reap, winnowing the seeds from the
chaff and vegetable remains before
packaging the latter as animal feed.
Stories about wheat could fill entire
books, and we will simply stop here to
offer an ancient recipe first mentioned
in the Bible, which can be easily
prepared outdoors without special
preparation or expertise. Nary a child
is happier to partake of it, even if its a
little burnt around the edges. ag

PHOTOS RACHEL EINAV

left Emmer wheat has been


found in archaeological
excavations and ancient
tombs
above Grains of wild emmer
discovered at Ohalo II had
a radiocarbon dating of
17,000 BC

The right time for making prikey is when the


stalks are full (you can feel the grains with
your fingers), but still green. You will often
find green stalks around the edges of fields
that are already yellow. Before searching,
light a bonfire.

Be careful: this time of the year in the Middle


East is dry and wildfire spreads easily.
Burn the stalks until the pickles and spikes
blacken. Remove from heat.

Separate the wheat (hence the name


prikey from the Hebrew word lefarek,
meaning to separate).

Twirl the stalks by hand tossing the chaff


away by blowing or shaking, and keep the
toasted seeds.

These are delicious to eat right away, or you


can set them aside for cooking, as a stuffing
ingredient for meat or sweet peppers.

DR RACHEL EINAV is an ecologist, botanist


and marine biologist. Owner of the Blue
Ecosystems consultancy firm, which
specialises in ecotourism, agroecology,
environmental impact surveys and sea
monitoring, Rachel is also a kayak enthusiast.
www.blue-ecosystems.com

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{ ba l i , i n d o n e si a }
right In its natural habitat it
is inconspicuous, using tree
tops for cover and unlike
other starlings usually
coming to the ground only
to drink or to find nesting
materials; this would seem
to be an adaptation to its
noticeability to predators
when out in the open

A Mynah Thing
eeny meeny mynah more please?

Mele da Mynahs Noisy Ohana


(Excerpt from pages 56)
Written by: Carmen Geshell
Illustrated by: Jeff Pagay
Published by: Bess Press
Old-timers reminisced about the days when they
were young. Keiki laughed and played games.
Tt showed off the shiny treasures she found in
the park.
Uncle told everyone for the millionth time
about the gecko that got away.
But to Mele, it just sounded like noise!
Every day it was the same. Squawking,
chattering, and carrying on. Mele could never
get a quiet minute to herself!
Whenever Mele wanted to sleep,
someone was talking.
Whenever Mele wanted to sing, someone was
singing louder.
And whenever Mele brought a friend home to
play, her family took over.
Why, oh why, couldnt they be like everyone
elses ohana? Why couldnt they be like the
quiet and proper family of doves that lived in
the park? Or the proud and stately cardinals
she met every morning?

The Bali mynah, also known


as the Bali starling and Jalak Bali,
is a stunningly beautiful bird of
the starling family. Seeing a flying
bird against the backdrop of blue
sparkling sky or green vegetation is
spectacular. They appear pure white
contrasted by black-tipped feathers
on wing and tail. Having the privilege
to see it up close mesmerises
because of the patch of bare skin

Text Stephan M Funk

around the eyes that is intensive


cobalt blue. Beauty has, however,
proven to be fatal. The species has
hovered just above extinction in the
wild for several decades and remains
critically endangered.
In 1912, the British zoologist Lord
Rothschild scientifically described
the species as Leucopsar rothschildi.
They occur only in the northwestern
third of Bali and are, thus, endemic.
Its beauty quickly made it well known
worldwide. The consequences were
drastic, as local and overseas demand
fuelled illegal trapping, in addition to
pressure from human encroachment
into its habitat. From the 1950s
onwards, hundreds, if not thousands,
of birds were illegally exported.
Initially, this threat was not
adequately recognised. When
Indonesian law first legally protected
the species in 1957, it was because
of its general rareness and not for
any perceived decline. In 1970, the
Convention on International Trade
in Endangered Species (CITES)
recognised it as endangered and
prohibited trade. Yet, these measures
might even have accelerated the

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problem as trade openly continued


and the black-market price increased
from about US$100 in the early 1980s
to US$2,000 in the mid-1990s.
Sadly, the species is a textbook
example for what biologists call
the small population paradigm.
Continued demand for the illegal
trade caused the population to
further decline, both in extent
and numbers. By 1990, the last
population remaining in the wild was
at Bali Barat National Park. Only 12
birds survived despite intensified
protection and release of captiveborn animals. Since then, numbers
have fluctuated drastically, with an
estimated maximum of about 50
specimens. These variations are best
explained by intrinsic factors that
shape and determine the fate of small
populations. In other words, even if
poaching ceases, the species has a
high likelihood of going extinct simply
by chance.

PHOTOS KEVIN SCHAFER/CORBIS

In the 1970s, zoos started


breeding Bali mynahs, because of
its attractiveness as a collectable
animal and in order to help lessen the
pressure on wild populations. Soon,
the number of captive bred birds had
increased tremendously compared
to wild ones. Over a hundred zoos
around the world reported breeding
programmes, but almost always
at very small population sizes
thus risking extinction due to the
same demographic and genetic
stochasticity experienced in the
surviving wild population.
To minimise risk, European and
North American zoos began to jointly
manage captive breeding. They
also became actively involved in

conservation attempts in the wild by


providing training, capacity building
and birds for release. Active releases
in Bali Barat National Park started
in 1988. Yet, despite continued
releases, active management on
the ground, and millions of dollars
invested by NGOs and the Indonesian
government, bird numbers have
failed to bounce back. Poaching
continued despite improved
security through armed guards in
the park. Animals even vanished
from breeding facilities. This failure
also sheds light on the dark side of
conservation: corruption, overriding
economic interests and rivalries
between organisations flying the
conservation flag.

This failure also sheds light on the dark side of


conservation: corruption, overriding economic
interests and rivalries between organisations flying
the conservation flag.
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South China
Sea
M A L A Y S I A

Indian Ocean

}
Zoos do not only breed animals
for conservation, but also to serve
economic und human interests. There
is a strong competition between
zoo places available for captive
breeding for conservation and other
aims, such as visitor attractions.
This is increasingly affecting the
mynah. For example, scientific
recommendations advise 250 Bali
mynahs for the American Association
of Zoos and Aquariums programme.
Yet, a smaller population of around
200 birds is being maintained because
of lack of space. This has created
strong pressures to breed species as
marginally above the scientifically
estimated minimum viable population
size as possible. In the meantime,
biological baseline information on
genetic relatedness of founders, for
example, remains missing even for
this high-profile species.
Is the Bali mynah doomed? I
hope not. My hope stems from a
very successful release project on
the island of Nusa Penida, off the
southeast coast of Bali. The island is
believed to be outside the mynahs
former range. Surveys in order to
establish a safety-net population

initially deemed the habitat unsuitable


and the human population density too
high. Nevertheless, releases started
in 2006 in conjunction with Friends
of the National Parks Foundation
(FNPF), Begawan Foundation, local
communities and government
officials. For the first time, local
Indonesian communities agreed to
actively participate in the protection
of released birds, a crucial condition
for their survival. The villages and the
FNPF established a win-win agreement
by which a traditional customary
regulation was introduced to make
protection of birds obligatory.
The newly established population
has adapted to the new ecological
conditions, risen to more than 100
birds within four years, extended its
range and created the opportunity
to seed new populations. The
current success highlights that local
communities are always part of the
solution, whether or not they are part
of the causes of the threat. Of course,
it is too early to assess whether the
population is viable, whether success
is lasting and whether the critically
endangered Bali mynah has been
saved. Still, hope is finally in sight.

Bali

Mynah Magnificence

The Bali mynah is restricted to the island


of Bali in Indonesia, where it is the
island's only endemic vertebrate species.
(An endemic subspecies, the Bali tiger,
has been extinct since 1937.) The bird
was discovered in 1910 and in 1991 was
designated the fauna symbol of Bali.
Featured on the Indonesian 200 rupiah
coin, its local name is Jalak Bali.

STEPHAN M. FUNK PHD MSC MSC


has more than 20 years of experience
working worldwide in conservation biology,
genetics and ecology. He is Co-founder and
Director of Science for Nature Heritage
(www.natureheritage.org), which specialises
in environmental conservation and cultural
heritage, linking scientific knowledge with
society and the corporate world to support
long-term and sustainable actions on the
ground. He also supports the University of
Temuco UCT, Chile, as a research associate.

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{ r e f l ec tio ns o f asi a : g r e n a da }

Tale of the Turtledove

the saga of a dwindling species

Cinderella
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
But the stepmother said, No, Cinderella, you
have no clothes, and you dont know how to
dance. Everyone would only laugh at you.
Cinderella began to cry, and then the
stepmother said, You may go if you are able
to pick two bowls of lentils out of the ashes for
me in one hour, thinking to herself, She will
never be able to do that.
The girl went through the back door into the
garden, and called out, You tame pigeons, you
turtledoves, and all you birds beneath the sky,
come and help me to gather:
The good ones go into the pot,
The bad ones go into your crop.
Two white pigeons came in through the
kitchen window, and then the turtledoves,
and finally all the birds beneath the sky came
whirring and swarming in, and lit around
the ashes. The pigeons nodded their heads
and began to pick, pick, pick, pick. And the
others also began to pick, pick, pick, pick.
They gathered all the good grains into the
bowls. Before a half hour had passed they were
finished, and they all flew out again.
The girl took the bowls to her stepmother, and
was happy, thinking that now she would be
allowed to go to the festival with them.

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Text Bonnie Rusk

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Its population is extremely small and fragmented,


estimated at only 136 individuals remaining. It is
found only on two small isolated patches of coastal
seasonal forest...

Listening

along the hillsides


of small patches of dry coastal forest
of southern Grenada, you can hear
the mournful coo of the Grenada dove
(Leptotila wellsi), one of the worlds
most critically endangered birds.
This dove is primarily brown with a
pinkish head and a white breast with
a red rim around its eyes, the males
slightly darker than the females. It
is simple in its colouring its only
flamboyant features are its crimson
red feet and legs yet the species has
a uniqueness that merits attention.
However, like many island endemic
species, it has become very particular
to the kind of habitat and conditions
it requires. Vulnerable to change, it is
now threatened with extinction.

PHOTOS GREG R. HOMEL/NATURAL ELEMENTS

The Grenada dove is endemic


to Grenada in the West Indies,
and is recognised internationally
on the International Union for the
Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red
List as one of the 197 most critically
endangered bird species globally.
Its population is extremely small and
fragmented, estimated at only 136
individuals remaining. It is found
only on two small isolated patches
of coastal seasonal forest, one in the
southwest on and adjacent to the Mt
Hartman Estate, and a second on the
west coast around the Perseverance
Dove Sanctuary and the Beausejour
and Woodford Estates. Due to
conservation efforts, all Grenada
dove habitat now has international

recognition as Important Bird Areas


(Birdlife International) and Key
Biodiversity Areas.
The Grenada dove was first
described in 1884. Historically, the
species was more widespread in
coastal areas and possibly offshore
islands, but was never believed to be
abundant. Since the Grenada doves
abundance and distribution were
first documented in 1987 by David
Blockstein, the species continues
to be limited to these two small
pieces of coastal seasonal forests,
primarily dry coastal scrub-woodland
in the southwest, with some mixed
deciduous and evergreen forest on the
west coast.
Male Grenada doves call for long
periods during the breeding season.
Their call is a single, descending note
about a second in duration that is
repeated every seven to eight seconds
and can be heard up to 100 metres
away. Because of the topography of
much of the Grenada dove habitat,
calling males from the hillsides can

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C U B A

D O M I N I C A N
R E P U B L I C

G R E N A D A

V E N E Z U E L A
C O L O M B I A

left Grenada Doves are


assumed to be territorial,
and current population
estimates are based on this
assumption. Grenada Doves
in the Mount Hartman area
have been observed fighting
(Blockstein 1988), and other
Leptotila species show
varying degrees of territorial
behaviour (Goodwin 1983)

be heard in valleys outside of dove


habitat on the hillsides. Breeding
is limited to the rainy season in the
southwest, but is more extended
on the less xeric (low moisture)
west coast. In the southwest, dove
territorial calling begins with the onset
of the rains, usually around July and
extends through December or January.
Habitat loss and predation by
introduced invasive species such
as mongoose, rats and cats are the
primary threats the dove faces. Not
having evolved with these ground
predators and sensitive to direct
disturbance, a dove flushed from
a perch will fly to the ground and
attempt to run away, making them
easy prey. Past habitat loss due
to small agricultural clearings and
charcoal production has been replaced
more recently by continued habitat
loss for residential housing, roads and
other commercial developments.
With habitat loss, the total
Grenada dove population declined
by approximately 50 percent
between 1987 and 1990. In 1998,
they numbered only an estimated
100 individuals. The population
had increased to an estimated 182
individuals by 20034, the highest
documented population for this
species and likely attributed in
part to habitat protection by the

Dove Digs

The Grenada Government in


cooperation with the World Bank set
up two reserve zones in 1996 to preserve
the dove: the Perseverance and adjacent
Woodford Estates, which are adjacent to a
landfill and abandoned quarry site, in the
west of the island and a sanctuary within
the Mount Hartman Estate, a former
government cattle farm and sugarcane
plantation, in the south.
According to some studies, the Mount
Hartman Sanctuary was never considered
adequate for the doves survival and other
understudied populations are located
along the western coast in the Beausejour
and Black Bay watersheds. Some of these
populations have been recognised since
the 1980s. Further populations may exist
but there has never been a complete
island-wide survey to verify this.

Grenada government as well as our


conservation efforts.
Hurricane Ivan hit Grenada in
September 2004, devastating the
island and also resulting in the loss
of at least one-third of the remaining
population. Unfortunately, with over
50 percent of the species found on
private lands, habitat loss remains
a threat and education a focus of
conservation efforts. The Government
of Grenada has legally protected
all Crown land identified as critical
habitat (the Mt Harman National Park
and Perseverance Protected Area
in 1996), excluding the Beausejour
Estate, which has, to date, only
received Cabinet approval.
Since 1991, I have been leading
Grenada dove conservation efforts,
all in close collaboration with the
Grenada Forestry and National Parks
Department. As Founding Director
of the Grenada Dove Conservation
Programme, I continue to implement
research and conservation action that
focuses primarily on habitat protection
and more recently, on predator control.
Engaging communities in protected
area management and education and
outreach programmes for primary and
secondary students have been hugely
successful in creating awareness and
ownership of their unique natural
resources. Funding from the World

Bank/GEF for the Mt Hartman Visitor


Centre and the five-year Dry Forest
Biodiversity Conservation Project,
as well as current funding from the
Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund,
are all having positive impacts upon
furthering the species survival.
I have found that collaboration
between business, government
and local stakeholders has been a
successful and sustainable model,
and it has enabled me to help create
a win-win situation. Still, lack of
adequate funds has limited our ability
to implement all the needed recovery
efforts for this species. We are working
to ensure that the mournful cooing of
this magnificent dove can be heard for
generations to come.

BONNIE RUSK is a conservation and


endangered species biologist and
mediator with over 20 years of experience
in the Caribbean. She holds a Master of
Science degree in Conservation Biology
and Sustainable Development from the
University of Wisconsin-Madison, studying
with Dr Stanley Temple, and a Bachelors
degree in Wildlife Biology. Her work
focuses on endangered species, protected
area development and management,
and mediating successful partnerships
between government, big business and
local communities. She is also the Senior
Conservation Biologist and Founding
Director of the Grenada Dove Conservation
Programme. mail@grenada-dove.org

89
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highlights

Time Jewel

Controlling the Clock

The Tissot T02 blurs the line between exquisite,


feminine jewellery and practical timepieces.
Hailing from the first collection of watches to be
designed by a woman for a woman, the Tissot
T-collection, this accessory encases a mother-ofpearl square in the heart of the dial. Depending
on the model, diamonds on the case or on the
dial tease the eye, creating a look combining
simplicity and sophistication.

The timekeeper for many world-renowned sports,


Tissot now invites its customers off the stands
and onto the football field. The watchs various
colourful incarnations, inspired by the jerseys of
the big teams, will leave football fans in no doubt
as to which suits them best. An engraved football
on the caseback keeps the pulsing rhythms of the
match close at hand.

Renaissance
Love Affair
The Arbutus Black Tie Skeleton AR613 has
launched a follow-up to its black-and-gold
European Baroque styled version and
this time its a love affair. The embossed
ion-plated rose gold Roman numerals are
a Romantic revival. Sporting this Spring/
Summers biggest trend of sheerness,
the flawless white of this watch also pays
homage to the clean lines and natural beauty
of Renaissance art.

BY AISWARYA DEVI

Timeless Classic

Powerhouse

The Coil by Arbutus rewinds time to the


Victorian era. It is the watch for the suave
gentleman. Its black and burgundy-brown
croc-embossed leather straps paired with a
stainless steel, ion-plated rose gold casing
exude elegance. The open coil dome and
the transparent caseback further add to this
timepieces vintage appeal.

Edox, the Official Timekeeper of the Class-1


Powerboat Championship, takes all its
inspiration for its latest timepiece from this
thrilling Formula 1 of the seas. Featuring a
scratch-resistant black ceramic bezel that is
twice as hard as steel, the Class-1 Powerboat
GMT Worldtimer mirrors the strength of
a sportsman, while the watchs colourful
inner rings draw from the vibrancy of the
championship boats.

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WorldMags.netmemories

Behind the Myth


of Shangri-La

Shangri-La County,
Yunnan Province, China:
Songzanlinsi Monastery at
Xianggelila (also known as
Shangri-La) is the largest
Tibetan Buddhist temple
in Yunnan. Its majestic
architecture is modelled after
Lhasas Potala Palace

a bygone himalayan kingdom

Shangri-La

the earthly
paradise that has captured the
imaginations of explorers and scholars
alike around the globe is a fictional
utopia described in the book Lost
Horizon in 1933. The author, James
Hilton, locates this most serene and
beautiful place at the western end of
the Kunlun Mountains, a vast mountain
chain that extends east from the Pamirs
of Tajikistan to the Sino-Tibetan ranges
in Chinas Qinghai Province.
The roots of the idea of ShangriLa, however, lie deep in much older
times when Shambhala, a lost kingdom
hidden in the treacherous Himalayas,
was first revealed in the complex
system of philosophy and meditation
in Buddhism known as the Kalachakra
Tantra. In 880 BC, the Buddha is said
to have taught the tantra to followers
in Andhra, South India, on the request
of King Suchandra of Shambhala,
who brought the teachings back to his
northern land, where the mythical city

became synonymous with Shangri-La (or


El Dorado) and flourished ever since.
According to tradition, Shambhala
is a human realm that possesses
all the conditions conductive for
Kalachakra (time-wheel) practice.
The people residing in this Pure
Land lived in peace and harmony,
free of war and faithful to the
principles of Buddhism. Despite its
location at high altitudes, the obscure
valley boasted a warm tropical
climate, substantiating claims that it
was indeed an earthly paradise.
Hindus and Buddhists alike
regard the mythical Mount Meru
considered the centre of the cosmos,
with its roots in hell and its summit
in heaven as the precise location
of Shambhala. Others believe that
Shambhala, like Shangri-La, is
physically situated in the Kunlun
Mountains, while some scholars point
towards the region around Mongolia
and Xinjiang Province in China.

Although traditional literature


describes the physical journey there,
the 14th Dalai Lama declared that
Shambhala exists purely as a spiritual
realm, one that may only be visited
via intense Kalachakra meditation
practice. The Celtics, on the other hand,
take the view that Shambhala is part
of our souls memory, a home mostly
forgotten, but where the human soul
still goes for healing and revitalisation.
Meanwhile, the powerful pull of
Shangri-La remains as strong as ever.
Among the various places that have
claimed to represent its true location,
Zhongdian County, in Yunnan Province
which officially became Shangri-La
County in 2001 presumably believed
that tourist numbers would benefit
from the name change. In reality, the
move probably hasnt altered the
myth surrounding the lost Himalayan
kingdom and only offers fodder for
fantasy to those who care to ponder
this legendary land without time. ag
BY SELINA TAN
PHOTO LIU JIAN MING/REDLINK/REDLINK/CORBIS

93
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Old Malay folklore speaks of a man named Badang, an Imperial Warrior


appointed by the Rajah of old Singapore. Badang was, at the beginning, a poor
fisherman who plied his trade at the mouth of the Singapore River. One day,
he caught a genie in his fishing net and in return for his release, the genie
LWFSYJIMNX\NXMYTGJHTRJYMJXYWTSLJXYRFSFQN[J.Y\FXSYQTSLGJKTWJYMJ
PNSLTK.SINFXJSYMNXHTZSYW^XXYWTSLJXYRFS<FIN'NOF^FYTYMJNXQFSISFYNTS
for a duel, which Badang won by lifting a huge rock and throwing it towards
the Singapore River. The stone has since been a witness to the growth of
8NSLFUTWJXPNQTRJYWJQTSLQFSIRFWP\FYJW\F^GJHTRNSLX^STS^RTZX\NYM
the gradual strengthening of the nation. This famed sandstone boulder later
came to be known as the Singapore Stone, fragments of which are exhibited in
the National Museum of Singapore today.
FRASER PLACE ROBERTSON WALK, SINGAPORE

THE SINGAPORE RIVER is also the place where loyal


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Badang and the genie.
Keeping the ambience warm and kampong-like, yet exuding
a cosmopolitan feel, Fraser Place Robertson Walk boasts
a relaxed Mediterranean architectural style incorporating
references from Spanish Renaissance, Spanish Colonial, BeauxArts, Italian Renaissance and Venetian Gothic.
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The comfort of familiarity is also found in Fraser Places
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Completing the
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concocted scents, sensually tied to the Frasers experience.


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them of their time spent at a Frasers residence.
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Night, which serves to bring all of Frasers residents together
from its four distinct local properties and introduce some of
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Indian or Chinese. Residents also enjoy easy access to the
entertainment riverside corridor of Boat Quay and the
myriad surrounding themed restaurants, chic cafs, pubs and
specialty shops.
)UDVHU3ODFH5REHUWVRQ:DONIXOOVWKHQHHGVRIWRGD\V
discerning, trendy jet-setters. Yet, when the time calls for
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sometimes-overwhelming bustle of the city. Intimate with its
residents inherent need for space, Fraser Place Robertson
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Indeed, there is no place youd rather be than at this
indulgent residence after a hectic day, coming home to
loved ones, spending memorable moments with friends and
then easing into deep, restful sleep made possible by the
sumptuous pillow menu at Fraser Place Robertson Walk.
Yes, even sweet dreams are part of the Frasers experience.

WorldMags.net

icon

know thy ningyo


WorldMags.net
Also known as: or
Country of origin: Japan
Translation: Human fish; mermaid
Habitat: Seas and oceans
Diet: Omnivorous fish, seaweed and
other aquatic foods

The
Mermaid
an asian conception

Mermaids

a word that
conjures up images of legendary
aquatic creatures with the upper
body of a beautiful female human
and the tail of a fish. Yet, the reality
of the earliest sighted maiden of
the sea could not be uglier. With
deformed facial features, sharp
claws and a grotesque piscine rear,
the Japanese ningyo (), literally
meaning human fish, is a hideous
sight to behold, resembling more
of an other-worldly nightmare than
the seductive femmes fatale they
would eventually become known as
throughout the Western world.
The first recorded account of
mermaid sightings in Japan is found
in the Nihon Shoki, one of the oldest
books of classical Japanese history,

BY SELINA TAN ILLUSTRATION ERIC WONG

dating all the way back to 619 AD. As


the story goes, a fish-like humanoid
being was captured in Japanese
waters and brought before the court
of Empress Suiko herself. In ancient
times, it was believed that consuming
the flesh of a ningyo could grant
eternal youth, and was thus often
represented in Japanese folklore,
such as the well-known Yao Bikuni.
Some traditions depict them executing
shape-shifting powers or crying
tears of pearls, inspiring characters
of popular culture and fairy tales
spanning Europe, Africa and Asia.
But the first-ever known mythical
story concerning mermaids appeared
much earlier, in 1,000 BC Assyria
(modern-day northern Iraq, northeast

Syria, and southeast Turkey), in which


the goddess Atargatis jumped into a
lake in a bid to end her life. The water
could not conceal her divine beauty
and thus transformed half of her body
into a fish. It was this appearance
combined with the tragic-romantic
qualities of the Japanese ningyo
that influenced the creation of the
gorgeous, ill-fated protagonist of
Han Christian Andersons The Little
Mermaid (1836). Since then, the
ubiquitous Western-style Atlantic
mermaid has made her way into
operas, paintings, comics and anime,
enchanting the world over with her
timeless exoticism and supernatural
allusions, indubitably rooted in an
Asian seafaring discovery. ag

WorldMags.net

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No. 33
Issue 4 | 2014

Liu Liqun/Corbis

02 T E L

AVIV-YAFO, ISRAEL

Jaffa Port
10 S H A N G I - L A

COUNTY, YUNNAN, CHINA

Sacred Shangri-La
WorldMags.net

The Ganden Sum seling


Monastery situated five
kilometres from the city of
Zhongdian in Yunnan
province, China

WorldMags.net

Richard T. Nowitz/Corbis

The stairs leading down


from the Old Town of Jaffa
to the port: Excavations
from the site show remains
from different periods,
including buildings from the
Hasmonean Dynasty (200
BC), Philistine pottery and
artefacts from ancient Egypt

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JAFFA PORT
TEL AVIV-YAFO, ISRAEL

Maintaining Sea Level


text

TEXT RACHEL EINAV


AND RONY LEVINSON

WorldMags.net

Amit Geron/Arcaid/Corbis

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01

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AV

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I V-J A FFA , ISR


A

JA F FA P O R T

EL

DOV HOZ
AIRPORT

Russel Kord/Photononstop/Corbis

L
TE

BEN GURION
INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT

02

GE T T I NG T O

JA F FA P O R T
FLIGHT INFORMATION:
Most international airlines operate flights to
Tel Avivs Ben Gurion International Airport.
Jaffa is a 10 to 15 minute drive from Tel Aviv.
DOMESTIC TRANSPORT:
Travellers need to arrange their transport
from Ben Gurion International Airport. Bus,
taxi and railway services are available in
close proximity to the airport. There is also a
wide variety of car rental services, available
24/7, including a limousine rental service.
HOTELS:
Dan Caesarea
www.danhotels.com/CaesareaHotels/
DanCaesareaHotel
David InterContinental Tel Aviv
www.ihg.com/intercontinental/hotels/gb/en/
tel-aviv/tlvha/hoteldetail
Dan Tel Aviv
www.danhotels.com/TelAvivHotels/
DanTelAvivHotel
CURRENCY:
New Israel Shekel (USD1 = ILS3.47)

01 The elegant stone doorway of Turjeman


House in Jaffa
02 A view from Aladdin restaurant, looking
towards the port and Andromeda Rock

Anyone seeking the local


river in Tel Aviv should
look no further than the
Ayalon Freeway...

Ancient things tend to evoke a sense of fascination in us. Take a look at


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LQ6\ULDWR,VUDHOVQRUWKRU(O-DUIRQWKHEDQNVRIWKH*XOIRI6XH] -DD
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Robert B. Fishman/dpa/Corbis

The rocks that remain


exposed at the mouth
of the harbour are,
in fact, limestone
reefs an extension of
the Dor range...

03

03 Nightlife in Jaffa: One of many restaurants


that have settled in the flea market area
04 The famous Said Abuelafia Bakery, run by
one of the oldest families in Jaffa, since 1879
05 A beautiful view one may find coming to
Jaffa from the seaside



JA F FA PORT

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Catherine Karnow/Corbis

Catherine Karnow/Corbis

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04

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'55$&+(/(,1$9

Dr Rachel Einav is an ecologist, botanist


and marine biologist. Owner of the Blue
Ecosystems consultancy firm, which
specialises in ecotourism, agroecology,
environmental impact surveys and sea
monitoring, Rachel is also a kayak enthusiast.
www.blue-ecosystems.com

521</(9,1621

Rony Levinson is the chief oarsman and head


instructor at the Kayak4All boating club, which
spearheads the Row for Clean Seas project.
The club is currently located in the new Jaffa
Port. www.kayak4all.com

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JA F FA PORT

WorldMags.net
ASIAN Geographic...

showcasing the regions


past, present and future.

-$))$&$//,1*

:+(5(7+(:25/'21&(0(7
Te x t R a c h e l E i n a v

The city of Jaffa ( Yafo ) is located in the center of Israel along


the Mediterranean coastline. The name of the city means beauty in
Hebrew and Arabic (in Hebrew and in Arabic), which are the
two languages predominantly spoken in the city
While the port city of Jaffa is one of the oldest in Palestine and the world,
there has been no official documentation in its history of particular dialects
that were spoken in the region. It is likely that various languages were used as
a means to allow locals and visitors to communicate.

Through the years, ASIAN Geographic


and its team of international writers
and photographers have been
winning awards the world over. From
our humble beginnings in 1999, we
have gone from strength to strength
to become the regions leading
geographical magazine.

Despite such communication challenges, the main language spoken during the
construction of the harbour was Aramaic, complemented with other regional
languages. Aramaic itself is a Semitic language spoken uninterruptedly since
the first millennium BC. In ancient times, the language was prevalent in the
Middle East and Central Asia, mainly in Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Syria and
Palestine (Israel, Syria and Mesopotamia).
During the Second Temple period (530 BC to 70 AD), the Babylonian exiles
brought the language with them to the land of Israel, where it triumphed and
became the language of the Persian Empire. Aramaic was also used in Jewish
Scripture, such as the Book of Ezra and the Book of Daniel in the Bible, as well
as the Talmud and later, in the Zohar.
Jaffa is mentioned more than once in the Bible, firstly in the Book of Joshua,
as a town in the Tribe of Dan. After the defeat of the Philistines, King David and
his son King Solomon ruled Jaffa; the wood used for building the temple came
through the Jaffa port. In the Book of Jonah, he began his journey at Jaffa
trying to escape Gods mission to Nineveh.
Eventually, Jaffa experienced the influences of Greek and Cretan Philistines,
arriving on the coast of Jaffa to trade with Israel. Arabic is a relatively recent
language import, developing from Aramaic after 600 BC and eventually
becoming a common tongue in the vicinity. Levantine Arabic is a broad
dialect of Arabic spoken within a 100-to-200-kilometre radius of the Eastern
Mediterranean coastal strip, not just in Jaffa. Considered one of the five major
varieties of Arabic, it is a common medium of communication today.
On the present-day streets of Jaffa, you will hear Hebrew, Arabic and the
voices of English-speaking tourists, along with countless foreign tongues.

38%/ ,&+2/ ,'$<6, 1 JA FFA

MAR


SU N DAY

Purim

-81
4

Purim is a Jewish holiday


that commemorates the
deliverance of the Jewish
people in the ancient Persian
Empire where a plot had been
formed to destroy them.
0$<


T U E SDAY

Yom Haatzmaut
(Independence Day)
The national day of Israel
commemorates the Israeli
Declaration of Independence,
with families, regardless
of religious observance or
affiliation, celebrating with
picnics and barbecues known
in Israeli slang as a mangal.

W E DN E SDAY

Shavuot (Pentecost)
One of the three pilgrim
festivals, Shavuot celebrates
the revelation of the Five
Books of Torah by God to
Moses and the Israelites at
Mount Sinai.

6(37
25

T H U R SDAY

Rosh Hashanah (New Year)


Rosh Hashanah is celebrated
in homes with good food and
reflection of past deeds.

2&7


T H U R SDAY

Sukkot
(Feast of Tabernacles)
This grand occasion lasts for
eight days, to celebrate the
harvest in the land of Israel.

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..aasia
www

Intriguing
Enticing
Informative
Educational

.ccom
ngeo

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3 NALAGAAT CENTER

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Founded in December 2007 by a non-profit organisation, the


Nalagaat Center is home to the Deaf-blind Acting Ensemble,
a cast of 11 disabled actors who have been featured locally and
abroad. Before enjoying this unique artistic experience, dine in
the dark at the Centers BlackOut restaurant and be wowed by
the service provided by the team of blind waiters.

1 JAFFA TALES
The Old Jaffa Visitors Center is located at Kedumim Square, in
the heart of ancient Jaffa. The Jaffa Tales experience offers a
45-minute tour in an underground compound, revealing the secrets
and stories of the 4,000-year-old city.
2 JAFFAS PORT
Most famous for having featured in the Biblical story of Jonah and
the Whale, this ancient port has now been transformed into a major
tourist attraction. Bustling with life, it is home to artists of every
stripe, and street performances are a common sight in its narrow
alleys. Visitors can also shop here for exquisite antique souvenirs.

TEL AVIV

ISRAEL

JAFFA PORT

4 GIVAT ALIYA BEACH (JAFFA BEACH)


Lauded for offering a unique beach experience, Givat Aliya
features a gorgeous promenade adorned with beautiful stone
arches. Go for a picturesque stroll here on your way to Old Jaffas
Ajami neighbourhood to try some local eateries, like Abu Hassans
famed hummus restaurant.
5 FLOATING

ORANGE TREE
A work of Israeli artist
Ran Morin, this tree
serves to emphasise the
increasing separation
between man and
Nature. Floating in
a earthenware pitcher
hung by metal chains
from the walls of
nearby houses, this
small orange tree is
trying to break free of
its container, signifying
Natures desire to
reconnect with man
and his world.

1 5
3

7RSSURGXFWVLQ-DIID3RUW

4 VINTAGE CLOTHES
Jaffas flea market is a mix of authentic small shops and new
original designer stores, and vintage clothes are top of the list for
Bohemian fashionistas.
5 LOCAL ART

1 HUMMUS BY THE ABU HASSAN HOUSEHOLD


According to gastronomical metrics, Jaffa residents reckon
hummus made by the sons and grandsons of the late Abu Hassan
to be the best in Israel, and perhaps even the world. No wonder
there are three restaurants run by the family in Jaffa.

Jaffas thriving art scene boasts a plethora of Israeli artists, young


and old. As the saying goes, A picture speaks a thousand words.
What better way to capture the culture of Jaffa than by bringing
home a piece of local art?

2 FINELY CRAFTED HOOKAH


Also known as a shisha, these finely crafted instruments can be
found in flea markets and outdoor bazaars around Yeffet Street.
Housing a multitude of coloured hookahs, these shops are small,
but definitely worth the visit.

By Aiswarya Devi

3 SHAMOUTI ORANGE
Originating from Jaffa, these sweet and almost-seedless
oranges are also known as Jaffa oranges. Initially cultivated as a
commodity for export purposes, together with cotton, sugar and
barley, the Shamouti orange remains the only commodity that is a
symbol of production in Israel. They are also known for lending the
city of Tel Aviv the nickname Big Orange.
1

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Spencer Robertson/Design Pics/Corbis

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SHANGRI-LA COUNTY, YUNNAN, CHINA

The way of the Yi

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AGUO

01

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WorldMags.net

After all, surrounding


the sun-kissed
continuous peaks and
winding foothills I
call home are grand
gorges, azure lakes and
unforgettable bucolic
villages inhabited
by different ethnic
minorities...

01 Tibetan monastery in Zhongdian, Yunnan


Province, China
02 A view of paradise

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Robert B. Fishman/dpa/Corbis

02

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03
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N T Y, Y U
N

SH

OU
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L
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DIQING AIRPORT

SHANGRI-L A
COUNT Y

05

GE T T I NG T O

SH A NGR I L A COU N T Y
FLIGHT INFORMATION:
Diqing Airport is about 4 km from ShangriLa County, a trip which costs about CNY15
(USD2.40) by taxi. There are daily flights to
Kunming and three or four flights a week to
Lhasa, Shanghai, Chengdu and Guangzhou
during high season. You can transfer to
Shangri-La at Kunming, if there are no direct
flights from your departure city.
DOMESTIC TRANSPORT:
Buses are the main mode of transportation
in Shangri-La.
HOTELS:
Songtsam Hotel Lugu
www.songtsam.com
Zinc Journey Arro Khampa
www.zinchospitality.com/journey
CURRENCY:
Chinese Yuan (USD1 = CNY6.23)

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$*82

03 Firs are seen in the Potatso National Park in


Shangri-La: Located at the centre of the "Three
Parallel Rivers" world natural heritage site, the
Potatso National Park is composed of the Shudu
Lake, Niru area and Bitahai Nature Reserve
04 Buddhist stupas on the Tibetan border in the
Shangri-La region
05 A lama is seen at Ganden Sumtseling
Monastery: The monastery has become a
tourism magnet as millions of travellers
come for its religious significance and
unique scenery

Aguo is a member of the Yi ethnic community


in Shangri-La County. She grew up in the
mountains of Yunnan Province and moved to
the city in her teens. She now co-owns Tantra
Restrobar and is responsible for bringing
traditional Yi cuisine to the locals.

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13

7$/.2)7+(72: 1

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1 BITAHAI LAKE
This spectacular lakes natural form befits its name, which
translates to Lake of Tranquility in the Tibetan language.
Legend has it that a goddess carelessly dropped her mirror,
shattering it into numerous pieces. The most beautiful of these
pieces, decorated with jade, turned into the Bitahai Lake.
Accordingly, the legend explains the lush greenery surrounding
the lake all year around.
2 SONGZALIN MONASTERY

Lin Yiguang/Xinhua Press/Corbis

5 ZHONGDIAN GIANT

PRAYER WHEEL

No trip to Zhongdian is
complete without a visit to
this 24-metre-tall wheel
sitting proudly on a hill.
Originally built as a tourist
attraction, the wheel has
been used for religious
purposes in recent years:
Buddhist monks now
faithfully climb the hill to
submit their prayers by
spinning the wheel. The
wheel is unrestricted to
visitors, but be sure to
spin it clockwise as
religious tradition dictates!

(GUIHUA MONASTERY)

Built to resemble the Potala Palace, the winter palace of the Dalai
Lama, the Songzanlin Monastery boasts architecture as majestic
as any in China. The walls of what is said to be the largest Tibetan
Buddhist monastery in Yunan depict 16 colourful pictures that were
painted with a special golden liquid bestowed by the Dalai Lama.

3 TANGDUI BLACK POTTERY VILLAGE


Nestled along the popular adventure route from Shangri-La to
Deqin in Northwest Yunnan, Tangdui is a quaint little village that
is part of the Ancient Tea Horse Road. The picturesque village is
famed for its black pottery, an ancient Tibetan art that dates back
as much as 5,000 years.
4 WHITE WATER TERRACE

SHANGRI-L A
COUNT Y

25 1
3

CHINA
C
CHIN
A

(BAISHUI TERRACE)

An ancient landform that boasts a history of 200,000 to 300,000


years, the White Water Terrace is also the birthplace of the
Dongba culture of the Naxi people. The variegated texture of
the terrace is caused by the continual deposition of crystallised
calcium carbonate from spring water, creating a bizarre formation
resembling pristine white jade amid rich greenery.

Gallagher/National Geographic Society/Corbis

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1 ZANBA

(ROASTED HIGHLAND BARLEY-FLOUR DISH)

A staple of the Tibetan diet, zanba is a must-try for tourists who


want to truly experience Shangri-La County. This roasted highland
barley-flour dish is much loved among the natives because of its
convenience in a geographical region that is largely unsuitable for
cultivation. Its portability also makes it ideal for Tibetans making
long journeys. The zanba of Shangri-La is differentiated from that
of other parts of China in the grinding and parching of the wheat.

5
4 YAK BUTTER TEA (PO CHA)

Also referred to as Tibetan Beer, this highland alcoholic beverage


is a significant part of festivals, marriage feasts and other
important occasions in Tibetan culture. Sweet-tasting but with a
slightly sour zing, this light-yellow barley wine is a regular fixture
of the elaborate toasts that are common during such celebrations.
3 WHITE SNOW TEA (DIXUE CHA)
Unlike common teas that require a particular climate and certain
soils to thrive, white snow tea is renowned for its special ability
to grow at altitudes above 4,000 metres. The white, worm-like
plants used to make the beverage are actually high-mountain
lichens, which are known to help people with heart conditions and
blood pressure issues.

Consisting of butter, salt and strong tea, the traditional Tibetan


national beverage is the delicious result of a unique blend of
flavours. A special stick is used to beat the mixture, blending
the butter together with the tea in a special churn called a
chandong. Nutritious and well suited to the cold, high-altitude
region, po cha keeps the body warm white quenching ones thirst
and overcoming fatigue.
5 TIBETAN ORNAMENTS
An embodiment of Tibetan lifestyle, Tibetan ornaments are laden
with meaning and religious significance. The main materials
include yak bones, signifying luck; turquoise, symbolising health
and wealth; organic gems, connoting a rise in social status; and
Himalayan beads, said to bring happiness and power.

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By Aiswarya Devi

2 BARLEY WINE

on ne wss ta nds now


t il augus t 201 4!

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6$&5('6+$1*5,/$

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7+(9(51$&8/$52) /'(17,0(6
Te x t 6 L P R Q3H W H U V 6 , 7* U D G X D W H, Q V L W X W H

The form of Tibetan spok n in Zhongdian County (renamed Shangri- a County in


2002), Yunnan, is classified as South rn Khams dia ect. R sembling he diver ty
among he majo dialect groupings, the Tibetan variet es spoke in Diqing Tibetan
Autonomous Prefecture w ere Shan ri-La stands proud as its capital d viate
greatly from St ndar Kham, as well as disti guish them elves from one another.
There is a Tibe an proverb that is excep ional y pe vas ve Shan ri-La o
:
Every valley has its own d alect, and every lama has its own sect. In eed, one of
the greatest contributing factors to the segregated loca and t ansplant Tibetan
communities in Zhongdian County i the linguistic dist nce be een their varieties.
Although ibetan is re ognised as single la gu ge a d has a standardised
written form, the range of peech varieties it contains i immense and many of
th m are mutual y unintelligi le, e en t ose ha hail from wi hin the hams
dialect region.
Unlike v r e i s from other Tibetan areas th t njo a long literary hist ry,
Zhongdian T betan does no have a tradition of writi g, caus ng it to occa ionally
be rowned upon as a language vari ty f cov rt pr stige. However, it evidently
shares a common ancestor with the prestigious varieties. In its development
from its mother language, Zhongdian Tibetan has retained some archaic
lexical and phonological forms the others have lost. Ad itionally, it contains
grammatical borrowings from Naxi, such as dist nguishing betwee animate and
inanimate nouns.

Unfortunately, the Zhongdian varietys domains of usage are severely


limited. The young often describe their e dangered language as tu
(); far from communicating any negativity as the same term in
Standard Chinese would convey, this word translates into local or
native, and using the language with others explicitly signifies ones
believed familiarity with his or her interlocutor.

38%/ ,&+2/ ,'$<6, 1 SH A NGR I-L A COU N T Y


JAN
31

F R I DAY

Chinese New Year

-8/<
15

Chinese Bu dhists be in
the ew Year by going o the
temple to offer incense and
prayers.
MAR
2

Considered t be the most


important Tibetan holiday,
celebrations last nine days, of
which three are specially se
aside for time ith loved ones.
0$<
5

MON DAY

Dengbashi
During the festival, Tibetans
wear festival attire and
worship gods for good
fortune. They also perform
the Guozhuang Dance and
hold the horse race.

SU N DAY

Tibetan New Year (Losar)

T U E SDAY

2&7
2

T H U R SDAY

Gedong Festival
A traditional festival of
Tibetan Buddhism held from
October 2 to Octo er 19 each
year, its m st prominent
feature is the performance of
the Mask Dance.

Horse Race Festival


To celebrate the Horse Race
Festival, a horse race is held
at the foot of the Wufeng
Mountain, which lasts for
three days.

speci

ion
2014

World
Heritage

legacies

UNESCO WORLD
HERITAGE SITES ASIA

Some of the worlds greatest possessions


are situated in this vast region of Asia.
From the Petroglyphs within the
Archaeological Landscape of Tamgaly
in Kazakhstan to the Silk Road Sites
in Uzbekistan to the Neolithic Site of
atalhyk in Turkey, along with the
Archaeological Heritage of the Lenggong
Valley (Perak), the Baroque Churches
of the Philippines, the Lorentz National
Park in Papua and the Sangiran Early
Man Site in Central Java, this issue
celebrates some of the worlds oldest and
most unique of places considered to have
an exclusive and exceptionally distinctive
physical significance.
www.asiangeo.com

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In my opinion, Bangka Island, Indonesi ,


boasts h dden geo raphi al ge s in the
form of panora ic high ands sting a
immen ely ol urful m rine environme t.
Out of the sand, there is no lack of
small tow beaut , u i uely enhan ed
b myri
storical sites d e ec c
her g . I i t d sti
on f m esi e.
ANASTASIA LIEW

Fadil Aziz/Alcibbum Photography/Corbis

Founder and Managing Director of Bengawan Solo

Indonesia: V rious island surround


Bangka Island, like the Island of Belitung
and Langku s Island with its m re than
100-year-old l ghthouse.

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Since 1999

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Special Edition of the Year | M


Merit
rit
i
Surviving Deterioration
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Edito
tor of the Year
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u ta S.V. Mendoza
ASIAN Geographic

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esigner of the Year
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ng Chun Pang
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2013

2011

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