I am creating a blog to open people’s minds to new ideas. It will be about my many interests such as astrology, astronomy, finances, science, history, mythology, religion, etc. I will also accept ideas from other people.
Synopsis
Millenia ago the Sahara was a savanna. During this time people lived there. They draw pictures of animals on caves and had flint tools. Then it dried up, so the people left. After 5,000 BCE the Sahara became fertile again. People moved in again and herded cattle. In 3,000 BCE, it became a desert again and people retreated. The ones who stayed behind became the Garamantes. After the horse and camel were domesticated the Garamantes start trading with their neighbors. Berber languages spread west as a result.
They lived in the Sahara and they were Berber. They created a kingdom there. They had their own language and script. They had different modes of production and they were great traders. They battled the Romans and they have descendants today.
The Garamantes civilization was in what today is Libya. The civilization lasted for 1200 years. They created an oasis by creating an irrigation system that relied on groundwater. They had their own language, which hasn't been deciphered yet. They ate beef, grapes, wheat, barley, dates, and figs.
The capital of the kingdom was Germa. They had several other towns and villages. They did not engage in warfare, nor much hard labor. They were traded with surrounding peoples'. Wine, salt, slaves, foodstuff, olive oil, gold, animals, and tableware was traded. Textiles were created out of cotton.
The Garamantes helped King Juba I defeat the Romans. The Garamantes were later defeated by the Romans. Sometimes the Garamantes would raid Roman settlements. In response to this, the Romans made forts.
The civilization declined after the groundwater depenished. The fall of the Roman Empire had a negative impact on the civilization as well. Rome was an important trading partner to Germa. In 7th century CE, the Arabs tookover Germa and the rest of Libya.
Tuareg tribe are the descendants of Garamentes. Women are very respected in this tribe because it is matrilineal. Men wear veils instead of the women. They love the color blue. A lot of their clothes are blue. There is a caste system in Tuareg society. The Tusken Raiders in Star Wars is based off Tuareg tribe.
They have a caste system. It is as follows: noble, vessel-herdsmen, marabouts, artisans, keepers of tradition, peasants, and slaves. Nobles are the warriors and they select chiefs. Vessel-herdsmen herd donkeys, goats, oxen, and sheep. Marabouts are Islamic scholars. They made Islam popular in North Africa. Artisans are wood, metal, and leatherworkers. Keepers of Tradition are musicians and tell stories. They sing @ weddings and funerals. Peasants are farmers; this caste may only exist in Algeria. The slaves are Nilo-Saharan and the mixed with the peasants and they farm as well. Slavery isn't so popular anymore.
Introduction
This empire lasted for 318 years!!!! It was created by Funj. Islam had a big influence on this kingdom. They were good @ trading and had a strong military. It had great battles with various nations and empires. It fell off in the early 1800's. It became a part of Sudan.
Origin
The Funj tribe was chased to the north by the Shilluk tribe. They defeated Aiwa kingdom. In 1504 Amara Dunqas founded Sennar Sultanate. After the Ottomans took Eygpt he negotiated with them; which kept them from taking over Sudan. The Funj are Nubians mixed with Arabs.
Islamic Influence
The rulers embraced Islam in 1523, while everyone practiced their traditional religion. Later on, people became Islamic but they still followed the ways of your ancestors. The upper class spoke Arabic. Everyone else spoke Funj. Many Islamic scholars came to Sennar and taught the Quran, Sharia, and Sufism. Imams had baraka. This is blessing power given by Allah.
Trade
The Sultan controlled trading. All traders were taxed, which made the kingdom rich. They traded with several African and Middle Eastern nations. A middle class was created from all this trading. They were very Islamic. They opposed the Sultan somewhat. They were more dogmatic; so they wanted the Funj to give up the ways of their ancestors. Ulama grew in authority.
Military
They had cavalry and infantry. The cavalry used large swords and wore chain mail. The horses wore copper helmets. The infantry also had swords. Sennar Sultanate had the largest army in East Africa until 1810.
Epic Battles
People from Alodia lived in Sennar Sultanate. They rebelled against the Sultan and took over in 1606. Sennar monarchy went to Abyssinia. They defeated the rebels and then the rebels were given their own territory in Dongola.
The Ottomans invaded but were unable to defeat Sennar. Abyssinia and Sennar fought over territory. They were continuously fighting the Silliuk. Later they joined forces to fight the Dinka. Sennar defeated Taqali and made it a vassal state.
Decline
It fell off because of the Ulama. The king lost authority to Ulama. There were problems in succession. Then it was it became a part of the Ottoman Empire. Sennar lost its vassal states and Egypt created a rival Ulama. Conclusion
This was a great kingdom!!!! They were great @ trade and had a strong military. It lasted for over 300 years. They had great traditions. The embrace of Islam was a double-edged sword. It made the kingdom richer but took power from the king and cause people to turn from their ancestors. I give this civilization a B.
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sennar_(sultanate)
https://janakesho1.wordpress.com/2016/01/26/sennar-sultanate/
https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/sudan/history-funj.htm
http://bluenilstate.blogspot.com/2013/03/funj-kingdom.html African Kingdoms: An Encyclopedia of Empires and Civilizations
Introduction
This tribe mainly lives in Cambodia. They speak their own language. The Khmer have their own creation story. They have been in Southeast Asia for over 4,000 years!!!! Theravada Buddhism is the state religion, but there are many other religions practiced in Cambodia as well. They have a unique culture. A significant number of Khmer people left Cambodia because of a civil war.
History
Legend has it they came from a Brahmin and a Naga. They traveled to Cambodia and surrounding regions 4,000 years ago if not earlier. They created the first alphabet in Southeast Asia! India had a big influence on Southeast Asia (SA).
There was a great kingdom called Funan. Funan covered most of SA around 200 BCE. It was started 1900 years ago! They traded with China, India, Persia, Greece, and Rome. Buildings were made out of brick, they lived in slit houses, grew rice, pottery was created, and the various peoples retained their culture. Hinduism was popular, then Buddhism became popular. A Chinese emperor was so impressed by Funan musicians he had a Funan music school created in China. In 270 CE Funan and Champa attacked a Chinese province in Vietnam. I assume they lost and China turned Funan into a vassal state in 375 CE. Funan was destroyed inbetween 500-600 BCE. Funan had a big impact on future SA kingdoms.
Chenla started off as a vassal state of Funan. In 550 CE it became independent of it. 60 years later it conquered Funan. Chenla later split into 2 kingdoms. These 2 kingdoms were called Chenla of Land and Chenla of Sea by the Chinese. Chenla of Sea became a part of the Java Empire and Chenla of Land became the Khmer Empire. Hinduism and Buddhism was still popping. Those religions promoted farming and trading. The temples became corporations because they got taxes from commoners and stimulated the economy by attracting foreign investors. The design of the temple was similar to Gupta temples. Temples were made out of brick and stone. There were 14 different kinds of slaves that worked in the temple. People who spoke Sanskrit were given governmental/religious jobs, and people who only spoke Khmer were given temple jobs. Chenla traded with India, Persia, Greece, and Rome.
The Khmer Empire was created by Jayavarman II. He was held captive in Java. Then he escaped and became the king of Chenla of Land. He was anointed by a Brahmin in a Shiva ritual after he became king. The devarajra cult was created after the ritual. People in the cult believed the king was a god in the flesh. He conquered different parts of SA, which became the Khmer Empire. The empire he founded started 802 CE and lasted until 1431 CE. Angkor Wat became the capital of Khmer Empire in the 1100's. Angkor Wat was as big as Los Angles and 1 million people lived there. Its the biggest religious complex in the world! It was dedicated 2 Vishnu; then it was transformed into Buddhist temples. The Khmer Empire fought Champa and the Vietnamese. In 1177 Chams looted Angkor Wat. Jayavarman VII kicked the Chams out of Angkor Wat and caused a lot of infrastructure to be built. He had 102 hospitals built. The social classes were brahmins, metalworkers, textile weavers, stonemasons, potters, and slaves. This empire had diplomatic relationships with India, China, and Java. Arab historians wrote kings of Khmer Empire had great riches, and armies of men, horses, and elephants. The Khmer Empire fell off after foreigners tookover, climate change, and/or disease.
Langauge
The Khmer language is part of the Austroasiatic language family. It is the 2nd most popular language in that family. Sanskrit and Pali had a big impact on the Khmer language. Standard Khmer is the most common dialect; it is taught in schools and used in the media. There are 4 other dialects as well.
Religion
Theravada Buddhism is the main religion in Cambodia. They believe in karma, reincarnation, and becoming enlightened over many lifetimes. Buddhist monks follow 227 rules and cannot participate in entertainment. The hill tribes practice the indigenous religion of Cambodia. It involves ancestor veneration and the belief that most objects contain spirits. The Chams are Muslim and Chinese are Taoists and Mahayana Buddhists. Some Khmer are Hindu, Jew, and/or Christian. All these religions influence each other.
Wedding
The ceremony used last for 3 days and nights. Now it is only 1 day. It starts when the groom gets to brides home bearing a gift. Then people meet and greet and wedding rings are exchanged. Songs are sung during these different events and the bride and groom have a tea ceremony. They offer tea to their ancestors. Then they both get their hair cut. Finally, family and friends tie their writs together and bless them. After that a reception.
Medicine
The Khmer practice naturopathy. They use natural products to help the body heal itself. Medical books were written in Pali, later they were translated into Khmer. The medical books were made out of palm leaves. People go to the National Center of Traditional Medicine to become doctors. This form of medicine was influenced by Ayurveda and Classical Chinese Medicine.
Doctors are called Kru Khmer and the have a teacher-student relationship with their patients. Some of they focus on bone setting, divining, and/or herbalism, etc. Spirits can cure or cause diseases. The imbalance of yin and yang can lead to disease as well.
Kru Thnam: Herbalists
Kru Bakbeg: Bone-setters
Kru Teay: Diviners of the future.
Kru Sneh: Chramer
Kru Son Thith: Diviners of disease. They are close to healing spirits.
Kru Chol Rup: Mediums that do exorcisms. They are mostly women.
Chhmob Boran: Midwives
Martial Arts
Bokator: People are taught to strike with every part of their body and how to fight with weapons. Practitioners like to fight with 2 sticks. This martial art was developed during the Khmer Empire.
Baok Chambab: This Khmer wrestling. B4 the match the opponents do a ritual dance, while a man and a woman play drums.
Pradal Serey: Khmer kickboxing. 2 win a match you have to knockout the opponent or be a better fighter.
Kbach Kun Dambong Veng: This fighting with a bo staff. It is popular with the youth.
Cuisine
Khmers love to eat fish and rice. There are 2,000 different types of rice in Cambodia. Rice noodle soup is eaten for breakfast. Their cuisine is similar to the cuisines of Thailand and Vietnam. The Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish, and French had a big impact on Khmer cuisine. Some Khmer food is pickled, others are fermented. They have over 20 different spices, 8 kinds of meat, 15 kinds of soup, 17 stir-fries, 30 fruits and vegetables. They have 10 kinds of salad and 26 different pastries. There is also a lot of puddings and beverages.
Civil War
After Prince Sihanouk visited the Soviet Union the national assembly removed him from office. In response, he got help from China. The communist forces were attacking his government when he was in charge but became his allies once he was voted out. Cambodia got involved in the Vietnam War and it was bombed by the U.S. The communist took over the country and forced people to live in rural areas. The communists made life hell in Cambodia. They shut everything down and made people wear peasant clothes. They destroyed medical books and other objects of cultural significance.
Pol Pot came to power and he was a damn monster!!!!!!! The communist forces became known as the Khmer Rouge. They tortured and executed many people. They killed over 1 million people. A quarter of Cambodia's population. This led to over 100,000 Cambodians coming to the U.S.
Conclusion
The Khmer are an amazing people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They have great history and culture. They have sweet language and religions. They have excellent medicine and martial arts. Their food is delicious. Long live the Khmer.
Introduction
The Naga tribes live in India and Myanmar. They are several Naga tribes. They speak different languages that are a part of the Tibeto-Burman language family. They have there own territory called Nagaland. They have a rich culture and history. Nagaland
This state is located in Northeast India. Christ-insanity is popular there. Farming is very important to this state. The crops are rice, corn, millet, tobacco, oilseeds, sugarcane, sugarcane, etc. The Naga tribes have been in this land for over 700 years.
The British took over India in the 19th century. They were unable to conquer the Naga. Sometimes the Naga would rid the British, so they were terrified. Then Christian missionaries came and calmed the Naga down.
There are 2 million people in Nagaland. They live in mostly rural areas. The literacy rate is 80%! They love to speak English. There is an airport and several highways in Nagaland.
Tribes
Some of the tribes are Angami, Ao, Chang, Konyak, Lotha, Phom, Rengma, Sangtam, and Sumi.
Angami: They have their own language. They farm rice and herd cattle. They use to fight all time and they were headhunters. Inheritance is shared equally.
Ao: They are the first tribe to convert to Christ-insanity. They were the first to embrace the ways of the white man.
Chang: The Ao tribe might be there ancestors. They were headhunters. B4 they became Christian they believed humans were a part of nature. They have their own language. They make rice beer. They enjoy eating meat and fish. They have bamboo flutes and are patrilineal. They like Christmas.
Konyak: They love tattoos and piercings; they are great blacksmiths. They were the last tribe to accept Christ-insanity. They would keep the heads of their enemies as trophies.
Lotha: There are over 1/2 million people in this tribe! They love to dance and sing; they have a friendship festival.
Phom: They make pottery and craft bamboo. They believe their ancestors were stones. They bury the deceased above ground.
Rengma: They are closely related to the Lotha. Slavery was practiced among them. They bury people with their weapons.
Sangtam: They speak their own language. They mixed their old-time religion with Christ-insanity.
Sumi: There are over a quarter million of them! A few of them follow the religion of there ancestors. They make rice beer too.
Conclusion
There are 16 Naga tribes. They originated in China. They have been in India about 800 years. They have great language and culture. English is the national language and they are mostly Baptist.
Introduction
Saturn is one my favorite planets in astrology, but be careful its the most dangerous. A Saturn cult was created in Germany. That country is very Saturnian or @ least it used to be. Membership is open to men and women. It has 33 degrees and its own doctrine and rituals. They practice unique forms of magick and they have a hard on 4 Saturn.
Thesis
Saturn: Its over time, change, death, disease, restriction, limitation, bizzness, government, bandwagon mentality, banishment, maturity, responsibility, and discipline. He's a stern father figure. Billions of people worship Saturn. He is El, Allah, Yahweh, and Cronus in mythology. His symbol is a black cube and hexagram. What is the Kaaba and the Star of David? Saturn symbols are everywhere. GameCube.
Founder: It was founded by Eugen Grosche in 1926. He was a great author and occultist. He wrote 10 books. He mixed various magickal systems together to create Fraternitas Saturni. They are as followed: Luciferianism, yoga, ritual & sex magick, alchemy, astrology, Thelema, OTO, and Scottish Rite Freemasonry. He ruled the cult 4 almost 40 years!!! There have been 9 grandmasters after him.
Doctrine: The Age of Aquarius will be ruled by Saturn. Saturn is Lucifer and the demiurge. Our reincarnation is based on karma. All the chakras can be awaken by the Kundalini. Ritual magick from Medieval Europe is popular among the brotherhood. The Tarot and Kabbalah isn't so important to them like other European magickal cults. They like mirror magick, demonic magick, and pendulum magick.
They have a egregore named GOTOS. The grandmaster is representative GOTOS. It helps members of the lodge to spiritually evolve. This egregore contains orderly and chaotic energies; which the initiate must balance. GOTOS has great magickal power. Members tap into this power with the proper ritual. Certain rituals charge GOTOS.
Degrees: This brotherhood has 33 degrees like the Scottish Rite Freemasonry. 0-11 are the outer degrees. They are for those just beginning. No commitment is required. 12-10 are the Rosicrucian degrees. You must commit to the order and Saturnian current. The rest are high degrees. Degrees 29-33 can only be held by 1 person @ a time.
Symbols: Rings are given out when a person reaches a certain degree. The rings are silver, which is the metal of the moon. Saturnian energy hits the moon b4 it reaches earth. Black robes are worn by initiates because Black is Saturn's color.
Rituals: They are very Masonic and have 20 sacraments. Most sex rituals happen in the 18th degree. The sex magic is based on Tantra. A thought form is created by doing the 5-M Rites and other sex rituals. Conclusion
This cult is amazing!!!!!!!!! Where can I sign up? I am very Saturnian. But I like to think I am more Neptunian. It got sweet degrees, symbols, rituals, and doctrines. I don't want 2 commit too a order or a certain type of energy. I like to be free because I'm a Pisces. I'm so Jupitertarian!!!!!!!! Lucifer is Venus because he is the morning star. You can learn a lot from studying this Saturn cult.
References
http://www.forbiddensymbols.com/fraternitas-saturni-brotherhood-saturn/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraternitas_Saturni
https://issuu.com/johnarthurervas/docs/183940468-fire-and-ice-the-brotherh
http://www.parareligion.ch/saturn.htm
http://magie.de/MagieWP/eugen-grosche/
Stephen E. Flowers
https://theomagica.com/blog/part-1-the-early-years-of-the-fraternitas-saturni
Introduction The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was the greatest European magickal organization in modern history!!!!! It was founded by 3 people and it focused on ceremonial magick and spiritual development. There were 3 sets of grades within Golden Dawn. It only lasted for 91 years. Many other organizations came from Golden Dawn.
Thesis It lasted from 1887-1978. Founders: William Robert Woodman, William Wynn Westcott, and Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers created it. They were Masons and Rosicrucians. Woodman was an English surgeon. Westcott was a coroner and a Theosophist. Samuel was a polyglot. Structure: There were 3 orders. The first order had 6 degrees and the last two had 3 degrees. As a person progressed in degrees their knowledge grew. In the first order, the person learned about the 4 elements(earth, water, air, and fire), tarot, geomancy, and astrology. In the second order, they were taught high magick, alchemy, astral projection, and scrying. People in the third order was in charge of the other 2. They were in communication with the highly evolved spirits.
Hermetic Qabbalah: Its similar to the Jewish Kabbalah and the Christian Cabbalah. Each of the sephiroths corresponds to a planet and they have certain traits. Each sephirah/planet can help you in a certain area of life.
Angels: They had a strong belief in angels. There are 10 choirs of angels. The choirs correspond to 10 sephiroth on the tree of life.
Rituals: They did ceremonial magick in private. They did the Kabbalistic Cross, Greater and Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram, Greater and Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Hexagram, Water Purification, Fire Consecration, Magickal Eucharist, Middle Pillar, etc.
Splitter Groups Several other organizations came out of the Golden Dawn. The Isis-Urania temple became independent of the Golden Dawn because they didn't like its leadership. They practiced Christian mysticism and was lead by the creator of the modern-day tarot cards. Alpha et Omega was led by Samuel Mathers. They practiced sex magick. Stella Matutina was similar to the Golden Dawn. Aleister Crowley created the AA. They practiced yoga, ceremonial magick, and Buddhism.
Conclusion This organization had great knowledge. It had great structure, rituals, and members. The angels are sweet and so is the Hermetic Qabbalah. There is much to learn from them. There is a modern version of this order too!
