Before the
agricultural
revolution
culture was
based on the
tidal zone, I
think. I
remember from
somewhere that
the early Jomon
culture in Japan
seems to have
been sedentary,
although not
based on
agriculture. The
resources from
nature were so
rich that there
was no need to
move from place
to place.
Likewise, the
Northwest Coast
was so rich in
fish (e.g.
salmon) and
other food
products from
the sea that it
became a
sedentary
cultural center
for early man in
America. I
recall this from
The Naked Man.
In Sharp as a
Knife the same
information is
delivered:
"People
dependant on
hunting and
foraging are
almost always
mobile, while
gardeners and
farmers stay put
and build towns.
In Haida Gwaii,
as elsewhere on
the Northwest
Coast of North
America after
the last
glaciation, this
rule ceased to
hold.
Shellfish are
there for the
taking twice
each day when
the tide recedes
- and salmon,
halibut, cod,
herring,
eulachon,
sealion, seal
and other
species pass
like an edible
calendar along
the open coast
and through the
maze of inshore
waters.
In precolonial
times the Haida
planted no
crops, and yet
they lived, like
wealthy farmers,
in substantial
towns.
The rich
tradition of
Haida art and
oral literature
is
simulataneously
rooted in the
powerful social
forces of the
village and in
the hunter's
acutely personal
relations with
the wild. It is
also rooted in
the constant
presence of the
sea. Manna falls
only rarely from
the heavens; it
emerges daily
from the waves.
And the primary
realm of the
gods, in Haida
cosmology, is
not celestial;
it is
submarine."
"The eulachon, also hooligan, ooligan, or candlefish, is a small anadromous ocean fish, Thaleichthys pacificus, a smelt found along the Pacific coast of North America from northern California to Alaska. It feeds primarily on plankton as well as fish eggs, insect larvae, and small crustaceans. It forms an important part of the diet of many ocean and shore predators, and serves as a prominent food source for people living near its spawning streams.The common names of this fish have a somewhat confusing relationship. The name 'candlefish' derives from the fact that it is so fat during spawning, with up to 15% of total body weight in fat, that if caught, dried, and strung on a wick, it can be burned as a candle. This is the name most often used by early explorers. The name 'eulachon' ... is from the Chinookan language and the Chinook jargon based on that language. The name 'hooligan' appears to have been derived from 'eulachon' by similarity with the English slang term for a ruffian or scoundrel which gained currency in the late 19th century.
Eulachon, as anadromous fish, spend most of their adult lives in the ocean but return to their natal freshwater streams and rivers to spawn and die. As such, one stream may see regular large runs of eulachon while a neighboring stream sees few or none at all. Regular annual runs are common but not entirely predictable, and occasionally a river which has large runs sees a year with no returns; the reasons for such variability are not known. The eulachon run is characteristic for the early portion being almost entirely male, with females following about midway through the run to its conclusion. Males are easily distinguished from females during spawning by fleshy ridges which form along the length of their bodies.
Indigenous communities of the Pacific Coast from California to Alaska made eulachon an important part of their diet, as well as a valuable trade item with peoples whose territories did not include spawning rivers. The species was caught using traps, rakes, and nets. The harvest continues today, with other residents taking part in the exploitation of the large runs. Today harvested eulachon are typically stored frozen and thawed as needed. They may also be dried, smoked, or canned. Eulachon were also processed for their rich oil. The usual process was to allow the fish to decompose for a week or more and then boil the carcasses in large cauldrons. The rendered oil would rise to the surface where it could be skimmed off. Eulachon oil (also known as 'grease') formed a valuable trade commodity for coastal people, and the numerous passes through the coastal mountains used for this trade were called 'grease trails' ..." (Wikipedia)
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Now, at last, I
can see the
light: Moon, not
the sun,
determines the
seasons.
Therefore -
later on and in
other places -
the cycle of the
solar calendar
became
structured after
the tidal
pattern. High
tide comes twice
a day, likewise
solstice twice a
year. Low tide
comes twice a
day too, just as
equinox
twice a year. A
'year' ought to
be a cycle
involving one
solstice (high
tide) and one
equinox (ebb).
Therefore the
rongorongo
calendars have
two 'years' in a
year'
Before the
agricultural
revolution - far
earlier -
'civilized' man
must have lived
a happy and good
life in those
places on Earth
where the sea
was rich, for
instance the
coasts of Norway
and Chile, where
the currents of
the ocean
brought plenty
of fish.
'Flood Tide
Woman' appears
twice a day. In
Hawaii new year
was correlated
with full moon,
and when sun and
moon are in line
high tide is
higher than at
other times:
... The
correspondence
between the
winter solstice
and the
kali'i rite
of the
Makahiki is
arrived at as
follows:
ideally, the
second ceremony
of 'breaking the
coconut', when
the priests
assemble at the
temple to spot
the rising of
the Pleiades,
coincides with
the full moon (Hua
tapu) of the
twelfth lunar
month (Welehu)
...
Given a
structure for
the year
patterned after
the tides - with
the year as a
greater cycle of
the same sort -
it becomes
reasonable to
equalize
solstice with
the points where
the tide turns,
i.e. where for a
moment all
becomes calm. At
equinox, on the
other hand, the
speeds are at
their maximum.
Haga Takaśre
and Haga Hōnu
should, for
example, refer
to low
respectively
high tide,
because at these
two places the
explorers took a
rest. Insects
are dry (ebb),
while turtles
prefer the sea
(high tide). I
have to
reinvestigate,
because earlier
I suggested
spring
respectively
autumn equinox
for these
places.
If full moon
coincides with
low sun (winter solstice)
to create high
tide, then we
should expect
a mirror image at
new moon
coinciding with
high sun (summer solstice)
- once again
creating high
tide, yet
different in
quality.
The sea
swallowing all
land at winter
solstice gives Raven
a hard time
finding a
foothold.
Likewise, Noah
must wait until
the water
subsides.
At summer
solstice another
type of high
tide appears, because
sun is drying
everything up.
The sweet water
in the pools on
the slopes of
the hills invite
both to drink
and to swim.
"Beside the
second root [of
the world tree],
which penetrated
the land of
giants, covered
with frost and
ice, flowed the
fountain of
Mimir, in which
all wisdom dwelt
and from which
Odin himself
desired to drink
even though the
price demanded
for a few
draughts was the
loss of an eye."
(Larousse)
"Tuna,
the eel lover of
Sina, was
killed by
jealous suitors,
but at his last
meeting he had
told Sina
of his impending
fate. He
commanded her to
cut off his head
after he was
slain and to
plant it. From
his head would
grow a tree with
a fruit that
would furnish
her with both
meat and drink.
On the fruit
itself she would
see the two eyes
that had adored
her and the
mouth that had
spoken tender
words of love.
So it came to
pass that
Sina planted
the head of
Tuna and
from it grew the
coconut palm."
(Buck)
At the equinoxes
summer battles
with winter and
the forces
involved when
water quickly
rushes in or out
are at their
maximum. Life is
the opposite of
non-movement,
and life is
therefore
located at the
equinoxes
('babies'
respectively
'fruits'). At
solstices
everything
becomes calm
('dies').
Maybe the reason
the explorers
took a rest at
Haga Takaśre
(spring equinox)
and Haga Hōnu
(autumn equinox)
is that life
cannot 'live' at
the solstices?
Sun and moon can
join forces
there, but not
man.
Inundation below
the sea (winter
solstice) or
below the
surface of the
sweet water pools
(summer
solstice)
- where Tuna
hides - implies that the
head is no
longer visible.
A water surface
is level,
therefore the
truncated
pyramids.
Death (or rather
rejuvenation)
occurs at
solstice high
tide, while life
(the
battle for the
survival of the
fittest) occurs
at equinox
medium tide.
Once I thought
the Gateway of
the Sun
representation
of the path of
the sun over the
year was strange -
why no
difference in the months signs
for spring on
one hand and for
autumn on the
other? Why a
perfect
left-right
symmetry in the
design?
Now I think I can
understand. In
order to depict
the fundamental
structure of
life (equinoxes)
and death
(solstices) a
head must be cut
off at both
solstices and
the life between
the solstices
cannot be
depicted
differently
depending on
whether it is
spring or autumn
- the rate of
movement must be
illustrated as the
same.
The Gizeh
pyramids have
their heads
intact, but it
has been
convincingly
demonstrated
that the Cheops
pyramid is a
kind of map of
the northern
hemisphere of
the Earth. The
inundation of
the Nile was a
local phenomenon
of such great
importance as to
force another
kind of mythic
structure, which
focused on the
rise and fall of
the river rather
than on the
tides. Yet,
somehow the
pharaohs must
have escaped
death. Maybe
agriculture and
sun together
overpowered
tides and moon.
The reason for
only 3 hua
poporo at
winter solstice
seems to be the
low force of the
sun, the reason
for only 3 moon
signs in vai
at both
equinoxes seems
to be the low
force of the
moon (not in
pace with the
solar cycle).