The Lost Atlantis

THE LOST ATLANTIS.—- F. W. Sieber.

To the Editor of the Literary Gazette.

DEAR SIR,—You have so frequently made honourable mention of the name of Dr. Sieber in the Literary Gazette, that I have no doubt you will be pleased with an extract from a paper by him, under the above title, inserted in the Arehii ftir die gesammte Naturlehre.

Discussing the question of the existence of the Atlantis of the ancients, Dr. Sieber declares his conviction, that the stories related of that country were founded on an actual knowledge of America. He observes, that Columbus was partly led to his belief in the existence of a country beyond the Atlantic, by the pieces of wood, seeds, fruits, &c. of species unknown in Europe, which were frequently cast on the shores of the Old World, between the 20th and 40th degrees of north latitude. There can be no reason (he says) for supposing that the same occurrences were not equally common two thousand years ago, and they could not have escaped the notice of the ancient Phoenecians and Carthaginians; especially as, from want of the aid which nautical science now affords, practical and immediate observations were the only means of giving the greatest possible security to their voyages. Being acquainted with the Cape Verde Islands, he presumes that the Carthaginians in particular, must have had an accurate knowledge of the western shores of Africa, including the whole of the Gold Coast. This being the case, they could not fail to observe the currents in the Atlantic Ocean; and it is therefore probable that some bold and experienced navigator, encouraged by the observations already made, and by his knowledge of the winds prevailing at certain seasons in those latitudes, was tempted to commit himself to the current, and sail into the ocean. In this manner the Carthaginians probably discovered the southern continent of America. Dr. Sieber then proceeds to give an account of the interesting discovery, which has induced him to infer that there was formerly a Greek colony in the Island of Trinidad.

Among the persons whom Dr. Sieber had sent to different parts of the world to form collections of plants, was a Mr. Wrbua, who went for that purpose to Trinidad. On his return to Germany, he gave to Dr. Sieber a small stone, or polished glass paste, which he had found in that Island, and supposed to be a Roman antique. At first, Dr. Sieber thought he was in jest, and was not a little astonished when he learnt from Mr. Wrbna the following particulars of his discovery :

Having made some excursions in the neighbourhood of Port Spain,where he landed, he went for some time to the plain of Maraval, about two leagues distant. He there visited the plantation of Sir. Elias Bossieres, (formerly belonging to Mr. Decamp,) where he was informed that various articles, utensils, vases, &c. which looked like Greek and Roman antiquities, were often found.

Mr. Wrbna having formerly seen the antiquities dug up at Saltzburg, and the place where they were discovered, expressed a desire to examine some of these articles, and the spot where they were found ; but Mr. Bossieres had not any thing to attract his curiosity. The place was, however, pointed out to him, up the little river, on which there was a rough road, sometimes on one, and sometimes on the other side.

About a quarter of a league from the plantation, the vegetation was more luxuriant; and he found himself in the midst of a great number of palms of various species, etuis montnna, bactrys major, minor claratu, and another, called by the inhabitants, cocorite. He saw, also, several kinds of melastomas. Happening to stoop down, he perceived a small stone, which he picked up, and having cleared away the earth adhering to it, found that it was a work of art, which, perhaps, had been worn in a ring, and served as a seal. The inscription upon it seemed to prove that it must be of Greek antique.

Wondering how a country so distant from Europe, and known only within these few centuries, could have been visited by Greeks, he said nothing of his discovery, and went to other parts of the island to continue his search ; for at Maraval he could not find any trace of ancient walls, mosaic work, or any production of art whatever. At Port Spain he heard of monuments of the Indians, of their tools, and other works of art, which had been found or dug up; but nothing whatever of Greek or Roman antiquities. He continued to enquire after such works of the Indians, hoping to discover something which might confirm his conjectures. He visited, among other places, Naparima, a maritime town, six leagues to the south-east of Port Spain. A Scotchman took him to the coffee plantation of his friend, Mr. Don, about half a league from Naparima, where he heard of a supposed Indian burying-ground, on which cocoa and coffee-trees were planted, and near to which, on turning up the ground, earthen vessels were met with, containing nothing but small pieces of burnt bones. The negro slaves generally broke these vessels to pieces, so that the owner of the plantation could show him only two urns, and the lid of another vessel, and fragments of some vases, all of which, however, Mr. Don conceived to be of Indian manufacture.

Mr. Wrbna declares that he cannot but consider the two urns to be genuine Greek, or Roman funeral urn, which, as well as the fragments of the others, perfectly resemble those which he had seen at Salzburg. He himself examined the contents of them and found ashes, with soft friable pieces of bone. Neither figures nor inscriptions were to be distinguished upon them. The form of the vases perfectly resembles hose of I lerculaneum and Pompeii. The most important, however, was a lid; the urn to which it belonged was unfortunately wanting. This lid represented a human head, of very good workman- hip and proportions, which we show below; and from all the explanations of Mr. Wrbna, can be took for nothing but one of the four Canopi. All the vases were burnt clay, and the figure on the lid so regular, that it could not possibly be taken for a work of the Indians, who, as we know, were extremely unskilful in their representations of the human figure. The two vases were so damaged that it could not be decided whether they ever had any figures or inscriptions.

We now proceed to describe the stone. It is four-fifths of an inch long, and rather more than half an inch broad, of an eliptical form, two lines thick, chamfered off at one edge, so that the reverse is smaller than the face. The colour is a smoky black, most resembling a glass paste soft in the grain, like many obsidians of a dead glassy lustre ; the chamfered edges exhibit aconchoidal fracture, and strengthen the opinion that it is of one of the many volcanic substances most resembling obsidian. Glass pastes arc generally rather harder. One side on the edge is purposely cut and the stone appears once to have been set. There is a human figure in the centre. The neck, which is rather long, supports a dog's head ; the body is robust, the shoulders broad, the arms rather standing out, and an Egyptian apron, laid in folds, bound round the waist. The legs below the calf are wanting, the edge being broken off. This Cyuo- cephalus has two ears like those of a dog ; and Dr. S. has no hesitation in declaring this figure to be the Anubis of the Egyptians. The workmanship is better than is usually observed on stones of this kind. On the edge are five letters remaining out of six ; the second is wanting. H. (wanting,) 0, M H N. On the reverse are the following letters, in three lines: B^CCVM HCHB.VAA OMHN

Photobucket
BECCVM

(hchbaas. .omhn

I do not think it necessary to trouble your readers with the long dissertation, in which Dr. Sieber enforces his opinion, that this antique is the work of a Greek artist of Alexandria, in the time of the Ptolomies: whence he would infer that America was really discovered by the Greeks, (not by the Carthaginians,) and that they founded a colony in the New World.

SOURCE: The London Literary Gazette and Journal of Belles Lettres, Arts, Sciences, Etc
Published by H. Colburn, 1825
Original from Harvard University
Digitized 27 Feb 2007

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"Patria est communis omnium parens" - Our native land is the common parent of us all. Keep it beautiful, make it even more so.

Blessed is all of creation
Blessed be my beautiful people
Blessed be the day of our awakening
Blessed is my country
Blessed are her patient hills.

Mweh ka allay!
Guanaguanare

Leaders As Obstacles

One of the factors which make transformative politics and the cultivation of intelligence to assist and maintain the process even more difficult, is the government.

Sometimes the obvious is left unsaid, and that is that national leaders and their bureaucracies are the largest, most intractable obstacles on the path of progress. Let us conclude along with Dror(1987:212) that

"a highly advanced intelligence capacity can make a leader uncomfortable for it forces him to discipline his thinking, leaves less leeway for exercising personal will and generally restrains his freedom of action."
The exigencies of office make it more feasible for these persons to focus on outward shows that will increase the possibility of re-election, with no genuine intention to follow through, and the extreme likelihood that policies implemented by one regime will be overthrown by its successor. Often this has manifested itself in the purchase of impressive physical plant/infrastructure, the hiring of foreign 'experts' and the spouting of terms like-"the cutting edge of technology", "state of the art"- without a clue about how imported technology can contribute to relevant, sustainable development.

To summarise, there is an emphasis on acquiring hardware rather than the time and intelligence-intensive process of developing the software of sophisticated minds.

The information policy of a country is largely predicated on the system of government. We have been described as having hosted a succession of paternalistic governments where you can say the Father/Mother of the Nation replaced the Mother Country. The people, playing the role of the bug-eyed children, are expected only to hand up their votes, shut up and behave themselves. Empowerment of the population is problematic for centralized control and governmental carte blanche. The information culture reflects this non-participatory, hierarchical system. It is characterized by two flows:- a top down flow from government to governed and a horizontal swirl of intrigue, gossip, propaganda, innuendoes, hearsay among the governed (the latter being tapped by the government to gain local political advantage.)

Ventura(1980:4) makes a similar observation about developing countries:
"An outstanding characteristic of developing countries is their astonishing lack of knowledge: about themselves, their friends, their enemies and their technological, social, economic and ecological environments."
The implications of this become more serious as these countries attempt to enter the global arena and are increasingly exposed as borders become more permeable to flows of citizens, friends, enemies and the accompanying technological, social, economic and ecological influences.

DROR, Yehezkel (1968). Public policy re-examined. San Francisco, CA: Chandler Publishing.
VENTURA, Arnaldo (1980). Obstacles and avenues to social enlightenment. Paris: OECD. (Meeting on the Knowledge Industry and the Process of Development, Paris, 9-12 June, 1980)

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"Patria est communis omnium parens" - Our native land is the common parent of us all. Keep it beautiful, make it even more so.

Blessed is all of creation
Blessed be my beautiful people
Blessed be the day of our awakening
Blessed is my country
Blessed are her patient hills.

Mweh ka allay!
Guanaguanare

Combing The Snakes Out Of Atotarho's Hair

A Transformation from War to Peace

"Both the Charter of the United Nations and the Constitution of the United States of America are founded on the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Great Law of Peace. We, the carriers of the Haudenosaunee traditions consider it our duty to remind the world of the basic principles and spirit of the Great Law for bringing peace and harmony to human relations. In our teachings, there was a man named Atotarho. Atotarho is described as a powerful evil man who spread fear and death everywhere he went - visually he is represented with snakes coming out of his head and as having a crooked and misshapen body. He was a cannibal, a sorcerer who killed and maimed people for his pleasure and caused dissention, exploiting people to feed his own selfish greed. The world was at war. Sound familiar?

Long before the Europeans came to North America, two men, Dekanawida and Ayonwatha taught the warring nations about the Great Law of Peace which brought peace and established the Confederation of Five Nations. Over 200 nations allied themselves with the Confederacy and accepted the terms of equality and peace.

How did Dekanawida and Ayonwatha straighten Atotarho out and comb the snakes out of his hair?

When Dekanawida was trying to bring peace to the warring nations by forming the Confederacy and showing people how to work together, he had trouble convincing the Onondaga to join because they were lead by Atotarho. Atotarho enjoyed the power and fear he put into people.

Dekanawida and Ayonwatha sang him a song to help him calm down. They massaged his aching, crooked body and then started to gently comb the snakes out of his hair. As they did so, they taught him about the Great Law of Peace.

Dekanawida and Ayonwatha worked gently and with great patience. As Atotarho began to relax, he was transformed and became straight, strong and whole again. Atotarho, after he was pacified, became head of the Grand Council of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. Atotarho learned the ohenton kariwateken, the words of thanksgiving that come before any gathering of the people. As he began to understand his place in the universe - a universe where everything and all people are interconnected and equal - he could no longer exploit the fears of others.

Instead of removing him from any position of power in the new confederacy, he was given the opportunity to act as chairman, listening to everything everyone else had to say and presiding over discussions. He acted as a peacemaker and diplomat, listening to all the positions carried from the people by their representatives. He made sure that relations were conducted in a friendly and respectful manner. This position still exists in the modern day Confederacy.

In this position, he does not represent anybody or any nation. He does not force others to follow his way. He is a mediator for all of the nations and for the Great Law of Peace. It is understood that because he had been so crooked to begin with, he understood the opposition and imbalance that could occur among people.

The person who sits in Atotarho's place cannot be in two canoes at once - that of war and that of peace - he would fall into the river. Their paths naturally go in opposite directions. Atotarho realizes that if you have everything, you have nothing. He knows the importance of keeping balance within the circle where everyone is equal.

Where is our Atotarho today? Is there anyone who knows how to comb the snakes out of the hair of our most recalcitrant warring leaders so we can have peace? Have we forgotten the lessons of the past? Why is America at war?

We are all like Atotarho. We are living in a time of violence and destruction. We all have snakes in our hair. Our minds are crooked and we are wasting our energies. But we all have power. We have the power to look after each other, to comb the snakes from each other's hair, to straighten aching bodies and to learn the soothing songs of peace.

There is no need to go back to the time before Atotarho learned the Great Law of Peace. We must bring back the principles that Atotarho learned.

We must not be afraid. We must take on the responsibility of making sure that all people are cared for. We must give up our positions of dominance and remember our connectedness to all people and all things. We must remember the small condolence where we wipe our eyes with the softest cloth so we can look at reality. We must take an eagle feather and gently wipe our ears so we can listen and hear what is really being said. We must drink pure water to soothe our rasping throats so our words are soft and clear, without sharp edges.

We must ask ourselves, are we ready to hear the message of Deganawida? Are we strong enough to learn from the past? Surely we have suffered enough. The mountains are cracking. The rivers are boiling. The fish are turning with their bellies up. We must leave the millennia of death and destruction behind. We can link our hands together in peace. We have the United Nations already, let's use it!

We can make the world safe and beautiful for everyone. The Indigenous spirit can come back. Our brothers and sisters from all parts of the world can teach us. We can burn our good medicines and call on Creation, so Deganawida's message returns like a light from the east. We can respect each others' differences and live in harmony together.

Now is the time for us to take responsibility for our future and the future generations. We must use our voices and speak up! Act out! We are not powerless. We have to let people know that we all have the power to do something about this conflict and misunderstanding!"

Kahn-Tineta Horn, Kanienkehaka (Mohawk) Mother, Grandmother
Kahente Horn-Miller, Kanienkehaka (Mohawk) Mother
Karonhioko'he, daughter
Kokowa, daughter
Grace Lix-Xiu Woo, Aunt, Sister, Ally
Ekiyan, Mi'kmaq Son, Ally
Source: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/pipermail/rad-green/2003-March/007738.html

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"Patria est communis omnium parens" - Our native land is the common parent of us all. Keep it beautiful, make it even more so.

Blessed is all of creation
Blessed be my beautiful people
Blessed be the day of our awakening
Blessed is my country
Blessed are her patient hills.

Mweh ka allay!
Guanaguanare

The Consciously Ignorant

According to Reser & Smithson (1988:13) uncertainty and ignorance do not always have dysfunctional psycho-social consequences and a great deal of normal human functioning depends crucially upon the creation and uses of ignorance.

For many citizens of both developed and developing countries where dysfunctional psycho-socio-political systems are perpetuated, ignorance is valid currency. The list of misinformation and gaps in basic knowledge is as impressive in its scope as it is ominous for the well-being of the democratic process. (Bowers 1993: 40)

This ignorance is the crucial support which enables ordinary people to get on with everyday life in the face of what they conceive as insurmountable ills. It is the numbing wand with which their leaders control without much fear of reprisal.

Reser & Smithson (1988) use as their case study, the nuclear threat and 'collaborative not dealing with' the issue as a way of coping with the horror of the situation and as a plausible excuse for not becoming involved in the nuclear debate. A valuable insight which they provide explains why in some situations, information or resulting knowledge may not yield beneficial consequences. Knowledge does not always mean empowerment.

If citizens sense an absence of a framework for translating knowledge into affirmative action then ignorance may actually become a source of comfort. Secondly "knowledge itself may exact costs in addition to the time and effort required to obtain it, i.e. the attribution of responsibility for one's own choices." (Reser & Smithson 1988:19).

Citizens may and do find relief in passing on responsibility for crucial decisions to those who profess to have more expertise, even if they suspect that this expertise is non-existent or underemployed.

BOWERS, C.A. (1993). Education, cultural myths and the ecological crisis: Toward deep changes. Albany, N.Y.: SUNY Press.
RESER, Joseph P & SMITHSON, Michael J. (Winter 1988-1989). When ignorance is adaptive: Not knowing about the nuclear threat. Knowledge in Society, 1(4), 7-27
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"Patria est communis omnium parens" - Our native land is the common parent of us all. Keep it beautiful, make it even more so.

Blessed is all of creation
Blessed be my beautiful people
Blessed be the day of our awakening
Blessed is my country
Blessed are her patient hills.

Mweh ka allay!
Guanaguanare

"Café au Lait" By Liane Spicer


Congratulations to Trinbagonian blogger, Liane Spicer over at WordTryst. She has had her first novel, "Café au Lait" published by Dorchester Publishing. It will be available from September 2008 and you can purchase it at the major online bookstores.

Liane describes it as a multicultural romance and the blurb at Chapters.Indigo.ca reads, "After their misencounter on a plane from London to Trinidad, Michael and Shari meet again and try to untangle the threads that draw them together and apart and what is the true connection between Michael and his frequent companion, the beautiful but venomous Zoe."

For those interested in a behind the scenes breakdown of the process leading up to the publication, check out her post, "Check."

Liane isn't resting but is hard at work, putting the finishing touches on her second offering, a romantic suspense novel. This must be the sort of discipline and dedication that they were trying to instill in us at my school where these verses were pasted in giant block letters on the walls around the classroom, "Good, better, best, Never let it rest, Until you make the good better, and the better best!"

Well done, Liane!
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"Patria est communis omnium parens" - Our native land is the common parent of us all.
Keep it beautiful, make it even more so.

Mweh ka allay!