[Editor’s Note: This and the ensuing sequels are a revised version of the discussion that has taken place in The Mago Circle, Facebook group, since September 24, 2017 to the present. Themes are introduced and interwoven in a somewhat random manner, as different discussants lead the discussion. The topic of the number nine is key to Magoism, primarily manifested as Nine Magos or the Nine Mago Creatrix. Mago Academy hosts a virtual and actual event, Nine Day Mago Celebration, annually.]
Helen Hwang Without knowing nine numerology, it is NOT possible for us to understand the depth of Magoism, an anciently originated tradition of Old Korea/East Asia that venerated the Creatrix. “Giants” are the hallmark for the Goma, the people of Danguk (nine-state confederacy led by Goma, the Magoist Shaman queen). Those giants are not described as a singular people. They come in “81 brothers,” as mentioned below. We know what “brothers” mean, it is 81 sisters! Changing or translating a female-connoted term to the male proves its agent to be patriarchal. And Chiyou or Chiu (in Korean) is the ruler of Nine Ris (Guri), another name for Nine Hans (Guhan).
Check this out:
“Chiyou (蚩尤) was a tribal leader of the Nine Li tribe (九黎) in ancient China.[1] He is best known as a king who lost against the future Yellow Emperor during the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors era in Chinese mythology.[1][2][3] For the Hmong people, Chiyou[4] was a sagacious mythical king.[5] He has a particularly complex and controversial ancestry, as he may fall under Dongyi[1]Miao[5] or even Man,[5] depending on the source and view. Today, Chiyou is honored and worshipped as the God of War and one of the three legendary founding fathers of China.”
“According to the Song dynasty history book Lushi, Chiyou’s surname was Jiang (姜), and he was a descendant of Yandi.[6]According to legend, Chiyou had a bronze head with a metal forehead.[1] He had 4 eyes and 6 arms, wielding terrible sharp weapons in every hand.[7] In some sources, Chiyou had certain features associated with various mythological bovines: his head was that of a bull with two horns, although the body was that of a human.[7] He is said to have been unbelievably fierce, and to have had 81 brothers.[7] Historical sources often described him as ‘cruel and greedy’,[6] as well as ‘tyrannical’.[8] Some sources have asserted that the figure 81 should rather be associated with 81 clans in his kingdom.[5] Chiyou knows the constellations and the ancients spells for calling upon the weather. For example, he called upon a fog to surround Huangdi and his soldiers during the Battle of Zhuolu.
TRIBE
Chiyou is regarded as a leader of the Nine Li tribe (九黎, RPAWhite Hmong: Cuaj Li Ntuj) by nearly all sources.[1] However, his exact ethnic affiliations are quite complex, with multiple sources reporting him as belonging to various tribes, in addition to a number of diverse peoples supposed to have directly descended from him.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiyou
Helen Hye-Sook Hwang Below is from my article, “Goma, The Shaman Ruler Of Old Magoist East Asia/Korea, And Her Mythology,” included in Goddesses in Myth, History and Culture (Mago Books, 2018).
Goma is also credited for designating queens of the bear clan to state rulers. Another account of the Goma myth reads, “She looked after numerous spiritual persons and wise persons. Accepting women of the bear clan, Hanung made them rulers (后). Goma chose queens of the bear clan to make them nine state rulers. Note that Danguk is a nine state confedearcy. That Danguk’s nine states were headed by the queens of the bear clan is, among others, corroborated by Chinese mythological accounts. Chinese myth informs that Chiu, Huangdi’s opponent in an epic war, was aided by “a tribe of giants from the far north.”[1] In Chinese mythology, Gonggong and her minister, Xiangliu, symbolized as a dragon with nine heads in the body of a snake, are depicted as an enemy of Emperor Yu of Xia (ruled c. 2200–2100 BCE). Such a story is aligned with Sinocentrism inscribed in Chinese mythology that antagonizes pre-Chinese history of Old Magoist Korea/East Asia. In Chinese mythology, Gonggong (龔工) is described as a sea monster whose minister Xiangliu (相栁 Mutual Willow) is told to have been defeated by Yu, the Great.[2] Assuming the character hu (后 xia in Chinese pronunciation) to mean a male ruler’s wife, androcentric scholars have translated the above account as “Hanung received his queen from the bear clan. And he instituted the rite of matrimony.” This proves to be a modern androcentric bias in that hu originally means a “ruler.” This is the case of the logographic character whose original meaning has changed from “a female ruler” to “a male ruler” and to “the wife of ruler” over time. Ancient Chinese texts betray ample evidence. For example, Xiahou (夏后 Ruler of Xia) and Houyi (后羿 Ruler of Yi) respectively refer to a male ruler. Xiahou refers to Yu of Xia. Other ancient Chinese texts include the Classic of Poetry (詩經 商頌 玄鳥), the Zuozhuan (左傳) and the Book of Document (書經).[3]
[1] C. Scott Littleton, ed. Mythology: The Illustrated Anthology of World Myth & Storytelling (San Diego: Thunder Bay Press, 2002), 414. Cited in Hwang, Finding Mago, 239 in note 494.
[2] Lihui Yang, Deming An and Jessica Anderson Turner, Handbook of Chinese Mythology (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005), 214-5.
[3] Goma, “Goma, The Shaman Ruler Of Old Magoist East Asia/Korea, And Her Mythology” Goddesses in Myth, History and Culture (Mago Books, 2018), 272.
Helen Hye-Sook Hwang I am realizing that even ancient Chinese people depicted Chiyou as female. When her image is cropped from the whole frame, it is hard to tell. But see her in the attached image of the whole frame. In comparison with Chinese heroes (supposedly including Yellow Emperor) on the left side, she and her ally are depicted as a figure in a curvy body line. Of course, Chiyou was pejoratively depicted as she was an opponent to the future Chinese emperor, Huangdi.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiyou
Helen Hye-Sook Hwang Chiu is also, although subtle, depicted as bigger than the men on the left side, suggesting that she is a giant.
Lizzy Bluebell In fact, Chiyou’s ‘ally’ appears to be a BEAR (Pole Star connection?) who is holding some tools, possibly related to ‘measuring the skies’ or defining constellations? The tool held by Chiyou reminds me of the tool held by the Bhudda character sitting on a green deer in another thread. Perhaps the mon-key relates to the moon? The bird figure must surely also have such stellar connotations.
Lizzy Bluebell I can’t read the text in the link of course – but this appears to be Chiyou – rendered as male. The tools vary in this image from the one on the left – which eye now see as a Pair of Bears – but I intuit that we are looking at the story of Nu Wa and FuXi here. well well well – here she is – Chiyou IS a Bear – and in this image SHE HOLDS ALL OF THE TOOLS !
http://egloos.zum.com/larca/v/1950114
Lizzy Bluebell This bear-like image is also related – again I can’t read the text. In this one, the character seems to have taken on some bee-like features.
http://lasvegaskim.com/Etc_Poem_55.htm
Helen Hye-Sook Hwang Note this from the Wikipedia entry quoted above, which cogently describes her bronze headgear that covers her forehead for protection.
According to legend, Chiyou had a bronze head with a metal forehead.[1] He had 4 eyes and 6 arms, wielding terrible sharp weapons in every hand.[7]
Helen Hye-Sook Hwang See some styles of headdress of Miao women. Miao people better known through the Hmong today self-claim that they are the direct descendants of Chiu.
http://egloos.zum.com/larca/v/1950114
It is possible that the Korean women’s hairdo called Gache 加髢 (an additional hairdo) was originated from the Chiu’s hair style, seemingly heavily armed in ancient Chinese depictions. These hairdos are evocative of Medusa’s nine-headed snake headdress.
(To be continued)
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KOREA. In this I see Greek KORE + EA. Kore in English becomes Core, ie. the heart, or inner soul of Mother Earth; Earth/Heart as anagrams of each other. EA refers to the Goddess as Water.
A short partial answer quoted from your text above re your query on Chinese languages. But I wrote an extensive and lengthy reply which has not appeared here. There seems to be a navigation problem between WordPress, Mago, and e-mail links?
“Goma, The Shaman Ruler Of Old Magoist East Asia/Korea, And Her Mythology,” included in Goddesses in Myth, History and Culture (Mago Books, 2018). “Assuming the character hu (后 xia in Chinese pronunciation) to mean a male ruler’s wife, androcentric scholars have translated the above account as “Hanung received his queen from the bear clan. And he instituted the rite of matrimony.” This proves to be a modern androcentric bias in that hu originally means a “ruler.” This is the case of the logographic character whose original meaning has changed from “a female ruler” to “a male ruler” and to “the wife of ruler” over time. Ancient Chinese texts betray ample evidence.”
Chinese languages? What are they and where do you see them in the post?
In-tuitions: Helen, I’m often struck by the co-relations I see between English-language word/sound/spellings and seemingly unrelated word/sound translations from Chinese languages. One striking example of this is the sound of a cat (n.b. cat denotes the fe-line or fe-min-nine; min being the moon) where “Miao” is rendered in English as “miaow”; the sound made by joining the vowels a-e-i-o-u. Even in the word “vow-el” itself EL appears to be a-vowed as the pa-ra-mount semitic god. HU-man is another (or a-not-her) example of how these anciently spoken sounds have morphed into completely unrelated non-oral spell-lings to en-chant the eye and belie the truth of the oral-gynal-land-guages.