Friday, September 12th, 2003 – Day 206
It rained very heavily all night last night. It was hard to sleep. I decided to ahve a lonmg lie in and not travel on today. I stayed in bed until noon, the longest I have ramined in bed for a long time. There is not much point walking around in this weather. i spent another hour on my porch drinking tea deciding where to go next. When i was on the NET last night I checked out the weather. It was to reamin cloudy and showery all wekk. I was going to head east to a quite beach area and ten a mountain area before heading back but I decided to head Negara instead. This is on-route to Java where Jakarta is located.
I decided to walk around town. In every temple here you see many swastika symbols. Indeed I saw a few in the main Cathedral in christchurch, New Zealand. For Buddhists and Hindus here in Bali, the swastika is a very religious symbol that is commonly used.
The History of the Swastika
The Oldest Known Symbol
The swastika is an ancient symbol. Dating back 3,000 years, the swastika predates the ancient Egyptian symbol, the Ankh. Approximately 3,000 years ago (1000 BCE), the swastika was commonly used; swastikas have been found on many artifacts such as pottery and coins dating from ancient Troy.
During the following thousand years, the image of the swastika could be found in many cultures around the world, including in China, Japan, India, and southern Europe.
By the Middle Ages, the swastika was a well known, if not commonly used, symbol but was called by many different names:
China – wan
England – fylfot
Germany – Hakenkreuz
Greece – tetraskelion and gammadion
India – swastika
Though it is not known for exactly how long, Native Americans also had long used the symbol of the swastika.
The Original Meaning
The word “swastika” comes from the Sanskrit svastika – “su” meaning “good,” “asti” meaning “to be,” and “ka” as a suffix. Until the Nazis used this symbol, the swastika was used by many cultures throughout the past 3,000 years to represent life, sun, power, strength, and good luck.
Even in the early twentieth century, the swastika was still a symbol with positive connotations. For instance, the swastika was a common decoration that often adorned cigarette cases, postcards, coins, and buildings. During World War I, the swastika could even be found on the shoulder patches of the American 45th Division and on the Finnish air force until after World War II.
Change in Meaning
In the 1800s, countries around Germany were growing much larger, forming empires; yet Germany was not a unified country until 1871. To counter the feeling of vulnerability and the stigma of youth, German nationalists in the mid-nineteenth century began to use the swastika, because it had ancient Aryan/Indian origins, to represent a long Germanic/Aryan history.
By the end of the nineteenth century, the swastika could be found on nationalist German volkisch periodicals and was the official emblem of the German Gymnasts’ League.
In the beginning of the twentieth century, the swastika was a common symbol of German nationalism and could be found in a multitude of places such as the emblem for the Wandervogel, a German youth movement; on Jörg Lanz von Liebenfels’ antisemitic periodical Ostara; on various Freikorps units; and as an emblem of the Thule Society.
Hitler and the Nazis
In 1920, Adolf Hitler decided that the Nazi Party needed its own insignia and flag. For Hitler, the new flag had to be “a symbol of our own struggle” as well as “highly effective as a poster.” (Mein Kampf, pg. 495) On August 7, 1920, at the Salzburg Congress, this flag became the official emblem of the Nazi Party.
In Mein Kampf, Hitler described the Nazis’ new flag: “In red we see the social idea of the movement, in white the nationalistic idea, in the swastika the mission of the struggle for the victory of the Aryan man, and, by the same token, the victory of the idea of creative work, which as such always has been and always will be anti-Semitic.” (pg. 496-497) More from here regarding this subject.
As there were showers all day, I did very little. i had meant to go on a -Lonely Planet-recommended walk to see a river and some rice terraces some 3km outside of town but the weather put me off. I went to the ATM, the tourist office, and English Book stiore etc and paid my accommodation until tomorrow. It was 180,00 IR for six nights.
It was a fine basic place called Budi Bungalows. Its in the Lonely Planet. I was the only one in the holiday compound. At least the rain shut up alot of the roosters this morning.
)
Click on the picture to see it in its original size
Ubud – Bali – Indonesia – Various Pics from Ubud – the Kids are alright (12-09-2003)
)
Click on the picture to see it in its original size
Ubud – Bali – Indonesia – Various Pics from Ubud – the Kids are alright (12-09-2003)
)
Click on the picture to see it in its original size
Ubud – Bali – Indonesia – Various Pics from Ubud – Musicans (12-09-2003)
)
Click on the picture to see it in its original size
Ubud – Bali – Indonesia – Various Pics from Ubud – Gunung Kawi (12-09-2003)
)
Click on the picture to see it in its original size
Ubud – Bali – Indonesia – Various Pics from Ubud – Gunung Kawi (12-09-2003)
)
Click on the picture to see it in its original size
Ubud – Bali – Indonesia – Various Pics from Ubud – Gunung Kawi (12-09-2003)
I did litle tonight. I updated the blog and went to my favourite restaurant. I go to Negara tomorrow.