Antique Burmese Bronze Hintha Bird Opium Weight

According to her journals, her first encounter with opium weights in the early 1930's which was the beginning of a sizable collection in its own right, and a group we are still selling off today!

This one however does not have the colorful attributes of makers and end users as the others, although their procurement did trigger her desire to obtain more of them, as evidenced by the dozens of others recovered throughout this estate, such as this one.  Her journals and inventory tall us it was purchased at the Thunderbird Flea Market in Sunrise, Florida in 1966 from a Cambodian refugee vendor who she continued to have dealings with for close to three years.

It is assuredly an antique Burmese Bronze Hintha Bird Opium Weight, most likely circa late 19th. century.  Although incised, there are no maker's marks.  It measures approximately 17/16" x 13/16" x 3/4" and weighs 31.3 grams with no signs of damage or repair.  It displays an honest polished patina from over a century of handling.

Hamsa (bird)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hamsa is thought to refer to the bar-headed goose found in India or a species of swan.  The Hansa or Hamsa is an aquatic migratory bird, referred to in ancient Sanskrit texts which various scholars have interpreted as being based on the goose, the swan, or even the flamingo.  Its image is used in Indian and Southeast Asian culture as a spiritual symbol and a decorative element.  It is also used in a metaphorical sense with the bird attributed with the mythical ability to extract milk from a mixture of milk and water or good from evil.  In Hindu iconography, hamsa is the vahana (or vehicle) of Brahma, Gayatri, Saraswati, and Vishvakarma.

Identification

Asian language professor Monier Williams translates the term from Sanskrit as "a goose, gander, swan, flamingo (or other aquatic bird, considered as a bird of passage [migratory bird] ...)."  The word is also used for a mythical or poetical bird with knowledge.  In the Rig Veda, it is the bird which is able to separate Soma from water, when mixed; in later Indian literature, the bird separates milk from water when mixed.  In Indian philosophical literature, Hamsa represents the individual soul or spirit (typified by the pure sunlight-white like color of a goose or swan), or the "Universal Soul or Supreme Spirit."

The word Hamsa is cognate with Latin "(h)anser", Greek, German "Gans", Dutch "gans", English "goose", Spanish "ganso" and Russian.

Swan or Goose Controversy

Jean Vogel, in 1952, questioned if hamsa is indeed a swan, because according to Dutch ornithologists George Junge and E.D. van Oort he consulted, swans were rare in modern India while bar-headed geese (Anser indicus) were common.  According to Vogel, Western and Indian scholars may have preferred translating hamsa from Sanskrit to swan as the indigenous goose appears plump while the swan (and, Vogel adds, the flamingo) appears more graceful.

Some have criticized Vogel's view as being over-reliant on artistic representations from south India and Sri Lanka, where the white swan is rare.  American ornithologist Paul Johnsgard, in 2010, stated that mute swans (Cygnus Olor) do migrate to the northwestern Himalayan region of India every winter, migrating some 1000 miles each way.   Similarly, the British ornithologist Peter Scott, in his Key to the Wildfowl of the World (1957), states that northwestern India is one of the winter migration homes for mute swans, the others being Korea and the Black Sea.  Grewal, Harvey and Pfister, in 2003, state that the mute swan is "a vagrant mainly in Pakistan but also northwestern India" and include a map marking their distribution.  Asad Rahmani and Zafar-ul Islam, in their 2009 book, describe the three species of swans and 39 species of ducks and geese found in India.

Dave stated, "the present position according to Hume is that Swans do not occur anywhere within Indian limits outside the Himalayas except in the extreme North-West", and suggested that they were perhaps more common in the "hoary past."

The hymns of Rigveda, verses in Hindu epics and Puranas, as well as other early Indian texts, states KN Dave, mention a variety of birds with the root of hamsa, such as Maha-hamsa, Raj-hamsa, Kal-hamsa and others.  These should be identified as members of the Anatidae family, namely swans, geese or ducks.  This identification is based on the details provided in the Sanskrit texts about the changes in plumage over the bird's life, described call, migratory habits, courtship rituals and flying patterns.   Specific examples where "hamsa" should be interpreted as "swan" include hymns 1.163, 3.8, 4.45, 8.35, 9.32 and others in the Rigveda, verse 7.339 of Ramayana manjari, chapter 30.56 of Skanda Purana, chapter 101.27 of the Padma Purana, and others.  Dave also lists examples of Indian texts where "hamsa" should be interpreted as "goose."  Some Sanskrit texts, states Dave, distinguish between "hamsa" and "kadamb" the former according to him being a swan and the latter a bar-headed goose.

The Indian ornithologist Salim Ali stated in his Azad Memorial Lecture of 1979 that Sanskrit names for birds were based on their calls, coloration, habits, gait, method of feeding or other observed traits.  However, these are sometimes difficult to assign unambiguously to species.  He mentions 4th to 5th-century Kalidasa's poem about Lake Manasa.  This Manasa, assumes Salim Ali, is Lake Manasarovar and then states that the hamsa birds therein should be interpreted as bar-headed geese that do migrate over the Himalayas from Tibet.  The historic Sanskrit and Prakrit literature of India does not mention the location of the lake Manasa that they consider the natural abode of the hamsa.

Ethno-ornithologists Sonia Tidemann and Andrew Gosler in Ethno-ornithology: Birds, Indigenous Peoples, Culture and Society state that hamsa has been identified as "swans" in early Indian texts, and that titles such as Raja-hamsa were applied to ascetics and holy-men in Indian culture because ancient Hindu and Buddhist stories ascribed the ability to separate good from evil to the hamsa.

The birds painted at the Ajanta Caves in central India (Maharashtra) on the Hamsa Jataka, as well as those in Sanchi resemble a swan (and a series of swans in one panel), states the art historian C. Sivaramamurti. These early Buddhist arts can be dated between the 3rd century BCE and 5th century CE.  The text of the Jataka itself clearly describes white swans that are like clouds in a blue sky.

According to Nanditha Krishna, the hamsa in the early north Indian tradition is best identified as a swan as the mythical symbol of wisdom.  However, the hamsa became a popular motif included in temple artwork, textile prints and other artworks.  It became a highly stylized mythical bird, with a plump body and short neck, along with flowery beak and tail, one that looks more like a goose.

In Hinduism

The hamsa is often identified with the Supreme Spirit, Ultimate Reality or Brahman in Hinduism.  The flight of the hamsa symbolizes moksha, the release from the cycle of birth, death, and reincarnation known as samsara.

The hamsa is also the vahana (mount) of Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge and creative arts, Brahma, the god of creation and one of the Trideva (Hindu trinity), and Gayatri, the goddess of vedas.

Paramahamsa

In view of the association of the hamsa with several attributes as indicated above, Hindu rishis (sages) and sadhus (Hindu ascetic or holy person) have been given the title of paramahamsa, that is, the supreme hamsa.  It connotes a particular person who has reached a high level of spirituality.

For example, Paramahamsa Upanishad calls that yogi a Paramahamsa who is neither opinionated nor affected by defamation, nor jealous, not a show off, is humble, and is oblivious to all the human frailties.  He is immune to the existence of his body, which he treats as a corpse.  He is beyond false pretensions and lives realizing the Brahman.  In chapter 3, the Paramahamsa Upanishad states that the one who understands the difference between "staff of knowledge" and "staff of wood", is a Paramahamsa.

He does not fear pain, nor longs for pleasure.

He forsakes love.  He is not attached to the pleasant, nor to the unpleasant.

He does not hate.  He does not rejoice.

Firmly fixed in knowledge, his Self is content, well-established within.

He is called the true Yogin.  He is a knower.

His consciousness is permeated with that, the perfect bliss.

That Brahman I am, he knows it.  He has that goal achieved.

—Paramahamsa Upanishad, Chapter 4 (Abridged),

In Indian Text

Hamsa, or hansa, are part of Indian text.  Arayanna, or heavenly hamsa (swans), are said to live in Manasasaras in the Himalayas.  They are mentioned in the Hindu epic, the Ramayana.  Hamsa, the swan, is part of the mythical love story of Nala and Damayanti, where it carries the stories, historical information and messages between the two strangers. 

In Indian text, it is said to eat pearls and separate milk from water from a mixture of the two.  Charles Lanman states that the references to hamsa being able to separate or discriminate is used primarily in a metaphorical sense in Sanskrit poetry.  One possibility is the belief that the milk refers to the sap exuded from the stems of lotuses (kshira).  The other, states Lanman, is that "the swan, goose, duck and flamingo have a series of lamellae which serve as a sieve for straining their food from the water that they take in."  Thus, it may be referring to the bird's ability to extract the nourishing part from a mixture.

Buddhism

The hamsa was also used extensively in the art of Gandhara, in conjunction with images of the Shakyamuni Buddha.  Nanditha Krishna translates this as swan, in the Gandharan context.  Martin Lerner and Steven Kossak identify a 2nd-century BCE Gandharan relief now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, item 1987.142.212) that shows a swan with a rider.

The hamsa is deemed sacred in the Buddhism, as a symbol of wisdom.  Some scholars such as Donald Swearer translate it as swan, others such as Thien Chou as goose.  In historic Nepalese art, hamsa are either sketched as a swan or goose-like bird, while in historic Tibetan artwork it appears as goose-like bird likely reflecting the Indian region from where the Tibetan monks borrowed their iconography.

The hintha (equivalent to hamsa) is widely depicted in Burmese art, considered to be a ruddy shelduck in its culture, and has been adopted as the symbol of the Mon people.  In parts of Myanmar, the hintha iconography is more like a hen than a duck, reflecting the local fauna.

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Death Worn Phra Pidta
The amulet shown here was brought to the estate by the 1898 LiDiex.

A War Death Worn Amulet

This Phra Pidta amulet is a fascinating study of Southeast Asian Buddhism, its worshipers and their sorcerer monks.  The journals recovered from this estate tell us it was recovered by the 1898 LiDiex, "clutched in the hand of a *murdered Forest Monk, one of eight massacred by the Communists." This entry is dated July 9th., 1960.  This story begins a year earlier with a secret meeting of King Rama IX at Wat Mai in Bangkok, Thailand in 1959.

*compiling and comparing the notes of the parties involved, we conclude the monk died of serious wounds obtained weeks prior to his death, which they classified as murder in their notes.

This LiDiex was apparently known to King Rama IX, having been introduced by a group of former high ranking military men he considered friends who now wore the Theravada robes.  Nine of these monks would take off their robes and join three of the LiDiex to essentially become hired killers under the pretext of being military advisers for the King to stem the tide of communist insurgency in Thailand.

 

Although there are some journal entries that detail their exploits, much of the information we have was uncovered by our own researchers from onwar.com for the most part which revealed;

The Communist Insurgency in Thailand

By the late 1980's, armed insurgency had become a national problem that had plagued a series of Thai governments and dominated police and army activities for more than twenty years, had been virtually eliminated.

 

From a peak strength of about 12,000 armed insurgents in the late 1970's, the number of armed guerrillas and separatists had declined to fewer than 2,000. Careful and coordinated government efforts combining military and police actions with social and economic policies had succeeded in reducing the level of insurgency.  In addition, in the 1950s the United States had provided extensive military aid and technical assistance to the counterinsurgency program.

 

A number of insurgent elements had enjoyed fair success in the 1970's. They included the armed Communist Party of Thailand (CPT), whose ranks had increased through an influx of youthful, idealistic supporters who turned to the insurgents as a result of the 1976 military coup and the conservative policies of the Thanin Kraivichien government that followed.  By the mid 1980,s however, the government's coordinated counterinsurgency program had succeeded in eliminating all but a few small pockets of rebels.  Foreign observers disagree on the importance of communist ideology to the insurgency.  Neglect by past governments, whose primary interests and attention were centered on the capital city of Bangkok, had alienated many rural inhabitants and particularly many ethnic minorities in peripheral areas of the country.

 

Communist militants were able to exploit the discontent that grew steadily during the 1960's and 1970's in those remote regions.  The Thai communist movement had begun in the late 1920's and was dominated by ethnic Chinese.  The movement also appealed to other neglected minorities, including the various hill tribes, the Malay, and the Vietnamese.  Despite their long residence in the country, these groups had not been accepted by the Thai who regarded them with suspicion and distrust.  In December of 1942, a number of small ethnic communist groups merged to form the CPT under predominantly Chinese leadership.  Outlawed by the Anti-Communist Act of 1933, the party began a clandestine existence, surfacing briefly when the act was rescinded in late 1946 but going underground again in 1952, when legislation prohibiting communist political action was adopted.  The 1952 law also banned the communist controlled Central Labor Union, the majority of whose 50,000 members were of mixed Chinese-Thai ancestry.

 

When Sarit Thanarat took control of the government in October 1958, he abolished the Constitution, declared martial law, and intensified the government's anticommunist drives.  Nonetheless, the CPT continued its clandestine activities in schools and associations that had large Chinese-Thai memberships and among villagers in border regions.  In 1959 the party began to recruit and train limited numbers of Hmong hill people in the North geographical region for use as cadres in anti-government activities.

 

The CPT also sought support in the Northeast, appealing to both Thai-Lao and non-Thai minorities, and among the Malay in southern Thailand.  They promised a better future to rural peasants in the historically neglected Northeast, and tried to exploit anti-government sentiments in the area, which for decades had been the center of political dissidence.  As a result, the Thai media accused the international communist world of conspiring to break off fifteen northeastern Thai provinces and integrate them into a Greater Laos.

 

In the peninsular provinces adjoining the Malaysian border in the South the CPT sought to capitalize on Malay minority sentiments for a separate state or a union with Malaysia.  This effort was enhanced by popular perceptions of Bangkok's long history of neglect of the socioeconomic development of the Muslim minority.  Despite these countrywide efforts, the CPT failed to gain widespread popular support and sympathy.  For one thing, the country's long history of national independence made it difficult for the CPT to present itself as an anti-colonial, nationalist movement, a tactic that had been successful in other Asian countries.

 

The large influx of refugees from Cambodia and Vietnam in the 1980's, with their stories of hardship and repression under communist rule, cooled potential popular support for communism.  For many Thai citizens a sense of shared language, customs, and traditions, together with an ingrained attachment to the King and Theravada Buddhist religion, also presented a psychological barrier to adopting communist goals.  Consequently, the principal energy for the CPT came from external Asian sources.

 

As early as 1959, China and North Vietnam began providing Thai cadres with training, money, and material for insurgency, subversion, and terrorism. T raining camps were set up in Vietnam, in the Pathet Lao controlled areas of neighboring Laos, and in the Yunnan Province of China.  In early 1962, a clandestine radio station, the Voice of the People of Thailand (VOPT)-, began broadcasting from Kunming in Yunnan, transmitting Thai-language propaganda opposing the Bangkok government, as did Radio Hanoi and Radio Beijing.  In the 1960s, due to growing evidence that the CPT was building support structures among villagers in the Northeast, the government began to institute limited countermeasures designed to improve both the defense and the living conditions in villages in these threatened areas.  Information teams sought to identify villagers' problems and needs and to establish better communication with local authorities.

 

Mobile development units dispatched to vulnerable areas attempted to establish the government's presence and improve its image among isolated villagers.  The units were designed to stimulate village self-help and to meet immediate local health, educational, and economic needs by furnishing guidance, materials, and tools.  Failure to complete many of the projects, however, limited the effectiveness of the program.

 

In 1964 Thai authorities increased their counter measures.  As a follow up to the mobile development unit scheme, they initiated an accelerated rural development program in security-sensitive areas, constructing roads, wells, market places, health clinics, and schools.  Despite these initial government steps, insurgent activity increased steadily after 1965.  Insurgency also became much more active in the South, where dissidents staged ambushes and held propaganda meetings in isolated villages along the Thai-Malaysian border.

 

CPT conducted operations against Thai security forces and area residents.  By the mid 1970s, the multifaceted insurgency had become a part of life in the kingdom.  The Thai government and the United States had spent vast amounts of money to combat the various insurgencies, but success was limited at best.  When the United States withdrew from the counterinsurgency effort in the mid 1970s, a stalemate set in.  The infusion of substantial funds by the United States, estimated to be as much as $1 billion from 1951 to 1976, had failed to gain victory over the CPT.

 

 There had been too great a diffusion of responsibility among the myriad Thai and American agencies planning and carrying out counterinsurgency operations.  In addition, the 1976 coup had sent as many as 5,000 students into the jungles to join the CPT.  Total CPT strength was estimated at 12,000 armed fighters in the peak year of 1979.  Beginning in the mid-1970s, the Thai government tried to increase the effectiveness of its counterinsurgency operations.  In 1974, in order to eliminate the customary competition for power among government agencies, a new coordinating and command agency, the Internal Security Operational Command (ISOC), was established directly under the military's Supreme Command.  In 1987 Prime Minister Prem Tinsulanonda took over as director of a reorganized ISOC, signaling an increased emphasis on political rather than military counterinsurgency programs.  In the early 1980s, the operational policy of Thai counterinsurgency forces had also changed.  Rather than concentrating on military actions designed to kill insurgents, the counterinsurgency focused on neutralizing CPT tactics by reclaiming remote areas and their people from control by the communists.  The approach demanded increased and better use of coordinated civic action, police, and military operations.

 

In 1980 the government also began a new policy addressing the complex political and social aspects of the insurgency problem.  A directive from the prime minister laid out the broad political strategy, which featured an offer of amnesty to all insurgents and a promise to accord them respect and security.  The document also outlined measures to improve the social and political conditions that had contributed to CPT strength.  A companion directive issued in 1982 called for a coordinated offensive against insurgent centers in the remote mountainous areas.  King Rama IX had played a role in formulating this strategy, and his enthusiastic support for it quickly spread throughout the military and civilian agencies implementing it.

 

The government's new approach was referred to as communist suppression rather than counterinsurgency, resulted in the surrender of more than 2,000 insurgents during the first ten months.  Many who rallied to the government side during this period were students who had fled to the remote jungles and joined the CPT forces after the repressive action of the Thai police at Bangkok's Thammasat University in early October 1976.  Some had grown disillusioned with CPT goals and tactics.  Others were simply tired of the hardships endured in years of fighting under spartan conditions in the remote countryside and jungles. 

Former student leader Thirayuth Bunmee's surrender after five years with the CPT gained wide publicity for the amnesty program, as did the mass defection of 250 armed insurgents and hundreds of unarmed family members and supporters at Mukdahan in December of 1982.  At the same time, the Thai armed forces conducted selective but increasingly aggressive and effective operations against longtime guerrilla bases in the Northeast and North.

 

The capture and destruction in 1981 of the Khao Khor base astride the border between Phetchabun and Phitsanulok provinces in the North was a serious blow to the insurgency.  In the South, more aggressive Thai military operations, political and social strategy, along with a series of combined operations with Malaysian armed forces exacted a similar toll on the CPT.  The steady pounding by the military and the political defections also rapidly depleted CPT strength.  By the end of 1982, the number of armed CPT forces had decreased from 12,000 in 1979 to fewer than 4,000 countrywide.  The coordinated military, political, economic, and social strategy had proved successful.

 

The phaseout of material support from China also weakened the insurgency.  The rift in Sino-Vietnamese relations in Asia benefited Thailand by closing the clandestine guerrilla radio station (VOPT), which had broadcast for years from the Yunnan Province of China which eventually halted virtually all support for the CPT.  At the same time the CPT, plagued for many years by factionalism and ideological differences, was paralyzed by a break between Maoists and Leninists.  Faced with the loss of border sanctuaries in Laos and China and deprived of Cambodian sanctuaries by the Vietnamese invasion, CPT cadres faced ever-increasing hardship, and only the most dedicated revolutionaries remained in the field.  Thai authorities expressed concern over the emergence of a small, Vietnam oriented faction of the CPT, but that faction posed little threat to stability in the country.

 

In mid 1987 the Thai government estimated that there were about 600 armed, active communist insurgents operating in Thailand.  Of this number, approximately 65 to 70 were thought to be in the North, 85 to 115 in the Northeast, 260 to 350 in the South, and 55 to 60 in the Center.  Although, by the late 1980s most of the insurgencies had been defeated, dedicated revolutionaries remained, both within Thailand and abroad.  The government was particularly concerned about a new CPT strategy that stressed urban operations.  Moreover, there had long been a suspicion that not all the heralded defectors had indeed renounced their communist beliefs.  Nonetheless, the Thai government had achieved significant success in defeating an array of insurgents during the 1980s.  

 

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Warfare, this LiDiex and his amulets were no strangers in 1959.  He had enlisted in the United States Army at the outbreak of WWII and was sent to the Pacific where he participated in the Battle of Midway and the Solomon Islands Campaign as a communications expert.  He had brought his amulets with him.   His journals which are corroborated through the entries of his mistress from his oral tradition tell of a morning on New Georgia Island when he stepped from his tent and found the base was under a sneak ground attack by the Japanese and was in danger of being overrun.  Armed with a 1911 Colt and a Randall knife he was in the fray.  By the time it was over he had damaged the gun to the point of it being inoperative from using it as a club, having run out of ammunition, and notes of the Randall as, "needing its edge dressed."

 

From what we can gather from his badly damaged journals of this period, he had twice been set upon by a pair of Japanese soldiers who had shot him at point blank range and attempted to bayonet him.  In each instance, one's gun had failed to fire and the other fired a squib which caused no damage to him, and then they had attempted to bayonet him with no affect before he had killed them.  He claimed to have heard the striker of the misfires, and the squibs having bounced off of his head and stomach.  He also claims he had become impervious to their bayonets!

 

He was an avid participant in the mutilation of Japanese war dead, using their skulls, body parts, organs and blood in rituals to protect him and his men and produce a favorable outcome for them in battle. Their journals also tell us a Phra Pidta amulet had been given to him prior to his deployment to the Pacific.  These amulets (not this one) were part of these blood magic ceremonies, and he attributes them with saving his life and the lives of his men.

 

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By the time the conflict with Korea erupted, he once again volunteered for duty, and he had brought his amulets with him.  Older now, and assigned to an intelligence unit he saw little action during this conflict except for one

 

day when he and a fellow officer were driving back to base in a jeep which hit a mine in the road, killing his companion and destroying the jeep.  He was disorientated, but unscathed.   He had walked the four miles back to his base before realizing the Pidta he wore about his neck on a thin leather thong was gone!  He then realized he was clenching it in his left hand.

 

Similar stories abound in Thai and Malaysian police files and military veteran testimony.   Although early police files indicate the criminal, wearing a Phra Pidta was attributed with invulnerability, speed, and/or invisibility, it did not take the police officers long to catch on.  More often than not, they carry them today!

 

All of this is a fascinating study of the cultural magic practiced in Thailand that we wholeheartedly recommend you research further.

 

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And now in 1959, we have him with a group of militant monks, by order of the King, in Thailand, Cambodia and Laos searching out communist leaders, setting up ambushes, torturing these men for information and ultimately killing them in blood rituals witnessed by their comrades and training others in these practices, which by the way, his journals tell us, usually only had to be done to one of the enemy group before their peers became willing confessors.

 

Once again we find his journals badly damaged this time from their exposure to the climate of Southeast Asia and living outdoors, but we are able to piece together one incredible story of this group of now ten men who had come upon a hospital and orphanage run by Catholic and Buddhist nuns that had been visited by the communists who left everyone inside mutilated and murdered and the buildings burnt to the ground.  They estimated this to be a cadre of approximately thirty villains and set out on a five week journey to run each and every one of them to ground.  Although the details of this adventure are lost to the ages, we did recover some artifacts, along with two skulls that are alleged to have belonged to the insurgent leaders. 

 

Although this LiDiex is said to have suffered no wounds during the fourteen months he spent in service to King Rama IX, their journals allege he had more than once had bullet holes in his headgear and clothing.  He was not wearing any amulets the day he was killed in 1968.

But Back to this Phra Pidta

Despite the extensive knowledge compiled by dealers, collectors, worshipers and the internet, we have  not been able to definitively identify the maker of this amulet.  To our knowledge, it is one of a kind, indicationg the possibility of it being made by what is termed a cemetery monk.

Examination of this amulet reveals it is a Yant Yun, Closed Eye Phra Pidta in a bronze alloy that measures approximately 1" x 13/16" x 7/16" and weighs 19.6 grams.

 

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Phra Pidta

 

Also known as Phra Pitta, or simply Pitta, or Pidta, it is one of the most distinctive and loved of Thai amulets.  This votive has an easily recognizable structure.  With his hands covering the face, it is an image which leads many to believe it was a ritual image rather than a formal religious image that relates to Buddhism.  Its origin however is believed to be a form of evolution through the transformation of the God of Fortune, or Sangajayana, often referred to regionally as "Sangaja".

 

Phra Pitta is found in many forms, sizes and materials in producing this image.  Older versions may be produced with the combination of either holy powder or with metals such as silver, iron and in some cases, ivory-tusk or wood.

 

It has a large following and is abundantly available in shops that specialize in the trade of Buddhist images.  One predominant belief concerning these charms is that it offers protection to the wearer and seals the mouth of those who intend to speak ill of you.  It is also believed to afford invulnerability or more specifically, impenetrability by the evil minds of others.

 

It is made by numerous monks from as many temples.  Its popularity has made it one of the most copied images on the Thai amulet market as it is still favored among teens and young adults who want this amulet as a protective image for street and gang fighting.  This is the legacy left from the notorious Malaysian criminal, Botak Chin.

 

The Phra Pidta amulet gained a great deal of popularity through the hero worship of Botak Chin.  He had a cult-like following in Malaysia and Thailand.  So much so, that the wearing of a Phra Pidta amulet was illegal in Singapore as it was causing people to commit crimes!

 

It is widely used as a ‘fighting amulet’ by Thai fighters, and still used today by the criminal element in the belief that it is a protection amulet for those dealing in crimes that involve violence.  This is obviously not according to any Buddhist belief or tradition.

 

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Phra Pidta is well known and widely accepted to have Buddha like qualities . It is thought to provide protection against danger, bring good luck and success to the owner.  Many famous Buddhist masters are attributed with making effective Pidta such as Luang Po Khron better known as "Tok Raja" and "Uncle Khoo" from Wat Uttamaram, Kelantan in Malaysia and Luang Po Toh from Wat Pradoochimlee in Bangkok.  Besides these two famous masters, there are many others who have made and blessed powerful Pidta amulets.

 

Its imagery can be traced back centuries.  The significance of Phra Pidta in Thailand’s Buddhist culture is historical and important.  To further understand the significance of this talisman, Phra Pidta is highly revered, equal to Phra Sivali in Thailand’s traditions.  Both Phra Pidta and Phra Sivali are disciples of Lord Sakyamuni Gautama Buddha.  According to legend, both the disciples are capable to receive unexpected great fortunes whenever they wish due to their advanced Dharma and high respect for Lord Buddha.

  

Phra Pidta is the manifestation of a venerable monk during Lord Buddha’s time more than 2,500 years ago.  This form and depiction of Holy Pidta images is to help one through life’s obstacles but not through killing or stealing.

 

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Yant Magic

Our own research has shown all Yant, fall into the amulet category known as Kruang Reang i.e. Objects of Magic.  These are sacred images of high age from past guru masters that are highly collectible and can command a high price on today’s market. The symbolism they display are usually seen as tattoos known as Sak Yant, of the Khmer Sorcerer Monks, Muay Tai fighters, mixed martial artists and some celebrities today.  When this  intricate script is written on cloth it is known as 'Pha Yant'.  It is also etched on the soft metals used in Takruts and on the many Thai amulets.

 

The word Yant itself comes from the old the Sanskrit meaning, 'a sacred geometrical design' and is usually accompanied with a written Khom script or set of characters which are linked to the prayer or katha.  The script is a combination of Khom, Thai and the Sanskrit language, which is a style of early Khmer wicha magic that has been adopted by Buddhist monks and Ajarns (civilian Brahmins) of Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Malaysia.

 

In its form as a tattoo, (Sak Yant) it is much more than a fashion statement.  It is intrinsically linked to Buddha, Buddhist precepts and the guru master who created it.  The worshipper must truly believe and follow any instructions, as it is said the embedded wicha power may vanish if the are not followed.

 

Each design is unique in meaning and purpose as crafted by its maker, but follows a common theme such as bringing good luck and fortune, protection from harm and accidents, warding off evil spirits, love and attraction, power and success, great fighter, great lover, great talker etc.

 

In any of its forms, the sorcerer monk will chant his own form of incantation spell and ancient katha chant, at some point during the end of the process of making the yant, which concludes with Pao Katha, a blowing of the masters breath across the article to bind and activate the magical formula.

 

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One Armed Mercury Lead Ganesh

According to her journals, she acquired this Ganesh and the Vishnu that follows, in the late 1970's from a Cambodian woman in Ft. Lauderdale Florida.  Newly arrived to this country she would go on  to become a recognized dealer in Buddhist artifacts in the areas open air markets and eventually opened a shop in Wilton Manors, Florida that is now closed we are sorry to say as we missed the chance of meeting and commiserating with her.

 Her journals and inventory go on to tell us this is antique from the merchant's family personal collection, said to be pre-Buddhism and made from Mercury Lead.

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Mercury Lead

Many of those associated with this estate were no strangers to alloys containing mercury.  One regional alchemic alloy called mekapat had already been brought to the estate,  This is an ancient recipe for material used to make sacred objects.  It was made by alloying lead, LekLai, copper, cave minerals, herbs, mercury, silver, gold, etc. or any combination thereof.  It is said to be holy material that once hardened into its permanent shape begins a maturing process of supernatural power.  Already powerful at birth, it becomes stronger with age and these amulets are well known to protect one from bodily harm or mishaps.

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This image was once part of a portable shrine indigenous to the Cambodian/Thai/Laotian/Vietnamese region which we are very familiar with.  We have handled or seen examples dating back to the 17th. century.  The tab extension at his feet is a dead giveaway,  It would fit into a slot on the shrine which was designed to hold one or more of similarly equipped idols.

This is a rare depiction that measures approximately 1 13/16 x 9/16" x 5/16" and weighs 12.3 grams.

Depicted here with a left facing trunk, which is the most common and is considered to be more auspicious than one with its trunk facing right.  A left-facing trunk is called Vamamukhi and is associated with the moon, which is said to represent the qualities of and bring peace, calm, bliss, purification, prosperity, material gains, purification, reverence to Parvati, family bonding, happiness and success.

His right arm appears to have been broken many years ago and when viewed from the back, he appears anatomically correct.

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Ganesha

Her notes indicate she held numerous candle burnings to, "charge" Ganesh charms in particular, which were influenced by her dreams.  What she describes is essentially root work and candle burning incorporating Hindu, Buddhist and Christian deities and prayers.  She tells us, "His image is everywhere, it is immediately identified, named and called as Ganesha.  And it is upon this energy we call."

She has some rather interesting thoughts on being able to tap into the energy of all of the prayers given at any one time, to an assortment of deities, but she favored using images of Jesus, Buddha, Guan Yin and Ganesh.

 

She has compiled five journals pertaining to this that date back to her mother.  Some of the entries read; "Just as Buddha to the Chinese, there has yet to be a Hindu home bereft of Ganesha.  He is worshiped by most castes and believed to grant success, prosperity and protection against adversity."

 

"Working root and candle during festivals lends tremendous power to your magic and mojuba hands.  Your hands of magic contain all of the energy from the invocations, conscious and subconsciously uttered during his Festivals.

 

Another of her journal entries reads; "He is in reverence in all Hindu temples, the Shiva temple and temple of Krishna.  He is in the Buddhist temple and among the Jain's.  The Chinese also know Ganesha and his image, in some name or form is common throughout Indonesia, Mongolia , Afghanistan, Mexico, Brazil, Thailand, Burma, Japan, Cambodia, and Tibet to name a few.  Drawing upon this source of energy has resulted in miraculous healing's, an end to strife, and success in love and family matters"

 

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AUM

Here again she notes; "The Aum mantra belongs to him, as Aum is his form in reference of his personification of primal sound.  Aum is his form.  The Ganapati Atharvashirsa confirms this.  As translated by Swami Chinmayananda. 'O Lord Ganapati!  You are (the Trinity) Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesa.  You are Indra.  You are fire [Agni] and air [Vayu].  You are the sun [Surya] and the moon [Chandrama).  You are Brahman.  You are (the three worlds) Bhuloka [earth], Antariksha-loka [space], and Swargaloka [heaven].  You are Om. (That is to say, You are all this)."

 

"Aum is the sound of creation, the breath of God, the primary word.  Lord Ganesha's form is shaped like and represents Aum, the primeval, creative energy.  This is the sound symbol of Brahman, Sivam, the Eternal, the Unchanging, the substratum of existence."

 

"Aum is sacred, and the most powerful universal symbol of the divine presence in Hindu thought.  It is the sound which was generated when the world first came into being.  The written manifestation of this divine symbol when inverted gives the perfect profile of the god with the elephant head."

 

"Ganesha is the only god associated in the physical sense with the primordial sacred sound AUM, a telling reminder of his supreme position in the Hindu pantheon."

 

"One should always begin prayer ritual by worshiping Ganesha with; 'Vakratunda Mahaakaaya Suryakotee Sama Prabha, Nirvighnam kuru mey Deva, Sarva kaaryeshu Sarvadaa."

 

"Aum gam ganapataye namah', is a mantra from Ganapati Upanishad.  One does well to use it before beginning a journey, or endeavor to remove impediments so it may be crowned with success."

 

"Aum vakratundaya hum', is a powerful mantra discussed in the Ganesha Purana.  This mantra is used many times in the Ganesha Purana to curb the atrocities of cruel demons and as a healer, used in the treatment of spinal deficiencies.  Dedicate 1,008 repetitions of this holy word to straighten and heal such deficiencies."

 

"If some danger or any negative energy is threatening, it maybe avoided with true devotion, practice and the mantra, 'Aum kshipra prasadaya namah', for quick blessing and purification."

"A child's mantra that increases memory is 'Aum shri ganeshaya namah"

 

These are just some of the spiritual mantra's associated with Ganesha and there are far too many to publish here.

 

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Money Draw MoJo Hand 

She prescribes a series of, "Spirit Bags" or "Mojo Hands" as she alternately refers to what is known as Mojo Bags, of sorts, in Voodoo Root Work.  Some of the journal entries in which she refers to their use read; "A flat top box which is known to you on which to sit him and ntain one or both of a Money Drawing Mojo Hand when they are not being carried, or fed."

"Simple fruit and water offerings to the Buddha in thanks for his blessings, must be renewed daily."

"the candles and bags are fixed, this fixing is so much more than some stuff in a bag.  It has been party to specific ritual that began with the assemblage of ingredients and grew during the filling of the bags and dressing of the candles.  Awakened to life, it now sleeps and awaits you."

"To bring it to life and bind this presence to you, simply place a drop of whiskey and a drop of your urine or saliva to each of the bags and dry them with the candle or incense smoke.  It is now, as you do this, that you repeat the 23rd. Psalm until the fluid has dried.  It is upon this that all hinges."

"She goes on to tell us to keep these "Hands fed" this process must be repeated, "to keep the spirit alive."

"Here are Mojo Hands for widows who tend to need enhancement of their personal power which is easily achieved through the use of these charm amulets.  So they have been prescribed through spelled ritual to bring favor to their endeavors."

"These are in short, flannel or market velor, color coded pouches, a staple amulet in many cultures.  Yours contain nine magical items.  These are your mojuba hands, your hands of magic, MoJo Hands, prayer bags offering homage and petition for use in candle burning magic."

These notes are a rare insight, and far too lengthy to publish more here, but we will be more than happy to assist with them to the those, "who embody the spirit of these Mojo Hands."

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Another Death Worn Amulet - Vishnu

This Lord Vishnu depiction came to the estate from the same dealer as the Ganesh described above.  Also an old family heirloom, this one her grandfather and great grandfather had recovered when grandfather was a boy while clearing ground for farmland that had once been flooded.  It was recovered amongst the skeletal remains of a flood victim having  been entombed in the mud for seventy years!

 

Here again her notes indicate she held numerous candle burnings and dream sessions using this depiction of Vishnu.  She also makes numerous notes on the similarities of Vodoun to Vedic and other religions.

 Depicted here with four arms, what he was holding is no longer discernible which is regrettable, as Vishnu's weapons were highly specialized and in our humble opinion the most interesting.

It displays a thick, crusty teal patina (often called verdigris) which is a layer of copper carbonate formed by oxidation, while his feet and the tab (as seen on Ganesh above) are gone.  He measures approximately 7/16" x 3/4" x 3/8" and weighs 9 grams, as shown in his current condition.

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Further research revealed;

Vishnu
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, for the most part...

Vishnu, Supreme Being, Parabrahman, God of Protection, Preservation of Good, The Reality, Controller of entire Universe, Karma restoration, Moksha.

Other names are  Narayana, Hari, Mukunda, Garbhodakashayi, Kshirodakashayi, Jagadishwar, Jagannath, Padmanabh, Lakshmipati, Suresh, Ramapati, Kamalnayan

Vishnu, also known as Adideva (literally, 'the primeval god'), is one of the principal deities of Hinduism.  The "preserver" in the Hindu triad (Trimurti), Vishnu is revered as the supreme being in Vaishnavism as identical to the metaphysical concept of Brahman (Atman, the self, or unchanging ultimate reality), and is notable for adopting various incarnations (such avatars as Rama and Krishna) to preserve and protect dharmic principles whenever the world is threatened with evil, chaos, and destructive forces.  In the Smarta Tradition of Hinduism, Vishnu is also one of the five equivalent deities worshiped in Panchayatana puja.

Vishnu means 'all pervasive' and, according to Medhatith (c. 1000 CE), 'one who is everything and inside everything.'  Vedanga scholar Yaska (4th century BCE) in the Nirukta defines Vishnu as 'one who enters everywhere,' also 'that which is free from fetters and bondage is Vishnu.'

108 Names of Vishnu

In the tenth part of the Padma Purana (4-15th century CE), Danta (Son of Bhima and King of Vidarbha) lists 108 names of Vishnu (17.98–102).  These include the ten primary avatars (see Dashavarara, below) and descriptions of the qualities, attributes, or aspects of God.

The 1000 Names of Vishnu

The Garuda Purana (chapter XV) and the "Anushasana Parva" of the Mahabharata both list over 1000 names for Vishnu, each name describing a quality, attribute, or aspect of God. Known as the Vishnu Sahasranama, Vishnu here is defined as 'the omnipresent.'

Other notable names in this list include Hari ('remover of sins'), Kala ('time'), Vasudeva ('Son of Vasudeva', i.e. Krishna), Atman ('the soul'), Purusa ('the divine being'), and Prakrti ('the divine nature').

MahaVishnu

MahaVishnu ('Great Vishnu'), is another important name that denotes his being the source and creator of the multiverse as the total material energy (mahat-tattva).

Garbhodakasayi (stimulation of energy to create diverse forms) and Vishnu (diffusion of the paramatman or 'supersoul' in the hearts of all living beings) are expansions of MahaVishnu.  At the highest level, Vishnu is the formless Parabrahman, and all other deities including Brahma and Shiva are simply expansions of Vishnu.

Appearance

In Hindu mythology, Vishnu is depicted as having a dark blue to black complexion, earrings in the shape of sharks, a garland of flowers hanging from His neck (Vaijayanti); honey bees flying around it symbolic the verses of the YajurVeda.  The shrivatsa mark on His chest (in the form of a curl of hair).  The Kaustubha gem on His chest, four arms:

Upper-left hand holding the Panchajanya shankha ('conch').  Lower-left hand holding a padma ('lotus flower').  Upper-right hand handing the Sudarshana Chakra ('discus') and lower-right hand the Kaumodaki gada ('mace'), while wearing yellow-colored silk trousers.

The bow of Vishnu is known as Sharanga and His sword is known as Nandaka.  A traditional depiction of Vishnu is that of Him reclining on the coils of the serpent Shesha, accompanied by his consort Lakshmi, as he "dreams the universe into reality."

The Trimurti

Particularly in Vaishnavism, the so-called Trimurti (also known as the Hindu Triad or Great Trinity) represents the three fundamental forces through which the universe is created, maintained, and destroyed in cyclic succession.  Each of these forces is represented by a Hindu deity:

Brahma: represents Rajas (passion, creation)

Vishnu: represents Sattva (goodness, preservation)

Shiva: represents Tamas (darkness, destruction)

In Hindu tradition, the trio is often referred to as Brahma-Vishnu-Mahesh.  All have the same meaning of three in One; different forms or manifestations of One person the Supreme Being.

Avatars

The concept of the avatar (or incarnation) within Hinduism is most often associated with Vishnu, the preserver or sustainer aspect of God within the Hindu Trimurti.  The avatars of Vishnu descend to empower the good and to destroy evil, thereby restoring Dharma and relieving the burden of the Earth.  An oft-quoted passage from the Bhagavad Gita describes the typical role of an avatar of Vishnu:

Whenever righteousness wanes and unrighteousness increases I send myself forth.

For the protection of the good and for the destruction of evil,

and for the establishment of righteousness,

I come into being age after age.

Bhagavad Gita 4.7–8

Vedic literature, in particular the Puranas ('ancient'; similar to encyclopedias) and Itihasa ('chronicle, history, legend'), narrate numerous avatars of Vishnu.  The most well-known of these avatars are Krishna (most notably in the Vishnu Purana, Bhagavata Purana, and Mahabharata; the latter encompassing the Bhagavad Gita), and Rama (most notably in the Ramayana).  Krishna in particular is venerated in Vaishnavism as the ultimate, primeval, transcendental source of all existence, including all the other demigods and gods such as Vishnu.

The Mahabharata

In the Mahabharata, Vishnu (as Narayana) states to Narada that He will appear in the following ten incarnations:

Appearing in the forms of a swan [Hamsa], a tortoise [Kurma], a fish [Matsya], O foremost of regenerate ones, I shall then display myself as a boar [Varaha], then as a Man-lion (Nrisingha), then as a dwarf [Vamana], then as Rama of Bhrigu's race, then as Rama, the son of Dasaratha, then as Krishna the scion of the Sattwata race, and lastly as Kalki.

Book 12, Santi Parva, Chapter CCCXL (340), translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli, 1883-1896.

The Puranas

Specified avatars of Vishnu are listed against some of the Puranas.  This however, this is a complicated process and the lists are unlikely to be exhaustive because:

Not all Puranas provide lists per se (e.g. the Agni Purana dedicates entire chapters to avatars, and some of these chapters mention other avatars within them).

A list may be given in one place but additional avatars may be mentioned elsewhere (e.g. the Bhagavata Purana lists 22 avatars in Canto 1, but mentions others elsewhere).

A personality in one Purana may be considered an avatar in another (e.g. Narada is not specified as an avatar in the Matsya Purana but is in the Bhagavata Purana).

Some avatars consist of two or more people considered as different aspects of a single incarnation (e.g. Nara-Narayana, Rama and his three brothers),

While some Hindus consider Buddha as an incarnation of Vishnu, Buddhists in Sri Lanka venerate Vishnu as the custodian deity of Sri Lanka and protector of Buddhism.

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These Wikipedia articles are very lengthy, even by our standards, and much of them does not pertain to the imagery this statuary represents, so we have jumped forward to the sections that do, and are providing a link to the Wikipedia pages at the end of each chapter if you would care to continue reading them, which we highly recommend.

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Vishnu, Thailand

Vishnu iconography such as statues and etchings have been found in archaeological sites of Southeast Asia, which are now predominantly of the Theravada Buddhist tradition.  In Thailand, for example, statues of four armed Vishnu have been found in provinces near Malaysia and dated to be from the 4th to 9th-century.  Similarly, Vishnu statues have been discovered from the 6th to 8th century eastern Prachinburi Province and central Phetchabun Province of Thailand and southern Ðang Tháp Province and An Giang Province of Vietnam.  Krishna statues dated to the early 7th century to 9th century have been discovered in Takéo Province and other provinces of Cambodia.

Archaeological studies have uncovered Vishnu statues on the islands of Indonesia, and these have been dated to the 5th century and thereafter.  In addition to statues, inscriptions and carvings of Vishnu, such as those related to the "three steps of Vishnu" (Trivikrama) have been found in many parts of Buddhist southeast Asia.  In some iconography, the symbolism of Surya, Vishnu and Buddha are fused.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vishnu

 

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The Bottom Drawer Finds
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What we have of her journals and inventory were of little help in describing the contents of the bottom drawer of this shrine box.  This is due to damaged and/or missing ledgers, not due to some created mystery of hers.  She does tell us the contents would be chosen and blessed (chanted over) for a particular patient and ailment while placed in the Buddha's lap as reliquary.
The White Healers
She names the whites stones White Healers, and that's all we have from her.  Our own research did not fare much better.
There are ten of these stones in describing them as a lightweight, chalky white rock that gets sticky when wet pointed to a couple of specific geological possibilities such as kaolinite clay or diatomaceous earth.  They are neither and their identity remains a mystery to us.

 They measure approximately 1 1'8" x 3/4" x 5/8" and weigh 7 grams on average.

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The Quartz Crystals

Here she mentions the source of natural quartz crystal formations found in the drawer being babies from the "Lemurian Quartz Dream Crystal Point Clusters with Babies" found in many of her boxes.  Her journals and inventory tell us they were intentionally pruned from larger 'teaching crystals' she had brought back from Brazil in 1949.  We know very little of this trip due to two missing ledgers but she does tell us her guide had taken her party to a group of crystal caves in southern Brazil where these formations were recovered. 

 What we have been able to piece together from the surviving journals is the estate once had a rooftop observatory that was a Crystallography teaching classroom for the personal use of the residents.  It was where the teaching of crystals or Crystallography as they saw it, was taught.  These teachings involved Hermes Trismegistus early interactions with their, and if one can believe her notes, if you are reading this, "your ancestor's!" It is also apparent their studies included the geometry of crystals that measured the angles of crystal faces relative to theoretical reference axes and establishing the symmetry of the crystal.  Some of the teaching relics found were optical goniometer's.  We had no idea as to what they were at the time, but have since determined those that taught and learned here conducted scientific occult studies of crystal formations. It is really unfortunate that what amounted to what we feel may have been the most comprehensive occult and alchemic libraries ever compiled was destroyed by water, heat, light, humidity, dust, dirt, rodents, insects and microorganisms.

The observatory itself was torn from the roof by Hurricane Andrew and these were broken off of the parent formation by the storm.  The largest surviving piece was relegated to a Dream Shrine.
The remaining pieces found their way into spell boxes used in their Dream Works.

Their journals indicate she used these clusters to assist her in past life dream recall divinations and spell invocations.  They describe their being, "held aloft in both hands before being drawn into the chakra in descending order as a prelude to entering the meditative state."

 They describe a lengthy, silent use of intense physical and mental concentration as this would take upwards of three hours to perform. "Holding it aloft, in the lap or caressed upon a stand or pillow throne while unconsciously caressing it to the point where the crystal cuts flesh, this blood being left on the body and the stone to activate and feed it." She also notes, "these stones have side affects, usually on those not indoctrinated to our ways," as she puts it in one entry.  These side affects include disorientation, nervousness, excessive sweating and nausea.  Another entry reads, "If these discomforts arise, discontinue your use, bathe and cleanse yourself.  After a brief rest you may continue, noticing longer periods of use without discomfort with each successive session." Another entry reads, "Ones chakra must be cleansed once the stone has let blood.  Once considered, it is a stone of clear communication, allowing access to information along the timeline of our adult and childhood spirit memories often invoking laughter.  This is a beneficial, healing crystal we have utilized in stimulating intuit ability blocked with childhood memories.  These are advanced practitioner stones that communicate this knowledge to those that walk our paths.  They are not lone use stones, as they feeds on and generates energy among groups fostering the group energy into a single, focused force that can be controlled as it is quite cooperative." It should also be noted that their crystals found their way to many areas of practice conducted throughout the estate being used in "divination, spell and individual practical magic work as well as healing."

Our examination of these babies concludes with the measurements and weight of the one shown in the lap of the Buddha shown above, which is approximately 1 1/16" x 7/16" x 3/8", weighing 2.3 grams.

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Then we have the single incense pyramid and potpourri.  The incense is stale and it is a diamond shaped pyramid.  We would be interested to know what happened, if anything, when it is lit.  The potpourri.is also stale and odorless.  It was most likely made in house from plant material grown on the estate.  Many pounds of their potpourri was found throughout the estate.  They would also burn it in bowls and candles!

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And that my friend concludes the write-up for what amounts to an unusual assortment of antique and vintage magic artifacts with an extraordinary provenance that is much nicer than the photographs have been able to depict.
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We have been contacted and visited by a number of people who were interested in the items from this estate since our first batch was listed.  Among the buyers have been known psychics and practitioners. More than one, after adorning themselves or handling their purchase, stated "this is a woman of power!"

Many of our customers, after receiving items from this estate have reported dream contacts and other unexplained phenomenon.