Talismanic symbols?

[Jens Nordlunde]

Yustas,

Thank you for your link, it is interesting to see the different decorations used in Ukraine, as some of the old decorations were used over a very large area. The question is, did the same decoration, used in different places, have the same meaning?


Rick,

To me the three dots are either talismanic and/or religious as I think they have been used in two different ways.

The big triangle (first picture). There is only one triangle, and it always has the base in direction of the hilt. The dots can be like on the picture or bigger, sometimes with inlay. I think this could be religious, maybe representing Vishnu, Brahma and Shiva, but I don’t know.

The small triangles like on the second picture starting and ending another decoration, here ‘eyelashes’, but I have also seem the small triangles at the start and end of fullers. This I think is more likely something talismanic, as if the ‘eyelashes’ ‘hide’ a message, and the triangles close the openings at the top and bottom – again pure guessing at the moment.

I hope we will find the answer one day, as I am sure it must be out there somewhere. To me it is strange that we, so far, have not found any explanation of the meaning, as the soldiers coming to India seeing these markings must have taken an interest in them, drawn them, and maybe even written an article about Indian markings – but where?

[VVV]

Jens and Rick,

You often see this triangular dot pattern on Sumatran weapons too.

I am also guessing but I think it represents Mata Shiva, the 3 eyes of Shiva (2 regular horisontal eyes and one eye above in the forehead).
Maybe combined with the Lingam?
A triangle pointing up is a Hindu symbol of the Lingam (down is of course Yoni).
In the case you describe the Shivaistic male forces of the Lingam is pointing towards the enemy.
But because of the dots, instead of the fully drawn triangle, I think the main meaning is Mata Shiva and the secondary meaning is the Lingam.

Some other explanations could be the trinity of the main gods, as you suggest.
Mahadeva in which the three gods of the Trimurti are all seen as aspects of Shiva.
And then we have f.i. the three aspects of creation, preservation and destruction.

Michael

[Jens Nordlunde]

Michael,

Interesting theory you have, and you could be right. So, in theory, we both believe that the big triangle is religious, but what about the small triangles? I don’t think they are religious marks, but I don’t know what their meaning is. Do you also see them on weapons from Sumatra?

[VVV]

Jens,

I have so far only seen the single dot triangle on Sumatran weapons.
And in all cases on the tip of the scabbard, not on the blades where other kind of talismanic inscriptions are used, usually Muslim.
The several small triangles probably are related to the large one but I have no idea how?

Michael

PS The example below is an early 20th C Aceh small parang with the triangle at the scabbard and Quranic writing in the fuller.

[Jens Nordlunde]

Hi Michael,

Thank you for showing the picture, i have never seen the triangle on a scabard before.

[VVV]

I think it would be nice to reactivate this talismanic thread.
Having now read Indian Ritual and Belief; The Keys of Power by Abbot (recommended to me as "The Bible of Indian Magic"
by a university professor specialised in Indian religions) I suspect that these symbols are intended to avert the evil eye.
The belief of the evil eye (Sanskrit Drshti) is found among both the Hindu and the Muslim Indians.
Among Hindus I suspect that it's related to the concept of Darshan(a), visions of the Divine (as the opposite).
Both the eyelash, crescent and dots are talismanic symbols to protect from the evil eye.
BUT usually there are either 5 (=fingers of the hand to blind the eye), a pair (=2 eyes) or one (a counter eye) dots?

Michael

[Jens Nordlunde]

Hi Michael,

It is an interesting thread, and I hope others will join in. Stephan Markel, at Los Angeles County Museum of Art, published an article in Jewellery Studies, vol. 10, 2004, where he writes ‘ The motif, shown in the centre and neck of the Taipei pot [shown in the article], is a round, broad leafed plant form with generally five, but sometimes three, four, or six petals terminating in a jagged edge. It is clearly different in botanical structure from the poppy flower portrayed frequently in Mughal art’.

The interesting thing is that when it comes to floral decoration, it seems as if the artist had a lot of artistic freedom, but the same, surely would not count for religious or talismanic decorations. The attached shows what I believe to be the Mughal inspired poppies, looking quite different from the poppies he describes on the Taipei pot.

[VVV]

Originally Posted by VVV

....Both the eyelash, crescent and dots are talismanic symbols to protect from the evil eye.
BUT usually there are either 5 (=fingers of the hand to blind the eye), a pair (=2 eyes) or one (a counter eye) dots?

Michael

Jens,

Having studied the evil eye some more I have found that the "male" triangle is a widespread symbol of an averting eye.
The crescent often represents either an eyebrow or an eyelid.
On you sword with 5 dots this could both represent 2 triangular eyes as well as the number 5 (fingers to blind the evil eye).
Your double crescent motif could be 4 eyes, at the corners, and one, non-visible, eye in the center.

Michael