Svastika, orSwastika, a mystic figure used by several (East) Indian sects. It was equally well known to the Brahmins as to the Buddhists. Most of the rock inscriptions in the Buddhist caverns in the west of India are preceded or followed by the holy (sacramentelle) sign of the Swastika. (Eug. Burnouf, “Le Lotus de la bonne loi.” Paris, 1852, p. 625.) It was seen on the vases and pottery of Rhodes (Cyprus) and Etruria. (F. Delaunay, Jour. Off., Nov. 18, 1873, p. 7024, 3d Col.)Etymology: A Sanskrit word signifying happiness, pleasure, good luck. It is composed ofSu(equivalent of Greek εὖ), “good,” andasti, “being,” “good being,” with the suffixka(Greek κα, Latinco).
Svastika, orSwastika, a mystic figure used by several (East) Indian sects. It was equally well known to the Brahmins as to the Buddhists. Most of the rock inscriptions in the Buddhist caverns in the west of India are preceded or followed by the holy (sacramentelle) sign of the Swastika. (Eug. Burnouf, “Le Lotus de la bonne loi.” Paris, 1852, p. 625.) It was seen on the vases and pottery of Rhodes (Cyprus) and Etruria. (F. Delaunay, Jour. Off., Nov. 18, 1873, p. 7024, 3d Col.)
Etymology: A Sanskrit word signifying happiness, pleasure, good luck. It is composed ofSu(equivalent of Greek εὖ), “good,” andasti, “being,” “good being,” with the suffixka(Greek κα, Latinco).
In the “Revue d’Ethnographie” (IV, 1885, p. 329), Mr. Dumoutier gives the following analysis of the Sanskritswastika:
Su, radical, signifyinggood,well,excellent, orsuvidas, prosperity.Asti, third person, singular, indicative present of the verbas, to be, which issumin Latin.Ka, suffix forming the substantive.
Su, radical, signifyinggood,well,excellent, orsuvidas, prosperity.
Asti, third person, singular, indicative present of the verbas, to be, which issumin Latin.
Ka, suffix forming the substantive.
Professor Whitney in the Century Dictionary says, Swastika—[Sanskrit, lit., “of good fortune.” Svasti (Su, well, +asti, being), welfare.] Same as fylfot. CompareCrux ansataandgammadion.
In “Ilios” (p. 347), Max Müller says:
Ethnologically,svastikais derived fromsvasti, andsvastifromsu, “well,” andas, “to be.”Svastioccurs frequently in the Veda, both as a noun in a sense of happiness, and as an adverb in the sense of “well” or “hail!” It corresponds to the Greek εὺεστώ. The derivationSvasti-kais of later date, and it always means an auspicious sign, such as are found most frequently among Buddhists and Jainas.
M. Eugene Burnouf[3]defines the mark Swastika as follows:
A monogrammatic sign of four branches, of which the ends are curved at right angles, the name signifying, literally, the sign of benediction or good augury.
The foregoing explanations relate only to the present accepted name “Swastika.” ThesignSwastika must have existed long before thenamewas given to it. It must have been in existence long before the Buddhist religion or the Sanskrit language.
In Great Britain the common name given to the Swastika, from Anglo-Saxon times by those who apparently had no knowledge whence it came, or that it came from any other than their own country, was Fylfot, said to have been derived from the Anglo-Saxonfower fot, meaning four-footed, or many-footed.[4]
George Waring, in his work entitled “Ceramic Art in Remote Ages” (p. 10), says:
The word [Fylfot] is Scandinavian and is compounded of Old Norsefiël, equivalent to the Anglo-Saxonfela, Germanviel, many, andfotr, foot, the many-footed figure. * * * It is desirable to have some settled name by which to describe it; we will take the simplest and most descriptive, the “Fylfot.”
He thus transgresses one of the oldest and soundest rules of scientific nomenclature, and ignores the fact that the name Swastika has been employed for this sign in the Sanskrit language (the etymology of the word naturally gave it the name Svastika,sv—good or well,asti—to be or being, or it is) and that two thousand and more years of use in Asia and Europe had sanctioned and sanctified that as its name. The use of Fylfot is confined to comparatively few persons in Great Britainand, possibly, Scandinavia. Outside of these countries it is scarcely known, used, or understood.
The Swastika was occasionally called in the French language, in earlier times,Croix gamméeorGammadion, from its resemblance to a combination of four of the Greek letters of that name, and it is so named by Count Goblet d’Alviella in his late work, “La Migration des Symboles.” It was also calledCroix cramponnée,Croix pattée,Croix à crochet. But the consensus even of French etymologists favors the name Swastika.
Some foreign authors have called it Thor’s hammer, or Thor’s hammer-mark, but the correctness of this has been disputed.[5]Waring, in his elaborate work, “Ceramic Art in Remote Ages,”[6]says:
The[Z]used to be vulgarly called in Scandinavia the hammer of Thor, and Thor’s hammer-mark, or the hammer-mark, but this name properly belongs to the mark[Y].
Ludwig Müller gives it as his opinion that the Swastika has no connection with the Thor hammer. The best Scandinavian authors report the “Thor hammer” to be the same as the Greek tau (fig. 5), the same form as the Roman and English capital T. The Scandinavian name is Miölner or Mjolner, the crusher or mallet.
The Greek, Latin, and Tau crosses are represented in Egyptian hieroglyphics by a hammer or mallet, giving the idea of crushing, pounding, or striking, and so an instrument of justice, an avenger of wrong,[7]hence standing for Horus and other gods.[8]Similar symbolic meanings have been given to these crosses in ancient classic countries of the Orient.[9]
SYMBOLISM AND INTERPRETATION.
Many theories have been presented concerning the symbolism of the Swastika, its relation to ancient deities and its representation of certain qualities. In the estimation of certain writers it has been respectively the emblem of Zeus, of Baal, of the sun, of the sun-god, of the sun-chariot of Agni the fire-god, of Indra the rain-god, of the sky, the sky-god, and finally the deity of all deities, the great God, the Maker and Ruler of the Universe. It has also been held to symbolize light or the god of light, of the forked lightning, and of water. It is believed by some to have been the oldest Aryan symbol. In the estimation of others it represents Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, Creator, Preserver, Destroyer. It appears in the footprints of Buddha, engraved upon thesolid rock on the mountains of India (fig. 32). It stood for the Jupiter Tonans and Pluvius of the Latins, and the Thor of the Scandinavians. In the latter case it has been considered—erroneously, however—a variety of the Thor hammer. In the opinion of at least one author it had an intimate relation to the Lotus sign of Egypt and Persia. Some authors have attributed a phallic meaning to it. Others have recognized it as representing the generative principle of mankind, making it the symbol of the female. Its appearance on the person of certain goddesses, Artemis, Hera, Demeter, Astarte, and the Chaldean Nana, the leaden goddess from Hissarlik (fig. 125), has caused it to be claimed as a sign of fecundity.
In forming the foregoing theories their authors have been largely controlled by the alleged fact of the substitution and permutation of the Swastika sign on various objects with recognized symbols of these different deities. The claims of these theorists are somewhat clouded in obscurity and lost in the antiquity of the subject. What seems to have been at all times an attribute of the Swastika is its character as a charm or amulet, as a sign of benediction, blessing, long life, good fortune, good luck. This character has continued into modern times, and while the Swastika is recognized as a holy and sacred symbol by at least one Buddhistic religious sect, it is still used by the common people of India, China, and Japan as a sign of long life, good wishes, and good fortune.
Whatever else the sign Swastika may have stood for, and however many meanings it may have had, it was always ornamental. It may have been used with any or all the above significations, but it was always ornamental as well.
The Swastika sign had great extension and spread itself practically over the world, largely, if not entirely, in prehistoric times, though its use in some countries has continued into modern times.
The elaboration of the meanings of the Swastika indicated above and its dispersion or migrations form the subject of this paper.
Dr. Schliemann found many specimens of Swastika in his excavations at the site of ancient Troy on the hill of Hissarlik. They were mostly on spindle whorls, and will be described in due course. He appealed to Prof. Max Müller for an explanation, who, in reply, wrote an elaborate description, which Dr. Schliemann published in “Ilios.[10]”
He commences with a protest against the word Swastika being applied generally to the sign Swastika, because it may prejudice the reader or the public in favor of its Indian origin. He says:
I do not like the use of theword svastikaoutside of India. It is awordof Indian origin and has its history and definite meaning in India. * * * The occurrence of such crosses in different parts of the world may or may not point to a common origin, but if they are once calledSvastikathevulgus profanumwill at oncejump to the conclusion that they all come from India, and it will take some time to weed out such prejudice.Very little is known of Indian art before the third century B. C., the period when the Buddhist sovereigns began their public buildings.[11]The name Svastika, however, can be traced (in India) a little farther back. It occurs as the name of a particular sign in the old grammar of Pânani, about a century earlier. Certain compounds are mentioned there in which the last word iskarna, “ear.” * * * One of the signs for marking cattle was the Svastika [fig. 41], and what Pânani teaches in his grammar is that when the compound is formed,svastika-karna, i. e., “having the ear marked with the sign of a Svastika,” the finalaof Svastika is not to be lengthened, while it is lengthened in other compounds, such asdatra-karna, i. e., “having the ear marked with the sign of a sickle.”
I do not like the use of theword svastikaoutside of India. It is awordof Indian origin and has its history and definite meaning in India. * * * The occurrence of such crosses in different parts of the world may or may not point to a common origin, but if they are once calledSvastikathevulgus profanumwill at oncejump to the conclusion that they all come from India, and it will take some time to weed out such prejudice.
Very little is known of Indian art before the third century B. C., the period when the Buddhist sovereigns began their public buildings.[11]
The name Svastika, however, can be traced (in India) a little farther back. It occurs as the name of a particular sign in the old grammar of Pânani, about a century earlier. Certain compounds are mentioned there in which the last word iskarna, “ear.” * * * One of the signs for marking cattle was the Svastika [fig. 41], and what Pânani teaches in his grammar is that when the compound is formed,svastika-karna, i. e., “having the ear marked with the sign of a Svastika,” the finalaof Svastika is not to be lengthened, while it is lengthened in other compounds, such asdatra-karna, i. e., “having the ear marked with the sign of a sickle.”
D’Alviella[12]reinforces Max Müller’s statement that Panini lived during the middle of the fourth century, B. C. Thus it is shown that the word Swastika had been in use at that early period long enough to form an integral part of the Sanskrit language and that it was employed to illustrate the particular sounds of the letterain its grammar.
Max Müller continues his explanation:[13]
It [the Swastika] occurs often at the beginning of the Buddhist inscriptions, on Buddhist coins, and in Buddhist manuscripts. Historically, the Svastika is first attested on a coin of Krananda, supposing Krananda to be the same king as Xandrames, the predecessor of Sandrokyptos, whose reign came to an end in 315 B. C. (See Thomas on the Identity of Xandrames and Krananda.) The paleographic evidence, however, seems rather against so early a date. In the footprints of Buddha the Buddhists recognize no less that sixty-five auspicious signs, the first of them being theSvastika[seefig. 32], (Eugene Burnouf, “Lotus de la bonne loi,” p. 625); the fourth is theSuavastika, or that with the arms turned to the left [seefig. 10]; the third, theNandyâvarta[seefig. 14], is a mere development of theSvastika. Among the Jainas theSvastikawas the sign of their seventh Jina, Supârsva (Colebrooke “Miscellaneous Essays,” II, p. 188; Indian Antiquary, vol. 2, p. 135).In the later Sanskrit literature,Svastikaretains the meaning of an auspicious mark; thus we see in the Râmâyana (ed. Gorresio,II, p. 318) that Bharata selects a ship marked with the sign of the Svastika. Varâhamihira in the Brihat-samhitâ (Mod. Sæc.,VI, p. Ch.) mentions certain buildings called Svastika and Nandyâvarta (53.34, seq.), but their outline does not correspond very exactly with the form of the signs. Some Sthûpas, however, are said to have been built on the plan of the Svastika. * * * Originally,svastikamay have been intended for no more than two lines crossing each other, or a cross. Thus we find it used in later times referring to a woman covering her breast with crossed arms (Bâlarâm, 75.16),svahastas-vastika-stani, and likewise with reference to persons sitting crosslegged.
It [the Swastika] occurs often at the beginning of the Buddhist inscriptions, on Buddhist coins, and in Buddhist manuscripts. Historically, the Svastika is first attested on a coin of Krananda, supposing Krananda to be the same king as Xandrames, the predecessor of Sandrokyptos, whose reign came to an end in 315 B. C. (See Thomas on the Identity of Xandrames and Krananda.) The paleographic evidence, however, seems rather against so early a date. In the footprints of Buddha the Buddhists recognize no less that sixty-five auspicious signs, the first of them being theSvastika[seefig. 32], (Eugene Burnouf, “Lotus de la bonne loi,” p. 625); the fourth is theSuavastika, or that with the arms turned to the left [seefig. 10]; the third, theNandyâvarta[seefig. 14], is a mere development of theSvastika. Among the Jainas theSvastikawas the sign of their seventh Jina, Supârsva (Colebrooke “Miscellaneous Essays,” II, p. 188; Indian Antiquary, vol. 2, p. 135).
In the later Sanskrit literature,Svastikaretains the meaning of an auspicious mark; thus we see in the Râmâyana (ed. Gorresio,II, p. 318) that Bharata selects a ship marked with the sign of the Svastika. Varâhamihira in the Brihat-samhitâ (Mod. Sæc.,VI, p. Ch.) mentions certain buildings called Svastika and Nandyâvarta (53.34, seq.), but their outline does not correspond very exactly with the form of the signs. Some Sthûpas, however, are said to have been built on the plan of the Svastika. * * * Originally,svastikamay have been intended for no more than two lines crossing each other, or a cross. Thus we find it used in later times referring to a woman covering her breast with crossed arms (Bâlarâm, 75.16),svahastas-vastika-stani, and likewise with reference to persons sitting crosslegged.
Dr. Max Ohnefalsch-Richter[14]speaking of the Swastika position, either of crossed legs or arms, among the Hindus,[15]suggests as a possible explanation that these women bore the Swastikas upon theirarms as did the goddess Aphrodite, in fig. 8 of his writings, (seefig. 180in the present paper), and when they assumed the position of arms crossed over their breast, the Swastikas being brought into prominent view, possibly gave the name to the position as being a representative of the sign.
Max Müller continues:[16]
Quite another question is, why the sign[S]should have had an auspicious meaning, and why in Sanskrit it should have been called Svastika. The similarity between the group of letterssvin the ancient Indian alphabet and the sign of Svastika is not very striking, and seems purely accidental.A remark of yours [Schliemann] (Troy, p. 38.) that the Svastika resembles a wheel in motion, the direction of the motion being indicated by the crampons, contains a useful hint, which has been confirmed by some important observations of Mr. Thomas, the distinguished Oriental numismatist, who has called attention to the fact that in the long list of the recognized devices of the twenty-four Jaina Tirthankaras the sun is absent, but that while the eighth Tirthankara has the sign of the half-moon, the seventh Tirthankara is marked with the Svastika, i. e., the sun. Here, then, we have clear indications that the Svastika, with the hands pointing in the right direction, was originally a symbol of the sun, perhaps of the vernal sun as opposed to the autumnal sun, theSuavastika, and, therefore, a natural symbol of light, life, health, and wealth.But, while from these indications we are justified in supposing that among the Aryan nations the Svastika may have been an old emblem of the sun, there are other indications to show that in other parts of the world the same or a similar emblem was used to indicate the earth. Mr. Beal * * * has shown * * * that the simple cross ([cross]) occurs as a sign for earth in certain ideographic groups. It was probably intended to indicate the four quarters—north, south, east, west—or, it may be, more generally, extension in length and breadth.That the cross is used as a sign for “four” in the Bactro-Pali inscriptions (Max Müller, “Chips from a German Workshop,” Vol. II, p. 298) is well known; but the fact that the same sign has the same power elsewhere, as, for instance, in the Hieratic numerals, does not prove by any means that the one figure was derived from the other. We forget too easily that what was possible in one place was possible also in other places; and the more we extend our researches, the more we shall learn that the chapter of accidents is larger than we imagine.
Quite another question is, why the sign[S]should have had an auspicious meaning, and why in Sanskrit it should have been called Svastika. The similarity between the group of letterssvin the ancient Indian alphabet and the sign of Svastika is not very striking, and seems purely accidental.
A remark of yours [Schliemann] (Troy, p. 38.) that the Svastika resembles a wheel in motion, the direction of the motion being indicated by the crampons, contains a useful hint, which has been confirmed by some important observations of Mr. Thomas, the distinguished Oriental numismatist, who has called attention to the fact that in the long list of the recognized devices of the twenty-four Jaina Tirthankaras the sun is absent, but that while the eighth Tirthankara has the sign of the half-moon, the seventh Tirthankara is marked with the Svastika, i. e., the sun. Here, then, we have clear indications that the Svastika, with the hands pointing in the right direction, was originally a symbol of the sun, perhaps of the vernal sun as opposed to the autumnal sun, theSuavastika, and, therefore, a natural symbol of light, life, health, and wealth.
But, while from these indications we are justified in supposing that among the Aryan nations the Svastika may have been an old emblem of the sun, there are other indications to show that in other parts of the world the same or a similar emblem was used to indicate the earth. Mr. Beal * * * has shown * * * that the simple cross ([cross]) occurs as a sign for earth in certain ideographic groups. It was probably intended to indicate the four quarters—north, south, east, west—or, it may be, more generally, extension in length and breadth.
That the cross is used as a sign for “four” in the Bactro-Pali inscriptions (Max Müller, “Chips from a German Workshop,” Vol. II, p. 298) is well known; but the fact that the same sign has the same power elsewhere, as, for instance, in the Hieratic numerals, does not prove by any means that the one figure was derived from the other. We forget too easily that what was possible in one place was possible also in other places; and the more we extend our researches, the more we shall learn that the chapter of accidents is larger than we imagine.
The “Suavastika” which Max Müller names and believes was applied to the Swastika sign, with the ends bent to the left (fig. 10), seems not to be reported with that meaning by any other author except Burnouf.[17]Therefore the normal Swastika would seem to be that with the ends bent to the right. Burnouf says the word Suavastika may be a derivative or development of the Svastikaya, and ought to signify “he who, or, that which, bears or carries the Swastika or a species of Swastika.” Greg,[18]under the title Sôvastikaya, gives it as his opinion that there is no difference between it and the Swastika. Colonel Low[19]mentions the word Sawattheko, which, according to Burnouf[20]is only a variation ofthe Pali word Sotthika or Suvatthika, the Pali translation of the Sanskrit Swastika. Burnouf translates it as Svastikaya.
M. Eugene Burnouf[21]speaks of a third sign of the footprint of Çakya, called Nandâvartaya, a good augury, the meaning being the “circle of fortune,” which is the Swastika inclosed within a square with avenues radiating from the corners (fig. 14). Burnouf says the above sign has many significations. It is a sacred temple or edifice, a species of labyrinth, a garden of diamonds, a chain, a golden waist or shoulder belt, and a conique with spires turning to the right.
Fig. 14.NANDÂVARTAYA,A THIRD SIGN OFTHE FOOTPRINTOF BUDDHA.Burnouf, “Lotus dela Bonne Loi,” Paris,1852, p. 696.
Colonel Sykes[22]concludes that, according to the Chinese authorities Fa-hian, Soung Young, Hiuan thsang, the “Doctors of reason,” Tao-sse, or followers of the mystic cross[S]were diffused in China and India before the advent of Sakya in the sixth century B. C. (according to Chinese, Japanese, and Buddhist authorities, the eleventh century B. C.), continuing until Fa-hian’s time; and that they were professors of a qualified Buddhism, which, it is stated, was the universal religion of Tibet before Sakya’s advent,[23]and continued until the introduction of orthodox Buddhism in the ninth century A. D.[24]
Klaproth[25]calls attention to the frequent mention by Fa-hian, of the Tao-sse, sectaries of the mystic cross[S](Sanskrit Swastika), and to their existence in Central Asia and India; while he says they were diffused over the countries to the west and southwest of China, and came annually from all kingdoms and countries to adore Kassapo, Buddha’s predecessor.[26]Mr. James Burgess[27]mentions the Tirthankaras or Jainas as being sectarians of the Mystic Cross, the Swastika.
The Cyclopædia of India (title Swastika), coinciding with Prof. Max Müller, says:
The Swastika symbol is not to be confounded with the Swastika sect in Tibet which took the symbol for its name as typical of the belief of its members. They render the Sanskrit Swastika as composed of su “well” and asti “it is,” meaning, as Professor Wilson expresses it, “so be it,” and implying complete resignation under all circumstances. They claimed the Swastika of Sanskrit as thesutiof Pali, and that the Swastika cross was a combination of the two symbolssutti-suti. They are rationalists, holding that contentment and peace of mind should be the only objects of life. The sect has preserved its existence in different localities and under different names, Thirthankara, Tor, Musteg, Pon, the last name meaning purity, under which a remnant are still in the farthest parts of the most eastern province of Tibet.
General Cunningham[28]adds his assertion of the Swastika being the symbol used by the Buddhist sect of that name. He says in a note:
The founder of this sect flourished about the year 604 to 523 B. C., and that the mystic cross is a symbol formed by the combination of the two Sanskrit syllablessuandti-suti.
The founder of this sect flourished about the year 604 to 523 B. C., and that the mystic cross is a symbol formed by the combination of the two Sanskrit syllablessuandti-suti.
Waring[29]proceeds to demolish these statements of a sect named Swastika as pure inventions, and “consulting Professor Wilson’s invaluable work on the Hindoo religious sects in the ‘Asiatic Researches,’ we find no account of any sect named Swastika.”
Mr. V. R. Gandhi, a learned legal gentleman of Bombay, a representative of the Jain sect of Buddhists to the World’s Parliament of Religions at Chicago, 1893, denies that there is in either India or Tibet a sect of Buddhists named “Swastika.” He suggests that these gentlemen probably mean the sects of Jains (of which Mr. Gandhi is a member), because this sect uses the Swastika as a sign of benediction and blessing. This will be treated further on. (Seep. 804.)
Zmigrodzki, commenting on the frequency of the Swastika on the objects found by Dr. Schliemann at Hissarlik, gives it as his opinion[30]that these representations of the Swastika have relation to a human cult indicating a supreme being filled with goodness toward man. The sun, stars, etc., indicate him as a god of light. This, in connection with the idol of Venus, with its triangular shield engraved with a Swastika (fig. 125), and the growing trees and palms, with their increasing and multiplying branches and leaves, represent to him the idea of fecundity, multiplication, increase, and hence the god of life as well as of light. The Swastika sign on funeral vases indicates to him a belief in a divine spirit in man which lives after death, and hence he concludes that the people of Hissarlik, in the “Burnt City” (the third of Schliemann), adored a supreme being, the god of light and of life, and believed in the immortality of the soul.
R. P. Greg says:[31]
Originally it [the Swastika] would appear to have been an early Aryan atmospheric device or symbol indicative of both rain and lightning, phenomena appertaining to the god Indra, subsequently or collaterally developing, possibly, into the Suastika, or sacred fire churn in India, and at a still later period in Greece, adopted rather as a solar symbol, or converted about B. C. 650 into the meander or key pattern.
Waring, while he testifies to the extension of the Swastika both in time and area, says:[32]
But neither in the hideous jumble of Pantheism—the wild speculative thought, mystic fables, and perverted philosophy of life among the Buddhists—nor in the equally wild and false theosophy of the Brahmins, to whom this symbol, as distinctiveof the Vishnavas, sectarian devotees of Vishnu, is ascribed by Moor in his “Indian Pantheon,” nor yet in the tenets of the Jains,[33]do we find any decisive explanation of the meaning attached to this symbol, although its allegorical intention is indubitable.
He mentions the Swastika of the Buddhists, the cross, the circle, their combination, the three-foot[Y]and adds: “They exhibit forms of those olden and widely spread pagan symbols of Deity and sanctity, eternal life and blessing.”
Professor Sayce says:[34]
The Cyprian vase figured in Di Cesnola’s “Cyprus,” pl.XLV, fig. 36 [seefig. 156], which associates the Swastika with the figure of an animal, is a striking analogue of the Trojan whorls on which it is associated with the figures of stags. The fact that it is drawn within the vulva of the leaden image of the Asiatic goddess [seefig. 125] seems to show that it was a symbol of generation. I believe that it is identical with the Cyprian character[symbol]or[symbol](ne), which has the form[symbol]in the inscription of Golgi, and also with the Hittite[symbol]or[symbol]which Dr. Hyde Clarke once suggested to me was intended to represent the organs of generation.
Mr. Waller, in his work entitled “Monumental Crosses,” describes the Swastika as having been known in India as a sacred symbol many centuries before our Lord, and used as the distinguishing badge of a religious sect calling themselves “Followers of the Mystic Cross.” Subsequently, he says, it was adopted by the followers of Buddha and was still later used by Christians at a very early period, being first introduced on Christian monuments in the sixth century. But Mr. Waring says that in this he is not correct, as it was found in some of the early paintings in the Roman catacombs, particularly on the habit of aFossor, or gravedigger, given by D’Agincourt.
Pugin, in his “Glossary of Ornament,” under the title “Fylfot,” says that in Tibet the Swastika was used as a representation of God crucified for the human race, citing as his authority F. Augustini Antonii Georgii.[35]He remarks:
From these accounts it would appear that the fylfot is a mystical ornament, not only adopted among Christians from primitive times, but used, as if prophetically, for centuries before the coming of our Lord. To descend to later times, we find it constantly introduced in ecclesiastical vestments, * * * till the end of the fifteenth century, a period marked by great departure from traditional symbolism.
Its use was continued in Tibet into modern times, though its meaning is not given.[36](Seep. 802.)
The Rev. G. Cox, in his “Aryan Mythology,” says:
We recognize the male and the female symbol in the trident of Poseidon, and in the fylfot or hammer of Thor, which assumes the form of a cross-pattèe in the various legends which turn on the rings of Freya, Holda, Venus, or Aphrodite.
Here again we find the fylfot and cross-pattèe spoken of as the same symbol, and as being emblematic of the reproductive principles, in which view of its meaning Dr. Inman, in his “Ancient Faiths Embodied in Ancient Names,” concurs.
Burnouf[37]recounts the myth of Agni (from which comes, through the Latinignis, the English word igneous), the god of Sacred Fire, as told in the Veda:[38]
The young queen, the mother of Fire, carried the royal infant mysteriously concealed in her bosom. She was a woman of the people, whose common name was “Arani”—that is, the instrument of wood (the Swastika) from which fire was made or brought by rubbing. * * * The origin of the sign [Swastika] is now easy to recognize. It represents the two pieces of wood which composel’arani, of which the extremities were bent to be retained by the four nails. At the junction of the two pieces of wood was a fossette or cup-like hole, and there they placed a piece of wood upright, in form of a lance (the Pramantha), violent rotation of which, by whipping (after the fashion of top-whipping), produced fire, as did Prometheus, theporteur du feu, in Greece.
And this myth was made, as have been others, probably by the priests and poets of succeeding times, to do duty for different philosophies. The Swastika was made to represent Arani (the female principle); the Pramantha or upright fire stake representing Agni, the fire god (the male); and so the myth served its part to account for the birth of fire. Burnouf hints that the myth grew out of the production of holy fire for the sacred altars by the use of the Pramantha and Swastika, after the manner of savages in all times. Zmigrodzki accepts this myth, and claims all specimens with dots or points—supposed nail holes—as Swastikas.
The Count Goblet d’Alviella[39]argues in opposition to the theory announced by Burnouf and by Zmigrodzki, that the Swastika or croix swasticale, when presenting dots or points, had relation to fire making. He denies that the points represent nails, or that nails were made or necessary either for the Swastika or the Arani, and concludes that there is no evidence to support the theory, and nothing to show the Swastika to have been used as a fire-making apparatus, whether with or without the dots or points.
Mr. Greg[40]opposes this entire theory, saying:
The difficulty about the Swastika and its supposed connection with fire appears to me to be in not knowing precisely what the old fire drill and chark were like. * * * I much doubt whether the Swastika had originally any connection either with the fire-chark or with the sun. * * * The best authorities consider Burnouf is in error as to the earlier use of the two lower cross pieces of wood and the four nails said to have been used to fix or steady the framework.
He quotes from Tylor’s description[41]of the old fire drill used in Indiafor kindling the sacrificial fire by the process called “churning,” as it resembles that in India by which butter is separated from milk. It consists in drilling one piece of Arani wood by pulling a cord with one hand while the other is slackened, and so, alternately (the strap drill), till the wood takes fire. Mr. Greg states that the Eskimos use similar means, and the ancient Greeks used the drill and cord, and he adds his conclusions: “There is nothing of the Swastika and four nails in connection with the fire-churn.”
Burton[42]also criticises Burnouf’s theory:
If used on sacrificial altars to reproduce the holy fire, the practice is peculiar and not derived from everyday life; for as early as Pliny they know that the savages used two, and never three, fire sticks.
Burnouf continues his discussion of myths concerning the origin of fire:
According to Hymnes, the discoverer of fire was Atharan, whoso name signifies fire, but Bhrigon it was who made the sacred fire, producing resplendent flames on the earthen altar. In theory of physics, Agni, who was the fire residing within the “onction,” (?) came from the milk of the cow, which, in its turn, came from the plants that had nourished her; and these plants in their turn grew by receiving and appropriating the heat or fire of the sun. Therefore, the virtue of the “onction” came from the god.
One of the Vedas says of Agni, the god of fire:[43]
Agni, thou art a sage, a priest, a king,Protector, father of the sacrifice;Commissioned by our men thou dost ascendA messenger, conveying to the skyOur hymns and offerings, though thy originBe three fold, now from air and now from water,Now from the mystic doubleArani.[44]
Count Goblet d’Alviella combats the hypothesis of Burnouf that the Swastika when turned to right or left, passed, the one for the male and the other for the female principle, and declares, on the authority of Sir George Birdwood, that it is, in modern India, a popular custom to name objects which appear in couples as having different sexes, so that to say “the male Swastika” and the “female Swastika,” indicating them by the pronouns “he” or “she,” would be expressed in the same manner when speaking of the hammer and the anvil or of any other objects used in pairs.[45]
Ludwig Müller, in his elaborate treatise, gives it as his opinion that the Swastika had no connection with the Tau cross or with theCrux ansata, or with the fire wheel, or with arani, or agni, or with the mystic or alphabetic letters, nor with the so-called spokes of the solar wheel, nor the forked lightning, nor the hammer of Thor. He considers that thetriskelion might throw light on its origin, as indicating perpetual whirling or circular movement, which, in certain parts of southern Asia as the emblem of Zeus, was assimilated to that of Baal, an inference which he draws from certain Asiatic coins of 400 B. C.
Mr. R. P. Greg[46]opposes this theory and expresses the opinion that the Swastika is far older and wider spread as a symbol than the triskelion, as well as being a more purely Aryan symbol. Greg says that Ludwig Müller attaches quite too much importance to the sun in connection with the early Aryans, and lays too great stress upon the supposed relation of the Swastika as a solar symbol. The Aryans, he says, were a race not given to sun worship; and, while he may agree with Müller that the Swastika is an emblem of Zeus and Jupiter merely as the Supreme God, yet he believes that the origin of the Swastika had no reference to a movement of the sun through the heavens; and he prefers his own theory that it was a device suggested by the forked lightning as the chief weapon of the air god.
Mr. Greg’s paper is of great elaboration, and highly complicated. He devotes an entire page or plate (21) to a chart showing the older Aryan fire, water, and sun gods, according to the Brahmin or Buddhist system. The earliest was Dyaus, the bright sky or the air god; Adyti, the infinite expanse, mother of bright gods; Varuna, the covering of the shining firmament. Out of this trinity came another, Zeus, being the descendant of Dyaus, the sky god; Agni, the fire; Sulya, the sun, and Indra, the rain god. These in their turn formed the great Hindu trinity, Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva—creator, preserver, and destroyer; and, in his opinion, the Swastika was the symbol or ordinary device of Indra as well as of Zeus. He continues his table of descent from these gods, with their accompanying devices, to the sun, lightning, fire, and water, and makes almost a complete scheme of the mythology of that period, into which it is not possible to follow him. However, he declines to accept the theory of Max Müller of any difference of form or meaning between the Suavastika and the Swastika because the ends or arms turned to the right or to the left, and he thinks the two symbols to be substantially the same. He considers it to have been, in the first instance, exclusively of early Aryan origin and use, and that down to about 600 B. C. it was the emblem or symbol of the supreme Aryan god; that it so continued down through the various steps of descent (according to the chart mentioned) until it became the device and symbol of Brahma, and finally of Buddha. He thinks that it may have been the origin of the Greek fret or meander pattern. Later still it was adopted even by the early Christians as a suitable variety of their cross, and became variously modified in form and was used as a charm.
D’Alviella[47]expresses his doubts concerning the theory advanced by Greg[48]to the effect that the Swastika is to be interpreted as a symbolof the air or of the god who dwells in the air, operating sometimes to produce light, other times rain, then water, and so on, as is represented by the god Indra among the Hindus, Thor among the Germans and Scandinavians, Perkun among the Slavs, Zeus among the Pelasgi and Greeks, Jupiter Tonans, and Pluvius among the Latins. He disputes the theory that the association of the Swastika sign with various others on the same object proves its relationship with that object or sign. That it appears on vases or similar objects associated with what is evidently a solar disk is no evidence to him that the Swastika belongs to the sun, or when associated with the zigzags of lightning that it represents the god of lightning, nor the same with the god of heaven. The fact of its appearing either above or below any one of these is, in his opinion, of no importance and has no signification, either general or special.
D’Alviella says[49]that the only example known to him of a Swastika upon a monument consecrated to Zeus or Jupiter is on a Celto-Roman altar, erected, according to all appearances, by the Daci during the time they were garrisoned at Ambloganna, in Britain. The altar bears the letters I. O. M., which have been thought to stand for Jupiter Optimus Maximus. The Swastika thereon is flanked by two disks or rouelles, with four rays, a sign which M. Gaidoz believes to have been a representative of the sun among the Gaulois.[50]
Dr. Brinton[51]considers the Swastika as being related to the cross and not to the circle, and asserts that the Ta Ki or Triskeles, the Swastika and the Cross, were originally of the same signification, or at least closely allied in meaning.
Waring,[52]after citing his authorities, sums up his opinion thus:
We have given remarks of the various writers on this symbol, and it will be seen that, though they are more or less vague, uncertain, and confused in their description of it, still, with one exception, they all agree that it is a mystic symbol, peculiar to some deity or other, bearing a special signification, and generally believed to have some connection with one of the elements—water.
Burton says:[53]
The Svastika is apparently the simplest form of the Guilloche [scroll pattern or spiral]. According to Wilkinson (11, Chap. IX), the most complicated form of the Guilloche covered an Egyptian ceiling upward of a thousand years older than the objects found at Nineveh. The Svastika spread far and wide, everywhere assuming some fresh mythological and mysterious significance. In the north of Europe it became the Fylfot or Crutched cross.
Count Goblet d’Alviella is of the opinion (p. 57) that the Swastika was “above all an amulet, talisman, or phylactere,” while (p. 56) “it is incontestable that a great number of the Swastikas were simply motifsof ornamentation, of coin marks, and marks of fabrics,” but he agrees (p. 57) that there is no symbol that has given rise to so many interpretations, not even thetriculaof the Buddhists, and “this is a great deal to say.” Ludwig Müller believes the Swastika to have been used as an ornament and as a charm and amulet, as well as a sacred symbol.
Dr. H. Colley March, in his learned paper on the “Fylfot and the Futhore Tir,”[54]thinks the Swastika had no relation to fire or fire making or the fire god. His theory is that it symbolized axial motion and not merely gyration; that it represented the celestial pole, the axis of the heavens around which revolve the stars of the firmament. This appearance of rotation is most impressive in the constellation of the Great Bear. About four thousand years ago the apparent pivot of rotation was at αDraconis, much nearer the Great Bear than now, and at that time the rapid circular sweep must have been far more striking than at present. In addition to the name Ursa Major the Latins called this constellationSeptentriones, “the seven plowing oxen,” that dragged the stars around the pole, and the Greeks called it έλικη, from its vast spiral movement.[55]In the opinion of Dr. March all these are represented or symbolized by the Swastika.
Prof. W. H. Goodyear, of New York, has lately (1891) published an elaborate quarto work entitled “The Grammar of the Lotus: A New History of Classic Ornament as a Development of Sun Worship.”[56]It comprises 408 pages, with 76 plates, and nearly a thousand figures. His theory develops the sun symbol from the lotus by a series of ingenious and complicated evolutions passing through the Ionic style of architecture, the volutes and spirals forming meanders or Greek frets, and from this to the Swastika. The result is attained by the following line of argument and illustrations:
The lotus was a “fetish of immemorial antiquity and has been worshiped in many countries from Japan to the Straits of Gibraltar;” it was a symbol of “fecundity,” “life,” “immortality,” and of “resurrection,” and has a mortuary significance and use. But its elementary and most important signification was as a solar symbol.[57]
He describes the Egyptian lotus and traces it through an innumerable number of specimens and with great variety of form. He mentions many of the sacred animals of Egypt and seeks to maintain their relationship by or through the lotus, not only with each other but with solar circles and the sun worship.[58]Direct association of the solar disk and lotus are, according to him, common on the monuments and on Phenician and Assyrian seals; while the lotus and the sacred animals, as in cases cited of the goose representing Seb (solar god, and father of Osiris), also Osiris himself and Horus, the hawk and lotus, bull andlotus, the asp and lotus, the lion and lotus, the sphinx and lotus, the gryphon and lotus, the serpent and lotus, the ram and lotus—all of which animals, and with them the lotus, have, in his opinion, some related signification to the sun or some of his deities.[59]He is of the opinion that the lotus motif was the foundation of the Egyptian style of architecture, and that it appeared at an early date, say, the fourteenth century B. C. By intercommunication with the Greeks it formed the foundation of the Greek Ionic capital, which, he says,[60]“offers no dated example of the earlier time than the sixth century B. C.” He supports this contention by authority, argument, and illustration.