Thanks: Srimathi jaysree saranathan for giving such a valuable article
Also posted at http://www.scribd.com/doc/190923934/Long-ear-culture-from-India-to-Mesoamerica
In an article on Tutankhamun, I wrote about the probable influence of Vedic culture on the 18th dynasty of Egypt as was made out from ear piercing habit and wearing of ear heavy ornaments. Ear piercing, known as Karnavedha is an important sacrament for anyone born in the Vedic culture. This continues till today among Hindus in India. The young Tutankhamun's mask on the mummy showing huge holes in the ear, apparently made so by the constant wearing of heavy ear ornaments for long, made me think that Vedic practices had entered the 18th dynasty with the introduction of Atenism (of Sun God who moves in a chariot in the sky) by Tutankhamun's father. In response to this article, Mr Dale Drinnon brought to my attention the 'long ear' tradition found in Easter Island and in the Andes in South America. Long and pierced ear of a statue of Easter island. (Article with pics:-http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2149846/Hidden-treat-The-Easter-Island-heads-BODIES.html ) His article posted in his anthropology blog is reproduced at the end of the 3rd article – this is a 3-part series. The information provided by him adds credence to my persistent opinion that I have been writing in many articles with supportive evidence from Sangam Tamil literature. The early Tamils (shall we call them as proto Tamils who followed Vedic culture?) positioned in scattered islands in the Indian Ocean (now submerged) had spread or their cultural influence had spread as far as the South American coast in the Pacific Ocean in the wake of submergences, the last of which happened 3500 years BP as per Tamil Sangam texts. Already a research study exists that says that there is genetic imprint of Indians and Indian dogs in Australia some 4000 years ago. In my earlier blog post I showed how this could have become possible. The vast stretch of the Indian Ocean was not crossed by those people from today's India, for there existed Indians (whose genetic imprints continue in today's Indian population) in the scattered islands in the Indian Ocean at that time. From Indian Ocean to Pacific Ocean the people had interacted and this resulted in common culture being followed by them. The Indian Ocean habitat was largely occupied by Proto Tamils or Sangam Age Tamils whose kinship with Indian mainland had existed for more than 10,000 years before that. The discovery of man-made structure off Pumpukaar in South east Tamilnadu and the discovery of artefacts in Agastheeswaram in Kanyakumari district in the southern tip of India (Tamilnadu ASI Publication, 2008, on Kanyakumari district) both dated at 10,000 years and before substantiate the Tamil literary tradition of early Tamils having an advanced culture at that time in Indian Ocean habitat. Some of them later shifted to Pacific Ocean and then to the South American inland when Indian Ocean habitat was submerged. Among many commonalities found among the people in this vast area, the 'long ear' tradition is one that stands as a crucial testimony for a united Vedic culture throughout this region – from Indian Ocean to Pacific Ocean. In this article I am going to explore details of this 'long ear' tradition. Piercing the ear on the first year after birth is a Vedic rite. The timing is when the child starts talking by listening. Hearing and talking are activated by piercing the ear. As a Vedic rite, this was aimed at enabling the child to keep listening to the name and praise of God and remembrance of God. In actual terms this means the child would remember what it hears. By stretching the ear hole using heavy ornaments, perhaps it was thought that hearing and remembering faculties would keep increasing with age. There is no written record to say why this Vedic samskara of ear piercing and wearing of ear ornaments is done. But the recent scientific studies have shown that brain activity can be increased by pulling the ears. This gives a clue to why this practice was introduced as a Vedic rite. Let us see what happens with the pulling of the ear. The pulling is done exactly in the region where the heavy ornaments are worn. Called as Super Brain Yoga, scientists have found out that by pulling the ears with a gentle pressure, the two hemispheres of the brain along with the pituitary and pineal glands can be energised. A few minutes of gentle pull of the two ears are enough for energising the brain and thereby the entire body and also in reducing stress. This kind of pulling the ears is called as "Thoppuk karaNam" in Tamil (read my article here). For ages in India, this was a popular mode of punishment to the student if he fails to remember or reproduce the lessons or verses. A typical Gurukula of students taking Vedic education.
(pic courtesy: http://guruprasad.net/posts/why-indian-teachers-punish-students-scientific-reason/) This "thOppuk karaNam" is also done as a way of worship to Lord Ganesha. (Pic courtesy: http://guruprasad.net/posts/why-indian-teachers-punish-students-scientific-reason/)
Lord Ganesha is seen with huge ears of the elephant which looks ideal for gathering sound waves for listening and remembering. Ganesha was known to have written Mahabharata by listening to Vyasa dictating the verses. Sage Vyasa did not write down the Mahabharata verses. He only dictated them to Lord Ganesha on the condition that Ganesha must write them down only after understanding the meaning. Ganesha was too fast in listening and grasping the meaning that Vyasa had to compose difficult verses every now and then so that he could gain some time in composing further verses before Ganesha could grasp the meaning and write. Perhaps the idea of large ears started with this episode of Lord Ganesha. Perhaps this gave rise to the idea of depicting the temple images of Gods with large ears. The symbolism was that large ears could gather even mild sounds or even the words uttered mentally by the devotees. Almost all the images of deities in olden temples in India (most of them exist in South India) are seen with huge ears that look like elephant's or Ganesha's ears. The Utsava deities that are taken out for procession around the streets are always decorated with large ears. As examples let me show the images of the famous deity Lord Venkateswara of Tirupathi with Sri Devi and Bhu Devi. (picture below) One can see the large ears fitted on the sides of the head. Below is the image of the Goddess Padmavathy at Thiruchanoor, the consort of Lord Venkateswara of Tirupathi One cannot miss out the huge ears on the sides of the head in the above image of the Goddess. Large ears are symbolic of listening to the prayers of the devotees. In the Vedic society any learning was of mental nature – that of listening and remembering. The ear piercing and the subsequent wearing of ornaments on ears give the effect of the Super Brain Yoga. The ornaments continuously give gentle pressure to that part of the ear that activates the brain and the glands in the head with the result that the person remains alert and energised. When a little heavier ornament is used, the ear gets stretched and gives an appearance of a larger ear. Thus in the single act of wearing the ear ornament, two advantages are drawn – of increasing the brain activity and getting larger ears. Thus the idea of piercing the ear early in childhood and stretching the ear by the gentle pull of the ornament comes with twin purposes – one real and another symbolic. The real purpose is that the pull keeps the brain always alert and efficient. The symbolic reason is that the stretched ear looks large thereby capable of gathering or listening sounds (related to Vedic chants and deities). Such a symbolism exists in the wearing of nose ring. Nose ring is considered as an auspicious sign and also a must for married women in the Vedic society. It's location in the nose signifies "prana", the vital breath with which the husband was equated. When the husband dies, the wife removes the nose ring. This practice shows that the nose ring is only a symbolism and is not really the prana or the life of the husband. Similarly the large ears are symbolic of capability to listen and retain Vedic chants. It was favoured for a more realistic reason of helping to keep the brain alert (super brain yoga). That is why there was no gender difference in piercing the ears and stretching the ears thereafter, even though the men folk of today have abandoned this practice in the Hindu society. Today only those men engaged in Vedic learning continue to wear ear ornaments. The women population however continues this practice. Today it is not rare to see women folk in rural India having long ears stretched with ornaments. Take a look at these women from Tamilnadu.
(http://www.pbase.com/neuenhofer/image/139707191) (http://ta.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E0%AE%AA%E0%AE%BE%E0%AE%AE%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%AA%E0%AE%9F%E0%AE%AE%E0%AF%8D ) (http://veluvan.blogspot.in/2012_12_01_archive.html )
All these ornaments are of same type and are called by the name of "serpent" or Naga! In Tamil it is called as "Paambadam" (Paambu = serpent). This is how it looks. The design is actually that of a snake. This is not just a Tamil tradition. We can see this everywhere in India, but it has come into disuse in the past few decades. In other parts of India this ornaments is called Nagali or Nagulu or Nagavadura. This woman is wearing a nagali, a coiled serpent in her ear. The size of the hole will be increased by stretching the coil. A detailed article on this ornament and its variation in other parts of India can be read here. That article says that this practice (of wearing ornaments to stretch the ears) was found in certain communities and not among Brahmins. May be this is the case in recent times. In the past even Brahmins had worn heavy ornaments and had their ears stretched long. A prominent example is the image of Ramanujacharya, the founder of Vaishanva sect. There are 3 images of him in 3 temples of which 2 were made while he was alive. These images were made exactly like him. These images show him with stretched ears indicating that he had worn heavy ornaments. After taking to asceticism, he had discarded the use of ornaments. The following is his image at Melkote near Mysore. The next is his image at Sriperumbudur, near Chennai. The following is his image in Srirangam. This is said to be his embalmed image. The ears are long and stretched and bear proof of having worn heavy ornaments Pierced and stretched ear is not a feature to be found only in Tamil society or South India. The North Indian sculpture images of yore show this feature. As most of the North Indian temples of antiquity have been demolished by invading Muslims, we do not have adequate proof in North India. However looking at Buddha images of olden times found in North India, it can be established that this practice was there in North India among the elites and kings. The following is the 2nd century CE image of Buddha of Gandhara region. The ear is pierced and stretched. (courtesy:- http://www.flickr.com/photos/mukulb/8326804019/in/photostream/lightbox/ ) It is not just the Buddha or the Buddhists, even Jain sages had pierced the ears and stretched them. The following is the statue of Bahubali at Shravanabelaola made 1000 years ago. It features pierced and stretched ear. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gomateshvara_Statue_Img456.jpg ) This shows that Buddhists and Jains did follow the Vedic samskaras. We must remember that this practice is not found in Europe from where the Aryans were supposed to have come to India according the AIT believers. This feature is a strong proof for non invasion of the Aryans and non Vedic connection with Europeans. Even Darius the Great who claimed himself as the Aryan (550 to 486 BCE) did not have his ears pierced. (http://iranpoliticsclub.net/history/darius-inscription/ )
But centuries before him Ashurnasirpal II of Assyria (883 to 859 BCE) had worn ear ornaments but did not have stretched ears. See the image below. Every entity of his time, including the Dvarapalaka type gate keeping Lamassu (winged lions) is seen with ear ornaments. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Gate_of_Nimrud_%28Metropolitan_Museum%29.jpg) This shows the extent of Vedic culture at that time. Much before that, say 5000 years ago, this culture had existed in Indus regions. Following is the image of the figurine excavated in Harappa. It has huge, dangling ear ornaments having stretched -effect on the ears. (Source http://eternalaryavarta.blogspot.in/ ) Yet another one, showing signs of ear ornaments. Wherever the Vedic culture had spread there we find this feature established. Take a look at the Buddhist statue found at Java. (http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/11/15/javanese-antiquities-paris.html )
The following is the image of Vedic sage Agasthya found at Yogyakarta in Java. Look at the long ears. Following is the image of Vedic God Harihara found in Krung Thep, Bangkok. Look at the ears. Another image of Harihara found on Northern Thailand. The ears are stretched. This shows that long ears are an integral identity of deities, semi deities, sages and common people of the Vedic society wherever such images may have been established. Let us take a look at the image of a couple found at Haryana belonging to the Sunga dynasty, 2nd century BCE. ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/mukulb/8328085802/in/photostream/lightbox/ ) Look at the stretched ears of both the male and the female. The huge ornament is filling the ear hole of the female. This statue is found in Haryana in north India. This shows the spread of this practice throughout India across the communities. Now let me get back to the design of the ear ornament, the Paambadam or Nagali in serpent design. Does this convey any meaning? Now let me get back to the design of the ear ornament, the Paambadam or Nagali in serpent design. Does this convey any meaning? Yes it does. The naga or serpent design is associated with none other than Lord Shiva. The rules of iconography as given in "Mayamatham" written by Maya, make a specific mention of the design of the ear ornament only for Shiva. This is not the case with other deities or semi-deities. For other deities, it is simply said that some decorative ornaments must be worn on the ears. For "Ardhanaressvara" form of Shiva, specific ear ornaments are mentioned. This form shows Shiva and his consort Uma as two halves of the same body. The image of Shiva is depicted on the right half and that of Uma on the left half of the body. Mayan makes specific mention of the kind of ornaments to be sculpted for the Shiva-half and for Uma- half so that the separate identities of these two deities can be recognised. http://www.flickr.com/photos/kapaliadiyar/6621587577/
To our right is Shiva who is seen with different ornaments in his ears. Though this is not the Ardhanareesvara image, the ear ornaments are shown as in Ardha nareesvara. The left ear corresponding to Uma had pAlika pendant whereas the right ear corresponding to Shiva has Naga pendant. We can see that no such differences are there in the ear ornaments worn by Parvathy (middle) or Vishnu (to our left). The naga ornament is so unique to Lord Shiva that the sculptors had depicted it on the right ear.Generally serpent shaped ornaments are seen worn by Shiva related deities. For example the Dvarapala (door keeper) at the Halebid temple in Karnataka of the Hoysala period sports naga ear ornament. (http://www.asianart.com/articles/ganguly/14.html ) The Halebid temple was not finished but the presence of Nandi bull as the Guard in that temple shows that the main deity was in the nature of Shiva symbolism. The Naga pendant of the Dvarapala goes well with Shiva worship. Checking these two features – ear piercing with long ears and naga pendants as ear ornaments – in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean communities, there is plenty of evidence of long ear culture in these regions. The Easter Island statues were said to have been made in the 13th century CE or after. However similar looking stone statues with long ears were established at Tula (Mexico) around 500 CE. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nahua_peoples Look at the long ears. The interesting information is that these statues were built by Nahua people – Nahua sounding like Naga! In fact the Easter Island statues are also tall statues like this with their bodies buried underground. (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2149846/Hidden-treat-The-Easter-Island-heads-BODIES.html ) The same belief system must have been behind the statues at Easter Island and Mesoamerican Tula region.
The Toltec culture of the Tula region (800 to 1000 CE) also followed ear piercing practice.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toltec
The above image is that of a clay vessel featuring a face that has ear ornaments of the "pAlika" kind. The previous Moche culture ( 100 to 750 CE) that was present in the same region and around features similar practice. The Moche figurines are shown below.
http://mochecivilization.weebly.com/moche-art.html
In addition to the ear piercing, notice the squatting posture. It is also typical of the Vedic society. The priests doing the yajnas will be seated in this posture. This is the common sitting posture for anyone in the Vedic culture – even today. Inti, the Incan sun God wears "pAlika" type heavy ornaments in the ears. PAlika or pot type is the most common type of ear ornaments among men and women in the Vedic society. The Tlatilco culture (1200 BCE to 200 BCE) also shows the ear piercing practice and even Kali / Durga worship. See the images below. Pierced ear is seen in these figurines. Stretched ears made so by ear ornaments are seen in this image. The dress is similar Indian salwar. Tlatilco Kali. The Sican culture in Peru features not only the ear ornaments that stretch the ears but also nose rings!! The period of this culture is from 750 to 1375 CE. The nose ring seen in the above picture is common in India. Take a look at this Reddy woman from Andhra Pradesh, India. She is wearing a Naga ear ornament and a nose ring - same as the one seen in Sican mask above. How could these similarities have gone into people of two different places separated by vast distances? The mystery is solved in the image of the Mesoamerican Nahua deity called Quetzalcoatl. Scholars have so far concentrated on the coiled stick of this image. But look at the ear ornament. It is the typical ear ornament of the Vedic society that makes the ear look large. The design of the ear ornament is the same as found in Hindu temple figures. The coiled stick is similar to the danda or stick that Vedic sages used to carry and use as hand-rest. The Jewish Ashera is seen with a similar stick with a coiled body. It is the same kind of stick that sages used during meditation. This kind of mediation of yogic penance is associated with Shiva and his devotees. Even Lord Shiva is shown to be in yogic meditation with his hand resting on the stick. The stick is designed as a coil to resemble a serpent. The symbolism is that the Life force of Kundalini is like a serpent coiled and situated in Muladhara and is awakened by meditation (read here). The Nahua deity showing the similar looking stick shows from where the symbolism of that image was taken. The spiral or coil of the stick similar to a coil of the serpent identifies the Nahua people as Nagas and Shiva worshipers. Earlier I quoted from Mayamatham that the serpent ornament of Shiva's right ear was Vasuki. Vasuki symbolises the churning of the ocean. Due to the constant spin of the earth, the mantle oceans and the mantle get churned resulting in occasional upheaval of lava or the mantle elements. The result is the formation of caves once after the lava had created many passages. Such formations are common in Ninety degree range in the Indian Ocean and in Polynesian islands of which Easter Island is one. The Ninety degree range at the end of which Nagaland is situated in India is shown in the picture below. The dwellers in the caves are called as Nagas as they are like serpents that live in underground or hidden holes. Wherever serpents are present, there Shiva is present to take control of them. The dance of death experienced in the upheaval of the lava is symbolised by the dance of Shiva, the controller of death. That is why serpents, Shiva, caves and places that experienced unnatural deaths and upheavals come together. This is the idea of the Vedic society. Those who seek protection from snakes and unnatural deaths worship Shiva and wear serpent like ear ornaments. That is how the Paambadam or Nagalu ornaments had come into use. But behind that, prayer to Shiva had existed. The Shiva element may be gone in due course but the ear ornaments and Vedic practice of ear piercing had continued in Polynesia and Mesoamerica. There are many other imprints of the Vedic society in these two regions, one of which is the Narasimha like image found in Aztec society. This image has long ears with ear ornaments. The lion mask and seating posture with a being on the lap resembles death of Hiranyakashipu in the lap of Lord Narasimha. This one found in Aztec culture is one of the many features of proof of Vedic Puranic stories in Mesoamerica. How they have gone there is a major issue that would unravel the presence of Vedic features in pre-Columbian Americas. I will take it up one by one in my future articles. I would like to show one more puranic feature from Olmec culture. The Olmec culture existed in the same regions of Mexico where we see the cultures that are described above. But Olmec seems to be the oldest and the mother of them all. Even the name Olmec was taken from Nahua language. The interesting part of it is that the signs of Olmec culture started around 1500 BC – the same time when the Tamil culture in the Indian Ocean habitat was completely wiped off resulting in a complete shatter of the survivors in all directions – with the Tamil king Pandyan moving over to South India Proper and starting a new life with his capital in Madurai. The following image from the Olmec shows a child sitting on the lap of a king- like figure and another child crying and its mother trying to pacify it. This is a typical Dhruva story found in Vishnu Purana and Bhagavatha Purana.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Altar_5_from_La_Venta,_left_side_%28Ruben_Charles%29.jpg
Dhruva's step mother and step brother were much favoured by his father Uttanapada. Once when Dhruva was seated on his father's lap, he was dragged out by his step mother and scolded by her, while his step brother climbed on the lap of his father. The above scene looks similar to this. There is more to the Olmec connection to this Puranic story. In the story of Dhruva, his father was killed by a Yaksha. As the eldest son, Dhruva ascended the throne and waged a war on Yakshas. It was a terrible fight that resulted in heavy loss of life on both sides. Finally Dhruva was advised to buy peace with Yakshas (read here). The connection to Olmecs is that the Olmec Godly figures resemble Yakshas! These figures look short, stout and with drooping mouths. The Olmec Were - Jaguar figures match with Yaksha description. Take a look at a Olmec wear-jaguar super natural being.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jaguarbaby.jpg
Another one.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Seated_Olmec_Jaguar_from_San_Lorenzo,_Veracruz.jpg
Compare the above figures with the Yaksha figure found at Chandraketugarh at West Bengal and dated at 1st century BCE of the Sunga period.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yaksha_%28Chandraketugarh%29.jpg
Look at the ear ornaments – both leaf type and pot type ornaments (TAlika and PAlika) are worn. The eyes look small and like slits. The mouth is drooping. The stature is short and stout. The colossal figures of Olmec are in line with colossal figures of Easter Island and at Tula of the later period. The Olmec colossal statue sports ear ornaments of the Vedic society and may even be aYaksha! Now looking at the images of Olmec people, they too are seen with ear holes. 1200 to 800 BCE
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Wrestler_%28Olmec%29_by_DeLange.jpg
The following is commonly found in Olmec culture. A man in squatting position seems like making a prayer for the well being of his child. The child looks sick. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Las_Limas_Monument_1_%28O_Cadena%29.jpg Another similar looking figurine.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Olmec_Figurine_holding_infant_%28Met%29.jpg
Look at the prominent ear holes. The bent knees are typical of prayer to God or an offering in Vedic society. Similar posture can be seen in a plate found in Susa in Iran (below). This kind of bent knee posture is a common feature in Vedic society in prayers and in offerings. The Olmec man holding a baby must not be construed as offering the baby as a sacrifice. The baby looks sick and the man is praying to God seeking benediction. The Olmec man seems to be making a prayer to God to save his child by offering the child to God. By this it does not mean that the child is killed as a sacrifice. Instead some commitment is made as an offering. It is a common practice in Tamil society to offer to name the child as "Picchai" – meaning 'alms'. It was also a practice to offer the child to serve God in temples. The following image of the Olmec man is typical of the temple images in India. The child may have been a still-born or fallen sick of untreatable nature. In such circumstances, people take the child to the temple and make prayers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:La_Venta_Altar_5_%28Ruben_Charles%29.jpg
The presence of votive figure like baby figurines found in Olmec culture is testimony to the practice that is still followed in Hindu society. When a baby is sick the votive offering of the figurine of a baby is done. For sickness in any part of the body, the figurine of that part alone is offered as votive offering. The famous temple of Lord Venkateswara in Andhra Pradesh, India accepts thousands of votive offerings everyday. The Olmec culture also shows small figurines of head or torso or leg or arm and so on. This does not mean that the baby was cut and sacrificed. Even an animal would not kill its own baby. How can we say that for a man? Such kind of parts of the body embossed on metals are offered to God in the Vedic society even today as a mark of fulfilment of a vow or a prayer when the corresponding body part was the location of a disease. The following is the figurine of a baby found in large numbers on Olmec culture. At the most they are 35 cm high. The features are not clearly made showing that they were not meant to be artefacts but were mass produced with least skill. The idea was to make it available to the needy who want to offer it as part of the prayer or fulfilment of the prayer. The absence of genitalia in these figurines shows that they could be used for any gender. Usually in votive offerings for babies, the definition is just baby, and not boy baby or girl baby. In elderly people, the gender difference comes when the whole body is affected and the prayer is for the overall well being of the body with a votive offering of male or female figurine as the case may be. The presence of so many baby figurines and Olmec men with baby in hand match with the presence of Yaksha looking Wear-jaguars. Yakshas are those which are never satiated and always hungry. (Vishnu Purana 1-5). They come early in the creation of beings and they were located in the Southern seas, according Vishnu Purana. The Sangam Tamil Hero, Skanda, the son of Meenaskhi and Sundaresa of the first Sangam Age had under his control the Yakshas. Mahabharata says that Yaksha Amogha, his attendants and Jambhaka Yakshas were in his army. (Mahabharata 3-230). The famous entity of the Vedic pantheon, Kubera was a Yaksha. His early abode was in Lanka which was later confiscated from him by his step brother Ravana. After that Kubera shifted to the Himalayan region. Skanda comes before that time, say 12,500 years bp. At that time yaksha beings were in the region of south Indian and South Pacific Ocean, according to Puranic sources. Skanda cult was known for shamanism and an account by Sage Markandeya who conquered death by prayers to Lord Shiva reveals Skanda's control over 18 types of spirits that affect foetus, childbirth and children. In Mahabharata 3-229, (read here) he further says that Yakshas are evil spirits that make the person it haunts to lose reasoning power and become a lunatic. There are astrological indications and remedies for the haunts by such spirits which are given in the book "Prasna Marga". Until recently this idea was in vogue in the Vedic society and people had resorted to propitiations to these spirits. The Wear – jaguars looking like yakshas and numerous baby votives and prayers of men with baby in hand show that Olmec society had propitiated Yaksha spirits whenever they children fell unconscious or suffered untreatable diseases. The idea of spirits troubling children and subsequent prayers are part of Skanda cult that had its origins in the Tamil Sangam society that began 10,000 years ago in the Indian Ocean habitat. Skanda had ventured into Lanka (Sura padma samhara), Sundaland (which was called as Hiranyapura in his times but later called as Swarana dweepa ), Australia (Maori ) and Kilimajaro (Krauncha mountain, Africa). The different types of people from Africa to India to Australia to Pacific habitats had been influenced by his cult figure. The Olmec culture starts at 1500 BC by which time the Indian Ocean habitat got dispersed. The Olmec people in all probability were an off shoot of the Tamil culture in submerged Indian Ocean. Or they were the people in one of the parts of the region that Skanda cult was prevalent (from Africa to eastwards). The new life started after the last submergence in the Indian Ocean at 1500 BC, found them setting up their settlements in Mexico with old habits (ear piercing) and worship of yaksha for relief from diseases or haunts for their kids. The ear ornament is an unmistakable proof of the early connection to Vedic habits.
The Tamil roots can be substantiated from the later Mesoamerican accounts on the origin of Olmecs at a place called Tamoanchan. This sounds like Tamizhan! (Tamilan) An old Nahul poem refers to a land called Tamoanchan and says,
"in a certain era which no one can reckon which no one can remember [where] there was a government for a long time". Any number of guesses can be made on where this Tamoanchan was. But the Vedic habits of ear piercing, stretching the ears, votive offerings to Yaksha spirit and naga-sounding Nahua point to the direction of Tamil settlements in Sangam age and its Vedic past. Mr Dale made an illustration of the extent of this common culture based on long ear tradition as follows: Let me add ancient Indian parts to this map – which is shown in black strokes. The Indian Ocean region was the location of Vedic culture for long with Varaha, Narasimha and Vamana avatars happening in Hiranyapura (Sundaland) which left a deep imprint in the entire habitat of the Indian and Pacific Ocean. The Vedic culture moved northward to India after the Ice age. The Parashurama, Rama, Balarama, Krishna and Buddha avatars took place in retrievable memory in the Indian sub continent. (Buddha was basically Vedic as was made out from the ear hole, but when his teachings were encapsulated as a cult, they deviated from Vedic roots.). Skanda cult was originally formed in the Tamil habitat in Indian Ocean and developed variously later. The common feature in all these regions is long ears!
http://frontiers-of-anthropology.blogspot.in/2013/11/longears-from-ceylon-to-easter-island.html
Longears from Ceylon to Easter Island The stone statues of the ancestors on Easter Island characteristically show a straight narrow nose and thin, sharply defined lips. They have pointed chins that protrude. Their hair is a specially selected red stone called "pucao". The statues depict "Long-ears" and Thor Heyerdahl established a connection between these Long-Ears of Easter Island and the corresponding aristocratic population of the Andes Mountain region in South America which also had elongated earlobes from heavy ear ornaments. "Long Ears" of Easter Island Almost all existing descriptions and sculptures of Aditya, Gandharva and Apsara gods and demigods and Daitya demons, and also Buddhist saints, depict them with long-ears, very often with large weighty earrings. Statues, bas-reliefs and pictures of "long-eared" beings are also often found in India, Indochina, China, Polynesia and Melanesia. The custom of artificially extending the ears has for a long time been practiced by many tribes of South-East Asia. It later became widespread among the inhabitants of Easter Island. Companion of Dutch Admiral Jacob Roggeveen, who discovered Easter Island in 1722, Sergeant Behrens wrote: "Some earlobes hung down to the shoulders, and some wore them as a special decoration with white disks." The same custom existed among the inhabitants of the Marquesas Islands and Melanesia, which lies a few thousand miles from Easter Island. Elongated earlobes were common among the ruling caste of the Incas, being caused by massive gold ornaments hanging off of them which caused a severe stretching the lobe, to which the Spaniards have given the nickname "orehones", meaning "long-eared".This indicates a kinship between the "long-eared" islands of Polynesia, Melanesia and South America and the fair-skinned Indian gods, demi-gods and demons (Adityas, Gandharvas, give, etc.) of India and Southeast Asia,
So we have this trait of earlobe distension as marking connections to the royal family from Ceylon and Southern Asia extending into Egypt and Ethiopia on the one hand to as far away as Peru on the other. This may sound like too large of an area but a single Language family fills in the gap in between, the Malayo-Polynesian. And not only are there Malayo-Polynesian languages in Southern India, the furthest Eastward outpost of the Malayo-Polynesian peoples just happens to be Easter Island.
Also posted at http://www.scribd.com/doc/190923934/Long-ear-culture-from-India-to-Mesoamerica
In an article on Tutankhamun, I wrote about the probable influence of Vedic culture on the 18th dynasty of Egypt as was made out from ear piercing habit and wearing of ear heavy ornaments. Ear piercing, known as Karnavedha is an important sacrament for anyone born in the Vedic culture. This continues till today among Hindus in India. The young Tutankhamun's mask on the mummy showing huge holes in the ear, apparently made so by the constant wearing of heavy ear ornaments for long, made me think that Vedic practices had entered the 18th dynasty with the introduction of Atenism (of Sun God who moves in a chariot in the sky) by Tutankhamun's father. In response to this article, Mr Dale Drinnon brought to my attention the 'long ear' tradition found in Easter Island and in the Andes in South America. Long and pierced ear of a statue of Easter island. (Article with pics:-http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2149846/Hidden-treat-The-Easter-Island-heads-BODIES.html ) His article posted in his anthropology blog is reproduced at the end of the 3rd article – this is a 3-part series. The information provided by him adds credence to my persistent opinion that I have been writing in many articles with supportive evidence from Sangam Tamil literature. The early Tamils (shall we call them as proto Tamils who followed Vedic culture?) positioned in scattered islands in the Indian Ocean (now submerged) had spread or their cultural influence had spread as far as the South American coast in the Pacific Ocean in the wake of submergences, the last of which happened 3500 years BP as per Tamil Sangam texts. Already a research study exists that says that there is genetic imprint of Indians and Indian dogs in Australia some 4000 years ago. In my earlier blog post I showed how this could have become possible. The vast stretch of the Indian Ocean was not crossed by those people from today's India, for there existed Indians (whose genetic imprints continue in today's Indian population) in the scattered islands in the Indian Ocean at that time. From Indian Ocean to Pacific Ocean the people had interacted and this resulted in common culture being followed by them. The Indian Ocean habitat was largely occupied by Proto Tamils or Sangam Age Tamils whose kinship with Indian mainland had existed for more than 10,000 years before that. The discovery of man-made structure off Pumpukaar in South east Tamilnadu and the discovery of artefacts in Agastheeswaram in Kanyakumari district in the southern tip of India (Tamilnadu ASI Publication, 2008, on Kanyakumari district) both dated at 10,000 years and before substantiate the Tamil literary tradition of early Tamils having an advanced culture at that time in Indian Ocean habitat. Some of them later shifted to Pacific Ocean and then to the South American inland when Indian Ocean habitat was submerged. Among many commonalities found among the people in this vast area, the 'long ear' tradition is one that stands as a crucial testimony for a united Vedic culture throughout this region – from Indian Ocean to Pacific Ocean. In this article I am going to explore details of this 'long ear' tradition. Piercing the ear on the first year after birth is a Vedic rite. The timing is when the child starts talking by listening. Hearing and talking are activated by piercing the ear. As a Vedic rite, this was aimed at enabling the child to keep listening to the name and praise of God and remembrance of God. In actual terms this means the child would remember what it hears. By stretching the ear hole using heavy ornaments, perhaps it was thought that hearing and remembering faculties would keep increasing with age. There is no written record to say why this Vedic samskara of ear piercing and wearing of ear ornaments is done. But the recent scientific studies have shown that brain activity can be increased by pulling the ears. This gives a clue to why this practice was introduced as a Vedic rite. Let us see what happens with the pulling of the ear. The pulling is done exactly in the region where the heavy ornaments are worn. Called as Super Brain Yoga, scientists have found out that by pulling the ears with a gentle pressure, the two hemispheres of the brain along with the pituitary and pineal glands can be energised. A few minutes of gentle pull of the two ears are enough for energising the brain and thereby the entire body and also in reducing stress. This kind of pulling the ears is called as "Thoppuk karaNam" in Tamil (read my article here). For ages in India, this was a popular mode of punishment to the student if he fails to remember or reproduce the lessons or verses. A typical Gurukula of students taking Vedic education.
(pic courtesy: http://guruprasad.net/posts/why-indian-teachers-punish-students-scientific-reason/) This "thOppuk karaNam" is also done as a way of worship to Lord Ganesha. (Pic courtesy: http://guruprasad.net/posts/why-indian-teachers-punish-students-scientific-reason/)
Lord Ganesha is seen with huge ears of the elephant which looks ideal for gathering sound waves for listening and remembering. Ganesha was known to have written Mahabharata by listening to Vyasa dictating the verses. Sage Vyasa did not write down the Mahabharata verses. He only dictated them to Lord Ganesha on the condition that Ganesha must write them down only after understanding the meaning. Ganesha was too fast in listening and grasping the meaning that Vyasa had to compose difficult verses every now and then so that he could gain some time in composing further verses before Ganesha could grasp the meaning and write. Perhaps the idea of large ears started with this episode of Lord Ganesha. Perhaps this gave rise to the idea of depicting the temple images of Gods with large ears. The symbolism was that large ears could gather even mild sounds or even the words uttered mentally by the devotees. Almost all the images of deities in olden temples in India (most of them exist in South India) are seen with huge ears that look like elephant's or Ganesha's ears. The Utsava deities that are taken out for procession around the streets are always decorated with large ears. As examples let me show the images of the famous deity Lord Venkateswara of Tirupathi with Sri Devi and Bhu Devi. (picture below) One can see the large ears fitted on the sides of the head. Below is the image of the Goddess Padmavathy at Thiruchanoor, the consort of Lord Venkateswara of Tirupathi One cannot miss out the huge ears on the sides of the head in the above image of the Goddess. Large ears are symbolic of listening to the prayers of the devotees. In the Vedic society any learning was of mental nature – that of listening and remembering. The ear piercing and the subsequent wearing of ornaments on ears give the effect of the Super Brain Yoga. The ornaments continuously give gentle pressure to that part of the ear that activates the brain and the glands in the head with the result that the person remains alert and energised. When a little heavier ornament is used, the ear gets stretched and gives an appearance of a larger ear. Thus in the single act of wearing the ear ornament, two advantages are drawn – of increasing the brain activity and getting larger ears. Thus the idea of piercing the ear early in childhood and stretching the ear by the gentle pull of the ornament comes with twin purposes – one real and another symbolic. The real purpose is that the pull keeps the brain always alert and efficient. The symbolic reason is that the stretched ear looks large thereby capable of gathering or listening sounds (related to Vedic chants and deities). Such a symbolism exists in the wearing of nose ring. Nose ring is considered as an auspicious sign and also a must for married women in the Vedic society. It's location in the nose signifies "prana", the vital breath with which the husband was equated. When the husband dies, the wife removes the nose ring. This practice shows that the nose ring is only a symbolism and is not really the prana or the life of the husband. Similarly the large ears are symbolic of capability to listen and retain Vedic chants. It was favoured for a more realistic reason of helping to keep the brain alert (super brain yoga). That is why there was no gender difference in piercing the ears and stretching the ears thereafter, even though the men folk of today have abandoned this practice in the Hindu society. Today only those men engaged in Vedic learning continue to wear ear ornaments. The women population however continues this practice. Today it is not rare to see women folk in rural India having long ears stretched with ornaments. Take a look at these women from Tamilnadu.
(http://www.pbase.com/neuenhofer/image/139707191) (http://ta.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E0%AE%AA%E0%AE%BE%E0%AE%AE%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%AA%E0%AE%9F%E0%AE%AE%E0%AF%8D ) (http://veluvan.blogspot.in/2012_12_01_archive.html )
All these ornaments are of same type and are called by the name of "serpent" or Naga! In Tamil it is called as "Paambadam" (Paambu = serpent). This is how it looks. The design is actually that of a snake. This is not just a Tamil tradition. We can see this everywhere in India, but it has come into disuse in the past few decades. In other parts of India this ornaments is called Nagali or Nagulu or Nagavadura. This woman is wearing a nagali, a coiled serpent in her ear. The size of the hole will be increased by stretching the coil. A detailed article on this ornament and its variation in other parts of India can be read here. That article says that this practice (of wearing ornaments to stretch the ears) was found in certain communities and not among Brahmins. May be this is the case in recent times. In the past even Brahmins had worn heavy ornaments and had their ears stretched long. A prominent example is the image of Ramanujacharya, the founder of Vaishanva sect. There are 3 images of him in 3 temples of which 2 were made while he was alive. These images were made exactly like him. These images show him with stretched ears indicating that he had worn heavy ornaments. After taking to asceticism, he had discarded the use of ornaments. The following is his image at Melkote near Mysore. The next is his image at Sriperumbudur, near Chennai. The following is his image in Srirangam. This is said to be his embalmed image. The ears are long and stretched and bear proof of having worn heavy ornaments Pierced and stretched ear is not a feature to be found only in Tamil society or South India. The North Indian sculpture images of yore show this feature. As most of the North Indian temples of antiquity have been demolished by invading Muslims, we do not have adequate proof in North India. However looking at Buddha images of olden times found in North India, it can be established that this practice was there in North India among the elites and kings. The following is the 2nd century CE image of Buddha of Gandhara region. The ear is pierced and stretched. (courtesy:- http://www.flickr.com/photos/mukulb/8326804019/in/photostream/lightbox/ ) It is not just the Buddha or the Buddhists, even Jain sages had pierced the ears and stretched them. The following is the statue of Bahubali at Shravanabelaola made 1000 years ago. It features pierced and stretched ear. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gomateshvara_Statue_Img456.jpg ) This shows that Buddhists and Jains did follow the Vedic samskaras. We must remember that this practice is not found in Europe from where the Aryans were supposed to have come to India according the AIT believers. This feature is a strong proof for non invasion of the Aryans and non Vedic connection with Europeans. Even Darius the Great who claimed himself as the Aryan (550 to 486 BCE) did not have his ears pierced. (http://iranpoliticsclub.net/history/darius-inscription/ )
But centuries before him Ashurnasirpal II of Assyria (883 to 859 BCE) had worn ear ornaments but did not have stretched ears. See the image below. Every entity of his time, including the Dvarapalaka type gate keeping Lamassu (winged lions) is seen with ear ornaments. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Gate_of_Nimrud_%28Metropolitan_Museum%29.jpg) This shows the extent of Vedic culture at that time. Much before that, say 5000 years ago, this culture had existed in Indus regions. Following is the image of the figurine excavated in Harappa. It has huge, dangling ear ornaments having stretched -effect on the ears. (Source http://eternalaryavarta.blogspot.in/ ) Yet another one, showing signs of ear ornaments. Wherever the Vedic culture had spread there we find this feature established. Take a look at the Buddhist statue found at Java. (http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/11/15/javanese-antiquities-paris.html )
The following is the image of Vedic sage Agasthya found at Yogyakarta in Java. Look at the long ears. Following is the image of Vedic God Harihara found in Krung Thep, Bangkok. Look at the ears. Another image of Harihara found on Northern Thailand. The ears are stretched. This shows that long ears are an integral identity of deities, semi deities, sages and common people of the Vedic society wherever such images may have been established. Let us take a look at the image of a couple found at Haryana belonging to the Sunga dynasty, 2nd century BCE. ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/mukulb/8328085802/in/photostream/lightbox/ ) Look at the stretched ears of both the male and the female. The huge ornament is filling the ear hole of the female. This statue is found in Haryana in north India. This shows the spread of this practice throughout India across the communities. Now let me get back to the design of the ear ornament, the Paambadam or Nagali in serpent design. Does this convey any meaning? Now let me get back to the design of the ear ornament, the Paambadam or Nagali in serpent design. Does this convey any meaning? Yes it does. The naga or serpent design is associated with none other than Lord Shiva. The rules of iconography as given in "Mayamatham" written by Maya, make a specific mention of the design of the ear ornament only for Shiva. This is not the case with other deities or semi-deities. For other deities, it is simply said that some decorative ornaments must be worn on the ears. For "Ardhanaressvara" form of Shiva, specific ear ornaments are mentioned. This form shows Shiva and his consort Uma as two halves of the same body. The image of Shiva is depicted on the right half and that of Uma on the left half of the body. Mayan makes specific mention of the kind of ornaments to be sculpted for the Shiva-half and for Uma- half so that the separate identities of these two deities can be recognised. http://www.flickr.com/photos/kapaliadiyar/6621587577/
After describing
the hair arrangement and marks on the forehead, Mayan says that the right ear
corresponding to Shiva must be shown as wearing a pendant in the form of
"Vasuki" the serpent that was used to churn the Meru in the mythical story of
Churning of the ocean. In the left ear corresponding to Uma, a "tAlika" pendant
or a "pAlika" pendant must be shown. (Mayamatham , chapter 36, verses 82 and 83)
In the above image of Ardhanareesvara found in Gangai Konda Cholapuram, in
Tamilnadu, most features mentioned in Mayamatham are seen. The left ear had
pAlika pendant while the right ear has naga pendant From this it is deduced that
Shiva was identified with wearing serpent like ear ornament. The Pambadam (in
Tamil) or nagali as it is known in other parts of India, must have been popular
among Shiva worshippers. Others had used tAlika or pAlika or some design. I
don't think Ramanujacharya would have used a Pambadam. The female side can have
any of the two designs according to Mayamatham. The "tAlika" corresponds to
"Olai" in Tamil which is a sheath of long leaf that was rolled and inserted in
the hole of the ear to make it big. The botanical name is "Curculigo orchioides"
and commonly known as eye grass. The leaf was rolled and used as an ear
ornament. Another meaning of TAlika is palm of the hand. Long palm like leaves
were worn by women in olden days. The Tamil term "Olai" actually refers to the
sheath of the palm leaf that was rolled and worn in the ear. The other ornament
PAlika means pot. Pot like ornaments called as "Kunadala" that resemble a pot or
a ring or a coil are often seen in the female images in temples. The pillar
carving of Shiva- Parthy marriage found in Meenakshi temple at Madurai shows
Shiva with Naga and pAlika in his ears though he it was not his Ardhanareesvara
form. Take a look at the picture below.
To our right is Shiva who is seen with different ornaments in his ears. Though this is not the Ardhanareesvara image, the ear ornaments are shown as in Ardha nareesvara. The left ear corresponding to Uma had pAlika pendant whereas the right ear corresponding to Shiva has Naga pendant. We can see that no such differences are there in the ear ornaments worn by Parvathy (middle) or Vishnu (to our left). The naga ornament is so unique to Lord Shiva that the sculptors had depicted it on the right ear.Generally serpent shaped ornaments are seen worn by Shiva related deities. For example the Dvarapala (door keeper) at the Halebid temple in Karnataka of the Hoysala period sports naga ear ornament. (http://www.asianart.com/articles/ganguly/14.html ) The Halebid temple was not finished but the presence of Nandi bull as the Guard in that temple shows that the main deity was in the nature of Shiva symbolism. The Naga pendant of the Dvarapala goes well with Shiva worship. Checking these two features – ear piercing with long ears and naga pendants as ear ornaments – in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean communities, there is plenty of evidence of long ear culture in these regions. The Easter Island statues were said to have been made in the 13th century CE or after. However similar looking stone statues with long ears were established at Tula (Mexico) around 500 CE. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nahua_peoples Look at the long ears. The interesting information is that these statues were built by Nahua people – Nahua sounding like Naga! In fact the Easter Island statues are also tall statues like this with their bodies buried underground. (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2149846/Hidden-treat-The-Easter-Island-heads-BODIES.html ) The same belief system must have been behind the statues at Easter Island and Mesoamerican Tula region.
The Toltec culture of the Tula region (800 to 1000 CE) also followed ear piercing practice.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toltec
The above image is that of a clay vessel featuring a face that has ear ornaments of the "pAlika" kind. The previous Moche culture ( 100 to 750 CE) that was present in the same region and around features similar practice. The Moche figurines are shown below.
http://mochecivilization.weebly.com/moche-art.html
In addition to the ear piercing, notice the squatting posture. It is also typical of the Vedic society. The priests doing the yajnas will be seated in this posture. This is the common sitting posture for anyone in the Vedic culture – even today. Inti, the Incan sun God wears "pAlika" type heavy ornaments in the ears. PAlika or pot type is the most common type of ear ornaments among men and women in the Vedic society. The Tlatilco culture (1200 BCE to 200 BCE) also shows the ear piercing practice and even Kali / Durga worship. See the images below. Pierced ear is seen in these figurines. Stretched ears made so by ear ornaments are seen in this image. The dress is similar Indian salwar. Tlatilco Kali. The Sican culture in Peru features not only the ear ornaments that stretch the ears but also nose rings!! The period of this culture is from 750 to 1375 CE. The nose ring seen in the above picture is common in India. Take a look at this Reddy woman from Andhra Pradesh, India. She is wearing a Naga ear ornament and a nose ring - same as the one seen in Sican mask above. How could these similarities have gone into people of two different places separated by vast distances? The mystery is solved in the image of the Mesoamerican Nahua deity called Quetzalcoatl. Scholars have so far concentrated on the coiled stick of this image. But look at the ear ornament. It is the typical ear ornament of the Vedic society that makes the ear look large. The design of the ear ornament is the same as found in Hindu temple figures. The coiled stick is similar to the danda or stick that Vedic sages used to carry and use as hand-rest. The Jewish Ashera is seen with a similar stick with a coiled body. It is the same kind of stick that sages used during meditation. This kind of mediation of yogic penance is associated with Shiva and his devotees. Even Lord Shiva is shown to be in yogic meditation with his hand resting on the stick. The stick is designed as a coil to resemble a serpent. The symbolism is that the Life force of Kundalini is like a serpent coiled and situated in Muladhara and is awakened by meditation (read here). The Nahua deity showing the similar looking stick shows from where the symbolism of that image was taken. The spiral or coil of the stick similar to a coil of the serpent identifies the Nahua people as Nagas and Shiva worshipers. Earlier I quoted from Mayamatham that the serpent ornament of Shiva's right ear was Vasuki. Vasuki symbolises the churning of the ocean. Due to the constant spin of the earth, the mantle oceans and the mantle get churned resulting in occasional upheaval of lava or the mantle elements. The result is the formation of caves once after the lava had created many passages. Such formations are common in Ninety degree range in the Indian Ocean and in Polynesian islands of which Easter Island is one. The Ninety degree range at the end of which Nagaland is situated in India is shown in the picture below. The dwellers in the caves are called as Nagas as they are like serpents that live in underground or hidden holes. Wherever serpents are present, there Shiva is present to take control of them. The dance of death experienced in the upheaval of the lava is symbolised by the dance of Shiva, the controller of death. That is why serpents, Shiva, caves and places that experienced unnatural deaths and upheavals come together. This is the idea of the Vedic society. Those who seek protection from snakes and unnatural deaths worship Shiva and wear serpent like ear ornaments. That is how the Paambadam or Nagalu ornaments had come into use. But behind that, prayer to Shiva had existed. The Shiva element may be gone in due course but the ear ornaments and Vedic practice of ear piercing had continued in Polynesia and Mesoamerica. There are many other imprints of the Vedic society in these two regions, one of which is the Narasimha like image found in Aztec society. This image has long ears with ear ornaments. The lion mask and seating posture with a being on the lap resembles death of Hiranyakashipu in the lap of Lord Narasimha. This one found in Aztec culture is one of the many features of proof of Vedic Puranic stories in Mesoamerica. How they have gone there is a major issue that would unravel the presence of Vedic features in pre-Columbian Americas. I will take it up one by one in my future articles. I would like to show one more puranic feature from Olmec culture. The Olmec culture existed in the same regions of Mexico where we see the cultures that are described above. But Olmec seems to be the oldest and the mother of them all. Even the name Olmec was taken from Nahua language. The interesting part of it is that the signs of Olmec culture started around 1500 BC – the same time when the Tamil culture in the Indian Ocean habitat was completely wiped off resulting in a complete shatter of the survivors in all directions – with the Tamil king Pandyan moving over to South India Proper and starting a new life with his capital in Madurai. The following image from the Olmec shows a child sitting on the lap of a king- like figure and another child crying and its mother trying to pacify it. This is a typical Dhruva story found in Vishnu Purana and Bhagavatha Purana.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Altar_5_from_La_Venta,_left_side_%28Ruben_Charles%29.jpg
Dhruva's step mother and step brother were much favoured by his father Uttanapada. Once when Dhruva was seated on his father's lap, he was dragged out by his step mother and scolded by her, while his step brother climbed on the lap of his father. The above scene looks similar to this. There is more to the Olmec connection to this Puranic story. In the story of Dhruva, his father was killed by a Yaksha. As the eldest son, Dhruva ascended the throne and waged a war on Yakshas. It was a terrible fight that resulted in heavy loss of life on both sides. Finally Dhruva was advised to buy peace with Yakshas (read here). The connection to Olmecs is that the Olmec Godly figures resemble Yakshas! These figures look short, stout and with drooping mouths. The Olmec Were - Jaguar figures match with Yaksha description. Take a look at a Olmec wear-jaguar super natural being.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jaguarbaby.jpg
Another one.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Seated_Olmec_Jaguar_from_San_Lorenzo,_Veracruz.jpg
Compare the above figures with the Yaksha figure found at Chandraketugarh at West Bengal and dated at 1st century BCE of the Sunga period.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yaksha_%28Chandraketugarh%29.jpg
Look at the ear ornaments – both leaf type and pot type ornaments (TAlika and PAlika) are worn. The eyes look small and like slits. The mouth is drooping. The stature is short and stout. The colossal figures of Olmec are in line with colossal figures of Easter Island and at Tula of the later period. The Olmec colossal statue sports ear ornaments of the Vedic society and may even be aYaksha! Now looking at the images of Olmec people, they too are seen with ear holes. 1200 to 800 BCE
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Wrestler_%28Olmec%29_by_DeLange.jpg
The following is commonly found in Olmec culture. A man in squatting position seems like making a prayer for the well being of his child. The child looks sick. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Las_Limas_Monument_1_%28O_Cadena%29.jpg Another similar looking figurine.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Olmec_Figurine_holding_infant_%28Met%29.jpg
Look at the prominent ear holes. The bent knees are typical of prayer to God or an offering in Vedic society. Similar posture can be seen in a plate found in Susa in Iran (below). This kind of bent knee posture is a common feature in Vedic society in prayers and in offerings. The Olmec man holding a baby must not be construed as offering the baby as a sacrifice. The baby looks sick and the man is praying to God seeking benediction. The Olmec man seems to be making a prayer to God to save his child by offering the child to God. By this it does not mean that the child is killed as a sacrifice. Instead some commitment is made as an offering. It is a common practice in Tamil society to offer to name the child as "Picchai" – meaning 'alms'. It was also a practice to offer the child to serve God in temples. The following image of the Olmec man is typical of the temple images in India. The child may have been a still-born or fallen sick of untreatable nature. In such circumstances, people take the child to the temple and make prayers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:La_Venta_Altar_5_%28Ruben_Charles%29.jpg
The presence of votive figure like baby figurines found in Olmec culture is testimony to the practice that is still followed in Hindu society. When a baby is sick the votive offering of the figurine of a baby is done. For sickness in any part of the body, the figurine of that part alone is offered as votive offering. The famous temple of Lord Venkateswara in Andhra Pradesh, India accepts thousands of votive offerings everyday. The Olmec culture also shows small figurines of head or torso or leg or arm and so on. This does not mean that the baby was cut and sacrificed. Even an animal would not kill its own baby. How can we say that for a man? Such kind of parts of the body embossed on metals are offered to God in the Vedic society even today as a mark of fulfilment of a vow or a prayer when the corresponding body part was the location of a disease. The following is the figurine of a baby found in large numbers on Olmec culture. At the most they are 35 cm high. The features are not clearly made showing that they were not meant to be artefacts but were mass produced with least skill. The idea was to make it available to the needy who want to offer it as part of the prayer or fulfilment of the prayer. The absence of genitalia in these figurines shows that they could be used for any gender. Usually in votive offerings for babies, the definition is just baby, and not boy baby or girl baby. In elderly people, the gender difference comes when the whole body is affected and the prayer is for the overall well being of the body with a votive offering of male or female figurine as the case may be. The presence of so many baby figurines and Olmec men with baby in hand match with the presence of Yaksha looking Wear-jaguars. Yakshas are those which are never satiated and always hungry. (Vishnu Purana 1-5). They come early in the creation of beings and they were located in the Southern seas, according Vishnu Purana. The Sangam Tamil Hero, Skanda, the son of Meenaskhi and Sundaresa of the first Sangam Age had under his control the Yakshas. Mahabharata says that Yaksha Amogha, his attendants and Jambhaka Yakshas were in his army. (Mahabharata 3-230). The famous entity of the Vedic pantheon, Kubera was a Yaksha. His early abode was in Lanka which was later confiscated from him by his step brother Ravana. After that Kubera shifted to the Himalayan region. Skanda comes before that time, say 12,500 years bp. At that time yaksha beings were in the region of south Indian and South Pacific Ocean, according to Puranic sources. Skanda cult was known for shamanism and an account by Sage Markandeya who conquered death by prayers to Lord Shiva reveals Skanda's control over 18 types of spirits that affect foetus, childbirth and children. In Mahabharata 3-229, (read here) he further says that Yakshas are evil spirits that make the person it haunts to lose reasoning power and become a lunatic. There are astrological indications and remedies for the haunts by such spirits which are given in the book "Prasna Marga". Until recently this idea was in vogue in the Vedic society and people had resorted to propitiations to these spirits. The Wear – jaguars looking like yakshas and numerous baby votives and prayers of men with baby in hand show that Olmec society had propitiated Yaksha spirits whenever they children fell unconscious or suffered untreatable diseases. The idea of spirits troubling children and subsequent prayers are part of Skanda cult that had its origins in the Tamil Sangam society that began 10,000 years ago in the Indian Ocean habitat. Skanda had ventured into Lanka (Sura padma samhara), Sundaland (which was called as Hiranyapura in his times but later called as Swarana dweepa ), Australia (Maori ) and Kilimajaro (Krauncha mountain, Africa). The different types of people from Africa to India to Australia to Pacific habitats had been influenced by his cult figure. The Olmec culture starts at 1500 BC by which time the Indian Ocean habitat got dispersed. The Olmec people in all probability were an off shoot of the Tamil culture in submerged Indian Ocean. Or they were the people in one of the parts of the region that Skanda cult was prevalent (from Africa to eastwards). The new life started after the last submergence in the Indian Ocean at 1500 BC, found them setting up their settlements in Mexico with old habits (ear piercing) and worship of yaksha for relief from diseases or haunts for their kids. The ear ornament is an unmistakable proof of the early connection to Vedic habits.
The Tamil roots can be substantiated from the later Mesoamerican accounts on the origin of Olmecs at a place called Tamoanchan. This sounds like Tamizhan! (Tamilan) An old Nahul poem refers to a land called Tamoanchan and says,
"in a certain era which no one can reckon which no one can remember [where] there was a government for a long time". Any number of guesses can be made on where this Tamoanchan was. But the Vedic habits of ear piercing, stretching the ears, votive offerings to Yaksha spirit and naga-sounding Nahua point to the direction of Tamil settlements in Sangam age and its Vedic past. Mr Dale made an illustration of the extent of this common culture based on long ear tradition as follows: Let me add ancient Indian parts to this map – which is shown in black strokes. The Indian Ocean region was the location of Vedic culture for long with Varaha, Narasimha and Vamana avatars happening in Hiranyapura (Sundaland) which left a deep imprint in the entire habitat of the Indian and Pacific Ocean. The Vedic culture moved northward to India after the Ice age. The Parashurama, Rama, Balarama, Krishna and Buddha avatars took place in retrievable memory in the Indian sub continent. (Buddha was basically Vedic as was made out from the ear hole, but when his teachings were encapsulated as a cult, they deviated from Vedic roots.). Skanda cult was originally formed in the Tamil habitat in Indian Ocean and developed variously later. The common feature in all these regions is long ears!
http://frontiers-of-anthropology.blogspot.in/2013/11/longears-from-ceylon-to-easter-island.html
Longears from Ceylon to Easter Island The stone statues of the ancestors on Easter Island characteristically show a straight narrow nose and thin, sharply defined lips. They have pointed chins that protrude. Their hair is a specially selected red stone called "pucao". The statues depict "Long-ears" and Thor Heyerdahl established a connection between these Long-Ears of Easter Island and the corresponding aristocratic population of the Andes Mountain region in South America which also had elongated earlobes from heavy ear ornaments. "Long Ears" of Easter Island Almost all existing descriptions and sculptures of Aditya, Gandharva and Apsara gods and demigods and Daitya demons, and also Buddhist saints, depict them with long-ears, very often with large weighty earrings. Statues, bas-reliefs and pictures of "long-eared" beings are also often found in India, Indochina, China, Polynesia and Melanesia. The custom of artificially extending the ears has for a long time been practiced by many tribes of South-East Asia. It later became widespread among the inhabitants of Easter Island. Companion of Dutch Admiral Jacob Roggeveen, who discovered Easter Island in 1722, Sergeant Behrens wrote: "Some earlobes hung down to the shoulders, and some wore them as a special decoration with white disks." The same custom existed among the inhabitants of the Marquesas Islands and Melanesia, which lies a few thousand miles from Easter Island. Elongated earlobes were common among the ruling caste of the Incas, being caused by massive gold ornaments hanging off of them which caused a severe stretching the lobe, to which the Spaniards have given the nickname "orehones", meaning "long-eared".This indicates a kinship between the "long-eared" islands of Polynesia, Melanesia and South America and the fair-skinned Indian gods, demi-gods and demons (Adityas, Gandharvas, give, etc.) of India and Southeast Asia,
Jayasree has pointed out the significance of the tradition of wearing heavy weights in the ears and stretching the ear-lobes is a connection between the Cholas of Ceylon and the Egyptian dynasty that included Tutakhamen. There is thus a link that suggests the dynasty came into Egypt from Ceylon probably via Ethiopia and Somaliland (and mingling with the already-established Egyptian aristocracy, who had genetic ties to Western Europe by way of The Megalith builders.) Incidentally , James Churchward envisioned a settlement in Ethiopia coming from the Tamils of Ceylon. There is some genetic evidence that one of the Southern Asiatic lines Out Of Africa had reversed itself and then went back into Africa. This now gives some grounds to back up Churchward's statement.
So we have this trait of earlobe distension as marking connections to the royal family from Ceylon and Southern Asia extending into Egypt and Ethiopia on the one hand to as far away as Peru on the other. This may sound like too large of an area but a single Language family fills in the gap in between, the Malayo-Polynesian. And not only are there Malayo-Polynesian languages in Southern India, the furthest Eastward outpost of the Malayo-Polynesian peoples just happens to be Easter Island.
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