The True Originals

The Originals I'm referring to is a spinoff from the TV series, The Vampire Diaries. It's about three siblings - Elijah, Niklaus and Rebekah Mikaelson - who are supposed to be the original vampires i.e. the first vampires in existance. Although the series is interesting enough, their origin story is ridiculous (i.e. it sucks). They were the children of a wealthy landowner called Mikael, in an Eastern European village which had been devastated by the plague. The TV scene of that episode showed what looked like an Iron Age settlement caught in the grips of an ice age. When his first born child died, Mikael moved to the New World with his family and they settled next to a village of werewolves...Anyway, once his children reached adulthood; Mikael decided to make sure that his children never die. So he asked his wife, Esther, who was a witch, to cast a spell to turn them into immortals... using the essence of the white oak tree and energy from the sun... but the spell had its dark side so they turned into vampires instead... and the sun and the white oak became their nemesis... ahem well never mind.

The Originals official poster...

What I really don't like are their names... Elijah, Rebekah, Niklaus Mikaelson are not names one would expect from Iron Age Eastern Europeans for one thing... Still the series plot lines, set in New Orleans, are interesting enough. However, Niklaus' (Joseph Morgan) spoilt brat character and his tendency to dagger his siblings is infuriating; even more irritating is his constant tirade about being abandoned and betrayed... what can you expect when you're a paranoid serial killer? Rebekah's (Claire Holt) tendency to give in to her former boyfriend Marcel (Charles Michael Davis) is also annoying; she is after all an Original and should be able to stand up to him. If it wasn't for the cool and unruffled Elijah (Daniel Gillies), I don't think I would watch this series. Sophie Deveraux (Daniella Pineda) the witch is quite likeable although the producers seem to prefer Davina (Danielle Campbell). Davina is a bit of a brat too but not quite on the scale of Niklaus...

In this series, the witches and the werewolves are at the mercy of the vampires, particularly Niklaus, who is half werewolf himself. Apparently, Mikael was not his real father (Klaus was fathered by a werewolf) and he was tortured by Mikael. This may have made him slightly unhinged and created a deep resentment against his other siblings, who failed to protect him. His mother, Esther the witch, placed the Hybrid Curse on Niklaus to prevent him from actually turning into a werewolf... although I wouldn't call it a curse, more of a binding spell. This is a good thing, because vampire-werewolf Niklaus could annihilate all the vampires plus werewolves, not to mention humans, in New Orleans.

However, if one considers the fact that a spell by a witch created the Originals, shouldn't the witches be able to control them and even unmake the spell? Why are the witches (with the exception of Davina) so weak and unable to stand up to the vampires? OK so there was a totally whacky plot line where 12 young witches had to be sacrificed and then brought back to life to restore balance but Davina panicked, escaped and went into hiding so the other witches could not be brought back to life and restore order... in fact Davina took all their power. The idea is of course nonsense and it seems the writers conveniently overlooked 11 young women who are in limbo...

When it comes to character names, True Blood does a much better job. Sookie Stackhouse is annoyingly quirky but at least, Eric Northman had a plausible Viking name and his maker, Godric, had an ancient Anglo-Saxon name...

What does Mythology say about the origin of the vampire?

I believe that the origin of the vampire can be traced to the story of Raktabija (Rakta = blood, bija = seed). According to Hindu myths, in the beginning of the world, there was a great battle between the Devas and the Asuras for supremacy. One particular Asura called Raktabija was impossible to destroy because he could regenerate himself (in modern terms, clone himself), whenever his blood spilled on the earth - a single drop of  his blood coming in touch with the ground was enough to regenerate Raktabija. In fury, Durga (one of the Devas) created Kali or Chamunda (the Black One) to help her destroy Raktabija. Kali was born as a skeletal being, probably a child of literally skin and bones. Whenever Durga struck Raktabija, Kali would lick all the spilled blood to prevent them from coming into contact with the earth.  Raktabija was finally vanquished by Durga and Kali,  one supposes when he was drained of every drop of blood. After this battle, Kali emerged as a full-grown woman, an unstoppable and bloodthirsty goddess in her own right. Did Raktabija's blood create a Vampire Queen in the form of Kali?

Who were the first vampires in recorded history?

Raja Bersiong/The Fanged King

One of the ancient chandis unearthed in the Bujang Valley

As far as I know, the oldest story of a vampire ever recorded is from Malaysia. More precisely, the story originates from the state of Kedah. The Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa (Chronicles of Merong Mahawangsa) records the story of a king called Raja Ong Maha Perita Deria, known in Malay folklore as Raja Bersiong or the Fanged King. He is supposed to be the fifth or seventh king in the Kedah Dynasty (which is said to be founded in the 5th Century AD). Raja Perita Deria would have lived between somewhere between 700-900 AD. He is also mentioned in Thai/Siam records as Phra Ong Maha Yatidahara and is/was undoubtedly a real person. He probably lived in the Bujang Valley, now a sprawling historical complex covering 224 sq km near the town of Merbok, Kedah. About 50 ancient temples or candi/chandi , showing Hindu/Buddhists influence have been unearthed at the site dating back to the 5th - 13th Century AD. This timeline coincides with that of Langkasuka, one of the earliest Malay kingdoms to evolve in the region. The timeline also overlaps with Sri Vijaya Empire, a thallosocracy which ruled over the entire Southest Asian archipelago from the 8th Century to the 13th Century AD.



Steps leading up a chandi in the Bujang Valley

What legend says about Raja Ong Maha Perita Deria is as follows: One day Raja Perita Deria returned to his palace from an exhausting hunt and demanded that his cook prepare his favourite dish immediately: gulai bayam (bayam is a vegetable related to spinach and often made into a gulai - spicy broth with coconut milk). Apparently, the cook accidently cut his/her hand in the kitchen and spilled his/her own blood into the gulai bayam. As there was no time to prepare another dish, he/she was forced to serve the tainted dish to the king. However, the king loved the gulai bayam and realised that it was different from the dishes he had been served before. On pain of death, he forced the cook to tell him what was the additional ingredient in the gulai bayam. The cook confessed that he had tainted the food with his own blood. Instead of being outraged, Raja Perita Deria instructed him to add human blood to his food everyday! From then onwards, helpless prisoners were bled so that the king could enjoy his gulai bayam. Eventually, Raja Perita Deria even grew a pair of fangs and came to be known among his people as Raja Bersiong (Raja - king/prince, siong - fang).

Raja Bersiong - a play staged by the Petronas Philharmonic Theatre

The story of Raja Bersiong leads me to speculate that the Fanged King was perhaps suffering from porphyria? Porphyria is a rare genetic disorder of the blood where heme, an important component of hemoglobin is not synthesized properly. Porphyria can take various forms, and produce different symptoms, the most common being extreme light sensitivity - people with porphyria try to avoid sunlight. They also experience severe pain, muscle cramps, seizures, mental disturbances (psychosis) and personality changes. In some cases, porphyrine is deposited in the teeth, which stains the teeth of sufferers red-brown and even makes it glow!

Is it possible that in the case of Raja Bersiong, the blood contaminated food served to him on that fateful day averted an acute attack brought about by the long exposure to sunlight during the hunt?

From the point of view of folklore, the story of Raja Bersiong is surprising mainly because of the fact that he is a man. In Malay folklore, the different forms of vampires such as the pontianak or the langsuir are almost invariably female. Clearly, Raja Bersiong is neither pontianak nor langsuir; in fact he fits the Western profile of the vampire perfectly and yet his story is written in an ancient text before any form of Western influence reached the archipelago. As the Bujang Valley had strong Hindu influence, perhaps he was a vetala - a vampire from Hindu folklore.

But who or what are the vetala/vetal/betal? According to Hindu folklore, a person who dies and is not cremated/buried with the necessary rites will turn into a vetal. A demon/spirit will take possession of the body and re-animate or ressurect it. The vetala however are not mindless zombies; they posses wit, intelligence and acute insight into human nature. Vetalas are also not bound by the laws of nature, which makes them very powerful. In Hindu folklore, the vetala are the rulers of the demon world i.e. all other demons, including the pisacha are subservient to them. In Joss Whedon's TV series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a somewhat similar explanation was given for vampires - a body taken possesion by a demon; except that it also required blood from another vampire to turn a dying person into a vampire.

 The Vampire of Alnwick Castle



Alnwick Castle is featured in the Harry Potter films as the Hogwarts School of Magic. 

The foreboding Alnwick Castle is supposed to be haunted by a vampire. The earliest parts of the castle were built by Yves de Vescy, when he became Baron of Alnwick in 1096. During this time, there were tales of a former lord of the estate, who is said to live in the passages underneath the castle and who preyed on people at night.

A vampire resurfaces in Alnwick a hundred years later. The 12th Century chronicler, William of Newburgh, collected a number of supernatural accounts in his book, The History of English Affairs. Among them was the story of a man who came to be known as the Alnwick Castle Vampire.  As the word vampire only entered the English language in the 18th Century, the term revenant was used then.  Revenants refered to souls who return from the dead, either as visible ghosts or as reanimated corpses.

The incident concerned a man, originally from York, who served the lord of Alnwick Castle. This man, who was described as sinful and wicked, married a young woman from the village of Alnwick. The man from York, who was himself a philanderer, suspected that his wife was unfaithful to him. So one day, he hid among the rafters in the roof above her bed to spy on her. When a young man from the village came to visit his wife, the man lost his balance and fell to the floor. As his injuries were fatal, a priest was summoned. But the man refused to repent for his sins and cursed his wife and the village before he died the next day. He was nevertheless given a proper burial in the local church cemetary.

After the burial, a strange man was seen wandering around the village at night, followed by howling dogs. At the same time, an unnamed disease broke out in the village and people started dying, one after the other. The plague was blamed on the man from York, who had returned as a revenant. Led by the priest, a number of young men from the village dug up the body and were shocked to see that it was engorged with blood. When struck with a spade, a stream of blood gushed out of the body. The body was dragged out of the village and burnt in a bonfire. The plague which afflicted Alnwick village ended soon after.

Bujang Valley - 1,200 year old archaeological site being demolished to make way for housing estate...

If you had an 1,200 year old archaeological site in your country, would you not do everything to protect it? Apparently not in the case of Bujang Valley (Lembah Bujang) in Malaysia. I was shocked to find out that it was not even gazetted as a historical monument. And recently it seemed, a developer was allowed to demolish some of the chandi/temples to make way for a housing estate... the infamy of it is unbelievable.

In the last few days, researchers from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) have announced that bricks from a newly excavated jetty complex, uncovered at the Bujang Valley have been dated to the 5th Century BCE. A report from the Korea Basic Science Institute in South Korea, which tested samples from four sections of the jetty using OSL dating technique, has dated them to 487 BC. OSL or Optically Stimulated Luminiscence dating technique is used to date items which are inorganic e.g. bricks, ceramics, glass, sediments etc as opposed to radiocarbon dating which is used to date organic remains such as wood, seeds, bones etc

This discovery makes the neglect and destruction of the candis at Bujang Valley even more appalling - this archaeological site may be the oldest settlement in Southeast Asia. The kingdom, which was based on Bujang Valley, could predate Champa (200 - 1500 AD), Sri Vijaya (800 - 1300 AD) and the Khmer Empire (800 - 1400 AD). However, there has been too much talk of the Cholas - the first influence was definitely the Gupta Dynasty (200 - 500 CE). Gupta brilliance made Southeast Asia fall in love with Hinduism. Later the Pala Dynasty (700 - 1200 CE) converted many to Buddhism. The Chola Dynasty (800 - 1300 CE) came much later and they were perhaps more interested in conquest and gold than trade and culture. They attacked Sri Vijaya at least twice in the 11th Century.

http://www.amazon.com/Timeless-Tales-Malaysia-Tutu-Dutta/dp/967303513X

I've blogged about the Bujang Valley before in a post The League of Vampires on 10/8/2012. The oldest story of a vampire ever recorded, that of Raja Bersiong or the Fanged King, came from Malaysia as mentioned in the Chronicles of Merong Mahawangsa. Raja Ong Maha Perita Deria is also mentioned in the Genealogy of the Kedah Sultanate. I speculated that he probably lived in the Bujang Valley, as the concentration on candis here indicate that it must have been a cultural and political centre in the past. 

I first researched the Kedah Genealogy for a folktale entitled Princess Hidden Moon or Puteri Lindungan Bulan for my first book Timeless Tales of Malaysia. According to legend, the princess had white blood (!) a sign of faerie lineage. Apparently two characters from folklore - Raja Bersiong and Puteri Lindungan Bulan were ancient Kedah royalty.

I'm writing a new book based on Raja Bersiong as well. No worries, it's not going to be anything like the old P Ramlee film, Raja Bersiong, or the dance drama staged by the Petronas Performing Arts Group; although the notorious blood-tainted gulai bayam (spinach broth) does make an appearance. My forthcoming book will have an actual plot, in the lines of Twilight meets The Queen of the Damned!

Ornate entrance to a splendid Baba-Nyonya  House in Malacca

As for the Bujang Valley, one can only hope that the authorities finally recognise it for what it is: Malaysia's most ancient cultural heritage. Apparently, documentation have been completed to obtain  recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Both Malacca and Georgetown, Penang were listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 7 July 2008. They are the 'most complete surviving historic city centres on the Straits of Malacca...' Georgetown in particular has been described as 'a unique architectural and cultural townscape without parallel anywhere in East and Southeast Asia.'

Beautifully restored house (now serving as a guesthouse) in Georgetown, Penang

Surely the Bujang Valley deserves to be recognised as a unique UNESCO World Heritage Site as well? In fact, it should have been the first to obtain recognition. I hope this step is not a case of 'too little, too late' and that the largest chandis which were demolished by bulldozers will be restored and the entire site protected.

   

The more factual article below came from https://www.facebook.com/savebujangvalley

The Bujang Valley or Lembah Bujang is a sprawling historical complex and has an area of approximately 224 square km. Situated near Merbok, Kedah, between Gunung Jerai in the north and Muda River in the south, it is the richest archaeological area in Malaysia.

These archaeological remains show that there was a 

Hindu-Buddhist polity here. The name itself is roughly translated into "Dragon Valley". The area consists of ruins that may date more than 2000 years old. More than fifty ancient tomb temples, called candi (pronounce "chandi"), have also been unearthed. The most impressive and well-preserved of these is located in Pengkalan Bujang, Merbok. The Bujang Valley Archaeological Museum is also located here. In the area of Bujang Valley known as Sungai Batu, excavation have revealed jetty remains, iron smelting sites, and a clay brick monument dating back to 110AD, making it the oldest man-made structure to be recorded in Southeast Asia.

Research also indicates that there was a Hindu-Buddhist kingdom here possibly as early as 110 CE.

The local rulers adopted Indian cultural and political models earlier than those of Kutai in eastern Borneo, in southern Celebes or Tarumanegara in western Java, where remains showing Indian influence have been found dating from the early 5th century. Relics found in the Bujang Valley are now on display at the archaeological museum. Items include inscribed stone caskets and tablets, metal tools and ornaments, ceramics, pottery, and Hindu icons.

For the past two decades, students from universities around Malaysia have been invited for research and have done their graduate works at the Valley. Much of the historical links is still vague considering not many of the scriptures and writings survive. Even the temples did not survive the onslaught of age because their wooden roofing has rotted and withered over the past 1200 years. The museum itself is inadequate and not organized, much of the findings are elsewhere scattered from Museum Negara to Singapore (which once formed a part of Malaysia. Folk stories and oral history also provide place for a magnificent kingdom of jewels and gold. Outside peninsular and insular Southeast Asia, there is oral history in India that suggests the presence of golden chariots and jewels in hidden caves at Bujang Valley and Mount Jerai. Some visitors to the antiquity department at Muzium Negara has eye witness recollection of magnificent objects such as a 10 feet tall Raja Bersiung Throne and various idols and items from the Valley.

On 1 December 2013, it was reported that, a 1,200 year old Hindu Temple at the site, identified as Candi No. 11, had been demolished by a land developer.[4]

In the face of public criticism, the Kedah State Government sought to deflect blame by claiming that it was powerless to do anything because the land was privately owned and further, that the site had not been gazetted as a historical site.[5]

The Deputy Chief Minister II of Penang (a neighbouring state of Kedah), Dr P. Ramasamy, who visited the demolished ruins, was said to have learnt that the Merbok Land Office of Kedah had authorised the developer to clear the land after finding that there were "no historical sites" at the location.

As at the time the Temple was reported demolished, the Federal Tourism and Culture Minister had failed or neglected to respond to the situation, despite the fact that Lembah Bujang is Malaysia's richest archaeological site and home to South East Asia's oldest recorded man-made structure.

LEMBAH BUJANG: This is history destroyed in front of our eyes. History destroyed forever, says an emotional Datuk V. Nadarajan, chairman of the Bujang Valley Study Circle non-governmental organisation.

"What they did to Candi 11 is akin to murder," he added, leaving no doubt as to his passion for this cause.

In August, an ancient Hindu temple or candi believed to be more than 1,000 years old, located in Sungai Batu Estate, Lembah Bujang, was demolished by housing developers who claimed not to have known the historical significance of the stone edifice.

"How could they not have known what it was? It was a huge structure, so big that it could not be relocated to the Bujang Valley Archaeology Museum grounds," explained Nadarajan.

Candi 11 was one of the most ancient of the old Kedah kingdom and was amongst 17 registered candi. Registration, however, did not stop it from being levelled.

Somehow, one of the oldest surviving structures in Malaysia, one of our most concrete links to a distant yet tangible past, is now gone.

The site where the candi stood is now empty land, bulldozers having razed every bit of stone from the area.

In the 1960s and 1970s, 10 candi were reconstructed and some relocated to the museum where they were preserved. Sadly, not all the structures were as well kept.

"Many are gone, thanks to developers," said Nadarajan.

Originally, studies in the 1970s and 1980s located more than 50 candi within 87 archeological sites, but the number is much fewer now and many are unaccounted for.

The way forward must surely be to cordon off the area and prevent further encroachment.

"All these sites must be gazetted by the National Heritage Department with the help of the Kedah state government," said Nadarayan, who urged for the area to be classified as Unesco heritage sites.

"We must also introduce an archaeological impact assessment (AIA) to protect places which are heritage-sensitive," he added.

Relics excavated from Lembah Bujang date back to the 1st century AD and ranged from objects made of gold, ceramics and statues carved from various stones and irons. All the findings are further proof of the valley being a vast archaeological treasure trove.

Since research is still being conducted, the size of the archeological complex is inconclusive.

General belief is that the compound ranges 200 sq km. Others argue that it spans 400 sq km but Nadarajan believes it to be much bigger.

"From USM's satellite photography, I suspect it may be as large as 1,000 sq km," he claimed.

Prof Mokhtar Saidin from the USM Centre for Global Archaeological Research also spoke out against the demolishment of the 32 x 68 foot (995.7 x 2067.6 cm) candi.

"Evidence and archaeological finds of the ninth century are scarce. The candi represent the heritage of ancient Malaya and serve as priceless archaeological structures. It is important that we preserve these vestiges of antiquity, as the candi are some of the few historical remnants that we have left," Prof Mokhtar said.

The Kingdom of Kadaram

Contrary to popular belief, Lembah Bujang was not a valley teeming with bachelors. Rather, the name derives from the Sanskrit "bujangam", meaning serpant or dragon as a nod to the nearby meandering river.

"The kingdom that flourished within the valley was known in its time as 'Kadaram', Sanskrit for iron," said Nadarayan. His statement is substantiated by a recent Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) finding in the area which unearthed ancient furnaces and evidence of iron smelting activities dating back to the fourth century BC.

Due to its strategic location between China and India, Lembah Bujang served merchants from both the east and west, and had an especially strong Indian connection because of its proximity to India.

At first, the population of the time were animistic but later adopted Hindu and Buddhist religions before the advent of Islam to the peninsular.

"In the first century, Indian traders arrived and introduced their culture, way of life and political systems to the native inhabitants of Malaya," said Nadarajan, who said that ancient Lembah Bujang resembled an Indian polity.

When Hinduism and Buddhism began to grow, monuments of various sizes called candi (named after Candika, a manifestation of the Hindu goddess Durga) were constructed and used for religious rites.

All that can be seen from the preserved candi now are its large stone bases. Unlike the candi in Angkor Wat and Borabodur which are mainly carved out of rock from nearby mountains, the candi in Lembah Bujang were constructed out of mixed material.

Because of a flatter terrain, the stone bases were hewn out of rock from nearby river beds. Wooden columns were then fastened and clay roofs were erected. As the body, columns and roof of the candi wore out in time, the stone bases still remain as they were a thousand years ago before becoming victims of development.

Now a lawyer, Nadarajan, 68, is still pursuing his life-long fascination of Lembah Bujang and is the author of a book on the valley.

He spent 10 years as a secondary school history teacher, and made it a point to educate his students on Lembah Bujang even though the topic was not included within the school syllabus.

When news came to him of the demolishment of Candi 11, Nadarajan reacted by informing authorities, making a police report and calling on the media to highlight the plight.

"Although I am sad that candi 11 is no more, there is a silver lining to be had. People are now aware about the importance of the area. In a way, the demolition of one candi brought about the preservation of all the other candi that are still standing."

The Star
http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2013/12/10/Candi-Lembah-Bujang-destroying-history.aspx

The link to V Nadarajan's book is: http://bujangvalleybook.wordpress.com/2012/12/08/bujang-valley-the-wonder-that-was-ancient-kedah-a-book-by-v-nadarajan/