The times., 1898-07-31
Ii Points TO a Close Relation Be-
tween Two Continents.
AN HI T0RIC STONE AMULET
Significance of Jnde AmuIets i'm Ref
erence to Ancient 2aces of Men-A
Polished by "a Prehistoric People.
SpecuIati0ns of nn aAschneoIogist.


Valley of the Nile or in the grayels of
California, in the drift deposits of Eng
land or In the laterite clay of India, these
rough stone tools and weapons are, gener-
ally speaking. of the same type. From
Canada 10 Patagonia we happen upon
these indisputable traces of palaeolithic
man, traces identical with those discover
ed in the Eastern Hemisphere. Brasseur
de Borbourg, Tyler and others have point
ed out analogies connecting the arts, the
ritual and the customs of the ancient
Incas and Aztecs (the two hourishing
races whom the Spaniards found domi-
nant on landing in America with those
of Egypt. the Canary Islands, Japan and
the Eastern Archipelago, some of which
are so remarkable that they cannot be
fortuitous. And among the various tribes
of North and South America are to be
found traditions legends, scraps of Scrip
ture, stray amulets. symbols, and sounds
OF speech furnishing faint traces of lost
languages, all pregnant with meaning for
the seeing eye, all eloquent OF origins on
other shores and, consequently. knship
with the common ancestors of the race.
One OF the latest. least known and most
interesting of such humble links in the
great chain of confirma tory evidence is
the muyrakytan or sacred green jade
stone of the Amazons. Among the nu-
merous legends piously preserved by the
various Indians of the Upper Amazon.
that Of the wonderful stone amulet, the
muyrakytan. almost invariably figures
in one form or another. and specimens OF
the regions hereabout. There is nothing
the stone are to be found in several or
perhaps. at first sight, particularly start
ling in the plain fact of a stone amulet
being worn and treasured by several In
dian tribes. But the interest attaching 10
this particular amulet Of green jade is
three-fold in significance First. there
is no deposit of jade In America, the only
known deposits being in Asia; second,
the American specimens are cut and fig
ured in precisely the same way as the
! specimens found in various parts OF Eu-
| rope and Asia, third, the American le-
I gendS about the origin and use of the
| amulet find almost exact couaterparts in
! Asiatic legends Inevitable conclusion:
| The Asiatic origin of the amulet. and.
! by consequence. the early connection of
| the American Indians with Asatics. if
| not the actual Asiatic origin of those In
| dams. Let us, therefore endeavor to
| elaborate these three points of interest,
| and in doing so give all credit that Is due
| to that enterprising Brazilian archaeo-
! logist, DR.. BarbOsa Rodrigues, who has
/ devoted so nuCl l!Ells anu energy ana
| learning to unraveling this engrossing
! mystery.
! DR. Rodriguez first discovered the ex-
| istence of these green jade amulets
| among the Tabor and Kunury Indians of
| the Upper Amazon and its tributaries, the
| Yamunda or Nhumunda, the Trombetas
| and the Yatapu. which incloSe the ro-
1 mantle region where Orellana located the
! famous tribe OF female warriors known
! ha Tbazp 81
suspended from the neck as sacred tai
| ismans, possessing the priceless virtue
| of keeping disease and misfortune at
distance and the old Tapuya squaw.
| on whose neck DR. Rodriguez found his
| first specimen. refused to part with her
| invaluable chattei for love or money
! They are also found in thej' 'Iukacauas,
| or burial cases. near the Lake Yacyua-
| rua, which was once important as the
annual rendezvous of the ancient Anna
| zons-of which more anon! And these
| relies. rich and rarer- of bygone civ
| ilization occur not only in, the Amazon
! Valley, but in many other parts of the
| New World. particularly ini Peru. where
| in all the legends of the Incas we find
| it connected with ''the Children of The
| Sun and the Serpent" and in Mexico
! among the Aztec ruins. and in various
parts of North America
In China, it is related in the story of the
| City of Khotan, taken from the Chinese
| annals. written during the dynasty of Thi-
| ang A. D. 632. that the jade is collected
| from the river at full moon. Twenty or
more soldiers. closely guarded by off,
| GERS. plunge into the river at a given sig
| nal, and the one who first finds a speci
| men of jade jumps out and has to make
red mark on a piece of paper. When the
! gathering, fishing" 1t Is called is
over. the pieces are collected separated
| I'D ~, pIA.
cort. The specimens rarely exceed forty
J centimeters in length. 1t is said that this
| same ceremony is still observed today.
| Now observe the similarity of these
| facts concerning the finding of jade in
| China and the Amazon legends concerning
the origin of the muyraktan. Among the
| Tape or Tabor Indians already referred
| to, there exists the legend that at certain
| seasons of the year the Amazons collect
| ed on the shores of the lake 'Yacyuarua"
| and, after days of penance, held a feast
| at full moon. When the feast was over
| and the moon was reflected in the clear
waters of the lake, they dived from the
! bottom and received from 'the mother of
| the muyrakytan'' the stones shaped as
| they desired and still soft, but hardening
| on contact with the outer air. (The
Mother of Muyrakytans'' is precisely the
| same the 'Yacumama" legend of the
| Peruvian Incas)
NON-dHu mere Is q critical pOlnt-th1S
| wonderful muyrakytan has been definite
| ly proved to be not the Amazonstein of
German writer's. It is indisputably gem
uine jade of the hardness and specific
| gravity of the variety found in Asia.
| Jade is an extremely hard, fine stone
| holding the sixth place among the miner
ais. To cut and polish it would be pos
sible only for a skilled lapidary. Yet
these muyrakytans. the heirlooms of the
| savage AmaZons, are not only beautifully
| polished. but are fashioned as cylindrical
disks with figures cut upon their surfaces
in the shape of little fishes, miniature
hatchets or horses heads. And these
shapes and figures are Identical with
| those of the jade amulets found in yari-
Gus parts of the old world. A stone of
this jade of considerable size, in the
shape of a horses head found in the
| vicinity of the Nhumunda River is now
| to be seen in the Museum of Boulogne.
the celebrated museum of Pope Benedict
| XIV. In the ruins of the Temple of
| Mercurius in France, which was de-
stroyed A D. isl by the Huns (whom
| archaeology It's aver to be the ancestors
of the Azte Isl Masselin tells us that he
| found the skeletons Of tall men, among
whose arms were found miniature hatch
| cts of green jade, similar in form. color,
and character to thoset found in many
| Indian remains in Canada. And a cele-
| brated French savanti has three such
| stones in his possession one found in
Mexico, one in Naples, and one in CAL
| cutta. Identical stones In the same
shapes are worn by the numerous pill
| grims who come annually from .Cabul and
/ PeShaWer (tha ancient home of the Hum