The Orient – so far, so near

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The Orient – so far, so near
Przemysław Piekarski
“Jews”
National Museum in Krakow (Muzeum Narodowe w Krakowie)
Gypsy wagon
District Museum in Tarnów (Muzeum Okręgowe w Tarnowie)
Kontusz sash
Lajkonik outfit
Historical Museum of the City of Krakow (Muzeum Historyczne Miasta Krakowa)
Diwrej dawid (the word of David)
Mithraic bas-relief
Archaeological Museum of Krakow (Muzeum Archeologiczne w Krakowie)
Device – coffee roaster
Aleksander Kłosiński Museum in Kęty (Muzeum im. Aleksandra Kłosińskiego w Kętach)
Ex oriente lux
The light (comes) from the East. The East is not only a geographical direction. It has been visiting
our daily lives for ages. Little is known about which elements of our culture and everyday life
come from the East. What is more, the very notion of the Orient does not correspond to compass
indications. Researchers specialising in the Orient study areas not only located to the east of our
country. The items in our collection come from Africa (south – Egypt, west – Morocco), or Asia
(east – Japan, Indonesia, Iran, Afghanistan; north – Siberia).
The names of these mysterious lands have also changed. We no longer speak of the Levant (from
Italian); now it is just the Near East, while tourists visiting Algeria do not know that it is a part
of Maghreb. Who knows that the legendary Golkonda is situated in the Indian state of Andhra
Pradesh?
Polish exiles are best remembered in the world in places where Poles have taken some action
(Benedykt Dybowski in Kamchatka, Bronisław Piłsudski among the Ainu, Roman Stopa among the
Hottentots). The path of the Anders’s Army brought many family souvenirs from the East to be
found in our homes, as well as several Orient researchers, e.g., Franciszek Machalski, Iranianist.
The Orient is also present among us as the Other (link – ”Jews”), Romani people (link – Gypsy
wagon), Armenians (link – Słuck sash), Tatars (link – Lajkonik outfit), and Our Own through the
common elements drawn from Judaism (Jewish holidays present in Christianity – Passover,
Whitsunday) (link - Diwrej Dawid) and transformed pagan elements (Christmas – Sol Invictus) (link
– Mithraic bas-relief).
www.muzea.malopolska.pl
While drinking coffee (link – Device – coffee roaster), or tea, and using spices, we have stopped
to discover America and forgotten that they came to us from the East. Only the elderly remember
the many colonial stores that once used to be in Krakow, like the Szarski family colonial store in
the Szara Townhouse at the corner of the Main Market Square and Sienna Street.
Krakow and Poland were known in the Orient before Poles were aware of the Orient thanks to the
accounts of Ibrahim ibn Yaqub, a Jewish traveller.
Few people know that Benedykt Polak, later the guardian of the Franciscan Monastery in Krakow,
reached China a few dozen years before Marco Polo.
Bibliography:
Szkice z dziejów polskiej orientalistyki, vol. 1, Warsaw 1957, J. Reychman (ed.); vol. 2, Warsaw 1966, S.
Strelcyn (ed.); vol. 3, Warsaw 1969, S. Strelcyn (ed.); vol. 4, Warsaw 2007, T. Majda (ed.).
Orientation
Turning towards the east, was and, in Judaism and Islam, still is practised literally. In parts of the
world located west of Jerusalem, the Jews pray facing east. This is the orientation of the Torah
chests in the synagogues, while the walls in other rooms are frequently ornamented with paper
cuts or images called mizrah (east). In mosques the main wall features mihrab, a niche pointing in
the direction of Mecca, and pious Muslims place their prayer mats in this direction.
Why do some churches situated within the boundaries of Krakow’s Planty Park break the neat
layout of perpendicular and parallel streets? St. Mary’s, Dominican and Franciscan Basilicas, and
St. John’s Church are oriented so that their presbyteries with tabernacle and altar would welcome
the rising sun.
In 1257 Krakow adopted the Magdeburg law, but the regulations concerning the city’s layout did
not apply to earlier sacral edifices. The new buildings were erected according to the network of
streets crossing at a straight angle, while the older buildings retained their original orientation.
Krakow’s Main Market Square with St. Mary’s Church
These regulations did not apply to the Kazimierz district which was covered by the Jewish
privilege. Here orientation refers not only to synagogues, but also to tombstones in cemeteries. Although this Krakow district is usually associated with Jews, the Christian part occupied a
much larger area (with a much smaller population). Some older churches (St. Catherine’s Church,
Corpus Christi Church) follow the orientation pattern, while others do not. The altar of the Church
at Skałka faces west.
The Remuh Synagogue and the adjacent old Jewish cemetery
Diwrej dawid (the word of David)
Time – calendar
Although we do not count the years according to the Jewish calendar (the year 2012 corresponds to the years 5772-5773 from the creation of the world, according to the Jewish calendar),
or honour the Shabbat, the seventh day of the week, the year divided into 12 months, and 7 days
in a week came to Christianity from Judaism.
The Jewish calendar is the result of calculations based on the movements of the Sun and the
Moon. Jewish months start with a new moon, and the beginning of every new month (Rosh
Chodesh) is marked with a special prayer and is announced in the synagogue with an accuracy
to the minute. In order to balance the counting of days in relation to the movement of the Sun,
every few years an additional, “empty” month of Adar is added. The situation is different in Islam,
which always follows the lunar calendar.
Several Christian holidays that have originated in the Jewish tradition are movable. The calculation of dates for Easter (Passover) and the following Whitsunday (Hebrew: Shavuot – “Weeks”
– 7x7 = 49 days after the Passover) is consistent with the traditional calculation in the (lunisolar)
Jewish calendar.
The note about the baptism of Mieszko I made on the card for calculating dates of movable
feasts from the year 966 marks the beginning of the history of Poland. The first document is the
board for calculating dates of movable feasts, and an unknown monk added a date of great
importance to our history.
One of the first books printed in Poland was Kalendarz krakowski na rok 1473 (Krakow Calendar
for the year 1473).
Mithraic bas-relief
The Christians start many important holidays on the eve, that is the evening preceding the
festival, in accordance with the Jewish concept of time („And there was evening and there was
morning, the first day,” Gen. 1:5).
Christmas has been celebrated on 25 December since the end of the 4th century, instead of the
Unconquered Sun (Sol Invictus) holiday of oriental origin (Mithraism).
Mithraism is an ancient religion stemming from Asia Minor that became popular in the Roman
Empire. Mithras was worshipped as the Sun, and Sunday was a day devoted to him. Fighting the
pagan cults, the church still drew upon some of their traditions.
Bibliography:
B. Baczko, H. Hinz, Kalendarz półstuletni, Warsaw 1975.
Ahasver
Careful perusal of the Bible might serve as a mine of knowledge about the Orient. In the Book of
Esther, we can read about King Ahasuerus (identified by Biblical scholars as Xerxes) who ruled
the land spanning from India (Hebrew: Hodu) to Abyssinia (Hebrew: Kush), which gave the name
Hindu Kush to the mountain range.
The self-portrait of Maurycy Gottlieb, disciple of Jan Matejko, is proof of emancipation of the
young Jewish painter. As an iconoclastic religion, Judaism prohibits the creation of images (Ex
20:4).
The title of the painting may be a reference to the legend of the Wandering Jew because he was
also known under this name.
Not only the artist’s life, but also his death was shrouded in the atmosphere of a scandal. Having
been twice disappointed in love, in 1879 the painter committed suicide (an act that is categorically condemned by the Jewish orthodoxy). His tombstone is one of a few tombstones from that
time that feature an inscription written entirely in Polish. The donators signed as “compatriots,”
and there was no reference to Judaism whatsoever. The so-called progressive Judaism, and later
the reformed Judaism, reached Krakow a dozen or so years earlier (with the progressive Tempel
Synagogue on Miodowa Street), but the gradual loosening of burial customs came much later.
Link:
Tombstone of Maurycy Gottlieb in the New Jewish cemetery in Miodowa Street in Krakow http://upload.
wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Maurycy_Gottlieb_gr%C3%B3b.JPG
Zither
Museum of the Biecz Land (Muzeum Ziemi Bieckiej)
“Praise Him with harp and lyre [...] Praise Him with resounding cymbals [...] (Ps 150: 3,5)
Many musical instruments are of oriental origin. Mentioned in the Bible, they came to Israel from
Babylon (through Ugaritic influence). Although Halakha, a collection of religious laws for Jews,
prohibits the use of instruments in the synagogue liturgy after the demolition of the temple in the
year 70, Christianity does not uphold this prohibition. Zither and dulcimer, definitely of Eastern
origin, were popular in Polish folk music, as well as Gypsy, Klezmer, Ukrainian, and Hungarian
music.
Bibliography:
J. Montagu, Instrumenty muzyczne w Biblii, Krakow 2006.
Jacket of fish skin
Ethnographic Museum in Krakow (Muzeum Etnograficzne w Krakowie)
Siberia is a part of our national mythology due to Tsarist exiles and Stalinist deportations; therefore, its geographical borders are greatly extended to the territories of the Russian Empire and
the former Soviet Union. The Poles deported during the Second World War to the Asian part of
this country consider themselves as exiles to Siberia, regardless of the place of exile.
Many Tsarist exiles were interested in the culture of nations in which they had to live. Their accounts and collections contributed to the development of scientific oriental studies, and the Orient entered Polish literature (Bronisław Piłsudski, Maurycy Beniowski and many others).
The Evenki are a small people (about 60,000) living on a vast territory of 2 million km2. They
belong to the Manchu-Tungusic language group. They did not adopt Islam and the Tatars called
them pigs (Turkish: tunguz meaning ”pig”), because they ate pork which is prohibited by the
Quran. They professed the shaman religion with elements of Buddhism, but now they (formally)
belong to the Orthodox Church.
Feliks jasieński’s bust
Hoshi kabuto helmet
Bright weather after the snow storm
Portrait of actor koraiya kinsho
Jasieński’s Collection
The basic collections of the Manggha Centre of Japanese Art and Technology set a new era for
the Orient’s presence in Poland. Well-exhibited and prepared by specialists, they offer great opportunities for researchers of the Japanese culture who specialise in militaries (link – hoshi kabuto
helmet), painting (link – Bright weather after the snow storm) and theatre (link – Portrait of Actor
Kōrai-ya Kinshō). Those who are willing to do so can learn the language; those less linguistically
gifted can learn the secrets of the tea ceremony, origami, and ikebana, the art of flower arrangement. The Catholic Church attempted a kind of inculturation of this last phenomenon. One of the
Benedictine monks is a Zen master in ikebana, and the deceased Father Bereza was the master of
Zen meditation.
Feliks Jasieński’s collection in Manggha exemplifies the Young Poland’s fascination with the
Orient.
Mace
Kontusz outfit
Kontusz sash
Sarmatism
This is one of the most potent Polish national myths, particularly endorsed by the nobility. For two
centuries, starting at the end of the 16th century, it shaped the national identity of the nobility.
Although the true Sarmatians were not a mythical people, it is hard to find any actual relations
with this Indo-Iranian tribe. They were related to other Iranian peoples of Saka, Scythians and
Mada. The Sarmatian outfits of the Polish nobility are examples of spontaneous imagination with
oriental elements, mostly of Turkish origin. Despite many attributes that actually come from the
East, kontusz outfits, sashes, sabres and shaved heads are the distinctive features of the fashion.
The Polish term buzdygan for a mace sounds like a foreign word that means “club” (Hungarian:
bozdogan) in Turkish. Apart from the actual military value, the item itself became a decorative
element for officers.
Kontusz sashes were often called “Słuck sashes” from the main manufacturing town of Słuck, but
they were actually borrowed from Persia and Turkey. What is interesting is that the manufacturing plants were called Persian plants, and the one in Słuck belonged to a polonised Armenian,
Owannes Madżarjanc, aka Jan Madżarski. This is another example of a connection between the
cultures. The sash colours corresponded to the circumstances in which they were worn: golden
at the time of peace and crimson at the time of war.
Green Tibet skirt
Or: black Tibet skirt
Tibet apron
Budrysówka scarf
Karwacjan and Gładysz Family Manors Museum in Gorlice (Muzeum Dwory Karwacjanów i
Gładyszów w Gorlicach)
Noble traditions were furtively watched and imitated by townspeople and peasants. Their outfits
also bore traces of oriental influence. The outfits of craftsmen from the Sharpshooters’ Brotherhood and the insignia of older guilds slightly reflect the Sarmatian orientalism. Sometimes they
go even further reaching as far as Tibet.
Due to the mass production in textile factories, the once noble Turkish patterns became a symbol
of rural commonness.
Bibliography:
J. Tazbir, Kultura szlachecka w Polsce, Warsaw 1978.
Tibetan medicine chest
Avicennae, liber canonis. De medicinis.
Museum of the Biecz Land (Muzeum Ziemi Bieckiej)
Medicine
One might think that alternative medicine that frequently stems from the East reached our country only in recent decades. But foundations of knowledge about human health also have oriental
roots.
Avicenna is the Latin version of the name of a Persian scholar, Ibn Sina (10th–11th century). The
Canon of Medicine and The Book of Healing are the most important works in his extensive
oeuvre. We are indebted to him for the usage of leeches in treatment (which is becoming fashionable again!). He used them not only as a medication for high blood pressure, but also as a
painkiller (for the gums). He was the first person to emphasise the necessity of brushing one’s
teeth thoroughly. He was also a philosopher and a geologist.
The world of Islam proved to be a valuable depositary of knowledge for many civilisations. The
Arabic language was used not only by Muslim scholars. Great Jewish philosophers (Maimonides,
Gabirol) wrote in Arabic, and Aristotle’s works have been preserved thanks to their translations
into Arabic. In fact, Arabic numerals originated in India, similarly to many mathematical concepts,
including zero. Algebra and chemistry are the most popular examples of Arabic words we use on
a day-to-day basis.
Here are the “Arabic” numerals in their original form:
To compare, here are the actual Arabic figures written, contrary to Arabic lettering, from left to right:
Tibetan medicine did not reach our country for a long time due to the linguistic and geographic
distance. Although closely interconnected, it is less popular than Chinese medicine. The medications may be expensive because their components come from Tibet, but they often bring results
where European medicine fails. One of the key postulates is the perception that man is connected to nature as a whole.
Bibliography:
A. Mikusińska, A. Rossa, A. Tarnowska, Wielkie biografie, 1: Przywódcy, reformatorzy, myśliciele,
Warsaw 2007.
C. Dolosa, Chiny, kuchnia. Tajemnice medycyny, Krakow 1990.
Chinese saddle from harbin
On a Chinese scale, Harbin (Charbin) is a less than middle-size city (with a population of approx.
3.5 million), so few people in Poland have actually heard of it. In Harbin, on the other hand, our
country is well-known because the city was founded in 1898 by our fellow countryman, Adam
Szydłowski, engineer and constructor of the Chinese Eastern Railway. Harbin was a strong Polish
centre until the end of the Second World War with such residents as Teodor Parnicki, Ferdynand
Ossendowski, Stanisław Kierbedź (the one after whom the Kierbedź Bridge was named), as well
as true experts on China like Kazimierz Grochowski, anthropologist; and Edward Kajdański, the
author of many books. The Polish cemetery in Harbin became a victim of the Cultural Revolution.
The saddle from Harbin is one of the most exotic specimens in our virtual collection.
Bibliography:
M. Cabanowski, Tajemnice Mandżurii. Polacy w Harbinie, Warsaw 1993.
Outfit of a sicilian princess
(The robe belonged to a woman that was around 145 cm tall)
Polish national mythology is rather unfamiliar with the Scythians, although their governing laws
indicate that they are our relatives. These ancient Iranian people reached the Black Sea in the
7th century BC, and their affinity with the Saka and the Sarmatians makes them our relatives, not
only in mythology. Polish is one of the Balto-Slavic languages which is, in turn, close to the IndoIranian group.
Link:
http://srhabay.wikispaces.com/19+INDO-EUROPEAN+LANGUAGE+FAMILY
Arjuna – doll puppet of the wayang golek theatre
The doll puppet theatre is usually visited by children who are unaware of its oriental connotations. The Dictionary of the Polish Language makes no reference to them because it treats a puppet (Polish: kukiełka) and its oriental Javanese relative as synonyms. The rarely displayed extensive collections of the Ethnographic Museum in Krakow help us to present Indonesia, the most
populated Muslim country in the world that is connected to India not only by name. For Indians,
this country is the Orient within the Orient, a part of Great India, with art shining from the great
epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata.
Lajkonik outfit
Lajkonik
This Lajkonik, our Lajkonik
Through Krakow always hurries
Go Lajkonik, go, go
Through the country go
Has Lajkonik always hurried through Krakow? His present outfit has been designed by Stanisław
Wyspiański to embody the Young Poland’s dream of the Orient. Although every child, not only in
Krakow, knows the legend of brave włóczkowie (raftsmen; literally: wood draggers) and the interrupted bugle call from the tower of St. Mary’s Church, there is no historical connection between
the 13th century Tatar raid and Lajkonik’s frolics during the Corpus Christi octave. Scholars point
to a very different genesis involving the historical defence of Olomouc (sic!), medieval mysteries,
and even pagan traditions.
In his design, Wyspiański included realistic and fantastic elements, such as yatagan, a short sabre,
baton and Turkish caftan, but he did not preserve the historical character. Yatagan could not have
served as a Tatar weapon from the 13th century because evidence shows that it started to be used
three centuries later.
The figure of a man pretending to be a horse rider can be found in other places in the world,
e.g., the Indian Rajasthan.
Link:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2044/2307134679_68e3916d1d.jpg
Bibliography:
Ł. Olszewski, Lajkonik. Legenda i tradycja, Krakow 2009.
Przemysław Piekarski, PhD – orientalist, Indian scholar, linguist, cultural anthropologist and
translator (Hindi, Yiddish, English, French); he is a lecturer at the Institute of Middle and Far East
Studies and the Department of Comparative Studies in Civilisations at the Jagiellonian University,
and the Faculty of Humanities at the AGH University of Science and Technology.

The Orient – so far, so near

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