Tyler interview

published July 31, 2012 in the UB Post

Tyler Davis-Mayo, a Sarah Lawrence College graduate, originally came to Mongolia to continue his study of Shamanism, a path which started in Nepal. The UB Post sat down with Mayo recently to discuss his path to Shamanism and any Shamanic activities he has participated in since arriving in Ulaanbaatar.

When did your path to Shamanism begin?

It’s hard to say exactly when it began, but there are a few turning points that stand out, the most notable of which was a long psychological illness. Many Shamans are called through an illness, either physical or psychological or both, and this is sometimes identified by another shaman as a calling. As shamanism in the Western World has been pushed underground and become less prominent, the calling is rarely identified as such. I was guided by the spirits through a kind of intuitive call and response to where I am now.

What do you mean by intuitive call and response?

The spirit world, or most worlds that are not physical, do not have as strong of a duality as the physical world does. In the physical world, we can kind of map cause and effect to a certain degree. In the realms of spirit, it doesn’t quite work the same way. In fact, being unsure, not knowing, doubting, in some way is the access to these realms. You’re never “sure” in the way that you’re sure that if you have a fire in front of you you’ll be hot; you can’t be certain  in the same way that a spirit or a deity is communicating with you because it’s exactly in this space of unknowing that these sort of entities live.  It takes a lot of intuition and trust as well as trial and error to understand this space.

Tell us about what happened to you in Nepal.

I was never sure why I was so drawn to Nepal. As I was living there, it became clear that the Goddess Kali had called me there and brought me there. Through listening to her, in this kind of intuitive way, I was led to meet a few Nepali Shamans and through them I also met a good English friend who was also a practicing shaman. We met in the same shaman’s house on the same day asking the same questions. He also has a strong relationship with Kali so we figured it wasn’t just chance. Together, we took the initiation into the Nepali shamanic tradition.

Tell us about teaching Shamanism at the Krishnamurti School, Brockwood Park, in England over the past year.

I wasn’t teaching Shamanism, I was teaching about what Shamanism is. I think Shamanism is something that people are drawn to by another force and it takes a lot of questioning of one’s self to see if it’s the right path for them. But it’s important in the Western World to revitalize this way of seeing the world and interacting with the world in our cultures. One of the ways in which I began the class was by explaining that from my experience, Shamanism exists in a space that has an emphasis on the relationship to what we normally see as separate objects. Whereas our culture, modern culture, puts an emphasis on the individual and their conflict with the environment, emphasizing the perception of seperate objects such as the cup on the table, shamanism puts an emphasis on the relationship between the cup and the table. So the cup is on the table, and in their relationship is a type of reality.  This way of perceiving things reveals the interconnectedness of our world. That is something that we have lost in modern society and it’s part of why we have such violence between each other as humans and lack of respect for nature.

Tell us about your first visit to a Mongolian shaman.

My first visit with a Mongolian shaman was very strong. From what I’ve seen now, it seems to be true that most Mongolian Shamans, including this one, can bring through the spirit of ancestors quite powerfully. You can feel the energy of the room change even before the spirit was completely brought through. In Shamanism, it’s necessary to manipulate the space where the ritual takes place. The shaman definitely had created a sacred space. When the spirit was brought through you could also feel the heat radiating off the shaman and the shift in energy.

One thing that was interesting to me is the emphasis on ancestor spirits. While this is common in many forms of shamanism, it’s not always emphasized as much as it is in Mongolia. This particular spirit (which the shaman channeled) was very wise and was willing to pose hard questions to the person they were healing, which is in my opinion an essential part of the healing process. This allows the person being healed to look at their own problems and affect their own healing. Also, the spirits are a lot of fun as long as you’re respectful. They can joke with you a bit and invite you into a very friendly atmosphere. The Shamans themselves are also very friendly. At the beginning of this first visit, the shaman invited me to a big shamanic ritual the following weekend where three Shamans were taking on new spirits. This kind of invitation was very sacred and gracious of him – and the timing was also quite serendipitous.

What was your purpose in visiting the shaman?

I’m still at an early stage in learning to be a shaman and I’m sure I’ll always be learning. I visited because I needed some help from the spirit in clearing some blockages that I became aware of in my own practice not too long ago. In traveling to Mongolia it became clear that one of the reasons I’m here is to engage myself with the Shamans and spirits here and obtain their help in my ongoing learning and development.

What happened at the Shaman initiation?

There were seven Mongolian Shamans in all, three of which were taking on new spirits and about thirty to forty friends and family members. The Shamans set up the ritual space by creating a circle of protection and power around the whole camp. In the main ritual ger, they all set up their alters and opened up the spirit world, or as they called it, the Heavens, which serves to create a direct link between the physical realm and the realm of spirits.

There were various other rituals, many Shamans calling in their own spirits. The rituals to call in the new spirits were quite strong and the main teacher as well as the other Shamans had to be careful as it can be dangerous when first calling on the new spirit. They did this in a well-practiced manner, even as it went on almost all night. In one of the last rituals, five shaman set up around an oboo, which had a string tied to the top of it and had been brought down to the center of the ritual ger, connecting the Heavens to the earth. These five Shamans brought their spirits all at the same time, which was extremely powerful.

Did they tell you which tradition they were practicing?

Yes, their tradition was the Buriyat tradition which has a big emphasis on the costumes the Shamans wear. It’s quite elaborate and while most forms of shamanism have some forms of attire, the Buriyat tradition seems to be one of the most elaborate, and it’s essential to their shamanic practice.

Did you take your spirit?

The Mongolian Shamans were very open and gracious, and asked me if I wanted to bring through my spirit, which I did. It was a big opening for me.  My spirit doesn’t always come through so strong since I’m still learning. In this space, with all the energy there, my spirit came through very strongly and there was an interesting healing and communication between my spirit and the Mongolian Shamans. I was very grateful for that opportunity.

How did the Mongolians respond once you took your spirit?

Well I think it was unusual for them to see this type of spirit come through because at least in the Buriyat tradition, the Shaman’s face is covered when the spirit comes through. When my spirit comes through, there’s no face covering. My spirit, who is a female spirit, likes to look around and move more than the spirits in the Buriyat tradition.  Also, my spirit is a deity, whereas Buriyat Shamans are ancestor spirits, so there is a different energy coming through, which I feel is a little different from what they’re used to. So the space was unfamiliar to them, But it seemed that the Shamans and the Mongolians there appreciated the experience and were grateful for the spirit to come through.

This might be an obvious question, but did anything weird happen at the Mongolian Shaman gathering?

Weird things always happen in Shaman gatherings. One funny thing that happened was about midnight, in between rituals, a van showed up with a small movie crew. They filmed a short scene that appeared to be in a film taking place sometime in Mongolia’s past with the actors in traditional Mongolian clothes. It seemed quite random, but it had obviously been set up beforehand. We found out later that it was for a hip-hop music video.  Another interesting thing was the hawks that were swooping down quite close to the ritual ger during key moments. The shamans explained that in their beliefs, this was the spirits coming down to watch the proceedings and to accept offerings.

What are traditional Mongolian offerings?

Vodka of course, as well as different types of food and sweets. In larger rituals like this, animals are sacrificed. Things like food and alcohol and fire are common offerings in most Shamanic rituals.

You said that the first Shaman you visited removed a blockage. How did he go about doing this?

After the first time that he brought the spirit through and agreed to remove the block, we were told to return in five days. We were to bring with us many offerings and tools for the ceremony such as vodka, katag, silk, black and red string and a white sheet. When the spirit was called through, he directed the ceremony and the translators, or the spirit’s helpers, who in this case were the Shaman’s sister and a family friend, carried out the remainder of the ritual. First I offered katag, silk, vodka and tea to the spirit. Then, he directed the vodka to be arranged on a tray and for me to be covered with the white sheet and the red and black string to be wrapped around me.  I’m not sure exactly what was going on, of course, because the spirits have their own language that they operate with in the ceremony and of course everything was in Mongolian. What I felt at this point was the blanket and the string were isolating the blockage.

The spirit asked me to sing my power song and drummed along to it. Then he had some red and black string tied around my right angle and told me to focus my awareness there, as if my spirit was present there. He drummed again and at this point, he was bringing my spirit through the block. In doing so, the energy of the spirit moving through the block dissipates it, and that dissipation and movement through the block is the removal of the block. The spirit said he would leave and come back; the spirit left the space and the Shaman returned (through him) and after a few minutes the Shaman drummed in the spirit again. The spirit said that the ceremony had been successful.

Did you feel anything when he was removing the blockage?

There were a couple times when a very strong energy was moving through my body. When they removed the sheet and the string, I could feel myself opening up, as if there were more space in my body.

What are your next plans while in Mongolia?

Next I’m traveling to Khovd. There is a woman considered to be a Green Tara living there. I work with Green Tara’s spirit, and before I knew about this particular woman, I felt she was drawing me to Mongolia. When I found out about this Green Tara, I felt it was obvious that I should go and visit her.

What have you learned thus far from Mongolian Shamans?

Well the learning is still going on and in that state, things are very much in flux. I’m seeing something about the complexity about the Shamanic world, the difference between ancestor spirits and deities. Something is starting to become clear about the interaction between the deities and the ancestors and also about the roots of Shamanism and how this tradition emerged in Mongolia. Also the Shamans have been extremely proficient in what they do, and have imparted a lot of wisdom about how to move forward and create a closer relationship with my spirit, and the realms of spirit at large.

Anything else you’d like say?

I’d like to thank the UB Post’s Cooper and Khash for making contact and translating, which isn’t easy. I’d also like to thank Oliver Claycamp for putting us in contact with a very good shaman. Also, I want to express my gratitude to the Shaman’s and their translators for their openness and willingness to bring me into their space and teach me about their tradition. And of course, the deepest reverence for the spirits, for their healing and guidance. 

Vetting presidents, setting precedence

By Cooper Baltis

published Friday May 24 in the UB Post

Tense and emotional, confused and distressed, angry and shocked, these words fail to describe the sentiments of the early morning crowd gathered outside of N. Enkhbayar’s home on April 13, the day former president of Mongolia was arrested.  

I was at the airport when the first arrest attempts were made, waiting for my brother to arrive from America. I became curious about the event as I watched a mob of people gravitate toward a flat screen television hook to the wall. The television was fixed to a news channel showing live images of police men holding back a crowd and covering themselves with their riot shields.

Puzzled as to what was going on, I asked my Mongolian friend whom I had come to the airport with what all the commotion about. She walked over to the television and stood with the crowd for a moment, read the caption on the bottom of the screen. She came back a few minutes later to inform me that the ex-president of Mongolia, Enkhbayar, was being arrested.

After spending nearly a month in jail and going on a hunger strike in which he lost 16kg, Enkhbayar was released on bail by the Sukhbaatar district court. Many believe his release was heavily aided heavily by international pressure, through groups like Amnesty International and the UN, who cried foul play when the details of the arrest surfaced. With parliamentary elections soon to take place, an election cycle Enkhbayar plans to participate in, the arrest and the publicity could not have come a worse time.

There seems to be a trend this year in executive arrests, a trend that some see as dangerous and others see as necessary. In February, Maldives issued an arrest warrant for Mohamed Nasheed, a founder of the Maldivian Democratic Party and former president of Maldives from 2008 to 2012. A political prisoner during his youth, the reasoning behind this call to be taken into custody is still unclear.

 In March, the Malawi government arrested Austin Atupele Muluzi, son of former President Bakili Muluzi. Guinea-Bissau’s interim president Raimundo Pereira was arrested at his home in April. Also In April, Malian soldiers began arresting allies of ousted President Amadou Toumani, after a coup which forced him into hiding. While some of these cases differ from the recent Mongolian situation, common themes and the possibility of future scenarios are frighteningly clear.

In the United States, the term “executive privilege” is used to describe the ability for the President and close members of his or her branch to resist certain types of intrusion from the judicial and legislative branches of the government. While governmental systems differ around the globe, I will use this term to define a president or prime minister’s ability to defy arrest.

To be a president is to naturally be the one to take blame for everything. A citizen lost his or her job? It’s your fault. The economy’s performance is lackluster? You’d better fix it. Some people feel they don’t have the same rights as others? Again, your fault. The roads in some faraway city are deteriorating? You should be fixing this. Foreigners are investing in your country? How dare they! There’s a drought? It must be because you forgot to make it rain. The hot water isn’t working? You should have heated the water yourself. Someone got hit by a car? You should have added more traffic lights. Someone is overweight? Quit feeding them candy.

The need for executive privilege arises from all these scenarios. It is easy to blame a president for anything and everything that went wrong during his or her term. The need for executive privilege is anchored by the fact that being president is a double-edged sword. Lives are taken into your hands, peoples livelihoods depend on you, and things you do or say can affect your country’s economic outlook during your term and for decades after. This coupled with the fact that the ears of a former president have been filled with sensitive information regarding a variety of subjects only add to the argument for executive privilege.

Executive privilege can also be a dangerous thing. There are many scenarios that have been played out globally in which a president took advantage of their position. This can cost lives, produce economic turmoil and create unnecessary wars. Executive privilege creates a situation where bringing warranted justice to a president is difficult, generating gross circumstances in regards to accountability. If presidents are not held accountable for certain types of offenses, then the very foundations of democracy and justice fracture.

If executive privilege is not administered, problems also arise for former presidents when the incoming government is that of a political rival. Regardless of true intent or bona fide evidence, this snag in the democratic process makes it difficult to bring presidents to justice, whether they are guilty or not. After all, all current presidents wanting to bring former presidents to justice should remember that they too will be former presidents at some point. The sword of supposed justice caters to no man.

With many global news organizations mentioning how Enkhbayar’s arrest has poked holes in the Mongolian democratic system, the elections this summer should prove to be interesting. Democracy is always in a process of experiencing growing pains, as the whim of the people changes daily and this whim can help or hurt the future prospects of a country. Since a president is a person, he or she falls too into this category.

Presidents should be held accountable for decisions made during their time in office; otherwise, nothing will separate a president from a king besides the term limits. However, due process is a right afforded to all citizens of a democratic nation, a right that must extend to the president. In Mongolia’s case, the fact that Enkhbayar was taken into custody in such a forceful way added international pressure where international pressure wasn’t needed. This pressure has built over the last month, and is waiting in the rafters like hungry media dogs for the predicted political explosion this summer. If Mongolia can learn or modify anything from this recent experience, it will be to take things lightly this summer. And if power changes hands, seeking revenge will only exacerbate an already ugly situation. Revenge never helps anyone in the long run.

Mistakes are constantly made in the democratic process. If more politicians and citizens recognize and embrace this, changes to the system are possible and these modifications only enhance the outcome of the system. If discussions are greeted by anger and resentment, the spiral downward only hastens the possibility for revenge politics and outward violence. While executive privilege is a good thing, it must not be used as a shield to shelter presidents from responsibility and accountability. Democracy is secured by justice, and once these strings begin to unravel, whatever it was democracy was protecting us from becomes chillingly apparent.

The Bumba Chronicles

Photos and translations by B. Solongo

Published April 9 in the UB Post

 

I now lay in Ulaanbaatar on a bed at the Setgeshgui Clinic, a traditional medical center nestled in the center of a bustling apartment complex near Strings, the infamous Mongolian nightclub. The flesh on my back is being sucked up into glass bulbs like inverted droplets of rain onto the surface of a shallow puddle. Next to me is an older Mongolian man, his face ripe with age and his skin leathery with wisdom. Two weeks ago I began getting a traditional Mongolian medical treatment called bumba, and am proud to say that it is working.

I close my eyes and tuck my hands under the blanket that is partially covering my back. The smell of seared newspaper enters my nostrils with every inhale. Exhales are met with a tightness stemming from the glass bulbs on my back. The sound from a boxy television nearby playing a Mongolian opera fills my skull with the low hum of euphonious grandiosity and jittery static. 

A note on my condition: one year ago, I arrived in Delhi, India late at night with an unexpected passenger. My sciatic nerve, the longest single nerve in the human body running from the lower back through the buttocks and down to each foot, throbbed with every step I took. I arrived an hour later in Majnukatilla, a Tibetan refugee community on the outside of Delhi, and limped to the nearest hotel.

Instead of resting or visiting a hospital in Majnukatilla like any sane person would have done (although this begs the question on who in their right mind would travel through India anyhow, a question answerable only by those who have embarked), I decided to continue my journey to Dharamsala, seat of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Looking back, this was likely the worst choice to be made considering my condition.

Foolishly (or tenegly in Monglish), I boarded a bus aimed at Dharamsala, a 12 hour headache inducing ride atop crumbling Indian roads hastily laid through the rolling hills of the Punjab. Naturally, the bus got in a wreck, which left me hitchhiking across northern Indian for the next day. As one can image, all this activity only worsened my sciatic nerve injury.

A year has passed since the India injury and about once a week, I’ll wake up with my right leg tingling in pain. On these days, I usually gimp around as if I were suffering from a leg length discrepancy. Two weeks ago, on one of the reoccurring leg injury days, I broke down and asked my students if there was a traditional way to fix my nerve problem.

One or my students, let’s call her Sunny because that’s what she likes to be called, suggested I visit the Setgeshgui Clinic, the first private clinic to be established in democratic Mongolia. Two day later, I found myself in a waiting room with Soko, another student who would act as my translator.

After a little confusion on my part (making the tough decision between plastic bags to cover one’s feet and sandals six sizes too small) I met with Dr. Khurelbaatar, who quickly surmised after feeling the pulse on both my wrists that something was wrong with my neck (which was affecting my back, which was in turn affecting my leg). He explained through Soko that I needed bumba treatment (known in the West as fire cupping), and would likely need to visit the clinic between five and ten times.

Opening the Setgeshgui Clinic 21 years ago, Dr. Khurelbaatar has successfully treated countless ailments including but not limited to: migraines, hypertension, head trauma, epilepsy, slipped disks, liver and kidney disease, tachycardia, rheumatism, bronchitis, concussions and bladder disorders.

Dr. Khurelbaatar has published a book in Germany about Mongolian hypnosis, Hypnose in Der Mongolei (he’s currently searching for someone to perform a German to English translation), a book of poetry, is a former member of the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis and is a recipient of the Chingis Khaan Academy Award for his contributions in developing the Mongolian medical sector. As his clinic practices tradition medicine, he receives no funding whatsoever from the Mongolian government. He believes that Western medicine is too quick to resort to medicine and surgery, a belief I too hold after seeing my father suffer after taking the medicine prescribed to him by Western doctors.

Dr. Khurelbaatar sits behind me before the bumba treatment is set to begin. Each treatment is preceded by a chiropractic massage by either Dr. Khurelbaatar or Dr. Davaahuu, a lively man who claims to speak sixteen languages and is instantly recognizable by his crimson nurse’s smock.

As Dr. Khurelbaatar massages the back of my neck, I begin to cringe. He presses his fingers into the apex where my neck meets my back and holds them there, pushing deeper and slightly curving his fingers inward.

“Yooooooooi…” I lament, trying to sound as Mongolian as possible.

A Mongolian woman wearing a threadbare pink deel adorned with bright yellow flowers looks up at me curiously. Next to her, a teenager wearing a New York Yankees hat texts rapidly on his cell phone. Beside the teenager is a man in a white tank top, his eyes caramel and his right shoulder showing the outline of a faded tattoo.

“Pain?” the doctor asks, pressing harder into my neck.

“yes…tii…yoooiii…” I answer.

“Sain (good). Pain sain…” the doctor replies, smiling at the group of now laughing Mongolians flanking the massage area. I laugh with them while wincing.

After the massage, I’m instructed to take off my shirt and lie down on one of the beds. Sometimes I’m assigned to a single bed and others, a double bed which puts me elbow to elbow with another patient. A nurse comes around with something that looks like a deodorant stick but is actually filled with oil. All around me, candles slowly flicker and clients in the adjoined waiting room chat with Dr. Davaahuu, as he gives massages to patients waiting in what strikingly resembles an assembly line.

The nurse applies the oil to my back in two long strips that run parallel. She swiftly lights a piece of newspaper, stuffs it into a glass bulb, screwing it onto my back like a bottle cap. I can feel the skin on my back quickly suck into the bulb as the smoke whittles away, consuming all the oxygen in the glass bulb. The end result feels similar to suction cups, and while it might look painful, it’s absolutely painless.

Bumba, or fire cupping, is a form of traditional medicine practiced that has been practiced from the steppe of Asia to the Pyramids of Egypt. The first record of cupping can be found in the Ebers Papyrus, an Egyptian medical document that dates to 1550 BC.  The ancient document contains information on everything from contraception to dentistry, and is considered one of the earliest medical texts. Cupping is thought to circulate blood flow to ultimately foster healing in the location in which the cups are placed.

There are three methods of cupping, including dry cupping, in which a glass bulb is used to suction the skin through various methods to create low pressure, fire cupping, which I’ve previous described, and wet cupping or hijama, a Middle Eastern practice in which a laceration is made with a scalpel on the skin before the cup is sunk into place. With the New Age movements of the West, cupping has featured somewhat of a resurgence in people seeking alternative treatments and new silicon cupping has become available.

My bumba session finishes with the hissing sound of the glass bulbs beings pried off my back. The nurse twists one cup at a time, wiping up any excess oil with a tissue as she makes her way down my spine. I am instructed to lie under a red heat lamp for four minutes to facilitate an even distribution of heat. Afterwards I dress and head to Dr. Khurelbaatar’s office, where he does a short hypnosis to finish the practice.

In the two weeks since I began treatment, I have noticed an astounding change in my condition and have felt new energy levels when after leaving the clinic. Bumba is definitely an unconventional treatment, yet so is having a team of doctors slice into my spine to fix the problem manually. Sometimes, there is a reason people have continued to do something for thousands of years, bumba falls into this category.

The Setgeshgui Clinic is located in Byanagol District, 4^th micro region, building no 37. The clinic can also be reached by e-mail, setgeshgui@yahoo.com or by phone, 361491, 91912599.

The Goose is Loose

Published March 15, 2012 in the UB Post 

Ornithologists and birdwatchers rejoice: Bar-headed Geese will be making their way back to the Mongolian mainland soon.

Yet another tie between the icy Buddhist peaks of the Tibet Plateau and Mongolia, the Bar-headed Geese migratory pattern sees the geese flying all the way from the furrowed brow of Russia to the lush tea gardens of India.

One of the highest flying birds in the world, Bar-headed Geese routinely fly over parts of the Himalayas during its migration. The northward migration from India is especially difficult and is carried out in stages. The geese wait until nightfall to begin the climb that lasts for hours. The Bar-headed Geese are aided in their mighty ascent by a larger than average wing area. Scientific studies have also revealed that the geese works more efficiently under low oxygen conditions, giving the geese the power to scale colossal heights and maintain equilibrium while in the air.

Not one to fly clear of controversy, Bar-headed Geese were accused of being early carriers of the H5N1 avian flu after an unexplainable outbreak in the Darkhan Valley of northern Mongolia. With no poultry farms in the area, the geese were immediately suspect and eventually proven guilty.

The mysterious outbreak in Darkhad Valley brought the attention of Ornithologists, who converged upon the region and began tagging the geese. Some of the geese tagged by the scientists were later seen in Somnathpur, India, a distance of nearly 4,780 kilometers.

The geese are now routinely collared, and sightings have continued to increase in India. The geese are a cause for celebration in India as they eat heaps of insects and other pests that can damage crops. Their droppings are an excellent fertilizer and farmer’s are known to protect the birds from hunters.

 Last year, the geese were seen in Chikmalgur, the first time the geese have been seen in the region. In February it was reported that three of the tagged geese were spotted in Nagpur, a distance of over 3,850 kilometers.

India, Mongolia, Russia and China aren’t the only place the geese like to travel. Bar-headed Geese used an ulterior pair of wings to migrate to Great Britain. Originally held in captivity, a few of the geese escaped and formed a band of feral geese. Naturally, the feral geese bred and Bar-headed Geese have been stumbling out of British pubs ever since.

While the geese are far from endangered, they have experienced a drop in numbers from over-hunting, egg collecting and habitat damage. A few conservation measures appear to be working, including the Gharana Wetland Conservation in Jammu, India. While the conservation has been in existence for some time, gun shelling and discharges from across the border usually kept the geese away. With the ceasefire of 2003, the geese immediately took to the wetlands for a little R&R.

As the Mongolian black ice melts, dust storms drift in and the spring yawns awake onto the steppe, the Bar-headed Geese will once again return to land of Chingis to breed, feed and take a breather until migration season comes. 

Native Americans linked to the Altai Region

Published on Friday Feb 3

Sometimes Jesuit priests just get it right.

In the 1580s, Jesuit priest José de Acosta published an article hypothesizing that that Native Americans reached the North America continent through some type of land bridge in eastern Russia.

Nearly 450 years later, his hypothesis holds and has recently been aided by DNA fingerprinting linking Native Americans to the Altai Region of Siberia.

Native Americans, originally called “Indians” by Columbus, who was a tad confused as to what continent he had landed on, have been linked to the Asiatic region for centuries now. Yet disputes over when they crossed the Bering Strait, which group of Asians they were related to, and which group was the first to cross, continued to battle it out in the footnotes and dry pages of academia.

The theory of the Settlement of the Americas, which postulates that Native Americans crossed from Asia to America 16,500 and 13,000 years ago, has been widely accepted since the 1930s.  The theory revolves around the idea that Siberia was once connected to Alaska by a strip of land called the Bering land bridge.

The Clovis Indians, with their infamous Clovis point arrowheads, were thought to have been the first to migrate from Asia to America at the end of the last glacial period.

 By the 1950s, many anthropologists and archeologists had started citing blood work as evidence of the theory of the Settlement of the Americas. It was discovered that blood type O was predominant in South America, while blood type A was predominant in North America among indigenous peoples. Anthropologists also used skull analysis to link Native American and Asian groups.

In 1973, British scientist and host of the show The Ascent of Man, Jacob Bronowski, speculated that there must have been two different times of migration to the Americas. He claimed the first group to come was the type O blood group, while type A followed in the coming years. This evidence of earlier habitation was quickly supported by sites found in areas across North and South America. The advent of carbon dating further dappled the Settlement theory, revealing that some Native American tools were upwards of 25,000 years old.

While the multiple migration theory has since been accepted, the debate regarding Native American Asiatic origins has waged on into the 21^st century.

A recent publication by a team of University of Pennsylvania anthropologists published in the American Journal of Human Genetics has a good chance to cool the century-long debate.

By looking at genetic variations in Altaian populations, the team discovered a unique mutation in two types of DNA shared by Native Americans and Southern Altaians.

Anchoring a border between Mongolia, China and Kazakhstan, the Altai Republic holds a diverse past has been a meeting place between various ethnic groups for thousands of years. The Altai Mountains span from Russia to the Gobi Desert, and it is thought that the region is the original location of the Turkic body of languages.

Working with Ludmilla Osipova, a researcher at the institute of Cytology and Genetics in Russia, the team has discovered similarities between Native America and South Altaians in mitochondrial DNA, passed maternally, and the Y chromosome, which is passed paternally.

The group collected 1,500 DNA samples from Native Americans and 750 samples from people in the Altai region. The findings are highly accurate given the large number of gene markers examined for the study.

While there have been smaller studies conducted since the end of the 1990s showing genetic correlations between people of the southern Siberian regions and Native Americans, this particular study is unique in the amount of samples taken. “We’re using hundreds of markers to find genetic regions [which means] the mutation we get is much larger,” said Theodore Schurr, one of the study’s authors.

The team hopes to conduct further studies in the region using high-resolution methods. By potentially ending a century old debate, further research can now be undertaken in the Altai regions of Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China, shedding more light on the relation between this unique region of Asia and the origins of Native Americans.

The Cola Wars

  (published in the UB Post on Monday January 23)

The bell sounds.

The hiss of a Pepsi can sprays its carbonated glory into the rafters surrounding the ring. The snap of its opponent, a muscular Coke can with bulging red biceps, sends shivers down the spines of all in attendance. The cameras surrounding the ring flash as the Coke can takes the first swing. The Pepsi can ducks, coming in with a hard right.

The war between Coke and Pepsi is the new Hundred Years’ War.

 It will last well into the 22^nd century and beyond, from coast to coast, mountain to mountain, villa to villa, couch to couch, and if we are lucky (or should I say, if the space tourist industry is lucky), from planet to planet. The war started at the turn of the 20^th century with blind taste tests, massive marketing campaigns, catchy slogans and ample buzz words. The goal? To be the number one cola, the number one caffinator, the number one can of sugar and carbonation. To win the cola wars.

We are witnessing the start of a Cola War in Mongolia and no one seems to be paying attention. No one is building barracks, no one is stocking up on water, no one is running to the countryside for cover.

Opening a small plant through local bottler MCS in 2002, Coke and its popularity have soared in sales for ten years now. In 2008, MCS opened a USD 22 million dollar Coke facility in Mongolia just to meet demand. When the smaller Coke factory first opened its doors in 2002, Mongolian consumers chugged four eight-ounce servings per person. Six years later as the new factory was opening, a typical Mongolian consumer drank 70 servings per year. Odjargal Jambaljamts, Chairman and CEO of MCS added, “Both the bottling company the Coca-Cola Company have exceeded all projections of profitability and sales. Our investment in the new plant is just our first step to bring world class manufacturing to Mongolia.”

Translation: the cola war is far from over.

At the end of the last decade, Pepsi too stepped onto the battlefield to wage war against Coke in the land of the Mongol Empire. Realizing they’d better catch up quick, Pepsi signed a deal with GN beverages to produce Miranda, Pepsi and 7-Up to compete locally with Coke. Setting up a factory with the latest German and Japanese technology to ensure quality, Pepsi has wasted no time in laying a solid foundation for their tactical operations.  

To better train their cola soldiers, Coke has been sending Mongolian workers to the Coca-Cola University in Shanghai. One can only imagine the type of strategic planning, quality control tactics and rigorous boot camp that must go on there:

“What is this soldier!?”

“A bottle of Pepsi, sir!”

“Who is your target?”

“Pepsi, sir!”

“Do you drink Pepsi soldier!?”

“Never, sir!”

“Soldier, how many grams of sugar are in a Pepsi!?”

“Forty-two grams, sir!”

“Wrong! Forty-one grams! Drop and give me twenty push-ups!”

Other Coca-Cola boot camp ideas? The trainee must crawl on his or her belly across a field of crushed Coke cans. The trainee must be able to open a glass bottle of coke with his or her teeth. The trainee must be able to tell the difference in a blind taste test between a can of Coke and a can of Pepsi. The trainee must do push-ups with four cases of Cokes stacked across his or her back. A background check must be performed on the trainee and his or her family to weigh their Coke vs. Pepsi consumption. If over the course of a single year, the trainee’s family has consumed more Pepsi than Coke, the trainee is automatically disqualified from attending the university.

Pepsi appears to be a bit more laconic about their training procedure for potential cola warriors. Does Pepsi have a secret underground base (possibly in Russia or China) where they train future factory employees? Is there secret cola military base underwater off the coast of Japan? What is the Pepsi Challenge and what are its true implications? The debate keeps conspiracy theorists across the globe up at night trolling Wikileaks for information. Only the cola gods know what sorts of weapons of mass consumption Pepsi has in store for the steppe.

As it stands right now, MCS group and their Coca-Cola warriors seem to be winning the race to provide popular mixers and afternoon pick-me-ups to a growing economy of cola connoisseurs. Further, MCS owns a number of bars and retail outlets, which only increase their chance of winning the war. Even Santa Claus has weighed in on what beverage he prefers. But the war is far from over. Lying dormant like a sleeping blue giant, Pepsi seems to be preparing for a large assault across the cityscape of Ulaanbaatar. By opening a factory in Mongolia, Pepsi is one step closer to infiltrating the cola masses and filling their minds and stomachs with carbonated goodness. Is Pepsi up for the challenge?

Cobwebs from an Empty Skull (revisited)

Cobwebs from an Empty Skull revisited

The following are updated fables from Ambrose Bierce’s 1874 short story collection, Cobwebs from an Empty Skull. They have been updated by myself to introduce their messages to a new audience. The epigrams remain unaltered.—Enjoy, Cooper Baltis

Published on Wednesday January 11, 2012 in the UB Post. 

Timon never knew he would end up in the Gobi Desert, stuck with nothing but a camel, the shirt on his back, a large knife attached to his belt and a pair of scratched sunglasses. His throat was parched and the skin on his nose and the back of his neck was blistering. He was hot and lonely, grief-stricken and scared. Having no one else to talk to, Timon asked the camel what his thoughts were on turning back and going to the last oasis they had passed.

            “Personally, I have no desire to go back to the oasis,” said the camel, spitting at a lizard scattering nearby. “That was two days ago and truthfully, I’ve seen better oases.”

            “I agree. I too have visited better oases,” Timon said. “Maybe if I carried two tanks full of water on my back, I wouldn’t be dying of thirst. Listen camel, I can’t go on any further.”

            “Well, I’m not going anywhere but straight. I have enough water in my two humps to last for quite some time,” argued the camel. “It looks like we have ourselves a little problem here.”

            “Well, if you won’t go back and I won’t go forward, we can only remain here in the middle of the desert,” Timon said, hopping off the camel.

            “True, but soon enough you will die of thirst,” the camel replied.

            “Not so,” Timon said, looking at the camel over the rims of his sunglasses.

As the camel dropped to his knees to rest, Timon pulled the knife from his belt, assassinated the camel and appropriated the water from his humps.

            A compromise is not always a settlement satisfactory to both parties.

_____________________________________________________________________________

The same man named Timon was trying to cross a rather large wall after escaping from the Gobi with a belly full of camel meat. As he neared the top of the wall, a slathering bull ran to his assistance. The bull struck Timon’s backside, catapulting the tall man over the fence. Timon stood, dusted off his slacks and turned away from the bull.

            “You are welcome,” the bull called out, upset that Timon had forgotten to thank him. “Assisting you was my duty.”

            “Some duty,” Timon said, turning back towards the bull. “Next time, keep your horns to yourself. I did not require your services in the least bit.”

            “Seriously? Out of the benevolence of my beefy bull heart, I helped you get over the fence and all you can say to me is good riddance? Did you not want to reach the other side?” the bull snorted, the thick ring from his nostril gleaming in the countryside sun.

            “Of course I wanted to reach the other side of the fence,” Timon said, waving his hands at the bull, “but I could have done it better myself.”

            This fable teaches that while the end is everything, the means is something.

A young rooster was flirting with a pretty hen one morning at a barn outside Nashville, Kentucky.

            “Layin’ eggs isn’t that hard,” he boasted, leaning against a rusty pick-ax. “Heck, I once laid four eggs in three days.”

            “Did you?” she laughed, battering her lashes. “How did you manage to do that?”

            Not answering her, the young rooster turned his back on the hen and addressed himself a couple young chicks that were pecking at a worm.

            “Hey, pay attention to me,” he said. “I once laid an egg...”

            The chicks chirped, ripped the worm apart and passed on, ignoring him. The young rooster, red with ire, strutted his way up to the oldest rooster in the barn. He puffed his chest and looked the big bird straight in the beak.

            “I once laid an egg,” he began.

            The old rooster nodded gradually, as if a rooster laying an egg were an everyday occurrence.

            “Well?” the young rooster asked, ruffling his feathers again and standing taller.

            “I once laid an egg next to a watermelon,” the old rooster said wearily. “I compared the two. The vegetable was considerably larger.”

            This fable is intended to show the absurdity of hearing all a man has to say.

@Fool: You tweeted the other day that happiness is the sole aim of man.

@Philosopher: True, it is.

@ Fool: But how can you be certain? The sole aim of man has always been disputed.

@Philosopher: Most men find personal happiness in disputation.

@Fool: Socrates once said…

@Philosopher: Stop it right there! I detest foreigners, especially foreign philosophers.

@Fool: Wisdom, they say, is of no country.

@Philosopher: Yes, of none that I’ve seen.

@Fool: I’ve been thinking about what you said. Why do you hate foreigners?

@Philosopher: I hate them simply because I am human.

@Fool: Yes, but so are they.

@Philosopher: Excellent fool! I thank thee for the better reason.

            A hippopotamus drinking at a sandy river bed in Africa was surprised to see an alligator lying with his mouth open. He huffed and stopped directly in front the gator.

            “My toothy friend, you may as well shut that ugly mouth of yours. You are not large enough to embrace me,” the hippopotamus said, wagging his little curly tail in agitation.

            “I really wasn’t expecting to attempt it,” replied the alligator. “I try and extend my hospitality to everyone I meet here.”

            “You remind me,” said the hippopotamus petulantly, “of a certain zebra who was far from vicious. He went around these parts kicking the breath out of just about anything that passed behind him. After the other animals got wind of it, everyone around here just made sure never to walk behind him. Easy enough.”

            “It’s not important what I remind you of,” the alligator replied, sinking his teeth into the Hippo’s leg.

            The lesson conveyed by this fable is a very beautiful one.