隆城緬梔樓小記

金烏玉兔行匆匆，瞬間竟是二年在這裡毫無新文了。二載春秋，自是城郭推移人事改，滄桑境遷嘆浮生，其中無奈世事悲歡離合，回首數年前夢滅夢圓的種種事蹟也不禁噓唏一番。

這幾個月內，論文至今尚未獲得批准，職場上也頗為煩悶無聊，此時倒是接獲了某一美國內衣品牌的照片拍攝。

拍攝當日正是主臨聖日，有人會守禁食齋至子夜，那是食物、水也不能攝取的嚴格齋戒。我自認受不了這樣嚴格的齋戒，就只是守鬆懈的果食齋，只吃蔬果乳食，不碰穀物。

也不知是不是早上飲用的鮮奶有什麼毛病，腹瀉了好幾此，也嘔吐了一次，不過所幸拍攝的時候，身體並無什麼大礙。

放工之後，我即乘搭輕快鐵，前往中環車站轉單軌火車前往拍攝地點。拍攝之處，位於入夜時分最為人朝嚷嚷的鬧市中心的一家頗有名氣的法式餐廳兼酒吧。酒吧既以緬梔花為名，姑且稱此處為緬梔樓吧。

第一次光臨這緬梔樓，也是好多年前的事了。那一年還未在隆城定居，記憶中是出席了城中熱男賽事之後和友人在此處小聚；之後平時也極少涉足此地，三兩年之內恐怕一次也沒吧。抵達酒吧的時候，裡面除了三兩個外籍服務生，什麼人也沒有，我就坐在沙發上歇息。

其他的模特兒陸陸續續到來，其中亦有不同國籍膚色的，有相識的，也有些是知其名卻不相似的；曾聽聞有些將會到來的模特兒，也有些缺席了。大家坐著等待其他的模特兒到來的時候，服裝店老闆點了些酒，當晚我不能喝酒，只有喝清水了。眾模特兒依據服飾系列被分成五個組合，每組人數不一。被分配好之後，大家都寬衣解帶，準備上妝，然後為身體塗抹嬰兒油。先前到來為這次攝影調好音樂的DJ，最後竟然也和我們一起解除衣物，成了模特兒之一。

此次在緬梔樓拍攝，工作人員在酒吧一處搭起了攝影棚，酒吧其餘的地方仍然開放給公眾，只是時間尚早，雖已有人到來，不到深夜這裡是不會熱鬧起來的。在歇息等待的時候，接獲一則短訊，原來某個攝影師友人也在這夜店林立的鬧市附近，他偶然知曉今晚緬梔樓有此項活動，便通知我他也將前來以觀眾身份來拍攝。

一組接一組的模特兒完成攝影了，接著就是我們了。拍攝之時，我們坐著、站著、俯臥著，攝影時段感覺很快就過去了。當拍攝完畢之後，我們動身離開，讓位給下一組的模特兒。 這個時候，我看到了觀眾群中人數漸多起來，當中有些卻也是熟悉面孔，有的對著我嘴角上揚笑著，有的比著拇指讚好，我只有微笑回應。這些日子以來，一直給予我支持的他，也在人群中。

我們這組拍攝完畢之後，先前拍攝完畢的幾組已有人離開了。和舉辦這次拍攝的服裝店老闆，以及幾個當場的模特兒道別之後，我以紙巾抹去身上的嬰兒油，重新穿上衣服，我和專門來看這場拍攝的他離開了緬梔樓，走到臨近的便利店購買麵包和素食杯麵果腹。

我們來到車如流水馬如龍的大街，在這星期五的夜晚隆城依舊是熙熙攘攘，熱鬧不已。我們乘坐了計程車，穿過了這座霓虹燈海之下的夢欲疲憊都市，在這主臨深夜回到了家裡。

On the name Pornthip

Khunying Pornthip Rojanasunand (พรทิพย์ โรจนสุนันท์), a well-known and highly respected forensic pathologist, is now a household name in Malaysia for her testification at the inquest of the death of the political aide Teoh Beng Hock.

According to the Reader’s Digest Trust Survey, Khunying Pornthip is the most trusted individual in Thailand for her dedication to bring justice to the society. It is saddening to see some individuals, with malicious intent, poking fun at her name by calling her “Dr. Porn”.

One has to blame bad transliteration for this. Learners of Thai language will know how messy the Thai transliterations are, a joke says that there are as many Thai transliterations as Thai learners. Although the Royal Institute of Thailand has its official transliteration system, many different transliterations still can be found. According to this official system, Pornthip Rojanasunand should be transliterated as Phonthíp Rôchanasunan.

Pornthip, or Phonthíp, a common female name in Thailand, is actually of Sanskrit origin, though it might not be recognizable as such at the first glance.

The first part of the name Phon (พร) comes from the Sanskrit word vára (वर), “blessing” or “boon”. Many Sanskrit loan words in Thai lose their word-final short vowels, e.g. lôk (โลก) “world”, comes from the Sanskrit word loka (लोक). The final alveolar /r/ and /l/ in Thai are pronounced as /n/, it is not uncommon to hear Thais pronounce “bill” as “bin”. The Sanskrit labiodental /v/ becomes the Thai bilabial /ph/ (aspirated /p/), and in Thai a short vowel /o/ is inserted in between two consonants, so the Sanskrit vára eventually becomes phon in Thai.

Thíp (ทิพย์), the second part of the name, is derived from the Sanskrit word divya (दिव्य), “divine”. The Sanskrit dental /d̪ / becomes the Thai alveolar /th/ (aspirated /t/), e.g. the Sanskrit deva (देव) “god” becomes thêp (เทพ) in Thai. The word-final short vowel is dropped, and in Thai the final consonant /j/ (ย) becomes silent, indicated by the sign (-์), so divya in Sanskrit becomes thíp in Thai.

The Sanskrit equivalent of Phonthíp therefore, is Varadivya, both means “divine blessing”. Let us hope that Dr. Pornthip, or Phonthíp if you prefer, continues to receive divine blessings so that she can continue her good works.

Kāla

कालो ऽस्मि लोकक्षयकृत् प्रवृद्धो
लोकान्समाहर्तुमिह प्रवृत्तः .

"Lo, I am Time, that causes worlds to perish, grown mature, and come forth here to swallow up the worlds."

- Bhagavad Gītā, 11:32

The Book of the Spirits, Part I

Many moons have passed since I last left my words here in this blog, now finally I decided to pen down my latest post. Earlier, I had promised to translate le Livre des Esperitz, a 14th century French grimoire into English, and I did translate part of the book.

This Book of the Spirits, written by an unknown author, was published much later than the pseudepigraphical Testament of Solomon, but earlier than the Key of Solomon, and even earlier than Weyer's Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, making it one of the earliest Solomonic grimoires. Unlike the Key of Solomon, this book does not contain any evocation ritual, but it is apparent that the author, whoever he was, was a practising magician.

So now, here it is the first part of the book, I will post the rest soon.

The Book of the Spirits

Here begins the Book of the Spirits, which was revealed to Solomon the sage, who compelled them on the earth and made them obey the will of man; for before this science was found, shown and revealed to Solomon, the spirits had caused much evil deeds and plagues on the earth and destroyed much good of the world, and they persecuted the children of man. For this the merciful God gave Solomon the benefits of this sacred science to compel the spirits and made them obey man, so that their wickedness will rule no more on the Christian land.

In the beginning of the Book, there are names of the spirits who are the rulers and masters of all other spirits, of the region and office of Lucifer; of the office of Bezlebut ; of Satan ; of the four spirits who are the rulers of the four regions and four parts of the world, know that the spirit which name is Orient, of Poymon, of Equi; of Veal, the great king; of Agarat, duke; of Barbas, prince; of Bulfas, prince; of Amon, marquis ; of Batal, count; of Gemen, king; of Gazon, duke; of Artis, prince; of Machin, duke; of Dicision, king; of Abugor, duke; of Vipos, count; of Cerbere, marquis; of Carmola, prince; of Estor, duke; of Coap, prince; of Deas, duke; of Asmoday, king; of Bitur, marquis of Beal, duke; of Forcas, prince; of Furfur, count; of Margotias, marquis; of Oze, prince; of Lucay, marquis; of Pucel, duke; of Jayn, count; of Suralet, duke; of Zagon, king; of Dragon, prince; of Parcas, prince; of Gorsin, duke; of Andralfas, marquis; of Flanos, duke; of Brial, king; of Fenix, marquis; of Distolas.

[1] Lucifer was very handsome and exalted, like other good angels, but he did not dwell in the heavens for more than an hour, for he looked and contemplated at his own great beauty, and became proud. All others that had evil thought with him were thrown into Hell in confusion. As for Lucifer, according to the doctors of necromancy, he presides in the Hell and all the spirits of Hell obey him as the lord of Hell.

[2] Gay, great and evil spirit, who is also known as Bezlebuth, and who was called Anthaon before the time of Solomon, is the greatest spirit in the Hell after Lucifer. Know that he rules the eastern quarters, and who ever wish to call him should face the east, and he will appear to him in beautiful form. He teaches all the sciences and gives gold and silver to he who compels him to come, and gives true answers to the questions asked, and reveals the secrets of Hell if asked, and teaches the truth of the concealed things on earth and in the sea, and reveals all the treasures hidden on earth, and safeguard from other spirits, he needs to be called in the right time.

[3] The third spirit is called Satan, who was created after Lucifer, and he converses in the air near us. Sathan appears in a graceful form and lives in the northern region. He who wishes to call him should face the north. There he will appear and he is capable to change into the forms of men and women if one commanded him to do so, and he does all evils if commanded.

Of the four principle spirits according to their offices and parts, the first one being:

Following from the first:

The first is called Orient and lives in the east. He holds the name of this part of the world.

The second :
The second is called Poymon and lives in the west.

The third :
The third is called Amoymon and lives in the south.

The fourth :
The fourth is called Equi and lives in the north.

(to be continued...)

Yogyakarta 23 Juni - 28 Juni 2009

(Photo taken by Garend)

Telah tiba masanya untuk ku melangkah ke bumi batara dewata...

Santih, santih, santih.

Turkish Delight

The Big Bad Wolf Book Sale at Dataran Hamodal yesterday did chomp off part my monthly saving, and I have to be more careful on spending now, but it was not at all an unpleasant experience going to the warehouse sale.

The books I bought are mostly concerning history and language, and a very delightful find is a set of Teach Yourself Beginner's Turkish, containing a 224-page coursebook and two audio CDs. The whole set costs only RM20 (approx. USD$5.2), an amazing bargain. Other language related books bought in the clearance sale include Teach Yourself German and Teach Yourself Beginner's Arabic Script, each costs RM8 (approx. USD$2.25)

I always want to learn Turkish, but always have problem finding suitable materials. Though I have a copy of Elementary Turkish by Lewis V. Thomas (bought from Payless Books), and it is undeniable a very useful and usable book, I still wished to look for a better introductory Türkçe course for beginner.

Teach Yourself Beginner's Turkish is just the right book. The 10 lessons are arranged systematically; each lesson contains short dialogues, basic (and non-threatenning) grammatical points, vocabulary lists, cultural information and exercises - all are essential parts of a well-organized language didactic book. The accompanied CDs are of satisfying quality as well, and they are certainly indispensable part of the whole package. I would say the whole set is çok güzel !
Perhaps after finishing the 1o lessons, I will continue to the good old Elementary Turkish.

Từ điển and more từ điển

It seems that there are always surprises hidden in the Internet Archive. Other than the previously mentioned Budge's Egyptian Hieroglyphic Dictionary, there are other dictionaries and language related material, for instance, the rare Nam-Hoa Từ điển (南華字典), published in 1940 in Hanoi, and edited by Nguyễn Trà̂n Mô. The title page of the dictionary contains the title in Chinese scripts and the Quốc Ngữ scripts, and also an incomplete hand written title in French, persumely Dictionnaire Chinois-annam(ite). The dictionary is arranged by Chinese radicals, the Sino-Vietnamese reading is given, followed by the meaning in Vietnamese.

For a more antique polyglot Vietnamese dictionary, there is Dictionnaire Etymologique Chinois-Annamite Latin-Français (增補漢字西譯), found in scribd.com. Edited by G. Pauthier and printed in Paris in 1867, and as its title implies, this dictionary gives the pronunciation of the Chinese characters in both Chinese and Vietnamese, and the meaning in Latin and French. In the introduction, Pauthier gave the readers a short history of Chinese dictionaries.

And for a modern, convenient online Vietnamese dictionary, there is always the very usable Vdict.com.