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The next morning, our four member Mission begins the next leg of its journey, a flight to Hakodate on the Northern island of Hokkaido, and thence by propeller jet to the far eastern Russian outpost of Yuzhno Sakhalinsk on the Island of Sakhalin. On the plane I borrow Tynetta's copy of Roerich's book "Altai-Himalaya," and read his essay on "Altai." In 1926, exactly 75 years prior to our visit, also in the month of August, the Roerich's passed through Altai. In fact, I notice the two dates mentioned by Roerich, August 2nd and August 17th, to be identical to the dates of our entry and our departure from Altai. What curious destiny was this? Yet another challenge awaited us in Yuzhno Sakhalinsk. Following a tense and difficult moment when we realized that Tynetta and Rosalind had been issued the wrong tickets, and with some $400 to resolve the problem, we finally get on our next flight which takes us inland to Khabavorsk, and then on to Novosibirsk. It is a long flight, appropriate to the day, Kin 208, Yellow Cosmic Star, in the Dreamspell, the 208th step to Merlin's tower, the point of departure and magic flight into the Green Central Castle. Awaiting us in Novosibirsk are Timofey and a few new Russian kin. Timofey was unsuccessful at finding us a hotel, and so we all end up in the flat of a young painter named Natasha.
Later in the afternoon we give another lecture at the central science complex. We are told in advance that some of the scientists may be wishing to challenge us regarding the law of time and the calendar change. Our host scientist, however, Vladimir Ponko, Magnetic Seed, has already made detailed studies verifying the existence of the 13:20 frequency in nature. With this in mind, I make a strongly autobiographical presentation which establishes a creative flow from Earth Ascending to the Law of Time as an integral part of a deeply personal search for the truth. This approach works. There is no strong challenge and much curiosity. The next day, while waiting to see if we can get our train tickets (you cannot purchase train tickets in Russia without showing your passport), we have a highly creative encounter with one scientist whose skepticism had eased as a result of our presentation, Irene Eganova. Known as one of the chief followers of N.A. Kozyrev, the prominent physicist who proposed that time is actually a force generated from the stellar core, Eganova very graciously presents me not only with texts on Kozyrev's mathematical cosmology, but a rare four volume edition of research done at the Mathematical Institute on the analysis of Mayan Hieroglyphs. This work, terminated in an incomplete state in 1968, was done in order to find out what kind of computer would have to be constructed in order to accommodate the intricacies of Mayan hieroglyphics! In our discussion, which includes a radical view of the electron as a field, it is evident that future collaboration with Eganova could bear great fruit in extending an understanding of the Law of Time among Russian scientists. The train having been sold out, we procure a mini van and that evening, Magnetic Moon 7, following a visit to the Roerich exhibit in the Novosibirsk Art Museum, we set off for Altai. Our entourage now includes the four of us, Tynetta Lunar Hand, Rosalind Lunar Dog, Bolon Ik and myself, two PAN Russia interpreters, Timofey Self-existing Serpent, and Nadezhda Resonant Dragon, and professional film maker, Volodya Overtone Sun, who is prepared to film the entire mission. The night swallows our vehicle as it careens south toward our mysterious destination. In the wee hours of the morning we arrive at an impromptu destination, the house of some noted "channellers." Following a sauna and some good fresh food, we retire for a few hours of sleep. "The Altai republic is located at the juncture
of borders of several states, Morning of August 2nd, Blue Electric Monkey, Magnetic Moon 8, brilliant sunshine floods through the window. A large bird hovers in the back yard then glides away. Another good meal, breakfast, and a conversation with the head mistress of the house, Olga. Of Russian descent, Olga speaks of the preparation for our visit on the higher planes and of the confirmation of the knowledge of the Law of Time with the destinal keys of this long-awaited moment. As she speaks, there is a commotion. Because we could not get the train to Biisk, some confusion has arisen regarding our arrival and whereabouts. Now waiting for us outside this simple house are two official vehicles. The Deputy Minister of Culture has come to fetch our Mission and take us to the official reception. The cars speed us away... "The Altai in the issue of the migration
of nations
Arriving again at the border between the Autonomous Republic of Altai and Russia proper, there is a small gathering of vibrantly dressed women and a presence of media. The Minister of Culture, Elizaveta C. Yalbakova, our official hostess, colorfully clad in the native dress, greets us warmly. The four official members of our Mission are given silk sashes which are tied on to us ceremonially. The gathering of women does a chant which is vaguely reminiscent of Lakota chants from North America. After a few formal words of exchange, we talk with the press. An ornately dressed elderly woman, Alexandra, goes to Rosalind, and claims her as a long lost daughter. This was soon to become a pattern. Rosalind, it should be noted is tall and striking with her hair in corn braids and her elegant African features set off by equally elegant dresses. All the women want to hug and touch her. Across the street there is a state reception and some food. Here we are presented to the three indigenous Altai people to accompany us on our journey: Olga Spectral Skywalker, an Altai native from Kalada, representative of Akh T'ian, the White Faith religious form of the former Altai Shamanism; her sister, Klavdia rhythmic Dragon, who teaches in the University; and Miron Cosmic Sun, an all-around helper who, being of the land and the people, knows all about the land and the people. Also joining us at this point were the two Russian educators who helped coordinate our visit with the government and people of Altai, Boris Vershynin Overtone Hand of the Friendship University in Moscow, and Valentina V. Ivleva Magnetic Star, who now resides in the Altai. This is the official day, so our entourage now heads back to the capitol, Gorno-Altaisk. The only city in Altai, Gorno-Altaisk has a population of about 60,000 people. The whole of the Republic of Altai has only 205,000 people in a land of 92,600 square kilometers - that's only .7 people per square kilometer. We have lunch in a small room in the capitol building, then we go to meet the deputy speaker of the Parliament, Ivan I. Belekov, who explains to us that Altai is divided into eleven regions, five of these designated by UNESCO as cultural heritage zones. One of the small booklets he gives us describes Altai officially as an "Ecological-Economic Region." The dynamic tension in Altai today is how to maintain its biospheric and cultural unity against the pressures of tourism and globalization.
"We can't let it happen here," I said, speaking now to a full house of some hundred people in the Kurulltai, the House of Parliament. "Altai must be preserved. The preservation of Altai is the preservation of the planet. Globalization must be kept out of here. Tourism must be carefully managed ... for this reason we propose that an International Center for Peace through Culture be established in Altai to promote understanding and research in an alternative future, one that preserves the biosphere and the cultural values that still make Altai unique on this planet today..." Our words were ceremonially marked by the presentation of the Banner of Peace to the Minister of Culture. A number of other speakers followed us, many of them poets or other cultural figures of Altai society, speaking in honor of the momentous occasion of our visit to Altai. Afterwards we were taken to the National Art Museum to the see the work of the national painter, Choros-Gurkin whose images of Altai nature and shamanism evoke the native American heritage - was Altai truly the cradle of all of these cultures? Yes, they all tell us, Altai is also known as the cradle of human culture. Human or proto-human remnants as much as a million and a half years old have been found here. In the Roerich room of the museum, the Banner we have given to the Minister of Culture is presented to the Museum Curator so that it can be hung in its place of honor among the works of Roerich. After a meal in what appears to be a kind of restaurant we retire to the soviet style (run more like a dormitory than a hotel) hotel where we are lodged for the night.
The splendor of the forested mountains dropping straight down into the magnificent lake is truly awesome. As far as the eye can see, nothing but mountains reflected in the mirror like surface of the lake. Nowhere is there any sign of lumbering or clear-cutting as you have in the United States. Occasionally a small community can be glimpsed near the shore line. After several hours in this pristine meditation of nature, we arrive at a small beach. The rest of the lake is prohibited to this kind of boat travel. Just down from the small beach past some tourist stands is the walkway to the waterfall. A true delight, the waterfall tempts one to enter its churning waters - and many there are who accept the temptation. Returning to the boat we turn and head toward the farther shore, to the small village of Yailu where we are to spend the night. After some negotiation, several houses are found to lodge us for the night. The four members of our Mission are taken to the house of a former science teacher who has left the academy with her children to live in nature. To our surprise, a young visitor from Volgograd speaks almost perfect English. After tea and well into night-time, Bolon Ik and I are accompanied to a campfire where the youth of the village are waiting for us. What a challenge, beneath the stars and by the fireside, to explain to these young people our mission! Fortunately, Timofey has had many Russian language version Thirteen Moon pocket calendars printed up, so that everyone can have one. Our job done, we leave it to Timofey and Nadezhda to engage the young people in the technical details of the calendar. The next morning a sauna is prepared for us, and then, after breakfast
we are taken on a tour of the village and the orchards nearby. Our
tour guide is a local ecologist who is very heartened by our visit
to his community. At the end of our walk through fields and orchards,
including a stop at the monument to the man who first brought orchards
to Altai in the 1960s, the ecologist takes a carved bear amulet
from his neck and gives it to me in appreciation. We also present
him with a Banner of Peace. As the boat pulls out from the village
of Yailu, all the young people who attended our little presentation
the night before are at the shore waving good-bye to us.
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Novosibirsk
is the "capitol" of Siberia, the closest metropolis to
Altai, and the noted center of Russian science. As a large city
it is tame compared to Moscow or Tokyo. After some sleep and orientation
- we are still waiting to see if we can get train tickets from Novosibirsk
to Biisk, the last stop before Altai, still some 100 hundred kilometers
from the Altai border - we set off for the scientific township just
outside of Novosibirsk. At a small building we enter the Museum
of the Sun where Valeri, the curator, shows us a stunning display
of wooden sculptures (his own) and other artifacts showing depictions
of the sun from virtually every indigenous culture of the world.
In a small meeting hall a sizable audience is waiting for us to
speak. We announce our Mission, to bring the Banner of Peace back
to Altai and to see about establishing Altai as the planetary Foundation
for Peace through Culture. For the Museum of the Sun we leave a
Banner of Peace and a deerskin replica of the famous sarcophagus
lid of the tomb of Pacal Votan. We conclude with an impromptu flute
concert accompanied by Valeri's playing of resonating Tibetan bowls.
The
major threat to this pristine condition is the proposed super highway
to connect China on the southernmost border to Russia in the North.
If constructed, this highway would destroy the energy field that
Altai maintains as the navel of the world, and, along with it, bring
the deluge of industrial civilization pouring through in each direction
- not for Altai's profit, but the profit of those in China, Russia
and the industrial cartels beyond. The memory of present-day Japan,
or the desecrated Four Corners area of the Untied States came vividly
to mind as I contemplated the uniqueness of Altai.
The
next morning we are all finally gathered together and head out to
the country-side, the four official members in a state car, and
the rest of our team in an old red bus, number 608. On the way out
of town we stop at the apartment of Anton Yudanov Overtone Sun,
Zaison of the Tubalar Tribe, an anti-globalization activist who
helped popularize the Mayan Factor in Altai. He sings a song in
the Altai style, composed in my honor, passionately voiced and accompanied
by the native stringed instrument, a "Topshur" Handmade
by himself, Yudanov presents this instrument as a gift to me, and
we continue on our way. We are headed for lake Teletskoe. At a predesignated
point, we meet up with some other musicians, and our state vehicle
returns to Gorno-Altaisk. Now we are all on the little red bus,
broken front window and all. By early afternoon we are at the head
waters of the lake, and soon all aboard a small boat.