Today's blog is
abnormal, so I warn you to read no further if you're expecting my typical plant
pratter. Let's do geography instead. I know, at least half of the readership has
already heeded my warning and will not continue. You remaining all know what geography
means – the study of places (including space) and the relationships between
people and their environments – from the Greek geo for "earth"
and graphia "to write." The word photography, for
example, means "to write with light."
When about 7-10
years old I developed a fascination with the world's places, probably because
my father worked two jobs and my mother didn't drive, so consequently we never
went anywhere. Back then there was no internet and TV was in its infancy, so I
wasn't exposed to nature or travel programs. But our family did receive the
monthly National Geographic magazine and I devoured most of those
articles. An added bonus was that I could ogle bare-breasted African women. Via
the magazine I accompanied expeditions to the Andes and the Himalaya, to China
and India, to London and New York City etc., and then in adulthood I eventually
visited all of those places.
I wasn't the
sharpest kid in school but I aced geography well above the other students. For
example I could locate on a globe – I guess nobody has those balls anymore –
every African country and its capital. The same with most of the world's
countries. Later I lost track of a lot of it since the USSR split into a bunch
of stans (meaning "land") and some of the African countries
renamed themselves etc. Long ago I was in the international section of the
Bangkok airport and I was puzzled by the readerboard which listed a flight to Mumbai.
When I got home I investigated where the hell was Mumbai and discovered
that Bombay had changed its name.
 |
| Cyrene |
 |
| Eratosthenes |
The first recorded
use of the word geography was by the Greek scholar Eratosthenes (276-194
BC) and he is credited with the discipline. His map of the known world is
fascinating, and actually kind of interesting that so much was both known and
unknown. Era was a brilliant polymath: besides geography he was an astronomer,
music theorist, poet and mathematician, and for the latter he developed a
simple algorithm for finding prime numbers, now known as the "Sieve of
Eratosthenes." Era was born in Cyrene, an important Greek, then later
Roman city near present-day Shahhat, Libya. It was also headquarters of the
Cyrenaics, a school of philosophy founded by Aristippus, a 4th
century BC disciple of Socrates. Cyrene's important export during its early
history was the medicinal herb silphium, and it was in such demand that it was
harvested to extinction. The "giant fennel" was used as a seasoning,
as perfume and, oh boy, as an aphrodisiac, so who wouldn't want some of that?
To help keep ardor in check it was also used as a contraceptive.
In ancient Greece Libya
could mean all of Africa,* or at least the Afro-lands west of the Nile. The
modern nation acquired the name in 1934 when Italy held it as a colony, and it
became formally independent in 1951. Libya was first mentioned in the Egyptian
12th dynasty (1991-1786 BC), in the historical story Prophecy of
Neferti.
*The Greek Herodotus (484-425 BC) wrote: "As for
Libya, – [Africa] – we know it to be washed on all sides by the sea, except
where it is attached to Asia.
 |
| Asia Minor |
 |
| Herodotus |
The name Asia
is also attributed to Herodotus, from the Phoenician word asa which
means "east" and the Akkadian word asuwhich for "to
rise." So Asia means "the land of the sunrise," but first
it only referred to the east bank of the Aegean Sea. In Latin an inhabitant of
Asia Minor was an Asianus, but these days that could refer to the people
of China, or at least to their Communist dictatorship. Romans used the term oriens
for the east because they had a Eurocentric view of geography, as if they
were placed in The Middle, and indeed the Mediterranean Sea means "middle
earth," or "the body of water in the middle of the earth."
Another meaning of orient is "a pearl of great luster" which
would apply to my Japanese wife, and sometimes I tease her by calling her my
"Little Ornamental." If she is slow to awaken in the morning I remind
her that the day is almost finished in the Orient. She groans, and wonders why
she married this old American who pops with jokes that only he thinks to
be so funny.
Ok, back to China –
how did that name originate? As is typical, nothing is certain. The name might
come from Sanskrit literature where Cina could refer to the inhabitants
around the origins of the Indus River, but I guess that would be an Indocentric
concept. Later the Latin word Sina would become the origin of Sino
or Sinae, which too has its origins in Sanskrit. In its official
language China is known as Zhongguo for "central state,"
a horrible concept when in the wrong hands. More pleasantly it could be Zhonghua
for "central beauty" or Huaxia for "beautiful
grandness" or Shenzhou for "divine state." More
realistically, today, Han and Tang are common names for Chinese
ethnicity, and now the People' Republic of China is Zhonghua Renmin
Gongheguo...but I promise that you won't be tested on any of this. The
Japanese use the term Chuka Jinmin kyowakoku, but I was afraid to ask my
wife the literal meaning of that, for one must be careful to not push the wrong
buttons. Anyway, I've been to China only once, I guess it was about 1987 – if
you exclude Hong Kong a decade earlier – and in those pre-Tiananmen days I was
impressed with that country's energy,
its potential, but the world has definitely soured about its existence since
then. The Chinese have long considered themselves to be at the middle of
the earth, and in fact China's classroom maps present their country in the
center, and the kids are taught that all lands surrounding China are fit for
only barbarians.
 |
| Marco Polo |
Pakistanis would
disagree, as their country's name means "land of the pure" in Urdu
and Persian. Once home to the prehistoric Indus Valley civilization, it was
conquered by Aryans in about 1500 BC. Eventually the British ruled it as part
of India, then it became a separate Muslim state in 1947, where it has been
largely dysfunctional ever since. Today's Pakistan used to be called West
Pakistan to distinguish it from East Pakistan, with the latter now
existing as Bangladesh ("Land of the Bengals"). The Bengal
name is for its people, said to be from Banga, the name of a founding
chief, and Marco Polo mentioned Bangala in 1298. Some speculate that it
came from the word Bonga meaning "Sun god." I've been at the
borders of both Pakistan and Bangladesh but I never officially set foot in
either country, and I'm sure that I never will. Way too hot!
 |
| Robert Gray |
Closer to home, I
find it amazing that no one knows for certain the name origin of my home state
of Oregon. I have dozens of word-origin and place-origin books in my basement
library – pre-internet you see – and the only ones I trust are the books that
state the uncertainty. Some authors stridently declare their theory about the
name, but another book can provide a completely different theory. We know that
in 1500 Spanish sailors returning to Mexico from the Philippines were the first
white people to see the Oregon coast, and in 1578 Sir Francis Drake maybe
touched shore, looking for a passage between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.
In 1792 Robert Gray sailed up the Big River which he named the Columbia
after his ship's name. The Columbia River at one time was called the Ouragan
which means "hurricane" in French, so perhaps during a winter's
bluster the great river was called "the river of storms," hence Oregon.
Another theory posits the Spanish origin of Orejon from the chronicle Relacion
de la Alta y Baja California by Rodrigo Montezuma. In 1598 he made
reference to the River. Another suggested that a plant in the oregano family
which is found in Oregon led to the name. On and on...
 |
| Las Sergas de Espladian |
 |
| Queen Calipha |
Our neighboring
state of California has more certainty about its name and it's a fantastic
story, but I suspect that most of that state's denizens have no clue about it. When
the Spanish invaded the New World they were aroused by a mythical island named Califa
which was inhabited by a black race of warrior women. The gals even had their
left breast removed so they could better draw their bows. This fantasy was
described in Las Sergas de Esplandian by Garcia Ordonez de Montalvo,
written about 1510. When Spanish conquistadors first discovered the Baja
California peninsula they believed it to be a large island, east of the Indies,
ruled by a Queen Calipha. The author conjured the name from Arabic Khalifa
(leader), or else he was influenced by the term Califerne in an 11th
century French epic The Song of Roland.
 |
| Map of California (1666) |
I'll quote an
excerpt from Montalvo's novel:
"Know, then, that, on the right hand of the Indies,
there is an island called California, very close to the side of the Terrestrial
Paradise, and it was peopled by black women, without any man among them, for
they lived in the fashion of the Amazons. They were of strong and hardy bodies,
of ardent courage and great force. Their island was the strongest in all the
world, with its steep cliffs and rocky shores. Their arms were all of gold, and
so was the harness of the wild beasts which they tamed and rode. For, in the
whole island, there was no metal but gold.
 |
| Diego Gutierrez, the Americas, published in 1562 |
In 1562 Diego
Gutierrez published the first map using the name California. Of course
gold was eventually discovered in Coloma, California at Sutters Mill which led
to the Gold Rush (1848-1855) which immediately brought 300,000 people to
California. The state's logo name is The Golden State, but that has
nothing to do with gold or the Rush, rather it originated when the Spanish
explorers noticed from their ships gold-cladded hills which turned out to be
the flowers of the native poppy, Eschscholzia californica.
 |
| George, Washington |
 |
| George Washington |
To Oregon's north is
Washington state and that was named after America's first president, George
Washington, but that may change by those wishing to cancel culture, and who are
toppling his statues because he kept slaves. I won't weigh in on any of that
because I don't want to anger stupid people. But I will report that there is a
dinky town named George, as in George, Washington, and I had breakfast
at its one cafe which also doubled as a tourist shop where you could buy cups,
plates and t-shirts. My omelette and hash-browns were pretty good too. I didn't
stick around for the annual July 4th celebration where the world's
largest pie is baked every year, weighing 1,000 pounds.
 |
| Hyndman Peak, Idaho |
 |
| Shoshone man |
The last place name
that I'll discuss is the state of Idaho, most notable for its potatoes and as
the birth-place of me. It is a beautiful land of forests, rivers and mountains
such as the Twelvers where a number of peaks exceed 12,000' in altitude.
What does the word Idaho mean? Unfortunately it was an invented name
that mining lobbyist George M. Willing proposed to Congress for an area around
Pike's Peak (in present day Colorado). He claimed Idaho was the Native American
Shoshone name – E Dah Hoe – meaning "Gem of the Mountains." By
the time the deception was discovered Idaho was already in common use.
Perhaps some would suggest that my entire career is fraudulent too, that I take
all of the credit while my employees do all of the work.
So, hopefully you
have enjoyed our geographic journey. It was certainly easy as you sat in your
chair, and your sojourn came at no expense.
