The Vata (air and ether) is the moving force, the Pita (fire and water) is the digestive force and the Kapla (earth and water) is the binding force.

We all have these forces in differing proportions, and the Ayurvedic physician determines which body type the individual is and therefore which type of remedy is appropriate. The pulse, tongue, voice, skin, eyes, general appearance, stool and urine are used for diagnosis.

Types of treatment used are Oelation (oils) Fomentation (steam), Emesis (vomiting), Purging, Enemas, Nasal therapy and Blood letting (not used in Malaysia).

Oze's Ayurvedic Medical Centre offers a variety of special treatments such as body purification and longevity treatment, aphrodisiac and psoriasis treatments, with the most appealing being the Rejuvenation 14 day package, involving massage and steam oil treatment and internal medications, with a promise of a new younger looking and feeling you. See you in the waiting room perhaps!
- Suzanne Davey

EXPLORERS GROUP: MONEY MUSEUM OF BANK NEGARA MALAYSIA - 14 October

For our first meeting I decided to take the group to the Money Museum of Bank Negara Malaysia. The Museum was opened in 1987 when the Bank celebrated its 30th Anniversary. The Bank collection concentrates on Malaysian currency items comprising of primitive money, barter trade currency, pre-colonial Malay States money, colonial period money, independence period money, as well as Bank Negara issues (commemorative coins and notes) and foreign coins used in the Malay Peninsula. The Money Museum consists of three floors. On permanent display are some 2000 exhibits We really enjoyed the visit of the museum where we learnt more about the history of Malaysia from a different perspective. The museum is open daily except Monday from 9.00 am to 6 pm and we would recommend it to visit to all our members.

We would like to share with you some of the interesting information and list below a small report about the history of the word "ringgit".

Ringgit - The word ringgit denotes a unit of Malaysian currency made up one hundred sens which displaced the respective English words dollar and cent used before. Ringgit was already in the Marsden's Dictionary of the Malayan language published in 1812 which referred to it as a unit of currency. Abbot Favre's Malais-Francais Dictionnaire also contains this word, meaning a silver coin. Ringgit originally meant a jagged or serrated edge or crenellation, e.g. beringgit-ringgit - jagged or serrated. It is itself related to the word gerigi or rigi-rigi which means with notched or jagged edge like the teeth of a saw.

As to how coins came to be minted with serrated edges, it is necessary to go back a few hundred years into the history of coinage. The historic hammered coins had irregular edges and after being put into circulation, they were subjected to much abuse by unscrupulous tradesmen and moneylenders. These persons resorted to two generally known methods of reducing the metal content of these coins, one was clipping and the other sweating. Clipping involved shaving or clipping the edge, making the coin progressively smaller. Sweating was to put several coins in a fine leather bag and either shaking or jostling them which resulted in friction of the coins and thus fine particles of the gold or silver dust accumulated in the bag. After the founding of mechanical and therefore more efficient methods of producing coins, especially with the use of steam power, coins were struck with a raised rim or beaded rim. Some had a floral edge or an incused edge, others had a jagged or serrated edge.

From as far back at the 17th century European nations trading in the East had brought the silver dollar coin from the Spanish American mints as the coin of commerce in our part of the world. These round silver pieces had edges with a floral design. Later, coins of the Republic of Mexico were also introduced by the colonial government for use as currency in our lands. These heavy silver coins after some circulation in our territories came to be nicknamed ringgit irrespective of whether they were from the Spanish American or Mexican mints. Thus the word ringgit came to acquire a second meaning which was applied to all silver coins of either serrated or floral edges of the same size, weight and quality of silver.

Apart from generally calling these silver coins ringgit, local names were given to the different coins in use in Malaya such as ringgit patong ringgit geroda or matahari , … The word ringgit appeared for the first time on the 5.000 dollars banknote of the Oriental Banking Corporation of Singapore as early as 1849. On Malay coins, the jawi script for satu ringgit was first used on the reverse of the British Trade Dollar in 1895.

It can confidently be said, therefore, that the word ringgit, denoting a unit of our currency, had been in use in this area for at least 200 years.
- Renata Greplova

DEEPAVALI LUNCH - 24 October

Fifty of us dressed in our Indian finery and met for a celebratory Deepavali lunch at Passage To India, where we were treated to a delicious assortment of Indian dishes . We ate off banana leaves and soaked up the atmosphere of brightly coloured walls and low ceilings decorated with embroidered wall hangings with suspended embroidered and mirrored lamp shades.
- Suzanne Davey

Our member Amita Shah generously gave her time to give us a very interesting presentation about the meaning of Deepavali from an historical perspective, and also how it is celebrated in various parts of India today, and we have reproduced her talk here in the magazine in its entirety for the benefit of those who were unable to attend in person:

Friends, we are gathered here today for a Deepavali lunch. I have been asked to give a little insight into Deepavali. Those of you who have heard me before will remember that my stories begin 5000 years ago. Those who have not, will know now. In that part of the globe known as the Indian subcontinent today, man was beginning to give up nomadic life and settle down as a cultivator. Climate, germination of seeds, harvest, were of paramount importance, as they influenced the most basic need - FOOD. Festivals developed around these important events. According to my research, Deepavali was initially an agrarian festival spread over 5 days.

On Day I, the doctor of the Gods - Vaidya as he is called in Hindi, was worshipped. Herbs and other medicinal plants would have just started growing after the rains and it was time to start preparing medicines for the next year.

On Day II, oil lamps were lit in the memory of ancestors.

On Day III, puffed paddy called Kheel in Hindi and small toys made from new sugar were kept on the altar as an offering to the Gods to thank them for a bountiful harvest.

On Day IV, cowherds invoked the blessings of the Gods for an increase in their herd and for abundant milk. Time went by and some men became merchants. They exercised barter and later on sale of excess produce. So this day also marked the beginning of the new financial year.

More time went by and money came into being. Women were not really working outside the domestic confines so to give them some financial independence and also to strengthen family bonds the Day V came to be celebrated as Bhai Dooj or Brothers' day as Bhai means brother. Women would cook a special meal for their brothers who would give them some money as a gift.

Some more time went by. The caste system had come into being. Over a period of time, Brahmins became very powerful. They introduced rituals, they changed modes of worship to accommodate their greed for power and wealth. So man now started worshipping Ganesh and Laxmi on Deepavali day. Money was now included in the offerings which were collected by the family priest, the next day.

Still some more time went by and a story got associated with Deepavali that this was the day Lord Ram returned to his kingdom of Ayodhya after an exile of 14 years. So the towns folk illuminated the entire town with oil lamps and burst fireworks for joy.

India being a huge country measuring 4000 km from N to S and 3000 km from E to W with a diverse population of one billion people, today, we see Deepavali being celebrated in myriad ways.

In the North and West, people associate Deepavali with the homecoming of Lord Ram as I have just told you and the celebrations are spread over 5 days. On Dhanteras, the Day I, people buy new kitchen utensils and new clothes for the entire family. Please remember the fact that traditionally in most societies, clothes, utensils and grain were bought only once a year.

On the Day II, 11 oil lamps are lit in the memory of ancestors.

On the Day III, which is the main puja day, puffed paddy, toys made from sugar, betel leaf, all seasonal fruits, various sweetmeats, books, a pitcher of water mounted with a coconut, mud statues of Gods and Goddesses, replica of a temple, are kept on the altar in front of Laxmi, the Goddess of Wealth and Ganesh the remover of all hurdles. Special sanskrit mantra are recited by the whole family in unison. These mantra invoke the blessings of Shakti, the mother Goddess, in her various forms - Laxmi, Durga and Sarasvati.

Daughters-in-law present a tray of gifts to their mother-in-law.

Then everybody partakes of a lavish meal and children burst firecrackers. Entire towns and cities are lit up. People walk around the city at night taking in the gaiety and splendour. Trays laden with food are sent to the homes of friends and relatives.

The Day IV is known as Govardhan whence Go is cow and Vardhan means to increase. Cowherds deck up their cows like a westerner would preen his horse. Bells are tied around their necks and hooves and horns are painted. Blessings of Gods are invoked for an increase in the herd and for abundant milk. A mixed food item called Annakoot is prepared from the vegetables, grains and fruits available in the market at the time, and the entire family partakes of it. Also, for businessmen, big and small, this day marks the beginning of the new fiscal year.

The last Day V, of festivities is Bhai Dooj whence brothers visit their sisters who cook a lavish feast for them. All brothers give a symbolic cash gift to their sisters.

In the East however, the celebrations are tamer. There is only one day of feasting and worship or rather I should say night, for the Eastern Indians fast on Deepavali day. The fast is opened at midnight with a vegetarian meal. Food offerings are made to Goddess Kali together with a red sari atop a pitcher of water mounted with a coconut. Children burst firecrackers. At this juncture, I would like to point out that there are no absolute do's and don'ts in Hinduism. Thus not all Eastern Indians will fast on Deepavali day and it is not considered anti-religious if a person does not fast. In the South too, Deepavali is a one day celebration but before dawn whence there is a symbolic oil application by the eldest member of the family. After the ritual of oil bath, children burst firecrackers. In the evening, the entire house is illuminated with oil lamps. Needless to say, everybody partakes of a lavish feast. The Puranic story behind this celebration must be known to all as it is highlighted in the newspapers here every year. For the sake of those who might not know, South Indians celebrate Deepavali to mark the slaying of the demon Narkasur by Satyabhama, a manifestation of Shakti and the subsequent liberation of Earth from his grip.
- Amita Shah

ART AND SPIRITUALITY - 28 October

Sharifah Zuriah Aljeffri is an artist, environmentalist and social activist whose life and work is guided by the Islamic principles of compassion, justice and peace, the absence of which will lead to social chaos. She was the first Malay to learn the art of Chinese brush painting.

Sharifah took us on a spiritual journey through her paintings explaining the meaning, the symbolism and the techniques she used on the way. Part of the journey was learning about her reaction to war, her visit to refugee camps in Croatia and the effect of war on women.

Some paintings, such as the lotus series painted after the Desert Storm, are a tribute to the human spirit and the spirit of women who can rise above their degradation in a refugee camp to insist on sharing what little they have with visitors. Other paintings, with their bleak use of red with the superimposed Arabic characters of peace, compassion and justice in black, reflect Sharifah's anger at war.

In another series of paintings, Sharifah repeatedly used the Arabic character for Al Rahim-one of the many names of God. This is also the word for womb and giver of life. One of this series looks like a woman's face and it has become the logo for the movement Sisters in Islam. Sharifah is a founder member of this organisation, which, as one of its roles, funds research into the status of women through study of the Koran and historical documents written around the same time. One example is that when the Koran was written polygamy was deemed necessary to protect the many widows and orphans as a result of war.

In another series of paintings Sharifah showed us her respect for nature and belief that we must not just take from nature but give back. We saw paintings of the magnificent limestone formations on the road to Perak, which, due to mining, are disappearing. In The Colours of the Wind series the influence came from the words of a song in the film Pochohantas:

Sharifah also talked about the symbolism of colour in her paintings, how she did calligraphy with 'one intake of breath' and her new venture into silk painting.

I think we all thought that the paintings and silk scarves were just beautiful as works of art in themselves. However, having someone as eloquent, passionate and inspirational as Sharifah to explain the many layers of meaning, made this a very special and moving event.
- Geraldine Moores

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