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On Macedonia,by Ferid Muhic
Macedonia is not an island. It has never been "a forgotten place" or "a
place of forgetfulness"; it has never hidden
from distance and threats behind opaque walls. It never took root in
distrust, nor grew in a place where hatred of the
Other might be considered an honorable shelter from the fear of the Other.
In its memory, in the sum of its historical
consciousness, the ideas of "peripherality" and "inferiority", the
characteristic and constant companions of lands
which have been isolated and which have lived in isolation, have never been
inscribed nor meaningfully formulated.
Without Macedonia, the world would be a sum of vast solitude. Division is
the most eloquent mark of this planet:
besides the hundreds of thousands of islands and islets, embroiled In the
agonizing struggle against submersion in
autism, the continents themselves are, after all, only islands; all around
them a solid limitless sea. But man "is not
an island, entirely unto himself. Every man is a part of the Continent, a
piece of the Land... " Many have known
this, maybe all men, at all times. But for John Donne and for Ernest
Hemingway, this knowledge spurred them to
oppose the merciless factography of their own lives, but only through
poetry, through art. The poet Donne, who felt
so deeply the need for the pieces of the human Land to be united in the
immense Continent, lived and died on an
island - England. The master of the novel, Hemingway, authentically moved
by the same noble consciousness that
the bells which toll for each human death, toll for each living person, yet
had to accept island of Key West, turned in vain towards a kind of unity
and bridging the gulf that divides men from men. Neither of them saw the
fulfillment of
their dream: they never found their Macedonia..
The search for Macedonia!
Macedonian Church
There it is, squeezed into a single call, the dream of humanity scattered
around the archipelago of lonely and divided
living. Far from being an overemphasized, local, groundless metaphor, this
call, an echo of a geographical
specificity, unique in the world, is at the same time a privileged formula
of the mental and comparative advantage of
the inhabitants of Macedonia in the overall topography of the world's soul.
Macedonia represents a concrete counter -
argument to the imperative of selfishness and solitude; as a pure gift to
the world, as its bond, it is a direct denial of
the thesis of the fatal solitude of men in this world.
The search for Macedonia is, therefore, a search for the gravitational
kernel of the torn Land! It is the quest for a
point in search of which Archimedes wandered in dream and reality - not
needing to move the world (it is moving
anyway, as Archimedes certainly knew) - but to move it in a determined
direction of unity and understanding.
However, even if Archimedes did not succeed in discovering that desired,
indispensable, longed for "firm point" (his
quest, as is the case with most people who undertake it, brought him nearer
to reading his name as "Archi-pain"', for
without it, "what used to be honey turned into bitterness and anguish"),
its location in the part of the world known
as "Macedonia" had already been seen as such. Apparently, the region of
this fascinating pool recognized as the
Mediterranean, is truly placed "in the middle of the Earth". The children
of Europe, Asia and Africa swim in it. Parts
of each Continent are found on beaches and rocks, on hills and promontories
of all three continents. The hot desert
wind "hamsin", numerous plants, various animals, olive groves, fig trees,
sudden downpours, proud pines and the
bristle "north wind" cross paths and flow across the Mediterranean Sea,
which seems to separate the three largest
Continents in the world: Europe, Africa, Asia..
However, the Mediterranean, the real "heart of the world" has its own
center - the point where the three enormous
loners, the continents, meet and grow familiar with each other; the point
where the most ominous curse cast upon
mankind to live in fear and solitude - has been denied. Macedonia, the core
of the heart of the world, is a real, living
amalgam of roads, more solid than the distances and abysses which hinder
conversation by placing mute voids
between people. Macedonia lS a universal equivalent of hospitality and
decent living. It offers enough room not only
for all winds, rains, plants, and other forms of life around the
Mediterranean, but also for its own winds, rains,
waters, herbs and birds, which it wholeheartedly offers to the three
largest continents in the world. At the same time
it remains pure and individual placing its own indelible and unforgettable
mark on everything it touches: an
impression which, once received, can make anyone proud and beautified..
The unique position of Macedonia and its unrivaled capacity to be a home of
pleasant climes, herbs, animals and
people from all three Continents, has brought it the worthiest epithet ever
given to any place on Earth:.
"CATENA MUNDI"!
"THE CLASP OF THE WORLD"!
Is there a more honorable and unblemished attribute than to call a place
"The Link of the World"!? What praise can
surpass the noble and elevated meaning which emanates so translucently from
the nucleus of these words ! ? Even
the greatest Kingdoms, the most powerful Empires oppose, confront and face
the rest of the world. Their power is
drawn from the barriers with which they partition and segment the world..
Macedonian Poppy Flowers
Is not the power that creates and erects barriers, walls, and obstacles
weaker than the power which conquers,
neutralizes and annihilates them!? This is precisely the main
characteristic of Macedonia and a noble reason for why
people have created, cherished and kept the worthiest epithet for their
most precious idea and most passionate need -
"Catena Mundi"! - "The Link of the World" - the incarnated moment when we
are able to face and understand the
Other - to comprehend the eternally alien and threatening face of an
adversary, a face which, through us, is reflected
back to him. The world would not grasp the meaning of the word "meeting"
if it were not for Macedonia! Therefore,
Macedonia, as "a place where all worlds meet", and moreover, "a factor
which links the worlds", is the only
universal equivalent. It is a link, a tie, a clasp, which, is not merely
functional, but also a "Catena Aurea", the most
beautiful clasp cast in gold. Macedonia holds, binds, brings the world
together, and is its most beautiful adornment
at the same time. It is an alloy of hardest metals, a most delicate clasp
of filigree - beyond parallel and comparison..
The way out of the universal solitude is called Macedonia. It focuses and
decodes the secret algorithm by which a
casual meeting ot telationship, a rare privilege of individuals, becomes a
cosmic event. Instead of demanding a place
in this or that continent, Macedonia has the sovereign right to expect the
continents to see in it their most
significant, beautiful and human part: the part of each continent which
becomes an integral unit of the other two,
none of which is of lesser or greater importance, or, as the poet would say
of "... the wind, the sky and the earth".
Located in the very dynamic center of the tectonic clash between the triad
- Europe, Asia, Africa - Macedonia had
been considered the center of the rotational axis of the whole known world
as early as 2500 years ago. The other two
continents - the two large islands of America and Australia - remain as two
detached and isolated stabilizers of the
central bulk of the land united in the region of Macedonia..
Treskavec Monastery
The legends connected with the origin of Macedonia and its name bear in
themselves a prophetically dense message
which, in the light of the general fact revealing it as "The Clash of the World Cast in Gold", gain a startling and
consistent validity. If our thesis proves acceptable, all three continents,
which in the time when the name originated
had been considered as elements of the whole world, should be proud of
their origin. Could one find a better
confirmation of such a thesis than the fact that the name of Macedonia,
through the name of Macedon has been
registered in the mythology of all three continents? Or, in other words,
what is there in the myths by means of
which Europe, Africa and Asia seek for an answer to resolve their isolation
through a unique point of authentic
proximity, and which is linked to the name of Macedon and the area known as
Macedonia?.
Macedonian Icon
In all three myths, apart from the divine, i.e. royal descent of Macedon,
his righteousness, temperance and wisdom
have been praised, which, on a higher level of interpretation, suggests the
outstanding quality of the person who
linked and united the three opposed worlds: the worlds of the white, yellow
and black people. Thus, European
mythology considers Macedon the son of Zeus and Thea, who, as a result of
his distinguished spiritual values and
his enormous physical power, was appointed by his father Zeus to rule the
most neuralgic and significant region of
the world - the axis where the three continents meet. It is quite
indicative that Macedon's brother was known by the
name of Magnet. Apparently the great adhesive power indispensable for the
titanic task of keeping the three parts of
the world together, is closely related to Macedon himself, who greatly
needed the magnetic power for such
responsibility..
Asia too, has its own hero being given the same task and, strangely enough,
his name is also Macedon.
This time Macedon appears to be a son of a king. His father is Licaeon, a
righteous and wise king, God's favorite.
He ruled over Arcadia, the most ideal and idyllic kingdom of all times.
These two details show the necessary
characteristics of the one who is to unite the world: wise and temperate,
with a soul molded in the tranquil and mild
harmony of Arcadia. In this myth too, Macedon received his kingdom in the
region of Macedonia, later named after
him.
The third, African myth, has its origin in Egypt. Macedon is again of
divine origin, a son of , who was given Thrace
and Macedonia as his demesne where he ruled by law and virtue.
This exceptional coincidence of the three mythological explanations on the
origin of the name of the region called
Macedonia, logically interprets the intelligent syntagma adherent only to
Macedonia: "Catena Mundi", "The Clasp of
the Worlds". This syntagma, having justified its existence, has been
accepted by all three interrelated parts, united
and merged by means of its adhesive power..
This distinct cohesive evaluation (positively noted as value, as
constructive effect) of the role attributed to the small
territorial unit designated as Macedonia (the housing of the wheel is also
small, yet it is its most important part;
why should the wheel of the world be designed in any other way?), fits into
the only possible contradiction. In other
words, at first glance, the military expedition of Alexander of Macedon
jeopardizes our thesis. The conquest of the
world is not an act which can easily be understood as a constructive and
cohesive achievement..
However, this most glorious achievement of all times is altogether
different from the other imperialist campaigns in
history. Firstly, according to available sources, Alexander of Macedon
wished to accomplish the conquest in
accordance with all principles of ethics and of the military codex.
Secondly, it was of utmost significance to him that
he regard his great campaign not as a mere subjugation and enslavement of
the conquered territories. To him, the role
of Macedonia did not undergo radical alterations: the "Clasp of the World",
the link called Macedonia, had the
opportunity to become an active principle of world unification with its concentrated power and enthusiasm, wisdom
and bravery, righteousness and culture. This was the sole reason for
insisting on an introduction of such authority in
the conquered states and satraps, based upon the laws of reason and the
codes of ethics. All injustice and anarchy he
punished mercilessly. Therefore, he gave commands to his generals and
soldiers not to insult or humiliate the young
women and daughters of Persia, but to treat them as their lawful wives.
Consequently, he ordered "the marriage of
the worlds" at the great wedding, an event which, according to the sources,
united over 20,000 couples in
matrimony. Thus, the idea of Alexander, as quoted by the Turkish admiral
Reis Piri, was identical with his motto:
"One characteristic of" Iskender" never to judge people by "whether they
were dressed in silk or in rags, whether they
were rich or poor", but "whether they were capable of living together with
other people by divine and human laws..
Archangel Gavril
Look at it. Look at it carefully! Use all our knowledge, patience, all your
attention, concentrate on it, on that cosmic
structure designed before our Time, before the Genesis of the world. Let
this inexplicably friendly shape of an
incomparable architectural ornament, which certainly engendered the time of
Creation, touch habitats of our
"palimpsest", of the soul of which Plato spoke. Is it peculiar that "the
broad-backed philosopher" knew so much
about "the soul which remembers"? Especially if we recall that he was born
and lived very close to the center of the
center of the worlds - Macedonia. Is this shape of gold, this "pure form",
albeit incarnated, embodied shape of the
algorithm upon which the world rests?.
The absolute darkness of the redundant Void before the creation of the
Cosmos is impregnated with this shape, not
with the achievement, not with the result, but with the concept. This is
"in concreto" the active code of creation,
which, at the same time is the codex and the canon, an instruction and a
counsel for the development and survival of
the universe. Everything can be created from It, but only It is the axiom,
which has nothing but Itself for Its
creation. If our body, any body, is the realization of the idea
incorporated in the soul of the universe, this miraculous
structure is a realization and somatization of the soul itself. Listen to
what It tells the world. What did the wise have
in mind when they emphasized the trinity of creation? Nothing but the fact
that what IS consists of an inner duality,
of the universal integral - binomial; and that the world is partitioned
because in the process of unification it obtains
its utmost competence: creation of the new, perpetuation of the glorious
Original Revolt against the black Void.
Empedocles, one more of the lucky ones to be born near the "Clasp of the
Worlds", understood that the origin of the
of what originally was One. The search for the self, the mastery over the
desire for the Other, are the only ways in
which the Universe can direct its creative capacities to produce new values
and beauty. What is love, asks
Empedocles, if not the power which leads us to the Other, and by which the
Other understands us as a condition for
His own existence..
The story about the sandal of this magnificent wise man illustrates his
previous statement: when he jumped in the
mouth of Aetna, his sandal surfaced on the flowing lava exactly at the
place where he told his friends to wait for it..
Hegel, who had not the privilege to be born near the place where the
prophesied meeting of the worlds took place (he
was born far away from Macedonia), was certain that the wisdom of this
region was the most profound revelation of
the mortals. He believed that the solution to the universal enigma was
buried there, in Macedonia. His dialectics is
nothing else but an exhaustive philosophic analysis, a learned commentary
on what stretches before our eyes, known
as:.
THE BUCKLE OF MACEDONIA!
The buckle of Macedonia
Three elements are in play. Each sufficient to ensure its own existence. Disconnected, they are unable to create
anything. The secret of the buckle lies in the secret of connecting. Each
element is framed within a delicately forged
chain: two symbolize separation, and the third connecting one completes
the entity. As such the central element
suggests the unity of the disconnected ones, whereas they, subtly but
convincingly, stress their symbolic function of
wings. Amid the dynamic cen- tre of gravity, in the very focus where the
forces and the essence of all three parts
intersect - the circle is the perfect harmonious partitur of the universe.
Don't the protruding embers of the Sun-fire
shine from within? And doesn't the same finding again come with three new
circles? And all are joined in their
common centre!.
As for the central part of the Macedonian buckle - the conceptual cradle of
the genesis - isn't it again exactly the
``same formula, only intensified and amplified? The main body now is the
buckle itself. Its wings, now quite widely
spread, as they should be for their long- lasting flight to eternity, are
the two entities, left and right, in which the
same code may be recognized and deciphered. Surely, that same fundamental
surface is now massive, because it is
supposed to support and hold, and even subsume, the two lat- eral entities
which it unites. For the same reason, the
central circle is also larger: Also, the Sun, engraved in the circle, is
more glaring and warmer - since accumulates the
glow and the heat of both entities it is connected with. As for the chain,
thrown as a rectorical, royal sign, it is not a
meaningless ornament, but a genuine insignia of the vital pillar of the
world. It has been triple woven; it complements the chain tied to the
centre - to the "Catena Mundi"- the ending and meeting point of all lines.
The
central chain has also been decorated about with a delicate pearly treble
clasp, while three perfect circles are again
attached to the ends of the three central chains..
Once one understands the concept of the "Macedonian buckle" one will
understand the anatomy of our Planet. The
Earth has created Islands just because Macedonia is not one. Just because
Macedonia shows how Islands turn into
Continents!.
Ferid Muhic.
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