Sardinia’s Geology and the Lost Continent

Many consider Sardinia to be Atlantis, or a fragment of that lost land. In Sardinia, as over much of the world, there is ample evidence that an ancient civilization far more advanced than ours in terms of mathematics, the sciences, the arts, and humanity thrived for millennia. Huge stone buildings, rock walls, ancient writing, signs of advanced knowledge and application of mathematics, energy, magnetism, and wireless communications attest to such a civilization in Sardinia as well as other locations in Europe, South and North American, Asia, and Africa. Much of the evidence indicates that Sardinia was the center of influences that spread to other areas. Sadly, this proof is usually ignored and sometimes even destroyed by classical historians of Western European lineage.

Sardinian archeologist and historian Leonardo Melis has written much about Sardinia’s history and influence, and Giovanni Cannella and others have also contributed research and books in this area. (All, however, are written in Italian and difficult to find outside of Sardinia.)

The vast amount of archeological and anthropological research proving the connection between the ancient Sardinians and the populations of now-diverse areas of the world is supported by recent geologic research proving, in detail, that Mediterranean land masses now separated were once unified.

This article (with embedded video) discusses how geologists have recently confirmed the location and movement of an ancient continent called Greater Adria, and proven which current geologic areas and features are remnants of that lost continent. The research is based on plate tectonics (the science of shifting land masses, called plates). Recent technological advances have enabled geologists to detail specific plate movements and how the various land masses comprising what we now consider Europe, Africa, Eastern Asia, and the Mediterranean have shifted over time, coming together and then dispersing in a manner the geologists have long suspected.

Specifically, the article discusses how, over a history spanning more than 100 million years, the continent of Greater Adria broke from the African plate, moved, and variously had portions submerge under the European plate, rise over the European plate, break into smaller pieces, and/or float over or sink under other land masses. Continental European mountains including the Apennines, parts of the Alps, and ranges in Greece, Turkey, as well as other distinct areas of Europe and what is now Sardinia were once compressed and located next to one another in Greater Adria. 

The article and the video are not surprising, given the wealth of astounding geologic, archeologic, and anthropologic evidence in Sardinia supporting a history far greater than what classicists have maintained.

Even without the proof the geologic research offers, when you visit Sardinia, you realize that the rock formations across Sardina were born of tremendous time and change. The mix of rock types; the jutting angles of sedimentary rock layers; the location of limestone in the center of the island; the wear of the rock; the variety of geologic formations; and other features of the land are almost indescribable. The archeological and anthropological proof is also astounding — the nuraghe, domus de janas, sacred wells, and other stone buildings; the statues, textiles, and other artwork; the legends and oral history of the island; and much more speak of a culture and heritage beyond what is recorded or taught even in the most esteemed universities.

While you may not be able to read the books mentioned above because they’re written in Italian, you can certainly find information by searching online, and see posts about Sardinia’s hidden history, geology, and natural beauty on Sardinian Arts’ Facebook and Twitter pages, as I repost items from the authors mentioned above and others who provide insight to the ancient history of Sardina and beyond.

~ KMK

Forest Fires Burning Large Areas of Sardinia in 2021

The numerous forest fires starting, spreading, and engulfing large areas of California, Oregon, Arizona, Utah, Colorado and other western states are known to people in the United States not only because of the news, but because the smoke from these fires has at times grown so thick that people complain of headaches and watery eyes in distant states. Huge forest fires have also charred tens of thousands of acres across southern Europe: Greece, Turkey, and Southern Italy have been burning — as has been Sardinia. 

Massive forest fires started on the island on July 23, 2021 and by July 26, the initial fires had burned more than 50,000 acres (20,000 hectares) across central Sardinia, wiping out homes, farms, crops, and forests, killing or injuring livestock and wildlife, and displacing people and animals.

While the initial fires were quelled, blazes continue to start and burn across the island. The exact number of acres burned is not known, for the fires start and grow so rapidly that accurate fire boundaries can’t always be mapped. The overall damage to forests, wildlife, crops, farm animals, and people won’t be known for some time, and recovery will take years. 

While there’s not much news in English about the Sardinian wildfires, I’ve put a few links below, along with links to Italian sites that include photos and videos of key fires. Many of the damaged areas are well known to me, as I have driven the roads and explored the areas. 

To help those most affected by the fires, individuals across the island and groups across Italy have started GoFundMe campaigns. Some campaigns have a general focus; others have a specific focus on agriculture, animals, or a particular region. I’ve put several GoFundMe links below, should you care to donate. Of course, prayers and best wishes are helpful and welcome.

List of Fires, Updated Daily

The Sardegna Protezione Civile (Sardinian Civil Protection Agency) website maintains a list of wildfires. The list is updated daily.

Articles in English

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/26/firefighters-battle-wildfires-raging-across-south-west-sardinia

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/26/world/europe/wildfires-italy-sardinia.html 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Sardinia_wildfires

Articles in Italian (with photos/video)

https://video.repubblica.it/cronaca/incendi-in-sardegna-le-campagne-sono-divorate-dal-fuoco-le-immagini-dal-drone/393718/394429?ref=search

https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/2021/07/26/gli-incendi-in-sardegna-nelle-ultime-48-ore18.html?ref=search

https://video.repubblica.it/politica/sardegna-lo-sgomento-di-mattarella-in-volo-con-l-elicottero-sulle-zone-devastate-dagli-incendi/393885/394596?ref=search

https://tg24.sky.it/cronaca/2021/07/27/incendi-sardegna-oggi#10

https://www.galluranews.org/incendi-2021-la-sardegna-perde-ogni-anno-oltre-2700-ettari-di-bosco/

https://www.galluranews.org/il-costo-e-di-oltre-10-000e-per-ettaro-questo-il-bilancio-dei-recenti-incendi/

https://www.galluranews.org/incendi-montiferru-le-prime-stime-dei-danni/

https://www.galluranews.org/incendi-bestiame-fienili-pascolo-urgono-i-sostegni/

GoFundMe Campaigns

To see all campaigns related to the 2021 Sardinian fires, click here.

Click here to see the campaign Aiutiamo La Sardegna a Rialzarsi —  Let’s help Sardinia to rise up again, sponsored by Unione Coltivatori Italiani (The Union of Italian Farmers), which is one of the oldest and largest associations working to protect agriculture, farmers, and related businesses across Italy and within the European Union. 

A Note about the Photos

The main photo is from the GoFundMe campaign started by the Unione Coltivatori Italiani The inset photo, taken in 2014, shows a road near one of the burned areas, from KM Koza.

The Enchanting Elegance of Pibiones

Fine Pibiones Up Close

This is not meant to be an exhaustive discussion of this topic. I talk more about this during events, both in-person and online. See the News and Events section or sign up for the mailing list to keep updated!

Pibiones are small raised bumps of thread found on the most distinctive of Sardinian textiles. The name comes from an ancient word for grapes, as pibiones feel like grapes, and grapes and the harvest play a significant part in Sardinian history. 

Touching pibiones is an enchanting experience: Rub your hand over a handwoven textile bearing a pattern created by the pibiones, and your hand feels as if it’s getting a massage. You may even feel you’re playing an instrument that creates a nearly-silent tune, as the pattern and organization of the pibiones are musical in arrangement! Pibiones are practical, as well: They add strength, texture, and design to a textile. 

Weaving a textile with pibiones requires skill, dexterity, and patience. Pibiones are created by winding fibers around a long needle that sits on top of the weft (the foundation threads of a textile). Each pibione is counted and wound by hand, one pibione at a time, one row at a time, matched against a pattern drawn on graph paper. (See pibiones being woven in I Want to Weave the Weft of Time.)

The best pibiones are firm to the touch and remain durable and distinct when the textile is used. To achieve the desired firmness, threads used in the pibiones are often spun a second time before being woven. 

While considered uniquely Sardinian, the pibiones tradition of weaving is today found primarily in the Samugheo, in the center of the island. Aggius and Nule, other Sardinian towns renowned for their handwoven textiles, have different weaving traditions.

To learn more, see other pages on this site, including The Art of Handweaving, watch the documentary I Want to Weave the Weft of Time, and/or attend one of my presentations about Sardinian handweaving. The News and Events area lists upcoming presentations and film screenings. 

Online Presentation: Sardinian Handwoven Textiles: Exploring a Nearly-Lost Art, September 2021

This presentation will be September 15, 2021 at 6pm San Francisco time. The event is free, but you must register to attend.

Join me online for this free event to explore the indescribable beauty of Sardinian handwoven textiles, see the loving and painstaking artistry of their creation, meet the tessitrici artigianali — the unique women weavers who maintain the tradition of a nearly-lost art — and glimpse just a bit of Sardinia’s majesty.

I’ll discuss the importance of the handmade, the relevance these women, their weavings, and their traditions have in our modern world, and the anima (spirit) of Sardinian handwoven textiles. I’ll share portions of my film as well as photos, stories of the weavers and my adventures on the island, and show some of my personal textile collection.

There’s no charge for the event, but you must register ahead of time. Click here to go to Eventbrite and register. You’ll receive confirmation and reminder emails with the Zoom link to the event.

I look forward to seeing you!

~ Kelly Manjula Koza

Filmmaker’s Screening: I Want to Weave the Weft of Time, August 2021

Join me for a free online screening of my documentary I Want to Weave the Weft of Time August 18, 2021 (Wednesday) from 6 to 7.30pm (18.00 to 19.30) San Francisco time.

I’ll add filmmaker’s commentary to provide a glimpse of how the film came about, the synchronicity of its making, working with the weavers, the soundtrack’s creation, and more. I’ll also share stories and additional video clips, including outtakes and works in progress, and answer questions.

There’s no charge for the event, but you must register ahead of time. Click here to go to Eventbrite and register. You’ll receive confirmation and reminder emails with the Zoom link to the event.

I look forward to seeing you!

~ Kelly Manjula Koza

What Have You Touched Today?

Hand holding handmade objects

What have you touched with your hands today?

Your phone, your computer keyboard, your desk? What else? Do you even recall?

This morning: What do remember feeling, experiencing, touching?

Your hands: What textures did your hands encounter today? A surface that is scratchy, bumpy, unfamiliar? Or just the predictable smooth metal and glass of a gizmo, surfaces you touch to use but otherwise ignore? Did you notice any feeling in your fingers, or did you merely use your fingers to do things automatically, not focusing on your fingers and what they touched but on the tasks for which your fingers were the unacknowledged tools? 

When did you last touch something made by nature, in its natural state? 

When did you last bend to collect a pebble from the seashore or kneel to retrieve a fallen leaf on a hiking path? When last did the skin of your bare hand feel the texture, the temperature, the heaviness, the lightness of a tiny treasure? 

When did you last wear a woolen sweater knit by an aunt, and run your fingers over the rough strands of the yarn as you rolled the cuff? 

When did you last lean back on a wooden chair handmade by an artesian, and rub your palms on the armrests to  feel the smoothness? 

When did you last think about the hours and days it took to make such an item, contemplating the love and skill put into every stitch of the sweater and every sandpaper-swipe that went into polishing the chair?

When have you even thought of who — or what — made the items you use, the objects you touch each day, all day?

Most of us in today’s tech-focused Western world touch only machine-made items. We don’t generally think much about where or how they were made. The predictability and monotony of what we touch has made us callous (pun intended). 

We’ve lost the sense of touch and the sensibility of touch. By dissociating ourselves from what we touch, we constrict ourselves and our world, ultimately disconnecting ourselves from what touches us. The world becomes senseless and spiritless.

Touch is human. We need to pay attention to what we touch, and we need to bring objects from nature and items crafted by loving human hands back into our everyday lives. More than needing objects — faster, sleeker, improved, enhanced objects — we need objects we can truly touch, and we need to be able to sense those objects on more than a superficial level. 

Touching, feeling, and contemplating handmade and nature-created objects awakens our own sense of touch, expands our physical and emotional capacity to feel, and helps us connect with our individual and collective spirit.

Each of us and every thing carries an essence, a spirit. The ancients knew this, the mystics know this, and the artists know this. However, most of us forget that each thing and every person contains an essence  — if we even knew this to forget it! Moreover, it’s easy to forget this when we forget how to touch. If we’re not aware the surface of what we touch, we can’t feel the deeper essence of what we touch. Everything we touch then seems flat, undifferentiated. We ourselves lose our dimensionality, our essence. 

I have often suggested to friends that they keep a special rock, twig, or feather on their desk, and take breaks to consciously feel the item, or even to just hold the item when on calls and in meetings. Similarly, I suggest cultivating and actively using a collection of handmade items, including clothing, rugs, and pottery made by those we know or artisans from local or traditional cultures. These handmade items carry the essence of the maker: the care, consciousness, and love the maker has for their craft permeates each object they makes. This essence is tangible and it touches us — if we allow ourselves to feel it. 

This essence of care, consciousness, and love is what we’re missing in the world today, whether we’re conscious of it or not. Making and using handmade items is a tangible way to bring some of this back. 

©2021 KM Koza

This is cross-posted on Tramite.org.

Traveling to Italy and Sardinia: June 2021 Update

Like much of the world, Italy’s travel regulations are in constant flux due to the pandemic. For the most part, travel to Italy is restricted until July 31, 2021. Only travelers from certain countries (including the United States) can enter.

Currently, all travelers entering Italy must take a Covid test upon arrival and test negative in order to avoid a quarantine. This includes European Union (EU) citizens. Travelers from locations outside the EU must arrive on what are termed “Covid tested flights” and test negative in order to avoid the current 10-day quarantine. Each of the different arrival options requires you to provide and sign documentation attesting your health statements are truthful and that you will adhere to the required protocols. 

Covid Tested Flights

Italy permits travelers to enter on Covid tested flights departing from select airports in a handful of countries. Passengers on the Covid tested flights must complete certain paperwork and test negative for Covid before being permitted to enter and travel within Italy without undergoing a 10-day quarantine.

US travelers can book Covid tested flights on Delta or American Airlines. The Covid tested flights depart from New York (JFK) or Atlanta (ATL) and arrive in Milano (MXP) or Roma (FCO). Napoli (NAP) and Venezia (VCE) may be cleared to accept Covid tested flights at some point in the near future.

Travelers arriving on a Covid tested flight must meet these requirements:

  • Before the trip, provide a completed declaration form stating the reason for the trip, details about your prior travel, flight to Italy, Covid/vaccination status, and so forth (airlines generally provide this form)
  • Before boarding, complete and provide a Passenger Locator Form giving details about your itinerary
  • Upon boarding, provide a proof of a negative Covid swab test taken no more than 48 hours prior to departure (airlines may provide this as part of the trip fee)
  • Upon arrival at the destination airport, take another Covid swab test, which must test negative.

See detailed requirements and find updated information here.

Traveling to Sardinia

Each region within Italy has its own specific travel regulations. Sardegna Sicura has the latest information about requirements. In general, travelers to Sardinia must complete an additional self-declaration form.

If you happen to be going to Sardegna this summer and would like suggestions on where to go and what to do, contact me!

Vaccinated Travelers

Official information is still incomplete about plans to allow travelers vaccinated against Covid to enter Italy (and Europe) easily and move about freely. As of right now, it seems that vaccinated travelers from EU member states may be able to enter Italy and travel without tests or quarantines after July 1, 2021. 

While I had seen articles about vaccinated US citizens being able to enter freely after June 15, as of June 7, 2021, there’s no official information on the Italian websites about this. A digital health certificate (also called a “Green Passport”) confirming vaccination status appears to be close to launching for EU citizens, but there’s no official launch date or information about when such a digital app/Green Passport would be available for US and other non-European travelers. 

Helpful Websites and Smartphone Apps

The websites and smartphone apps below are updated on a regular basis. The information on the apps is generally updated more quickly and more frequently than the information on the websites. Find the smartphone apps on The App Store or GooglePlay. 

Languages of Sardinia – A Brief Introduction

The island of Sardinia boasts several distinct languages with diverse heritages. While Italian is now taught in schools across Sardinia and understood by those of baby-boomer age and younger, many older Sardinians, especially in towns away from the coast, may only know one of the languages historically spoken on the island. 

Sarde, the primary language of Sardinia, has two or three primary dialects. Campidanese is spoken across the central-southern and southern areas, while Logudorese and its variation Nuorese are spoken in the central-north area. A Romance language descended from Latin, Sarde is considered the modern language most similar to its renowned ancestor.

The very northern part of Sardinia boasts other languages: Gallurese in the Northeast, Sassarese in the Northwest, and Catalano in the area around Alghero. Gallurese and Sassarese stem from a historic connection the northern area had with Corsica and Tuscany, and sound very different from Sarde. Catalano remains from the Spanish influence on the island. 

While Latin, Corsican, and Spanish roots in the various Sardinian languages are visible, there are also diverse connections with languages and cultures across Europe, Northern Africa, and beyond.  And, as with any language and dialect, each sub-region and even town often has its own noticeable change in pronunciation or vocabulary of the local language.

To ease confusion in governmental documents, road signs, and other official uses, an experimental standardized written form of Sarde, Limba Sarda Comuna (LSC) was instituted in 2006. This is a loose standard, allowing local standards for spelling and ongoing adjustment, and also paves the way to preserve the language.

Sarde is generally no longer taught in schools, yet there are initiatives to bring the the language back into the curriculum with the LSC as the basis. The movement to teach and preserve Sarde is supported by authors, publishing houses, and much of the population, including a growing number of the younger generation. In addition, language scholars from outside Sardinia recognize the significance of Sarde and, to a lesser degree, the island’s other languages.

While many Sardinian youngsters learn Sarde at home, easily switching between Italian and their local language in everyday conversation, the Sardinian languages are not esteemed on continental Italy. Most Italians, especially those from Milano and the north, look down upon the Sardinian languages and even the accent Sardinians tend to have when speaking Italian. On mainland Italy, Sardinians often encounter a prejudice similar to one Southerners face when talking with New Yorkers in the United States.

As a language geek who loves Latin (although I have forgotten nearly all I learned in high school), I personally love the sound of Sarde, and understand bits of it it. Gallurese is completely different, and I can’t follow anything!

See the examples below for a comparison of the Logudorese and Campidanese dialects of Sarde, Latin, Italian, and English.

For more general information on Sardinian Languages, see this article on Wikipedia.

Comparing Languages — Examples

Sarde (Lugudorese)

Babbu nostru chi ses in chelu
siat santificadu su nomene tou
benzat su renu tou
sia fata sa voluntade tua 
comente in chelu gai in terra. 
Su pane nostru de dogna die donanos
e perdonoa sos peccados nostros
comente nosateros perdonamos a sos depidores nostros
e nos non eses ruere in sa tentazione
ma libera nos dae male. 

Sarde (Campidanese)

Babbu nostu chi ses in celu,
Santificau siat su nomini tuu.
Bengiat a nosus su regnu tuu,
Siat fatta sa boluntadi tua,
comenti in celu aici in terra.
Donasi oi su pani nostu de dogna dii,
Et perdonasi is peccaus nostus,
Comenti nosus perdonaus a is depidoris nostus.
Et no si lessis arrui in tentatzioni,
Et liberasi de mali.

Latin

Pater noster, qui es in cælis:
sanctificétur Nomen Tuum:
advéniat Regnum Tuum:
fiat volúntas Tua,
sicut in cælo, et in terra.
Panem nostrum cotidiánum da nobis hódie,
et dimítte nobis débita nostra,
sicut et nos dimíttimus debitóribus nostris.
et ne nos indúcas in tentatiónem;
sed líbera nos a Malo.

Italiano

Padre nostro, che sei nei cieli,
sia santificato il tuo nome,
venga il tuo regno,
sia fatta la tua volontà,
come in cielo così in terra.
Dacci oggi il nostro pane quotidiano,
e rimetti a noi i nostri debiti
come anche noi li rimettiamo ai nostri debitori,
e non abbandonarci alla tentazione,
ma liberaci dal male.

English

Our Father which art in heaven, 
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, 
Thy will be done in earth, 
as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, 
as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, 
but deliver us from evil. 

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What We’re Missing

The qualities handweavers put into their work are reflected by and emanate from the textiles they make. These qualities are what our modern world lacks, and what we yearn for, even if unknowingly: Attention to detail. Minding the small things. Care. Love. 

These qualities remind us that seemingly insignificant individuals and seemingly little things do matter. 

Each person, every thing, has a place in the world, and no one and no thing is to be overlooked or discarded. 

Each individual person holds a unique spirit intrinsic to their being; this spirit is a necessary component of the greater whole. 

Likewise, each single thing has a distinct essence innate to its being; this essence is an indispensable component of the greater whole.

In the grand scale of things, these unique spirits and distinct essences are threads brought together with care, love, and attention to detail, weaving the tapestry of our world so that not one thread is overlooked or discarded. 

We hold this all in our hands when we touch a handwoven textile. 

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© 2021 Kelly Manjula Koza | Textile, Isa Frongia

This is cross-posted on Tramite.org.

Interconnection

The various traditions and styles of handweaving found across the island of Sardinia have important lessons to teach us, lessons that reach beyond the art and craft of handweaving and into the modern world.

On this Mediterranean island roughly the size of Vermont, the tradition of handweaving is legendary. The weavings of Samugheo are arguably the most distinctive: Pibiones, or small bumps of thread creating a raised design on a textile’s surface, are traditional. The weavings of Nule and Aggius, both towns with strong textile traditions, differ in their design and somewhat in their creation. Each of these towns is respected within Sardinia for its unique style of weaving, yet the motifs and techniques characteristic of each town are echoed in the textiles of distant cultures and countries.

When I present Sardinian textiles outside the island, weavers and collectors sometimes see hints of these similarities. The pibiones of Samugheo somewhat resemble boules created by Acadian weavers. The weavings of Nule often incorporate designs similar to textiles made by Native Americans from the Southwest United States and Mexico. The designs of Aggius resemble motifs found in weavings of Poland and Lithuania. The list continues, as the similarities between textiles of different lands are sometimes more apparent than the similarities of textiles from within different areas of Sardinia.

While it’s interesting to ponder the threads of influence strung between geographic regions and traditional cultures across the globe, what I find more striking is something simple yet too often discounted: Whether we talk of languages, architecture, the arts in general, handweaving specifically, or any aspect of this tapestry we call humanity, the origins, influences, techniques, and motifs are interwoven and interdependent.

And in any textile, not one single thread can be tensed, damaged, or removed without changing the integrity of the textile as a whole.

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© 2021 KM Koza | The photo is a portion of a rug by and © Isa Frongia

© Kelly Manjula Koza unless otherwise noted.