Lamps and lights

The sacred Ganga River (Ganges) is worshipped during Aarthi, a Hindu ceremony held at sunrise or after sunset. In this picture, a prist is swinging a thurible with burning incense at sunrise on the shores of the Ganga, in Varanasi. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Sletterhage Lighthouse, on the narrow isthmus Helgenæs, eastern Jutland, Denmark, was built in 1894 to guide ships to and from the port of Aarhus, the second-largest city in the country, via a narrow channel close to the isthmus. Today 7,000-8,000 ships pass the lighthouse every year. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

I’m leaning on a lamp,

I know I look just like a tramp,*

Maybe you think I’m hanging ’round to steal a car.

But no, I’m not a crook,

And if you think, that’s what I look,

I’ll tell you why I’m here and what my motives are.

I’m leaning on a lamp-post at the corner of the street,

In case a certain little lady comes by.

Beginning of the song Leaning on a Lamp Post, written by British composer and songwriter Noel Gay, born Reginald Moxon Armitage (1898-1954), first performed in the film Feather Your Nest (1937), sung by actor, singer, songwriter, and comedian George Formby, born George Hoy Booth (1904-1961), often called The Ukulele Man, as he was playing this instrument in most of his performances.

*This version is used in the performance on YouTube. It’s a little different from the version normally shown.

Thus, there is always

A little light in the darkness.

It is out there somewhere, flickering,

But if you want to see it,

You cannot be afraid of the dark.

Translated from the song Et lille lys i mørket (sang til min nabo) (’A little light in the darkness, song to my neighbour’), from the LP En lille bunke krummer (’A little pile of crumbs’, 1978), text and music by Danish singer and composer Trille Bodil Nielsen (1945-2016).

Various forms of illumination are an important issue in most religions. Below, examples from Daoism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Christianity are shown.

Daoism

Over the years, the dominating religion in Taiwan has become a unique blend of Buddhism and Daoism, with a bewildering array of Daoist gods, which are worshipped on equal terms with the Buddha. A very common feature in Daoist temples is traditional paper lanterns, the majority being bright red.

Daoism is described in depth on the page Religion: Daoism in Taiwan.

Qingshui, known locally as Zushi-Gong, is the principal Daoist god worshipped at the Zushi Temple (Chinese Qingshui Zushi Miao), situated in the town of Sanxia, northern Taiwan. This temple is popularly known as the ‘Bird Temple’, due to the numerous depictions of birds on walls and columns. Some are shown on the page Culture: Folk art in Taiwan.

During Chinese New Year 2015 in Xiluo, paper lanterns, on which well-wishing words are being painted, are released into the air, with a bundle of burning fake money inside. (Photos copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

During the Taiwanese Lantern Festival, which is celebrated during Chinese New Year, thousands of paper lanterns are produced. The pictures below were taken during the Tainan Lantern Festival in the Year of the Rooster (2005), where numerous gigantic lanterns were displayed, depicting various themes, including animals.

Before entering the inner sanctum of a Daoist temple, burning incense sticks are placed in sand in thuribles, which are often guarded by dragons. When too many incense sticks have been placed in a thurible, a temple servant will collect them and burn them in the centre of the thurible.

Burning fake paper money as an offering is a very common practice in Taiwanese Daoist temples. Ovens, serving this purpose, are erected in front of the temples. Another very common habit is to burn fake money in a special metal container, produced for this practice.

During Daoist festivals in Taiwan, fireworks are always ignited.

The pictures below show Chinese New Year celebrations 2015 at the Fushing Temple in Xiluo. Lots of fireworks are ignited, and shortly before midnight, people carry torches, consisting of green bamboo sticks with rolls of burning paper inside, from the temple through the streets of the town, hereby scaring away evil spirits.

In certain fishing communities in southern Taiwan, people still celebrate the so-called Boat Burning Festival, a Daoist festival, during which a complete wooden boat is built, only to be burned as an offering to the god of diseases, Wang-yeh, hoping that he will spare the people of the plague and other dreadful diseases. In former times, the burning boat was pushed out to sea, ceremonially carrying the diseases away, but this practice has now been abandoned, and the boat is burned on land.

Several pictures from this festival are shown on the page Culture: Boats, and a number of other Daoist festivals are described on the page Religion: Daoism in Taiwan.

Buddhism

Aspects of the life of the Buddha, and the origin of Buddhism, are described on the page Religion: Buddhism, where you can also read more about the Bodhnath Stupa and the Shwedagon Pagoda below.

These lamps, carved out of gourds, were for sale in the town of Dongshih, Taiwan.

Hinduism

Hinduism is the dominant religion in India, counting for about 85% of the population. This religion is permeated with rituals. Three examples, involving lamps, are shown below, and other Hindu festivals are described on the pages Religion: Hinduism, and Travel episodes – India 1991: Attending Hindu festivals in Rajasthan.

Aarthi is a ceremony, held at sunrise or after sunset, in which the sacred Ganga River (Ganges) is worshipped. During Aarthi, a thurible with burning incense is swung in the air.

During the Hindu festival Janai Purnima, thousands of pilgrims are crowding around Muktinath, a very important Vishnu temple in the Mustang District, central Nepal.

Christianity

The rise of Christianity is dealt with on the page Religion: Christianity.

One of Christendom’s most gorgeous buildings is the Byzantine church ‘Church of the Holy Wisdom’ in Istanbul, Turkey, usually called Hagia Sophia, or, in Turkish, Aya Sofia. This grand structure, which was erected 532-537 during the reign of Roman Emperor Justinian, was converted into a mosque in 1453, and today it is a museum.

Lighthouses

Lighthouses are buildings on the coast, from which powerful light beams are cast out to sea as a warning to ships, that they are approaching dangerous reefs, sandbars, or other hazards.

Portland Head Lighthouse, popularly called Cape Elizabeth Lighthouse, is situated on a promontory at the entrance to Portland Harbour, Casco Bay, Maine, United States. This lighthouse station was first established in 1828, although the present buildings are from 1874-1886. The lights in the 20.4-metre-tall tower were automated in 1963.

The tallest lighthouse in Scandinavia is situated at Dueodde, the southern tip of the island Bornholm, in the Baltic Sea. This lighthouse is 47 m tall, built 1960-1962. The foundations of this building rests on 19 concrete pillars, reaching a depth of 14 m. It has a 1000-watt lamp, the light of which is amplified 200 times by a French lens from 1886 with a rotating set of prisms, reused from an older lighthouse.

This older lighthouse, erected in 1880, was 38 m high, situated inland, so that its foundations could rest on solid granite. It was supplemented with a smaller, only 15 m tall lighthouse further south. This southern lighthouse soon became inadequate due to a pine forest, which was growing too tall.

In 1936, the remaining unvegetated dunes at Dueodde were protected, the largest one still migrating 3 or 4 m a year.

The lighthouse of the city of Chania, Crete, was first constructed in 1595 during the Venetian rule. The present lighthouse is 21 m tall.

Cape Reinga Lighthouse, at the northern tip of the North Island, New Zealand, was built in 1941 to replace the Cape Maria van Diemen Lighthouse, located on nearby Motuopao Island, which had been built in 1879. Accessing that lighthouse was difficult due to the rough seas in the area, and in 1938 it was decided to move the lighthouse to Cape Reinga for safety reasons. The complete lantern fittings from Motuopao Island were reused at Cape Reinga, although the new lighthouse was fitted with a 1000-watt electrical lamp instead, which could be seen at a distance of 26 nautical miles (48 km). (Source: maritimenz.govt.nz)

The lighthouse below is situated in the small fishing community Nørre Vorupør, in northern Jutland, Denmark. It was erected as a supplementary lighthouse, with the purpose of leading fishing vessels through an area with dangerous shifting sandbars. It was built in 1894.

The lighthouse on the rocky islet Ynys Lawd (South Stack), off Ynys Gybi (Holy Island), west of the island of Ynys Môn (Anglesey), north-western Wales, was built in 1808-1809 to warn ships of the dangerous rocks below.

Pigeon Point Lighthouse, south of San Francisco, California, was constructed in 1871. At 35 m, it is the tallest lighthouse on the Pacific Coast.

The old lighthouse on Hammerknuden, northern Bornholm, Denmark, was constructed in 1872. Unfortunately, it was hidden in fog and clouds so often that a new lighthouse had to be built already in 1895.

The lighthouse on the islet of Eilean Musdile (in English Mansedale), near the island of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland, was built in 1833 to guide traffic in the Sound of Mull and Loch Linnhe. In 1910, most lights in British lighthouses were changed to dioptric lenses, but this was not the case with Eilean Musdile Lighthouse, which has a fixed white light.

Hirsholmene is a group of islets, situated c. 6 km north-east of Frederikshavn, northern Jutland, Denmark. A 27-metre-tall lighthouse was built of local granite in 1886-1887 on the highest spot on the islets, 6-metre-high Ørnebjerg (‘Eagle Mountain’), situated on the main isle Hirsholm – the only inhabited island in the group.

Coquille River Lighthouse, near the town of Bandon, Oregon, United States, dates back to 1896. This lighthouse, originally named Bandon Lighthouse, was constructed to guide ships past dangerous, shifting sandbars at the mouth of the Coquille River to the harbour in Bandon.

Hanstholm lighthouse in northern Jutland, Denmark, was constructed 1842-43 atop a large hill named Hanstholmknuden. It has a height of 23 m, and thanks to its position, it is able to cast the light out at a height of 65 m above the sea. It was the first lighthouse in Denmark with rotating lenses, where the rays were concentrated in narrow bands.

In 1859, a lighthouse was built on the highest rock on Cape Point, near Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, 238 m above sea level. However, as it turned out, the highest point was not the best point, as fog tended to concentrate at higher, rather than lower levels, and, secondly, the light from the lighthouse was often spotted too early by ships, luring them to approach too closely.

In 1911, Lusitania, a Portuguese liner, sank after hitting Bellows Rock, a treacherous submerged reef 3 km south of Cape Point. This event prompted the construction of a new lighthouse, which was completed in 1919, 87 m above sea level.

Cape Arago Lighthouse is situated on a rocky islet near Sunset Point State Park, Oregon, United States. This lighthouse, which was constructed in 1934, is no longer operated, and the islet has been returned to the Coquille native tribe.

Långe Jan (‘Tall John’), 41.6 m high, is the tallest lighthouse in Sweden, situated on the southern tip of the island Öland. It was built in 1785, probably by Russian prisoners of war, using stones from a former local chapel, Capella Beati Johannis, from which the lighthouse got its name, Jan and John being short forms of Johannis. Originally, the light was an open fire, which was replaced by a lantern with burning rapeseed oil in 1845. Electric light was installed in 1948.

At the northern tip of Öland, situated on a small island named Stora Grundet, is the lighthouse Långe Erik (‘Tall Eric’), 32 m tall and built in 1865. The older and larger lens is still present in the lighthouse, but is no longer in use.

Point Reyes Lighthouse, California, is situated at the windiest and foggiest place on the entire Pacific Coast. It is frequently blanketed by week-long periods of fog, and almost every year, the area sees violent gales of 120 to 160 km per hour. The lighthouse was constructed in 1870, but did not have electricity until 1938. It was automated in 1975.

Point Reyes Lighthouse, California. The plant in the foreground is Hottentot fig (Carpobrotis edulis), an invasive plant from South Africa. This species is dealt with on the page Nature: Invasive species. (Photo copyright © by Kaj Halberg)

Rubjerg Knude Lighthouse, 23 m tall, was constructed in 1899 on the highest spot in the area, c. 200 m inland from a 60-metre-high cliff, Rubjerg Knude, northern Jutland, Denmark. Gradually, wind and sea eroded away the cliff, and not many years passed, before serious problems with sand drift arose. The caretaker’s garden was covered by sand, and dunes, which were created on top of the cliff, grew higher, which meant that the light from the tower was very difficult to spot from the sea, and the fog horn could not be heard. An attempt was made to plant bushes and grasses on the dunes, but the forces of nature proved too strong, and the lighthouse operation ceased in 1968.

A sand drift museum was established in the lighthouse buildings, but gradually they were engulfed by sand, and the museum had to close. Lately, a new staircase has been built inside the tower, giving the public access to the upper platform. Simultaneously, a huge prism was placed there, casting light into the tower, instead of out to sea. However, it won’t be many years, before the tower has to be closed again, as the lighthouse today is only a few metres from the cliff’s edge, and it has been predicted that it will slide into the sea before 2030. (Source: loenstrup.dk/toppenafdanmark/rubjerg-knude)

Street lamps

Street lamps occur in a wide variety of shapes.

Fishing with lamps

Using artificial light to attract fish at night is widespread around the world.

Fish traps in Lake Bolgoda, south-western Sri Lanka, consist of mats, made from split, 1.5-metre-long, thin bamboo stems, which are tied together with string at the upper and lower ends, and in the middle. The mats are then tied to poles, which have been stuck into the lake bottom, forming two rows. The distance between these rows gradually decreases, ending in a fish trap. During the day, fish are attracted by fodder, at night by kerosene lamps, tied to the poles.

My stay at Lake Bolgoda is related on the page Travel episodes – Sri Lanka 1976: Among alcohol brewers.

Miscellaneous

The picture below shows Manhattan, seen from Brooklyn Bridge. To commemorate the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, which were destroyed during a terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, four blue laser beams are cast into the air, six months later, on the original location of the towers.

Glassblowing evolved around the 1st Century B.C. It is a technique where you form molten glass by blowing air into it with the aid of a blowpipe.

The Maharaja’s palace in Mysore, Karnataka, South India, also known as Amber Vilas, was constructed 1911-1912 to replace the former palace, which burned down during wedding celebrations in 1896. In 1976, the palace was confiscated by the state, and in 1998 the Maharaja’s family was turned down when they requested compensation. However, the family still lives in parts of the palace.

Borgholm Castle, on the Swedish island Öland, was founded in the late 1100s, when a defense tower was built on the site, later surrounded by a ring-shaped wall. During the 1200s, a fort proper was constructed, probably completed around 1281. This fort was rebuilt many times, especially during the ongoing wars between Sweden and Denmark until the late 1600s.

When peace was finally negotiated in the early 1700s, the castle lost its strategic importance and soon fell into decay. In 1803, the empty rooms were occupied by a textile factory, until a major fire in 1806 destroyed almost everything, leaving only the walls that we see today.

Species of mullein (Verbascum) are known by other names, including torches, referring to the fact that in the old days the long spikes were dried and dipped in tallow to make torches. When dry, the down on leaves and stem makes excellent tinder, and before the introduction of cotton it was used for lamp wicks, hence the popular name candlewick plant.

According to legend, witches used lamps and candles with mullein wicks, giving rise to the name hag’s taper, although hag may be derived from Anglo-Saxon haege or hage (‘hedge’), perhaps implying that the long spike resembled a tall candle, growing in the hedge. The name Our Lady’s candle was also inspired by the shape of the spike.

In his book A niewe Herball (1578), English botanist and antiquary Henry Lyte (1529?-1607) tells us that the “whole toppe, with its pleasant yellow floures, sheweth like to a wax candle or taper, cunningly wrought.” Another herbalist, John Parkinson (1567-1650), says: “Verbascum is called of the Latines candela regia, and candelaria, because the elder age used the stalks dipped in suet to burne, whether at funeralls or otherwise.”

(Uploaded October 2017)

(Latest update March 2023)

Kaj Halberg - writer & photographer

Travels ‐ Landscapes ‐ Wildlife ‐ People

Lamps and lights