AtDDtA1: Seal (New translation)

[Tore Rye Andersen]

>From: "Ya Sam" <takoitov at hotmail.com>
>
>I don't think that the words on the seal are in Tuvan script. The script is
>some variant of Tibetan orthography corresponding to the Tibetan Chamber of
>Commerce name in the upper left corner.
>
>http://www.tibetancc.org/

You're right, Ya Sam. The letters are Tibetan. Since you got slightly 
different replies from the two different translators you contacted, I 
contacted a Danish expert in the Tibetan language, and her answer just 
ticked in. Here's a translation of her reply (and of the seal):

"Dear Tore Rye Andersen

The text in the seal is written in Tibetan characters.
It says: Bod gzhung tschong don gcod (pronounced: Bö sjung tsong dön tjö),
which means: Trade Representative of the Tibetan Government.

Kind regards

Anne Burchardi"

This sounds very convincing to me (including a transliteration and 
everything!), and it sheds a new light on the seal:

- The words are NOT in the Tuvan script, so any connection to Tuva, 
including attending speculations on forgeries, Richard Feynman etc. seems at 
best very doubtful.

- While the text does have something to do with trade and the Tibetan 
Government, it doesn't have anything specific to do with The Tibetan Chamber 
of Commerce. One can of course speculate that this Trade Representative may 
be affiliated with the Chamber of Commerce, but the information that the 
Chamber of Commerce wasn't formed until 2005 suddenly doesn't seem so 
relevant. Surely, the Tibetan Government had trade representatives before 
2005.

- I can see no basis for calling the seal a postage stamp. Rather, it is 
probably meant to allude to some kind of official stamp of ownership/origin. 
It does connect AtD to Tibet/Shambhala, but the charisma of these locations 
is somewhat routinized, to put it mildly, by this commercial stamp: The 
profane has put its indelible mark upon the sacred.

Best,

Tore

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