Unmasking Oahspe Bible Part 1: Debunking the Myths of Po, Sogdian Religion, and Zoroastrian History by Woodson Payne

Sogdian Religious Practices: The Preeminence of Nana and the Adaptation of Zoroastrianism

The religious identity of the Sogdians was characterized by a unique, pluralistic synthesis rather than exclusive adherence to classical Zoroastrian orthodoxy focused around Mazda (Ormazd, Ahura Mazda). Archaeological and textual evidence consistently demonstrates that the goddess Nana emerged as the principal deity within Sogdian religion, with her worship substantially eclipsing that of Mazda or other Zoroastrian gods. Nana, whose cult originated in Mesopotamia and spanned a vast territory from the Middle East into Central Asia, was venerated as a mighty warrior goddess — often depicted mounted on a lion or tiger — and assumed a status of patron deity within Sogdian households and broader society. The prevalence of coins bearing Nana’s name and numerous artistic depictions of her in Sogdian cities such as Panjikent attest to both her religious and social centrality.

Zoroastrian influences did exist among the Sogdians, as seen in the presence of fire altars, some ritual practices, and traces of Zoroastrian deities in written and visual culture. However, the Sogdian interpretation and integration of Zoroastrianism was heavily localized and systematically syncretic, mixing Iranian religious elements with indigenous and imported beliefs. The ritual and artistic configuration of Sogdian religion further illustrates its syncretic fabric: Sogdian religious festivals, funerary rites, and iconography combined Zoroastrian, Manichaean, Buddhist, local, and Near Eastern traditions, crafting a distinctive spiritual profile markedly different from the centralized monotheism and theological orthodoxy observed in Sasanian Iranian Zoroastrianism.

Artistic and Archaeological Evidence for Nana’s Cultic Status

Material culture provides the most unambiguous evidence for Nana’s pervasive worship among the Sogdians. The murals from Panjikent stand out for their large-scale and vibrant representations of Nana as a four-armed goddess seated on a lion, echoing both Mesopotamian iconography and South Asian goddess motifs whilst being integrated into a local Sogdian artistic idiom. These images are found not only in public spaces, such as temples, but also in domestic contexts, suggesting that her cult permeated every level of Sogdian society.

Further, ossuaries — special clay containers used for depositing the bones of the deceased — display iconographic conventions that associate Nana and other deities with concepts of protection, the afterlife, and eschatological hope. Decorative motifs, such as dancing or priestly figures, astral symbols, and divine animals, reinforce her role as a guardian of souls, a mediator between the living and the dead, and a central figure in funerary belief systems.

Additionally, ritual objects, including metalwork, seals, and painted figures, support the thesis that Nana’s worship was not only common but integral to the Sogdian experience of the sacred. This material record complements written sources, confirming that Sogdian religiosity favored local adaptations of divine figures and often elevated goddesses such as Nana over Zoroastrian cosmic deities.

Zoroastrianism among the Sogdians: Syncretism without Exclusivity

Textual and visual evidence underscores that Sogdian Zoroastrianism was fundamentally different from the religious orthodoxy of Sasanian Iran. The Sogdian pantheon included Zoroastrian figures (such as Mithra, Anahita, and Verethragna), but ritual practice and artistic representation centered on a wider array of local and adapted deities. There is no documentation or iconography indicating that Mazda, Ormazd, or Ahura Mazda ever received exclusive worship, nor was there theologically enforced monotheism. The Sogdian conception of religious identity was dynamic, accommodating ritual specialists (including Zoroastrian priests) and practices, while simultaneously elevating locally important deities like Nana.

This syncretism extended to Manichaeism and Buddhism as well, with religious motifs and rituals being cross-adapted in response to the cosmopolitan realities of Silk Road commerce and social interaction. Paintings and sculptures from Turfan and Dunhuang reveal religious contexts where dualistic or astral themes — often derived from Manichaeism or Buddhist astrology — appear merged with Zoroastrian or local symbolism.

The Figure of “Po” in Chinese Religious Tradition: Historical and Linguistic Analysis

Despite the detailed claims made in the Oahspe Bible regarding a prophet named “Po” who taught in China, exhaustive research into Chinese historical records, philosophical literature, religious texts, and linguistic usage confirms that no figure by this name ever existed as a prophet, teacher, or spiritual leader in Chinese traditions. Comprehensive anthologies of primary Chinese sources, including foundational texts from Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, and indigenous religions, make no mention of a prophet named Po. The absence is equally notable in academic studies and historical overviews focused on Chinese education, religious figures, and transmission of spiritual doctrines.

The closest cultural and religious use of ‘Po’ in Chinese tradition is twofold. First, as a kinship term, ‘Po’ (婆, pronounced “pó” in Mandarin) means “mother-in-law,” specifically the mother of one’s husband, and in some contexts, it can be extended to mean “elderly woman” or “grandmother”. The popular and almost universal use of “popo” (婆婆) underscores its exclusivity as a familial designation, not as a personal name or title for a sage or prophet. Second, in classical Chinese metaphysics (Daoism and Chinese popular religion), ‘Po’ refers to a component of the human soul — the corporeal or “earthly” yin soul, which is paired with the spiritual/ethereal ‘hun’ — but this concept has no association with personal names or prophetic identity. Therefore, the term “Po” carries significant but entirely unrelated cultural and philosophical weight, and has never functioned as a name or title for a religious figure in Chinese tradition.

The Oahspe Bible and the Myth of Po: Scholarly Critique and Context

John Ballou Newbrough’s Oahspe Bible, published in 1882, inserts the figure of Po as an “iesu” (sinless prophet-teacher) in a fabricated Chinese religious history, advancing Po as one of the foundational spiritual leaders of humanity. However, detailed literary and historical scrutiny reveals that this narrative is entirely without foundation in authentic Chinese records. The Oahspe’s “Chinese Bible of Po” is not found or echoed in any known body of Chinese ritual, religious, or literary writing, whether canonical or popular. No Chinese philosophical, religious, or kinship literature describes, genealogizes, or ascribes significant spiritual teaching or prophecy to an individual named “Po”.

Linguistically, Newbrough’s selection of the name “Po” as a prophetic figure is profoundly inaccurate; it replicates a kinship term denoting “mother-in-law,” and imposes a Western spiritualist desire for universality and symmetry onto Eastern tradition without regard to verifiable usage, etymology, or cultural realities. This creative imposition is representative of broader 19th-century Western esoteric trends, which frequently appropriated, altered, or invented “Eastern” doctrines and figures as a means of constructing new universal spiritualities, often at the cost of factual accuracy or genuine cross-cultural understanding.

Even within Newbrough’s own lifetime, there were no credible endorsements of the historical reality of Po from either Western academic sinology or Chinese tradition. Modern scholarly consensus is unequivocal: the Oahspe Bible’s depiction of Po, including attributing to him a “Chinese Bible,” is purely the product of Western spiritualist imagination and not an authentic reflection of Chinese history, language, or religious culture.

The Function of “Po” in Chinese Language and Society

In summary, “Po” is a term embedded in Chinese kinship nomenclature and classical metaphysics, unambiguously meaning “mother-in-law” or used in certain metaphysical discourses to refer to the material soul, never as a personal name, divine title, or term of spiritual leadership. All standard modern dictionaries, including lexical, cultural, and specialized reference works dealing with Chinese kinship, linguistics, and religious beliefs, support this conclusion. There is no trace, even in legendary, apocryphal, or folk traditions, of a prophet, religious founder, or spiritual teacher named “Po”.

The Broader Context: Oahspe, Spiritualist Fiction, and Historical Imagination

The invention of the prophetic figure “Po” in the Oahspe Bible must be interpreted as an example of Western syncretic fiction — a creative blend aiming for the appearance of global spiritual continuity while neglecting concrete historical evidence. Likewise, the treatment of Sogdian religion as monolithic Zoroastrianism, centered on the worship of Mazda, is equally anachronistic and in opposition to what actual texts, archaeological artifacts, and scholarly analyses reveal. Modern scholarship stresses that both the Sogdian and Chinese religious traditions are far richer and more plural than the Oahspe Bible presumes or narrates.

Conclusion: The Historical Record versus Oahspe’s Narrative

To conclude with scholarly clarity: the Sogdians did not worship Mazda exclusively and reserved special status for local or imported deities like Nana, while Chinese tradition knows no prophet named Po. The supposed “Chinese Bible” of Po exists only in the imaginary landscape of John Ballou Newbrough’s spiritualist narrative, not in any documented aspect of Chinese or Central Asian religious heritage. The actual meaning and social use of “Po” in Chinese culture — to designate a mother-in-law — serves as a humorous yet telling reminder of the importance of linguistic and cultural accuracy in cross-cultural spiritual interpretation. Newbrough’s Po is, in reality, an artifact not of Chinese religion, but of Western spiritualist creativity and the myth-making impulses of the 19th century.

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