Beginning to End...to Beginning!

I have greatly enjoyed the final presentations given by my classmates. This is a wonderful assessment in that it benefits the presenter, the teacher, and the rest of the class all at the same time. It is so neat to hear about the experiences and conclusions made by my classmates throughout the semester. Thanks for the "My Life as a Mythic Detective" assignment, Dr. Sexson!

I found the presentations on creation and initiation myths were valuable as well. I have found the more opportunities one has to speak publicly, the better one becomes at public speaking. Amazing! Plus memorizing the myths made the experience especially unique and memorable.

It was wonderful to have Dr. Sexson memorize our names. Never has a teacher done this before. It was a blessing to each one of us, and you have inspired me to do the same thing in my future classrooms.

If I were to describe this class, I would describe it as an experience. It is not comparable to other classes because they are simply classes. There was a beginning, middle, and end, and now that we have undergone such an experience, we are changed. Having all partaken in the journey, there seems to be a comraderie among the classmates, even if we do not know one another.

One of my favorite memories was during the beginning of the year when Professor Sexson proclaimed, with a twinkle in his eyes, that we were going to have fun. What a relief such a word is to the student's ear!

I greatly enjoyed the opportunity to go to the performance of Dr. Turner and to have him speak in class. In one of my classes this semester, we have been required to read several pieces of our writing. Through this, I have come to see how special it is to hear the writer read his/her own words. I recognized this greatly when hearing Dr. Turner read his poetry... It is so neat that Dr. Sexson allowed us to spend time with his dear friend.

Thanks for teaching this semester, Dr. Sexson!
-Julia

My Life as a Mythic Detective

I am a Bible-believing Christian. I do not consider the Bible to be another mythological work. It is the Word of God. Because I believe this, I obviously do not agree with much of the content discussed during class. I do not say this to rile up the class or cause dissension, but to be honest. Rather than arguing over disparity in our understandings, I hope to highlight how gaining a greater understanding of mythology will be advantageous for me in many different areas of my life. And even though I do not hold the same mythological worldview, I do see the value in knowing about mythologies, and knowing how they have influenced history and the world we live in today.

The greatest way in which mythological knowledge helps me is in studying literature. I am seeking a degree in English Education, and the more I read texts of all kinds from all different time periods, I recognize my inability to recognize the allusions to myth. The allusions within literature are so powerful because the use of one word or short phrase, such as Cupid or pan pipes, and an entire story with many details is alluded to in the text. We noticed this phenomenon in art as we looked at the painting by Pieter Bruegel that showed two legs floundering in the water, hinting to the drowning of Icarus. Apart from knowing about these mythological stories, richness and depth of the artwork and writing are a mere fraction of what they would be with the understanding of myth. Even with the prolific availability of texts, pictures, movies, and all of the information and information processing abilities we have, the stories of myths are perpetuated by the creative works of art made by people of all generations.

Mythological stories are also helpful in learning about the characteristics of people and relationships among people. In fact, the stories of myths capture these realities so well that they remain timeless. We gained a greater understanding of this by Professor Sexson’s versions of the myths, and by the stories we wrote by displacing a myth. Even the gods of the myths illuminate the nature of humanity in a more unrestrained, exaggerated way. The gods perform acts of adultery, revenge, deception, rape, argument, power struggles, assistance, mercy, disguise, and more. And this leads me to my last point.

In an education class this semester, I was required to read a book about writing narratives. The major point of the books was how narratives (or stories) are in all parts of our lives, and they help us to understand ourselves, others, ideas, and our world. It appears to me that during the time of Ovid and all the way to 2013, mythologies have been used for those purposes: to understand ourselves, others, ideas, and our world. Mythologies have been successful in doing so, and they are beneficial to use in other contexts for the same reasons. Having improved my critical lens of mythologies, I am now more competent in my reading, writing, communication, and understanding of the culture and society today.

Explosions of Blossoms

        Thursday night I experienced how rich literature can be made even more wonderful when the author reads his own work of art. When Mr. Frederick Turner read his poem about the blossoms on the trees, I was thoroughly impressed. First off, there is irony in this poem--the blossoming of trees is described as explosions. Dr. Turner emphasized the words and identified with the embodiment of the poem. Consequently, the audience was captivated. It was a spectacular performance of poetry.

(Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/kennycrossland/page3/)

          I would like to thank Dr. Sexson and Dr. Turner for giving us the opportunity to go to Thursday nights performance, and to listen to Dr. Turner during our class period on Friday. I appreciated how Dr. Turner gave us so much information in class (rather than presenting an summarized overview of his theory). It allowed for me as a student to remain very engaged, and to desire to know more and more. It was also very neat to witness the friendship between Dr. Sexson and Dr. Turner. I hope they arrived at some more conclusions regarding the epic, the myth, and the apocalypse!

Similarities Among the Displacement Stories

I wonder what Ovid would think of this shirt. 

The displacements stories written by my fellow classmates were enjoyable and for the most part suspenseful. Most all of them maintained a nice balance so as to give clues of the related myth but to also not give it away. One of the commonalities among many of the stories was the high school setting and high school relationship issues. I wonder if this is due to the highly dramatic scenes that are typical in real-life high schools. Then again, Ovid’s stories typically do involve many older people, often the characters depicted in his writing are in their prime age of life.

Many of the stories had a lot of little details. I think this helps the reader to become more invested in the story so that the shocking ending is effective. Sometimes the details were unconnected to the myth, but at other times a certain verb or adjective would blatantly relate to a myth, if the mythic detective is awake. To the everyday eye, those words are unnoticed or simply deemed awkward in the writing. This makes me much more appreciative of Mr. Nabokov’s writing because the descriptive words he used enriched the story for the average reader and even more for the mythic detective.

I think I read two stories that ended happily, and this is reflective of the predominance of myths ending in an unfortunate way. As I think of books or movies that I have interacted with, I can say that for the most part they end in a favorable ways—even if the hero dies, it is an honorable death. And then I think of the news and how depressing it can be. It is the minority of news that is actually encouraging. There is obviously many differences between myths and the news, but I think that the significance of individual words and the detail that causes the reader to sympathize with the characters that causes myths to be powerful and long-lasting, as opposed to rumors or bad news. The endings of myths are more often similar to the news reports, whereas the build-up and the meaningfulness of myths are similar to movies and books. This is just a thought; I will have to keep considering it. 

Not Even Once

She was a beautiful, seventeen year-old. Her name was Merilee, and rightly so, for her laughter surrounded her as did the glow of her youth. Her light pink cheeks next to her long, dark, wavy hair gave her a look of sweetness and incorruptibility.  And yet, she had a bend toward evil, as we all do apart from the grace of God. But for the most all of her life, her trespasses were unnoticed, and this probably due to her tendency to smile and to care for the people around her. She certainly did have a desire to aid those who were hurting, and this is where her story begins to end.

            Joe grew up next to Merilee, and as children they would walk to and from Longfellow Elementary School every day. After obtaining their drivers licenses, the two friends quickly lost touch, even when living just a house away. When Merilee heard the news that Joe’s parents were getting a divorce, right after he had broken up with his serious girlfriend, Joann, she could hardly sleep, worried by the pain he may be feeling. After three nights of restless sleep, it was actually Joe who called, asking if Merilee would like a ride to school on such a cold winter day. Relief flooded her as she affirmed him and later jumped into his blue mustang. Her rapid rush to join him ironically began her dive into a reckless romance.

            In the eyes of almost every woman, Joe was considered extremely handsome. Standing at six foot two, having golden skin, dark curly hair, and intensely blue eyes, while exhibiting a respectful, caring personality, Joe appeared to be the perfect man for Merilee. In fact, she had already determined him to be the man for her by the time they reached school that morning. She convinced herself of this so completely that she didn’t second-guess his integrity when he introduced her to marijuana and his not-so-impressive friends a few days later. As weeks passed, Merilee was consumed with Joe, centering her identity upon him, and when she found herself pregnant with Joe’s child, she depended all the more on Joe’s display of affection for her.

            Joann was envious of Merilee since Joe first starting hanging around with her. She heard of Merilee’s secret when she was six months pregnant. In her mind, she hated Merilee and unconsciously plotted some sort of revenge. It was not until Merilee was eight months along that Joanna devised a scheme that was sure to have devastating consequences. Joann, employing a few friends, started a conversation when sitting near to Joann during lunch. Speaking in a way that Merilee could not help but hear, Joann glorified her experience in seeing Joe high on meth. “It wasn’t until he told me he loved me that I was able to witness him doing it.”

Merilee suddenly questioned Joe’s care for her, and begged him that night to show her as well. “That was nothing,” he said, “I only do it sometimes, and I wish you would just believe me when I say that I love you.”

            Merilee relentlessly insisted Joe to demonstrate his love to her in such a way. Considering the emotions of a pregnant woman, and his desire to please her, Joe brought her to his parent’s shed that weekend. He started to smoke the drug and after a few minutes, Merilee’s breathing started to quicken until she was wheezing uncontrollably. Joe was able to push her into his parent’s house, where they dialed 911. An emergency c-section was performed, removing the infant before the mother took her last breath. The child was placed in the neonatal intensive care unit until he was mature enough to live on his own. Merilee’s older sister, Iris, cared for the baby once he was released from the hospital until he was put into foster homes to be raised and nurtured by women who were willing to take care of him. This child was miraculously saved, although his mother was not. She experienced the fruit of her own pride and the envy of another.  

            

Symbols and Signs . . .

For most all of the story, I thought I was unable to recognize the symbols and signs. In fact, at the end I was trying to think of what those five fruit-jellies could possibly signify. Even now as I write this blog, I find myself nervous about writing something stupid.

When I had finished reading, I searched on the website page to look for some sort of resource that would give a little more information. Finding nothing, I googled the name "Symbols and Signs", and found a few analyses of the short story, and the following interesting fact on Wikipedia: "In a letter to Katharine White, Nabokov said that "Signs and Symbols", like "The Vane Sisters", was a story "wherein a second (main) story is woven into, or placed behind, the superficial semitransparent one." He did not say what the main story was.^[4]" 

I think this gives good evidence for why Professor Sexson would have us read such a depressive story. The "depressive story" is only the covering to the actual work of art. The central story is rich with meaning, yet it is not easily recognized. This seems to be the theme of the entire class. We are instructed to be mythic detectives and to see the world not just visually or emotionally, but also with knowledge of myths that have been passed down for a few thousand years. 

A woman I know lives in a similar way. She has so many things, so many small things that have a magnitude of meaning to her. If some stranger were to look at those heirlooms, they would probably see junk, but she sees and knows so much by those signs that are all over her life. 

I see that I am similar in ways. I was recently given many, many wedding gifts when I was married. I greatly like pretty much everything, but there are certain things that are especially precious to me because of the people who gave them to me, and their life and relationship to me. 

And this in turn is similar to words. When I think of home, I attribute much different meaning to that word that you do, and yet there are probably some similarities. Words have meaning that can be shallow or deep to the perceiver. To some degree, the way in which we understand the world is dependent upon us. To some degree we have agency of our knowledge of the world, and this makes us responsible for ourselves. 

Isn't it interesting how we use the wording rich when we refer to meaning? I think we do because meaning impacts our lives, and this reminds me of how in Romans 12:1, Paul writes that Christians are to be "transformed by the renewing of [their] minds." Our way of thinking, our perception of everything greatly impacts our life, whether we want to admit it or not. 

Looking Mythically at "The Spinners"

"The Spinners" 

by Diego Velaquez

Carefully looking at this painting made me realize I need a lot more practice in being a mythic detective. I do wish that I could see an actual painting because I am confused by many of the small details of the painting. A few things I have noticed in this painting in relation to Ovid's story are as follows: 

In his account, Ovid claims that people delighted in watching Arachne do her work of spinning, and muses even traveled to see her artwork. It appears to me that this is represented by the spectators in the back room and the way the artwork is obviously displayed. 

It is also said that Pallas took the form of an old woman, and it is seen in Velaquez's painting that the woman on the left is the oldest and least beautiful. This is also the only character that faces the observer, causing her to be most noticeable. One thing that is different is that Ovid claims Pallas's limbs were also aged, but it seems that the painter chose to paint her leg as youthful and exposed--a clue to the woman's true identity. 

The woven artwork in the back is one done by another artist (Titian), but it depicts the story of Jove's abduction of Europa, which is one of the stories Arachne is said to have woven this story. Valequez also made the rest of the tapestry according to Ovid's description: "The outer edge of the web, surrounded by a narrow border, had flowers interwoven with entangled ivy." 

In reading about Arachne on wikipedia, I found out that in the further reaching room, Pallas is in the process of punishing Arachne. Although Arachne is obviously not at the stage of a spider yet, her head may be starting to shrink. 

I think this painting is very beautiful and rich because of the meaning behind all the details. It is especially neat that he has two different moments in one painting. 

Top 3 Initiation Rites

           When I googled "painful initiation rites" I found the first website was "10 Incredibly Painful Rites of Initiation," and the first two initiation rites found on the page were "Sepik Scarification" (cutting back to look like a crocodile) and "Naghol - Land Diving"(bungee jumping from the tower). This may or may not be one of the reasons why these two traditions were told so often in class. 

           The "bullet ant" initiation was told the most numerous times over the three day period. The third website listed as a result of the search was titled " Paraponera - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, and had the description "The pain caused by this insect's sting is purported to be greater than that of any other... The goal of this initiation rite is to keep the glove on for a full ten minutes." Considering the assignment was to choose an initiation practice that was painful, I can see why a person might choose this tradition due to the convincing website description. 


Beyond these speculations, I would like to look closer at the myths themselves. The bullet ant and the sepik scarification are both extremely painful, and unique. The scarification is very interesting because it creates the a look of a crocodile, that is deemed desirable in that culture because the process leaves the young man behind, leaving the man.  This is surely an example of the transformation that comes with initiation. This sort of rite seems to be practiced in modern cultures....the age for an individual to get a tattoo on his/her own in Montana is 16. And interestingly enough, today, some people are using this form of cutting to produce tattoos. 

The bullet ant initiation, besides being incredibly painful in a surprising way, is captivating because the initiates actually hunt the ants and sedate them so they may be woven into gloves. Then the gloves are worn for 10 minutes, all the while the initiates are to show no sign of pain or agony. Although this may seem unproductive, this rite allows boys to pass from boyhood to manhood. If I were to consider a right of passage for young boys, I would never be so creative as to think of this. It is thrilling to think of how this came to be so important in their culture. 

As for the land-diver myth, this is so relatable to us today because of the prevalence of bungee jumping. Rather than being for fun; however, this is for the dignity of men and the tribe, and is high-stakes, since the divers can lose their lives. The high-stakes elements of this initiation right, as well as other high-stakes activities, makes it thrilling, frightening, and interesting. 

Self-Torture Rite of the Gros Ventre Indian Tribe

I shared this self-torture rite practice in class, but I forgot a few things, so I thought I would give some visuals and summarize the main points of this practice.

The self-torture rite is also known as the giving of the flesh, and it occurs on the third day of the four-day long Sun Dance festival. Those who choose to participate in the sacrifice often do so as a way of thanking the supreme being for things such as the return of a lost relative, or healing from a major illness. It is also done as a way of seeking wisdom or to attaining a desired object. Those who choose to participate are responsible to ask an older tribal member to act as his promoter in the ceremony. On the third day, the pledger sits on a robe near the center pole. His promoter pulls out skin from two places on his chest, cuts slits on either side of the stretched flesh, and thrusts a wooden skewer through the slits. A rope is tied to these two skewers. Two cuts are also made on the upper-right shoulder, a skewer is pushed through, and his war shield is attached.

The promoter has the pledger stand up, and holding the ropes attached to the skewers, he shoves the pledger backwards to show him what he is about to undergo. The pledger is also instructed to yank on his war shield to make sure its fastenings are sure. The ropes are then attached to a rope which is attached to the top of the center pole. The pledger begins dancing in an up & down motion in a half-circle around the pole, all the while leaning back in the attempt to rip the skewers from the flesh. He is also responsible to pull his war shield off his shoulder during the dance. If the skewers of a dancer do not rip through his flesh, and the pledger is going through prolonged suffering, a family member of the pledger may give a gift to a warrior of the tribe. He then stands to give a testimony of one of his war achievements to show he is worthy to aid in the ceremony. The warrior then throws his body against the dancer so that the skewers may rip from his chest.

(these are scars of  Ogalala Lakota Indian of South Dakota who had partaken in the Sun Dance rituals in his tribal community - this practice was very widespread among Native Americans)

During these four days of the Sun Dance ceremony, the pledgers and their promoters are fasting from food and drink. Also, if someone has pledged to participate in the self-torture rite, he is responsible to do it four times in his lifetime. For more information, you can check out http://www.jstor.org/stable/25666782 .

Stallcop, Emmett. "The So-Called Sun Dance of the Gros Ventre." Plains Anthropology, 13(40) : 148-
          151, May 1968. Web. 21 Feb 2013. 

Myths of Months!

Happy first day of March!

Just this week I realized that I do not know the etymology of the months of January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August. So I hopped on wikipedia and discovered the myths related to these well beloved months.

January: "is named after Janus, the god of the doorway; the name has its beginnings in Roman mythology, coming from the Latin word for door since January is the door to the year."








February: "The Roman month Februarius was named after the Latin term februum, which means purification, via the purification ritual Februa held on February 15 (full moon) in the old lunar Roman calendar."

March: "The name of March comes from ancient Rome, when March was the first month of the year and named Martius after Mars orAres, the Greek god of war. In Rome, where the climate is Mediterranean, March was the first month of spring, a logical point for the beginning of the year as well as the start of the military campaign season."

April: "The derivation of the name (Latin Aprilis) is uncertain. The traditional etymology is from the Latin aperire, "to open," in allusion to its being the season when trees and flowers begin to "open," which is supported by comparison with the modern Greek use of ἁνοιξις (anoixis) (opening) for spring. Since some of the Roman months were named in honor of divinities, and as April was sacred to the goddess Venus, the Festum Veneris et Fortunae Virilis being held on the first day, it has been suggested that Aprilis was originally her month Aphrilis, from her equivalent Greek goddess name Aphrodite (Aphros), or from the Etruscanname Apru."

"The month May was named for the Greek goddess Maia, who was identified with the Roman era goddess of fertility, Bona Dea, whose festival was held in May. Conversely, the Roman poet Ovid provides a second etymology, in which he says that the month of May is named for the maiores, Latin for "elders," and that the following month (June) is named for the iuniores, or "young people" (Fasti VI.88)."

 Ovid provides two etymologies for June's name in his poem concerning the months entitled the Fasti. The first is that the month is named after the Roman goddess Juno, wife of Jupiter and equivalent to the Greek goddess Hera; the second is that the name comes from the Latin word iuniores, meaning "younger ones," as opposed to maiores ("elders") for which the preceding month May may be named (Fasti VI.1–88).




And July and August were named in honor of Julius Caesar and Augustus, respectively. 

"January" Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 20 Feb 2013. Web. 1 March 2013
"February" Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 28 Feb 2013. Web. 1 March 2013
"March" Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 1 March 2013. Web. 1 March 2013
"April" Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 23 Feb 2013. Web. 1 March 2013
"May" Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 26 Feb 2013. Web. 1 March 2013
"June" Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 24 Feb 2013. Web. 1 March 2013
"July" Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 24 Feb 2013. Web. 1 March 2013
"August" Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 22 Feb 2013. Web. 1 March 2013

Initations

Initiation. As I thought of times of initiation in my life, I came to realize that there are many more instances than I had ever considered. I also found that the trial overcome and the knowledge gained through initiation result in a ticket, an invitation, to a group of people...and this ticket is necessary, there is no way in the club without it.

Here are a few of "initiation" experiences in my life:

1. Us younger players had heard about it for quite some time. Often times the stories seemed unbelievable. How could a person survive such a drill? My experience so far had taught me that my lung capacity would not suffice in such an experience. I could say I had done "so many" suicide runs consecutively, had survived through the dreaded "quick fire" drill, and had survived many a morning practice... but I could not say I had experienced the "popcorn" drill. When I did finally run a popcorn, I realized that I always considered it to be much harder than it actually was (probably due to the stories I had been told), but after successfully completing the drill, I had gained the right to say I had also been made to run "a popcorn." I was now a sort of high school basketball veteran.

2. I was initiated into a sorority in fall of 2009....and that is all I can say about that.

3. I underwent another initiation with one other person. We were required to take ten classes, to pay for an official document evidencing our initiation, to prepare for seven months, to spend too much time and money, to make sure and have witnesses of the initiation, to feed all of the witnesses (dinner and cake), and to make a life-long vow in the presence of God. Yep, it was the initiation of marriage. It was something I could read about, talk to those who had undergone the initiation, learn about it and prepare for it, but nothing would bring me to this new stage of life apart from it. I don't think I could say it was painful...but I now am a "Mrs." for the rest of my life and I have joined the married couples club.

Ovid's Top Five Bike Rides

A news article was titled "The World's Top Ten Bike Rides." My mind quickly considered the chariot ride of Phaeton, and although it was fatal, it seemed to be quite the trip. I have decided to report on "Ovid's Top Five Bike Rides," and here it goes:

5. Cadmus's Course:
This path is not specifically marked out, but it has a few guidelines. First, travel around the world as if looking for your lost sister. Once you have given up, determining she is nowhere to be found, go ahead and meet with a prophet. Continue on the bike ride until you come across a white ox lying down on the ground. In reaching the spot where the ox lies, you have completed the journey!

                                      

4. Trip to Hades:
This adventurous ride is one that is never forgotten (as long as you are not a shade, of course). In this course, you can enter through the "tall gates of Taenarus down to the world of Death and flowing Darkness." Throughout the ride, you will see the "streets of Tartaus [as they wind] in Hell" and the famous eternally punished men: Sisyphus, Tantalus, and Ixion. By passing back through the Styx you have finished the course.

3. Perseus's Pathway:
This ride pleasantly begins in the garden of the Titan Atlas, but it quickly turns plenty hard as you ascend the mountain of stone. (Interesting Fact: Made of the Titan Atlas, this mountain actually supports the heavens.) Following the mountain trek, you will be able to enjoy the beautiful coral along the Ethiopian shore. Continue to travel around the world, and be sure to take note of the "annoying" look of the people who have been turned to stone by the forerunner Perseus. Watch out for toxic snakes as your race to the finish line at Seriphos.

2. Medea's Mad Bike Ride:
It is best to ride this course as if you are guilty of many crimes. Don't ask why, that is just the way it is. Begin this journey at the Mount Pelion, and continue gaining altitude to reach the top of Mount Othrys. On the downhill ride be sure and look for the "huge writhing serpent carved out of stone." Continue through Ida's forest, to the sandy shores (don't mind those "unearthly noises"), to the "town of old Eurypylus."If you have the determination to continue on, you will soon see the "great walls of old Carthaea"on the island Cea, and then Hyrie's lake along the valley, where you may see a beautiful swan. If you still desire to complete the entire journey, pass through Pleuron, the island Calaurea, Cyllene, the "house where old Eumelus lived and grieved" and finally reach the endpoint of Corinth. Good look.

1. Phaeton's Ride:
The best part of this ride may be the starting point: the palace of the sun. You have to make sure to check out the artwork on the doors. Also, be sure to know the safety precautions. You MUST steer a middle course through the sky and maintain a medium altitude. As you start off on the course, make sure and take note of the view of the constellations; it is a stellar view. Watch out for stars and clouds, and be sure to abide by all the rules and maintain control. Otherwise you may have an unpleasant meeting with Jupiter's lightning bolt.

Why an Absence of Ears?

I grew up on a farm in north-central Montana. The farm life was an absolutely wonderful experience. As I was thinking of the farm, while sitting in class, I remembered one of our cats. This cat is not real special or real friendly, but she is unique in the fact that she has no ears. Now it was not as if this cat was born without ears. According to my mother, the ears "froze off." I always considered this a valid explanation, but when I thought of the cat just the other day, I wondered what the mythological explanation could be for this cat without ears. (the picture below is not of my cat, but it gives you the idea)

So in my quest to find the myth that would explain this cat with no ears, I found there are two possible explanations. According to Wikipedia, there is a Yoruba myth of the goddess Oba who was married to the god Shango. There are a few versions of the myth. One of the more prominent versions being that a co-wife of Shango convinced Oba to cut off her ear and feed it to her husband. The reaction of her husband was not what she expected, seeing her mutilation and the food offering, he banished her forever. In another version of the myth, Oba cuts off her ears and gives them to Shango to eat (since they had run out of goat), that he might have strength to defeat the deity Ogun. 

The other myth regarding cut ears was found in the ebook Myths and Legends of China. The soldiers of the army of early China would cut off the ears of the "vanquished" and bring them to their king. 

I am pretty sure the cat on the farm is a female, so according to these myths, she may have been trying to overcome fellow co-wives by offering her ears as food, or perhaps after defeat in battle her ears were cut off before she began another one of her nine lives. 

Stories & Myths

In class, I have enjoyed hearing the "Professor Sexson" version of the myths. His "true stories" are entertaining, and function in a way to help us as students consider the myths in the context of the 21st century. As Professor Sexson tells his version, he is doing even more, he is giving us a better understanding of the oral tradition of the myths found in Ovid's Metamorpheses and the oral tradition of myths that are prevalent today. (An example being that my mother's first name is Diane, adapted from the name Diana, one of the Olympian goddesses.) One thing that I keep thinking about is at what point are edited versions of myths no longer myths? Professor Sexson not only shared his version of the story of Echo and Narcissus; he also spoke of the versions found in the writing of Euripides. Each version had its own charm and intrigue. There is a sense in which I have the liberty to embellish the myth myself, and yet I cannot deviate from the story-line altogether--I could not make Narcissus fall in love with Echo, get married, have children, and live happily ever after. Such a story does not reveal the precedent behind an action, and is therefore not a myth. This reveals the line drawn between a story and a myth. And this gained understanding gives me a greater appreciation for those who created the myths written in Ovid's book.

Coincidence

During Monday's class period, Professor Sexson gave us the assignment to find something interesting that we usually consider quite boring. Yesterday, in reading for my English Methods class, I came across a proposal for English teachers to like reading student writing. In his article, "Ranking, Evaluation, and Liking," Elbow writes,

"How can we be better at liking? It feels as thought we have no choice--as though liking and not-liking just happen to us. I don't really understand this business. I'd love to hear discussion about the mystery of liking--the phenomenology of liking. I sense it's some kind of putting oneself out--or holding oneself open--but I can't see it clearly. I have a hunch,  however, that we're not so helpless about liking as we tend to feel" (201).

I like his ideas here because I can sympathize with the feeling of being unable to like something. For instance, it is challenging to enjoy a person who is proud and haughty. Like the certain aspects that student papers bad, the characteristics of pride and haughtiness that are repulsive in such a person. We still have the option of liking the paper despite all it's downfalls, and we also have the choice to like and care for a person who may demonstrate unfavorable characteristics. Elbow writes this idea in a very succinct way:

"It's an act of discrimination to see what's good in bad writing. Maybe, in fact, this is the secret of the mystery of liking: to be able to see potential goodness underneath badness" (203)

So the next time I am reading a book or other assigned text that is less than favorable, or listening to my grandpa tell the same stories, or watching worthless television, I hope to undertake the challenge of seeing the "potential goodness underneath badness."

Commonalities of Creation Stories

-The Flood: Many of the creation myths involved a flood; often because the deity (or deities) were unhappy with the way human beings were living.

-Beginnings: Is it too rhetorical to mention that most of the myths of creation started with "In the beginning there was nothing"?
            * I found it so interesting how some of the creation stories began with an already existing creation. For instance, the creation story of the Gros Ventre tribe that I found started with people who were wild and did not know how to do anything and so the creator decided to create a new world. It is almost more like recycling...

-Earth Divers- its tougher than it sounds... many earth divers were unsuccessful or only successful after pushing through adversity.

-Metamorphoses- in many creation myths, a body (or body parts) of a deity were transformed into the physical earth.

-Lonely Deities- human beings were often created because a deity was lonely...I bet it is because they can never keep their friends.

-Clay-made humans - often clay was used to create the form of a human being, and then life is breathed into the clay-figurine. Woman is not made from man, both are made from the clay, and different colored clay resulted in people of different colored skin.

The 

Precedent 

Before 

The 

Myth 

In Book II, there is a story about the raven. Toward the beginning of the story, the following text is written: 

"About that time the raven changed his color

From white to black, he who had once been silver-

White as the doves, as geese whose wakeful cries

Were destined to rescue Rome, as white as 

River-loving swans. But his tongue doomed him.

The chattering bird was everything not white"

Perhaps I myself am missing something, but from what I see, there seems to be some sort of precedent behind the color white, in order for the raven to be "everything not white." I comprehend white as being symbolic of purity, but since white is not inherently pure, there remains a precedent to be discovered of how white came to symbolize purity (or whatever other conceptions of white there may be). This causes me to wonder if there is a precedent behind every myth and whether there is anything without a precedent. I consider how God of the Bible is the creator of the "heavens and the earth," and while being eternal, He is before all precedents and therefore precedents can only be made because of who He is and what He has created. If this is correct, than precedents can only exist if an entity is already in existence. Precedents then, do not create; it is the precedents that are created. This is how my mind understands precedents. If I am mistaken of the meaning or function of precedents, please respond to this post and let me know! 

The Creation of the World

(retrieved from: http://www.markville.ss.yrdsb.edu.on.ca/history/religion/abmyth3.html)

This creation story, of the Gros Ventres Indians, is similar to the origin story of at least two other Algonquin tribes (the Arapahos and the Crees). It is also similar to stories handed down among the Huron and Iroquois tribes of eastern North America and to one related in 1953 by the oldest Chehalis Natives near the Washington coast.

The people before the present people were wild and did not know how to do anything. Because the Creator did not like the way they lived, he thought, "I will make a new world." He had the chief pipe. He went outdoors, hung the pipe on three sticks, and picked up four buffalo chips. He put one under each of the three sticks supporting the pipe, and took the fourth chip for his own seat.

The Creator said to himself, "I will sing three times and shout three times. Then I will kick the earth. There will be heavy rain, and soon, water will cover the earth."

So, he sang three times, he shouted three times, and he kicked the earth. The earth cracked and water came out. Then it rained many days and many nights until water was deep over the earth. Because of the buffalo chips, he and the pipe floated. Then the rain stopped. For days he drifted, floating where the wind and water took him. All the animals and birds had drowned except Crow.

Above the Creator, Crow flew around, crying. When it became tired, it cried, "My father, I am tired and I want to rest."

Three times Crow said these words. After the third time, the Creator replied, "Alight yourself on the pipe and rest."

At last the Creator became tired from sitting in one position and he cried. For a long time he did not know what to do. Then he remembered to unwrap the pipe. It contained all the animals. He took out all those that have a long breath and, thus, are able to dive through water. Large Loon, which he selected first, was not alive, but its body was wrapped up in the pipe. The Creator sang to it and then commanded it to

dive and try to bring up some mud. Not half way down, Large Loon lost its breath and turned back. Almost drowned, it reached the place where the Creator sat.

Then the Creator took Small Loon's body from the pipe, unwrapped it, sang, and commanded it to dive for mud. Small Loon nearly reached the bottom before it lost its breath and turned back. It was almost dead when it came back to the surface. Then the Creator took Turtle from the pipe, sang until it became alive, and sent it down after some mud.

Meanwhile, Crow flew about, crying for rest. The Creator paid no attention. After a long time, Turtle came up from the water, nearly dead. 

 "Did you reach the mud?" asked the Creator.

"Yes," answered Turtle. "I had much of it in my feet and along my sides, but it was washed away before I reached you."

"Come to me." The Creator looked in the cracks along its sides and in its feet. There he found a little earth, which he scraped into his hand. Then he began to sing. Three times he sang, and three times he shouted.

"I will throw this little dust in my hand into the water," he said. "Little by little, let there be enough to make a strip of land large enough for me."

He began to drop it, little by little, opening and closing his hand carefully. When he had finished, there was a small strip of land, big enough for him to sit on. Then the Creator said to Crow, "Come down and rest. I have made a piece of land for myself and for you."

Crow came down and rested, and then flew up again. The Creator took from his pipe two long wing feathers, held one in each hand, and began to sing. Three times he sang, and three times he shouted, "Youh, hou, hou!" Then he spread out his arms, closed his eyes, and said to himself, "Let there be land as far as my eyes can see around me."

When he opened his eyes, the water was hone and there was land as far as he could see. He walked over the earth with his pipe and with Crow. When he became thirsty, he did not know what to do to get water. Then he thought, "I will cry." So, he closed his eyes and cried until his tears, dropping on the ground, formed a large spring in front of him. Soon, a stream ran from out of the spring. When the Creator stopped crying, a large river was flowing. In this way he made all the streams.

When he became tired of being alone with Crow and his pipe, he decided to make persons and animals. First, he took earth and made it into the shape of a man. Then he took another piece of earth and made it into the shape of a woman. He molded more figures out of earth until he had created many men and women.

When the Creator thought he had enough people, he made animals of all kinds, in pairs. Then he gave names to the tribes of people and names to all kinds of animals. He sang three times, shouted three times, and kicked the earth. When he had finished, many pairs of living creatures stood before him, persons and animals.

He called the world "Turtle" because Turtle had helped him create it. Then he made bows and arrows, and he taught men how to use them. The pipe, he gave to a tribe called Haa-ninin (Gros Ventres).

He said to the people, "If you are good, there will be no more water and no more fire. Long before the flood came, the world had been burned. Now this is the third life."

Then he showed people the rainbow and said, "This rainbow is the sign that the earth will not be covered with water again. Whenever you have had rain, you will see the rainbow. It will mean that the rain has gone. There will be another world after this one."

He told the people to go off in pairs and to find homes for themselves. That is why human beings are scattered.