APRIL FOOLS!

Who's excited for the first of April?! We all get to laugh a little and be tricksters for a day :)

Is Left Wrong?

Many cultures would historically look at people who were left handed as being wrong or against the norm. In the Latin culture, the word sinistera originally meant "left" but eventually took on the meaning "evil" or "unlucky". This is where the word sinister in our language comes from. To go further behind this Latin word sinistera, it actually came from the word sinus or "pocket". When togas were still being worn, there was often one pocket on the left handed side. This would allow for the left hand to be useless and rest in the pocket while the right hand was associated with skill. This began the idea that right handed people were more skilled while the left hand was more useless. In the image of the woman wearing a toga, it is seen that her left hand is covered in the cloth while the right hand is available for any skills she needed to perform.

Excalibur/Caledfwlch

The legendary sword of King Arthur is known as Excalibur and Caledfwlch in Welsh. This sword, in a few versions of the story, is known to be the same weapon as the Sword in the Stone. Excalibur is often given magical powers and also shows who is in charge of Britain. In the picture to the left, the Lady of the Lake is reaching out to take the sword that King Arthur has commanded Sir Bedivere to throw into the lake. King Arthur knows what good it will do but Sir Bedivere is afraid to throw something so valuable into the lake. There are many different images of Excalibur but they are often gold plated and very elaborately designed.

The Cauldron, Chalice, Cup, Etc.

Known as the "Cauldron of regeneration", the image of a cauldron is a very important part to European and Irish mythology. Sometimes referred to as the great cauldron of the Dagda, this cauldron is the precursor to the Authurian Holy Grail. Although referred to as "the great cauldron of the Dagda", he does not actually own the cauldron because of its feministic representation. It is yet again another representation of the womb of the Great Mother. This is because of the fact that it is the place of creation, much like the womb in a female. Dagda, who is the Good God and was the Chief of Gods at his time, protects and brings safety to the cauldron, rather than owning it. This image can be seen in many celtic myths and has much the same idea as the upside down triangle or the curly cue do in the myths we read today.

Telepinu.

What is his use? This God of farming and fertility needs some anger management! We all wake up on the wrong side of the bed sometimes but does that really give us power to storm off with all good things in our world? Ripening grain, the fertile winds, abundant growth in fields, meadows, and grassy plains. I think now. For if this were how the world should work, our world would no longer exist! I know that in my case especially, I could have a bad day at least once a week. If I was able to take with me all the good things once every week then that would end badly. Not only me but 100 other people just at MSU could be having a bad day on the same day as me! Therefore, our world would come to a quick end with the lack of positive things we are left with. It seems to me that Telepinu is a sad excuse for a God with his short temper. As well, the ending to this myth doesn't seem to make sense to me. All of the sudden, it states "And so, it came to pass" (World Mythologies, 25). If he was so angry, it wouldn't just pass. But okay, then again, it is just a myth.

Matriarchies?

Who really knows the meaning of a matriarch anymore? What kind of society is classified as matrifocal? Do they still exist? The answer is most simply no. Matriarchies and matrifocal societies no longer exist in our world today. The Greek word "mater" meaning "mother" and another Greek word "archein" meaning "to rule" come together to form the word matriarch. The government by mothers, or government and power in the hands of women. Another word that goes along with these includes matricentric, meaning to have a mother as the head of the family or household. The latest known societies to have matriarchal societies would be in Asia and Africa. Some patriarchal societies may be seen to have a female queen or some matriarchal parts to their society. One of these cases would be when Elizabeth I was the queen of England. Often times today, historians discredit matriarchal societies or even sometimes act like they never even occurred. Prime examples of matrifocality include the Nair community in Kerala and the Bunt community in Tulunada, South India. In the 21st century, no true matriarchies are known but some societies in the Amazon still practice parts of matricality.

One of the last most matriarchal societies still existing today is known as the Mosuo's which can be found in the Xiaolianghshan Mountains in the Yunnan and Sichuan Provinces of South East China. The Mosuo people are closely related to the Tibetans because of their close geographical location. In this society, the main pillar of the family is the mother. One of the only things that is forbidden in the society is incest. The women have no signs of jealousy and they are found to be the center of the culture. Although they are known as the Mosuo people to others, they know themselves as the Na people. Women do all the housework and make any big business decisions. Although the women are the center of the culture and rule the family, this society can not truly be seen as completely matriarchal because of the fact that it is over archingly ruled by men. Besides their rule as king, men have no responsibilities, no jobs, and they rest all day in order to reserve their strength for night time visits to their women.

Although it may be fun to boss the men around in my life, I can not decide whether it would be worth it to be in charge of everything to have a matriarchal society. I appreciate my roles in our culture and I appreciate the things that men contribute. The conclusion I have come to is that our culture has done us well so far so lets keep it that way for now.

Heaven vs. Hell

Standing at THE "pearly gates"? You must have performed well during your life! Lucky you because heaven is paved with streets of gold where the best of the best can go walking. Clouds allow for everyone to jump with joy and never get hurt. These soft fluffy clumps of condensation make fun for all ages. Missing anyone? They will be there too so you can catch up!

Hell on the other hand has none of the features that Heaven does. Hot, red, fire, mean, and devilish sound familiar? They should! Hell is separated from everyone and everything else. Unfathomably it is filled with a nothingness. This heat filled void will take you up in flames as soon as you reach it!

Holidays :)

Due to my love for decorating and celebrating the wonderful holidays, I will be changing the background to my blog regularly. Monday February 14th is also known as Valentine's Day! Cupids, sweethearts, teddy bears, roses, chocolate, etc. Valentine's day is an annual commemoration that celebrates love and affection between intimate companions. This holiday was first created in 500 AD and is still celebrated!

Creation Stories!

Throughout the world of mythologies, there are many different backgrounds to these stories. Specifically for creation stories, there are five different categories that myths may fall into.
First off, "Ex Nihilo" stories are myths that start from a void or nothing. This nothingness is often referred to as "Chaos". One example of these types of myths may include the Greek myth "The Creation of the Titans and the Gods". The sentence that starts off this story is "Out of the original emptiness, which was called Chaos, emerged the first three immortal beings..." (World Mythologies, 84).

The second type of creation story is known as "Earth Diver". An animal in these myths dives down into the sea or ocean and retrieves some sort of grain of substance which then eventually becomes an island or the earth. The Woman Who Fell from the Sky is an Iroquois myth which conveys an Earth Diver format. "Muskrat's body suddenly reappeared on the surface of the water. He was dead. However, Muskrat had been as skillful as he was courageous, for clutched in his claws and lodged inside his mouth was earth from the bottom of the sea" (World Mythologies, 628).

A third type of myth in the creation stories is a category known as "Primal Unity". In these myths, an egg may crack where the creatures of the earth come out of, or better known, the heavens above and the earth below are separated where humans can then come to existence. A type of Primal Unity myth may be the Nigerian myth "The Creation of the Universe and Ife". Primal Unity can be seen in the second sentence where it states "In the beginning the universe consisted only of the sky above and the water and the wild marshland below. Olorun, the god who possessed the most power and the greatest knowledge, ruled the sky, while the goddess Olokun ruled the endless waters and wild marshes" (World Mythologies, 510).

Dismemberment is a fourth type of creations story in mythologies. When a monster or giant is killed and separated, his body parts are turned into different parts of the earth. The flesh may turn into the human beings while the blood becomes the rivers and oceans. A vocabulary word often used in these myths is "sparagmos" meaning the tearing to pieces of a live victim. A myth that begins as Primal Unity and eventually becomes Dismemberment is the myth "Enuma Elish". Dismemberment comes into play near the end of the story "Marduk then divided Tiamat's body into two parts like a shellfish. Half of Tiamat he set up as the sky; the other half he formed into the earth. From Tiamat's saliva, he created the clouds and filled them with water, but he himself took charge of the winds, and the rain, and the cold. He put Tiamat's head into position to form the mountains of the earth, and he caused the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers to flow from her eyes" (World Mythologies, 10).

One final type of creation story is "Emergence". During these myths, life just appears.

The End

Being alone is the end,

Lonely and bare, the Earth's there,

The world lost its cause.

Gods

Pantheon - 

Greek / Roman / Area

• Gaea / Terra / Mother Earth
• Uranus / Uranus / Father Sky
• Cronus / Saturn / Sky
• Rhea / Ops / Earth
• Atlas / ------ / Holder of the Earth
• Aphrodite / Venus / Sexual Desire, Beauty

Olympians - 

Greek / Roman / Area

• Zeus / Jupiter / Lightning
• Hestia / Vesta / Hearth
• Poseidon / Neptune / Sea, Earthquakes
• Hera / Juno / Marriage, Childbirth
• Hades / Pluto / Underworld
• Demeter / Ceres / Grain

Children of Zeus (Olympians) - 

Greek / Roman / Area

• Apollo / Phoebus Apollo / Medecine, Poetry, Archery
• Artemis / Diana / Hunt, Moon, Virginity
• Ares / Mars / War
• Athena / Minerva / Weaving, Wisdom
• Hermes / Mercury / Messenger
• Persephone / Proserpine / Underworld
• Hephaestus / Vulcan / Forge

Gods vs. Mortals

• Gods - 
• Immortal
• Born from Gods
• Create the destiny of others
• Hold superpowers
• Mortals -
• Created by the gods
• Live a pre-destined life
• No special powers

Anthropomorphize

Roots are very helpful parts to words. If a long word such as anthropomorphize can be broken down, it is much easier to understand. This word can be broken down into "anthro" and "morphi". The root "anthro" means human or man, such as in the words anthropology, anthropomorphic, and misanthrope. The second root to this word, "morphi" means form or structure, which are used in words like metamorphosis, amorphous, and morphology. The final part to anthropomorphize is the ending "ize" which can be used to mean "make". All together these three parts to the word come together to mean making into a human structure. Throughout myths, this technique is used often with objects or creatures that are not human. This allows for them to interact with real humans and have some sort of humanistic purposes. 

The True Definition of a Myth

Myth - "a traditional or legendary story, usually concerning some being or hero or event, with or without a determinable basis of fact or a natural explanation, esp. one that is concerned with deities or demigods and explains some practice, rite, or phenomenon of nature" (Dictionary.com).


Myths today have a broad and well understood meaning. Even if there is no set of words that one can easily use to define them, there is still and underlying blanket that people think of when the word "myth" is used. Other words that often have this same connotation may include story, theory, legend, fable, etc. 
Off the top of my head, I would say that any one of these kinds of stories must include some sort of a moral, a plot that may have never actually taken place, a supernatural hero whether a human or monster, and most times a confrontation will take place between the good and evil. Many people look to myths for some sort of reason to their questions. Myths can often reveal answers to blank spots in the world or vast areas that have no definite answers. Looking back in the history of myths shows different sorts of answers that aren't always considered at first. Besides finding answers to unknown parts of our society today, myths will also show how people have changed their ways to fit into the world. We see this in many ways today with voting, social groups, school, work, etc. but once we can look back and see it in past history, it will make these conformations much more comfortable. These myths that are widely held, show that false ideas can bring the world together. Once we allow for ourselves to believe in some of these fallacies', we are then able to see things much like ways that others, who believe the same fallacies', see things as well.