SLFK 211, Thursday, September 26, 2002
I could continue about various mythological issues in tales
Tales are part of a culture
Their history is one with the culture in which they exist
So they have elements of earlier belief of that culture
Especially those that are part of currently valid systems
Show contemporary "witches"
Not the Baba Iaga kind, but real people
Though a generic term for witch is baba
Show ritual towels for unquiet dead
So issues of death persist
And journeys to the other world
And ideas of where the body is located
Maybe the fact the journeys are so strongly associated with going to the land of the dead and spirits is why Russians are so border conscious
Recall the Iron Curtain
Female initiation goes to wedding whereas male reflected in stories
Perhaps because wedding, for the woman, has a journey element
Man stays put in own house and she moves into his
Wedding, for the woman, does become a lot like death
Laments
Clothing
Exit from house
The physical journey at a wedding seems to make her capable of spirit journeys
Women do the various ceremonies to cure
Usually women do rain charms
Women do fortune-telling
Women take care of the point where the soul leaves the body, like birth and death
Psalter and laments and guiding the soul of the deceased to the other world
Women can communicate with the dead and other spirits, such as the domovoi, whereas men cannot
The belief systems are so extensive and complex, that no one can know them all or present them all
And I certainly don't expect them to be able to
Aside from the impossibility of presenting a complete system of ancient belief
Think practically &endash; is it worth their knowing ancient Slavic belief?
Probably not, unless you are going to be a Slavic specialist
Is it worth seeing and experiencing another system of belief to stimulate the imagination?
Most definitely
Their ability to create, in whatever realm of endeavor will be greatly enriched thereby, and not just media and theater, but all realms of endeavor
Is it worth being aware that virtually everything has deep, deep roots in belief, probably ancient belief?
Most definitely
Halloween and Christmas
Halloween = Festival of death
Christmas = festival of triumph over cold, vegetation fertility
Even football has a ritual element
Halloween and Christmas are direct descendants of ancient rites
Football is new, but probably its ritual elements contribute to its success
Even though they did not enter the game intentionally
Success of Barbie related to its having elements of the votive female figurines of ancient times &endash; these are not just Slavic: found in parts of Europe, Middle East
Greg's spontaneous generation of Trypillian figures
Another way to look at it is that those things which seem to hark back to ancient images and/or concerns evoke a level of emotional reaction that is very effective
Powerful communicative tool
Learning this can get them the means of producing these intense responses, arousing deep emotions
Whether consciously, by knowing that the phenomenon exists and trying to replicate it
Or unconsciously, by becoming familiar with the material that has that effect in a different culture
Lets look at a very different sort of material &endash; the animal tales
Told story of the Fox and the Wolf
On one level, really gross and violent, yet they laughed
What sorts of stories are these and why are they told
Remind them of the type of material (and get extra data)
Story of the Peasant, the Bear and the Fox
What happens to the fox
Fox marries the cat
These are also called trickster tales
What is the nature of the tricks?
Fox tricks wolf into thinking that he can use tail as a fishing rod
Tricks peasant into thinking she is dead
Gets wolf to misunderstand body tolerance of cold
Gets wolf to think that you can use own body as food
These are the concerns of early childhood
What can you eat
To what extent can the body serve as food?
Ones own
Mom's
What can you do to the body in terms of heat, cutting, using as tool
When is something alive and when is it not and what does being alive mean
These are all VERY primitive distinctions that are important to a child
Distinctions in other stories
Bear and what can be done to body
Fox not realizing what is and what is not part of the body
More sophisticated &endash; language
In fox midwife &endash; same thing
Fox and wolf live together and fox eats honey while telling wolf she is delivering babies
Name of baby gives it away
Focus on distinction underscored
The song in fox and wolf fishing
It is the distinction that is the concern and the rest is obliterated
Child focuses on the distinction &endash; not the death of a character, or his or her pain
Winnebago Trickster stories &endash; Coyote
Gives his anus a task and punishes it when it fails
His hands fight
Takes his eyes out
Makes language mistakes &endash; children taken out to pee
Does various interesting things to his penis, like uses it as a tool, wraps around neck
Coyote straps on a vagina and becomes a female
Greg
Not much body/not body except perhaps: It's a moley??? Goes diggy, diggy???
But food, definitely
Thumbs and which one is edible, French fries in various forms
Lots of language &endash; round and round, nakey, nakey
Look, Mom, I'm a girl
Joey and Daddy, I'm not lying, I'm standing up
Fighting with words
The distinctions in other children, children in general