Final Blog

This course has been one of the most eye opening courses that I have had the pleasure of taking at MSU. I have learned the importance of slowing down to realize the little things in life everyday because there is no such thing as and ordinary day. The most important thing to me that I have taken away from listening to Professor Sexson is the importance of ceremonies, especially in the fact that they mark new beginnings.

Initiation Ritual: Teeth Chiseling

Finally posting my initiation ritual about teeth chiseling. Women in a small Indonesian tribe have their teeth chiseled into sharp shark like teeth because the believe it helps make them beautiful. Being beautiful is important to this tribe because it is believed that the soul will leave the body if it is unhappy with the body it is in.

For more information here is the National Geographic documentary on teeth chiseling.

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/places/countries-places/indonesia/indonesia_teethchiseling/

My Life as a Mythic Detective

My Life as a Mythic Detective

            When I first signed up for this class I thought it would be just another mindless easy core; well that was my hope at least. I am a junior in the mechanical engineering program and originally signed up for this class thinking that all it would do for me was fulfill my Core 2.0 requirement for diversity. After looking back on this semester, I can see that it has done much more than that for me. This class has taught me to analyze text and stories, also to read into what the writer wanted us to see and understand. Mythology is more than just pictures, famous Greeks, and the actual words on the paper. It is about understanding the literature, along with depicting what the story is about. It is about seeing a larger picture than just what is written in the small short story.

Many times during the semester I have felt that this class was similar to story time and that nothing linked together; even though Professor Sexson said that there is no such thing as being distracted in mythology because everything ties back into mythology. He could not have been more correct. This mythology class was more than story time and way more than a typical mythology class where they just memorize Ovid. Though we did read Ovid in this class it was not the focus point of the course, merely just the tool to launch us into the discussion of mythology. Which for me was a very good thing because I did read Ovid: however, I did not retain much of the content. The only stories I was able to retain were the ones that we discussed in class. It is hard to completely comprehend a story when you are the only one putting input. It is easier for me to understand and comprehend a story when I am able to see other people’s perspectives and how they understood the story. Discussing the same topic, or writing in our blogs helped me understand not only another way to understand the story, but how my classmates made sense of the story. I learned that everyone does not think like I do. Some people are very analytical such as myself, and others were metaphorical, logical, or emotional thinkers. This grabbed my attention because I was able to comprehend the story in a whole different way, than how I picked it apart.

            Going into this class as a junior in mechanical engineering had caused me to switch my thinking a complete 180º. I have spent the last two years in classes that I think very analytically in and where there is only one solution to the problem. This class has caused me to expand my thinking outside of the box and into a non-analytical thought process. I had to think with imagery, metaphors, moods, and tone. I also had to learn how to blog, take stories out of there element to apply them to a different era, and most importantly how to interpret text with my own opinion.

            Another very important thing that I got out of this class is the importance of tradition. I have always considered traditions to be an important part of life, but did not know why. When Professor Sexson talked to us about the importance of walking at the commencement ceremony and how it was a rite of passage something hit me. While listening to Professor Sexson go on and on about the importance of walking because we had earned that rite and the importance it has to our families. I realized that I did want to walk when I graduate, at least I do now. His speech to us also helped me realize why ceremonies are such an important part of us. Ceremonies are how we recognize new beginnings such as weddings, funerals, commencement, etc. They are all how we as people do not recognize endings, but the beginnings of new chapters to not only our lives but to the lives of everyone around us.

             I may not have learned how to be a great mythic detective in the way that I know how to spot where things in my life relate to Ovidian mythology, but I have learned a lot about mythology as a whole and its significance to our daily lives. I learned to see the importance of traditional ceremonies and taking the time to notice the little things in life. Through the course of this class I have learned how to appreciate every moment for though nothing we do is original in the dictionary definition; however, it is original to us. Our lives are original to use because no one else has ever lived our life and no one else ever will. We are unique in how we live the life that so many before us have and so many after us will.

            This class has made an everlasting mark on me. I will forever remember Professor Sexson and his lively readings/interpretations of Ovid, listening to Fred Turner, and most importantly recognizing the transformation of myself. The end, or shall I say the beginning.  

Motivation

Was surfing the web when I saw this picture on Tapiture, thought it was fitting to what we discussed in class today.

Displacement Story

Rob was just a run of the mill teenager living a run of the mill live. Born and raised in Burien, WA he was on a track to nowhere. He desired something more, something adventurous. He noticed guys at Highline HS, the school he attended, always wore blue. Every day they wore blue bandanas, blue t-shirts, blue everything. They looked like Smurfs but ones that could kick your ass to Timbuktu. Rob saw these men and thought to himself, “I want to be just like them.” Little did Rob realize that these were Crips, members of a large and deadly gang.

The average pasty white male growing up in the suburbs of Seattle wanted to become what most people consider a thug. Rob did not see these men as thugs. To Rob these men were heroes that were going to break him out of his conformity to life. When Rob first approached the Crips they laughed at him and thought he was joking. When they realized he was serious they agreed to let him go through initiation purely because they thought it would be entertaining.

During his initiation Rob accidentally stumbled onto a drug deal where some of the elite gang members were present. To protect the identity of the elite members most members, especially initiates, were not allowed to ever see them.  Since Rob had not been fully initiated into the gang and they were not sure that they could completely trust him the elite members told a group of members to take care of him.

While Rob was walking home from school on one of the side streets of 1^st Ave. a group of Crips chased him down. The first member to get to Rob was Joe, the one who brought Rob into the gang, tackled him to the ground. After that the rest attacked him and got as many punches and stabs in as they could. This continued until they had beaten every inch of life out of Rob. Rob laid there in shock and aw as Joe, Albert, George, Martin, Mike, Tyrone  and Will tore him apart. The members whom he thought were his heroes and had become his brothers took his life. One simple accident and his life was gone.   

Spinners Interpretation

The first thing I noticed about the painting is the lady in the white shirt. I believe this to be Arache. She is more abstract and stands out in the painting. I also noticed that she is in the light whereas the other "spinners" are not. I noticed that the front of the painting where Arache is, is very dirty. It has clutter, it's dark, and it looks like everyone isn't really paying much attention to the details. The back of the painting is bright, there is sunlight and there are people, all in a circle and seeming to be involved in the same work or conversation. They are also well dressed.

I also spent time just looking at the painting. It looks like several pieces of art. I believe that Velazques intended for his audience to see this. It looks like behind the four ladies, there is a bunch of other ladies in the back room, that is the first piece of artwork, the second would be the tapestry that I believe Athena wove. It is also in the light and has things flying around which could symbolize the gods.

The painting also demonstrates that Arache's workers or helpers are not working together, you have one on the right watching Arache wove, another one picking things up, and two conversing and they don't seem as interested. In the back, you see all of Athenas helpers all involved. None of them seem to be distracted or uninterested. This led me to believe that Velazques wanted to show us who has the higher power, which clearly is Athena.

Found this on theCHIVE thought that the class might enjoy it. 

Similarities Between Creation Myths

The most common themes I remember from all the creation myths told in class were Earth diver, one or two creators, and Earth existing with no land/life. Earth diver myths typically had some sort of creature dive down to the bottom of the primordial ocean to fetch some dirt/sand that would turn into all of the land. Most of the myths also had one or two deities that would create the world and/or life either from thought or form life out of organic matter on earth including themselves. Every myth set time as before life, time, or light. Earth was usually in existence; however, there would be no land or life, just a primordial ocean.     

Raven Creation Myth

This is the part of the story I told in class. The complete story can be found here: http://indigenouspeople.net/creatlingit.htm

No one knows just how the story of Raven really begins, so each starts from the point where he does know it. Here it was always begun in this way. Raven was first called Kit-ka'ositiyi-qa-yit ("Son of Kit-ka'ositiyi-qa"). When his son was born, Kit-ka'ositiyi-qa tried to instruct him and train him in every way and, after he grew up, told him he would give him strength to make a world. After trying in all sorts of ways, Raven finally succeeded. Then there was no light in this world, but it was told him that far up the Nass was a large house in which some one kept light just for himself.

Raven thought over all kinds of plans for getting this light into the world and finally he hit on a good one. The rich man living there had a daughter, and he thought, "I will make myself very small and drop into the water in the form of a small piece of dirt." The girl swallowed this dirt and became pregnant. When her time was completed, they made a hole for her, as was customary, in which she was to bring forth, and lined it with rich furs of all sorts. But the child did not wish to be born on those fine things. Then its grandfather felt sad and said, "What do you think it would be best to put into that hole? Shall we put in moss?" So they put moss inside and the baby was born on it. Its eyes were very bright and moved around rapidly.

Round bundles of varying shapes and sizes hung about on the walls of the house. When the child became a little larger it crawled around back of the people weeping continually, and as it cried it pointed to the bundles. This lasted many days. Then its grandfather said, "Give my grandchild what he is crying for. Give him that one hanging on the end. That is the bag of stars." So the child played with this, rolling it about on the floor back of the people, until suddenly he let it go up through the smoke hole. It went straight up into the sky and the stars scattered out of it, arranging themselves as you now see them. That was what he went there for.

Some time after this he began crying again, and he cried so much that it was thought he would die . Then his grandfather said, " Untie the next one and give it to him." He played and played with it around behind his mother. After a while he let that go up through the smoke hole also, and there was the big moon.

Now just one thing more remained, the box that held the daylight, and he cried for that. His eyes turned around and showed different colors, and the people began thinking that he must be something other than an ordinary baby. But it always happens that a grandfather loves his grandchild just as he does his own daughter, so the grandfather said, "Untie the last thing and give it to him." His grandfather felt very sad when he gave this to him. When the child had this in his hands, he uttered the raven cry, "Ga," and flew out with it through the smokehole. Then the person from whom he had stolen it said, "That old manuring raven has gotten all of my things."

Journeying on, Raven was told of another place, where a man had everlasting spring of water. This man was named Petrel (Ganu'k). Raven wanted this water because there was none to drink in this world, but Petrel always slept by his spring, and he had a cover over it so as to keep it all to himself. Then Raven came in and said to him, "My brother-in-law, I have just come to see you. How are you?" He told Petrel of all kinds of things that were happening outside, trying to induce him to go out to look at them, but Petrel was too smart for him and refused.

When night came, Raven said, "I am going to sleep with you, brother-in-law." So they went to bed, and toward morning Raven heard Petrel sleeping very soundly. Then he went outside, took some dog manure and put it around Petrel's buttocks. When it was beginning to grow light, he said, "Wake up, wake up, wake up, brother in-law, you have defecated all over your clothes!" Petrel got up, looked at himself, and thought it was true, so he took his blankets and went outside. Then Raven went over to Petrel's spring, took off the cover and began drinking. After he had drunk up almost all of the water, Petrel came in and saw him. Then Raven flew straight up, crying "Ga."

Before he got through the smoke-hole, however, Petrel said,"My spirits up the smoke hole, catch him." So Raven stuck there, and Petrel put pitchwood on the fire under him so as to make a quantity of smoke. Raven was white before that time, but the smoke made him of the color you find him today. Still he did not drop the water. When the smoke-hole spirits let him go, he flew around the nearest point and rubbed himself all over so as to clear off as much of the soot as possible. This happened somewhere about the Nass, and afterwards he started up this way. First he let some water fall from his mouth and made the Nass. By and by he spit more out and made the Stikine. Next he spit out Taku river, then Chilkat, then Alsek, and all the other large rivers. The small drops that came out of his mouth made the small salmon creeks.

After this Raven went on again and came to a large town where were people who had never seen daylight. They were out catching eulachon in the darkness when he came to the bank opposite, and he asked them to take him across but they would not. Then he said to therm, "If you don't come over I will have daylight break on you." But they answered, " Where are you from ? Do you come from far up the Nass where lives the man who has daylight?" At this Raven opened his box just a little and shed so great a light on them that they were nearly thrown down. He shut it quickly, but they quarreled with him so much across the creek that he became angry and opened the box completely, when the sun flew up into the sky. Then those people who had sea-otter or fur-seal skins, or the skins of any other sea animals, went into the ocean, while those who had land-otter, bear, or marten skins, or the skins of any other land animals, went into the woods [becoming the animals whose skins they wore].

Hugging a Tree

Finally got one of my friends to take this assignment seriously. This tree is by Montana Hall.

So far I have read all the way through the third book. The book has proved a some what difficult read as Professor Sexson mentioned it my be. There are parts where I get lost, the only parts I tend not to get lost at are the myths that I already recognize. I now see why Professor Sexson wants the class to read The Metamorphoses by ourselves before we read it in class.