Group 11, discussion 1, blog 1:

Overall, I believe that our group had a thought-provoking discussion involving the questions as well as our own experiences. One of our group members spoke about growing up learning about lore such as the Hopi myth, which was discussed in Myth, Belief, Narration, Image: Reflections on Mesoamerican Mythology. I really liked reading about them, especially regarding their love for nature as I am a huge believer that we should treat ‘Mother Earth’ and all her creatures with love and respect.
The Hopi people were further discussed regarding the importance of landscape to their culture. An example of this is the San Francisco Peaks, which is where the ‘good spirits’ (kachinas) are found. This was discussed beginning on page 72 (https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.lib.ucalgary.ca/lib/ucalgary-ebooks/reader.action?docID=1100071).

I also found the myth of how the hero Wunzh (or Hiawatha) discovered corn. In the lore, Wunzh must complete a quest that focussed around self-denial, including food. He fasted for seven days and on each of the days described, there is a unique landscape. An excerpt illustrating this is “Round about him spun the landscape, Sky and forest reeled together… Like a ring of fire around him Blazed and flared the red horizon” (pg. 273). This is an extremely powerful passage and highlights the importance of landscape within their lore. The myth ends with the Great Spirit bestowing the gift of corn to people, which led the first Feast of Mondamin (corn).
The Hindu myth involving Lord Shiva and the release of ambrosia from the ocean was also discussed. I found it to be a fascinating story, which is discussed in https://d2l.ucalgary.ca/d2l/le/content/309867/fullscreen/4061545/View, and had absolutely beautiful imagery. It commands a respect for the ocean, which has the power to destroy heaven, earth, and hell, while also holding the key to immortality. If you have not read this myth, I would highly recommend it.


Our group also had a strong grasp on etic vs. emic, which we thought was shown well in the myth of the Mayan ball game. I loved Maya myth that inspired a deadly ballgame and found that it found a beautiful, yet violent way to explain how the sun and moon came to be.


One example from my life that I find resonates with this week’s discussion is my knowledge of my Greek heritage and the surrounding mythology. I remember when I was growing up, my Papou would read to me about the different Greek myths and how they relate back to our world today. One story that draws upon the landscape and its connection to our lore is the story of the seasons (https://www.infoplease.com/culture-entertainment/mythology-folklore/classical-mythology-hades-takes-wife-persephone). Persephone was the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. Persephone was abducted by Hades which caused Demeter to stop providing fertility for the earth. The subsequent starvation caused Zeus to beg Hades to let his daughter return instead of remaining in the Underworld as Hades’ wife. Persephone had eaten a few pomegranate seeds, which forced to stay there, but the deal became that we should remain in the Underworld for the same number of months as the seeds she ate. In the months that Persephone was allowed on earth, the Demeter was happy, and crops were flourishing, which ended up being our spring and summer. When she returned to Hades in the Underworld, Demeter was too heartbroken to care for the crops, which caused everything to die. This became our fall and winter.

https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/persephone.html


Leeming, D. A. (Ed.). (1991). The world of myth : An anthology. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.lib.ucalgary.ca