Introduction

Myth -important in the analysis of comparative religion
-includes attitude of the community toward the myth
-sacred and true cultural narratives
-parts of larger ideological systems
-set outside historical time
-creation stories
-divine/semi-divine animals and culture hero characters
-performance element
-example
        --Adam and Eve
-need not be scientifically or objectively true
-validity within cultural context

Utility of Myths
-authoritative precedents that validate social norms
-Malinowski
        --social "charter"
        --statement of primeval reality
        --strengthens traditions

-Psychological Approach
        --as symbolic expressions of sibling rivalry, male-female tensions, etc.

-Structuralist Approach
        --as cultural means of resolving binary oppositions
-basis of religious belief

Approaching Myths
-considered to be truthful accounts of the past
        --orally transmitted or textual accounts

-studied in the West since the Greeks
        --Platonic confusion of myth as fallacy

-anthropological emphasis on culture-specific meanings
-Joseph Campbell
        --looking for universal themes in myth
-modern study of myth
        --multidisciplinary

Study of Symbolism
-important to the study of religion
-less than clear definition
        --something that represents something else
        --enhancement of the importance of what is symbolized

-Geertz
        --religion as a "cluster of sacred symbols"

Symbols
-multivocalic nature
-often considered to have mana, force, or power
-provide people with an emotional and intellectual commitment
-Durkheim
        --stand for revered values, reaffirm cultural value system

Taboos
-restrict actions
-origination of the term
-universality of imposing restrictions
        --sex
        --food
        --rites of passage
        --sacred objects and persons
        --universal incest taboo
-reinforced by threat of supernatural punishment
-function to counter ideational and phenomenal dangers
-function to distinguish between and control social groups

Articles Included
-show importance of these topics to the comparative study of religion

Article: The Study of Mythology by Scott Leonard and Michael McClure

What are Myths and Why Study Them?
-inquiry into meaning making
-open-ended living texts

Early Anthropology
-"The Golden Bough"
-Tylor, Boas, Durkheim
-Sir James Frazer
-evolutionary approach to myth and culture
-The "Myth-and-Ritual" School

Modern Anthropology
-Bronislaw Malinowski
-"true" as a charter for faith and wisdom
-"real" in performance
-context

The Rise of Psychology
-myth and the unconscious
-Sigmund Freud
        --"true" psychical reality
-Jung
        --universal "archetypes" and "eternal" images

Joseph Campbell: Literary and Cultural Critic
-"universal human truths"
-individual-centered mythology

Claude Lévi-Strauss and Structuralism
-"deep structure"
-structuralist approach: skeletal core of myth
-myths mediate tensions between binary opposites

Mircea Eliade's Time Machine
-perception in binary terms
-modern alienation from sacred/cosmic reality
-myth as a time machine

Considering 20th Century Mythology Critically
-moving forward with lessons from the past
-anthropological and folklore approaches
-psychological approach
-pros and cons
-21st century scholarship on mythology

Mythology Today
-William Doty's "Toolkit"
-Bruce Lincoln's Ideological Narratives
-Wendy Doniger's Telescopes and Microscopes
-Robert Ellwood's "Real Myths"

Reading Mythology
-literary truths
-a diverse "toolkit"
-inclusive literary approach
-insights of the anthropological approach
-an onion with no core

Article: Nyoro Myth by John Beattie

What is a myth?
-explanation of present-day society
-provides an account of why the world is in its present form
-legitimization of sociopolitical arrangements

Nyoro myths
-validation of social/political stratification
-Nyoro's First Family

Traditional division of Nyoro society
-test of the males of the first family
-elders are to be servants for the younger brothers
-status and authority are based on birth
-youngest is the father's heir
-ascribed status over personal achievement
-primacy of social categories and birth descent

Nyoro stories and morals
-moral tales based on the first kings
-emphasizes the wisdom of the old
-with age comes advisory authority
-elders guide those in power

Dynastic myths that connect to a single line of descent
-unbroken dynastic lineage
-royal dynasties are genealogically linked

Current Bito leadership
-mythical history validates Bito leadership
-each dynasty a different group
-myth as genealogical charter for structure of authority

Article: Harelips and Twins: The Splitting of a Myth by Claude Lévi-Strauss

Father P.J. de Arriaga
-saw a relationship between twins, being born feet first, and people with harelips

Myths about twins
-twin possess otherworldly power

Pan-American myths
-large North American populations
-intergroup contact
-ubiquitous mythical symbols

Pan-American myths and twins
-North American myths about twins
-different fathers but born as twins
-antithetical features
-South American myths are similar but two differences
        --Kootenay – one mother, one father, twins who become the sun and the moon
        --Salish – mothers are sisters but same father, born under identical circumstances
-two individuals who portray twins in the beginning, later 'untwin'

Harelip and twins
-Salish version: pregnancy, split nose
-if split, hare becomes two identical individuals
-escapes from basket feet first
-twins and feet-first birth are metaphorically identical
-hares are highest deity

Born feet first and twins
-twins fight in womb to be born first
-bad twin takes short cut, destroys the mother
-several tribes killed twins and children born feet first

Mediators between the powers above and humanity below
-present in all myths worldwide
-hare is between the two conditions
-not divided completely in two, but has opposite characteristics

Article: An Anthropologist's Reflections on Symbolic Usage by Raymond Firth

Symbolization
-universal human process
-one thing "re-presenting" another thing
        --concrete to abstract and particular to general
        --often emotionally charged

An Anthropological Approach
-what can anthropology offer to the study of symbolism?
        --comparative, observationalist, functionalist, relatively neutralist approach
        --wide range of experiences with symbolic observation
        --links symbolism to social structure and particular cultural context
        --an empirical attempt at grappling with disjunction

Examples of symbolism
-Tikopia chief
-Christian symbolism

Objective of the Anthropological Approach
-provide a systematic description and analysis of symbolic acts
-differentiate significant versus incidental elements
-explore meaning attached to the symbolic act by various perspectives
-set the study of symbolism in a general conceptual and institutional framework

Study of Symbolism
-currently popular in social anthropology
-not a "new" interest
-delayed development of modern sophisticated interest
        --3 reasons
        ---systematic studies needed a thorough grounding in more "formal fields"
        ---developments in theories of communication and semantics
        ---growing interest in culturally defined systems of thought
        --2 other possible factors
        ---current intellectual climate is attracted to less rational aspects of human behavior
        ---personal recognition of positioning

Relevance of Symbolism
-political
-religious
-and many other, more mundane, expressions of symbolism
-unanalyzed "raw" material for comparative study

Conclusion
-mutual benefit for anthropology and the study of symbolism

Article: Taboo by Mary Douglas

Taboo
-definitions
-appears "irrational" to outside observer
-19th century misconception of "false science"
-breach of conduct has repercussions
-theories of contagion

In the Eye of the Beholder
-culturally defined conceptions of reality
        --"dirt" or "beauty"
-contextualizing taboos within the larger system
-19th century problem of "primitive thought"
-modern approach as a problem of human learning
        --no objective view of the world

Learning
-filtering, organizing, and classifying process
-culturally constructed universe
-unique worldviews of relatively isolated groups
-the universe is a system of rules
-Western differentiation and classifications

The Seat of Mana
-taboos can express political ideas
-gradings of power
-Polynesian belief about the head

Fluidity
-context of taboos
-recognition of dynamism
-classifying process is always active and changing

Rules of the Game
-social life with no classifications?
-social life is the process of building classification systems

Classification Systems
-taboos maintain them
-classification involves definition
        --reduces ambiguity but can't eliminate it
-human systems are too crude for reality
        --taboos cover up the exceptions

Injecting Order Into Life
-William Burrough's "Naked Lunch"
-taboo injects order drawn from social categories
-dilemma of individual freedom

Article: Serpent Handling as Sacrament by Mary Lee Daugherty

Serpent Handlers of West Virginia
-background
-small, independent Holiness-type churches
-"long conclusion" of the gospel Mark
-physical, economic, and social environment
-enabled by the power of the Holy Ghost

Modern changes
-economic improvement
-effects on expressions of faith?

Serpent-Handling as Sacrament
-ritual celebration of life, death, and resurrection
-proof of Jesus's power to protect and heal
-serpent as a symbol of victory over death
-dangerous (yet rarely fatal)
-hypothesis about the future of serpent-handling
        --legality issues

Cultural Isolation
-limited travel
-limited media input
-primarily oral/Biblical traditions
-life centered on church gatherings

The Approach to the Serpent
-not evil serpent of the Genesis story
-serpent as life over death
-sacrament
-respect for the snake

The Faith
-willingness to die for beliefs
-coping with and confronting real fears
-seeking harmony with Nature
-centered in small communities

Longing for Holiness
-dramatized in willingness to suffer
-group support
-power of the Holy Ghost and the courageous individual
-ennobling experience of divine intervention

The Person of the Holy Ghost
-enables serpent-handling, speaking in tongues, preaching, curing diseases, etc.
-transcending "worthlessness"
-the "great equalizer"
-creates a mood of openness and spontaneity
-lends a sense of power to lives
-approachable and relatable figure of Jesus

Churches and Services
-arena of empowerment
-services often and lengthy
-direct personal experience of God
-outpouring of healing love

Holiness churches
-view of the secular world
-based in very small communities
-live by strict moral code -services

Symbolism of the Serpent
-suggests ambiguity and transcendence
-varying representations

Conclusion
-a unique ritual in church history
-new economic and social environment
-ritual continues as a form of sacrament