|
|
| www.1001TopWords.com |
|
|
The Trickster of Folklore
Folklore includes a traditional trickster figure, the subject of many stories in a cycle. Trickster tales are in the animal tales genre, with the trickster himself -- he seems always to be male -- identified with a particular animal. These include the fox in Japan, mouse deer in Southeast Asia, the coyote and the spider among the Native Americans, the tortoise and spider in West Africa, and the mantis in Southern Africa. These tales feature a trickster-hero who may be regarded as both creator god and innocent fool, evil destroyer and childlike prankster. Tricksters are usually small in size next to the large, strong animals that appear in the same folktales. Tricksters survive by their wits, but they do more than just survive. They constantly play tricks on the animals around them, outwitting and mistreating their powerful neighbours even when these larger animals haven't done anything to deserve it. Occasionally he overreaches himself and finds that he's been too clever for his own good. It's the Trickster who points out the flaws in our carefully managed societies. He rebels against authority, pokes fun at the overly serious, creates complex schemes and generally plays with the Laws of the Universe. He constantly questions the rules, and causes us to question these same rules. The Trickster appears when a way of thinking becomes outmoded, when old ways need to be changed. The Trickster is a creator, a joker, a truth teller, a story teller, a transformer. We are most accessible to the gifts of the Trickster when we ourselves are at, or near, boundaries - when we are experiencing transition states. As an archetype, the Trickster, the boundary dweller, finds expression through human imagination and experience. Trickster tales are great favourites in many cultures. They represent the underdog who uses skill and cunning to outwit a superior. West African trickster animals have a significant presence in the New World, when they travelled as part of the folklore of enslaved Africans. The rabbit is best known as Br'er Rabbit in the folktales documented by Joel Chandler Harris in the USA. We also find him in his modern avatar, Bugs Bunny ! The spider is best known as Anansi, and you find him throughout the former English and French colonies of the West Indies. The role of the slave trickster tales was an important one giving a sense of pride and hope for the future. They showed that the weak could conquer the strong. The tales were devices that taught helplessness can triumph over virtue and mischievousness is better than malice. For the slaves, trickster folklore was also a weapon by which they were able to take subtle revenge on their masters. Susanna Duffy is a Civil Celebrant, grief counsellor and mythologist. She creates ceremonies and Rites of Passage for individual and civic functions, and specialises in celebrations for women. http://celebrant.yarralink.com
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
A Short Biography on Some of Europes Most Loved and Hated Monarchs - Pt 1 Vlad Tepes (Dracula) Vlad Tepes or Dracula was born in 1431, in the fortress of Sighisoara, Romania. His father was the military governor of Transylvania and a member of the Order of the Dragon. The order was created in 1387 by the Holy Roman Emperor and his second wife, Barbara Cilli. Sterling Silver Jewelry - The Rest Of The Story Silver is widely diffused but is rarely found in the native state. Civil War Uniform Shirts ? When to Use a One and Two Piece Body! So, you want to make your own Civil War shirt.You have so many decisions to make - one or two-piece body, type of front, buttons, material, colors, collars! Wow. The Dating Game Lord Renfrew, Disney Professor of Archaeology at Cambridge University states:"Archaeologists all over the world have realized that much of prehistory, as written in the existing textbooks, is inadequate. Some is quite simply wrong. What has come as a considerable shock, a development hardly foreseeable just a few years ago, is that prehistory, as we have learnt it is based upon several assumptions which can no longer be accepted as valid.." Celtic Jewelry: Ancient Symbolism in Popular Fashion The mysterious and the mystical have always had the power to hold human beings in thrall throughout the millennia. Celtic jewelry is no exception to this, since they are an extension and a reminder of the traditions and rituals of the Celts, an ancient European people. Today, men and women of all ages wear Celtic jewelry not only for their beauty, but also for their symbolism and metaphysical connotations. The Sixties A decade that stands out above the rest of our world's history as a time of revolutionary changes from all over the globe - changes that even effected outer space. There was unprecedented levels of sexual freedom celebrated among the world's youth, and teenagers around the world revolted against the generations before them. Radio brought the people completely new sounds in music, with the chart toppers fighting over the number one spots each week. The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, among others, released one hit after another throughout the sixties. Ancient Philosophy On The Internet Can Change How We Think Here I am again sitting at my computer, my job is to write about the positive aspects of the Internet. I'd like to think of myself as a bit of a novice philosopher as well as writer. The other day in poetry class at university my lecturer mentioned a quote from a guy who I had already read and enjoyed, Baruch/Benedictus Spinoza. The quote mentioned was quite a simple one, and in my opinion simplicity is the best form of communication (and everything else for that matter). Spinoza once said, "Reality is perfection." I feel this idea is quite a powerful one indeed, in relation to all aspects of life, including the Internet. Celebrating Obscurity: A Tribute To J. K. Rowling A single-parent rose from obscurity in 8 years to become today the greatest woman celebrity, the richest woman (even richer than Her Majesty, the Queen of England) in the U.K, all through the power of imagination expressed through the power of her fingers!! She held the world spell-bound (270 million copies of her books sold so far). Debussy and Gamelan According to a 150 Year Old Man Hello! Understanding Astrological Predictions Opinions about astrological prediction are generally divided: "Mysterious! Magical!", say some; "Nonsense!", reply others. In fact, both views are based on a misunderstanding of the nature of how astrology really "works". In this article, I will use a story to show both the true value of astrological prediction, as well as its limits. Learn How to Solve Problems With a Feng Shui Mirror A mirror, when becoming a feng shui mirror, can be used to many more things than allowing us to see how we look. Feng shui teaches how a feng shui mirror can be used in order to solve many different problems, and we will describe some of these uses through the next few lines. The Oldies? Nostalgia? Watchyacallit? Our culture is defined by what we have access to!With the concentration of media the access as been restricted to the newest tunes... Hello I Must Be Going: The Vanishing Twin They walk among us. By the mid nineties, science had only smoked out a few dozen of them worldwide but there are undoubtedly many more. You may well know some of them. You may even be one yourself. Perhaps you're sometimes haunted by the sense that there is someone lurking very near, invisible and silent but sharing that odd thought, impression, or fear from time to time. A more solid clue might be found in the skin on your back. Sometimes you can see this plainly though they say it's usually only discernable under UV light. Propaganda and American Journalism, Born Joined at Birth Passion was the main stuff of journalism long before the Civil War, the birthplace of modern American journalism. The Press of the American Revolution during the War and before it, was borne of it. Newspapers then were not as we know them today. Weekly advertising mediums they were, but they were primarily opinion pieces designed to protect interests or to provoke the readership. They were propaganda organs in the truest sense. They were virtual flagpoles of ideology from which the editor could wave his political flag. As tools of political activism they often published articles of principles treating of various freedoms or governmental responsibilities, as the editors saw them to be, mostly by pseudonymous authors sometimes using names taken from the Greek or Roman classics like Cato or Ovid. Sir Francis Drake FRANCIS DRAKE: - It is my perspective that history has had secrets which Royal Families like the Stuart Bees needed to keep close to their vest; and that these secrets are still kept by our supposed 'experts' in history, to this day. The English claim to ownership in the Americas has been made on the basis of John Cabot who may never have reached the area of Canada and that Venetian half witted mariner was laughing-stock among his contemporaries. If our history allows that other nations would have given credit and rights based on his story - then almost any kind of secret agreement can be imagined. It must have involved the Holy Alliance which continued in such later acts as The Treaty of Verona between the Romano-Bruttii of Rome and England in 1822. The Trickster of Folklore Folklore includes a traditional trickster figure, the subject of many stories in a cycle. Trickster tales are in the animal tales genre, with the trickster himself -- he seems always to be male -- identified with a particular animal. These include the fox in Japan, mouse deer in Southeast Asia, the coyote and the spider among the Native Americans, the tortoise and spider in West Africa, and the mantis in Southern Africa. Ludlow Festival His plays and adaptations have been performed in many countries and in many languages. Among the many adaptations Berkoff has created for the stage, directed and toured, are Kafka's Metamorphosis and The Trial, Agamemnon after Aeschylus, and Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher. He has directed and toured productions of Shakespeare's Coriolanus also playing the title role, Richard II, Hamlet and Macbeth, as well as Oscar Wilde's Salome. The History of Body Piercings - Ancient and Fascinating Around the World Body piercings have seen a resurgence of interest in the last ten to twenty years and are becoming more and more a part of the mainstream Western culture. Take a look at any fashion or entertainment magazine and you'll see plenty of well-known celebrities with body piercings like navel rings or a labret. You might be surprised to find out that piercing is actually an ancient form of expression that most cultures have practiced at some time or other for thousands of years. Precious Stones -The Big Five: Part 1, The Emerald The emerald is probably the most rare of all precious stones and is considered by some to be even more valuable than the diamond. Compared with other precious stones the emerald in its occurrence in nature is unique, for it is found in the rock in which it was formed. Unlike diamonds, sapphires and rubies, it never occurs in gem gravels. The earliest known locality where emeralds were found was in Upper Egypt near the coast of the Red Sea. The best stones, however, are found in Columbia, South America. Fine specimens have also been found in the United States in North Carolina. Rasputin GRIGORY EFIMOVICH NOVYKH (RASPUTIN):
|
| © Athifea Distribution LLC - 2013 |