Loneliness

A common theme I've noticed in a lot of these creation myths is loneliness. The early beings of the earth seek company after awhile, even having been given all of creation we run into the same problem..."but then he was lonely" The first being escape this unbearable aloneness, seeking woman, creatures, and companions. It goes against our most ancient of dispositions to be completely alone. It is the most intrinsic of desires to know that we are not solitary in our existence. I found this theme interesting because everyone has felt the heavy burden of loneliness at some point in their lives. That in a way is very consoling. Coincidentally, I recently watched this video a blogger has made about loneliness and the myths we've heard in class reminded me of it. I urge you to watch it as it is both entertaining and informative. Some of the info isn't directly relevant but still interesting to just hang in there, he gets around to it.

A Maori Summary of Creation

So basically the Maori supreme being is IO who first existed in, you guessed it, immense nothingness. He spoke light into existence by saying "darkness become a light possessing darkness"  he then created Ragni and Papa the Sky Father and Earth Mother. They were "cleaved together in a protective embrace" so close that neither light nor time could slip between them. The had hundreds of sons who eventually got tired of living in the darkness of their parents. The met to discuss this and one son, Tuma the god of war, wanted to kill the parents, but his brother Tane suggested the separate them and that is what they agreed upon.  So Tane put his shoulders on the earth and feet on the sky and pushed until they were separate. Earth Mother bleeds the red of the sacred clay and Sky father bled the red of the sunset. Sky Father, so saddened by the separation wept the rain and formed rivers and lakes. Eventually    sons got lonely and searched for a woman. Unable to find one Earth Mother took pity and told them where to form a women. They went their and out of earth formed a women whom Tane breathed life into and thus the earth was populated.
http://mythicjourneys.org/bigmyth/myths/english/2_maori_full.htm
http://www.laits.utexas.edu/doherty/plan2/liangcreation.html

Maori Creation Myth

I chose to do the Maori creation myth which involves a Supreme being, IO, which forms the Earth and Sky who are “cleaved together in a procreative embrace" their offspring then separate them and form a woman out of the earth.  I haven't done much research on it yet and that is of course a very brief summary. I chose the Maori creation myth because I became very interested in the Maori culture and myth after reading the book The Bone People by Keri Hulme. It takes place in New Zealand (the Maori's origin) and goes in depth about their culture. In the process of reading this great book I learned a lot about the state of the culture now as well as some deep and important aspects of their myth/culture. But I haven't learned their take on creation so I look forward to exploring it further.

Dreams

I have always been a vivid dreamer. Not only do I usually remember my dreams but they are often bizarre, exciting, or just visually engaging. I in fact often go to bed excited about what I might dream. I like that you never know what you are going to dream, your mind spills out things in your sleep that you could never think up while conscience. I have a few reoccurring dreams that often pop up in my sleep. One I've had since I was very young where I'm drinking tea with Matilda, the character from Roald Dahls children's book.  The other reoccurring dream involves me meeting the love of my life at the $5 movie bin at Walmart. I have no idea of the significance of this but I weirdly have it often. My favorite of my reoccurring dreams has no narrative but just involves me swimming in a clear pool at night that vividly reflect a majestic galaxy, I am swimming with tiny orca whales. Its as stunning and highly entertaining dream but I have no idea what it could mean. I'm not sure I can relate these back to mythology but as the assignment "have a dream" seemed pretty open I figured I would write about them.

Art in the Metamorphoses

I have started to notice the importance Ovid places on art. Myth and art are so closely intertwined, especially in the Roman culture. As a form of communication, documentation, and expression of awe and wonder art is an integral issue in Myth. In the story of Paethon's Ride, when Ovid describes the palace he says "yet more valuable than gold and silver was the craft that made them"(Ovid 33), such a high value placed on craftsmanship seems to be a common theme. Paethon however is perplexed by the art, perhaps a critique of his character which disregards art and beauty for a chance to drive the chariot. The vital nature and power of art is further depicted in the story we read today of Pygmalion. Usually art depicts reality but in Pygmalion's story the inverse happens and reality depicts what was once art. The story also perhaps suggests that art is in fact so valuable that it can sufficiently replace reality and become as beloved and tangible as any real lover. We have to always look at art and literature as intertwined mediums that give each other meaning, in this context there is all kind of vast new meaning brought to the stories of Metamorphoses.   

TREE HUGGIN'

Hugs not Drugs.

Introduction

My first name is Lauren but I go by my middle name, Caily, which can make things confusing I know. I am a freshman Film major and am greatly looking forward to this class. Not only because I think it will be enlightening in general but because Film is largely story-telling and so much of modern American myth is conveyed through film. So the study of Mythologies will be bring an interesting light to my field of study. I've never blogged before so I hope this initial uncertainty an self-conciseness over what exactly to blog about will fade.