Julian Cope presents Head Heritage | The Modern Antiquarian Forum

FourWinds

10943 posts

Re: you don't have to!

Sep 24, 2003, 15:13

<all cultures personify, it is a basic part of being human.>

Not sure *all* cultures do or always have done. You are assuming a lot. Did they before fairly advanced language?

< ... if you're leaving offerings to the pixies/nymphs then you're treating them as god(esse)s, to all intents and purposes. >

No. You're honouring them, but not necessarily worshiping them.

<That seems to me a monotheistic way of thought that would hold true only for the process whereby pantheons become monotheisms. Prehistoric people were animists/pantheists. There was no one god/goddess on top of the heap. All were important.>

No. One sun god. One wind god. One water god. I'm saying one nymph at a well became top-nymph of the nymphs at the well, not of all nymphs everywhere.

****************

I am talking about when 'awareness' first came to 'mankind'. I'm not talking 10, 000 years ago here, I'm going way further back than that.

Imagine. One person comes across a cave whilst wandering around. As he enters the cave the wind whistles past another entrance and the person here's a roar from within. He's firghtened and thinks that something wants him to stay out, some animal or spirit, so he leaves food to say sorry for intruding and leaves. Is this thing then a god because an offering has been made? Not yet. He tells a story back at camp and then takes them there the next day. Nothing happens. The food offering worked. Now we have a spirit of the cave in place that can be placated, but it's still not a god.

One day, if the offerings are made regularly etc. it may become a god.

In reply to:
Re: you don't have to! (TomBo)

Replies:
Re: you don't have to! (TomBo)

The Modern Antiquarian Forum » Tombo's weblogs...	Log In to post a reply

173 messages	Topic View: Flat \| Threaded