Share a myth I
For the benefit of my readership’s mythological knowledge, I decided to start posting a myth every now and then. Not every myth impresses me though, so the choices will be subject to my feeling captivated by a particular myth (thus posting it), or my utter neutrality regarding another (which would result in my not posting it).
For as long as I remember stories have captured my imagination. Myths are exactly that; stories. They never cease to amaze and perplex me. I am presently reading a book titled “World Mythology”. Its general editor is Arthur Cotterell. I found the myths of the Arctic peoples especially bloody. Here’s one:
The Sedna Myth
Sedna was a girl who refused to get married. As punishment,her father married her to a dog and they went to live on a nearby island. Sedna was lonely in her exile and longed to be reunited with her people. One day,when her dog-husband was away from home, a stranger appeared in a boat and called to her to join him. Sedna seized the opportunity to leave the island and stepped into the stranger’s boat.
After a long journey,they reached his village and Sedna took him as her new husband. Sedna soon discovered that her husband was not a man after all, but was a petrel who could assume the appearance of a human. Sedna was now afraid and wished she could escape from her new husband. Sedna’s father in the meantime had been searching for his daughter. Eventually he succeeded in finding her, hidden behind some rocks, and waited for the petrel to go fishing.
When the petrel was gone,Sedna’s father took her away from her husband’s village. The petrel returned in time to see the boat disappearing around a headland. Chasing after it,he caused a heavy storm,which rocked the boat. To save himself,sedna’s father had no choice but to throw her overboard into the sea.
Clinging on to the side of the boat, Sedna pleaded with her father to save her. The storm grew wilder and, one by one, Sedna’s father cut off the joints of her fingers. As they hit the water, Sedna’s fingers were transformed into seals,whales and narwhals. Before Sedna slipped beneath the waves, her father poked out one of her eyes. Sedna descended to the lower world at the bottom of the sea, where she became mistress and keeper of the sea mammals which had once been her fingers. Sedna’s father reached his village and lay in his tent, while the tide rose and swept him away. He now lives in Sedna’s house and her dog guards the entrance.
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
August 28th, 2005 at 9:24 am
For ecellent references on mythology I refer you to the writing of Joseph Campbell, namely his book “The Hero with a Thousand Faces” and his 4-book series “The Masks of God”
September 1st, 2005 at 12:06 am
Thanks! I’ll make sure I check out the titles you gave me. But what sort of mythology do they handle? Egyptian,Sumerian,Greek,Roman,Celtic…etc (curious)
February 11th, 2006 at 7:39 am
The Hero with a Thousand Faces discusses the archtypical hero, and how its the same story in several different cultures (including Star Wars). Was required reading for my World Lit class, once upon a time.
Anyway, I’m a random friend of twice translated - just thought I’d add that.
June 4th, 2008 at 8:59 am
interesting
similar to the castration of Uranus in greek mythology.
I hardly know anything about mythology, other than greek/roman
main source in this would most likely be Ovid’s metamorphoses (if you want an original book, not a reference).