Cultural Mythology: American Notions of Self and Country

High Desert Mythological Roundtable

High Desert Mythological Roundtable

Tuesday February 23rd, 7-9PM,

Friendship Hall, Joshua Tree Retreat Center

“MYTHOLOGIES OF THE MOON”

The first in our 3-month series devoted to myths, poems, and fairytales about the special powers of the moon: the cycle of waxing and waning, luminosity and lunar light, associations with the feminine, water, wholeness, and wildness (just for starters). We’re all touched by the mysteries of moonlight and linked to images, past and present, of this celestial body.

Free. Donation for the room appreciated. Cookies and other goodies gladly shared. The High Desert Mythological Round Table meets the last Tuesday of every month at the JTRC.

Geshtinanna interprets the dream

Geshtinanna came to her brother Dumuzi. He said, “A dream my sister, I must tell you my dream. Rushes grow thick about me. A single reed trembles alone. A double growing reed bends in the wind, first one is removed and then the other.

Water is poured on my hearth. My churn is broken. My cup falls from its peg. My shepherd crook disappears. An eagle catches a lamb. A falcon catches a sparrow.

My sister, your goats drag their lapis beards in the dirt. No milk is poured, the cup lies shattered, the sheepfold is given to the winds.”

Geshtinanna said “My brother, don’t tell me such a dream. Dumuzi, I don’t want to hear this dream. The rushes that grow about you are the galla who will surround you. The single reed is our mother, who grieves for you. The double reed is you and me, for we will share the same fate. You are the lamb Dumuzi, and the sparrow. You will die and your house will be no more.”

When Geshtinanna finished speaking, Dumuzi heard a sound. “Quick sister, “ he cried, “Run up to the top of that hill, quickly, quickly, and tell me who is coming.” Geshtinanna and a friend of Dumuzi’s ran up to the top of the hill. They saw the galla. The friend cried back to Dumuzi, “It’s the galla, the big galla and the small galla, with thongs to bind you.”

They ran back down the hill. Geshtinanna was frantic for her brother’s safety and told him to hide. Dumuzi said, “I will hide in the low plants. I’ll hide in the tall grass. I’ll hide in the ditches in Arali, on the edge of the steppe. Don’t tell anyone.” Geshtinanna and the friend swore secrecy. “May your black dogs, your black sheepherding dogs, tear us to bits if we betray you.” They all ran away in separate directions.

Now the galla reach the crest of the hill. They look out on the grasslands and see no one. Where shall they look? The small galla say to the large galla, “Dumuzi must be very uneasy, he must be afraid. A man in that state of mind will not be at a friend’s house. He will not be with his mother. Let’s look for Dumuzi at his sister Geshtinanna’s house.”

The galla come to Geshtinanna and ask her where they can find Dumuzi. She will not speak. They offer her the water gift but she remains silent. They offer her the grain gift but she makes no sound. The galla threaten Geshtinanna. They press up close to her; they make ugly noises. But she is silent. The galla torture her. They pour pitch into her vulva. But Geshtinanna refuses to make a sound.

At last the small galla say to the large galla, “Forget it. Who ever heard of a sister revealing her brother’s hiding place. Let’s go to see Dumuzi’s friend.”

The galla come to the house of Dumuzi’s friend. They offer him the water gift and he accepts it. They offer him the grain gift and he accepts that too. They ask him where they can find Dumuzi and he tells them, “Dumuzi hid among the low plants.”  The galla look but they don’t find Dumuzi. They return to the friend. “You need to tell us more,” they say. The friend replies, “Dumuzi is among the tall grasses.” The galla search among the tall grasses but they still don’t find Dumuzi.

The demons go back once again to the friend. “Okay,” he says, “Dumuzi might be in the ditches in Arali…” The galla go to that place and find Dumuzi. When the galla grab him, Dumuzi curses his friend (some friend) and fights with all of his might. He prays once more to Utu, the god of justice.

“Utu,” Dumuzi cries, “I am your brother-in-law. I brought gifts to your house and treated your mother as if she were my own. I am the husband of your sister, I danced on the holy knees, the holy knees of Inanna. Please turn my hands into gazelle hands. Turn my feet into gazelle feet so I can get away.”

Utu grants Dumuzi’s prayers. The shepherd king Dumuzi escapes from his demons once again…

See you tomorrow.

Prelude to "Dumuzi's Dream"

As promised, here is the final chapter of the Sumerian myth of The Descent of Inanna, Goddess of Heaven and Earth, and her husband, the shepherd king Dumuzi. Actually, this is the warm-up. Let's re-weave some of the dropped threads after our holiday hiatus from the story.

When we last saw Inanna, she was just returned from the underworld, accompanied by the galla, heartless demons who could not be moved to pity. The galla walked with Inanna because they had orders to take someone back to the underworld in her place. Such were the rules that governed commerce between the realms.

The first person that Inanna met was Ninshubur, her faithful advisor and friend. The galla said that they would take Ninshubur to fill Inanna's place but the goddess objected. They walked on.

Next Inanna met her eldest son, who threw himself in the dust at her feet.The galla said that they would take him to fill Inanna's place but the goddess objected. They walked on.

Next Inanna met Lulal, her youngest son, who threw himself in the dust at her feet.The galla said that they would take him to fill Inanna's place but the goddess objected. The galla said "Alright Inanna, we'll let him go. Let us walk on to your city, to Uruk, and the big apple tree."

When they got to the big apple tree they found Dumuzi, dressed in his royal finery, seated on his throne, busy with affairs of state. He didn't get up, cry out, or weep for joy when he saw his wife. He was busy. "I've had my hands full, " he said, "while you were off doing who-knows-what." The galla grabbed Dumuzi by the arms and by the thighs. They started to beat him. Inanna fixed her husband with the eye of death and said, "Take him. Take Dumuzi away."

Dumuzi wailed. he prayed to Utu, the god of justice, to save him. Utu was Dumuzi's brother-in-law. "Utu," he cried, "I am your brother-in-law. I am the one who brought gifts to your house. I treated your mother as if she were my own. I won the hand of your sister. I am the one who danced on the holy knees, the holy knees of Inanna. Turn my hands into snake hands, turn my feet into snake feet, and let me slip away."

Utu answered Dumuzi's prayers and he slipped away from his demons. But Dumuzi's flight, the struggle withe the underworld, and the story do not end there. Next Dumuzi has a dream.

Dumuzi was terrified. His heart was filled with tears. He ran back to his home on the steppe and stumbled across the grasslands crying. "Oh frogs in the river, oh crabs in the river, weep for me" he cried. "If something happens to me, if I disappear, please tell my mother. My mother will mourn for me. My sister will mourn for me."

Exhausted, Dumuzi lay down among the rushes to sleep. He had a dream. When he woke up he shook his head, rubbed his eyes, and began to tremble. He called out for his sister. "Bring me my wise woman," he said, "Bring me my little sister Geshtinanna, my sister the scribe, who knows many songs, who can interpret dreams. She will tell me the meaning of this dream."

Come back tomorrow for the rest of the story.

 

High Desert Mythological Roundtable Meets Tuesday January 26th

High Desert Mythological Roundtable

Tuesday January 26^th, 7-9PM,

Friendship Hall, Joshua Tree Retreat Center

"Dumuzi's Dream"

The Goddess Inanna has been rescued from the meat hook in the Underworld but the story isn't over yet. If she is allowed to go back up, someone else must go down. Who will go to the Underworld in Inanna’s place? What do the exploits and imaginal journeys of these characters have to do with us? Join us for the final installment of this cycle of ancient Sumerian myths.

Free. Donation for the room appreciated as are cookies and other goodies to share. Above, Leaping Stag, cylinder seal from Assyrian period c 1300-1200 B.C.E.

High Desert Mythological Roundtable

The Mythological RoundTable won't meet this month. Happy Holidays and see you the last Tuesday in January!

Starry Nights image by C. Svehla.

Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth

One of my favorite myths is the story of Inanna. The image she portrays of the feminine, dating back to the days of the great mother goddesses, is rich and complex, and the seven surviving hymns that have been translated describe a cycle of life and psychological development that has not changed much. The hymn called the Descent of Inanna is particularly powerful and relevant this time of year as everything moves, metaphorically, underground. I think we need this story today to remind us of the necessity of going down and of the relationship between psychological growth and mature wisdom, and loss. There are people today (the authors of the self-help books that I studied being one, large category) who claim that hardship and suffering are a mistake, that if you are not always happy you simply are not positive enough. But suffering is part of growth. As Rilke wrote, "What we choose to fight is so tiny, what fights with us is so great... what is extraordinary and eternal does not want to be bent by us..." These are the words of someone who understands that we are made by life and the world, as we in turn make ourselves through them.

Here is installment number one of the myth cycle of Inanna. I invite you to imagine yourself as Inanna. What are your sources of power and earthly achievement, and how well prepared are you to give them up? This paraphrase is from Diane Wolkstein and Noah Kramer's wonderful translation of the myth, Inanna: Queen of Heaven and Earth, Her Stories and Hymns from Sumer, which I highly recommend.

Inanna was the Great Queen of Heaven and Earth. Beautiful, wise, and fertile, Inanna made good things happen. She was also canny and clever. Inanna won her powers and the civilizing order she brought to the people from the great father Enki, God of the Deep and of the Waters. They drank beer together and Enki made promises. Inanna drank him under the table.

Inanna married the shepherd Dumuzi and for a while they were very happy together (this may be the origin of our phrase "honeymoon"). But when Inanna made Dumuzi king, his attention turned to affairs of state of the amassing of his own power. One day, Inanna found herself at loose ends. She turned her ear to the ground ("ear" and "mind" are the same word in Sumerian, both meaning receptor of wisdom). Inanna knew that the husband of her sister Ereshkigal, Queen of the Underworld, had recently died, and Inanna thought she would go down to her sister, attend the funeral rites, and cheer her up. Inanna imagined that her sister must be in need of the light and life and sweetness that she, as Queen of Heaven and Earth, could provide.

Inanna assembled the symbols of her power, her crown, her string of small lapis beads, her double strand of beads, her breastplate, her gold ring, and the lapis rod and line used to weigh and measure. She adjusted her hair, put on her makeup, put on the royal robes and the other power objects. Her finery and imposing appearance proclaimed Inanna's importance as the goddess of Heaven and Earth, the royal priestess, the protector of the city, and the goddess of love. She was ready to visit her sister, Queen of the Underworld. Or so she thought.

Stay tuned.

High Desert Mythological Roundtable

High Desert Mythological Roundtable

 

Tuesday November 24^th, 7-9PM,

Friendship Hall, Joshua Tree Retreat Center

“The Descent of Inanna: From the Great Above to the Great Below”

 

One of the oldest recorded stories in the world is the Sumerian myth of Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth. Inanna was literally on top of the world until she was drawn down to the Underworld. Come hear the story of the golden Inanna, her loyal maidservant Ninshubur, and shadowy Erishkrigal, Queen of the dark depths.

 

Free. Donation for the room appreciated. Cookies and other goodies gladly shared.

 The High Desert Mythological Round Table meets the last Tuesday of every month at the JTRC.

The Gift of A Story

I love the story of The Man Without A Story. For one thing, it's fun---the fairy glen, the big wind, the black-haired woman---and mysterious. The man goes to the fairy glen, the edge between the familiar and the unknown where anything can happen. This is always an invitation to adventure, although that's not his conscious motivation. What the man gains is a story, and more then that, a new view of himself. Who knew that he was a priest, a fiddler, a surgeon, (and ultimately a storyteller), in addition to basket weaver?

We tend to privilege myths and big epics over fairy and folktales when we get serious about meaning, but these relatively small tales, concocted by tellers whose names are long forgotten and passed down, mouth to heart to mouth to heart beside countless hearth fires over the centuries, may be the stories that tell us the most about common human experience and longing. The plot may be simple, even formulaic, but there is always more than one way to receive them, more then one message. We came up with quite a few at the myth round table where this story was recently told. What I take from this tale today is twofold: the connection between a good (life)story and a satisfying sense of one's capacities, and the mysterious means by which we are gifted with such a story. I get tired of all the positive thinking, self-made individual rhetoric that ignores the obvious and beautiful fact (to me anyway) that we live in relationship to the unknown and unknowable. I hate the dogmatic certainty about what's true and false, real and imagined, that makes the world so small.

The Man Without A Story is an Irish tale. According to the Irish fairy tradition, this time of year, as we approach the winter solstice (December 21st), the veil between the worlds gets thin. It's a particularly good time to pack your bundle and go in search of rods in the fairy glen. Look for the twinkling lights in the distance and tell us a story when you return.

The image is by Arthur Rackham. Other lovely images and stories can be found at The Journal of Mythic Arts at Endicott Studio.

High Desert Mythological Roundtable

High Desert Mythological Roundtable

Tuesday October 27^th, 7-9PM,

Meditation Hall, Joshua Tree Retreat Center

 

What is the source of psychological insight and vitality? C.G. Jung believed the forces that give shape to our lives spring from the unconscious, imagined mythically as the Underworld. The Underworld may be experienced as a literal Hell, the bardo, a psychological state of deep darkness, or an inner spring of intuition and prophetic knowledge.

If you’ve been there, someone or something likely led you down and back up again.

Join us for a mythic exploration of the Underworld and the Trickster as psychopomp, the “guide of souls.”

 Free. Donation for the room appreciated (note the room change this month). Cookies and other goodies gladly shared.

 The High Desert Mythological Round Table meets the last Tuesday of every month at the JTRC. Coyote Trickster Painting by Valerie Porter Stancin. Reproduced with permission from the art collection of Art Kunkin...Thanks!

 

High Desert Mythological Roundtable Meets Tuesday September 29th

at 7PM in the Friendship Hall of the Joshua Tree Retreat Center. We're still talking about the Trickster. Kathleen has graciously agreed to tell a story- thanks! If you have the chapter from Lewis Hyde that I circulated then bring it along and come with some idea or question to share with the group. (If you don't have it, no worries).

Poetry and other offerings are welcome in addition to sweets. I look forward to seeing you next week---keep your eyes open for the opportunities and lessons of Eshu.