Midterm Flashcards
(23 cards)
How is myth defined
Traditional story that is a narrative embodiment of a cultures beliefs and worldviews. It is symbolic and not meant to be taken literally.
How does myth differ from legends and folktales
Legends are rooted in historical events with heroic figures (ex. King Arthur). Folktales are fictional stories with people and animals, conflicts and morals of everyday life. Myths are sacred and symbolic.
Mythopoeic thinking characteristics
This thinking highlights the I-thou aspect which is an understanding of the world that is symbolic&relational=things are alive and interconnected
How does mythopoeic thinking differ from scientific thinking?
this is I-thou (willful self/relational) versus I-it (object/scientific). Scientific perspective is utilitarian, detached, impersonal, and observational.
what is the nature of ritual?
rituals are repetitive, complex “language” and structure with symbolic meaning which affects word and action (what and when)
what is rituals relationship with myth?
It usually connects people to mythic and sacred realities. They represent mythic truth. it re-presents the truth and re-PREsents by bringing them back to the present (ex. Jesus has risen)
Myth in contemperary society: relevant or irrelevant?
myths are relevant because of their influence and impact and explains the way we are because we are religion-building creatures. They are attempts to understand history and establish foundation.
What are Joseph Cambell’s four functions of myth?
Mystical: a sense of awe and wonder at world mysteries
Cosmological: universe is a holy picture, explain the universe
Sociological: Supports, establishes, and reinforces social norms
Psychological/Pedagical: teaches us to live under any circumstance
Mythic archetypes
Hero: serve and sacrifice
Mentor: guide thru journey
Threshold guardian: to test
Herald: warns & challenges
Shapeshifter: questions & decieves
Shadow: destroys
Trickster: distrupts
Thresholds and Liminality
Thresholds are a boundary or transition point, they often represent diff realms or states. Can be literal like a passage way. Liminality is that in between state, sometimes with uncertainty, as the old changes into new
Liminality: werewolves, fairies. Threshold: gates, bridges, doorways
what is the axis mundi/naval of the world?
it is the symbolic center of the world connecting heaven, earth, and underworld. Ex. Mount Kailash (hindu), Pangu’s Body (Chinese), etc.
Genisis 1
God creates the world in 6 days, structured and ordered creation.
Genesis 2
More of a personal story of Adam and Eve, focuses on human life and the garden of Eden
Genesis 3 (the fall of humanity)
Adam and Eve disobey God, leading to sin, suffering, and seperation from paradise
How Genesis is diff&sim to other creation myths
Dif: theres a sole creator, things kind of come from nothing, theres an emphasis in Gods image and how humanity should live.
Sim: world was unstructured/nothing before, things came from dieties
genisis v hindu v daoism
what is cultus?
a set of rituals and worship practices focused on a sacred figure or belief system
(term) What is Liminality?
a transitional, ambiguous state between 2 phases, especially in rite of passages. (ex. Quinces)
What are yugas and kalpas?
Hindu time cycles. Yugas=ages and Kalpas=vast cosmic periods of creation and distruction
What is taiji and yin/yang?
Taji, supreme ultimate, is a broad concept representind duality. Yin/Yang are complementary opposites (dark/light, passive/active). Taiji shows itself here with the y/y symbol
Who is pangu?
Chinese creation figure who seperates heaven and earth. His body becomes the natural world
Chinese creation myth (Daoism, brief)
Wuji (non-being) and Taiji (supreme ultimate) emerge. Yin/Yang seperate from Taiji. There is Pangu who separates the earth&heaven by growing between them. At his death his body became the earth (ex. breath became wind)
Hindu creation myth (brief)
Parvati and Shiva have Ganesha, who guards Parvati when she is bathing. Shiva, who had been gone for so long that he didn’t recognize Ganesha and he beheads him. To restore life, Shiva replaces it with the head of an elephant and creating the elephant-headed god, remover of obstacles
Japanese Creation Myth (Shinto tradition, brief)
Izanagi and Izanami are sent to create the world, they decend and perform the marriage ritual. Because Izanami (female) speaks first, their first attempt to procreate fails. After its corrected they produce Japanese islands and Kami.
