Comments on: Mythology as a Living and Lively Oral Tradition http://www.mythic-cartography.org/2008/08/26/mythology-as-a-living-and-lively-oral-tradition/ Revitalizing Riddles, Mythic Story, Family, Village and Land. Tue, 16 Mar 2010 23:47:28 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.2 By: Recent Links Tagged With "ecology" - JabberTags http://www.mythic-cartography.org/2008/08/26/mythology-as-a-living-and-lively-oral-tradition/#comment-24381 Recent Links Tagged With "ecology" - JabberTags Fri, 26 Dec 2008 16:19:26 +0000 http://www.mythic-cartography.org/2008/08/26/mythology-as-a-living-and-lively-oral-tradition/#comment-24381 [...] Society: The struggle for Singapore’s nature areas Saved by lilplayer4you on Sun 21-12-2008 Mythology as a Living and Lively Oral Tradition Saved by xMaloUx on Fri 12-12-2008 Misplaced zealotry of Destabilization Forces Saved by onaboy [...] […] Society: The struggle for Singapore’s nature areas Saved by lilplayer4you on Sun 21-12-2008 Mythology as a Living and Lively Oral Tradition Saved by xMaloUx on Fri 12-12-2008 Misplaced zealotry of Destabilization Forces Saved by onaboy […]

]]> By: Willem http://www.mythic-cartography.org/2008/08/26/mythology-as-a-living-and-lively-oral-tradition/#comment-24117 Willem Fri, 29 Aug 2008 19:56:44 +0000 http://www.mythic-cartography.org/2008/08/26/mythology-as-a-living-and-lively-oral-tradition/#comment-24117 jhereg- <blockquote>I’ve tried to bring it to light several times in various rewilding discussions, as it always seemed critically important to me</blockquote> This makes me chuckle. I feel ya, brother. I consider it my pleasure if this post helped you articulate this issue more effectively. The curse of caring about unseen things! jhereg-

I’ve tried to bring it to light several times in various rewilding discussions, as it always seemed critically important to me

This makes me chuckle. I feel ya, brother. I consider it my pleasure if this post helped you articulate this issue more effectively. The curse of caring about unseen things!

]]> By: jhereg http://www.mythic-cartography.org/2008/08/26/mythology-as-a-living-and-lively-oral-tradition/#comment-24116 jhereg Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:42:58 +0000 http://www.mythic-cartography.org/2008/08/26/mythology-as-a-living-and-lively-oral-tradition/#comment-24116 Thanks for posting this Willem! I haven't encountered Bringhurst before, but I noticed this behaviour of "freezing" (or killing) mythologies many years ago. I've tried to bring it to light several times in various rewilding discussions, as it always seemed critically important to me, but I don't think I've managed to say it as clearly as you do here, so... Thanks! Thanks for posting this Willem!

I haven’t encountered Bringhurst before, but I noticed this behaviour of “freezing” (or killing) mythologies many years ago. I’ve tried to bring it to light several times in various rewilding discussions, as it always seemed critically important to me, but I don’t think I’ve managed to say it as clearly as you do here, so… Thanks!

]]> By: Willem http://www.mythic-cartography.org/2008/08/26/mythology-as-a-living-and-lively-oral-tradition/#comment-24114 Willem Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:32:38 +0000 http://www.mythic-cartography.org/2008/08/26/mythology-as-a-living-and-lively-oral-tradition/#comment-24114 I absolutely agree; I too noticed the "unfreezing" effect of Robert Bringhurst's attitude. Myths live in the space between people (and between people and the land), not as frozen or fossilized remnants, except when written down of course. I see an extra piece in the revivificaiton process; attention on our dreams, and feeding the dreams back into our myths, keep our myths current and alive. More on this in an upcoming podcast! I absolutely agree; I too noticed the “unfreezing” effect of Robert Bringhurst’s attitude. Myths live in the space between people (and between people and the land), not as frozen or fossilized remnants, except when written down of course.

I see an extra piece in the revivificaiton process; attention on our dreams, and feeding the dreams back into our myths, keep our myths current and alive. More on this in an upcoming podcast!

]]> By: Pathfinder http://www.mythic-cartography.org/2008/08/26/mythology-as-a-living-and-lively-oral-tradition/#comment-24113 Pathfinder Thu, 28 Aug 2008 23:39:43 +0000 http://www.mythic-cartography.org/2008/08/26/mythology-as-a-living-and-lively-oral-tradition/#comment-24113 I wanted to add another piece to my comment from before. One of the things that is amazing about this book and what it is talking about, is that it "unfreezes" stories and myths. It seems as if, scholars of folklore and anthropology froze many stories in written form and actually destroyed something vital about them. If it's true (and I think it is), that most storytellers told their stories in such away that they changed with the audience and the time and that two different storytellers telling the same story would tell it very differently, then this may be why so many written versions of oral tradition stories are so "dead". I'm curious now what would it be like to bring back to life some of these ancient stories including some of the epics and sagas. What would the Kalevala or the Mabinogion be like in a living oral tradition form? I wanted to add another piece to my comment from before. One of the things that is amazing about this book and what it is talking about, is that it “unfreezes” stories and myths. It seems as if, scholars of folklore and anthropology froze many stories in written form and actually destroyed something vital about them.

If it’s true (and I think it is), that most storytellers told their stories in such away that they changed with the audience and the time and that two different storytellers telling the same story would tell it very differently, then this may be why so many written versions of oral tradition stories are so “dead”.

I’m curious now what would it be like to bring back to life some of these ancient stories including some of the epics and sagas. What would the Kalevala or the Mabinogion be like in a living oral tradition form?

]]> By: Pathfinder http://www.mythic-cartography.org/2008/08/26/mythology-as-a-living-and-lively-oral-tradition/#comment-24111 Pathfinder Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:58:41 +0000 http://www.mythic-cartography.org/2008/08/26/mythology-as-a-living-and-lively-oral-tradition/#comment-24111 I too really loved this book and what it has to say about myth. It seems to have somehow reached through time (or into the dreamtime) and brought back to life the voices of these ancient storytellers and at the same time really open our minds and spirits to a completely different way of looking at myth. My suspicion is that all the mythologies of the world (including epic mythologies) similarly had different voices and variations based on the storytellers and that those stories (all of them) are still alive. Perhaps we may be lucky enough to access those original places of the stories at times and bring forth new variations and voices on these primal stories... I too really loved this book and what it has to say about myth. It seems to have somehow reached through time (or into the dreamtime) and brought back to life the voices of these ancient storytellers and at the same time really open our minds and spirits to a completely different way of looking at myth.

My suspicion is that all the mythologies of the world (including epic mythologies) similarly had different voices and variations based on the storytellers and that those stories (all of them) are still alive. Perhaps we may be lucky enough to access those original places of the stories at times and bring forth new variations and voices on these primal stories…

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