mythogenesis: the creation and development of myths

mythogenetic: the tendency to make myths or give mythical status to something

  1. size and age

    1. giant sequoia or giant redwood (Sequoiadendron giganteum)
      1. largest trees on earth- can get up to around 300 ft and live up to 3500 years
      2. sacred to native cultures on west coast
        1. built plank houses and dugout canoes, believed to be protected by spirits or gods associated with the trees
      3. sequoias named for Cherokee man Sequoyah (1770-1843)
        1. created cherokee syllabary (a symbol for each sound or syllable) made reading and writing in Cherokee possible
    2. Kapok, Yaaxche, Silk Cotton Tree (Ceiba pentandra)- huge trees up to 150 ft- sacred tree of Maya in C america, center of Maya Cosmology- connects heavens to underworld
    3. Baobab Tree (Adansonia spp.) - huge trees in madagascar and mainland africa that are sacred and provide food, water, medicine, fiber and fuel to local population
    4. Banyan Tree (fFicus benghalensis)
      1. send down aerial roots from branches that grow into new trunks- can have 100s or 1000s
      2. become natural tree temples, spiritual places sacred in India
      3. national tree of india
      4. canopy can cover ground area 1500-2000 ft in circumference
      5. Banyans became residence of, symbolic of and sacred to the Trimurti, Hindu triad of great gods
        1. Vishnu the Preserver, Brahma the Creator and Shiva the Destroyer

  2. Rustling Leaves

    1. wind moving through leaves of trees creates sounds- has been interpreted as voices of gods in various cultures
    2. Palestine- Hebrew Bible and Old Testament of Christian Bible
    3. Yahweh speaks to David in the rustling of Mulberry leaves
    4. Pipal Tree (Ficus religiosa)- latin name telling of its sacred status
      1. revered for size, and known as “talking tree” in India and S. Asia
      2. believed that supernatural beings speak through rustling of leaves
    5. Prince Siddhartha Gautama (566 BCE)
      1. sat in meditation under pipal tree
      2. tried various practices to reach enlightenment (nirvana,) and finally attained it under pipal tree and became Buddha
      3. Pipal tree became known as Bodhi Tree to Buddhists
    6. Dodana, Greece- Sacred Oak of Zeus- rustling of leaves were messages from Zeus
    7. Jason and the Argonauts- placed oak branch at prow of Ship Argo, so Zeus could direct and protect vessel

  3. Fruits and Seeds

    1. pomegranate- produces abundance of seeds- fruit resembles human ovaries with abundance of eggs
    2. associated with human fertility and fertility goddesses
    3. served as Assyrian and Babylonian wedding feasts
      1. symbols of love and fertility
    4. Ganesh- Hindu god
      1. “remover of obstacles” in Hinduism- so worshipped by those who need obstacles to their success, health and prosperity removed
      2. Parton of Arts and Sciences
      3. often shown holding pomegranate, a fruit sacred to the god

  4. Exudates

    1. Latex (milky substance) that is exuded when certain tree species are wounded, can give sacred status to tree

    2. Sycamore Fig (Ficus sycamorus)- sacred tree in ancient Egypt

      1. ancient Egyptian tree of life

      2. tree goddess shown nursing pharaoh with “milk” or latex of sycamore fig tree

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    3. Manna Ash (Fraxinus ornus)- native to southern Europe

      1. Sugary extract from sap
      2. compared to biblical “Manna” that fed the Israelites in desert, giving rise to common name
      3. Manna- name given to any sweet edible substance exuded by plants or insects

    4. Copal incense- made from hardened resin exuded from trees in C. and S america

      1. sacred to Maya, and burned as important part of all Maya spiritual ceremonies
      2. offering to gods, and smoke carries messages to them
      3. called “pom” in Mayan

  5. Color

    1. John Crow Bead, Jequirity, Rosary Pea, Jumbee Bead
      1. Abrus precatorius (Fabaceae, the legume family)- many edible species in plant family, but also many toxic species
      2. in caribbean, John Crow beads are related to world of spirits and death
        1. name for fulture
          1. black feathered body, red head
          2. associated with death
        2. beads made into amulets and charms (very toxic and poisonous)
        3. worn for protection to ward off evil spirits and “evil eye”

  6. similarity of shape between plant parts and human part can give sacred status to plants, such as roots that resemble human bodies

    1. Ginseng (Panax)- asia and n america
      1. jen- shen- means “man root”
      2. regarded in china for its power to:
        1. strengthen
        2. stimulate
        3. heal
        4. rejuvenate
        5. act as aphrodisiac
    2. mandrake or Mandragora officinarum has long history of use and superstition
      1. comes from Old English “man” and “dragon”
    3. Calabash (Crescentia cujete)- native to c america, large round fruits about the size and shape of a human head
      1. in Maya creation myth, Xibalban god of death killed god Hun Hunahpu and hung his head in a tree thought to be calabash or cacao
      2. underworld maiden Xquic (lady blood) visits tree
      3. wanting to pick a fruit, she hears the decomposed head of Hun Hunahpu tell her not to- that they are skulls
      4. she wants a fruit, so his skull spits on her hand, impregnating her- gives birth to hero twins (important figures in Popol Vuh)
    4. fingered citron (Citrus medica var. sarcodactylis)

  7. Thorns and Spines

  8. aroma or odor

  9. location and growth habit

  10. Evergreen leaves