Epics of India

"Written by God, Moses, or a Series of Patriarchal Males, depending on whom you ask" After watching  Sita Sings The Blues  and discovering the genius of Nina Paley's work, I began researching her background and how she has been influenced in her artistic pursuits. I was excited to discover that she has another animated film out called  Seder Masochism. " Seder?" I thought. "As in... Passover?"  I am Jewish and have grown up celebrating Passover, honoring the many unique traditions of the holiday (including the four glasses of wine, an element of the seder mentioned in the film. A tradition I  definitely  appreciate). Watching the trailer for  Seder Masochism  was another tempting taste of Paley's uniquely absurd and vibrant animation, and I knew I would have to watch the whole thing at some point. I decided to wait until now (the actual holiday of Passover) to watch the film, to make the viewing experience more personable and fun! I'v

Yoga... -Hindu or Indian, secular or religious? -These are Euro-American terms, so who cares! -Indians are "expected to force fit Indian thoughts, like a twisted yogic asana" -Hindu: YES, because Hindu texts continually refer to this word -Krishna and Shiva are both referred to as yogeshwara, meaning lord of yoga -Indian: YES, because yoga originated in the Indian subcontinent -Thrived in various schools of thought, including Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism -Fun fact: "zen" in Japanese Buddhism can be traced to "dhyana" (profound meditation) -Religious: YES, because it refers to the idea of God -Speaks to the union of the individual soul with the cosmic soul -Secular: YES, because divine ideals are a very small component of Yoga Sutra -A tool to "uncrumple the mind" -The eight practices: social disengagement (yama), personal discipline (niyama), postures (asana), breath (pranayama), sensory isolation (pratyahara), awareness (dh

"Greetings one and all! This is  Dating Deities , and I'm your host, Kamadeva, resident Goddess of Love. We have a great show for you today, so let's welcome our eligible Goddess, Aadya, to the stage."  Aadya floated across the stage in a long gown bejeweled with precious stones. She sat down gingerly on the gold chair on the right end of the stage, looking out over the audience with the demeanor of a queen gazing upon her subjects. Kamadeva the host walked over to her.  "Aadya, welcome. Why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself and what kind of man you're looking for?" "I am the primal Goddess, and my essence permeates all of creation. I am looking for a man who can match my power but respect me as the supreme Earth Mother." Kamadeva said, "Wonderful! Now let us meet the eligible male Gods." The darkened left side of the stage suddenly lit up, and Aadya's choices were bathed in light. Kamadeva

-Rural cultures valued fertility     -Fertility rooted in women -Urban cultures valued obedience     -Obedience enforced by men Yang - dragon in the sky Yin - the phoenix, regenerating from its own ashes Patriarchal societies... -Link men with culture -Link women with nature The domination of women; men begin to "domesticate" women -A female monster being defeated by a male God in a Mesopotamian epic -Zeus raping nymphs -The first Japanese man and woman create the earth together and go around a pillar from opposite ends, intending to copulate when they meet     -The woman speaks first in their interaction and demon children are born     -One the second go around, the man speaks first and normal children are born In cities... Battle of power ---> desire to be king ---> competition between men ---> youth seeking to overthrow elders ---> elders constantly suspicious of youth -Women are the trophies of this rivalry Pandora's box -Zeus gives

Important Figures Gaia: Earth mother in greek mythology Cronus: Kills his father in order to be born, then eats his children to prevent them from doing the same thing he did to his father Zeus: The only child of Cronus saved by Gaia, kills his father and "declares himself father of Gods of men" Theme in Mythologies Around the World A primal female deity is at first adored, and then "brutally sidelined" by a male deity Sedna -Inuit story -Sedna marries a seagull; unhappy, she asks her father to take her home in his boat -A flock of seagulls attacks -Sedna's father throws him overboard to save himself -As she tries to climb back, he cuts off her fingers -He then also cuts off her arms -As she sinks into the ocean, her dismembered limbs turn into the creatures of the sea: fish, seals, whales, ect. -Those who wish to hunt the children of Sedna must appease her through the "soothing words of Shamans" Aadya -From tantric Hindu tradition -

It was a quiet night in the home of the Dawsons when a clash of metal suddenly rang out and shattered the serene silence. … It all began with  the neglect of the forks and knives. They had been feeling quite resentful being shut up all day in the dusty draw where the Dawsons kept them. The family hardly ever ate with these utensils, and they were growing rusty lying around in their dark little corner of the kitchen. The spoons, however, were utilized almost daily, and were kept in pristine condition in the prime kitchen cabinet. They were polished every morning by the little boy in the family, and scrubbed clean each night by his older sister. The Dawsons ate everything with spoons; they scooped their cereal in the little well, they ladled their veggies in the smooth groove, and they shoveled their macaroni in the concave depression. Each meal was graced by the presence of the spoons. The Dawsons liked spoons so much that everywhere they traveled, they brought one

"Jesus certainly broke bread with his hands" -An excuse I will now use at any point I wish to toss aside silverware and propriety and go at food with my hands -In one of her shows, Oprah made a comment about how Indians "still eat with [their] hands"      -For real, Oprah? That's pretty culturally insensitive  -Long before cutlery in Europe there were chopsticks in China      -The oldest ones were dated to 1000 BC and were made of bronze -In the Middle Ages in Europe, food was eaten on stale bread called "trenchers"      -Knives were used to impress rather than out of necessity  -The fork introduced in France by Catherine de Medici      -Also known as the "split spoon"      -Forks became snobby and aristocratic under her -Cutlery associated with imperialism, eating by hand associated with natives -Cold climate = hand coverings = cutlery necessary, warm climate = cutlery not necessary -The Vedas refer to food as

-The female form is celebrated in Hindu temples -Carvings on the wall explore many aspects of the female body -Female figures are depicted in a wide variety of ways      -This includes both erotic and non-erotic positions and behaviors      -Dancing, stretching, mediating, bearing swords, exposing themselves, fondling their breasts, ect. "Who amongst these women could be a lesbian – a woman who desires another woman erotically and emotionally?" -This quote fascinated me, because I have never really considered homosexual relations might appear in ancient texts -Because many ancient societies were patriarchal, women often get left out of narratives about the past; what other dimensions of female sexuality might there have been?       -And how can  relics from the past reveal this to us, if we look closely enough? 4 Reasons why the question of lesbianism in these depictions of female figures might scare people: -Homophobia -Puritanical inclinations separating the se

Mr. and Mrs. Otter lived a quiet life in Huckleberry Lake, surrounded by clear blue waters and tall riverbanks covered with wildflowers. The calm of the lake had recently been disturbed by an uncharacteristic amount of squabbling, however. Mr. and Mrs. Otter having some marriage difficulties, and there were nights when the water never ceased rippling as they bickered back and forth. Mrs. Otter had decided that enough was enough, and asked her friend Patricia the hermit crab, who lived along the riverbank, what to do. "Well, when Albert and I were going through an especially crabby phase, we went to see Rudy the wolf. He's the top therapist in our ecosystem, 8 years running!" Mrs. Otter had made an appointment with Rudy wolf that very day. She combed her fur, gathered her purse and Mr. Otter, and set out on the trek to Rudy’s office. Rudy worked out of a hollowed tree in the forest that surrounded Huckleberry Lake. When Mr. and Mrs. Otter arrived, Mrs. Ot

The Lion in Bad Company -A wolf tricks a young lion into letting him come back and live in the lion's den -The lion is flattered by the wolf and earns his trust -The wolf convinces the lion to kill ponies for horse meat -The lion's father is wise and warns his son that the ponies belong to the King, and that the thefts will not go unnoticed -The lion has developed an ego, and, encouraged by the wolf, disregards his father and continues to seek horse meat -The horses are moved by the King to try and protect them, but the lion is persistent -Ultimately, the King sends an archer, who slays the lion -The wolf is unharmed and returns quietly to his old life Wolves -The wolf characters in the Jataka tales are almost always painted as tricksters -While the wolf is clever and often gets others into trouble, he himself typically remains unharmed Beauty and Brownie -Mother and Father deer send their children, Beauty and Brownie, out of the forest during the corn ripening s

The Girl Monkey and the String of Pearls I found this story very endearing; I love how the monkeys are personified. Humans and animals often interact in the Jataka tales as if all living creatures are equals sharing the earth, which is an intriguing dynamic. And who knew monkeys could love pearls as much as a human? - The palace royalty go down to the lake for a swim -The Queen leaves her jewels with a servant in the garden -A girl monkey waits until the servant has fallen asleep and steals the pearls -The chief guard plays a trick to find out which monkey stole the pearls -Hangs strings of glass beads in the garden -All the girl monkeys rush to get to the beads except for the monkey with the pearls -In the end, her ego gets the best of her -As she brags to the other girl monkeys about her pearls being more beautiful than their glass beads, she reveals herself as the thief The Otters and the Wolf -The animals in the title initially led me to believe that the wolf would be