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Author
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Comment
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Jessica
Unregistered User
(11/15/03 1:31 am)
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Mazes, Labyrinths?
H'lo, all.
I was just wondering whether any one could point me towards a folk legend, classical story, or myth of any sort besides the one of the Minotaur in which a maze featured prominently? I've been whipping my brains into chocolate mousse trying to remember any others I may have heard, to no avail.
Many thanks to any who can help.
--Jessica
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Helen
Registered User
(11/15/03 11:05 am)
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Stith Thompson ...
Dear Jessica:
Well, according to my motif index, there are at least a few: the entry for F781.1 says "Labyrinth. Series of rooms so confusing that one cannot find the way out. Icelandic: Boberg; Greek: Frazer Apollodorus II 120 n.1; Jewish: Neuman." It also then references B23.1 for the minatour. R121.5 points to fimiliar ground: it says, "Ariadne-thread. Prisoner given a clue to find his way out of the labyrinth in which he is being confined. *Herbert III 204; Oesterly No. 63; Greek: Frazer Apollodorus II 135 n. 3." I'd say that the Apollodorus references are in all probability references to the familiar myth ... but it might be worth looking into the Neuman and Boberg versions. Hope this helps!
Best,
Helen
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Jess
Unregistered User
(11/15/03 11:08 am)
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Mazes and Lybrinths
Jessica,
Mazes and lybrinths figure prominently in many cultures. I think if you do a google search you will probably find quite a bit. One of my favorite little tidbit is about the "Man in the Maze" baskets in the cultures in the American Southwest. Every basket has a "mistake" so the spirit of the basket can be released. There are also mazes in churches - thought to bring those walking it closer to Christ. In Europe, there are famous mazes in France, Germany, and England (at least). If you know about specific lybrinths, you might look them up to read their stories. I know that in Peru, the Incas built mazes as well. I wish I could tell you more about them, but it has been too long since I researched this topic. In addition, there are several books on the subject.
Jess
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Jess
Unregistered User
(11/15/03 2:11 pm)
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oops - spelling errors
Sorry about that, Jessica. I could never spell worth beans. Please read Labyrinth as spelled properly.
Thanks,
Jess
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AlisonPegg
Registered User
(11/15/03 2:13 pm)
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Re: Mazes and Lybrinths
Hey,
I'm intrigued at that idea..... about the spirit of the basket being released. Mmmm. Can you explain a little more? Never heard of it. I have to say, you are a fount of knowledge Jess!
Alison
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denag
Registered User
(11/16/03 9:08 am)
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spelling
i like it better spelled your way. pronounced like that, it sounds like a maze of lybrary books. my idea of heaven i think. :-)
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Niniane
Sunyata
Registered User
(11/16/03 9:21 am)
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Re: Hansel and Gretel
Weren't Hansel and Gretel in a metaphorical labyrinth of sorts? Sure, not a literal labyrinth because they were in the woods, but like Theseus needed a trail to find their way out.
Anita Harris.
Terra Mythogene
www.mythopoetica.com
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Carrie
Unregistered User
(11/16/03 10:50 am)
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mazes
The board's own Midori Snyder uses the Labyrinth in her fabulous book "The Innamorati". I suggest you read it. You'll find all of the elements that make the maze such a fascinating symbol.
Carrie
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Jessica
Unregistered User
(11/16/03 6:32 pm)
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thank you!
Dear All:
I appreciate the suggestions and/or comments. Knowledge I knew was in this skull somewhere has shaken (sorta) loose, and I'm on the trail of the Icelandic maze (Volund's House) and the south-western Man in the Basket story, which does intrigue. Of course, now I'm cracking out my books on the Incans (Inca's?) and, come to it, Lost In The Forest stories might be worth a look as well.
Thanks, again!
--Jessica
PS: I kinda like lybrinth in the context of lybrary books too. ^_~ And "The Innamorati" currently holds the title of "favorite book" in my heart. Labirinto definitely adds something gorgeous and great to the maze myth; I'm hungry just thinking about all that great Italian food mentioned...
...but back to research.
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Jess
Unregistered User
(11/17/03 9:08 am)
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That is about all
Hey all,
I wish I could tell you more about the basket's spirit. That is
about all I know. I just remember as a child looking for the "mistakes"
in these baskets (and in sand paintings too). So, don't be impressed
Allison - I know a little about a lot, but it doesn't run to deep.
I just keep a lot of books at my fingertips. Speaking of which,
the plural of Inca is "Inca". lol, had to double check.
Jess
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batyler65
Registered User
(11/17/03 7:24 pm)
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Re: Basket Spirits
Hi,
I usually lurk around here because I don't have much to contribute but am fascinated by the discussion. In particular, I was intrigued by this one about basket spirits. I did some searching, but didn't come up with much (at least online).
But here is an interesting start for anyone pursuing the topic:
www.sacredsonoma.com/chapter2-3.html
The mention of basket spirits (and doors) starts at Paragraph 5.
I feel a trip to the library coming on...
Barb
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batyler65
Registered User
(11/17/03 7:43 pm)
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P.S.
There was a 1986 film titled "Labyrinth" in which a teenage girl must make her way to the center of a labyrinth to rescue her baby brother from the Goblin King.
Interesting side-note: Brian and Wendy Froud's son, Toby played the stolen tot in the movie.
Barb
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Carrie
Unregistered User
(11/17/03 8:41 pm)
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baskets
Jess,
I hesitate -- but I think the basket spirit you are thinking of is the popular maze design seen in the Southwest today. I believe the origin is Pima. If it is the one you are thinking of -- there is a man figure in the middle and the maze spirals out around him.
Ha -- I found it. The reference comes on pp. 15-16 in Pima Indian Legends by Anna Moore Shaw. The story "The Maze" claims that Se-eh-ha built his home within a maze in order to bewilder his enemies. His lodge is located in the heart of the maze. At the end of the story it says, "Today the maze pattern is still woven into the Pima baskets. It is like the patern of life -- with obstacles to dim the way. But happy is the man who rises to the top."
Cheers.
Carrie
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Niniane
Sunyata
Registered User
(11/18/03 6:59 am)
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Re: Labyrinth
Also: the Labyrinth is an important component in "The Hero's Journey", according to Joseph Campbell. Check out "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" for more hints on where to find more labyrinthine stories.
And as a side note: "Labyrinth" remains one of my all-time
favourite (and overplayed) movies. Anyone notice how some parts
of it cropped up in Cecilia Dart-Thornton's "Bitterbynde Trilogy"?
That was fun.
Anita Harris.
Terra Mythogene
www.mythopoetica.com
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Jess
Unregistered User
(11/18/03 9:13 am)
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Yes, Carrie, that is it!
Carrie,
I had a sense it might be a Pima basket as they are the best basket weavers, but honestly, I couldn't remember, and for once, I didn't have a secondary source. I knew you would come through being the expert in the area. You now see "the man in the maze" art work in Hopi jewelry as well so I was unsure of the source.
My parents have a huge collection of Southwest art work that they began in the early 50's. The man in the maze basket was among my favorites. I always liked that story about finding the mistake. I know I have heard it from multiple sources over the years - perhaps at the Arizona Museum in Flagstaff?
Thanks.
Jess
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denag
Registered User
(12/20/03 6:37 pm)
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labyrinths
i've just been reading ursula le guin. i don't know if she was inspired by any classical myths or folklore, but one of the stories (the tombs of antuan, or atuan, or something like that) is centred around a labyrinth.
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Terri
Registered User
(12/21/03 7:51 am)
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Re: labyrinths
The man in the maze is also a story and symbol of the Tohono O'Odham tribe -- ie: The People of the Desert, formerly and incorrectly called the Papago, whose tribal lands stretch from here in Tucson to northern Mexico. They also use it in their basketry, and there's a lot of lovely O'Odham jewelry with this symbol.
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Ron McCutchan
Unregistered User
(12/22/03 6:25 pm)
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Meditation labyrinths
A sidenote on religious labyrinths (as in the ones in certain cathedral pavements), which are coming into contemporary spiritual practice--these aren't mazes in that there are no wrong routes or dead ends--you basically work your way to the center, circuitously, and then back, as a focusing exercise. I believe it that the medieval conception was that to walk the labyrinth in a cathedral was to perform a small pilgrimage (but I don't know any specific period documentation to back that up).
Being here in the midwest, I also find it interesting that corn mazes (cut into cornfields a la crop circles) are becoming more and more popular.
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