Campbell - Meaning and the Sacred
January 24, 2018
One of the most interesting discussions that we've had in class so far was that regarding the pen. Yes, the pen. What is a pen? It is a writing utensil, filled with ink. How would you describe a pen? Oblong, light, smooth, easy to hold. What is the purpose of the pen? To write things, to record things, to doodle on your notebook during that extremely boring math class. These questions, at first glance, appear tedious and overly simple.
But what if it was the president's pen?
The definition, description, and purpose of the pen has not changed, but the meaning of the pen has changed. A pen belonging to an ordinary student has limited meaning (sorry guys, don't take it personally). But a pen belonging to the president absolutely has deeper meaning: you can sell it for a copious amount of cash, you can brag about it to all of your friends. How does this happen? How can such a seemingly arbitrary object take on such tremendous meaning?
In Turner's "The Ritual Process" (1969), he follows the Ndembu tribe during the procession of the Isoma ritual, which is used to help women become fertile following a curse by a matrilineal family member. The preparation for the ritual was quite an intense procedure, as it included the collection of countless herbs and vegetation, digging out a long tunnel in the ground, and building a temporary shack for the affected couple to reside in. What struck me most about this ritual process was the use of each and every ritual item, in that everything - and I mean everything - had meaning. The animal burrows represent the "stopped-up" state of the woman's fertility. The bark from fruit-bearing trees symbolize the intention of allowing the couple to successfully procreate. Even the red cock used for sacrifice has meaning, as it depicts the resentful man who prevents the woman's pregnancy.
Western society would consider all these minor details rather capricious, but they hold significantly sacred meaning to members of the Ndembu tribe. In Catholicism, the rosary is one of the holiest artifacts in the Church, yet many people wear it simply as jewelry. Native American dream-catchers aren't meant for bohemian decor; they are used for protection against evil spirits. It's intriguing to think that something so minor, so overlooked, can hold such substantial sacredness to certain people.
What common American cultural symbols have we prescribed meaning to today?
One of the most interesting discussions that we've had in class so far was that regarding the pen. Yes, the pen. What is a pen? It is a writing utensil, filled with ink. How would you describe a pen? Oblong, light, smooth, easy to hold. What is the purpose of the pen? To write things, to record things, to doodle on your notebook during that extremely boring math class. These questions, at first glance, appear tedious and overly simple.
But what if it was the president's pen?
The definition, description, and purpose of the pen has not changed, but the meaning of the pen has changed. A pen belonging to an ordinary student has limited meaning (sorry guys, don't take it personally). But a pen belonging to the president absolutely has deeper meaning: you can sell it for a copious amount of cash, you can brag about it to all of your friends. How does this happen? How can such a seemingly arbitrary object take on such tremendous meaning?
In Turner's "The Ritual Process" (1969), he follows the Ndembu tribe during the procession of the Isoma ritual, which is used to help women become fertile following a curse by a matrilineal family member. The preparation for the ritual was quite an intense procedure, as it included the collection of countless herbs and vegetation, digging out a long tunnel in the ground, and building a temporary shack for the affected couple to reside in. What struck me most about this ritual process was the use of each and every ritual item, in that everything - and I mean everything - had meaning. The animal burrows represent the "stopped-up" state of the woman's fertility. The bark from fruit-bearing trees symbolize the intention of allowing the couple to successfully procreate. Even the red cock used for sacrifice has meaning, as it depicts the resentful man who prevents the woman's pregnancy.
Western society would consider all these minor details rather capricious, but they hold significantly sacred meaning to members of the Ndembu tribe. In Catholicism, the rosary is one of the holiest artifacts in the Church, yet many people wear it simply as jewelry. Native American dream-catchers aren't meant for bohemian decor; they are used for protection against evil spirits. It's intriguing to think that something so minor, so overlooked, can hold such substantial sacredness to certain people.
What common American cultural symbols have we prescribed meaning to today?
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