Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a major festival in US and the neighbouring countries. The celebrations are set on the fourth Thursday of November when family and friends sit together for meals, and thank for all that they have. So what are the origins of this day?

Not much is known except that on this day, the Pilgrims of Plymouth, which is in the modern-day Massachusetts, had their first dinner with the native Wampanoag Indians, way back in 1621. What was so special about the dinner?

The legend goes that the Pilgrims who were new to the place were struggling to settle and first harsh winter saw some deaths and they were left with little food with them. The people were not ready or prepared for the harsh conditions and all they brought with them, seeds, etc. were not conducive for the region. It was then that Squanto, a native Wampanoag Indian, who taught the Pilgrims the art of planting and growing grains and seeds in the land which was rugged. Squanto is even supposed to have given them seeds, besides teaching them how to sow and harvest. The first harvest was cause for celebration, and the Pilgrims hosted a feast for Squanto and his tribe as a thanks giving feast. Similarly, the next year was a bigger and better harvest, leading to another big feast, and thus started the Thanksgiving feast. However, it took many more years for it to be declared a national holiday in US.

So the origin of Thanksgiving was a Harvest festival. Over time, it has earned different connotations to the festival. Earlier people sat together on this day to thank god for the bountiful harvest that they would have reaped, and today, they sit together and thank all for all that they have.

Thanksgiving has an association with the Greek Mythology, that of the Horn of Cornucopia or the Horn of Plenty. This is a part of all Thanksgiving feasts and is a horn shaped container, filled with goodies. The traditional cornucopia was a goat’s horn filled to the brim with fruits and grains, which is part of the harvest.

According to the Greek Mythology, Zeus was brought up by Amaltheia, a goat who suckled the baby Zeus in a cave, while he was in hiding till he was ready to come out in public. Once when baby Zeus was playing with Amaltheia, he broke one of her horns by accident. Zeus felt very sorry for doing this and returned the horn but with magical powers that he had, and it is said that whosoever had the magical horn would get all that s/he wished. The cornucopia is also a symbol of fertility, a sign of abundance bounty.

Finally, no mention of Thanksgiving is complete without a mention of the Turkey. On this day, having a turkey for the feast is a must. Why a turkey, well we will keep it for another day!

Dionysus – the Greek God of Wine

Dionysus was the son of Zeus and Semele, who was a mortal. In Greek mythology, gods and mortals mixed around freely. The birth of Dionysus is a story in itself. Zeus the King of Heavens was known for his numerous affairs, which he always tried to keep from his jealous and ever-doubting wife Hera. Zeus was in love with Semele and once promised her that he would give in to any of his requests and this he swore on the river Styx. The oath was a very important and unbreakable one. At this, Semele requested that Zeus show up to her in original form of the King of Heavens and the Master of the Thunderbolt, an idea which had been fed to her by the scheming Hera. Zeus knew that it was not possible for a mortal to behold him thus, but then he could not break the oath, so he did what was the inevitable. Semele was burnt alive when Zeus came to her in his original form, but before she could die, Zeus snatched from her the child which was close to be born. He then hid the child from Hera and gave it to his messenger, who gave the child to the nymphs to nurse him, before he could be born.

Thus Dionysus was reared like the grapes, which ripen in the burning heat, and then nursed by the rains. Dionysus was the god of wine in Greek mythology. It is said that the god of wine, could be both kind and cruel. The worship of Dionysus was centred around two contradicting philosophies, that of freedom and joy on one hand and violence on the other. In Greek mythology, there are stories of Dionysus, which revolve around him being a god who provides joy and sometimes, a god who is brutal, leading to unimaginable destruction.

This contradiction is the crux of the god of wine. Wine is both good and bad. If consumed in limits, it makes one feel light and warm, but if consumed in excess, makes one drunk and at times rowdy and violent. The Greeks understood such contradictions well and thus knew that the nice heart-warming side of the wine always came with the excessive violent ways of the same. Under the influence of wine, man felt courageous, joyous and light hearted. People felt that they had the power of doing things that they could not before consuming the wine.

Dionysus, was the only god, who was not just outside the human beings, but inside too, and that was unique about the worship of Dionysus. The momentary sense of elation provided was enough to give man wings of imagination, to do something he has not been able to do, write, compose, draw, paint, imagine or create. But all this ran out of the man, the moment he over did the sense of joy, and got drunk; leading to the destruction that Dionysus is also known for.

Thus Greek mythology feels that Dionysus is two faced, and it doesn’t take him from changing his faces – we all know what that means, don’t we?

Rooster in Various Mythologies

Some time back, I had written about Vahanas (see Post dated July 28, 2010). Amongst many of the Vahanas, the Rooster has quite a prominent place in not just Indian Mythology, but other mythologies too. Let us go through some of them, before understanding what it symbolises –

Indian

In Southern India in the Tamil folklore, a large, red, fighting rooster (kukkuta in Sanskrit) adorns Lord Murugan's flag, heralding the dawn of wisdom and the conquest of the forces of ignorance. It is said in Mahabharata, that the rooster also adorned Srikhandi’s flag during the war of Kurukshetra. The carrier of Goddess Bahucharaji is also a rooster.

Greek mythology

According to a Greek legend, Alectryon - the ancient Greek word for "rooster" - was a youth who was ordered by the Ares, the god of war, to stand guard outside his door while the he carried on an adulterous dalliance with goddess Aphrodite. Unfortunately, Alectryon fell asleep at his post, and Helios, the sun god, walked in on the amorous couple. Spitefully, Ares turned Alectryon into a rooster, which never forgets to announce the sun's arrival in the morning.

Bible

The Bible provides a well-known reference in the passage where Jesus prophesied of his betrayal by Peter: "And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me." (Luke 22:34) This made the rooster a symbol for both vigilance and betrayal.

Jewish legends

The Talmud speaks of learning "courtesy toward one's mate" from the rooster. This might refer to the fact that, when a rooster finds something good to eat, he calls his hens to eat first.

European Tale

In old central European folk tales the devil is believed to flee at the first crowing of a cock. A medieval myth posits that the Basilisk, a giant snake who kills with a single glance and is hatched by a toad from a hen's egg, will instantly die if it hears a rooster crowing.

Asian folklore

Historical documents from Koryo Kingdom (A.D. 918 - 1392) in Korea indicate that roosters were reared in the royal court for keeping time, as no clocks existed in that era. Travellers would take roosters with them on long trips to be woken on a timely basis.

China

In China the bird has traditionally been considered a good sign, as its crow meant the break of dawn and the beginning of a fresh start. It is also believed that ghosts and evil spirits afraid of the light vanish when a rooster crows. The five virtues attributed to the rooster in Chinese mythology are: knowledge, military expertise, courage, benevolence and credibility.

Rooster Symbolism –

A rooster represents male energy and possibly aggression. If one has ever observed a rooster in a hen-house, one would notice that the roosters are very aggressive, demanding and territorial. A rooster is seen as a virile bird and extremely productive. In the olden days, it was masculine to be in a position to be progeny-productive, irrespective of age and a rooster has a unique space amongst the birds/animals to be in that category.

Though the crowing of a rooster is considered to be a wake-up call as seen by the predominantly agrarian society, the symbolism associated with the crowing of a rooster is always that of a warning call. A call to say that light has spread and it is time for the darkness to recede. Darkness which is associated with evil has come to an end. It is time to begin the day in a new way and afresh. A roosters crowing heralds this new beginning each day bringing a new dawn in every listeners life.

Tattoo – Body Art

The universal body art of tattoo seems to have its origin in Mythology.

According to one of the myths, Goddess Lakshmi told her husband Lord Vishnu that whenever he went out of Vaikuntha, she felt very scared. Vishnu immediately took his weapons and pressed them on her body leaving marks of the same, saying that the weapon-marks would guard against any evil. This is probably one of the the first reference of tattoo or body art in our mythology.

Besides this there are some references of tattooing in tribal mythology of our country. The Baiga tribes of Central India believe that tattooing was started so that people could take such designs with them to grave. The meaningless of such tattoos is for God to keep trying them as riddles! The Muria community did such designs as per the instructions of their goddess.

Another interesting myth is recited amongst the Gond tribes of Central India. According to this, once Mahadeo (a Shiva incarnate) invited all the gods for a feast. All the gods and goddesses were there, among who was also a Gond god. The Gond god was there to take his wife away from there, but amongst all the goddesses, he could not recognise his wife and by mistake he dragged Parvati (Mahadeo’s wife) from the gathering. Mahadeo knew it was a mistake and started laughing, but this angered Parvati to no end. She then decided that people of different castes should have distinct tattoos and since then, tattooing has become a must amongst the tribes of Central India.

Tribal tattoos have a distinct design, which sometimes does not mean much. However, over time, such meaningless forms have given way to signs and motifs commonly understood by people, like a trishul, or a swastika or an Om. The tribal’s who have converted to Christianity sport a cross. But majority of them still carry meaningless forms like dots, triangles, etc. which might not have any significant symbolism behind them. Also, the tattoos were not restricted on only arms and other parts as done today as a fashion. Amongst the Tribals today, the tattooing was all over the body, including on the faces.

Probably the only distinction between these tattoos and what we see today is that the tattoos of the tribal’s were not a fashion statement, but a norm or a custom. People followed them out of respect for their cultures. Besides serving the purpose of teasing god’s brains, it also served as a caste differentiator.

Tulasi Vivaha

Tulasi Vivaha (marriage of Basil tree) is considered to be a very important festival and also marks the beginning of the Marriage season amongst the Hindus. Tulasi Vivaha is the marriage of Vishnu (as Shaligram) with Tulasi, the Basil (also known as the Holy Basil) tree.

Once upon a time Tulasi Devi was married to a demon by the name of Jalandhara (one who was born from water). Jalandhara derived all his strength and power from her chastity and purity. So strong was this aspect of Tulasi Devi that even Lord Shiva could not defeat Jalandhara, when he declared war over the gods, by claiming sovereignty over the oceans and all the treasures that were churned out of the ocean during the samudra manthana. As it happens always, the gods went to Lord Vishnu for help. Vishnu decided to trick Tulasi Devi by assuming the form of Jalandhara and went to her. Tulasi Devi thinking Vishnu was her husband greeted him and her chastity was broken for a short while. Taking advantage of this, the gods managed to kill Jalandhara.

When Tulasi Devi came to know about this deceit, she cursed Vishnu to be a stone for being so stone-hearted. Vishnu accepted the curse and promised her that he would take the form of Shaligram shila on the banks of the river Gandika (now in Nepal). He also blessed Tulasi Devi, that she would reside with him at his abode, Vaikuntha, and on earth she would be seen as the purest of all pure things, and thus Tulasi plant is considered to be the purest of all, and a leaf of the plant is enough if put on anything to make it pure too. Tulasi is considered to be so close to Vishnu that the devotees never offer him anything without Tulasi leaves on it. On this day of Tulasi Vivaha, Lord Vishnu in the form of the black Shalgram shila gets married to Tulasi, as a plant on earth.

Besides this, there are few other myths which come to the similar conclusion of the annual marriage between Lord Vishnu (and sometimes Lord Krishna) and Tulasi plant. It is worth noting, that in the olden days, such traditions could have been initiated to grant an elevated position to the plant. This could be in recognition of its medicinal qualities. Tulasi or Basil is used for a number of common ailments, like skin disorders, coughs and colds, to name just a few. Recently during the outbreak of Swineflu, many doctors suggested a daily intake of 4-5 Basil leaves, to help strengthen ones immune system. Such festivals gave the plant an upgraded status and influenced people to plant them more commonly at homes, thus have the plant handy! It is not uncommon to find Tulasi plant in Indian homes for both religious and medicinal purposes. Thus, behind every ritual, there is a meaning or purpose. However, it is to each, as to how s/he celebrates such festivals. Grandeur and opulence in celebration might not have been in mind with our early thinkers, but since the advocates of religion have turned recognition to reverence – then so be it!