Trick or Treat?

Class notes 12 September

Most important aspect of a Trickster is his disgustingness
Tricksters make life more interesting - introduce elements of uncertainty, disruption, even horror, irreverent, unpalatable
Falstaff - "Henry V" not a nice person, dirty
Obscene - Lat. for "off-stage" where audience doesn't quite see what is going on
Alchemy as trickster activity
Random thoughts/questions: trickster exists in the space of interaction, trickster for kids: Amelia Bedelia, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
Giordiano Bruno as trickster, When are we faking it? all the time? Does articulation imply tricks? riddles vs. catechism
What would the Trickster look like from the perspective of the unorganized? Can the Trickster exist within a mythological framework that doesn't have any other figures? Does the Trickster ever NOT have parents? Is language the ultimate form of trickstering? Wouldn't this make Jesus/the Logos incarnate the ultimate?

Presentations:
Ch 6 - Wayne - "The Shaman and the Trickster" - opposite poles of spirituality = "realm of unseen powers" Trickster is outside realm - primal humanism in defiance of gods, Shaman is an initiate through a series of dream sequences, sacrifice who returns with power. The Trickster tries to imitate the powers of the Shaman. Shaman in is the spirit, Trickster the body. The Shaman works inside the culture/society and reinforces the process of the sacred.
Ch 5 - David - "Breaker of Taboos" - taboos must be broken to gain control of magical powers. Taboos: incest, rape, murder - all involve blood = magical/manna. T. characterized by the pronounced phallic and overwhelming appetite
Ch 8 - Brita - study of 4 tribes (African) and respective tricksters. More melding of Shaman and Trickster. T. as liminal - creating/destroying thresholds. Trickster brings out the truly impossible, mediator between human and divine.
Ch 9 - Bill - "A Japanese Mythic Trickster Figure: Susa-no-o" - swift, impetuous male - flicks feces everywhere. Enshrined and has festivals that include ritual flyting (yo mama...)
Ch 10 - Erin - "St. Peter: Apostle Transfigured into Trickster" Peter as defender and denyer of Christ - appropriated by Latin Catholicism, combined with other elements, lies to Christ. Dialogism & monologism
Ch 7 - Mike - "Exception who proves the rule: Ananse" - individuals define selves as part of Akan people, trickster brings wisdom, debt, problems, and serves as a negative (counter) example

posted by Charity @ 2:48 PM