Hi Dark, True. Thanks to the Internet and other forms of mass communication a lot of myths from other cultures are becoming more well known. That said, the majority of monsters associated with Halloween such as vampires, werewolves, gargoyles, and so forth have a predominately European origin, and since Christianity became the mainstream religion in the early middle ages most of these ancient myths took on a distinctly Christian form even if they weren't Christian concepts or ideas to begin with.
For example, let's talk about the classic version of witches we think of today. Witchcraft is definitely nothing new, there are variations of it in every culture and society, and it predates the Judeo-Christian religions by thousands of years. However, if you were to turn on a television and watch a cartoon or movie with a witch in it she'll be a woman dressed in a black dress, black high heal shoes, have a black hat, carry a magic broom, and will be stirring a magic brew in a cauldron. Where did this iconic figure come from? Well, the clothing is easy to explain. The classic witch's hat and black dress was quite popular in the 1400's. Most women wore them as it was rather fashionable at the time. Brooms and cauldrons were standard household items and were associated with women of all ages so no big mystery why our prospective witch would have these essential items. What turned this harmless figure into a evil cackling witch is the Catholic church. It was customary for older women, widows, and such to create herbal medicines, potions,etc and give it to sick and dying people in the village as cures. Many of these older women acted as midwives. Maybe a few claimed to practice magic, but for hundreds of years these women were generally understood to be healers and midwives. During the witch hunts the Catholic church proclaimed these healers to be witches and naturally created a profile to identify potential witches. That basic profile has been handed down generation after generation until it has taken the iconic form it has today. One of the things that firmly makes the classic witch a part of Catholic theology is the Catholic church proclaimed that witches were involved in packs with the devil. It is these secret Satanic rights the Catholic church speaks of that most true witches, pagan witches, would have found mystifying since pagans don't believe in Satan. All the same the iconic witch in cartoons and movies are Satanic rather than simply pagan in origin. Vampires are similarly connected with Satan. The Satanic Rights of Dracula, which was a good movie, tries to explain how Vlad Dracula made a Satanic pack with the devil to become Dracula the vampire. Although, Bram Stoker never made this connection himself there have been plenty of authors who were willing to make the Satan packed connection between Dracula and Satan. That said, not everyone sticks to the Christian vampire mythology. Several years ago Nora Roberts wrote the Circle of Gods trilogy which actually includes a wider range of vampire myths and the heroes are a mixed team of characters from various cultures and beliefs. We have an Irish priest, a Wiccan priestess, a queen with a magic sword, a vampire hunter, and so forth. Bottom line, Nora Roberts vampires are able to be dispatched in a number of ways, not all of them Christian, and depends largely on that specific hero's or heroine's skills and powers. A magic character can dispatch them with a fireball, a warrior can behead them with a sword or ax, a vampire hunter can stake them through the heart, and there is more than one way to kill a vampire. So perhaps the vampire myths are already changing as we more towards a more secular society. Cheers! On 9/4/12, dark <[email protected]> wrote: > That is true about western myths and western creatures, however I will say > that a lot of myths from other countries are becoming more widely known > now. > > One example is dragons. In the west, dragons were always traditionally seen > > as large, slow moving and cunning, where as the idea of more sinuous > snakelike dragons, and of cragons who are benevolent, magic and powerfull > comes very much from China and japan. > > Also, look at capas, which also appear in harry potter, (i've even heard > before that some capas resemble turtles, and the cooper turtles from the > mario games were enspired by this idea, though I've also heard this is an > urban myth so take your pick). > > ? > > Another is the idea of a wendigo, obviously a native american myth, which > I've seen used in variouscircumstances , eg, pet cemetory by steven king. > > ? > > I do however agree, to translate vampires to japan would be quite a tasks, > especially from a religious point of view, sinse unless you changed them > completely, vampires are very much tied to christian symbolism. > --- Gamers mailing list __ [email protected] If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to [email protected]. You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at http://mail.audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. All messages are archived and can be searched and read at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list, please send E-mail to [email protected].
