Trickster Myths Examples

• Africa – Why We Tell Stories about Spider – Ajapa (tortoise), Aja (dog), and the Yams • African American – Br’er Rabbit Earns a Dollar a Day – Br’er Rabbit and the Tar Baby http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4D470YSl2Y Characteristics

• Often motivated by carnal urges – Food and sex being the most common • Disrupt the status quo – Identify weaknesses in authority • Also weaknesses in ourselves • Crossing boundaries – Ethical: Mischievous, greedy, selfish Introduce a little anarchy, – Literal: Act as messengers you upset the established • Culture hero order and everything – becomes chaos. I'm an Provide tools for culture agent of chaos. • Creator gods Joker, Dark Knight (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5i wf20t9J1k) More Examples • Daddy Moron – Clown like character • Prometheus – Bringer of culture • Fire – Exposes weaknesses of gods – Punished • A common treatment of tricksters • Hermes – Bringer of culture • Music – Messenger of Gods • Loki – Pivotal role • The Treasures of the Gods – Creates disorder • Pranks, Ragnarock – Also punished Pa Pandir (Daddy Moron)

• Silly anecdotes – Cow story – Bag of salt – Chaff • Inadvertent hero – Giant guests – King of Jinn • Silly death – Thus ends the tale of Pa Pandir who always acted without thinking. Prometheus

• Angered Zeus – Tricked Zeus into picking out bones wrapped in skin and meat for sacrifice – Left good meat for humans • Zeus and gods recede from humans, and withhold fire as punishment (end of Golden Age) – Prometheus steals fire and returns it to humans • Zeus creates woman to punish man – Epimetheus accepts Pandora as gift from the gods. Prometheus

• Prometheus punished – Zeus bound Prometheus and his many intentions with painful chains no one could break, strapping him hard with these to a pole. And Zeus sent an eagle with beautiful wings to attack him and eat his immortal liver. Yet everything this bird would eat during the day would grow back at night. Prometheus

• Other Versions – Epimetheus screws up again – Steals fire so man can create • “It is not pride or obstinacy that has prompted by silence, but the bitter consciousness of what I have done to merit such maltreatment…But now listen to the sufferings of mankind, In whom, once speechless, senseless, like an infant, I have implanted the faculty of reason.” • “Prometheus founded all the arts of man.” Theme sound familiar?

• Man lives in a paradise • Trickster gives man forbidden knowledge • Man loses paradise • Trickster punished Genesis

• Man lives in paradise – Garden of Eden • Trickster gives man forbidden knowledge – Serpent gives Eden knowledge • Man loses paradise – Adam and Even expelled from the Garden • Trickster punished – The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you among all animals and among all wild creatures; upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.” Satan • Book of Job – Bet between Satan and God – Satan can inflict terrible things upon Job, but Job will not reproach God • Animals and children killed • Covered in malignant ulcers

• Finally he curses the day he was born • “Perish the day I was born and on that night that told of a boy conceived…What are human beings that you should take them so seriously, subjecting them to your scrutiny, that morning after morning you should examine them and at every instant test them.” (Job 3:3, 17-18) • God responds angrily • “Who is this, obscuring my intentions with his ignorant words?” (Job 38:2) • Job acknowledges mistake • “I retract what I have said, and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:6)

• God rewards Job • “So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning... After this lived Job an hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons’ sons, even four generations.42:17 So Job died, being old and full of days.” (Job 42:12, 16) Hermes

• Culture hero – Invents lyre and shepherd's pipe – Discovers way to create fire • Messenger God – Crosses between Heavens, Earth, and Underworld • God of thieves and travelers – Cattle story Hermes

• Zeus is running Mt. Olympus with a heavy hand – Apollo is also micromanaging • Hermes born – 1 day old, invents lyre, escapes house, steals Apollo’s cattle, invents a way to make fire • Apollo catches wind – Brings him before Zeus – Zeus so impressed that he grants Hermes messenger status – Apollo and Hermes make up Loki

• Loki has a different modus operandi – Tricks are motivated out of hatred for Norse gods – Plays roles as a culture god, but also brings about destruction (Ragnarock) Loki

• The Good – Creativity helps gods • Thor retrieves hammer • Lures away Svaoilfari and creates Odin’s horse Sleipnir (eight-legged horse) – Plays roles as a culture god • Provides man with fire • Creates the fishnet • Treasures for the Gods Treasure for the Gods

• Cut’s off Sif’s (Thor’s wife) hair – Thor threatens him – Loki promises to replace it • Seeks help of dwarfs (sons of Ivaldi) – Makes Sif’s hair from gold, as well as Freryr’s ship Skidbladnir, and Odin’s spear Gungnir • Makes bet with dwarfs Brokk and Eitri – Bets his head that they can’t make better gifts – Tries to sabotage dwarfs as they make Gullinbursti (boar) for Freyr, Draupnir (Ring with asexual reproductive abilities) for Odin, and Thor’s hammer (Mjollnir) Treasure for the Gods cont… • Seeks help of dwarfs • Bet’s his head with (sons of Ivaldi) dwarfs Brokk and Eitri • Makes Sif’s hair from gold that they can’t make • Freryr’s ship Skidbladnir better gifts • Odin’s spear Gungnir • Gullinbursti (boar) for Freyr • Draupnir (Ring with asexual reproductive Brokk and Eitri win because of abilities) for Odin Thor’s hammer • Thor’s hammer (Mjollnir) • Loki talks his way out of losing his head • “He began to dream of revenge, and slowly his lips curled into a twisted smile.” Loki

• The Bad – Tricks get gods into trouble • Leads an unarmed Thor into a frost giant’s lair • Ends up being punished for his actions – Tied to a rock with his son Narvi’s intestines, then a venomous snake placed over him • Escapes and leads frost giants in Ragnarock Ragnarock

• Final battle between Norse gods and frost giants – In the red corner: Odin and all the “worthy dead” in Valhalla – In the blue corner: Loki, frost giants, and the “unworthy dead” from Hel • Predestined battle that was unavoidable – Only a few Gods and a couple humans survive to repopulate the earth. – Loki dies at hands of Heimdall, guardian of Bifrost Bridge Trickster “Poem”

• Since tricksters are the most complicated characters in myth, let’s explore them a bit further. Line 1: Name Line 2: Four traits that describe character • Pick an existing trickster or create Line 3: Relative of (brother, sister, so on) your own (perhaps based off yourself). Create a “poem” using Line 4: Lover of (list three things or people) the following format. Line 5: Who feels (three items/emotions) – Don’t worry about rhyming or Line 6: Who needs (three items) other “traditional” poetic Line 7: Who fears (three items) devices. Line 8: Who gives (three items) Line 9: Who would like to (three items) • This is a general guideline. If you Line 10: Resident of (location) want to play with the structure a Line 11: Last Name (if applicable) bit to suite your style, be my guest. Just make sure the content is there.