The Cambridge Student | 26/11/09 Email: [email protected] Tel: +44 (0) 1223 761 685 Arts|27 “Just smile and pretend we’re normal” Imma Ramos compares Christian and Hindu representations of Holy Families

Complex relationships, mistrust, from a previous marriage, Joseph to God and higher consciousness. is the bull Nandin, symbolic of his angels greet Mary and Jesus, while doubt, jealousy and even drug is shown here tempted by the devil Mt. Kailas is regarded as paradise masculine power. He appears in- three Magi on the top left come addiction challenged the Holy disguised as a shepherd, symbolis- in many Hindu sects, the spiritual side the cave together with Ga- bearing gifts, having followed the families of Hindu and Christian tra- ing his doubts and difficulty in ac- centre of the world, whilst accord- nesha’s bandicoot, an appropriate Star of Bethlehem. Even an ox and dition. In the early 19th century cepting the virgin birth. ing to Pherykedes (the teacher vahana because of its ability to get ass seem to gaze on the Child in the Indian miniature pictured here Both works have interesting of Pythagoras) caves were focal out of sticky situations, and Gane- cave in wonder. from the Punjab Hills, and comparative elements reflect- points for the exchange of cosmic sha is a remover of obstacles. Skan- Within the cosmic landscape are and their sons Skanda and ing a cosmic landscape: the heav- energies. da’s peacock perches above them divine prototypes of human union are seen resting in a cave enly realm, the sky, the mountain, Each family member in the In- and Parvati’s mount dozes in a and family, although not joined on Mount Kailas. Shiva, his body the cave and the earth each one dian painting is accompanied by a cave on the right. An assembly of together as members of a family smeared with , reaches for set above the other in a continu- vehicle (vahana), an animal that gods gathers on the left, balanced usually are. Each character plays more ‘bhang’, a form of marijuana ous ascending ladder linking man serves as a mount. Shiva’s vehicle by a group of holy men (sadhus) a separate role representing in- which he’s notoriously addicted to. and devotees who have come to dependent forces of the universe The god Ganesha nestles worship the family. In the Russian that humans must sometimes face up to him. Parvati had longed for icon two shepherds and a host of or ask for assistance. a child of her own but Shiva was unwilling to comply because of his

ascetic vows. As she was bathing The Nativity, Russia, century 16th (private collection) Temple, (R. Icons Divine Beauty) one day, she rubbed off the dirt from her body and sculpted it into

the shape of a child, which miracu- Shiva and family in Mt Kailas, Punjab Hills, 19th century (V&A images) lously came to life. Shiva mistook him for an intruder, cut off his head and then replaced it with that of an elephant. The multi-headed god Skanda lies in Parvati’s arms, his creation being the result of Shi- va’s seed falling into the river Gan- ges and subsequently thrown up to the goddess constellations. In the mid-16th century Rus- sian Novgorod icon of the Nativity the imagery follows the apocry- phal Protoevengelium rather than the gospels and shows the holy family gathered around a cave in the desert. Central to the compo- sition are Mary and the newborn Christ child. Joseph on the bottom left is revealingly absent from the central group, emphasizing the Nepalese shaman reciting his oral narrative (Marion Wettstein) fact that he was not the father. De- scribed as a widower with children

Cambridge World Oral Literature Project David Jefferies investigates a new initiative to preserve oral traditions

Recently, whilst discussing the It is estimated that there are the ‘weirdest dialect in the world’, perilous fate of some of the world’s currently 6,000 to 7,000 liv- words like osmiza have evolved obscurer languages, as I am wont ing languages. The Cambridge which describe very particular ex- to do from time to time, conversa- based World Oral Literature Proj- pressions of culture. (An osmiza is tion turned to a tale of two broth- ect (WOLP) estimates that around a farmhouse, where wine or grappa ers who were the last two speakers half of these languages will stop is made, and every now and then of a language, the name of which existing as spoken vernaculars is transformed into a bar.) now escapes me. However, the by the end of the century. Cur- Languages maintain ‘the con- point of this story is that the lan- rently 6% of the world’s languages nections and associations that de- guage no longer exists as a spoken are spoken by 94% of the world’s fine a culture’. WOLP considers ‘the language due to the fact that the population. transmission of oral literature’ to two fractious siblings are no lon- But what is lost when a lan- be at the heart of cultural practice isation and rapid socio-economic and Cornish have been brought ger on speaking terms. guage dies and why should we try of many communities worldwide. change are often just too great; back from the brink of extinction; As the person who told me all to save endangered languages? ‘Performances of creative works - and around 130 languages are the revival of Cornish as a spoken this had an English Language A- French linguist Claude Hagege which include ritual texts, cura- spoken by fewer than 10 people. language being partly inspired by level, I can be reasonably sure argues that the world’s linguistic tive chants, epic poems, folk tales, Faced with the imminent extinc- the revival of Hebrew as a spoken that the tale is a true one. Even if diversity represents an ‘enormous creation tales, songs, myths, word tion of a substantial proportion language in Israel. it did turn out to be apocryphal, cultural heritage’. Il Carso, the games, [and] historical narratives of the world’s languages, WOLP WOLP and similar groups are we are still furnished with a good mountainous region on the Ital- - are increasingly endangered’ and seeks to support fieldworkers and to be lauded for their efforts to place to start talking about en- ian-Slovenian border, provides us have both scientific and aesthetic local communities engaged in the conserve the expressive diversity dangered languages; about what not only with prosecco, but also value. documentation and preservation of human language and also for is lost when a language dies; and an example of the value of local For small under-resourced com- of oral literature. safe guarding the various forms what, if anything, should be done languages. In the dialetto carsico, munities speaking these dwindling There are encouraging signs. of knowledge that such languages to preserve linguistic diversity. which I am informed is possibly languages, the pressures of global- Languages such as Welsh, Gaelic, contain.