Sunday, February 23, 2014

Starting Locally

The Wendigo

Since this is the first detailing actually mythology on this blog I believe it would be best to start with a story based in the area where I live and the most famous of these I know of is that of the wendigos. The word itself and all its variations can be roughly translated to "the evil spirit that devours mankind." According to the legends wendigos are a monster found around the great lakes region that hunt and eat humans out of both gluttony and famine, as they grow every time they eat a wendigo's hunger can never be satisfied. The monster was described as being exceptionally tall being at least 15 feet, a few rarer stories even reporting them to grow larger than mountains, being extremely malnourished as if the creature had not eaten anything in weeks. They were said to be superior to humans in all physical aspects being much stronger and faster than the average man. The creature was also reported to give off a smell of decay and appear to be rotting away while still alive. Wendigos hearts were said to be made of solid ice and the only way to kill them was to pierce the heart with a silver weapon which would render it stunned and then burn the monster to death.

Creation of a Wendigo
According to the legends Wendigo's were created when someone participated in cannibalism or was possessed by a evil spirit known by the same name but sometimes spelled as Windigo instead. In some less popular versions of the legend simply being excessively greedy could result in transforming into one. In all cases the resulting was the same less than human creature that would then stalk the forests until someone killed it.

Purpose of the myth
 The story would serve as a powerful deterrent against cannibalism if a group of native americans ended up without enough food to survive a harsh winter. This was especially true as the monsters were said to be eternally hungry living every moment as if starving for the rest of eternity or until killed. It also served as a warning against being overly greedy and a reminder of the importance of cooperation with others.

Modern Influences
Wendigo sightings were most popular in the early twentieth century when many settlers reported seeing them in and around communities often just before a death would occur.While rare wendigo sightings have continued into the modern day and there are even a few people who are self proclaimed "wendigo hunters." Additionally there is a rare medical condition referred to as Wendigo Psychosis in which the afflicted person has a strong craving for human meat even if other foods are available. The condition is extremely rare and believed to be a culture bond syndrome. The myth is also extremely popular in the media with references to them in many television shows and games such as Charmed, Grimm, Supernatural, The X-filesHannibal, and Warcraft.

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Why I'm writing about mythology

Many people would wonder why someone would write about mythology of all things, after all it's just a bunch of old stories that have no meaning anymore right? I however disagree with this as I believe that myths are eternal pieces of art that give us a glimpse at the cultures of long ago. These myths can cover a variety of topics but frequently depict a valiant hero rushing to save something they care about from destruction much like modern hollywood movies, or monsters and disasters that serve as a warning of what will happen if you break cultural taboos. These stories are interesting because they often depict the darker side of human nature that many people are happy to pretend doesn't exist. I also believe it is interesting to see how some themes found in mythology are still relevant today and how similar myths appear in areas separated by vast geological distances. A good example of myths appearing across vast geologic distances is the story of a god flooding the entire planet at one time or another. While most people are familiar with this from the Bible it is a story that appears across almost every culture and around the world, Greece for example has a story where Zeus does it after observing humans participating in cannibalism. Another major influence in me choosing this topic is one of my favorite television shows Supernatural follows a pair of brothers who hunt down various gods and monsters from mythology in the modern day. This show rekindled a love of mythology that I had lost since my childhood and watching it has reminded my of many stories that I had long forgotten before and provided unique twists on classic stories. Since finding it I have done a significant amount of research into mythology and learned a lot, however the great thing about this topic is that no matter how much you already know about it there is always more to learn, and another places culture to explore. This vast amount of content is a probably one of the biggest reasons that I chose this topic because even if I find I story I don't like I can just pass over it to the next one that will be more interesting and not have to worry about it. Over the course of writing this blog I hope that you the reader will also come to learn more about mythology and enjoy it the same way I do.