Folklore; Manners and customs; Mythology; Religion
'Come now,' as Herodotus would say, 'I will show once more that the
mysteries of the Greeks resemble those of Bushmen.' In Lucian's Treatise
on Dancing, {41b} we read, 'I pass over the fact that you cannot find a
single ancient mystery in which there is not dancing. . . . To prove this
I will not mention the secret acts of worship, on account of the
uninitiated. But this much all men know, that most people say of those
who reveal the mysteries, that they "dance them out."' Here Liddell and
Scott write, rather weakly, 'to dance out, let out, betray, probably of
some dance which burlesqued these ceremonies.' It is extremely
improbable that, in an age when it was still forbidden to reveal the
[Greek], or secret rites, those rites would be mocked in popular
burlesques. Lucian obviously intends to say that the matter of the
mysteries was set forth in ballets d'action. Now this is exactly the
case in the surviving mysteries of the Bushmen. Shortly after the
rebellion of Langalibalele's tribe, Mr. Orpen, the chief magistrate in
St. John's Territory, made the acquaintance of Qing, one of the last of
an all but exterminated tribe. Qing 'had never seen a white man, except
fighting,' when he became Mr. Orpen's guide. He gave a good deal of
information about the myths of his people, but refused to answer certain
questions. 'You are now asking the secrets that are not spoken of.' Mr.
Orpen asked, 'Do you know the secrets?' Qing replied, 'No, only the
initiated men of that dance know these things.' To 'dance' this or that
means, 'to be acquainted with this or that mystery;' the dances were
originally taught by Cagn, the mantis, or grasshopper god. In many
mysteries, Qing, as a young man, was not initiated. He could not 'dance
them out.' {42}
There are thus undeniably close resemblances between the Greek mysteries
and those of the lowest contemporary races.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account