Following on from our earlier piece looking at 'Barbarian' in Vedic understanding - here are several further examples .. along with broader Indo-European comparanda contextualizing each. Two of these were furnished by the same associate [A.P.] whom I had been discussing with in the excerpt posted earlier. I have not independently tracked them down in … Continue reading ‘Nomads’, ‘Murmurers’, & ‘Death-Seekers At the Border’ – Three Further Perspectives On Barbarians Drawn Into The Broader Indo-European Sphere
Vratya
A Brief Point On “Barbarian” Labelling In Sanskrit
Earlier, I'd been discussing with associates the curious co-occurrence of Barbaros / Barbara in Sanskrit and Ancient Greek respectively. This lead to the following - presented here for a broader audience. "as applies the linguistics, I think from memory that earliest attested occurrences in Ancient Greek are some centuries prior to earliest attested occurrences in … Continue reading A Brief Point On “Barbarian” Labelling In Sanskrit
A Brief Point Upon Sacred Hospitality, The (Wandering) God-Guest, And Vratya
When we think of the concept of the Indo-European Sacred Hospitality, we understandably immediately conjure up the Greek custom of 'Xenia' - and Zeus and Hermes going in disguises to test same. What is less-known is that Athena, too, has a patronage-portfolio role over this area under her Aegis likewise - part of a persistent … Continue reading A Brief Point Upon Sacred Hospitality, The (Wandering) God-Guest, And Vratya
Fundaments Of Indo-European Ritual
The following is a basic run-through of the fundaments of an Indo-European act of piety. Ostensibly, it is explication of how Vedic ritual processes work - but as Witzel (excellently) points out, it is also very much how our current-day Hindu ritual understandings work as well. I say that it presents an "Indo-European act of … Continue reading Fundaments Of Indo-European Ritual
The Transcendent Indo-European Typology Of The God Of Masks – The Sky Father Dances On [ On The Indo-European ‘Interpretatio’ Of Dionysus Part Dieux ]
In my previous piece upon the subject, I asserted that Dionysus is a facing of the Indo-European Sky Father; and sought to illustrate this via the illumination of a range of connections of Dionysus to a range of figures from the broad Indo-European mythology - both Greek and of further afield. This article shall go … Continue reading The Transcendent Indo-European Typology Of The God Of Masks – The Sky Father Dances On [ On The Indo-European ‘Interpretatio’ Of Dionysus Part Dieux ]
On The Indo-European ‘Interpretatio’ Of Dionysus – A Roaring Exaltation Of The Sky Father Comparatively Considered
Dionysus is a deservedly fascinating figure. And also a badly misunderstood one. As are many Greek deities, especially in their comparative Indo-European situation. I have written upon the linkages of Dionysus to various facings - dramatic masques, we may perhaps say - in other Indo-European pantheons in the past, and shall not seek to repeat … Continue reading On The Indo-European ‘Interpretatio’ Of Dionysus – A Roaring Exaltation Of The Sky Father Comparatively Considered
On Reclaiming ‘Barbarian’
The time has come, I think, to 'reclaim' the term "Barbarian". Now, in some circles this has already happened - it is utterly uncontroversial, because there is the implicit recognition that what "Barbarian" refers to , is one's own ancestors … the negative, fearful connotations thereof, being those affixed by the other people who had … Continue reading On Reclaiming ‘Barbarian’
MahaShivRatri And The Mytholinguistics Of War [Part 3] – The Mind, The Mania, The Manyu
[Author's Note: It is said that some efforts take on a 'mind of their own'. While this was initially intended as the third part to our MythoLinguistics of War series, with a focus more narrowly upon the strong saliency of Indo-European concepts of "Mind" and 'Spirit' with those of Warfare - as the writing progressed, … Continue reading MahaShivRatri And The Mytholinguistics Of War [Part 3] – The Mind, The Mania, The Manyu