*chirp*

[mol]

Hear them crickets?

[Twilight Garden]

:nyah: ...and the froggies. ::ribbit::

[Nissala]

:eek: and them baby birdies!:D

[Myst]

psst who wants bets on how fast this goes to JS :lol:

[WandererInGray]

:D Or we could leave it here....get a little sound besides the crickets in this forum.

Uzume, the Goddess of Laughter (origin, Japan)
Loki, Trickster (origin, Norse)
Coyote, Trickster (origin, Native American, multiple tribes)


Anyone else know of any Gods/Goddesses who's primary (or even secondary) purpose is bringing laughter and fun into the world?

(Myst gave me permission to put back in that if anyone would like to see that link to Uzume, could you please PM me and I'll send it off to you. *smiles*)

[Myst]

Wanderer, I'm afraid that tale isn't appropriate at all here, please remove the URL :)

(psst if anyone wants to discuss that please PM me rather then arguing here, thanks!)

[Phoenix Blue]

Heh, back to chirping, then. :nyah:

[Myst]

I repeat, if you have a problem discuss it with me in PM, not in public.

I don't think I need to have to close the thread, right?

[WandererInGray]

We see the role of the laughing gods or goddess most often in the form of the Trickster. I'd say the two most noticeable of those are the Native American Coyote and the Norse god Loki.

To me, tricksters help us deal with that all to often inability we all have to laugh at ourselves and at the world around us instead of getting all bent out of shape about it. They also teach lessons, very wise lessons in the form of complete absurdity.

The ways that they accomplish these things are many and varied. And interestingly enough, in some of the Native American tribes (I cannot remember which ones off the top of my head) actually had people who were called to play the role of the trickster within the community.

Both Coyote and Loki were alternately jeered and respected by their respective divine communities.

The story of Loki tells that he was banished from the community for his responsibility in the death of Baldr, and that he supposedly will oppose the Gods at Ragnarok.

*ponders* Darn, there was something else I wanted to say about these two but I can't remember what it is. :D Maybe later.

[Melysande]

Hathor is another one who was considered a goddess of joy and laughter. Interestingly, she shared some of the other, uh, attributes of Uzume.

Bes was an Egyptian dwarf god with blue skin, a wild beard, a crazy grin, and, uh, more attributes in common with Uzume. His main purpose was to be a menace toward evil, but into the process, you couldn't help but laugh at the way he looked. It was supposed to represent how one should laugh at one's fears.

[Lavender]

Heheh! All this from *chirp*!

As a child, my grandfather used to tell me stories of a Chinese version of Loki. I wish I could remember the name of that God now. I loved those stories, though.

[Danustouch]

Reading this partially reminded me of Sheila Na Gig. The look on the face of those carvings, were frightening to the early Christians settling in Ireland, but I always thought her face to be almost a face of laughter...

[Melysande]

I read in my Pregnancy and Childbirth book that an icon of Sheila Na Gig was used to represent orgasm during childbirth as a way to ease the mother-to-be's labor pains.

[Nissala]

Okay Mol, can you explain how this has gone from chirping crickets to this? :T

*psst* the power of the site god is stronger than expected...eh?

[Danustouch]

I read in my Pregnancy and Childbirth book that an icon of Sheila Na Gig was used to represent orgasm during childbirth as a way to ease the mother-to-be's labor pains

Do you remember where you read that? I've always been told that the sheila na gig represented the cycle of death, and rebirth, and initiation into womens mysteries.

However, the orgasm/labor pain thing doesn't make sense for why the sheila na gig carvings were originally used...imo.

Because in the middle ages, and the earlier era's..childbirth was a VERY serious event, not only did they have the pain to worry about, but also, the mere fact of childbirth alone was frightening during that time period. Worrying about bleeding to death during birth, about your child not living through the birth, or yourself not living through the birth..etc.

[mol]

Originally posted by Nissala
Okay Mol, can you explain how this has gone from chirping crickets to this? :T

*psst* the power of the site god is stronger than expected...eh?

:)

[Melysande]

Danustouch ~ I'll look for the book. If I can find it, I'll try to find the story for you. I didn't mean to imply that it was used earlier in history. I meant that the image was used for it nowadays. :)

[Danustouch]

ahhhhh..ok :) I misunderstood. Though, i must admit..I can't imagine thinking of sexual fulfillment during labor..then..OR now. ;)

[Mnemosyne]

Ouch :eek: I couldn't imagine orgasm during childbirth. Even though I have never had a child, I have heard so many stories about it.

On to more jovial thoughts, the god who makes me think of happiness and laughter is Hotei, one of the Shichi Fukujin Japanese dities. I have a book on dieties of East Asia. The book has pictures of some of the statues of the dieties. The sculptures of Hotei always bring a smile to my face. :)