Non ethno sword with strange inscription

RobT · 20th March 2005, 10:59 PM

Hi.
I have listened in to the forum for about two years and am deeply indebted to to the moderators and members for the knowledge gained. Due to my lack of a digital camera, my opportunities for contribution have been limited so this will be my first posting. I would like to point out the similarity between the lyrari/reraides legend that eftihis mentioned and the Mississippi delta blues legend in the US. According to the story, if a musician brings his guitar to the crossroads at midnight there will be someone waiting there (some say it's the devil but there is not complete agreement about this). The musician hands the guitar to the entity and the entity tunes up the guitar and hands it back to the musician. After that, the musician can play anything he (or presumably she) wants. The price for this service is proported to be rather high including sorrow, loss of loved ones, estrangement from the fellowship of men, madness, death, and/or loss of one's immortal soul. Considered against the typical existence of a black sharecropper in the delta however, it is arguably a good deal. It was said that the famous blues musician Robert Johnson, faced with that choice, made this bargain. The thing that I find amazing is that two dissimilar cultures, with no historical contact, could come up with such a similar legend.

Rick · 20th March 2005, 11:43 PM

Hi Rob , there seems to be a thread that connects many myths through many cultures .
An interesting book on this subject is Hamlet's Mill (An essay on myth and the frame of time) .

Yannis · 21st March 2005, 07:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobT

The thing that I find amazing is that two dissimilar cultures, with no historical contact, could come up with such a similar legend.

This contact could exist. Crete is only 300 km from North Africa. There was exchange of ideas since Ancient Egyptians – Minoans civilizations. I am not an expert on the subject but I see a probable link to Afroamericans and the blues culture.

Also I was dining with a lyrari 2 nights ago. I asked him about this legend and he agreed. In his version the musician has to point a finger out of the circle so Neraidas (=fairies) can bite and taste some of his blood.

A third person was there and he knew the legend too. In his version there are no Neraidas but devils, so the musician risks his soul.

Conogre · 21st March 2005, 12:59 PM

Old folk religions between the deep south and even more so, the mountainous regions is often truly amazing......that was the first region in which I'd ever heard of "sin eaters", long before the recent movie, and likewise an area in which folk tunes were often preserved almost intact directly from old Celtic songs, and verbally/musically, as many of the people were illiterate.
The lyrari/Neraidas goes all the way back to ancient Greece and before, while the blues analogy reared into popular culture a few years back with the song "The Devil Goes Down To Georgia" by the Charlie Daniels band.
Old Celtic folk tales are truly amazing, with so many, such as silkies/selkies, old Meg and such rooted thousands of years in the past.
Don't forget, the ancient Greeks were the original world travellers, as far as is known, and had direct contact with parts of Africa, Turkey (Troy) and others, to the point that even some of the old testament bible information from 2,000 years ago is directly attributable to them for its origins.
When this thread caught fire, the world wide membership responded in a fashion that shows how much the family of man actually is exactly just that much more so than any I can think of in a long while.
Mike

20th March 2005, 10:59 PM	#1
RobT Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 548	crossroads Hi. I have listened in to the forum for about two years and am deeply indebted to to the moderators and members for the knowledge gained. Due to my lack of a digital camera, my opportunities for contribution have been limited so this will be my first posting. I would like to point out the similarity between the lyrari/reraides legend that eftihis mentioned and the Mississippi delta blues legend in the US. According to the story, if a musician brings his guitar to the crossroads at midnight there will be someone waiting there (some say it's the devil but there is not complete agreement about this). The musician hands the guitar to the entity and the entity tunes up the guitar and hands it back to the musician. After that, the musician can play anything he (or presumably she) wants. The price for this service is proported to be rather high including sorrow, loss of loved ones, estrangement from the fellowship of men, madness, death, and/or loss of one's immortal soul. Considered against the typical existence of a black sharecropper in the delta however, it is arguably a good deal. It was said that the famous blues musician Robert Johnson, faced with that choice, made this bargain. The thing that I find amazing is that two dissimilar cultures, with no historical contact, could come up with such a similar legend.

20th March 2005, 11:43 PM	#2
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,339	Hi Rob , there seems to be a thread that connects many myths through many cultures . An interesting book on this subject is Hamlet's Mill (An essay on myth and the frame of time) .

21st March 2005, 12:59 PM	#4
Conogre Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Clearwater, Florida Posts: 371	Old folk religions between the deep south and even more so, the mountainous regions is often truly amazing......that was the first region in which I'd ever heard of "sin eaters", long before the recent movie, and likewise an area in which folk tunes were often preserved almost intact directly from old Celtic songs, and verbally/musically, as many of the people were illiterate. The lyrari/Neraidas goes all the way back to ancient Greece and before, while the blues analogy reared into popular culture a few years back with the song "The Devil Goes Down To Georgia" by the Charlie Daniels band. Old Celtic folk tales are truly amazing, with so many, such as silkies/selkies, old Meg and such rooted thousands of years in the past. Don't forget, the ancient Greeks were the original world travellers, as far as is known, and had direct contact with parts of Africa, Turkey (Troy) and others, to the point that even some of the old testament bible information from 2,000 years ago is directly attributable to them for its origins. When this thread caught fire, the world wide membership responded in a fashion that shows how much the family of man actually is exactly just that much more so than any I can think of in a long while. Mike