# The cultural exchange thread.



## Beren (May 23, 2005)

I'm not sure this thread actually belongs here, but nevertheless:

We all come from different backgrounds, cultures and countries so how about a little thread for people to share some intersting stories, traditions, folktales or any other interesting fact about their cultural background?
I'm from Egypt so I'll start the thread with an Ancient Egyptian myth:

*The Myth of Isis and Osiris:*
Isis, Osiris and Seth were siblings, sons of the goddess Hathor (IIRC) which is the goddess of (procreative) fertility and "patron goddess" of pregnant women. Osiris fell in love with, and married, Isis his own sister (apparently such a thing was common at the time). Seth, green with envy, decided to murder his brother. In order to do so, he threw a great party and invited many people among whom was Osiris. Seth's party suprise was a precious coffin which he offered as a gift to whoever of the audience would fit inside it. (Death was sacred to the Ancient Egyptians, so such a gift would be considered a great honor). Needless to say, he had the coffin tailored to fit only Osiris. So each of the audience tried the coffin on (go figure http://entmoot.tolkientrail.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif ) and when Osiris went in, Seth locked the coffin up and had his brother killed.
Legend goes on to tell that he chopped up Osiris' body into pieces and scattered them in various parts of the Nile (Egypt's only river, and the longest in the world!). Isis, learning of that, endeavoured to bring together all the pieces of Osiris' body but she found one piece to be missing: the phallus! Tradition goes that it was swallowed by a crocodile in the Nile and that's why Ancient Egyptians reverred the crocodiles (I think!). So she used her "magic" powers to create another phallus for Osiris and then she revived him for the sole purpose of impregnating herself with a son that would eventually avenge his father. Osiris dies then and becomes the constellation Orion and the god of the Underworld. (Indeed it was believed that the souls of all the dead Pharaohs went up to one of the three stars know as Orion's belt, and the Great Pyramids are meant to be an accurate representation of these three stars). Isis then bore Osiris' son, Horus, who killed Seth thus avengeing his
father. Afterwards, Isis had many "medical" powers attributed to her and had the title "queen of the sky" among others. Horus became the protector of the pharaohs and it was believed that each pharaoh was a descendant of Horus.

Hope that wasn't too long!
Waiting to hear your stories


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## Beren (Jun 3, 2005)

Come on you guys, don't you have any story to share?


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## Hammersmith (Jun 4, 2005)

Beren, did you know that Isis, the Mother Goddess was loosely based on the Mesopotamian Goddess Istar? Did you also know that their "sacred colour" was blue and white, which is why the Virgin Mary is depicted wearing the colours in Catholic tradition? And did you know that Bob Dylan wrote a totally awesome song called _Isis_ that has nothing to do with much in particular, but is still really cool?  

When Rome was threatened by Barbarians, sacked and burned out, the legions were called home from the vast stretches of the Empire, plunging centres of culture and civilisation into darkness in a futile bid to save the heart of the Western Empire. Britain suffered horrendously from the attacks, with the Romano-Celtic leader, Vortigern the Fox, or The Red, inviting the Saex plunderers in from the seas and allowing one chieftain, Hengist, to occupy Tanatis in the English Channel and even many Roman forts along the coast. 

When Vortigern put aside his own wife for a Saxon woman, his tribesmen revolted, with many following his sons west to the Welsh mountains where the Celtic and Roman purists still held out amongst the fortresses and mountain passes. Their leader, a Roman Celt half breed prince, drove Hengist back, reclaiming vast tracts of what was now called Britain by the Romans and Celts, and Aengland by the Saex. From here, history plunges into legend and the Dark Ages begin.

It is possible - indeed, nothing is more likely - that a Roman prince named Artos succeeded the Roman Celt prince. It is hypothesised that with a band of warriors romanticised as the knights of medieval England he cleansed the land and set up a legend that would last forever. The stories of Arthur range from the incredible to the fantastic, but one thing can be said to run common in all stories;

The Once And Future King shall return to save England from her darkest hour.


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## e.Blackstar (Sep 26, 2005)

*mercilessly bumps the thread in the hopes that someone else will share some 'culture'*



> *The Once And Future King shall return to save England from her darkest hour.*



Darn right. *wishes she were genuinely English*


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## Wraithguard (Sep 28, 2005)

I am well over half Greek-Macedonian and was born in FYROM (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia). I was then carted off to England where I lived for three years before coming to the USA, specifically the Deep South (east).

Greek Mythology is fairly well known but the Titan aspect is a bit more inside. G-M is also known for its odd looking family trees.

As for the Titans there weren't very many. Gaia, Oranos, Oceanus, Kronos, Eos, Rheia, Hyperion, Helios, Prometheus, Epimetheus, Atlas, and Theia were a few. Gaia of course being the mother of the Titans. Some names can be very interesting when combined with modern terms.

(God of Time) Kronos = Chronology (Kronology)
(God of the Sun) Helios = Helium


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## Sammyboy (Sep 28, 2005)

@ e.blackstar - we really need that king to return, we're pretty much in that dark hour I think! 

I think the main 'cultural pastime' that many people in the UK partake in is the traditional 'friday night binge drink'. This is where large numbers of people achieve advanced states of mental incompetence by the repeated consumption of alcoholic drinks. Then start fights with each other outside the kebab shop at 2am!

Did anyone spot the Red Dwarf quote? 

Seriously though, there are some old British traditions that still just about carry on, like www.*morris**dancing*.org/][/color]Morris dancing.


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## Barliman Butterbur (Sep 28, 2005)

Since I was very deeply involved with a certain path of Hinduism for many many years, I will give you the story of how Ganesha (ga-NESH-ah) got his elephant head:

*Who is Ganesha?*

Lord Ganesha and his family: Parvati (PAR-vah-tee) (mother), and Siva (SHEE-vuh) (father). Lord Ganesha is one of the most famous and loved gods of Hinduism.

Lord Ganesha was born as a normal child to Lord Siva and Goddess Parvati, but came later to have a change of form and fate.

Lord Siva was an ascetic and for all of his marriage, he liked to roam in the forest. Right after the conception of their son, Ganesha, he decided to start a new journey, and told his faithful wife, Parvati, to wait, he would return soon. He did not return for about 15 years, during which time Ganesha grew to be a teenager.

From a young age, Ganesha knew he had a father, somewhere wandering in the forest, but he never saw him. Due to this, Ganesha would protect his mother by standing guard at the house each day, especially at the time for her bath. So, one day while she was bathing, Siva returned from the forest.

Remember that Siva knows he has a son, but has been gone for such a long time, he had no idea what he looked like. Similarly, Ganesha also would not know what his father looked like. So, when Lord Shiva returned, Ganesha unknowingly told his father to go away, as mother was bathing "And I cannot let anyone, especially strange men into the house."

Siva could not bear this stranger telling him not to enter his own house, so after some time, he became furious, and chopped the head off of Ganesha and went inside to his wife, Parvati, who was bathing.

Parvati shouted, "How can you come into the house, is not Ganesha there to protect me?"

Siva said he did not know anything about Ganesha, but had come in by beheading the man guarding the door!

Parvati wailed and shouted, "How can you kill our only son!??" Then Siva knew what damage he had done. And Parvati asked him to bring Ganesha back to life.

Siva said, "How can I do that? His head is severed and can not be reconnected!"

Parvati agreed that Siva should take the head off of the first living being in the area and attach it to the body of her son, so that he could live.
Siva saw an elephant, beheaded it, and attached the head to his son.

That is one of many stories of how Ganesha came to have the head of an elephant.

_Namaskar,_

Barley


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## Turgon (Sep 28, 2005)

I've often wondered why Arthur, or Artos, or whatever you wish to call him should come and save England in its hour of need. England is, after all, the land of his greatest enemies, Saxons, Angles, Jutes and all manner of nasty germanic types. Curiously there have been quite a few heirs to the English throne with the name of Arthur, but none have survived to becoming king. Hehe... there is no end to the villany of we English types... not only do we steal the lands of the Ancient Britons... we also steal their King. Believe me... it will be a dark day for the English when Arthur returns.


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## Hammersmith (Sep 28, 2005)

Sammyboy said:


> Did anyone spot the Red Dwarf quote?


Red Dwarf deserves to be a culture all of its own 



Turgon said:


> I've often wondered why Arthur, or Artos, or whatever you wish to call him should come and save England in its hour of need. England is, after all, the land of his greatest enemies, Saxons, Angles, Jutes and all manner of nasty germanic types. Curiously there have been quite a few heirs to the English throne with the name of Arthur, but none have survived to becoming king. Hehe... there is no end to the villany of we English types... not only do we steal the lands of the Ancient Britons... we also steal their King. Believe me... it will be a dark day for the English when Arthur returns.


 
Well if you want to split hairs about it, Lord Nelson's middle name was Arthur 
But otherwise it's a piece of romanticised, Francocised mythology based on a character who may or may not have existed. Henry VII's eldest son who died before he had a chance to reign (leaving the famous brother) was an Arthur, but I don't think there have been that many...


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## Tar-Elendil13 (Nov 21, 2005)

Anyone who knows me well knows what I will put. I am primarily German, Irish and English, though I have bloodlines in the Confederacy. There really aren't any myths of the Confederate culture that aren't told in the U.S., but chivalry was certainly something many Southern men had and many Northern men didn't, a fact that remains true to this day.


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## scotsboyuk (Oct 18, 2006)

This seems like a jolly good thread so I shall contribute something in the hope of getting it back on its feet.

Scotland is an acinet land, having been inhabited by human beings for at least 10,000 years. Over the years Scotland has been home to Picts, Irish Scots, Romans, Norse, English, French and in more recent times people from all over the world.

According to legend the kingdom of Alba (the Gaelic name for Scotland) was forged when Cináed mac Ailpín (Kenneth MacAlpin) became the first king of the Picts and Scots, thus uniting those peoples under one king.

All Scottish kings were crowned on the Stone of Scone (the Stone of Destiny) until it was captured by Edward I of England in 1297 and taken to Westminster Abbey in England. The stone was put in St Edward's Chair and English monarches were then crowned sitting on it. The Stone of Scone is said to be the stone used by Jacob in the Bible.

The British Isles are home to a great number of legends and myths, one of the most famous being King Arthur. As a historical figure some see Arthur as possibly being Ambrosius Aurelianus, the commander of the British forces at the Battle of Mount Bladon, who defeated the invading Anglo-Saxons. Ambrosius had a title comparable with High King of the Britons. I'm not sure if this can be equated with the later title of Bretwalda, which itself is a subject of debate. The Bretwalda is a term used in reference to certain Anglo-Saxon kings who were regarded as being the most powerful king in Britain at the time.

The legend says that Arthur is the once and future king, meaning that he will one day return to lead the British people.


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