RG ST 12 Lecture Notes - Lecture 19: Kabaka Of Buganda, Cynocephaly, Scavenger
Document Summary
Liminality: state of accepting a boundary or limit,between 2 realms of being. Guide or hound dead on underworld paths. Replaces yama as death god in benares. Opener of northern path of the dead. Sirius (egyptian sothis) the dog star in canis major, facing canis minor. Heliacal rising of sirius begins dog days, deadly summer heat and opening gates of hell. Dogs, dog effigies buried, serve as guides. Ghost dogs foretell death dogs and origin of death. God and erlik (satan) create human bodies. Erlik defiles human bodies with spittle, morphs underworld spirit with dog. God turns human bodies inside out, places dove (soul) within dualist mythology. Good god"s ability to complete human creation. Dog"s lack of loyalty as guardian of incomplete man. Human body battleground between forces of good and evil. Divine soul trapped in demonic body cave of the seven sleepers. Faithful dog guards cave in which 6 saints sleep for 100s of years.
