Re: the Salaciousness of Anthropology
Len Piotrowski (lpiotrow@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu)
Fri, 23 Aug 1996 20:37:25 GMT
In article <321E0B27.623E@best.com> Joel and Lynn Gazis-Sax <gazissax@best.com> writes:
>[snip]
>OK, given that there have been many questions to describe the procedure
>(gulp) here goes. Not for the squeamish:
>Australian aborigines mark the passage into manhood by altering the
>penis. Unlike Jews and other peoples who are content with removing
>foreskins, the aborgines have a grand plan. Using stones knives,
>they open a slit down the bottom length of the male organ. For the
>rest of your life, this slit remains open, allowing the semen to
>dribble through it.
>I don't know or believe that they use any anesthetic when they
>perform this little operation. Pain is part of the rite of
>passage.
>All I can say now is: You guys asked for it.
The wound doesn't remain open "For the rest of your life," except by
intentionally reopening it while in totemic and dream time contexts mapped to
the physical landscape. Semen doesn't dribble through the wound, but blood is
let during the reopening of the wound as a kind of consecration of the dream
time grounds associated with actual locations. There is no anesthetic, then
again, there is also no need to hype what already is a total commitment, and
continuing sacrifice of life, the body, society, and the world to the dream
time creators.
Cheers,
--Lenny__
"If you can't remember what mnemonic means, you've got a problem."
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