trickster ruses

last night i gave a talk/led a discussion on trickster. some of you may be wondering who or what on earth trickster is!... (i'm going to be doing a session on it at the inclusive church conference as well)

lots of cultures around the world have a series of myths or stories that they tell that include a trickster character. this might be coyote, raven, hermes, brer rabbit, krishna, the fox… but in each case there are similarities in the roles and mischief that trickster gets up to.

i was first put onto this by kester and nic at vaux, who lent me a book by lewis hyde called trickster makes this world. in the book hyde outlines some of tricksters strategies and stories and asks the question of where trickster (or the spirit of trickster) still lives in the modern world. he is particularly interested in the role of some artists who seem to capture the spirit of trickster.

i found this a captivating notion, partly i suspect because i found myself in the trickster character and i could particularly see some of the approaches and strategies of people involved in alternative worship reflected in the trickster.

what i did last night was to identify 10 tricks or ruses that trickster plays. these aren't named as such in hyde's book - i have sort of sifted them out. if you are interested, click on the picture and there is an animated gif that has the 10 ruses... kester's book the complex christ has a great chapter on dirt that talks about trickster.

Technorati Tags: trickster

Comments

[Beef]

Thanks for that Jonny it has sparked some great thoughts in me, I will look forward to hearing you at Inclusive Church.

[jonny]

cool... how is your new adventure?... i'll catch up with you there

[Jen Lemen]

intoxicating.
can't wait to hear more.

[John Davies]

Have you explored much the idea of Christ as Trickster? Plenty of material there I suggest....

[Dana Ames]

From my limited knowledge of Hinduism, it seems to me that Shiva would qualify as a trickster in that worldview. Is it fair to say this, or am I way off the track?

This fascinates me too. I have wondered about this character ever since I heard about him in Native American myths. I live in a community with consciousness of and respect for the local Native culture, and I see this as a point of contact for deeper understanding.

Are you going to publish this anywhere, for those of us who can't get to England soon? :)

Blessings-
Dana Ames

[jonny]

my notes are not really worth publishing! the best bet is to get lewis hydes book. or do a search on tickster on the internet and there is a ton of stuff. you are probably right about shiva but i don't know enough to say...

[Kester]

Just on Christ as Trickster... I've tried to cover that in my book, The Complex Christ. It's basically all tied up with the way Christ crosses 'dirt boundaries'. Hyde talks a lot about how Tricksters play with dirt, but end up bringing heaven and earth closer by doing so.

If you'd like to discuss it further, there's a discussion board on the book at www.thecomplexchrist.com