Michael Raaterova threw out the question:
> Another interesting
>side to all of this is the Queen's view of the same ceremony. I'm not
>really sure what her view might be, at least not the mythical aspect.
>
>Possibly it might be to turn the turbulent violence of the God into
>harmonious creation, though i'm not sure. Anyone have an idea?
It struck me to suggest that the "Huluppu-Tree" myth about Inanna and (to a lesser degree) Gilgamesh might make an interesting reference point (Michael had already mentioned the potential parallel to the Sumerian kings' tradition of sacred marriage, so to some extent I suppose he's already pointed to this possible answer himself). To some extent, Inanna's interest in the sacred marriage is a transitional one; it marks her departure from "adolescence" into adulthood (I base this both on the myth itself and on Diane Wolkstein's analysis, since it's her & Kramer's translation I'm referring to). IMO there's a bit of essentializing going on here, women as Woman etc., but as that seems to fit Orlanthi culture I'd be willing to float the notion that the Queen views the KoDP rites as an initiatory rite (the last big rite) into both womanhood and goddess/priesthood. Gilgamesh's actions in the Huluppu-Tree myth strike me, incidentally, as being interesting fodder for the cultic acts of the KoDP ceremony -- killing the serpent and driving away the Anzu-bird (driving away quasi-sexual threats), driving away Lilith (Maran Gor, then, as the embodiment of the Queen's own "unfettered sexuality"? I initially thought Gogorma, but that didn't seem to fit Orlanthi DP), carving her throne and her bed from the sacred tree as wedding gifts.
Gilgamesh's carving of Inanna's throne also suggests another alternative; Wolkstein notes that the sacred marriage also serves as Inanna's initiation into full goddess-hood, the moment in which she comes into her full powers as Queen of Heaven and takes her divine throne. In a sense, the KoDP ceremony could function just as well as a _Queen_ of Dragon Pass ceremony; the priestess/ruler involved is herself ritually confirmed to a higher mythic place as Queen of the Land. In this way, the choice of who fulfills the goddess' role does actually become important, as it could mark a mythic, religio-political transition for her as well as for her new husband: marrying the FHQ in a KoDP ceremony effectively makes her the Queen of Dragon Pass; marrying the Kiro Fin high priestess would do the same for her (unless of course, as has been suggested previously on the list, there's really only one True Queen of Dragon Pass, in which case this point is moot).
Anyway, just a thought. As a side note, is the Granite Phalanx cult write-up available on either ftp or somebody's web site? Just curious.
Later,
Mark
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