GR Herero religion

[jbor]

>> "The history of the old Hereros is one of lost messages. It began in
>> mythical times, when the sly hare who nests in the Moon brought death among
>> men, instead of the Moon's true message. The true message has never come."
>> 
>> Enzian is born into a situation where traditional Herero religion and
>> culture has already been corrupted by contact with Europeans. The story of
>> his parentage symbolises how his life is tainted from the get-go.

on 19/4/03 1:54 PM, Terrance at lycidas2 at earthlink.net wrote:

> That's right. The Herero religion, prior to its contact with the white
> christian world was organized and functioned.

I don't think that Herero culture and beliefs, as described in the text, are
quite the same thing as "organised religion". I'm not sure that any opinion
is given about the Herero myths and their modes of worship and how these
related to and influenced their social systems, lifestyle etc (i.e. the way
religion operated in their society). But I agree that it is the Christianity
brought both by missionaries and by imperialists, and the way in which it is
brought, which decimates Herero culture and society. In fact, this is a very
good example of organised religion copping a bad rap in the novel.

So I think we agree. Traditional Herero society and culture aren't denounced
in the novel. The attempted imposition of Christianity by missionaries and
colonial imperialists is. In general, organised religion cops a bad rap in
Pynchon's texts.

best