"... the resemblance between the
respective names between the demiurges in M415
and M416, in both of
which they are subjected to the ordeal of a flood which destroys
mankind and then entrusted with the reorganization of the world,
suggests that the two symmetrical episodes of the original legless
couple and the demiurge's daughters with broken legs should be
treated as inverted sequences.
Amalivaca broke his
daughters' legs in order to prevent them travelling hither and
thither and to force them to remain in one place, so that their
procreative powers, which had no doubt been put to wrong uses during
their adventurous wanderings, should henceforth be confined to
increasing the Tamanac population.
Conversely, Mayowoca
bestows legs on a primeval and, of necessity, sedentary couple, so
that they can both move about freely and procreate.
In M415,
the sun and the moon are fixed or, to be more exact, their joint
representation in the form of rock carvings provides a definitive
gauge of the moderate distance separating them and the relative
proximity uniting them. But, since the rock is motionless, the river
below should - supposing creation were perfect - flow both ways,
thus equalizing the journeys upstream and downstream.
Anyone who has
travelled in a canoe knows that a distance that can be covered in a
few hours when the journey is downstream may require several days if
the direction is reversed.
The river flowing two ways
corresponds then, in spatial terms, to the search, in temporal
terms, for a correct balance between the respective durations of day
and night ... such a balance should also be obtainable through the
appropriate distance between the moon and the sun being measured out
in the form of rock carvings ..." (The Origin of Table Manners) |