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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture From: Cecil T Ault <[log in to unmask]> > Black has been the color in infinity/life/death in the Indo-European world for millenia. yet the Islamic Suiciders of our own Enlightened Era wear white for their final home movies --there seems to be a tradition of white being associated with death in at least part of the Islamic world. >For the Greeks, it was the darkness of the underworld. In India, to this day, black is the color of the goddess Kali who is, herself, black. She is all powerful. She is life and death. She wears a garland of skulls around her neck. In her begining manifestation, she is Durga, the wife of Shiva. on whose dead body she is usally depicted as dancing, presumably after having taught the poor fellow some kind of lesson regarding Attachments. quite a gal, Kali. >She is still worshipped in north east India. and, ocassionally, in Southern Indiana. but, all that being said, it still doesn't explain *why* black has such associations, in so many cultures. the Undertakers' Mythology offers an explanation. whether that explanation is true or not is another issue. c ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html