Page 146 - Communication Processes Volume 3 Communication Culture and Confrontation

The Donkey 121

Box 4.1
Cognitive Mapping (Vdr-02)
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Title: Vayu stops blowing to avenge Hanuman: life vanishes. When he surrenders
to Śankar he curses the donkey who disclosed his hiding place.
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Semanteme:
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l Actant: Vayu, Surya, Śankar Hanuman, Indra, all gods, donkey;
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l Space: earth, heaven; tree: upon, down;
l Action: give birth, swallow, graze, jump, club, hide, toil, wander; blame, curse,
ask pardon, make apology;
l Function: fright, anger, appeasement, curse, life extinction on earth.
Mytheme:
l Jump to swallow a deity.
l Crowd of gods: impotency and scare.
l The weak, pivot of power games.
l The weak, scapegoat and victim.
Hermeneutics:
l Narrator’s insight: The narrative is meant to explain the donkey’s plight as a
curse.
l Analytic category 1: Contest and trial of the gods’ ascendancy over life on
earth: the balance is restored.
l Analytic category 2: Life on earth and the donkey are hostages and stakes in
feuds opposing celestials to terrestrials.
Cognitive forms:
l Causal explanation: The donkey’s lot is explained as the result of a consecu-
tion of events. The explanation makes sense with reference to a moral ground
of evaluation according to which one should keep one’s word. To renege one’s
own promise is a crime that calls for punishment.
l Will to power: A contest for power is going on between two parties. A given
balance is broken, only to be restored.
l Control on earth: The stake of the power contest and its object is the hegemonic
control of life on earth.
Logic mode:
l Antagonism
l Equilibrium
l Hierarchy
l Ternary play
Theme: Challenge to the god’s ascendancy on earth.
Process: Gods’ supremacy on earth is to prevail over attempts of subversion
and games of power.