Page 152 - Communication Processes Volume 3 Communication Culture and Confrontation

The Donkey 127

Figure 4.1
The Dynamics of Spatial Segregation

Source: Created by the author.
be impotent and subaltern. They depend on the will of the terrestrial
agencies, which have to be placated and convinced in the first place.
They have to send their representatives for reaching a compromise.
This representative finds himself in such a position of weakness that
he has to bow down at the feet of a donkey and make an unconditional
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apology to Vayu in the name of all the gods. The gods cannot on their
own volition impose their will or implement their wishes.
We may figuratively see this static balance of power where each of
the protagonists holds the other party in check, although differently,
through vertical discrimination on the part of the gods and through
direct control on life on the part of terrestrial agencies (Figure 4.2).

Figure 4.2
The Static Balance of Power

Source: Created by the author.

The Means of Control
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Vayu, the wind, is projected as the element of life on earth. Life is syn-
onymous with breath. The opposite of life, death, starts as living beings
suffocating for want of the breath of life. Symbolically, life is under the
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control of Vayu: as soon as wind stops blowing, life discontinues and all