Review: Marinus van der Sluijs' "Traditional Cosmology"

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JP Michael
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Review: Marinus van der Sluijs' "Traditional Cosmology"

Unread post by JP Michael » Sun Mar 01, 2020 12:27 pm

Traditional Cosmology
by Marinus Anthony van der Sluijs
All-Round Publications, London. 2011-2018.

The work is best seen as the premier reference guide to comparative mythology: "as indispensable to the study of myth and religion as a taxonomic catalogue of species is to biologists and comparative vocabularies and grammars are to linguists" (1.56). It is the book he wished he had growing up, "a comprehensive, categorised treatment of cosmological traditions" (1.57).

In volume 1, Rens outlines his purpose (pp. 14-22) methodology (pp. 23-46) and pre-empts some critical objections, namely, unpreserved complete prototypes, excessive reductionism, extreme comparisons and 'cherry picking' of data, the primary accusation levelled at Velikovsky's treatment of mythological material.

Regarding the structure and style of the book, van der Sluijs makes no qualms:
Marinus van der Sluijs wrote:This work does not cater to fashions in writing, but values precision and detail. Treating all human cultures as equal, it allows voices from many ethnic backgrounds to be heard with more intellectual curiosity than condescension. (p. 59)
The series is a dictionary of cosmological motifs, much akin to those developed by David Talbott, albeit with a primary focus on the axis mundi. Rens' scholarly neutrality permits every voice to be heard on a given cosmological motif, although he freely admits that the work is but an abridged version.

This, in fact, is my primary criticism of the work. The abridged nature, he admits, is primarly due to incomplete research on some sources, with certain regions under-represented (eg. China, Arabia, Maori) due to his continuing effort of collating and sorting source materials. This demonstrates the passionate and intellectually honest heart of the man behind the work, that he would rather omit incomplete or unverified material than include it with the possibility of later exclusion. But, please sir, I want some more!

Moreover, "the text is monotonous, bone-dry and dense, containing a higher proportion of literary quotations from primary sources than actual connecting text" (1.60). This is probably an overstatement, as I found the text to be mentally stimulating in its objective neutrality. Rens does not come to conclusions, nor present secondary commentary of scholars who do, excepting in Volume 6 where he regularly interjects his commentary regarding suspect or dubious sources or conclusions of secondary scholarship. His goal is to employ his impressive linguistic talents to supply source material to prospective researchers and leave it entirely to the reader to decide what it all means. All footnotes he has translated into English are listed in an appendix at the end of each volume, alongside extensive bibliographies and a detailed index.

Volumes 1-4, published in 2011, comprise the bulk of the thematic collection, accounting for 425 individually identified motifs under a number of categorical headings, listed below (individual motifs omitted; for these you will need to buy the book!). Volumes 5 and 6, published in 2018, supplement these with an additional 22 solar and lunar anomalies, eg. pillar sun, cross sun, fixed sun, multiple suns and moons, and 19 miscellaneous motifs, eg. giant beings, comets, fossils as mythical beings, an edible sky, etc.

Anyone who is interested in attaining a go-to reference work for mythological themes, this series will supply your needs until such time that Rens finally completes his magnum opus: the same material entirely unabridged in a resplendent cacophony of voices testifying in unison of a time when the world had a different sky. Of that day I eagerly await, first in line in the queue methinks!
Marinus van der Sluijs wrote:Whereas ... one would need several lifetimes to exhaust the available repositories of tradition, enough has been uncovered to demonstrate that traditional cosmologies worldwide share a large set of equally perplexing beliefs. The game is afoot. (1.58)
Vol 1. Preliminaries, Formations
Marinus van der Sluijs wrote:The cosmos develops from a state of chaos, via the transitory stage of a fundamental enclosing particle, into a sheet system of sky, atmosphere, earth and underworld. The axis mundi emerges. (1.60)
  • Chaos
  • Spiral
  • Particle
  • Separation
  • Expansion
Vol 2. Functions
Marinus van der Sluijs wrote:The basic properties of the axis mundi are discussed. (1.60)
  • Connectivity
  • Contiguity
  • Conicity
  • Liminality and centrality.
  • Vitality
  • Luminosity
  • Conductivity
Vol 3. Differentiation
Marinus van der Sluijs wrote:The cosmos fragments in a variety of ways. Concentric rings or windings, layered heavens and underworlds and cardinal directions develop around the axis mundi. The column or its extremities split into two or three. And holes are formed at the intersection of the column and the framework of the cosmos. (1.60)
  • Concentricity and Helicity
  • Vertical Segmentation
  • Radial Segmentation
  • Spin
  • Birfurcation
  • Duplication and Triplication
  • Solidity and Perforation
Vol 4. Disintegration
Marinus van der Sluijs wrote:The cosmos disintegrates through a number of catastrophic events. The axis mundi is disrupted. The regions of the cosmos are freshly populated, mythical beings depart from the earth and the mythical era is ended. The future will bring a repetition of the epic of past creation and destruction. (1.60)
  • Disruption
  • Disconnection
  • Dispersion
  • Inversion
  • Departure
  • Periodisation
  • Eschaton
Vol 5. Solar and Lunar Anomalies

Vol 6. Miscellaneous Themes.

seasmith
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Joined: Fri Mar 28, 2008 1:59 am

Re: Review: Marinus van der Sluijs' "Traditional Cosmology"

Unread post by seasmith » Sun Apr 19, 2020 11:37 pm



Excellent review JP

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