Creation, Cows and Sacrifice | Jon White on the Motifs and Interpretation of Indo-European Mythology

Jon White has studied Indo-European mythology for more than thirty years, particularly focusing on cosmogony and creation myths. As an independent researcher and lecturer, he shares this knowledge on his KZbin-channel ‪@Crecganford‬.
Mr. White visits Cave of Apelles to detail the major motifs or "mythologems" of the Indo-European mythological tradition and what they denote. Considering that the Indo-Europeans lived in the Pontic-Caspian steppes about 7000 years ago, how did their stories spread to ancient India, Persia, Rome or Norse Scandinavia - changing, yet still retaining their core?
Combining the study of myths with fields like linguistics, archeology and etymology Mr. White will unravel cross-cultural similarities in stories like The Cosmic Twins, Defeating the dragon, The cattle raiding myth and The wild hunt.
He will also share his ideas on how we best are to understand myths. Are they projections of the human psyche, the condensed ethos of a culture or symbolic manifestations of natural and cultural history?
More intriguing still: is the presence of myths and archetypal images particular to Homo sapiens or have they been transferred between human species?
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Chapter markers:
00:00 Intro
01:27 Who is Jon White?
04:21 Defining “myth"
11:57 The Indo-European creation myth and sacrifice of the cow
19:22 Who were the Indo-Europeans?
24:06 The academic study of myths
30:18 Cattle, three-headed monsters and Twins of creation
37:36 “Fame does not decay” - the magic of writing
41:00 Over 70 000 years of fighting the dragon
45:59 From cows to women - the problem of translation
50:27 The veracity of the poetic and prose Edda
56:27 The divine twins vs the creation twins
1:00:11 Defining “archetype”
1:04:31 What is NOT Indo-European?
1:06:25 Mythology and mindset
1:08:29 Inuit myths, and stars as protagonists
1:13:41 Ways of understanding myth
1:16:51 Polytheist vs monotheist worldviews?
1:21:25 Myths as projection of the human psyche?
1:31:39 Myths as condensed images
1:34:17 Pre-human myths?
This episode featured Jon F. White & Jan-Ove Tuv and was filmed and edited by Bork Nerdrum.
The centerpiece was a reproduction of "Sleeping Twins" by Odd Nerdrum.
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[@Crecganford]

Thank you for our great conversations, and your hospitality, it led to a very memorable time within the Cave of Apelles!

[@jan-ovetuv3836]

And thank you, Jon, for coming! The possibility of inter-species myths still haunts me…

[@FeFefcc]

I don’t the miss judgment and trying to use an example or a argument with people that have no idea or interest. You can do your studies and work with out using people for a personal augment or agenda that you have. Which there was no idea that this was going on pls rethink it on your own time

[@cataphractus9800]

Thank you for this wonderful interview and for both your channels! Fantastic content on both!

[@HangrySaturn]

Awesome to see Jon White here!

[@Crecganford]

Thank you.

[@humanoid2423]

I'm always amazed by the similarities between indian & European culture

[@tobyplumlee7602]

Very interesting conversation! I thoroughly enjoyed the entire video.

[@Bjorn_Algiz]

Wonderful work ❤

[@timothygervais9036]

Great interview!!

[@stonesofdestinytribe]

Love this guy!

[@zipperpillow]

Jon's a homerun hitter, always worth your ear. Good get.

[@haerverk]

The ubiquity of the skill/art of storytelling and literacy being so essential for someone to reach "immortality" really just begs the question; what will be remembered and retold from our current era, where those skills belong to common folk? I'm 100% sure no one will know who pewdiepie is in 100 years, so what will be our equivalent of Odin or Zeus (in terms of fame) in 1000+ years? If I was a betting man I'd say someone like Luke Skywalker or Harry Potter. Which could go on to tell a lot about how people might have actually perceived the gods and heroes of our distant past. Are we left reading the equivalent of the comic books of our ancestors?

[@HangrySaturn]

🤔

[@Crecganford]

It comes down to "sacred truth", what is a fundamental person we believe that tells the truth and they will be remembered... and if you can't think of anyone, then that says a lot about today's society....

[@alexandravladmets8206]

Thor lifting "the cat" is scary stuff! If he managed to lift the paw he screwed with everything from time to the firmaments of the earth!...Aaaaah!

[@Exodus26.13Pi]

⭕ God told Moses on Mt. Sinai to use Pi 3.14 π as the cornerstone to build the Wilderness Tabernacle in 1440 BC. In 94 AD Josephus the historian wrongly described it as rectangular-shaped. Exodus 25-26-27 blueprints build a circular-shaped outer courtyard. What is superior, the bible or non-canonical established ecuametal history? 330 Exodus 26:8 eleven curtains each 30 cubits long 15 Exodus 26:12 one curtain is folded in half to 15 cubits long - 1 Exodus 26:13 curtain hang over/seams add to 1 cubit long = 314 3.14 = 314 circumference/100 diameter ≈ π ratio (100 cubit court per Exodus 27:9-18) ................. Is this like the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls or even Martin Luther's 95 Theses? How did we miss this for 1900 years and does it even matter anymore? .................. History of finding π: -(1900-1680 BC) Babylonian 3.125 for π -(1650 BC) Egyptians gave the approximate value of π 3.1605 -(1440 BC) Moses recorded Pi in the Exodus blueprints 3.141592653... Exodus 26:13 ≈ Pi -(500 BC) India's Aryabhata approximation was 62,832/20,000, or 3.141 -(429-501 BC) Zu Chongzhi a Chinese mathematician 3.1415926 - 3.1415927 -(250 BC) Archimedes from Syracuse showed between 3.1408 and 3.1429 ................. More than a thousand years removed Josephus did NOT know Exodus 26:13 approximated Pi. He was describing the Temple's structure and NOT, and NOT the Tabernacle from Exodus 25-26-27. See? Pi is coded in your DNA. Consider King Josiah & the Prophetess Huldah rediscovering the forgotten scriptures, right? Will Pharaoh let this go? כְּכֹ֗ל אֲשֶׁ֤ר אֲנִי֙ ⭕ Almost 3500 years ago "Exodus 26:13 ≈ Pi" was lost on Mt. Nebo when Moses died. Will religious and non-religious be thankful for this correction?

[@FeFefcc]

Very disappointed with this . Dose his arguments still count if it’s miss understood

[@haerverk]

What argument?

[@HangrySaturn]

Eh? What are you on about?

[@Crecganford]

What argument? What is misunderstood? I'm always happy to help and answer questions, and so if I can clarify something then please let me know.