Lectures on Ethnology and Mythology

Myths and rites are closely linked to each other. In fact, there is no rite that is not connected with some mythical developments… Sacrificial ceremonies or initiation ceremonies may also be called reproductions of the actions performed by totemic ancestors or culture-creating heroes. Two ideas meet here in a very general way: first, myth was created during the mythical period; second, when people celebrated the myth, they did nothing other than imitate the ancestors, heroes etc. who had first performed this rite, this ceremony… In any way it is possible to link myth with the complexes of rites and observations, as their justification, and with the communities that, in every society, have practiced these rites as a self-justifying relationship. Human society, for example, also gives rise to the rite of initiation, a necessary phase of reproduction and identification of the family and human community; and this justifies these ceremonies, which are varied and have special developments in different places and peoples… The mythical processing of this rite contains the figures of great gods or heroes, as well as the creation of new generations. The mythical world is a reflection of itself, a reflection in which it (itself) exists as a result of a new unexpected state, which can also be called the state of return, the reason for which is the preservation and continuation, within being, of action.