| What Could Be More Natural? | |
by Peter Kohler
One subject that frequents most folks' thoughts from adolescence onwards is sex. And as a group or a culture (no matter which, nor where) we're often not quite sure how to address the subject amongst ourselves, broadly speaking — and in some instances, even within our own minds. But relax! This has been the case with lots and lots of people all along. To this day you can find even amongst mummies and skeletons those who will blush at a frank reference to some particular detail about sex.
I have a penis. It's an ordinary part of my body that has been hanging around for as long as I've been doing the same. Sometimes it tucks in close and just kind of rides along; other times, with desire, it reaches out to the world. Some of its moods and antics can be quite amusing.
Penises make constant appearances, as it were — explicitly or by inference — in myths and legends from all over the map, and from classical times up to modern urban legendry.
Here we are going to take a peek at a story from the Hopi tribe of Native North America that tells of a spring-fed pool beside a cliff where the women came to bathe. Naturally, when they washed they lifted up their dresses. Often when they did that they heard a voice issuing out from one of the many small holes in the cliff. "Oq, oq, oq," it said.
The women would listen, intrigued, and sometimes examine the cliff to try to locate the source of the sound, but they could not find it. "Oq, oq, oq, oq, oq."
One afternoon, however, while the women were taking a bath, one of them happened to notice something protruding slightly from one of the holes in the cliff. It had a big head and was entirely bald, and seemed to be the source of the voice. Eager then to find out if it could really get going, all of the women stared up at it while pulling up their dresses and splashing water onto their vaginas to wash themselves. This caused the thing in the cliff to push out even farther. "Oq, oq, oq... oq..."
Well now, this was interesting. So the women all lifted their dresses clear up to their necks, and ultimately removed them entirely. The curious thing poked out still farther at this. In response, the women then brought their hands down and spread their legs, exposing themselves utterly. And now the thing in the cliff strained out to its utmost, the better to see this fine display. It jutted right out until it lost its balance and fell, dropping to the ground headfirst. When it struck the rocks, the top of its head cracked open.
As we can see, the thing that had been ogling the women was a penis. And that is why all penises are now split at the top.
Well now. The Hopi were comfortable about all matters sexual - and about all matters of survival, as their homeland was the harsh and unforgiving and beautiful deserts and mountains of what is now the southwestern United States, where it behooved men and women to be frank about important things. And one thing they noticed and told stories about, was that penises just keep popping up all over the place. Of course — penises want to survive and carry on every inch as much as vaginas do. And what could be more natural?
Peter Kohler is a writer and bookseller based in Portland, Oregon
Further reading:
The Blind and Prophetic
When the Greek gods had questions about sex, who did they turn to? Here's some classic information often passed over in courses on classical mythology.The Man on Page 602
This amusing urban legend from the mid-1970s had people all over the U.S. scrutinizing men's underwear ads in the Sears catalog for, er... dangling participles.Shiva Linga
An interesting contextual presentation of the lingam (penis) and yoni (vagina) in ancient Indian mythology.Trickster Loses Most of His Penis
Native American lore about the ubiquitous "Trickster" character often features sexual and/or scatalogical themes, as in this example.
