(no subject)

[felis_ultharus]

Some Dalits in the village of Bankagaon are building a temple to the English language, deified as a goddess.

The purpose of translating English to godhood is to encourage the study of English, which is seen as the best means to escape the poverty and desperation that the old (officially dead) caste system condemned them too.

Clearly, she'll have to be one of the Sacred Whore goddesses of the Aphrodite vein. She's had vocabulary with half the languages on earth - to say nothing of the promiscuous origins of her grammar.

So, yeah. The work week is over. So much to do, so little energy to do it with.

Comments

[helenseidolon.livejournal.com]

That is super interesting! I reposted it on facebook (with credit given).

It's a really interesting parallel to what people think about imperial cult nowadays - sure, it encouraged deference to the emperor and all, but it was often the impetus of locals (local elites, anyway) and empowered them within the imperial system.

[felis-ultharus.livejournal.com]

That is interesting. I think mos people who've given it any thought just assume that the imperial cults were stronger in the metropolis, rather than the hinterland.

[helenseidolon.livejournal.com]

I guess it depends on how you define 'hinterland' and 'metropolis'. Imperial cult took hold much faster and with more vigour in the east,so if you mean 'Rome' by metropolis, then yeah. I suspect that it was still more popular in big cities in the east than in the rural areas, though.

[felis-ultharus.livejournal.com]

That's really interesting. Thank you!