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From: Lloyd Barre
Dear bipolar_planet,
Please find an essay I have written regarding my experiences with the Bipolar Disorder. The piece is actually an autobiographically-based, psychological allegory. You may also read it by visiting my homepage at:
http://www.angelfire.com/ca2/AncientIsrael/
where you will find a link entitled, "On the Existence of the Puppet People."
Thank you very much.
Sincerely,
Lloyd M. Barre, Ph.D.
On the Existence of the Puppet People
By
Lloyd M. Barré, Ph.D.
This paper is about the so-called "puppet people," a very queer and obscure group of beings that I happened upon in November of 1989 while pursuing my profession as a researcher of myth and religion. For reasons that were forced upon me, I took up the task of documenting the existence of this "people" and their world. In what follows you will find information from two main sources. The first comes from my investigation of their oral tradition. My discussion with the bards of the realm have provided me with formal descriptions of the characters I was investigating. These I have reproduced below almost verbatim with some commentary. The second source is a story entitled "The Manipulation" that is told among these people for the "enlightenment" of certain troublesome puppets in their society. It found its way to me in June of 1997, at which time I immediately translated and now offer for the consideration of interested parties. My analysis of the "tale" has led me to think that we are here dealing with a sort of psychological allegory, in which characters and events symbolize psychological processes. I should say, however, that some of my colleagues urge that I am reading too much into the story. I will therefore leave the question with the reader.
We begin with descriptions that descend from oral tradition regarding these beings and their hidden domain. Note especially the queer quality of the names that often have to do with shadows and authority.
There is the one called the "shadow lord," although he has many dark names. It is said of him, "Flee the shadow lord, flee him now, for he will hurt you!" This is the one that deals in evil shadows, which he himself creates with his own puppet hands. These are the shadows of pain, sent forth from his own realm, created entirely out of stuff of the dark lord. This is the evil one. This is the shadow lord.
There is the one who calls himself the "Star King." But in the songs of children he is referred to as the "Star Stealer." He tries to trick children by calling himself "Mr. Star King" to make himself appear to be their friend. This never works. He has a shiny red face and a crown made of blue stars. This is one who steals the stars and uses them for great evil in his red cave.
The "thot puppets" are the invisible servants of the Star King. They are of two types: the extremely happy thots and the extremely sad thots. They hide among the normal thought processes and are difficult to detect. They cannot be eradicated. The best one can do is to first recognize them and then seek to understand their strategies as well as one can.
There are the "hand gods." Of them it is said,
Do not disturb the gentle ways of the hand gods
The gentle power of another
The sages of this land regard the hand gods as the most powerful beings among the puppet people. Tradition knows very little about them. I learned, however, that they are neither puppet nor human. Also, they are subordinate to a being called "the odd god."
The "stringed sirens" are literally string creatures, made entirely of string. Yet at random intervals, these creatures sing a self-invoked song to the hand gods:
Sing O stringed sirens
Sing of gods of hand
Sing of mediation
Songs of god in hand
The song is eerie in character and attracts both male and female. Once it is heard, one becomes virtually obsessed with its meaning and its mysterious powers. The song also causes very subtle, profound changes. The initiates into the Song become very powerful, so powerful that they must learn to conceal it. Thus, these "transformed ones" are recognized only by their fellow initiates. Most think them ordinary, until they are called upon to manifest their "spiritual" power, an event which has occurred only twice within living memory.
The "shadow rider" is another obscure figure inhabiting puppet land. He is given his name because, as the narrative translated below explains, he dwells in the "shadows," as does the shadow lord and another called the "shadow god." This is a poem about the shadow rider that I uncovered while among the sages of the puppet hamlets:
He walks between the shadows of the wind
He moves within the shadow of the winds
He rides upon the shadow of the wind
He is the shadow rider
The word within the Word
He knows the shadow of the puppet god
but not the puppet god himself
This is a rare prophetic puppet poem. Its authenticity is demonstrated by the fact that it is not punctuated. It speaks of the coming of the shadow rider who possesses special knowledge about the shadow, but not the form, of the one called the "puppet god." I do not wish to say too much on this subject, because that would be an imposition of my interpretation. I can say, at any rate, that the shadow rider is white upon a white horse. It is not known how he rides upon shadows, or where he goes within the shadow realm.
Next is the lament for the puppet god:
O pity the puppet god,
both man and beast
for he was once like you and me
so strong and so true
and just like you
This ritual lament would not have attracted attention had it not been for the last line of the poem. Many think that because of it, the lament may actually be a curse of the Star King in hidden form. The realm is deeply divided over the issue. Some pity, some do not.
The "shadow god," mentioned above, is one of the beings that inhabit the realm of the umbra. He is neither puppet nor human being. I have therefore not been able to find any songs about this personage. He may very well be a shadow as some speculate. It is not even certain whether he is a god. He is, however, very disturbing. Why he disturbs no one really knows. One curious note--the shadow god's diet consists entirely of an imported salt.
Then there is "Dolly." Of her it is whispered,
She is Dolly
She is a doll
She is not a puppet at all
This saying is a kind of chant that is used for creation of the "magic of The Doll" (note the rhyme). Although her formal title is "The Doll," she is generally known as "Dolly." She is extremely shy and so her appearances are rare. Dolly is quite small, small enough to be a puppet's doll. She is said to know much esoteric knowledge that she will only reveal in a whisper to one sleeping. Her secrets release a very subtle but powerful force. But note well that there are rumors that she has an extremely dark side. In legend, Dolly is the leader and "high priestess" of a cult-like group that is dedicated to exploring all aspects of anagrams, intuition, and mysticism.
I possess virtually no knowledge regarding She who is called the "Lord of children," except what may be gleaned from the story. She is a human being and of twelve years. As the oldest, She is the leader and representative of all the children. Together they dwell in the remotest eastern parts of the domain where they live in clans. These little ones tend to keep to themselves, "keeping their own counsel," as it is said.
In the preceding description of the hand gods, we noted that they were subordinate beings to the "odd god." A proverb about him circulates the land:
He is, after all, the odd god
The odd god "concept," as it is technically called, is studied by the intellectual puppets in the realm. But they have been dismissed by most as a result of their admission that, after years of research, they had discovered only "the most odd things." (Note the proverb's partial punctuation.)
These then, are the inhabitants of this "puppet land." Now to the translation of the story.
-----------------------------------
"The Manipulation"
Out of the west in a starless sky he appeared. He called himself the "Star King," wearing a bright red face and a crown of blue stars. He was angry and extremely grim. In his hand he held a scepter with a star on both ends--one black and one white. In the very center of the white star was yet another. It was also black in color and inverted. A crimson handle joined the stars. To the east stood a lone figure--the Lord of Children, watching.
Suddenly in a western sea there arose a storm of great fury that could not be seen but only heard because of the pure blackness of the night. When the storm reached its height, a small ray of light proceeded from the King, and fell upon the angry waves. Slowly, from between the waves, a shadowy figure took shape and began moving within the dark regions created by the light and the darkness. He was a hooded figure. He created shadows within shadows against the waves of the stormy sea, and as he did, the waters around him became perfectly calm, and perfectly dark. Once he had calmed the storm, there was heard a very low voice coming from the west growling "maaaaaaa shodos! Maaaaaa shodo lorr!"
To the east, the Lord of Children turned away, apparently in deep thought, yet undisturbed. To the west, the Star King descended toward his cave.
It was lit by a low, red glow emanating from the angry red face of the King. In his hands he held two small marionette puppets--one was male and one a smaller female puppet. These he made to dance before him to a chant in which he said over and over, "Puppa ma puppa ya er ma puppa [trans: "Puppets, my puppets, you are my puppets!"] Then he stopped and took the puppets outside where he gazed into a sky lit only by a lunatic moon. As he did so, two stars appeared, one in the extreme north and the other in the extreme south. The Star King raised his scepter, and cursed the light. The two stars then moved together, touched each other, and came to rest in bipolar constellation that covered the entire sky. Then they came, falling from the moon like tiny snowflakes. Down they came, falling upon the two marionettes like a moonbeam. This was the coming of the insidious thot puppets, who were able only to penetrate the larger of the two. The Star King wondered at this, became mildly disgusted, and then returned with his puppets to his cave.
Upon hearing of the rise of the dark lord, the shadow god arose and prepared to make his journey into the realm of the shadows. This trip was full of difficulty, even for the disturbing shadow god. In fact, during his journey he did not even understand his own shadow nature. When he had entered the gates of the obscure realm, the shadow god became confused, so much so that he disturbed even himself. What was he? Shadow, puppet, god, human being, or other?
The shadow god, after much painful thought, finally entered the realm of the deep shade. Here he encountered the evil lord himself who boldly claimed the shadow god as his own. It was now that the shadow god became even more perplexed. Now he felt shadow pain as he has never felt it before. But in the torture of his soul, he noticed that though he had no strings, he was yet some kind of puppet being. Then he knew! He was a shadow puppet--not the shadow of a puppet, but an actual shadow puppet!
When the shadow god learned what he truly was, he found that he is able to move like the wind, even in the deep, dark realm of the shadows of pain. There he roamed freely until he found a dwelling place called "between the shadows," a realm that no one had discovered before. There he now lurks, watching and waiting, with business that only he himself knows. "Shadow business" as it is called.
It was a happy time for the puppet god, for he thought that he was neither puppet nor god. He believed, in fact, that he was a human being! As such, he spent much time among the children. And even though they knew the truth, they remained kind and allowed him to take part in their play. Even so, She of the Children kept a watchful eye upon him.
One day, the puppet god heard of the spells of the dark one, how he created shadows with his long puppet hands by the light of a single, black candle. He first asked the children about him, all of whom without exception would silently turn away and return to their play business. This only served to inspire more curiosity in his puppet head, and he took to studying the lore of the dark lord and of his realm. Eventually, the puppet god became something of an authority on the matter. Finally, he decided--actually it was a thot puppet at work-- that to learn even more, he must undertake a journey to the realm of the umbra. He did not fear the realm because he knew more about it than almost everyone. But when he told the children of his plans, they no longer turned away, but rather fixed their gaze upon with an expression that spoke of sadness mixed with admiration. Yet still they said nothing. Then they all looked to Her who waived her hand and signaled that all is as it should be. The children returned to their play. Even so, the children became disturbed over the plans of the young puppet god.
In spite of these signs, into the dark realm he went. There, to his surprise, he experienced more shadows of hurt than he had expected. Far, far more. Then, all at once, he encountered both the dark lord and the lurking shadow god. It seemed that he did not know which was which--both shadowlike, both of high authority. But for the moment, it did not matter. For now he felt the shadows of night, one after another, beating him down and slowly drawing all of his happiness from his wooden body.
Now the puppet god became very confused, especially because his studies had told him that the shadow god would protect him from the evil lord and his spells of unhappiness. But what surprised him even more was that now it seems that the shadow god himself was laying him low by the light of the black candle! How could this be? As the puppet god lay there limp, in his mind he could hear voices of some of the thot puppets repeating:
Pity the poor puppet god
both man and beast
Pity him O children
He knows no relief in the land of the shadow lords.
Only pain. Only hurt. Only shadows.
Poor, poor, sad, sad puppet god.
And even as his body lay motionless in the darkness, he yet failed to realize that he was a puppet, not a human being.
When the puppet god hurt so much that he could actually see the dreaded "night shadows," he heard the sound of an approaching wind. Wearily he opened his eyes just in time to see a figure of white on horseback dancing through the shadow realm. The shadow rider! He blinked his eyes and looked again. "He knows the shadow of the puppet god but not the puppet god himself," he thought. With that the puppet god retreated into the darkness enclosing his wooden heart.
Out of the darkness she came. No one knew from where she came or to where she was going. It was Dolly the not-puppet. She moved her little legs that carried her slowly but steadily to the limp body of the puppet god. There, beside him, when she was sure he was asleep, she began to whisper secrets into his ear. She did not say much, but what she did say held a very special meaning for the puppet god. She told him that he was a puppet, that he was a god, and most of all, that he had beautiful eyes. Then she told him one last secret, kissed him on the cheek, glared at him mightily, and then disappeared inside of him.
No sooner had she done these things that the puppet god awoke to hear the beckoning Song of the stringed sirens. They were close, as close as his own hands and feet, for he saw for the first time that he had strings attached to his arms, to his hands and even to his head. Then he lifted his eyes upward and looked. There he saw the gentle hand gods, inactive but attentive to what was happening below. As soon as he saw them, they began to move his hands, his feet, and most of all, his weary head! Ever so gently did the powerful hand gods pull him to his feet. At that moment he received a name: "the hideous puppet god with the beautiful eyes."
Then from between the shadows stepped shadow god himself. First he studied the puppet god for quite some time, looking at him from every conceivable angle. Then he took up a position so that he became the shadow of the puppet god, perfectly imitating his movements. Thus were joined the shadow god and the puppet god who finally came to be like any other puppet--shadow and all.
No one has seen the hideous puppet god since he went on his journey to the realm of the umbra. It is said that now he too attends to shadow business while he looks upon the shadow god, who, like himself, has the most beautiful eyes anyone has ever seen. Even so, the puppet god is still not quite happy, for as it is written:
And I set my mind to know wisdom,
and to know madness and folly.
And I found this:
In much wisdom there is much grief,
and increasing knowledge increases pain.
(Ecclesiastes 1:17-18)
To the east the Lord of Children interrupted the Play. "Friends," said She. "Lament no more for our hideous puppet god with the beautiful eyes, for he has taken a name. The children all smiled, made a secret gesture, and then quietly returned to playing with their marbles, with their toy horses, and with their little dolls.