(urth) ?Tracking Song? (and other stories)

[Andy Robertson]

Matthew Knight writes: 

> Yes, Sandwalker travels to a cave on pilgrimage to meet some sort of wise
> man.  Cave scenes also show up in Peace (Weer, his aunt, and Professor
> Peacock rappel down to a cave with some ancient remains) and TWK book one
> (the griffin etc., preceding the fight with the dragon).  I don't have any
> answers on this, 
 

Yes, caves = underworld = world/house of the dead, from the old habit of 
burying everyone in the tribe together in a mound or communal grave.  This 
is an ancient and nearly universal mythical pattern.  Most of these caves in 
Wolfe have the dead in them (the priest Sandwalker meets is a corpse-mummy, 
the remains in PEACE are human IIRC). Or if not they are underworlds of 
various sorts.  This is a common pattern in Wolfe's writing but I am not 
sure of its significance - it's a common pattern in nearly all writing. 


> 
> I believe this is my first post to the board, though I have lurked for 
> some
> time.  Hello, everyone! 
> 
> Matt

Welcome, Matt 

hartshorn 


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