Egg in culture
The egg in culture deals with the symbolic meaning that the egg has in relation to its biological function and its role as food.
Religion and mythology
In numerous religions and myths (Egypt, China, India, Greece, Polynesia) the egg was seen as a symbol of becoming and creation due to the shells cracking and the production of new life. Accordingly, the diversity of the cosmos developed from a single seed.
In Indian mythology , the divine primordial ground creates the cosmos in the form of an egg, from which the world creator Brahma creates the cosmos with his gods, worlds and man. According to another tradition, the egg created from non-being and being split up into heaven and earth.
According to the Chinese legend of Pangu , the latter grew up in an egg that jumped open and from whose yolk the sky and the egg white the earth arose, which were under Pangu's order, while the rest of the world was formed from Pangu's body parts.
In the Egyptian religion , the primordial deity that emerged from chaos and the eighth deity hatch the sun god from the cosmic egg they created, which in turn becomes the creator of the world.
The Japanese myth of Izanagi and Izanami is preceded by Nihonshoki , according to which the world emerged from chaos in the form of an egg. After the separation of heaven and earth, reed-like shoots emerged from fish or jellyfish-like structures on the water, and from them the first deities.
The Greek mythology sees Phanes the creator of the world, which consists of a from its predecessor Protogonos emerged created egg. The daughter of Zeus and Leda Helena is born (alone or together with Castor and Polydeukes ) from an egg (" ab ovo ").
The Finnish epic Kalevala describes the creation of heaven and earth from the fragments of an egg.
The African Dogon know the cosmic egg Amma , which breaks through vibrations and which gives birth to the creator god Nommo .
According to legend, the Korean King Dongmyeong of Goguryeo was born from an egg.
Culture
The symbolism of production and fertility has made the egg a bearer of cultural meaning. In numerous and widespread traditions, the egg accompanies initiations, fertility festivals or agricultural rites. The breaking egg is also seen as a second birth or transcendence, so Buddhism describes the breaking of the shell of ignorance. Eggs as grave goods also symbolize a hope that goes beyond death. Good Friday egg and Drudenei represent the magical power of egg in superstition.
Numerous Easter customs are associated with the Easter egg in Christianity , as the resurrection of Christ from the grave is seen when the bowl is opened (see Easter egg table ). ( see: Kiev Easter Egg ) Regional traditions such as Easter egg pushing have maintained their importance. New traditions have also emerged ( Saalfeld Easter egg tree ).
In Jewish culture, boiled eggs are eaten as one of the symbolic foods of the seder evening .
Painting and decorating eggs is a cultivated tradition in certain regions ( Sorbian Lausitz , Hessen) up to the present day . The Pysanka Museum in Kolomyja, Ukraine, is important . The Fabergé eggs are often seen as the artistic highlight .
Children's games such as running eggs are widespread .
For dealing with the egg as a food culture objects and devices such as the developed egg spoon , egg cups , egg cooker , egg slicer , egg piercer , egg topper , egg cozy , egg carton or the egg timer .
Replicas of the egg come across as luxury goods in the form of sugar or chocolate eggs . Well-known egg sculptures are the egg of Columbus in Spain and the Bessel egg (as a geometric ellipsoid) in Bremen.
In certain technical areas, egg is used as a coloring agent and as an additive for body wash.
Standing twists
Philosophy describes a certain paradox with the term chicken and egg problem, which has become a phrase .
A proverbial problem solution is reflected in the phrase Egg of Columbus .
The Brahmagupta egg task , which originated in India, is well known among mathematicians .
The phrase Easter Egg , alluding to the hidden Easter egg, describes a hidden and undocumented surprise in the media and computer programs.
Egg as a name
- Egghead (English egghead ) is a colloquial ironic term for scientists. The term aims at the supposedly frequent (half) bald head among academics. Egghead is also the name of a board game.
- Egg nipples are short nipple tubes. They are screwed into the cable outlet of lamp sockets and are used for suspension. The connection with eggs is unclear, however.
- With the egg profile of a sewer pipe, the tip points downwards so that sediment can be washed away when there is little flow.
- The high-narrow-elliptical egg tunnel for pedestrians, on the other hand, appears to be slightly more pointed at the top in cross-section.
Economic history
In the natural economy, the interest egg played a role as a money substitute .
additional
The egg oracle is a form of fortune telling .
literature
- "Egg" in HD Betz u. a. (Ed.): Religion in the past and present. Concise dictionary for theology and religious studies. Vol II Tübingen 1998–2007 (4th edition). ISBN 3-16-146941-0 , col. 1116 f.
- Eugen Mogk : The egg in folk custom and popular belief. In: Journal of the Association for Folklore 25, 1915, pp. 215–223.
- Syed Mahdihassan: Alchemy with the egg as its symbol. In: Janus 63, 1976, pp. 133-153.
- Johann Jakob Bachofen : Mother Right and Original Religion. Using the selection by Rudolf Marx ed. by Hans G. Kippenberg (1927), 6th edition Stuttgart 1984, pp. 21-42 ( The egg as a symbol ).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Manusmrti I
- ↑ Upanishad III 19.1 f.
- ↑ suttavibhanga , Parajika I, 1.4