Holding On To Tam Lin, by Vivica Reeves

Editor’s note: As a Halloween fan, I found this take on not loving Halloween intriguing and thought provoking. EC is definitely pro Halloween, so I thought it was both fair and enlightening to give a different point of view that happens to be folklore-based. What do you think? 

With October well on its way, I’m reminded of some questions I was always asked around this time when I was growing up. “Why don’t you celebrate Halloween? Is it because you’re a Christian? Did your parents say it was bad?” Well, honestly at first, it was neither of those options.

When I was around six or seven, I was at an Arc Thrift Store. I ran to the book section, eagerly looking for something that would catch my eye. Only one thing caught my eye. An old yellow hardcover book with the title Myths and Legends. The exact title was Great Myths and Legends: The 1984 Childcraft Annual (An annual supplement to Childcraft—The How and Why Library). It was a mouthful, so I just called it Myths and Legends.

As a fairy-tale lover, I was intrigued. I sat down on the floor and began reading. Immediately, I was captivated by the legends and myths from Greece, Ireland, Africa, India, and Scotland. My parents noticed I liked it and bought it for me. That night, I eagerly devoured the stories and tales it gave me. By nightfall, I reached a story I could never forget, “The Saving of Tam Lin.”

The first thing I noticed about the tale was its illustrations, by Pollyanna Quasthoff. In my child mind, all I saw were scratchy, desperately drawn pictures. I was transfixed on the picture of a woman tightly holding onto a wolfman. Its snarling jaw close enough to tear her head off. They were surrounded by old wizards with soulless flint colored eyes. I still remembered how my heart pounded and my mouth became dry as I imagined the picture moving as they did in Harry Potter.

The creepy soulless wizards chanting as their staffs pulsated eerily. The wolfman’s chest vibrating with snarls and growls as it snapped its sharp fangs at the woman. The woman gritting her teeth as she held tighter, burrowing her face into the wolfman’s chest as her body trembled in fear (Quasthoff, 1984). I was so terrified, I yelped. Still, I read on.

The book’s version of the tale is simple. A brave and beautiful girl named Janet is told to beware of Caterhaugh woods. At first, she does, but when she is grown, her fearlessness wins out. She goes into the woods to pick roses and a handsome man clad in green, Tam Lin, appears, as one did back then. In the woods they talked every day, only talked and nothing else, and fell in love. But Tam Lin was under the rule of the fae. They kidnapped him when he was a child because in this version of the tale the fae are just evil jerks. They also had to make a sacrifice to the dark spirits on All-Hallows Eve.

Why did the fae have to make sacrifices? I don’t know, but I do know who is to be sacrificed, Tam Lin! Of course, Janet is horrified and insists that there must be a way to save him. Tam Lin told her that there was a way, but it would be dangerous and he feared for her safety. Janet insisted that she could do it and promised to save him. For nothing beats the power of a woman in love. At least, Tam Lin hoped nothing could beat his brave and beautiful girl. He told Janet what to do.

She had to wait in the magical dark spirit-filled woods till the fae rode by at the dead of night. Then she had to grab Tam Lin and hold onto him for 21 heartbeats. But, then fae wizards would attempt to make her let go of Tam Lin by turning him into horrible and terrifying things, such as the wolf in the image. Despite the terrifying things Tam Lin became and the pain Janet felt, she still held on. She kept her mind on her love for Tam Lin and her promise to save him. And save him she did. After 21 heartbeats, Tam Lin was human once more and the fae, along with the other dark spirits, disappeared. They were free to go live happily ever after and never travel into the Caterhaugh woods again, a smart decision on their part (World Book Inc., 1984).

When I was six, this tale was enough to spark my research on the holiday, Halloween. I found out that Halloween was one of the pagan holidays the Catholic Church used to convert people. And before it was rewritten, it had Celtic origins from the end of summer festival called Samhain, which means the end of summer. Samhain was the three-day festival at the end and beginning of the Celtic year, around the end of October and beginning of November for the modern Calendar. It was a time of bountiful harvest and preparation for the upcoming harsh winters. Since it was a time where death and life meet for the harvest, it was believed to be when the veil to the supernatural was thin. Since the veil was thin, some religious practices were done. Such as fortune-telling, speaking with the dead, and sacrifices like in “The Saving of Tam Lin” (Lang, 2019).

With my imagination, it did not take much to not want to celebrate Halloween. I did not want to celebrate a holiday where I could lose who I love. Or worse, they would change into something I feared.  Yet, as I grew up, like Janet, my fear lessened. I did not fear Halloween, but I still did not want to celebrate Halloween. When anyone asked me why, I didn’t know. Then I watched a video that summarized the ballad of Tam Lin (Overly Sarcastic Productions, 2018). Something in me stirred. Despite the terror, the tale caused me, I held onto it.

After I reread my childhood version, I found the original Scottish ballad of “Tam Lin,” and one with more modern English (Acland, 1997). There were different aspects between the original and my childhood tale. Such as a baby and a spiteful fae queen. But mainly I found something far more inspiring, devotion. Janet was devoted and dedicated to saving Tam Lin. She would not let him go because it wasn’t about what Janet feared, but who she loved.

So, why don’t I celebrate Halloween? Because I love God more than my fears and I want to hold on to Him. What do you hold on to?

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References

Acland, A. “Versions of the Ballad of Tam Lin.” Tam Lin Versions, Tam Lin Balladry, 1997. 

http://tam-lin.org/versions/index.html

Lang, Cady. “What Is Samhain? Origin of Halloween Rooted in Pagan Holiday.” Time, Time, 30 Oct. 2018.

https://time.com/5434659/halloween-pagan-origins-in-samhain/

 

Overly Sarcastic Productions. “Tam Lin.” YouTube, Overly Sarcastic Productions, 26 Oct. 2018, 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF3O6Xkpscs

 

Quasthoff, Pollyanna. Great Myths and Legends: the 1984 Childcraft Annual. World Book, 1984. Illustrations.

World Book Inc., editor. Great Myths and Legends: the 1984 Childcraft Annual. World Book, 1984. Pages 72-81.

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Bio: Vivica Reeves graduated with a bachelor's degree in Media Arts and Animation. With a short story published in the anthology, Her Story II and an essay published on Enchanted Conversation, she hopes to cultivate her storytelling with her blog SOMETHING GOOD and continue teaching children on how to tell their stories.

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Images are both from the Myths and Legends book. Good sources for the illustrations were not easy to find, but I did my best! The book is still well worth exploring and many used copies are available online. Sadly, I could not find any examples of the Tam Lin story from the book in question, so I provided an old image on Wikipedia. KW

The Translation of Connotation, by Vivica Reeves

Editor’s note: Vivica used a story of a tale published here, “The Lamp,” to interrogate the use of “djinn” and “genie,” among other acts of connotation. I found it an interesting take and hope you will as well. (By the way, all the quotation marks are needed because the words are being referred to in their stars of being words. Some people use italics instead.)

Recently, EC published a short story about a timeless tale told through a different narrator. The story, “The Lamp,” by Marshall J. Moore, retells the tale of Aladdin through the divine being that grants Aladdin his wishes. In the story, the being is called a “genie,” but has the imagery of an angel, such as wings and a halo. As a reader, this simple use of “genie” with the imagery normally provided for angelic beings created an interesting conundrum for me. As I read, “genie” was replaced with angel or was read in a skeptic tone. I read genie but saw an “angel.” My mind continuously translated the story into my connotation.

According to the Oxford dictionary, “connotation” is an idea or feeling which a word invokes for a person in addition to its literal or primary meaning. This addition of ideas or feelings to words can paint different images in each reader's mind. Images the author did not intend or must refute with an image of their own. Images that can create their own story or change the story entirely. The word “djinn” is a good example of this issue.

 

According to Muslim conception, a “djinn” is an intelligent being composed of vapor or flame. Imperceptible to human senses, they are able to carry out heavy labors and appear in different forms. They are made of smokeless fire, while humans were made of clay, and angels were made of light (MacDonald, D.B.). Now looking at the definition of the French or Old English translation of the word “djinn”—“genie”— which, while similar, has a few additions to it. “Genie” is a spirit of Arabian folklore traditionally depicted as imprisoned within a bottle or oil lamp and capable of granting wishes when summoned. The translation of “djinn” added a specific role and limitations that were not stated in its original definition. Why is that?

 

“Djinn” was translated into “genie” for the creation of the anthology, The Arabian Nights. This was because the French word “génie” was similar in form and sense to the Arabic word “ jinnī.” The definition of the translation comes from the period and context it was created for. The stories created the definition and imagery of the word “genie” which was only a translation based on sound. This begets another issue since the origin of the tales and stories in The Arabian Nights are not certain. The tale of “Aladdin” for example, was added in later editions of the French translation, then translated into the Arabic where the translation of “djinn” and “genie” was already established (Dobie, 2008). So which definition is to be used: the connotation of the translation, “genie,” or the definition of the original word, “djinn”?

Ultimately, that choice is up to the readers. They can either see a being of fire and power, or a divine being trapped in a lamp enforced to grant wishes, or a mixture of both, or any other connotation they have for that word. With written and oral media, a reader and listener’s power are in their choice on how to see the story. For when they retell it or relay it to others, they are translating the story they saw. They are using forms, words, pictures that they know to fit what they saw. Whether it was intended to be seen that way or not, the reader will translate it that way unless taught or shown otherwise.

 

At first, this can seem as if the original is being ‘tainted’ or twisted. And it is, but is that not what an adaptation is? The process of making something, in this case, a story, suitable for new use or purpose. Translating a word in an unknown language to a similar sounding word and giving it meaning, was for the purpose to help readers see the story. Another modern example is Disney’s Aladdin and the character The Genie. The Genie is not a divine being of fire or smoke. The Genie has the voice of Robin Williams and is a blue being of phenomenal cosmic power, in an itty-bitty living space that wishes to be free. (Editor’s note: Williams’ character, and the 1992 movie in general, are seen as a bit problematic almost 30 years later. Yes, people the world over love it, but there are issues. The “classic” The Arabian Nights, is also a problem if you aren’t looking at it from a Western viewpoint. Learn more here.)

 

The Williams version is contrary to most versions of the Aladdin tale in The Arabian Nights. In those versions of the genie, its color is not specified. It is a powerful divine being, but once it is out of the lamp it is already free. The genie is granting the wishes out of obligation or gratitude. Disney’s modern take of The Genie has now added the purpose to be free in most connotations of “genie.” The Genie was changed to fit into a visual children’s media. A being that is made of fire and smoke that is willing to possess humans, is not very kid-friendly. “Djinn” was translated to “genie,” which was then formed to create The Genie. The Genie who is now a beloved and discussed character in this current generation which is generations past the creation of The Arabian Nights.

Though an author, as is the case in Marshall J. Moore’s story, “The Lamp,” can use and define the possible connotations a reader may have, there will be connotations formed that they did not see. An author may even try to give the reader a different perspective on what they perceive. The author is only giving their translation of a story. It is a reader’s choice to let go of their connotations and see the author’s translation. Then they can create their own.

 

This cycle of translations and connotations can create a puddle of confusion and begets many conundrums. Yet, it is also a representation of an individual, of the willingness to see and understand each other. It can adapt a story to stay alive longer than those who created it. A reader may not always be right in translation, and an author cannot see every connotation, but as long as each is willing to see and understand the other, a story can be told.

Bibliography

“connotation- Definition of connotation English by Oxford Dictionaries". Oxford Dictionaries – English.

<https://www.lexico.com/definition/connotation>

 

Dobie, Madeleine (2008). "Translation in the contact zone: Antoine Galland's Mille et une nuits: contes arabes". In Makdisi, S.; Nussbaum, F. (eds.). The Arabian Nights in Historical Context. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199554157.

 

“genie– Definition of genie English by Oxford Dictionaries". Oxford Dictionaries – English. 

<https://www.lexico.com/definition/genie> 

“Genie.” Edited by FANDOM, Disney Wiki, FANDOM, 2010, disney.fandom.com/wiki/Genie.

<https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Genie>

MacDonald, D.B., Massé, H., Boratav, P.N., Nizami, K.A. and Voorhoeve, P., “Ḏj̲inn”, in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Consulted online on 03 July 2020 

<http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0191>

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Bio: Vivica Reeves graduated from the Art Institute with a Bachelor’s in Media Arts and Animation. With one other short story published in the anthology, Her Story II, she hopes to cultivate her own storytelling with her blog Something Good and continue teaching children on how to tell their story.

 

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Image: Kay Nielsen, who is one of the the most beloved fairy tale artists of all time, had a blue take on a genie on a genie in his illustrations of A Thousand and One Nights. To learn more, visit here.