Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2003 20:42:45 -0800 (PST)
From: Tami Whitehead 
Subject: Re:  (urth) Mattachine Tower

I, Razorkittee, will tell you what The Man said. Take
it for what it is worth. 

In the book, The Castle of the Otter, by Gene Wolfe,
on page 28, for Chapter II, he says: "Matachin
Tower:In a Spanish tradition, matachins are masked
sword dancers. Some authorities say that the tradition
is derived from the Moors. Well, maybe. To the other
inhabitants of the Citadel, the Seekers of Truth and
Penitence are most visisble on the feast of Holy
Katharine, when the journeymen, weating their masks,
dance with their beheading swords." 

kittee

--- Bratt Ian  wrote:
> According to
> http://www.sbu.ac.uk/stafflag/mattachine.html, the
> word
> matachin or matachine has been derived from the
> Arabic of Moorish Spain,
> in which mutawajjihin, relates to masking oneself.
> 
> -Insula
> 
> 
> On Sat, 1 Mar 2003, Alice K. Turner wrote:
> 
> > I just did  a google on this--quite fascinating!
> >
> > -a-
> >
> > > Back in the 60s, before the Stonewall Rebellion,
> before gay liberation of
> > > any note, the Mattachine Society on the East
> Coast (and for all I know on
> > > the West) was a coded name for a quite sizeable
> male homosexual club or
> > > group here; I expect the historical note is an
> ironic nod to being
> > > "closeted." I doubt that Wolfe knew that!
> > >
> > > -alga
> > >
> > > > According to the History Channel, the
> Mattachines were an Italian
> > > > tradition of court jesters who were indulged
> to "speak the truth" when
> > > > appearing masked and hooded. Not to doubt the
> veracity of the Hitler
> > > > Channel, but has anyone else heard of this, or
> suspect that it folds
> > > > into the torturers' tower?
> > > >
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> http://www.urth.net/
> > To unsubscribe: send "unsubscribe" to
> urth-request@urth.net
> >
> 
> 
> -- 
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