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Connections (saites)
point form summary of Latvian folklore
A Network of Nodes
The brain works as a network of nodes, from neurological level, to the highest level of cognition. It is a non-hierarchical structure of nodes and connections. A daina verse describes each node by creating a picture (glezna) of the psychological entity. The picture usually describes phenomenon in nature, such as trees or fields. The feel of the scene parallels the feel of the psyche. Then another picture is described with a verse, describing another node, psychological entity, and its relevance to the first. This is a connection (saite).
Stories describe the connections. The story type can take any form. Popular written forms are a descriptive story (teiksma) which is a story that helps explain natural laws, a tale (pasaka "step from reality") which uses animism and personifications to tell a story with a message, and mythology (mitoloģija) which is a story without formal foundations, but has a very purposeful meaning. Connections can be explained in many forms, such as graphical form (raksti), music and song, dance, riddles and any other communication or art form.
The dainas describe natural laws. It is believed that laws are the same macro to micro, like fractal images, the larger image is composed of identical smaller images, which in turn are composed of smaller images, and so on. We can zoom in and out of an image. Exactly the same formula is used to define the root. For example, "ozoliti zmezariti" (oak tree with a low branch, said in the diminutive) can mean literally, an oak tree with low branches, or it can mean bad posture, or it can man a well- developed personality that has suffered defeat, etc. The root idea remains the same. It is up to the reader to give it its finite significance.
Dainas and the way they are used, mimics the way the brain actually works. We can spontaneously jump from idea to idea in our brains; so can the dainas. We can "pretend" in our brains; so can dainas. Latvian author Anna Brigadera's somewhat autobiographical account of childhood is played by character Annele. Annele is amazed at how she can imagine dolls in her mind, without actually having them. Children call this "pretend", but grown-ups "pretend" all the time as well; we just do not call it that. We can imagine anything we want just because we want to. Similarly, we can choose to ignore what we perceive around us, just because we want to.
Popular Stories and Concepts
The first concept explains the essence of the sun. It is called "the myth of the sun" The stars are personified. The story is the "marriage" of "spirit life" and "work of nature". The second concept explains "white life' (balta dzive). It is a way to describe mental balance. The third concept relating to the psyche is called the "sun tree" (saules koks). It describes our growing process, by defining growth as a tree. Last, I describe metaphors used to describe mental balance.
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