Pike's ghost

Lee Berman · 30 Nov 2011, 18:20 · from 2011-November.txt.gz

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From: severiansola at hotmail.com (Lee Berman)
Date: Wed, 30 Nov 2011 13:20:36 -0500
Subject: (urth) Pike's ghost
Message-ID: <SNT123-W2740EDD5F5D66BCF17847ACFB00 at phx.gbl>

> > Mandragora is the genus of the plant mandrake,
> > which often has a somewhat man-shaped root. It is also the name of a
> > type of demon. These demons are little dolls given to a sorceror by
> > the Devil for the purpose of consulting "in time of need". They are
> > thought to be related to the "/fetish> thought to be related to the "/fetish
> >which is nothing else than a dwelling-place made by a shaman or medicine-man
> >for the reception of any wandering spirit who chooses to take up his abode therein."

I was aware of these meanings and always found them applicable. The little guy in the jar 
probably was used as a consultant. But by whom? Which "sorcerer"?  Severian's autarchial 
memories make no mention of the Mandragora to him. Perhaps the Mandragora predates the
autarchs.

Do we have a medicine man or shaman in our story? Two, it would seem- Isangoma and the 
Uturuncu, the jungle shaman. Many feel these two represent the same character, Father 
Inire. Do we have a sorcerer in the story? Hethor?  Ceryx? Are these also the same character? 

Ceryx is a sorcerer to be found in Typhon's period on Urth. What is his relationship to 
Typhon? Why does he have the same obsession with raising the dead as so many characters 
in Severian's time? In Typhon, do we have the "Devil" who provides the sorcerer with a 
Mandragora? Perhaps Father Inire started his career as a vizier well before (he installed) 
the first autarch of the Commonwealth, Ymar.

FWIW, though the jungle shaman supposedly can turn into a tiger, Uturuncu means "puma" in 
Quechua. This is also the name of a volcanic mountain in Bolivia. There are two BotNS 
characters who have mountainous, volcanic descriptions attributed to them. I don't know
exactly how Abaia and Erebus (and Typhon) are related to the shaman/Inire. But we might be
able to make some guesses after observing Tzadkiel, The Mother and Great Scylla in action.

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