Folklore: crossing over narrow bridge to death

Subject: Folklore: crossing over narrow bridge to death
From: Rasta
Date: 06 May 06 - 02:23 AM

--Its all maddness , forgive me for stepping outside of the music idiom ,--i need help
(LOL)   im looking for a book about (crossing over narrow bridge to death ) ,whats Rasta up to now mmmm. does anyone have a lead on this ,my girfriend asked me for this one ,blame her . -----rastaaaaaaaaaa

Subject: RE: Folklore: crossing over narrow bridge to death
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 06 May 06 - 03:22 AM

Without a little more detail I don't know about any book, but see threads on The Lyke Wake Dirge for related information; particularly  Phrase from: LYKE WAKE DIRGE.

Subject: RE: Folklore: crossing over narrow bridge to death
From: Susan of DT
Date: 06 May 06 - 06:32 AM

Sometimes the bridge was a sword in Celtic mythology

Subject: RE: Folklore: crossing over narrow bridge to death
From: greg stephens
Date: 06 May 06 - 06:51 AM

Are we talking about stories where the devil builds a bridge, and claims the soul of the first person across? The Devil's Bridge at Kirkby Lonsdale is a notable example, now a great weekend haunt of bikers. But as to a book with this theme, I can think of nothing.

Subject: RE: Folklore: crossing over narrow bridge to death
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 06 May 06 - 11:58 PM

Rasta, the only bridge that I can think of is the bridge in Norse mythology. See this site, which describes the bridge which a slain warrior must cross to get to Asgard and Valhalla.

http://www.timelessmyths.com/norse/beginning.html#Asgard

BTW, Richard Wagner wrote music which evokes the journey to Valhalla, including the rainbow and waterfall. It is beautiful, but I can't remember the name of it.

Subject: RE: Folklore: crossing over narrow bridge to death
From: Bonnie Shaljean
Date: 08 May 06 - 09:28 AM

Thornton Wilder's novel The Bridge Of San Luis Rey? It's not about the bridge itself specifically following a pathway to death, but of five people who happen to be on the bridge when it collapses, and all fall to their deaths together. This is Wilder's starting point, from which he then explores the themes of fate and chance, and what invisible connection these five quite different people might have have with each other. It's philosophical but not heavy-handed, and also short. A good read if you're considering bridges and death in any metaphysical light.

Subject: RE: Folklore: crossing over narrow bridge to death
From: CapriUni
Date: 08 May 06 - 11:22 AM

In Lanape ("Deleware Indians") belief, the band of stars we call "The Milky Way" was a road to the afterlife. If you look closely, on a clear night, you can see a narrow gap of darkness in the path, where there are no stars. The Lenape say that there is a narrow log bridge across this gap, guarded by the souls of dogs who have died. If a person has been good to dogs in their lifetime, the spirits will hold the log steady and help them across. But if a person has ever kicked a dog, they will shake and nudge the bridge so that they dare not cross.

But I'm not sure if that belief is the basis of, or mentioned in, a book.

Is the book you're looking for fiction, or non-fiction? What has your girlfriend told you about it?

Subject: RE: Folklore: crossing over narrow bridge to death
From: KateG
Date: 08 May 06 - 01:22 PM

there's also an incredibly sappy piece called The Rainbow Bridge, about where dead pets wait for their masters to join them before they cross into heaven together. much beloved in animal circles. don't have the text, but google should produce it.

Subject: RE: Folklore: crossing over narrow bridge to death
From: CapriUni
Date: 08 May 06 - 03:19 PM

Yeah. I've seen that. I have a sneaking suspicion, though, that's it's a modern, "invented" legend.

I much prefer the traditional Lanape teaching, however, because, as modern socialiogy has shown, people who abuse animals are much more likely to abuse other humans as well; kicking dogs is one indication of your attitude toward those who have less power than you do -- whether they be children, the elderly, or the sick.

I also like the idea that simply depriving dog-kickers of membership in a loving, generous community, forcing them to keep company with other dog kickers, is punishment enough for their sins. It reminds me of Satre's No Exit.