It’s a strange fact of modern life that we like to sanitize whatever we can to avoid offending people. This is necessary for the most part, of course, because when dealing with research and writing about another culture or belief system it’s paramount that the subject be treated fairly and sensitively. But there’s another challenge

In this feature, we outline the chapters of The Legend of Ponnivala as we’ve laid them out in the animated and print series. The sub-story descriptions are those that occur in each episode, and are drawn from our Teacher’s Handbook. The Queen of Ponnivala still has no children. She is worried and wants to find comfort by visiting

In traditional cultures, the tales people pass on from one generation to the next do more than preserve religious teachings. In fact, most often the religious elements are merely threaded through these stories, with gods and goddesses acting as intercessors in the affairs of humans. The stories themselves become classrooms for everything from political and

In this feature, we outline the chapters of The Legend of Ponnivala as we’ve laid them out in the animated and print series. The sub-story descriptions are those that occur in each episode, and are drawn from our Teacher’s Handbook. A couple return to their ancestral lands after many years and decide to rebuild the husband’s ancestral palace.

Compared to other mythologies, ancient Persia’s pantheon of gods seldom receives much attention. But the gods and goddesses of this ancient Middle-Eastern society share many of the attributes common among other Indo-European pantheons. After all, Persia, whose territory at one time would have covered modern-day Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Turkey, was situated between Greece and

In this feature, we outline the chapters of The Legend of Ponnivala as we’ve laid them out in the animated and print series. The sub-story descriptions are those that occur in each episode, and are drawn from our Teacher’s Handbook. A young couple have worked hard to plant their only field and happily watch their maize plants grow

When James Cameron released his breakthrough film Avatar in 2009, the word “avatar” became a household name. But few people realize what this word actually means. Some argue that it conjures up images of some kind of remote-controlled weapon. Others think of it as a type of robot (as in the case of Andromeda, where

In this feature, we outline the chapters of The Legend of Ponnivala as we’ve laid them out in the animated and print series. The sub-story descriptions are those that occur in each episode, and are drawn from our Teacher’s Handbook. A young wedded couple reclaim one ancestral field from the husband’s clan rivals. These men try to undercut

As we’ve been looking all last week at the interesting similarities between the Calydonian Boar Hunt and King Komban in The Legend of Ponnivala, more and more symbolism about this remarkable creature has been coming to light. The boar has long been associated in many old-world cultures with strength and courage. Yet its habits–eating just

In this feature, we outline the chapters of The Legend of Ponnivala as we’ve laid them out in the animated and print series. The sub-story descriptions are those that occur in each episode, and are drawn from our Teacher’s Handbook. Lord Vishnu tells a hard working shepherd orphan that he is eligible to marry his bosses’ lovely young