Defining Fantasy According to TermiteWriter



Ki'shto'ba and the Companions confront
"Trojan" Warriors in the marches of Thel'or'ei.

       I always have difficulty pigeonholing my books as to their genre. Are they science fiction, fantasy, literary fiction, or a blend of the three?  The Termite Queen certainly is science fiction.  It has most of the characteristics associated with that genre: it's laid in a future period, it has space travel, extraterrestrials of several types, an off-world adventure, some real science (mostly softer sciences, like entomology and other biological sciences, psychology, anthropology, and linguistics), and some fictional physics.  It laps over into literary fiction with its love story, which could have been recast in a contemporary setting without the trappings of science fiction.
 

       But then it has giant termites and their conculture, which includes their religious beliefs and practices.  Should that be called fantasy?  The question becomes more pertinent in my series The Labors of Ki'shto'ba Huge-Head, in which I retell Earth myths in the context of my termite conculture.  This series incorporates only minimal elements of science fiction (it's laid in the same century as The Termite Queen, the tales are edited by one of the characters in The Termite Queen, and there are frequent references to events that occurred in that earlier story).

       So let's examine the meaning of the term "fantasy."  To some people, it implies a particular and rather narrow literary genre, of which Tolkien's LotR is the prime example.  It incorporates a constructed world in which magic rather than science is the motivational force.  That, however, is hardly the only meaning of the word "fantasy."
 

       Here is the definition of the noun from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fantasy?s=t :
 

1. imagination, especially when extravagant and unrestrained.

2. the forming of mental images, especially wondrous or strange fancies; imaginative conceptualizing.

3. a mental image, especially when unreal or fantastic; vision: a nightmare fantasy. 

4. Psychology. an imagined or conjured up sequence fulfilling a psychological need; daydream.

5. a hallucination.
 

       Please note that the definition of it as a particular literary genre isn't even given.

       If you Google "fantasy definition," you get similar explanations with the addition of the following:
 

"a genre of imaginative fiction involving magic and adventure, esp. in a setting other than the real world."
 

      If you Google "epic fantasy definition" you get referred to Wikipedia,.  The following is worth considering:
 

       "High fantasy (also referred to as epic fantasy) is a sub-genre of fantasy fiction, defined either by its taking place in an imaginary world distinct from our own or by the epic stature of its characters, themes and plot. Quintessential works of high fantasy, such as A Song of Ice and Fire, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant and The Belgariad, have both of these attributes. Accordingly, works where the fantasy world impinges on our world, or where the characters are concerned only with adventure or personal goals (as in sword and sorcery fiction) are less likely to be classed as high fantasy."
 

       I don't want to get bogged down in a discussion of the subgenres of fantasy (we also have paranormal fantasy, urban fantasy, and all sorts of horror fantasy).   I only want to call attention to the fact that all forms of fantasy derive from "imagination" or "imaginative conceptualizing" and only one type of fantasy depends on the presence or absence of "magic" as a motivating force.  I started out writing "high fantasy," but I was never very comfortable with the magic element and always tended to base my plots on character.  In an early attempt to publish the novel that built on my free Smashwords book "The Blessing of Krozem," I was told that it had merit but didn't have enough magic.  Yet you can't deny it's a fantasy, with its race of spirit beings and presence of gods on that world.

     To return to epic fantasy, note that it is "defined either by its taking place in an imaginary world distinct from our own or by the epic stature of its characters, themes and plot."  By that light, The Labors of Ki'shto'ba Huge-Head has to be called epic fantasy.  Even though it's laid in a "real" extraterrestrial world governed by scientific laws, it has gods and Seers (which certainly fall in the general category of "imaginative conceptualizing"), it takes place in an imaginary (constructed) world, and its characters, themes, and plots have epic stature.  The only reason you might say they don't have epic stature would be if you felt the following Earth myths lack epic stature:  the events in the life of Hercules, the Trojan War, Beowulf, The Song of Roland, or myths to be included in later volumes (the story of Atalanta, Meleager, and the Calydonian boar; and Hercules, Chiron, and the Erymanthian boar).  And of course I mustn't omit the Golden Fleece!  Could anything be more epic than Jason's voyage to recover that lost item?  (Parenthetically, I previously wrote a couple of posts about the characteristics of the epic form.)

       In The Termite Queen, the termite conworld and the events that take place there also contain elements of epic fantasy:  war, single combat, a goddess who meddles and who speaks to the Seer (I maintain all gods are products of the imagination because their existence can't be proved, but that's a different topic).  Therefore, while the book is basically science fiction, it undeniably contains fantasy elements.

       And that brings me to my idea that all significant books have an element of fantasy in them.  My latest venture into that idea was in my analysis of The Great Gatsby over on my other blog.  Gatsby may not have magic, but it definitely has "imaginative conceptualization." 

       I really like that phrase! 

Guest Post: Insects, Folklore, and Bugfolk, by Fel Wetzig

      

Fel Wetzig outdid herself on this post!  I hope you enjoy it!

There are references to termites here that I definitely will have to research!

 

       When I was asked by Lorinda to do a folklore segment on insects, I didn't really know where to start. I know a few scattered beliefs about insects. For example, a single cricket chirping in a house where a cricket has never been heard before is a sign of an impending death, and Vampires are associated with the death head moth (http://www.scotzig.com/vampireassociations/). But, folklore involving insects is varied and widespread.  

       Consider the fact that these creepy crawlies live all around us, and whether we realize it or not they impact human activity on a regular basis—competing for resources, carrying disease, serving scholarly scientific pursuits, and even providing resources. It's no wonder that some of them have captured our imaginations. In fact, a field of study, cultural entomology, is targeted specifically at studying the role of insects in human affairs.

       Most people who have read widely or watched movies or television are familiar with the use of insect behavior as a surrogate or symbol for human relationships. The literary use of insects as subjects of entertainment or bugfolk includes humanized insects that talk or dress like humans. Bugfolk appear in nearly every literary and art form and include Jiminy Cricket, as well as the characters of A Bug's Life and The Ant Bully. This mechanism allows writers to use insects in human-like roles, usually to make a statement about the human condition and to teach people something about themselves.

       These representations are nothing new, throughout history, insects have symbolized important aspects of the world, provided teaching examples through their behavior and traits and have been objects on which humans have projected qualities essential to the framework of human ideology and social structure.
       The most famous insect used in mythology is the scarab—Egyptian symbol of the sun god Khepera and also associated with the creator god Atum. The scarab was believed to be responsible for moving the sun across the sky, as well as representing the soul emerging from the body, which lent to its association with mummies. The scarab likeness was found almost everywhere in Egyptian art and jewelry.

Many creation myths involve insects:

 

• The Hopis explained the origin through the Spider Grandmother

• Yagua Indians of Peru attributed Amazon River to wood-eating insects

• Jicarilla Apaches of New Mexico attribute fire to a mythical campfire ignited by fireflies

• Cherokee and Cochiti creation myths include beetles

• Hindus represent the force that created the transient world with a spider in the center of a web (a spinner of illusion)

• Papago and Pima Legends mention termites in their creation stories

• The mantis was a god of creation in Bushman legends

Insects played a major role in many important legends around the world:

 

• Insects were mentioned throughout the Popul Vul—Yellowjackets were used as weapons by the Quiche and Fireflies were used by Hunahpu and Xbalanque who later became the sun and full moon. They used the insects as false lights to deceive sentries of the underworld.

• The guardians of the four cardinal points in Warao cosmology include arboreal termites, 2 kinds of bees, and wasps

• Xochiquetzal the Aztec goddess of beauty love and flowers; patron of domestic labor; and symbol of the soul and dead was represented by the swallowtail butterfly

• Itzpapalotl the Aztec mother deity and goddess of human sacrifice, war, and travelers was represented by the saturniid moth

• TschunWan was the Chinese insect lord over crop pests

• Babylonian legend included scorpion men

• The Hopi had several insect spirits which were personified in the form of Kachina dolls

       Observations of insect metamorphosis led many cultures to equate such changes to the life cycle usually equating an adult insect with the soul. Some believe this association led to the imaginings of beings in the afterlife with wings.

       Through other observations, cultures found other traits among insects that they admired or scorned. Some insects were adopted as totem animals, forging a strong link between the organism and human kinship.

• Social insects like ants, termites, and bees represent desired qualities—unity, cooperation, and industriousness

• Butterflies and moths are very commonly used, but in varied contexts—sometimes they symbolize spirits and souls

• Moths are often used to represent the soul's search for truth because they are attracted to light

• Flies most frequently play negative roles, symbolizing evil, pestilence, torment, and disease; as a result they have come to be associated with evil entities and devils

• The emblem of the Roman city Ephesus was the honey bee—their "Great Mother" was also known as the "Queen Bee"

• 42 states currently have an official state insect—17 states use the honey bee

 

Insects have played an important role in almost every culture. Because of their wide usage and varied associations, it is difficult to adequately summarize their roles. If you're interested in learning more on the subject, the Cultural Entomology Digest (http://www.insects.org/ced) is a wonderful resource.

 

About the Author

Fel Wetzig is a paranormal writer and folklore enthusiast who spends most of the day arguing with the “Peasants,” with whom she shares her blog, aptly named The Peasants Revolt (http://scotzig.com).