Lindsay Archer
Cupid’s Day
It has been my greatest pleasure studying the strange and exotic clan
of the Egdirbhtelians during their celebration of the naked child
archer. The family group I studied showed that this celebration is
centred on children and heart shaped chocolates. Yet in a contradictory
fashion my findings showed that it also centred on male and female
couples. Let us dissect this fascinating race of people.
In the weeks prior to this holiday (let us call it Valentines) young
children will ask their mothers what kind of special treat they can get
their peer groups in preschool. They will then spend time searching for
the right greeting and the right sweet. This year’s selection included
marshmallow strawberries, Hershey kisses and licorice. The mother then
wrapped these gifts up and put red ribbons around the packages. I
noticed that the mother hid these packages. It wasn’t until after the
holiday that I realized she hid them to keep the young one from losing
the contents of these gifts. When the big day finally came the young one
was up extra early to greet the morning and to make sure that it was
indeed Valentines and that it had not skipped over her house a fate more
terrible then can be imagined.
It’s been 18 months since I have integrated myself into this family
group and I think I’m making great headway into the surrounding area.
One of the boys who are cared for during the day by the mother figure of
the house presented me with a handmade Valentine. I was deeply touched
to be included in a ritual as important as this. He used a piece of
Credit Union Stationary and a pencil. Along with it came 5 conversation
hearts. These hearts had little messages saying ‘hug me’ and ‘be mine’.
After reading this I attempted to hug the little boy thinking in my
naïveté that he was yearning to be hugged by me. The response I got was
decidedly different from the message. He politely cringed and said
thanks but no thanks. I take this to mean that these gifts and greetings
have a symbolic sense rather than a literal sense. The mother figure
also did not want this trepid explorer to feel left out so she presented
me with a gift. I gratefully accepted this on the behalf of
anthropology.
Just when I came to terms with this ritual in the home group setting I
realized a flaw in my earlier supposition. During previous outings in
the market place they call Park Place Mall I noticed this same holiday
with a slightly different cast. Instead of young children it was adult
couples that was displayed in various murals and goods. The couples were
generally portrayed as holding hands and in, what the locals call, love.
Red and pink flowers, usually roses, were the ideal gift for these
mature valentines. These flowers were sometimes accompanied by heart
shaped boxes of chocolates. It seemed to me that this mating ritual was
to let the other know that they were cared for and cherished.
I have come to the conclusion that the ritual the children celebrated
was different in only that it was training them for future years. The
boy wanted to show his affection for me to practise for future years
where he’d show his mate how he feels about her. The young girl was
practising the art of generosity. Research showed me that not all young
girls and mothers gave out such handsome gifts to peers. That many of
them just gave out the greetings. Everyone seemed to do what was right
for him or her at the time, and that is something to be admired.