ABSTRACT
The dismemberment and recomposition of the body is another theme that runs through religion, mythology, folklore, and the dreams and experiences of psychodrama participants. The shaman, for example, is taken apart at the height of his ecstatic state when he has already reached heaven. As discussed previously, he is put together magically again and goes through a mystical resurrection. This same theme appears in Nordic fairy tales of Siberian or Irish origin and in the magic tricks of Indian fakirs and Chinese musicians. The ascent to heaven often occurs by the means of a magic rope that sometimes has knots in it like the rungs on a ladder that make the climb easier. There is also a legend that holds that Buddha climbed up to heaven on a magic rope, came back in pieces, and put himself together again with magic (Eliade 1969: 160ff.). There is another legend, this time from Irish folklore on the Isle of Man, that tells of a magic rope that a magician throws up into a cloud. He makes a rabbit, dog, a lion, other animals, and an apprentice climb up the rope. They are then dismembered. The apprentice falls down to earth and is then put together again. Similarly, the myth of Dionysus includes the theme of his dismemberment and magical rebirth, as discussed in the section on the historical origins of psychodrama. As the god of theatre, Dionysus’s mystery cults are at the origin of sacred drama and psychodrama itself.
