shad

A thread from the English Usage group was about the difference between flammable and inflammable. Got me to thinking about words were the root makes the word look like its own negation (in this case, inflame)

I've had similiar words popping up in my head ever since. The latest is incandescent. The deep root is candesce, to glow with heat. Incandesce is the state of being so hot you glow, and from there incandescent. Neat.

But then, and this is why I'm bothering to put it here, I caught just the first five letters of the words. Incan. And I thought of one of the incan legends that rattles around in my head.

The first two leaders of the incans were a brother and sister. They wanted to united all the people of this particular valley, so the brother sewed gold coins on his clothing, and hid at the top of a nearby hill. His sister gathered the people around and declared that she had bedded the son of the sun. When the sun rose, the brother came out of hiding. The sun struck the gold coins, causing him to glitter and spark. The people were humbled, and wortshipped him as a god. He and his sister/lover formed the basis of the incan empire, or so the story goes.

Let's be clear about one thing. Their legend is not that they were descended from the sun. Their legend is that they were clever enough to trick people into believing they were the children of the sun. That's what's cool about it. So, I thought I'd share that with you, and maybe you can share it with someone else, and we can all smile.