As humans, and especially as students, we have this nagging voice that encourages us to want to find out more about things that are taboo. Like when we happen to wake up an hour earlier than usual and see someone whom we've never seen before creep out of our housemate's room. Or when we find a note under our chair in lecture that was accidentally left there just a few minutes earlier. That voice is more than curiosity, and only a little less than obsession -- and it's exactly what leads me to write this column.
Secret societies. There, I've said. We talk vaguely about them amongst grounds, yet no one is REALLY sure of what they do. But what about those secret societies besides the "big three"? For example, who are the Purple Shadows? What does it mean to be a P.U.M.P.K.I.N? And how do you get tapped to be an Eli Banana?
It's time for me to make some speculations of my own. According to the Guide Service Historical Database, there are over 30 known Secret Societies. Most of them are philanthropical, and each of them has a little flavor of its own.
The Purple Shadows are the ones that we see marching down the Lawn every April 13, Jefferson's birthday. They are named after the poem about the "purple shadows of the Lawn." One of the great stories about the Purple Shadows involves Easters.
It is rumored that after Dean Cantavari cancelled Easters, there was an uproar at the University. The following day, he found a letter of scorn and disdain from the Purple Shadows in his home. The mysterious part? All the doors were locked at the time.
Then there are the P.U.M.P.K.I.N.s. They are rumored to be the rebirth of a secret society that began in France in the 14th century. Every year, they give out decorated pumpkins with a "P" carved in it.
Ten pumpkins go to people who they believe have given a great deal to the University, with a letter attached detailing their contributions. But also, each year, the society gives out one rotten gourd to a person that has done something that they did not approve of.
Along a similar vein is the Genesis Society. This group is much younger, starting around the fall of 1998, and they stand for "progressive change" at the University.
Like the pumpkins, they recognize members of the community who have either given a great deal or done something offensive, but instead of pumpkins, they give healthy ferns to the good ones and "bad ferns" to the bad ones.
And if you go to the Garden to the right of Garrett Hall on the side facing the amphitheater, you can find their plaque.
If you're still not impressed, how about the T.I.L.K.A society? No one is sure of what the five letters stand for, but they are reported to represent five mystic Hindu words of power.
When this group first began, its reputation as a "cool group" sparked a rivalry with the Eli Bananas, also another secret society. The two are supposedly drinking societies, and they had plans to spread their group all over the United States, but did not really succeed -- probably because they were busy drinking.
There are dozens more secret societies around grounds, with just as many myths surrounding them. While I realize this is supposed to be a historical column, these stories have no guarantee of truth.
And while we may never know what T.I.L.K.A. stands for, the mystery of secret societies is one that breathes through the culture here at the University. Hey, if you ever find out what's true and what's not, let me know. Until then, that nagging voice is just going to keep on haunting me.
Maryann can be reached at maryann@cavalierdaily.com.
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