Sexual Horns: The Anatomy and Metaphysics of Cuckoldry in European Folklore FRANCISCO VAZ DA SILVA Institution ISCTE—University of Lisbon IN MEMORIAM ALAN DUNDES It seems remarkable how often we call “myths” the kind of arbitrary constructs in other peoples’ worldview that we tend to attribute to the nature of things in our own case. Double standards may be involved, of course; but it could also be the case that one tends to miss the semiotic essence of the cultural construct one calls “reality.” As every anthropologist knows, one’s most cherished cultural assumptions tend to remain implicit; otherwise put, worldview is largely unconscious. This paper explores the possibility of plumbing uncon- scious aspects of one’s own culture in order to assess what some might call—regarding other cultures—the mythic underpinnings of worldview. The pretext taken is the obscure, if unabated, folk notion of transmissible sexual horns. To clarify this notion, the following discussion engages the tre `s longue dure ´e of basic mental categories having endured in European folk- lore throughout centuries. Such a project entails taking into account ancient sources, along with modern ethnographies, to elicit immemorial folklore. But let me place a caveat here. In this exploration, tangible customs and so- called beliefs are not taken at face value; rather, they are seen as signifiers— pointers for a less tangible conceptual fabric of cultural meanings. Moreover, the discussion seeks such meanings in the subconscious logic of folklore imagery and customs, by trial and error, rather than in conscious rationaliz- ations by any particular individual. Indeed, it is assumed that even the tiniest scrap of folklore teems with significance if placed in its proper mental context. But what such contexts are cannot be postulated a-priori; instead, each has to be patiently unraveled. This is why it matters to set out from a conspicuous and resilient (if obscure) notion, such as transmissible sexual horns. From the start, there are obvious clues to follow. Any attentive reader of Shakespeare may notice that the theme of cuckoldry relates the ubiquitous topic of horns to a curious bird— the cuckoo. And the quizzical reader might wonder why cheated husbands 396 0010-4175/06/396 – 418 $9.50 # 2006 Society for Comparative Study of Society and History