What is its history?
Jencina May Butler
No one knows with any certainty who first had the novel idea of producing a musical note with a saw. Perhaps the most comprehensive history was penned by Jim Leonard in his book Scratch My Back–A Pictorial History of the Musical Saw and How to Play It (Kaleidoscope Press 1989). In his research Mr. Leonard encountered claims that it began with 19th-century roots in the Ozark Mountains of the U.S.; others stated the Appalachians; and still others suggested Scandinavian or South American woodcutters, African slaves, and so on. I doubt that credit (or blame) should fall on the shoulders of any one of these places. It’s most probable that the idea’s origin was multicentric –originating in multiple regions of the globe simultaneously– which makes sense considering the fact that saws had been available in most parts of the world. In addition, it’s likely that the first note to be heard was accidental, as a worker tossed or dropped a saw, or another tool happened to strike it.
– The earliest recorded use of the pentagram as a mystical symbol was by the Gnostics, who called it the Blazing Star. It was also considered by Christians during the middle ages to be a symbol of the Five Wounds of Christ, and used as a protective glyph, generally as a variation on the Seal of Solomon (a Star of David within a circle). – The association of the pentagram with non-Christian belief, and its modern “elemental” analysis, were evidently introduced during the revival of occultism in the 17th and 18th centuries. The Masons and similar groups such as the OTO took it up–for example, A.E. Waite is the person who introduced the symbol into the Tarot deck, replacing the traditional suit of Coins. – The use of the “inverted” pentagram to denote evil is a quite recent usage, and first appears in the works of Eliphas Levi. He is also the source of the “goat’s head” glyph. Before this, neither orientation had evil connotations per se. – The modern pagan movement picked up the pentagr
What follows is drawn from the AfterStep man page: AfterStep originated as a continuation of the BowMan window manager, originally developed by Bo Yang. BowMan was based on fvwm, which was written by Robert Nation. In turn, fvwm was based on twm. And so on. Open Source / Free (please pick your preferred term, without prejudice) software works exactly because of these sorts of traditions. Yay! The changes which led to AfterStep were originally part of BowMan development. As the desire for simple emulation was superseded by a desire to improve, the designers decided to change the name, and the AfterStep project was born.
