Glossary (By Nathan)

The welcoming post referred to several unique words that Kurt Vonnegut invented to use in Cats Cradle. These had a profound impact on the story. In the story, these words describe a theme in Bokononism (the religion in the book). Much of the protagonist's beliefs revolve around something called a Karass. A karass is a team that does "Gods will without ever discovering what they are doing." (2) Throughout the novel the author uses the protagonist's belief in his karass to accentuate the seemingly random occurrences that affect the story. One of the most important themes in this book is the idea of a vin-dit. A vin-dit is one's personal shove towards Bokononism. As the novel progresses, the reader notices several vin-dits that reveal truth to the narrator. Some of the words in the story describe unusual practices of Bokononism, these words add character to the story. One such word is Boku-Maru. Boku-Maru is a ritual in which two bokononists rub the soles of "their bare feet together." Bokononists believe that by doing this, people can deeply understand each other. These unusual words are crucial to understanding the ideologies of Cats Cradle.