Robert Graves in
The white Goddess notes that this story has many parallels in myths from all over Europe and the middle east. He hypothesises a deliberate practice of ritual laming, which
god-kings would undergo as an alternative to
sacrificial kingship.
The injury is an anterior dislocation of the hip, which causes the tendons to contract, so that the heel is raised permanantly off the ground, causing the person to walk with a mincing gait.
This has given rise to stories about heroes and gods vulnerable to heel wounds, or tendon injuries (
Achilles,
Bran,
Krishna,
Zeus etc.) and gods with animal hooves (
Dionysus,
Pan,
Satyrs).
How to inflict an anterior hip dislocation on someone:
1)Stand the victim on a river bank, with one foot on land and one foot on a boat.
2)Tie their hair to an overhanging branch of a tree
3)Push the boat out into the water
A similar technique involves standing the victim on the back of a horse or similar animal (as in the stories of
Llew law and
Absalom.
This injury could also be simulated by
wearing high heeled shoes