This blog is for students of Civilizations of Africa at American University in Washington, DC and the ABTI-American University of Nigeria in Yola. You can use the blog for class assignments, to comment on things we've discussed in class and interact with other students.
I read the myths about Eshu of the Yoruba. The first myth was called “Eshu’s Knowledge”. It very much conveyed that knowledge is to be cherished above all else. It displayed that knowledge leads to wealth, as the Father made everyone give Eshu gifts, and it makes you almost above human. Eshu was able to learn how the Father made humans, which gave him an ability to understand how they work. The myth also stated how Eshu did not become impatient and stayed for sixteen years with the Father and he arrived first to receive his powers because he had no possessions or farm that he had to worry about. I feel that this myth essentially preaches that as long as knowledge is your first priority, you will be successful in life. At the end of the myth, Eshu says “Lazy men live by their wisdom; only fools do not know how to manage their affairs”. We hear all the time that “If you think you know it all you know nothing” and things of that nature, and I think this myth is emphasizing that. The second myth, entitled “Eshu, Orunmila and the Servant of Death”, spoke on the origin of the mark of Agbigbo, who was the servant of death. It states that if you offer gifts to the orishas, they will reward you. The offerings that Orunmila took to Eshu were what Agbigbo wanted in order to keep Orunmila alive. Making an offering essentially saved his life. When I first read this myth, I didn’t understand what I was supposed to get out of it. I took it in its most literal form and thought that it was about the creation of the mark of Agbigbo. I then began to picture an older person telling this myth to a child. I realized that this was more about preaching a certain practice. I feel that this myth can relate to any religion. As a child I was always told to say my prayers and something good will come of them. I was able to realize what this myth wanted to express when I thought about my own situation. The last myth, called “Eshu Parts Two Friends” showed the trickster side of Eshu, that was explained in the introduction. Two close friends swore nothing would part them, so Eshu walks by them wearing a hat; one side is white and the other red. The two friends argue over the color of the hat. Eshu walks back in the other direction and the two argue again because they thought they were being mocked when the other saw a different color. Essentially the moral of this myth is to not take your friends for granted. That you shouldn’t let a silly argument ruin a lifelong friendship. I feel that all of these myths have universal themes. The importance of knowledge, traditional practices, and friendship are all taught through these myths. These are subjects that I have been exposed to since childhood.
In reading the some of the myths it is interesting to see how simple the are textually. That was one major surprise. As I remember story tellers that used to come to my elementary school- although the inevitable lesson was typically a simple one the stories were usually more draw out. When I went to read this story and finished, I thought, "that's it?" Yet the deeper messages and meanings within them were still fairly obvious and prominent. - Although our current Western society lacks in the actual myths themselves I think there is a huge parallel with African Myths and the adages and saying within our culture, such as "Golden Rule" and "Don't count your chickens before they hatch". These sayings, although shorter than the myths convey similar messages. Most of Western society also has the Bible or Old Testament (Torah) which, depending on interpretation is mythical and serves as a set of stories as a reference and guide on the way we live our lives, exactly as the function of these African Myths. Although these African myths may not have the same religious connections, they still hold the same fundamental values as the testaments and adages of our society. - The myths and stories in both African and more Western cultures can give hints about everything from agricultural habits to family structures. Most stories like the Eshu story have a patriarchal- figure - Father - who might be interpreted the same as the Western G-d, who is often referred to as a He. The stories also point to social norms and class/hierarchical structures as well that have embed messages such as "respect your elders". As it seems the Eshu story preaches. Simple values that serve to educate the youth (typically the ones being told the stories) of Western and African societies. - The Eshu story also gives us hints about time and place with the reference to farming in two of the stories. In the first, it mentions that farming was basically a 25/7 thing done by the individual- indicating a rural time of the past were responsibility was a family value and the farms were constantly in need of tending- not so far off as today, but clearly a time earlier than now when technologies existed to allow people ease up on the work. In the last, it also mentions farming again. The middle story mentions sacrifice, which may still be practiced, but is less prominent. This could mean the story is older from a time of more frequent sacrifice or from a more indigenous peoples/area.
4 comments:
I read the myths about Eshu of the Yoruba. The first myth was called “Eshu’s Knowledge”. It very much conveyed that knowledge is to be cherished above all else. It displayed that knowledge leads to wealth, as the Father made everyone give Eshu gifts, and it makes you almost above human. Eshu was able to learn how the Father made humans, which gave him an ability to understand how they work. The myth also stated how Eshu did not become impatient and stayed for sixteen years with the Father and he arrived first to receive his powers because he had no possessions or farm that he had to worry about. I feel that this myth essentially preaches that as long as knowledge is your first priority, you will be successful in life. At the end of the myth, Eshu says “Lazy men live by their wisdom; only fools do not know how to manage their affairs”. We hear all the time that “If you think you know it all you know nothing” and things of that nature, and I think this myth is emphasizing that.
The second myth, entitled “Eshu, Orunmila and the Servant of Death”, spoke on the origin of the mark of Agbigbo, who was the servant of death. It states that if you offer gifts to the orishas, they will reward you. The offerings that Orunmila took to Eshu were what Agbigbo wanted in order to keep Orunmila alive. Making an offering essentially saved his life. When I first read this myth, I didn’t understand what I was supposed to get out of it. I took it in its most literal form and thought that it was about the creation of the mark of Agbigbo. I then began to picture an older person telling this myth to a child. I realized that this was more about preaching a certain practice. I feel that this myth can relate to any religion. As a child I was always told to say my prayers and something good will come of them. I was able to realize what this myth wanted to express when I thought about my own situation.
The last myth, called “Eshu Parts Two Friends” showed the trickster side of Eshu, that was explained in the introduction. Two close friends swore nothing would part them, so Eshu walks by them wearing a hat; one side is white and the other red. The two friends argue over the color of the hat. Eshu walks back in the other direction and the two argue again because they thought they were being mocked when the other saw a different color. Essentially the moral of this myth is to not take your friends for granted. That you shouldn’t let a silly argument ruin a lifelong friendship.
I feel that all of these myths have universal themes. The importance of knowledge, traditional practices, and friendship are all taught through these myths. These are subjects that I have been exposed to since childhood.
In reading the some of the myths it is interesting to see how simple the are textually. That was one major surprise. As I remember story tellers that used to come to my elementary school- although the inevitable lesson was typically a simple one the stories were usually more draw out. When I went to read this story and finished, I thought, "that's it?" Yet the deeper messages and meanings within them were still fairly obvious and prominent.
-
Although our current Western society lacks in the actual myths themselves I think there is a huge parallel with African Myths and the adages and saying within our culture, such as "Golden Rule" and "Don't count your chickens before they hatch". These sayings, although shorter than the myths convey similar messages. Most of Western society also has the Bible or Old Testament (Torah) which, depending on interpretation is mythical and serves as a set of stories as a reference and guide on the way we live our lives, exactly as the function of these African Myths. Although these African myths may not have the same religious connections, they still hold the same fundamental values as the testaments and adages of our society.
-
The myths and stories in both African and more Western cultures can give hints about everything from agricultural habits to family structures. Most stories like the Eshu story have a patriarchal- figure - Father - who might be interpreted the same as the Western G-d, who is often referred to as a He. The stories also point to social norms and class/hierarchical structures as well that have embed messages such as "respect your elders". As it seems the Eshu story preaches. Simple values that serve to educate the youth (typically the ones being told the stories) of Western and African societies.
-
The Eshu story also gives us hints about time and place with the reference to farming in two of the stories. In the first, it mentions that farming was basically a 25/7 thing done by the individual- indicating a rural time of the past were responsibility was a family value and the farms were constantly in need of tending- not so far off as today, but clearly a time earlier than now when technologies existed to allow people ease up on the work. In the last, it also mentions farming again. The middle story mentions sacrifice, which may still be practiced, but is less prominent. This could mean the story is older from a time of more frequent sacrifice or from a more indigenous peoples/area.
Added sentence- The myths serve as lessons of common courtesies and values universal and specific to each culture they exist in.
On more- the myths such as the first Eshu one, teach lessons such as "Knowledge is power" and cherish education- as Jayme says.
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