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.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Fulbe Stories of Cattle
Post your interpretation of the Fulbe myth(s) here as a comment.
For my reading selection I decided to read the Fulbe stories of cattle. The selection is composed of three short stories each explaining the origin of cattle. While the themes remain similar, each represents a slightly different view of the events based on the origin. I found the stories to be pleasant to read and the themes were simple and clear.
In my opinion, myths such as these play an important role in explaining the everyday world that ancient peoples encountered but do not necessarily understand. These myths have their origin in a very simple time when cultures had not yet begun to develop systems for measuring and explaining the universe so instead a story was formed and passed down through the generations. The three stories all had a heavy emphasis on the origin of the cow being the river and the action playing out in a good herding environment like the one that the Fulbe occupied in Africa. Time is not really an issue for this culture as their view of time was more cyclical, not linear as we now view time. As far as the listener of these myths was concerned the story could have happened just before they were born or thousands of years before; it didn’t matter to them. All that mattered was that it explained why their way of life focused on the herding of cattle and other people follow a different lifestyle. The story of The First Cow: Why Fulbe Are Herdsmen does a very complete job of explaining the social structure of the plains. It explained why the Fulbe are herdsmen, why the Bambado are musicians (the origins of their instrument), and why the Labbo are woodworkers and not herdsmen or musicians. This myth also gives origin to the consumption of milk as a delicious beverage as well as curdled milk for eating.
I did not find the myths to be particularly focused on dealing with teaching the listener values as a parable would. However, the Muslim account did deal with the issue of infidelity briefly but without much emphasis on punishment. The illegitimate children were given the cows by their mysterious father as a gift and were told they could not return to the village. While the children were essentially exiled they did find a new and productive lifestyle.
I think myths from other cultures are a fantastic way to get to know the other culture on the most basic of levels. They are straightforward and honest. They also show (in my case) the reader what was important to the cultures that crafted them. While many cultures do not necessarily reference old myths to explain why things happen anymore the fact that they continue to be passed down through the generations is evidence to the deeper meaning and identity held within each myth for the culture.
The myths of a culture can often reveal hidden meaning that is not visible through the written history of a culture. These myths speak more of minute details of a society, and the thought process behind it functions.
The Fulbe stories of cattle all focus on cows, and two of them are also mention the river. This could show us the importance of these two components of Fulbe society. Traditionally the Fulbe were a nomadic peoples, so they would have often been concerned with the readiness of water in an area, and probably stuck close to the river. In reading these stories, I came to see the river as a giver of life. It gave up the cows to the people providing them with a livelihood that could suit their nomadic lifestyle.
The story of Tyamaba, The Great Serpent portrays the snake as a positive force in his human brother’s life. He tells his brother not to marry a small breasted woman, this could have perhaps alluded to the importance of fertility, especially in what would have been a nomadic people at this time. Even though the brother disobeys the snake’s orders, the snake still bestows on him a parting gift of all the cows he can touch. I had trouble reconciling the role that Tyamaba played in this myth with the connotation of serpents in Christian iconography, where the snake usually represents evil. I can offer no guess as to the significance of the animal in this story, though. And in the end of this story, just as the river had drawn the cows, it can also reclaim them. Again, is this an illusion to some maternal connotation to the river?
The myths of the Fulbe people attest to what was important to their lifestyle in a more subtle and sincere way. The repetition of the cows and the river show their obvious importance to the Fulbe, but more obscure imagery like the snake probably only holds significance to the people of that area.
3 comments:
For my reading selection I decided to read the Fulbe stories of cattle. The selection is composed of three short stories each explaining the origin of cattle. While the themes remain similar, each represents a slightly different view of the events based on the origin. I found the stories to be pleasant to read and the themes were simple and clear.
In my opinion, myths such as these play an important role in explaining the everyday world that ancient peoples encountered but do not necessarily understand. These myths have their origin in a very simple time when cultures had not yet begun to develop systems for measuring and explaining the universe so instead a story was formed and passed down through the generations. The three stories all had a heavy emphasis on the origin of the cow being the river and the action playing out in a good herding environment like the one that the Fulbe occupied in Africa. Time is not really an issue for this culture as their view of time was more cyclical, not linear as we now view time. As far as the listener of these myths was concerned the story could have happened just before they were born or thousands of years before; it didn’t matter to them. All that mattered was that it explained why their way of life focused on the herding of cattle and other people follow a different lifestyle. The story of The First Cow: Why Fulbe Are Herdsmen does a very complete job of explaining the social structure of the plains. It explained why the Fulbe are herdsmen, why the Bambado are musicians (the origins of their instrument), and why the Labbo are woodworkers and not herdsmen or musicians. This myth also gives origin to the consumption of milk as a delicious beverage as well as curdled milk for eating.
I did not find the myths to be particularly focused on dealing with teaching the listener values as a parable would. However, the Muslim account did deal with the issue of infidelity briefly but without much emphasis on punishment. The illegitimate children were given the cows by their mysterious father as a gift and were told they could not return to the village. While the children were essentially exiled they did find a new and productive lifestyle.
I think myths from other cultures are a fantastic way to get to know the other culture on the most basic of levels. They are straightforward and honest. They also show (in my case) the reader what was important to the cultures that crafted them. While many cultures do not necessarily reference old myths to explain why things happen anymore the fact that they continue to be passed down through the generations is evidence to the deeper meaning and identity held within each myth for the culture.
The myths of a culture can often reveal hidden meaning that is not visible through the written history of a culture. These myths speak more of minute details of a society, and the thought process behind it functions.
The Fulbe stories of cattle all focus on cows, and two of them are also mention the river. This could show us the importance of these two components of Fulbe society. Traditionally the Fulbe were a nomadic peoples, so they would have often been concerned with the readiness of water in an area, and probably stuck close to the river. In reading these stories, I came to see the river as a giver of life. It gave up the cows to the people providing them with a livelihood that could suit their nomadic lifestyle.
The story of Tyamaba, The Great Serpent portrays the snake as a positive force in his human brother’s life. He tells his brother not to marry a small breasted woman, this could have perhaps alluded to the importance of fertility, especially in what would have been a nomadic people at this time. Even though the brother disobeys the snake’s orders, the snake still bestows on him a parting gift of all the cows he can touch. I had trouble reconciling the role that Tyamaba played in this myth with the connotation of serpents in Christian iconography, where the snake usually represents evil. I can offer no guess as to the significance of the animal in this story, though. And in the end of this story, just as the river had drawn the cows, it can also reclaim them. Again, is this an illusion to some maternal connotation to the river?
The myths of the Fulbe people attest to what was important to their lifestyle in a more subtle and sincere way. The repetition of the cows and the river show their obvious importance to the Fulbe, but more obscure imagery like the snake probably only holds significance to the people of that area.
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