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.
When I first read the myths of the people of Kanem and Bornu, I got lost in the foreign words and huge exaggerations. After a second look though, I began to see the similarities between the stories told here and stories from our culture and others around the world.
The Kanem myth begins with an account of where the different tribes came from. They each trace their lineage back to one of five half-brothers who came from the Middle East to settle in the land near Lake Chad. At first this seemed sort of absurd to me, but then I remembered other similar traditions. The Jews trace their ancestry back to Isaac, and the Muslims trace theirs back to Isaac’s half-brother Ishmael. The similarity between the two traditions is striking.
In another of the myths, “The Wars with the Bulala,” there is a prophecy that a king’s son will succeed the current king. This theme of prophecies and some sort of right to a position of leadership is also common across cultures. In medieval Europe, the kings were thought to have the Divine Right from god to rule their kingdoms. In China, the emperors were thought to have the Mandate of Heaven. Prophets in holy books from many religions claim knowledge of leaders to come.
I found one thing difficult to decipher- the role of women in the societies where these myths were taught. The individual female characters introduced seem like strong characters. One mother successfully schemed to protect her son from death, while another ruled the kingdom. However, the woman who ruled had to pretend to be a man, and when the people found out they were being ruled by a woman, they were upset. To me, it seems like women are portrayed overall as inferior to men, even though they play integral parts in the stories.
Hello, I strongly agree with your comment Sasha. Women are seen as inferior to men but they play very integral parts in the stories. These myths come to play because even in our modern society discrimination of women among men are still noticeable even though they have all done extremely well and performed duties assigned to them in their various areas of participation.
Hi Jennifer, Thanks for your response. I would definitely like to know more about how the inferiority of women as seen in the myths plays out in present-day African society. I know here in the US, gender discrimination is still a problem, with women receiving three-fourths of what a man earns for exactly the same job. It is interesting that these prejudices have such old roots in societies all over the globe and unfortunate that they have continued to the present day.
3 comments:
When I first read the myths of the people of Kanem and Bornu, I got lost in the foreign words and huge exaggerations. After a second look though, I began to see the similarities between the stories told here and stories from our culture and others around the world.
The Kanem myth begins with an account of where the different tribes came from. They each trace their lineage back to one of five half-brothers who came from the Middle East to settle in the land near Lake Chad. At first this seemed sort of absurd to me, but then I remembered other similar traditions. The Jews trace their ancestry back to Isaac, and the Muslims trace theirs back to Isaac’s half-brother Ishmael. The similarity between the two traditions is striking.
In another of the myths, “The Wars with the Bulala,” there is a prophecy that a king’s son will succeed the current king. This theme of prophecies and some sort of right to a position of leadership is also common across cultures. In medieval Europe, the kings were thought to have the Divine Right from god to rule their kingdoms. In China, the emperors were thought to have the Mandate of Heaven. Prophets in holy books from many religions claim knowledge of leaders to come.
I found one thing difficult to decipher- the role of women in the societies where these myths were taught. The individual female characters introduced seem like strong characters. One mother successfully schemed to protect her son from death, while another ruled the kingdom. However, the woman who ruled had to pretend to be a man, and when the people found out they were being ruled by a woman, they were upset. To me, it seems like women are portrayed overall as inferior to men, even though they play integral parts in the stories.
Hello,
I strongly agree with your comment Sasha. Women are seen as inferior to men but they play very integral parts in the stories. These myths come to play because even in our modern society discrimination of women among men are still noticeable even though they have all done extremely well and performed duties assigned to them in their various areas of participation.
Hi Jennifer,
Thanks for your response. I would definitely like to know more about how the inferiority of women as seen in the myths plays out in present-day African society. I know here in the US, gender discrimination is still a problem, with women receiving three-fourths of what a man earns for exactly the same job. It is interesting that these prejudices have such old roots in societies all over the globe and unfortunate that they have continued to the present day.
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