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(A "fetisher" who practices vodun pictured here in Benin - modern day Dahomey. I took this picture in February 2000.)
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Prof. Alzouma's class
Sannu! More students at AUN
Prof. Alzouma's class
African Civ - photo 2
Prof. Alzouma's class
African Civ at AUN-1
2 comments:
I thought that this myth was very interesting. Not necessarily relatable to material studied in class, but material that brought new perspective! The material in this myth was crude but also expressive of the times. I personally felt that this myth demonstrated the roles myths played in human societies of the time.
I was, personally, surprised by particular values I felt were conveyed by the myth. Most offensive I felt was Legba’s lechery. I found it very offensive to read about his crude behavior and habits. While I do not think Legba’s adulterous ways were characteristic of the times it’s interesting to see that so log ago people were faced with similar trials as we are today. I found it very offsetting that he would lay with the women he and his siblings had just murdered (p.101-2). It was these habits that are considered taboo today that make me question the peoples of that time.
I did find interesting and captivating the towns concern over the impotency of its men. My assumption would be that reproduction was not only a norm but also a necessity but that without this potential the people were lost. The attentiveness to survival is very interesting and was probably the top priority of people at this day in age.
I also found it very interesting to read about Legba, Aovi and Minona, each of them playing a role independently, but also scheming together. Their relationship and greed were pivotal characteristics in the development of the story. And while Legba is the most central character he feeds of the others and puts blame on them!
What immediately struck me about the myth of Legba was the similarities between the portrayal of the gods in that story and the same in the story of Eshu; the same sort of picture of the gods appears with the Egyptians and also with the Greeks. It speaks somewhat to the broad connections between the various peoples - Davidson makes a point of emphasizing how much economic and cultural intercourse there was amongst the various peoples of north and west Africa. But the highly human and personal nature of these gods is a general thread the runs through many ancient systems of belief.
So too with Legba. His licentious and wicked behavior seems to represent a fundamental contrast in the human spirit - the demand for order with a certain elan, a zest for chaos. At the same time you shrink in disgust from his behavior you marvel at his sheer willpower and indefatigable spirit. He represents the frightening and exhilirating actions of one with no cares and nothing to lose. In a Freudian sense, he might represent the id, the passions, and hence his story would stand as a parable speaking to the need for balance between desires and the needs of the community and family.
The most ready analogy that actually appeared to me about this story was that it sounded like something out of a soap opera. This may sound odd, but if you consider most ancient systems of deities - not just the Fon - there are certainly paralles. There are large, extended families - some of blood and some of marriage - and each character in that family (always a rich, powerful and respected one, aloof from the general doings of man) represents some fundamental trait, principle or philosophy. I think the two institutions serve much the same purpose, too: to present and examine exemplars or certain types of very human behavior and comment on them, providing a ready source of moral guidance from the virtues and vices of those supposed to be our betters. Shown in this light, stories such as Legba's are not only integral parts of African civilization - they're integral parts of ours, too, in that we tell much the same tales in much the same way.
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