THE TWO BROTHERS

The story starts of by telling us about two brothers named Anubis and Bata, after the death of their father Anubis acted in place of him, taking care of the brother how a father should and in turn Bata served his brother by doing all the field work and because of him being dutiful and kindly the cattle took to Bata, therefore their herds where the best in region.
Now Anubis had a wife who took likeness to Bata and tried to lure him to lay with her, but he refused to succumb to her offer, afraid that he might tell his brother Anubis about her proposed infidelity she smeared her face so that it appeared she was beaten and ate herbs to make her stomach ill, then she lay in the dark doing nothing to prepare his meal. When Anubis returned he asked what happened she told him that Bata tried to lay with her, Anubis became infuriated and tried to kill his brother upon his return from the field but Bata was warned by the cattle and fled. The next morning speaking to his brother across the river made by the god of justice, Bata asked Anubis why he tried to kill him and in turn Anubis asked why he wanted to sleep with his wife. So Bata swore with the god of justice that he did not but Anubis did not believe and outraged by this Bata cut of his penis and threw it in the water and went to live in the valley of cedars.
Living there alone in the fine house he built, the god of justice told Khnum who makes babes that are placed in women’s wombs to fashion a wife for Bata, Khnum agreed and made the loveliest woman in the land to be Bata companion. But that wife would turn out to be a problem because she would disobey his instructions and while escaping the waves at the shore a lock of her hair fell into the waters, which now reached the pharaoh of Egypt. The pharaoh now sent his wise men to fetch her and she came with them willingly but she then told the pharaoh how to destroy Bata by cutting down the cedar tree where he kept his heart, so he cut the tree and Bata died.
Knowing about his brother’s death Anubis searched four year till he found his brothers heart in the flowers of the cedar tree and then he took the heart and put it in a container of water, by morning all the water had been drained by the heart and Bata was alive. Bata tells his brother that he would become a bull to be taking to the pharaoh so Anubis did as he was told and when with the pharaoh and his former wife passed Bata told her that he was still alive but she went to the pharaoh and asked him to allow her eat the liver of the bull he received which he reluctantly agreed.
While killing the bull two drops of blood spill on either side of the pharaoh’s door and grew into trees, but on passing the tree and hearing that it was Bata the princess disturbed by this meet the pharaoh for another favor asking him to use the trees to make furniture, which he agreed but watching the trees being cut a chip of wood flew into her mouth and she became pregnant and bore a son who later became pharaoh. The pharaoh told his wise men at a meeting how he was Bata and how he was killed three times, so the wise men punished the princess and then Anubis was summoned to be the prime minister to the pharaoh.
Myths play an important role in our society’s development, its gives us a sense of who we are and where we come from, it also help us answer questions we have had at the back of our minds for centuries. Myths also create a sense of tradition and the moral values attached to this culture created.
The story conveys a time in ancient Egypt which existed about several years ago when we had the pharaoh’s who where kings and ruled over the land of Egypt. I believe that such myths exist, for instance in my village called umuabali there are such myths but named differently, they are called folk tales where we hear of lions and tortoises doing things that can only exist in fantasy. The structure of the society that the myth explains to us, is one of a which reflects cities that are controlled by one individual the king, which is more of an authoritative ruling system which we have in modern countries today.
The myth acts as a parable which teaches us how to behave in our lives, that we should not be liars because the consequences might be dangerous and also we should believe in truth and always be dutiful and diligent like Bata in all that we do in life.