The role this kind of a myth plays in our societies today is that it allows us take a deep look into reality. We are able to see from a perspective that in reality, most but not all women are evil. Looking into the biblical story for instance, we saw how Eve the woman deceived her husband Adam and made them both disobey God. The same also applies to this story where we saw how a woman in her evil ways destroyed the brotherhood love shared by two brothers, she lied to the elder brother that the younger brother wanted to force himself on her, and this infuriated the elder brother and hence, destroyed the brotherhood love of the two brothers. In another circumstance from the story, we saw how a woman using her evil ways made it possible for her husband to be killed. When Bata told his wife all his secrets without hiding anything from her, she betrayed him by telling the pharaoh all the secrets of Bata and thereby leading to Bata’s downfall. Therefore, looking into reality, the myth plays a role in our society.
- Based on geography, place and time, these were not stated in the story. But we can tell that the story took place in the olden days and the geography should be in Africa, in particular Egypt because Egypt is the only country that calls their kings pharaohs.
- Such myths exist in our society, though some exist in the same form, others do not. For instance, the case of a woman breaking the brotherly love of two brothers is still common in our societies. Also the case of false rape accusation and betrayal of secrets by women is still on the rise.
- A lot of similarities exists between this myth and some other stories of origin. The story tells us of how a woman betrayed her husband by leaking his secrets to other people; this is also seen from a Christian perspective in the Bible. In the Bible, we learned of how Samson the warrior was betrayed by his wife because he told her his secrets, which she leaked to the Philippines. Another aspect of the story shows us how false accusation of rape can destroy friendship. We saw how Anubis wife lied to her husband that Bata wanted to force himself on her. Also tracing this to the Bible story, we saw how the pharaohs’ wife lied to the pharaoh that Joseph wanted to sleep with her by force and this destroyed the friendship between the pharaoh and Joseph.
- The might could be a parable that is intended to teach us something in real life. One of the first things I could say it had thought me is that one should not totally trust a person. Because Bata trusted his wife so much, he told her his secrets which she used for her own enrichment, she told his secrets to the king and Bata was killed. Secondly, brothers should learn to hold firm to their brotherly bond even in terms of difficulties. Bata and Anubis were not able to do this simply because of a woman who broke their brotherly bond.
To conclude, the story of the two brothers is a story that is intended to show us the various elements that can be seen in today’s life. Elements like that of brotherly love between two brothers, false rape accusation, hatred, love, preservation of the heart outside the body and other elements found in nature.
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3 comments:
Hi! I liked the way you refered to other myths (notably the Bible) to draw comparisons with African myths.
But, I must admit that I'm not sure I understand the assertion you make when you write "We are able to see from a perspective that in reality, most but not all women are evil." I may misunderstand, but I have the feeling that you suggest that most women are not trustworthy. I disagree with this idea because I think this is an unfair generalization. Don't hesitate to reply to my comment, I'd be glad to understand better what you meant exactly.
Yeah.... I understand your point. In truth, I do admit that it is an unfair generalization about women. Rather, I should had said women are not trustworthy instead of using the word "evil". Thanks for noticing the mistake, I do appreciate your concern. Bye
This is an interesting claim to me, indeed, and one that I find myself grappling with often. The reference to scripture to support the assertion that women are frivolous and more easily tempted than men is a fair, but somewhat inaccurate deduction worth closer examination. The verses in question, of course, are between Genesis 2:4 and 3:24, where Eve is seen to perpetrate the original sin. It is interesting to note, however, that the Muslim retelling of the story omits this distinction, and God places equal blame on man and woman, see 7:19:23 in the Quran. What can explain this discrepancy? Is it too great of a stretch to argue that patriarchal values have creeped into and merged with theological interpretation over the years? When we consider the designation of Mary of Magdalene a prostitute, which was retracted by the Church some half century ago, it becomes less difficult for me, at least, to begin to doubt the notion that God in His infinte wisdom created woman impetuous, or spiritually inferior. It is abundantly clear, in fact, from a wider reading of both Christian and Muslim scripture that men and women are spiritual equals, equally subject to God's will, and equally entitled to His grace. I would suggest to you, too, to take a look at Jewish Reform and Gnostic Christian interpretations of Genesis. Many scholars of these strains of thought contest the King James Bible's apparent ghettoization of the feminine.
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