By Heyrsh Abdulrahman
08/12/2009
Introduction
Some traditional cultures of the African countries are represented with various stories. The story of Sundiata represents the cultures of Mali while the story of Genji represents the traditions of the Japanese. These two stories are important because they teach the origin of some cultures in some countries (Niane 1995). They generally represent the African kingship and how they influenced the African cultures. Families were said to shape individual’s lives and the general outlook of an individual. The African culture was generally characterized by ancestral worship and the fact that they had power over nature i.e. They were religious and could communicate with the dead (Shikibu 2002).
Thesis statement
The cultures of the world were similar in the African countries in their belief of supernatural powers, social status of women, families and communal sharing.
Evidence
Belief in supernatural powers
The Mali and the Japanese believed in supernatural powers and that they were in control of the nature. They were guided by their beliefs of supernatural powers in their day to day activities. The king consulted the supernatural powers before making major decisions for the people and for himself. The power of the magicians and witches were the ones believed to be in control of nature; everything happened because of their powers (Niane 1995). There was power in the bad words that were uttered by the people and at times, they could be terrorized at night as punishment for the wrong they may have done.
The people would occasionally hear cries at night from their own people who had died and this is proof of the supernatural powers that they believed in. The Mali people emphasized that anyone who disobeyed the spirits was not forgiven and they had to suffer for the consequences of their sins. According to the Genji, the sins they committed were not forgiven by the supernatural beings and the consequences were suffered among the succeeding generations (Shikibu 2002).
The social status of women
The women were termed as evil by both cultures and any evil which took place in the African countries was termed to be as a result of the women. This was because their social status in the countries was very low (Niane 1995). They could not make any decisions on their own; they had to rely on the decisions that were made by their husbands or the king who was their spokesperson to the spiritual world.
Everything that they did was controlled by the supernatural powers. Among the Mali’s, there were some animals that represented misfortunes like some specific birds that were bad omen. Genji having been born in the palace by a woman who was regarded as very low in the society was not lucky enough to inherit the kingship. This depicts the way women were regarded in the society (Shikibu 2002).
The fact that women were regarded as of a low status made Genji exploit them by having many women lovers. The king also impregnated the lady who was termed to be of a low position and never married her; he instead took the son into his palace after her death. The son though was still regarded not to be an heir because he was born by a woman of low status (Shikibu 2002).
Sharing
The Mali’s believed in the sharing of what they owned; it was a symbol of love and oneness to them. Sundiata was referred to as a successful king because he had left behind a poem that the people could share. They also emphasized sharing of duties as a way of symbolizing success. Power lies in the works that the kings did and not in the many words that they spoke. In the cases of drought in the land that cleared the granaries of all other people, they would go for their share of food from the king’s palace and the king represented peace (Niane 1995).
They believed that success was achieved when people adventured together. The Sundiata`s depended on one another for success and they believed that a great king forgot no one but would work for the best of every person. The Genji`s also believed in sharing among the families and the community at large.
Families
They had major influences in the lives of the characters. The African countries believed in large families which comprised of the extended families. They were also comprised of the clan at large which would make major decisions for the groups’ associated with them. They believed in communal work and that’s why the Japanese sometimes had communal baths (Shikibu 2002).
The families were so united that they assisted one another whenever a need would arise. No one was supposed to go against what was termed as right or wrong otherwise, they would face the consequences of their acts and at times, they would face severe punishments from the supernatural world. They communally believed in supernatural powers.
Men were allowed to marry many wives and they had big families with many children; this determined the level of wealth of the people. For example, the king (Genji’s father) had several wives as well as the son who had several lovers whom he would bring home (Shikibu 2002). The Sunditas believed that because one could not choose the families where they would be born, then they had to obey the rules that were set but one was free and able to choose their friends.
Inheritance was also very common among the people and that’s why kingship positions were inherited by the sons of the kings. There were some great responsibilities among the families and that’s why when the king impregnated the woman outside wedlock, he was responsible enough to take his own son and bring him up even after the death of the mother (Shikibu 2002). A person was therefore a member of the family, clan and the community and was expected to respect the elderly people especially their parents. This is what paved a way to the ancestral worship in these cultures whereby the dead were able to interact with the living. Members of the families had to fight their way out of the poverty they were in e.g. Sundiata overcomes many handicaps in order to emerge as a great warrior (Niane 1995).
Conclusion
Traditional African societies shared similar cultures and were governed by religion that stipulated the worship of supernatural beings that were deemed powerful and could determine one’s fate.
Families had strong bonds which were as a result of what the people believed in. Some of these cultures have changed with time while others have been adopted into the new world order e.g. Religion.
Reference
Niane 1995, An Epic of Old Mali, Longman African Writers Series, 2nd edition, Longman publishers.
Shikibu 2002, The Tale of Genji, Penguin Publishers.
- KurdishMedia.com - By Heyrsh Abdulrahman
