“The Palm-wine Drinkard” is a short story that follows a man whose life was centered on the drinking of palm wine and with the help of his palm wine tapster, he could drink as much as he wanted together with his friends. His tapster finally dies after falling from a tall palm tree whilst tapping palm wine.The man who is referred to as the “palm wine drunkard” buries the body of his tapster and embarks on a very long journey to find him in the land of the dead, which reveals various supernatural encounters throughout his journey. Although the author masterfully uses magical realism, personification, simile and irony to vividly tell the story of the drunkard, the improper poor use of proper grammar surprisingly made the text more understandable to read.
The setting of this story is not clearly disclosed but from the author’s choice of words like the use of “juju”, “traveling from bushes to bushes” and “native blacksmiths”, there is a clear depiction of a typical African village setting. In the story, the author seeks to create a picture of a world of traditional mythologies in the mind of the reader, where human beings easily mingle with beings from the spiritual world. The author also presents a world where
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The point within the story where the drunkard turned into a bird, death commanding the strings of a drum to tie the drunkard and also the Drinkard commanding the ropes of yam to tie him whilst the yam stakes beat him picture the use of magical realism within the text. Also, the fact that the drunkard claimed he was the “Father of the gods” who could do everything in this world and yet still, he spent all his time consulting various characters where he could find his dead tapster creates some irony at this point. But at a point in the story, there is also evidence that he is indeed the “Father of the gods “since he was able to capture death and turn into a bird at a
Myths are of great importance in the Navajo community because it is believed that it was a way to connect to the Holy People. The myth helps recognize symbolized supernatural in chants, translates the meaning of songs, and explains the importance of the ritual objects (Lamphere 1969). For example, there is myth of the two heroes who had gone through some misfortunes but thanks to the supernatural’s aid, the two heroes created a
When most western people think about Native American or African religions there is a certain stigma that comes with the topic. This is in part because there is a lot of misinformation in the world about Native American and African religions. When most westerners think of African religions they think of voodoo and black magic. Likewise, the view of Native American religions is still looked at through the lens of the pilgrims who wrote about Native Americans as being savages and less than human. These stereotypes were all formed from a lack of accurate information. African and Native American religions are very similar. It is difficult to find a lot of accurate information on African and Native American indigenous religions because of the lack of written history but there is a lot of oral history that has been passed down from generation to generation. From this information, it is clear that Native American and African religions have many more similarities than they do differences. Three of these similarities will be discussed in this paper. The first topic of discussion is the similarity between African and Native American people when it comes to their perception of the spirit world. Following this topic are the similarities between Native American and African views on the afterlife and finally, the diversity of beliefs within African and Native American religions.
The religion detailed and examined throughout Don Talayesva’s “Sun Chief” can be difficult to understand and near impossible to appreciate. At first glance to the casual reader it can appear shallow and ridiculous; a religion created around the wants and needs of the Hopi but not based on any empirical or even supposed sacred evidence. When coupled with The Sacred Canopy however, the reader begins to understand the simplistic beauty of their religion providing necessary guidance and support to the Hopi tribe. The reader also is able to relate to Don’s religion in terms of the love one has for his or her own dogma and the importance it plays in an individual’s life.
The author Maryse Conde has based the story of Segu on real life events and practices of the late 18th and early 19th century. The author has tried to bring out the tensions that existed in Africa at that time by using the four brothers of the Traore family,Tiekoro, Siga, Naba and Malobali as scapegoats. She talks about each of these characters in depth to show us their influences on the city. She shows how traditional religion and Islam impact each character in the story.
Stories that have been passed on for decades by Indigenous people have many cultural values and meanings that can help teach and guide others. In his book Earth Elder Stories: The Pinayzitt Path, Alexander Wolfe’s includes three stories “The Sound of Dancing,” “The Orphan Children,” and “Grandfather Buffalo,” that reveal important Anishinaabe cultural values. In the story “The Sound of Dance,” the value of family sacrifice is shown as a strong Anishinaabe cultural value. In the story “The Orphan Children,” Wolfe expresses the importance of orally transmitted knowledge as a core Anishinaabe cultural value. Then in “Grandfather Bear,” the keeper of knowledge emphasizes the importance of the connection to the past, especially within family relations in Anishinaabe culture. There are many cultural values that can be found in these three stories told my Alexander Wolfe. Family sacrifice is one of many values shown throughout these stories, specifically in the story “The Sound of Dancing”.
In John Bul Dau’s memoir, God Grew Tired of Us, he tells the inspiring and heart wrenching story of the Lost Boys of Sudan. This two hundred and eighty one page book was published in 2008 in the USA. John’s moving story begins by explaining the tense political situation in his beloved homeland, Sudan. Sudan is a country located in Northern africa. John was born in1974 into the Dinka tribe in the agricultural and cattle raising farm of Duk County. The environment of southern Sudan is scorching hot and dry, however the farmers and herders in Sudan, including the one’s in John’s own village, adapted to their surroundings by using different techniques to hunt and grow produce varying on the season. He grew up in his peaceful village very
While reading both ethnographies “The Hadza: Hunter-Gather of Tanzania” and “From Mukogodo to Maasai” it is easy to spot out differences and similarities between both these simple, yet complex, societies. People tend to believe that indigenous populations are always very similar, as I once did, but I would say while reading these ethnographies I found more differences between these communities and cultures than I did similarities. For my essay I am going to compare both the Mukogodo’s culture and life before and after the transition to Maasai to the life and culture of that of the Hadza. I am going to focus specifically on the similarities and differences between labor and labor
Commonly referred to as Bushmen by the general public and thought of as being harsh wild people that live in the “unlivable” Kalahari Desert. The Ju /’hoansi tribe native to the southern African desert, located along the border of Namibia and Botswana, have been misunderstood and stereotyped for a long time. This is until a man by the name of Richard B. Lee came along and wrote an ethnography about the local systems of the Ju and completely changed how an outsider might view this rural tribe, along with being a fine example of proper long-term field research in social anthropology. This highly regarded book on the Ju /’hoansi is titled “The Dobe Ju /’hoansi.” Although Lee states in the
Chapter one, “Fieldwork among the Maisin”, describes how anthropologist John Barker, author of Ancestral Lines, goes to Uiaku New Guinea to study the Maisin people. His specific goals were to study how a people can maintain a cultural identify in a modernizing world and how they can live without destroying their environment. Barker first arrived in New Guinea in 1982 where he examined “how the Maisin make a living, organize social interactions, conceptualize the spiritual world, and meet the opportunities and tragedies of life” (Barker 2016:2). He studied the tapa cloth, a fabric made from bark, that the Maisin use as a connection to their ancestral past and to help define their culture. Barker discovered that the Maisin have faith in traditional methods and do what they can to preserve that lifestyle. Barker‘s work went
The story by Abani is set in an African background. It may be unfair to render the people as backward automatically, but their decision to act arbitrarily and against the wishes of the elders speaks of weakness regarding civility. Like the villagers in Jackson’s story, the bloodthirsty mob carries out an illogical and crude act with no regard for the life of the man they perceive to be a thief in the hope that the children will learn a valuable lesson.
Amontillado is a classically known amber-colored, medium-dry sherry wine, and in the case of Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado, it is the taste for Amontillado that results in the unfortunate and rather untimely death of Fortunato at the hands of the maniacal Montresor. Revenge is something that no one should have to experience; however, sadly sometimes, it is an inevitability that cannot be avoided. The Cask of Amontillado exposes Poe’s dark side and cruelty towards society and the world. In this short story, Poe tells about a rich drunk man, Fortunato, picking on a not-so rich friend, Montresor, but things quickly take a turn when Montresor decides to take out his revenge against his “pal.” Poe uses ethos, logos, and pathos deeply throughout his storyline to enhance the story and better the imagination of the characters, the deep meaning behind the setting, and the Amontillado’s secret.
The historical novel Segu by Maryse Condé is set in the African country of Segu during a time of great cultural change. The African Slave Trade, the spread of Islam, and personal identity challenges were all tremendous and far-reaching issues facing Africa from the late 1700s to early 1800s. Condé uses the four brothers of the Traore family, Tiekoro, Malobali, Siga, and Naba, to demonstrate the impact that the issues of Islam, slave trade, and identity had on African people through the development of each character. The oldest of the sons, Tiekoro exemplifies the influence and spread of Islam through out Africa at the time.
In a freezing class, two brilliant minds unlocked the fiery passion that is their talent one an artist the other a writer. Bringing to light a history long forgotten creating abstract thoughts arbitrary to our own. Komi Olaf the artist and Okey Ndibe the writer not only enlightening the class but also the world with each brush stroke and each word. Every creation stemming from the hands of these masters tell of issues at the heart of Africa from colonialism to existential dilemmas. Thru spoken word, hip-hop, art, music, poems and literature issues close at heart to the artists and to Africa are portrayed. This paper will focus on the art exhibit by Komi Olaf and Foreign Gods inc by Okey Ndibe as spoken by them during their discussion in the class on October 13th. Where the talks focused on the key course objectives being stereotypes, post-colonialism, youth culture, and resistance.
Mr. Mdeouze influenced Jose to write that incredible story. He told him enough stories to open up his imagination and produce a beautiful paper. Mr. M taught Jose the power of language. For extra credit for this class, I listened to an interesting lecture about African Storytelling. This is what Mr. M reminded me of. Traditional storytelling is usually told by adults and spoken to children about life, rewards, and consequences. The fables are usually metaphorical stories that have to do with lessons children will learn in their daily lives. While Jose listened to Mr. M’s
For some, coming of age is a time of obstacles and success in a young youth's life. It involves a number of trials that is needed to overcome to become mature. Although, obstacles are not the only features that a young adolescents will encounter. The journey will happen beginning with successes and triumphs that will come to the shaping of who they are to become. One can simply presume that the occurrence taking place in the world would have a strong impact on how an adolescent comes of age. The tale Old Chief Mshlanga focuses on the main character, the protagonist known as “she” or little Nkosikaas her encounter with an African chieftain that causes her to see the differences between her people and the natives of the land they reside. The author, Doris Lessing, uses the protagonist to show radically changing attitudes towards the Old Chief Mshlanga.