Week 5 Reading Diary: Persian Tales

Persian Tales

The Wolf and the Goat

What an odd story. The little goat was not scared of the wolf at all and she just out smarted him in a snap! Wolves always seem to be out smarted in the end, though, no mater the culture. Funny the goats means of killing him was to make him drink a lot of water, that was different. Never mess with a mom of any creature, that's for sure. Mom's will kill for their babies.

The City of Nothing In The World

All of these stories start with, "Once upon a time there was a time when there was no one but God." But then these stories all have creatures in them other than God...
Also, what? This story makes no sense. Her eggs turned into a chicken and a rooster? How did she know they were hers? ....there was a town in the watermelon? And traffic? And what's with this sparrow that never goes home?

Susku and Mushu

Again, what the actual heck? These stories are so weird. And there is no point to any of them. A mouse and a beetle get married? And then every creature up to the humans are suicidal over the beetle's death... Odd.

The Boy Who Became A Bulbul

OH MY GAWH WHAT THE HECK IS THIS STORY EVEN SUPPOSED TO TEACH?! Killing children? Revenge? No remorse? No.

The Praying Baker

This tale isn't so bad! It makes sense and shows the importance of continuous prayer. I liked this one the most because it made sense.

The Sad Tale of the Mouse's Tail

Wow. I don't like this one either. Yet again. What the heck. Shouldn't the mouse be dead now since it lost its tail? And didn't the mouse lose her tail because of karma because she was stealing? Seriously? Weird.

The Story of the Wolf-Bride

Yeah...this made no sense. All I'm getting out of this is that one should not marry their cousin. Or try to change fate I guess? SO strange.

Tortoise Bowl on the Back and Fox

I agree that everyone who is greedy should be put to shame, but the turtles cheated. Hard core. That isn't fair either. I don't get these morals at all.

The Shepard Who Found a Treasure

This one was weird too. Dreams are so awesomely wonderful though so I'm not weirded out about this one as much as the others. Yay for the shepard finding the jewels and not having to work ever again!

Shah Abbas and the Poor Mother

Wow the Shah is a wonderful man! This story shows just how people perceived him while he reigned over Iran. I'm learning about him in my Modern Iran class, so it's really cool to hear a story about him not related to a history textbook.

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Essay for Week 4: The Bond of Brothers

The Bond of Brothers

(A Silouhette of a Family! Source: Wikipedia)

This week's reading had a lot of familial ties in it. I feel like every mythological story has a ton of familial relationships, but I noticed this week's especially. From Isis and Osiris and their family, and Nu being the father of everyone, to The Tale of King Rhampsinitus, there are encouraged and discouraged practices a plenty. 

First of all, the parental aspect of all of this was very odd to me. They encouraged revenge a ton. and even the means of revenge was horrible, mothers and fathers were encouraging murder! Especially in Ra and Hathor, Hathor killed a ton of humans and swam in their blood in pleasure! What the heck? Also, the parents encourage the drinking of beer a lot too. In celebration and in tricking others into doing what they want them to do, beer was mentioned a ton. The parents only seem to care about riches and have their family come second, especially the fathers. Like The Book of Thoth, Nefer-ka-ptah just uproots his family and moves them for his own selfish reasons. Also, while he is away searching for the book, he leaves his wife to worry and starve on the beach! The worst part is that because of the father's actions, his wife and son both die. All of these are horrible examples to set for children. On a more positive note, in doing all of these things, the children learn that they can and should stand up for themselves. That is a very good thing in life to do, but there are limits.

Now for the children, they had some bad tendencies too. Granted, the children have bad tendencies because they see their parents have given them wrongful guidance, but it's still bad. In The Tale of King Rhampsinitus, the brother kills his other brother! In an instant, without hesitating or argument! And then he was totally cool with carrying his brother's head out of the room. Then, he was calm, cool, and collected when he had to take his brother's body off of the wall. I just can't even imagine doing that to my sister. The vengeance that these children portrayed throughout this unit was very unsettling.

I cannot imagine any stories being written like this for contemporary stories. I feel like mythology was a very sadistic place and time for everyone. I wonder if real life was this way for the people that lived when these stories were created. Stories often reflect real things; it just makes a girl wonder!  

Storytelling for Week 4: Rhampsinitus Rhymes

Rhampsinitus Rhymes

Over Egypt, King Rhampsinitus once did reign,
He had so many riches, that anything he wanted, he could fain.
Next to his castle, the king built a room for all his treasure;
He needed to protect the things that brought him the most pleasure.

However, little did the king know that the people he hired,
Would construct a trick that would make his brain quite tired.
Secretly, one of the constructors made a wall nook,
So that he could come in and steal without the king knowing what he took.

After the building was complete and done,
The two sons of the constructor went out to have some fun!
Their father had fallen ill,
And told the boys about the nook so that they make take everything they willed.

So into the vault the brothers went,
Thinking of all the ways their new riches could be spent!
This went on for several nights,
Each time leaving the guards and king stumped by morning's light.

The king never could discover
Why his treasures were disappearing under night's cover.
To solve the problem, he decided to lay a trap
In order to give these robbers one good whap!

The next night, the robbers came in looking for the night's dealings,
But all of a sudden one brother was in a net at the ceiling!
"Brother!" he frantically bellowed,
"There's no way out for me,  you'll have to kill me, please don't be mellow."

The plan was for the free brother to slice off his kin's head,
Then run back out the nook, leaving the body unmarked and dead.
The free brother did as he was told
And ran away with his dead brothers head and three bags of gold.

The king awoke to the body swinging in the air
He was enraged that the other robber had gotten away, it just wasn't fair!
He had the corpse hung on the wall
To see if anyone would pass by to mourn at all.

Meanwhile, the mother of the corpse
Demanded her remaining son to retrieve the body in her remorse.
The son again did as he was told,
Went to the castle, tricked the guards with wine, and carried the corpse away, which was very bold.

Again the king was outraged that he had been fooled,
So he sent his daughter out to find this man and show him who really ruled.
The daughter found the robber and he confessed to her under false pretenses.
He managed to get away and the king almost lost his senses!

One final attempt to catch this thief,
He would hold a grand ball and if this failed he would forever angrily seethe.
The robber came and managed to schmooze them all,
So much so that the king's daughter married the robber the very next fall!

(Egyptian Bust. Source: Wikipedia)

Author's Note: This story is based off of the Egyptian Myth of the The Tale of King Rhampsinitus. This story was very ironic to me, it showed how the less fortunate are significantly more clever than the wealthy and that the wealthy can be fooled quite easily. I felt that this motif was simple that it needed to be in nursery rhyme form! And I also love to rhyme things, so that too.

Bibliography: Egyptian Myth and Legend, Donald Mackenzie, 1907.

Week 4 Reading Diary: Ancient Egyptian Myth and Stories

Ancient Egyptian Myths and Stories

Creation

This is very different from the Christian Creation story I read last week. It's almost opposite in a way...The beginning was the center of the earth from the depths of water, so it worked inside out! It grew outward, not inward as the Christian story tells.

The Secret Name of Ra

Woooooow. Isis is horrible in this story and in real life.. (pun) Tricking the highest god? That is not normal. Nor anything like the Christian story. It was a very interesting read though! Isis is freaking sneaky!

Ra and Hathor

I'm confused with this story. Did Ra die? And come back to life? Or did he just abdicate his throne to fight his enemies? These humans are so bold in thinking that they can take on a god! Hathor has no problem killing man kind, she's a bit sadistic.

The Death of Osiris

 This is a very interesting story. I like it very much. I'm sad the King died, but the way he died was very creative. I think I will probably do my Storytelling this week on this story! Kind of reminds me of the Trojan Horse, being inside a wooden compartment. I'm seeing a lot of similarities between Egyptian and Greek/Roman Mythology.

King of the Dead

I love this reoccurring theme of rebirth. Death is not the end at all. There is so much revitalizing throughout this story, it maybe hints at life after death as well. I love that Osiris is able to be the Judge and King of the Dead after he is resurrected.

The Green Jewel

This reminds me of Moses parting the Red Sea while Pharaoh's Army was chasing him and the Jews. There are plenty of overlaps between cultural stories that lead me to further believe that a lot of these stories are based on some truth of occurrence and are not just fables.

The Two Brothers: Part One (Through Four)

This sounds like John Steinbeck's East of Eden, with Cal and Adam. Which means it also sounds like Cain and Able from the Bible. Again, women are portrayed as extremely manipulative.This story is also weird. Bata turned into a bull? But only after dying. I don't follow.

The Book of Thoth: Part One (Through Three)

This story is slightly extreme. This guy is going through a ton of tasks just to get to a book. A book. I don't think I value books as much as this guy. It's not worth the struggle. Dang this story ends badly. They all literally die. In an instant. It was a bit too blunt.

Essay Week 3: Adam and Eve Assessment

Adam and Eve Assessment 

(Adam and Eve after eating the Forbidden Fruit, Source: Wikipedia)

Growing up in a Presbyterian Christian Church, the creation story and Adam and Eve is nothing foreign to me. I really enjoyed how I already knew a background to this unit; I knew what to expect. The stories from the King James Bible Translation were the stories that were most familiar, word for word familiar. I enjoyed them, but I also really loved the versions of Ginzberg like The Fall of Satan and Lilith, these two were really different! I had never heard the version of Eve naming herself Lilith and disobeying what God wanted, I used this story a bit in my storytelling this week. I liked that he made Eve have an actual personality and not just be a push over. 

I don't think there was any other background information that should have been provided for me, at least. Maybe for someone that is not familiar with the Genesis story or the Bible a bit of a prelude to what they were about to read would have been good, but not for me! I think the fact that I knew the story helped me get through this unit because of the language; some of the old English makes it difficult to get through in a good pace. I know I get frustrated tripping over "thou", "shalt", and "doth" all the time! 

What if there was a different translation of the Bible used? Instead of  the King James, maybe a more contemporary version, so the words are better to comprehend. Also, in They Die a First Time, I had no idea that Adam and Eve came close to death so many times! God revitalized Adam at least five times in this unit. That was news to me. Very interesting news none the less! It made me feel their agony that much more. 

I'm not yet sure what my overall goals are for this class, so I'm not sure how this unit fits in with them, but I definitely learned a lot and a universal goal I have is to learn. I also learned that there are so many different ways to look at a story and to alternate its contents. Even with a story as famous as the creation story. 

I loved the collaboration of parts so much! Gives me hope that I can achieve really awesome storytellings with everything I read this semester! 

Storytelling for Week 3: Eve's Eyes

Eve's Eyes

(God, Adam, and Eve after the fall from the Garden, Source: Wikipedia)

I was born into bright light and lots of noise. There was a figure standing near me, one I had never seen before. I had never seen anyone before. Let alone anything. I felt this weird sense of overwhelming awe at my surroundings and looked down to see that I had hands. I knew not where this knowledge came from, nor could I comprehend any thought that was going through my head. The figure was remaining by my side touched my shoulder and I flinched, for never had I experienced touch.

I looked into the figure's face and felt a feeling of immense affection, love, and gratitude. This was my Adam. I immediately knew his name. He was a tall, dark haired, dark skinned, and dark eyed man. He exhumed empowerment, strength, and a humbleness that could only be granted from God. God. My brain started swirling again. God created me. I knew in that moment that I was of Adam's rib. I was created to support Adam in all his days. He had named every creature on this land with God's guidance. God then spoke to us:

"I have formed both of you from the elements I created. I have great plans for you and all the generations that spring forth from you. You are the parents of the Earth; Father Adam and Mother Eve. Partake from all fruit in this garden, from every tree, but do not eat from the Tree of Knowledge. That is my one request."

We praised the Lord and took heed to His one rule. I ate all the fruit I could possibly stuff in my stomach and then more! We lived like this for days. It was wonderful in the beginning, but I grew rather bored of God's sole affection for my husband. I felt like a nothing. God told me He loved me all the time and I never doubted it, but I did not feel worthy of either of their attention. I let the emotions build up for a long while because I did not know what I was to do with them.

One day I just couldn't take it anymore. While Adam was praying by the tree line one morning, I decided I was going to go sit by myself underneath the Tree of Knowledge where Adam wouldn't think to look for me. As I sat and fumed in my anger, I heard a rustling in the shrubs to my left. As I looked into the shrubbery, one of God's creatures, the snake emerged on his two feet. He was a beautiful creature to behold and definitely a face to trust. Which I found out later, was the snake's hope from the beginning. He struck up a conversation with me about why I was alone and comforted me in my frustration. After a while the snake made me a proposition:

"Say, Eve, with all your anger you must feel the need to seek vengeance, no? You must let Adam and God know that you are worthy of their time and that you have a mind of your own, do not let them walk over you any longer. Why don't you pick a fruit of off this here Tree of Knowledge and take a vengeful bite?"

I looked at the trustworthy face of the snake and felt the urge to rebel. A fire of anger grew up inside my chest and before I knew what I was doing, the fruit was in my hand and headed towards my mouth. I took a bite. It was the most delicious fruit I had ever tasted. I looked to my left to find that the snake had disappeared and I ran back to Adam to show him my discovery.

I convinced my husband to taste the wonderful fruit that I had picked, forgetting that it was against God's rule because of the deliciousness. Adam fell in love with the fruit too and all of a sudden we realized that we were NAKED. Oh how embarrassed I was to be standing in the open like this. I couldn't handle it and neither could Adam, so we hid until the booming voice of God's voice entered the garden:

"My children, where do you hide? Why have you disobeyed me and eaten of the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge? Emerge now." Adam and I reluctantly came out of our hiding spaces and God spoke again, "You hide because you disobeyed, you both have sinned. This requires punishment. You are banned from the garden for 5,000 years, fated to walk the land outside and work to live. All of your generations will work as well, and you Eve, child bearing will be difficult. The snake fooled you, and in his treachery I have sentenced him and his generations to slither on his belly for eternity."

(Adam and Eve after the eating of the forbidden fruit, Source: Wikipedia)

At these words, we fell to the ground in grief and a deep sleep came over us. When we woke up, we were in a strange place and the darkness was overwhelming. Adam grieved inconsolably for days; pulling himself to death multiple times, only to have God revitalize him. 

I messed up. I knew that. My husband's agony was my doing. I was so angry with the snake for fooling me, but I was angry with myself for falling for it also. I was determined to get us through this. I comforted Adam as best I could and took care of him in all ways that I could think.

We eventually grew used to the land and learned to work with it. Adam continued to love me even though I made the mistake that ruined our paradise. We were happy. Happy as we could be in this forsaken land. God had mercy on us a lot and saved us from many early fates. He wasn't kidding when he said child bearing was going to be painful, sheesh! I had a time with Cain and Able. God is truly the provider though; He loves us and always will.

Author's Note: This story was based off of Adam and Eve from the Un-Textbook. I wanted to shed some light on the creation story from the eyes of Eve. We don't ever get to hear a woman's side of the story, let alone a woman from the Bible, so I thought this would give a nice change of pace! Eve gets blamed a lot for her mistake of eating fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, but that snake had a heavy hand in convincing her! It wasn't just her fault.

Bibliography: King James Bible (1611) Genesis.