Struggles with death. Myths in WestAfrica

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Struggles with death. Myths in West-Africa

• Walter E.A. van Beek
• African Studies Centre, Leiden
• Faculty of Humanities, Tilburg University

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Comparison cases

• Kapsiki/Higi, North Cameroon/North-East Nigeria
• Dogon, Mali
• Own field work
• Controlled comparison
• Sahel similar modes of production
• Slave reservoirs interaction with
  pastoralists
• Village based, millet cultivators

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Telling the tales

• By whom?
• Kapsiki anyone who knows, blacksmith
• Dogon man of the bush , master of the word
• For whom?
• K. anyone
• D. participants in ritual
• At what occasion?
• K. mens talk, didactic ceremonial
• D. funeral
• How
• K. telling as performance
• D. recitation, song

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What tales? (Kapsiki Dogon)

• Myths of migration
• Village protohistory
• Hero myths Hwempetla, Ambirè
• Myths on ritual
• Masks sigui
• initiation
• Myths on details of environment
• Encounters with risks death, epidemic, drought,
  water

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Observations

• No creation myths! (Also Dogon!)
• Separation heaven and earth
• Rhythm of seasons
• No origin of death
• No flood
• Types merge
• Myth
• Folk tale
• History
• Focus on lived reality
• Focus on human condition struggle with Death

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Examples

• Hero tale Kapsiki escaping Death
• Father-in-law
• Wager on brideprice
• Hiding, flying, surrender
• Ritual charter sigui (Dogon) Regeneration
• Anti-social behavior
• Through the elephant
• Rebirth
• Sigi ritual every 60 years

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Other differences

• Kapsiki
• Village based
• Culture hero
• Myth folk tale
• Dogon
• Supra-village
• Object oriented
• Word oriented

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Observations

• Invention of traditions
• Easy mix of new elements
• Oral processes relevant
• Focus on details rainbow!
• Varying relation with ritual
• Usually not strong
• Myths may start with a ritual

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Some conclusions

• Aetiology does not explain more problematic
• Myth does not answer, but renders the question
  superfluous
• African mythical corpus should not be contained
  by definition ritual charters more folktales
  than myth.
• Myth humanises environment and risks
• Myths form a window into human self definition

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