Making
a Map of “Mulungu and the Beasts”*
A
myth of the Yao People
In
the beginning, man was not, only Mulungu and his people, the beasts. They
lived happily on the earth.
One
day a chameleon found a human pair in his fish trap. He had never seen
such creatures before and he was surprised. The chameleon reported his
discovery to Mulungu. Mulungu said, “Let us wait and see what the creatures
will do.”
The
men started making fires. They set fire to the bush so that the beasts
fled into the forest. Then the men set traps and killed Mulungu’s people.
At last Mulungu was compelled to leave the earth. Since he could not climb
a tree he called for the spider.
The
spider spun a thread up to the sky and down again. When he returned he
said, “I have gone on high nicely, now you Mulungu go on high.” And Mulungu
ascended to the sky on the spider’s thread to escape from the wickedness
of men.
*From Susan Feldman, ed. African Myths and Tales (New York: Dell, 1970) p. 35.
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1.
Identify the domains in the story.
2.
Describe each domain in terms of inhabitants, the rules of their discourse
derived from what they say, and the codes of behavior based on what they
do.
3.
What elements in the myth belong to the realm of the continuous or reversible?
What elements belong to the realm of the discontinuous or irreversible?
4.
How are the chameleon and spider alike? How is Mulungu different from others?
5.
How does the deployment of fire change relations between Mulungu and the
beasts? Between humans and beasts?
6.
Draw a map showing the relation between the origin of the human pair and
the destinations of the beasts, Mulungu and the human pair.