Sunjata


In the West African Epic “Sunjata” it appears that Mansa of Konfara ‘s wife magically appears. He has all the power, therefore, all he has to do is dictate what he wants. The story was somewhat hard to follow due to the magical yet beautiful realism in the story.  I thought the whole ritual of the woman belonging to the as a possession to her husband, his family, and the village as germane.  It appears that the wife does not want to tend to her husband, let alone be married to him. It took me a few times to read the story to understand the woman’s role is below man in this particular society. The story does not evoke much hope for the female gender.  I am not sure as to why natural birth is not present in the story, I am wondering if it is because of Mansa of Konfara’s mystical powers.

Since we are studying the Middle East and India this week I decided to research wedding customs in Morocco.  I found the sequence of wedding events surprising. For example, on the fourth day of the wedding the couple actually marries. There are several different colors such as yellow which scares away the evil, while green brings good luck.  Even the food is specialized as at most Moroccan weddings fish and chicken are served to encourage fertility.  There is not much difference to “Sunjata” as far the wedding being a major celebration. There seems to be much more emphasis and celebration placed on other cultures wedding ceremonies than in the West. I sometimes wonder if it is because marriage in the West is sometimes blamed to not be sacred.


                                                                                Works Cited

http://wedding.theknot.com/wedding-planning/wedding-customs/articles/wedding-customs-and-traditions-from-around-the-globe.aspx

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