Category Archives: Myths

Sacred narratives

The Stone and the Chiefs Daughter

Myth:

[originally in Setswana, translated to English]

“This story is about three girls. One of the girls is the Chief’s daughter. The three girls were very good friends however the chiefs daughter was a petulant child because she had lived a life of entitlement. She believed she was better than everyone and everything else because of her important status in the village. Her entitled attitude went on for her entire life and no one could ever get her to change.

One day, all three girls were sent to go collect firewood through a narrow road filled with rocks and stones. Nthediane, the princess [chiefs daughter], tripped on a rock. After falling, she began to cuss out the rock to no end, spewing every insult under the sun until her anger subsided and the girls continued on along the road to collect all the firewood.

On the way back to the village there was suddenly a giant boulder blocking the path that was not there before. The stone from before had turned into this boulder and there was no way past. This made Nthediane angry once more so she began to yell at the boulder. She went on and on about how the Chief will hear about this and she can’t believe this rock is disrespecting her.

One of her friends began to apologize to rock with a song. The song went: “Please rock, I’m not the one who cursed you, let me pass.” After this song, the rock made a small opening and let the girl through and then closed behind her.

Now it was just two girls left. The second girl asked Nthediane to apologize so that they could all go home, but the princess refused. So the second girl apologized to the rock with the same song her friend sang, and once again a small opening let her through. Now just Nthediane was left and still she wouldn’t apologize.

The two girls ran to get the chief to tell him what happened. The chief and the entire village went back along the path to go and get the princess and bring her home, However, when the horde arrived, the boulder had become a mountain and buried Nthediane underneath.”

Context:

This story was told by K who is a middle aged woman who has lived in Botswana her entire life. K first heard this from her father as a child after he would get home from work. At that time parents didn’t really sit down and talk with kids like parents do now, so sharing stories was how they passed down information and gave advice. This story stayed with K because she believes to this day in the importance of respecting everything in the universe.

“Setswana tales are always to teach us something as children. In the villages we did not have TV therefore these stories were told around the fire as dinner was cooking as a bonding time with the parents and entertainment to the kids while teaching the kids a life lesson aswell. This story specifically teaches us to live in balance with nature. That not only is respecting adults, parents, and peers important, but also the world around you, no matter how seemingly insignificant. If you don’t respect the universe there are consequences.”

Analysis:

A major purpose of a tale is to have some sort of lesson or moral. This story is aiming to teach children to always be kind and humble regardless of how much power and importance you have, or how little power and importance the other person has. As is the culture in Botswana, one must always treat everything with respect whether they are poor, or the chief, or an animal in the bush, or a rock on the road. Additionally, the anthropomorphism of the rock aims to teach that respect does not only go for people, but everything around you. This legend, like many in traditional children’s stories, includes a song which makes it more appealing to a wider range of children. If a child is disinterested in the storytelling itself, they may be interested in the song, either way, they learn the tale and are in turn taught the lesson of the story. The parallels between this story from year and years ago is still relevant today with the issue of climate change, perhaps if this tale was told more widely around the would people would have greater respect for the planet we inhabit.

The Gentle Giant

Nationality: Spanish

Primary Language: Spanish/English

Age: 25

Occupation: Student

Residence: Madrid

Date: 3/28/2024

Text: 

The Basajaun is a large, hairy human-like creature that we believe as Basques. He is believed to be a gentle giant, guardian of the woods, that helped our ancestors with agriculture and helped keep livestock alive. One of our mythological creatures that is believed to be the friend of Baque Shepherds. 

Context:

The participant has known this mythological creature for as long as he can remember and explains its origin from his hometown, Basque Country. He believes his parents first told him about it as they explained there were other entities that helped their agriculture. 

Analysis:

This mythological creature reminds me of the agriculturally used mannequin, scarecrow, as they most scare away predators from eating entering their agricultural lands. Although the Basajaun is more human-like and is able to communicate with the farmers. This myth relates more to the Basque country’s history though and their first homo-sapien ancestors, as they possibly encountered another civilization that taught them the intricacies of agriculture. 

“Cuando el Tecolote Canta, el Indio Muere”

Informant Info:

  • Nationality: Mexican
  • Residence: San Diego
  • Primary language: Spanish/English

Text and Context:

M.W grew up in a small rural town in Mexico, where superstitions are dominant in everyday life. From a young age, her parents instilled in her the belief that owls are a bad omen. She says, “Cuando el tecolote canta, el indio muere.” This translates to,  “When the owl sings, the Indian dies.” Basically, if you were to hear the owl sing, it was thought that someone known or close to you is about to die. M.W says there are lots of superstitions involving owls, and all are negatively associated. She recalls once when it was night, an owl sang and then something unexpected happened right after. A bird hit itself on a wall shortly after, and then in the morning it was known that her neighbor passed away around the time the owl sang. M.W recalls that every time she heard the owl, someone died, ended up in the hospital, or very sick. In her culture, the owl was feared and when seen, it led to an eerie sensation. 

Analysis:

When talking to M.W, what stood out was when she told me, “Something about the owl had always unsettled me. In the night time, the eyes are so spooky and the fact that they can move their head 270 degrees is just creepy.” After doing some research, I found that the association between owls and bad luck runs beyond just Mexican culture. Amongst many cultures, owls are also seen as omens of death and are avoided. For example, in Native Cherokee culture, the owl is believed to be an embodied spirit of the dead. In my Mexican culture, I was also told that owls are also called “lechuzas” in spanish. Lechuzas are typically referring to barn owls or larger owls. There are lots of myths associated with owls, another one being that witches can transform themselves into owls. 

Apollo and the Island of Rhodes

Informant Info:

  • Nationality: Greek
  • Occupation: Professor
  • Residence: Connecticut 
  • Primary language: Greek

Text and context:

I.T chose to inform me on one of the most well known myths from Rhodes, the island in Greece where he is originally from. The myth surrounds the island of Rhodes and involves Helios, which is the sun in Greek. The myth begins with the day the Greek Gods met to decide who would be the patron god for each island/ region. Zeus gifted a beautiful island that was beginning to emerge from the ocean to Apollo. This island is Rhodos, and this is why the patron god of Rhodos is Apollo. I.T informed me that Rhodes has more days with Sun than any other place, even while other places are more South and should be receiving more sunlight than Rhodes. The god sun is Apollo, and I.T says Apollo was carrying the sun behind his horses as he rode across the universe. Apollo rode with his horses and the Sun, and he would stop more times in Rhodos, hence why Rhodes has more sun. 

Analysis:

I recently went to Greece for the first time, specifically in the islands of Rhodes and Athens. I spent the majority of the time in Rhodes, where I.T is from. I.T introduced me and my fellow USC peers to the history of Rhodes, which is his true home. As I walked the streets of Rhodes, I saw symbols of Apollo carved into buildings. At the center of all the symbols, Apollo’s head was always located. I.E informed us that in the head of Apollo is the symbol for Rhodes. Through this myth, I was able to see how the Greek people also use creation stories to explain how parts of Greece came to be. Some Greeks also believe that Rhodes is the most sunny place on Earth because of their Patron God, and they use Apollo to explain this. In Rhodes, people greatly praise Apollo, and they carefully cherish the Acropolis of Rhodes, where the remains of the temple of Apollo is also located.

Zodiac Animal Order Origin

Context: the informant is a 21 year old USC student and the daughter of 2 Taiwanese immigrants. She told me that this was the story of how the zodiac animals were ordered the way they were, and said it was a story she learned growing up

The story goes that one day, the gods held a contest for all the animals. She was unsure exactly if the animals had been chosen beforehand or if it was for all the animals, but essentially, twelve animals were in competition with each other, and the ones that completed the race first would be earlier in the zodiac cycle. The biggest obstacle in this course was a large river. The rat, which is first, won by jumping onto the ox and waiting for it to ford the river normally; once the ox had crossed, the rat ran further ahead, which is why the rat is first and the ox is second. The tiger came next, with the rabbit following quickly after as it had to jump across logs to make it across the river. The dragon was fifth, as it had stopped to help others out on the way. The snake and horse came next; the horse was initially first, but was scared by the snake and fell behind. The monkey, rooster, and sheep followed after, having tried to help each other through. The dog came second to last, and the pig came last, as it had accidentally fallen asleep during the race. The order that the animals arrived in was the solidified zodiac order.

Analysis: this is very much a myth about the origins of the Chinese zodiac calendar, attaching stories to animals in a way similar to how ancient Greek constellations were categorized. It’s not a story that’s meant to be questioned — only to be believed. The informant and her family don’t necessarily believe in this directly but they know the story regardless, and believe that children born in different zodiac years carry different qualities. I’ve been friends with many East Asian kids growing up, and all of their parents attach different qualities to the zodiac years, much in the way that Westerners typically do with astrology. They’re aware that it acts as a sort of pseudo-science, but this does not affect their belief in it, which stands in line with the idea that myths are not questioned, only believed.