Week 6 Lab: Unnatural Mother Reading Notes

The Unnatural Mother

  • Background: Swazi tale
    • Tradition among the Kafir - stay with bridegroom's mother for a year after marriage b/f they got their own home
    • Each would work the land (separate patches) - hoe, harvest
      • Calabashes, maize, sugar-cane and pumpkins

    • Wife made beautiful food for husband to eat after coming home from work
      • Mother jealous of these meals
        • Use of inanimate object to represent her
        • Put on son's clothes - deceiving others while she ate
        • Plan to catch thief
        • Confession from mother
        • Son: mother has "sinned against nature" (woman's nature?)
          • Mother not to return until she has found water in which no animals live
            • found pools: frogs, silver fishes
            • a new land - describe like it is a cityscape (foreshadowing)
              • water - "glittered like the moon"
    • Animals:
      • Warn mother about King who rules over the land and water
        • in the absence of the Lion, others were asked to help the mother:
          • Elephant
          • Giraffe
          • Tiger/Leopard
          • Rabbit
            • the one to provide aid
              • Change: the rabbit cleverly uses the other animals strengths to free the mother
        • left forest with water: forest turns into town
          • Spell broken (wicked enchanter)
          • Mother gains honour and forgiveness
Image Information: from Annals of the South African Museum; source: Flickr

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Comment Wall

Image
Please leave your comments here! I look forward to seeing your thoughts and feedback. Here is the link to the project: Web of Stories: Tales of the African Mother Image information:  Silhouettes of Giraffes and Rhinoceros by Pixabay
Read more

Introduction to a Future Health Professional

Image
Hellloooo everyone, my name is Karissa Hughes, and here is a little bit about me. I have twin, who I live with and also goes to OU; the nature of our relationship is loving annoyance. Although I do not have a cat, my roommate does, and I'm already obsessed with him and his little socks. His name is Boomer, and sometimes I accidentally call him Sooner. My major is Health, Medicine, and Society. It is multidisciplinary, which I appreciate because I like learning from different perspectives, and is geared towards pre-Medicine students. I have already completed all of the pre-Med prerequisites, but I'm still not exactly sure if I want to go to medical school. I recently learned more about the field of Public Health and have become interested in possibly pursuing a career in that instead. Health has become my passion, especially learning more about the social aspects of health, how various identities affect health experiences, and the reasons behind and consequences of health
Read more

Week 10 Story: The Jewelry Soothsayer

Image
There once was an ambitious, talented woman, named Gamze, who recently lost her job working as a jewelry appraiser. She was fired because they suspected her of theft; she hated discovering her colleagues' mistrust of and prejudice against Turkish people. Gamze was cast as a soothsayer, a trickster, a thief in their imagination, dismissing her dedication to her work and willingness to help others. She had a husband, named Alperan, who was stuck - stuck between 40 and 50 years and caught between multiple jobs. Gamze wanted more from their life, and she knew that she would be the one to raise the status of their family. Gamze looked for other jobs but this reputation followed her to job interviews. She wondered how they could suspect her; if she had stolen the diamond and sapphire ring, she would not be subjecting herself to interviews with old white men. One evening, a previous client, Benan, called Gamze to see if she had appraised a stolen necklace in the last few days. Gamze k
Read more