The Philosophical and Psychological Analysis of Africa Essay

Submitted By Anrecker
Words: 1151
Pages: 5
Open Document
The Yoruba tribe values the tradition, the completion of Elesin’s suicide at the King’s funeral, above most everything else. They believe that completing this ritual will bring them good luck and set the cosmos into balance. This ritual has been part of the Yoruba’s life for many generations. While the practice of ritual suicide was common in earlier history it is not in 1946 when the play is taking place. The mere fact that the Yoruba have kept up this tradition for this long is one example on how important the tradition is portrayed. There are various other points during that play that show the importance of this ritual. Early in the book, Praise-Singer emphasizes to Elesin to not stray from the path, to not break the status quo the Yoruba have kept for so long. To not complete the ritual would result in the Yoruba being damned by bad luck and the cosmos would be thrown out of balance. This ritual is thought to be the only way to keep their luck, “there is only one home to the life of the tortoise,” (Soyinka, “Death and the King’s Horseman”, pg. 11). The importance of this ritual seems to be based in a matter of faith. They must complete the sacrifice or they will not be rewarded. Similar to how a child believes that if he/she is good all year, at the end in December he/she, meaning the child, will receive a present from Santa Clause. For most people, the act of lying to a child, specifically the example of Santa, into getting them to act properly, or whatever behavior is desired, is considered alright and in no way irregular. The Yoruba view their tradition in the same way. They have always been told that should they complete their sacrifice then they will receive their present, though this is on a much more drastic scale then simply giving a child a toy. They, the Yoruba, see no harm in what they are doing because it is always that they’ve done and they have only sacrificed among their own people. These two traditions, Santa Clause and sacrifice, can be view in a similar way. If someone complained to a parent that they should not lie to their child about Santa the parent of the child could just tell them to mind their own business. This is similar to what the Yoruba did to Pilkings, and presumably others, when foreigners tried to interfere with their tradition. Why should the Yoruba care for the concerns of foreigners who have no part and are not directly affected by the ritual sacrifice just as why should a parent care about those who say they should not teach their child about Santa Clause? Another similarly can be added to this, the Masai. The Masai believe in the tradition of circumcising their draughts and in the process making them adults. The procedure for doing so is an ancient one, based in faith, and found in many tribes in Africa. The act of circumcision, preformed by the Masai, itself is unhygienic, relatively unsafe and painful for the young girls who must go through with it. The only choices the girls have is to either be mutilated or to run away and never return to their families. There is a sense of shame for families of the young girls who run away from home. This is a similar shame that Olunde, Elesin’s son, felt when his father could not complete the ritual of suicide. This shame lead Olunde to kill himself in attempt for some sort of redemption, both for himself and his families’ name. These feelings of shame tend to keep future generations of both the Yoruba and Masai along the paths of past traditions because the feeling of being an outcast from both your family and village is not a pleasant one. This repressed feeling, along with that it has always been done, allows female circumcision to still be prominent in African tribes. The question now is, is the physical mutilation and suicide necessary? Could these traditions not be performed in a more humane way that causes less bodily harm and death? Could a Masai girl receive some sort of water blessing instead of circumcision? Or if
Show More

Related Documents: The Philosophical and Psychological Analysis of Africa Essay

Why Ability Assessments Don't Cross Cultures Essay

Cultures Patricia M. Greenfield University of California, Los Angeles A central thesis of this article is that ability tests can be analyzed as items of symbolic culture. This theoretical perspective, based in cultural psychology, provides psychological researchers and clinicians with the tools to detect, correct, and avoid the cross-cultural misunderstandings that undermine the validity of ability tests applied outside their culture of origin. When testers use tests developed in their own culture…

Words 10048 - Pages 41

Love, Sex and Gender in the World Religions Essay

Love, Sex and Gender in the World Religions Edited by Joseph Runzo and Nancy Martin Introduction Two forces which gathered strength in the last half of the twentieth century now dominate the world religions at the beginning of the twenty-first century. The first is the globalization of religions and their resulting encounter with each other, and the second is the need to redefine attitudes toward gender as women have stepped forward to insist that their full humanity be acknowledged…

Words 4956 - Pages 20

Essay 26 34 Libre

flagrant contradiction to the emancipation project that legitimate the new French regime. In other words, Wollstonecraft elevates rational morality for both women and men as the prerequisite for the realization of political ideals sustained by philosophical rationalism. It is implied that rational morality cannot be obtained without allowing women the right to exercise their reason and achieve that autonomy necessary for proper conduct in the domestic and public spheres. Everything in this Page |…

Words 4925 - Pages 20

CRM 1301 Midterm uOttawa Carolyn Gordon Essays

The Demonic Perspective Trephining Individual who were having illusions or were delusional had a hole drilled in their skull in order to get rid of the spirits. If that person was still alive, the procedure was successful Witchcraft Correlated with ‘The Crucible’ where Tituba, Sarah Good & Sarah Osborne are accused of witchcraft in Salem, 1692 What to do with the witches?! Exodus 22:18- Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live Leviticus 20:27- A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit…

Words 10213 - Pages 41

Sources of Ethics Essay

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0- JOHN STEINER AND GEORGE STEINER SIX PRIMARY SOURCES OF ETHICS: 6 1- Religion: 6 2- Genetic Inheritance: 8 3- Philosophical Systems: 8 4- Cultural Experience: 8 5- The Legal System: 9 6- Codes of Conduct: 9 2.0- EXPLANATION OF THE SOURCES OF ETHICS: 10 2.1- RELIGION: 10 Teaching business ethics 12 2.11- Impact Of Religiosity: 13 2.12- Ethics Of Islam: 14 Nature of Islamic Ethics 17 The Human-Environment Relationship: 20 The Sustainable…

Words 20200 - Pages 81

technology and ethics Essay

values of a society and new technology often raises new ethical questions. Examples include the rise of the notion of efficiency in terms of human productivity, a term originally applied only to machines, and the challenge of traditional norms. Philosophical debates have arisen over the present and future use of technology in society, with disagreements over whether technology improves the human condition or worsens it. Neo-Luddism, anarcho-primitivism, and similar movements criticise the pervasiveness…

Words 6502 - Pages 27

Gp Essay Mainpoints

2008 U.S. Presidential Elections (bloggers provide personal opinions about who was likely to win but New York Times invited experts to do a state-by-state analysis presenting results in a full-page spread, culminating in a detailed map showing states Democrats were likely to win) • Anonymity: given free rein to publish any thought that comes to mind • E.g. For every worthwhile video present on the site…

Words 24667 - Pages 99