Week 7 Reading Diary: Grains of Rice

A very different and interesting origin story; probably my favorite one yet. This story tell the reason behind why grains of rice are so small. One day long ago one grain of rice was all a man could eat. The grains of rice rolled directly into the village for the people to eat. One day when building a bigger granary, a grain of rice rolled directly into the construction and angered a woman worker. When the worker struck the grain of rice, it broke into thousands of tiny smaller ones and waited back in the field never to bother the people again. This reason behind rice being so small was so interesting to me; I enjoyed reading this one the most. I definitely plan on using this tale for my Storytelling Post later this week.

(Grains of Rice: Source)

These were the thoughts from reading The Legend of the Rice, by W.A. Briggs in 1899.

Week 7 Reading Diary: Lightning Origins

Another origin story about lightning, but rather being an African tale about the origins of lightning, this one is an Asian one. I chose to do this reading over the same subject to compare and contrast how the two different cultures told their tales of origin (lightning). This story involves reincarnation which also caught my interest as well as the morals it is teaching. In the end of this story the most beautiful woman marries an old man and upsets everyone; thunder ends up being the sound of the gardener shooting at this old man. The cause of lightning was said to be the wreath of this beautiful woman who marries the old man. This Asian origin tale of lightning is more complex and meaningful when compared to the African lightning origin tale. Though the African version may be more simple than this one, they both share two very different perspectives which are equally interesting!

(Wreath of Lightning: Source)

These thoughts were recorded after the reading of The Origin of Lightning, by W.A.Briggs in 1899.

Week 6 Storytelling: God's Teardrops

At one time there was no rain on the Earth; the plants had enough water in the rich soil to live and strive from. The skies were always clear and cloudless with the sun shinning brightly upon the face of the Earth. One day the king of all the nature told the sky that he in fact favors the soil more. The king favored the rich soils of earth because it helped produce all the beautiful flowers and trees for him to admire. The king did not like the sky because it was always so hot and burning the skin of all the humans that lived on Earth. When the king told the skies this, the sky became very saddened; so saddened that it rained for the first time ever upon the Earth. The soil already contained so much moisture it could have absorb anymore for the plants to drink. Because the soil could not absorb anymore water from the rain, it began to flood. The flooding on Earth became so much that flowers and trees began to parish; the king demanded for it to stop immediately. After the sky had cleared and it stopped raining, clouds were left behind. The suspended moisture in the skies produced the most beautiful shapes and pattern the king had ever seen. The king enjoyed the shapes and the clouds so much that he told the skies they were his new favorite once again. Though the king was shallow and only liked things for their exterior beauty, the skies did not care and continued to cry over the earth leaving the beautiful clouds behind for the king to admire. The skies remained the kings favorite for eternity after and that is why the phenomena of rain still occurs to this day; so the almighty king can admire the clouds. Overtime the soil adapted to the excess moisture and eventually started producing all the beautiful flowers and trees as it once did before the rain came. Occasionally the king would request for something specific to be left in the clouds such as his wife's name or his favorite animal; that is why letters and animals can sometimes be seen within the clouds in the sky. When the seasons change though, the rain begins to freeze killing almost all the flowers; the king despises this. The king despises the cold so much that he asked the cold to leave and never come back. The cold could never leave due obviously to the the suns position to earth, so the king decided to never speak to the cold ever again and stated the cold was his least favorite off all nature. 

(Rain: Source)

Authors Note: 

This was my adaptation of the Nigerian stories I have head this week. Though both stories I read seem to give a different creative explanation to something in nature, this is more of an adaptation to the story entitled The Lightning and the Thunder, which describes why there is thunder and lightening in the skies. I wanted to use this same theme, but change the phenomena; so I decided to give a creative explanation as to why it rains. 

Bibliography: 

The Lightning and the Thunder, written by Elphinstone Daryell in 1910.

Week 6 Reading Diary Continued: Thunder and Lightning

Another Nigerian tale that gives and interesting explanation to something that is instinctive to nature; why thunder and lightning are in the sky rather than why worms live underground as in the first Nigerian story I read this week. In this tale thunder (the mother) and lightning (her son) lived among the earth destroying almost everything in their paths. They destroyed so much that one day the king forced them to live in the skies. This was a really interesting story I enjoyed reading; one of the most creative ones I have came across so far! The theme of these Nigerian tales are very interesting and one of a kind for sure; I have not discovered any other cultures stories that are written with this same style.

(Lightening Living in the Sky: Source)

These thoughts were taken down after reading the story entitled The Story of the Lightning and the Thunder, written by Elphinstone Daryell in 1910.

Week 6 Reading Diary: Worms and Ants

I chose to read a Nigerian tale for this weeks reading because when thinking about it, I have never really heard anything about the Nigerian traditions at all yet alone their folklore. The worms who live underground was the name of the reading I chose; the title alone is what got my attention to read this story. This Nigerian tale tells the story of why worms live underground, which is because the ants scared them down there one day. This story is interesting because it gives a creative and different meaning behind something that is already known (literally why worms live underground). When thinking about adapting this story my first idea is to write about why fish live in the sea and argue that one day birds "scared" them into the oceans, seas, and lakes; an interesting explanation to something so natural we do not even questing its reasoning.

(The Strong Ant: Source)

These thoughts were recorded after reading the story entitled Why the Worms Live Underneath the Ground, by Elphinstone Dayrell in 1910.

Thoughts About Comments

For comments to me, the most interesting ones to read are the ones that I can relate directly to. For example, I love reading comments on the introduction page because many people comment about similarities they share with me. I think it is very interesting learning about how alike or how different we are from one another. I also enjoy reading comments that not only compliment the overall flow of my posts, but also the creativity I have put into the piece. When someone likes a new style I am trying for the first time or even has criticism about it, it is also interesting to read their thoughts and comments on it! When I comment on other works, I tend to find things I can relate to and things that are similar to me and state my opinions; this is why I like reading comments that are formatted the same way. It is always interesting learning about other people and their comments they post can say a lot about that person.

Week 5 Storytelling: God Among Man

The follow are the written words directly from the Egyptian god of all gods, Ra.

Century 1:
I have created all the planets and all the stars in this universe, I now walk among the people of a planet which the people call "Earth", blending in as one of them. My intentions of walking among my creation is to learn more about them, for I have granted them the power of free will in order to observe just how they decide their own fate. These beginning times can be described as pure, for corruption and wrong doing is unknown to them at this point.

Century 2:
The people of Earth have developed quite rapidly. Though centuries to them are only days to me, they have already exceeded my expectations. They have not only mastered the ways to agriculture, but also have a profound understanding of science and technology. The people I walk among are becoming blinded by their own ways. The people of Earth are finding beliefs solely in science rather than the gods themselves who created them; for without the gods, man would never be.

Century 3:
Earth is no longer, the inhabitants have destroyed their own planet given to them by over populating and exhausting all of its natural resources. Man has now began populating the planett known to them as "Mars". They deserve this as a punishment for wasting away all that was given to them and destroying their planet. The people of Earth can only blame themselves for their great downfall, for I will make Mars impossible for them to strive on...These are my last days among the people of whom I have created.

(The Eye of Ra: Source)

After the people of Earth migrated completely to Mars and settled, the god Ra made the conditions of the planet exponentially more severe as the months went on eventually killing of its foreign visitors from Earth. Mars was no place for man and their trust in science eventually failed them. If the people restored faith in the gods, Ra would have replenished Earth with resources for the growing population, but Ra's own creation had turned against him, resulting in their final end.

Authors Note:
This is an adaptation to the Egyptian Creation story. In the original story, the god of all gods, Ra, summons the earth from a great body of water and walks among man for centuries. I wanted to keep this aspect of a god walking among his own creation in my story. I also wanted to somehow capture how man has abused Earth (much like I have previously in my stories) and lastly put a science fiction twist on it by man finally making it to Mars and attempting to start life there. I enjoyed my last storytelling post from the diary perspective of the climber and wanted to try something similar so I this style is in the thoughts of Ra while he was walking among his own creation, man.

Bibliography:
Egyptian Myth and Legend by Donald Mackenzie (1907).