AF210 - Week 3 - Evan Leitch PDF

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Evan Leitch AF210: The African Storyteller Week 3 Help Without Asking In Mrile, a Chaga story from Tanzania, a young boy goes through a rite of passage and into adulthood as he is sad that this new child which formed from a bean had been killed. Mrile then goes up into the heavens and searches for the King of the Moon. After asking different people along the way to show him the way to the King of the Moon and then making it to the next step after helping with a chore, Mrile meets the King, shows him fire, and returns to Earth as an adult. With the repetition of Mrile asking the people, “Show me the way to the King of the Moon”, rather than helping with the chore immediately, provides a lesson about citizenship. According to the storyteller, an ideal citizen of Chaga society must offer help without asking for help first. Mrile’s transition to a citizen was shown with the Rite of Passage structure. The separation stage occurred when Mrile was crying after finding out that his child-friend had been killed. He sat outside in his father’s chair and asked the chair repeatedly to “become as high as my father’s rope when he hangs the bee hive in the forest and on the plain”. The chair went up and up until Mrile disappeared into the heavens above and this is when the ordeal stage begins. He repeatedly asks different people working on chores to “show me the way to the King of the Moon” which are his impossible tasks. They did tell him the right direction as long as he helped them with the chore. Finally, he reaches the King and teaches the King and his people a valuable tool, fire. The first impossible task was finding the King and helping with chores, and the second was trying to find a bird to tell his dad that he was coming home. He tried all the birds to see what they would say if they sent him home, and finally, he called the thrush which

communicated to Mrile’s Dad that he was coming home tomorrow. Then he starts to head back home as this begins the reincorporation stage. He is now a new man and grown out of childhood as he is no longer an immature child. Mrile becomes a citizen as he learned mastered necessary chores and the importance of always being selfless and helping others before helping yourself. Within the story, multiple patterns are present which emphasize the Rite of Passage experience. The first pattern is when Mrile goes through the ordeal stage and is completing the impossible tasks. He asks each person working on a chore to show him the way to the King and they say they will help if he helps them with the chore. Each time, he doesn’t offer help and will only help with the chore when he is getting something in return. This pattern changes when he finally makes it to God and without being asked, he showed God fire and asked what he could get in return. This encapsulates two lessons; Mrile learns different chores in order to become a citizen and he learns that he must offer help before he asks for help (“show me”). The repetition proves a lesson in the story and illustrates the impossible tasks. Another pattern is the impossible task of finding a bird that will communicate that he is coming home. When Mrile finds Thrush, the bird is able to perfectly relay information as none of the others are able to make the connection back to earth. This repetition of failing to find a bird that understands the connection shows an impossible task with a lesson of not giving up and how at first, it looked like Mrile would never find a bird to communicate with his dad back home. It also may symbolize how not everyone will understand you and where you come from. The use of patterns help show his progress through the Rite of Passage and becoming a citizen as it draws focus to the situation. The Chaga story uses multiple patterns to show Mrile’s progression through his Rite of Passage in becoming a citizen. He learns necessary chores for survival and shows God fire in return for livestock. Through his journey to finding God, the listener of the story realizes that one

must offer help before asking for help in order to become an adult. It’s wrong to demand help and assistance without offering something in return as Mrile only helped when he was asked. An ideal citizen of Chaga must offer to share the knowledge and skills they have without demanding others help with giving nothing in return. A citizen in this society should think about others....