Folktales as Early Humankind Became

¶ … Folktales

As early humankind became more integrated into the world around them, they began to relate stories to explain unknown phenomena and make sense of such things as life and death, natural disasters, and variety of living beings. They also used these tales to educate the next generations about the society's specific culture. These stories have similarities and differences based on such factors as the environment, culture, and traditions. Creation stories provide a good example of the way the world is perceived. Two of these stories are "The First Human Beings of North Africa," and "The Creation and Great Flood," from early Greek/Roman times. Both share some commonalities about humans in general, but are different as well in their concept of humankind.

In the North African story, the human man and women were the planners and developers of life on earth instead of gods or some higher spiritual force. There were two major themes that ran through this tale. The first was gender and sexual relations. The tale mostly emphasized the physical differences between men and women. The first man and woman did not realize they were of different sexes until they were nude. That is, they considered themselves equal at first. When the man asked the woman about her sexual differences, she replied, "That is good." In other words, sexual relations and procreation are good for the society.

The beginning of the tale was the only time that men and women were equal. After that, the men were superior to the women. They were the ones who took the stones and wood and made the houses, as well as made agreements with nature on the use of the trees. Although the women were the aggressors in the first sexual encounter, the men literally and figuratively changed this situation around. The men would be on top, would be superior. The women would also live in the men's houses. The two different sexes, however, ended up living happily with this gender distinction.

The second theme in this story was the relationship between people and between nature and humans. As noted, most men and women followed the cultural norms, and the society was peaceful. However, the story also accounted for society's deviants; those individuals who do not fit into the norm.

In the Greek and Roman story, the world was begun by a higher being or god. The earth was made in such a way that it had balanced zones, a variety of animals of lower intelligence that were equal in power, and a nature that limits and purpose. Humans, however, were supposedly made with some divine ingredient that made them better than the animals. Everyone was equal and lived in peace until they became more technically sophisticated. Each time they discovered a higher form of industry, they increased their negative cultural traits.