Human hardship and suffering

Human hardship and suffering
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Stories engage our emotions and we learn about the different cultures from the different myths told in different parts of the world. We are able to understand the society’s way of handling different situations based on the characters behavior in the themes such as revenge and heroism that are common triggers of human suffering in the myths (Hogan 22). This paper discusses human suffering in three myths namely Mwindo, the Odyssey and Lament for Ur from Congo, Greece and Mesopotamia respectively. It shows that human suffering produces wisdom in all three cultures.
Mwindo
Mwindo originates from parts of Zaire now called Congo has all the characteristics of a Greek or Roman epic such as Homer’s Odyssey or the tales of Hercules. The epic records the culture and beliefs of the Nyanga people of the Republic of Congo. The myth has supernatural beings and metamorphoses of human being. This story is comparable to the trials of Odysseus or his son Telemachus (Myth Connections n.p.).
Mwindo’s father was Shemwindo and his mother was his father’s favorite wife. Mwindo is the hero who has a miraculous birth and he possesses magical powers with which he performs Herculean tasks. He is born with supernatural powers, the gift of premonition and has a magical scepter. At birth, Mwindo could walk and talk, destroy evil forces, move underground, fly and move underwater. Mwindo is also able to interact and cooperate with superhuman beings and elements like lightning, spiders and bats (Lynch n.p.).
His father tried to kill him because he was afraid that he would compete with him. He also did not want his wives to bear sons that would compete for his power as a king. He made numerous attempts to kill Mwindo but they kept failing. At some point, he instructed his counselors to lock him up in a drum and throw him into a river. He was later rescued by Iyangura his sister, who was married to the great water serpent (Lynch n.p.). Mwindo and his sister decided to revenge for his father’s action. They sought help from his father’s uncles in Baniyana in attacking Tubondo where his father lived. Unfortunately, his father killed all his uncles and fled to the underworld. Mwindo was able to bring his uncles back to life and then pursued his father in the underworld. While there, he faced many trials before the subterranean beings gave up his father to him. He brought his father back to Tubondo and restored the lives of all those that had died. He received kingship over a part of Tubondo while his father ruled the other part (Lynch n.p.).
Mwindo and the dragon were allies of Lightning and Mwindo killed the Dragon when it swallowed his followers. Lightning was annoyed by his action and purposed to teach him a lesson. Lightning took Mwindo to the sky world where he suffered much in the realm of the sky gods. Lightning also took him to the moon, sun, rain and hail where he suffered more ordeals and in the process acquired more wisdom. He was instructed to never again kill an animal before he was allowed on earth again. When he came back on earth, he inculcated the value about the sacred nature of all beings in gods’ sight. He also cautioned against human beings notion that they could determine any being’s fate. He ruled as a great chief and instructed his people about living in harmony (Lynch n.p.).
As he was coming back from the sky, his father and mother had been waiting for him and all the people celebrated his homecoming. They listened to his tales about his experiences in the sky as well as to the instructions that he received from there (Biebuyck and Mateene 141). This myth shows that African people particularly the Nyanga people have a profound dislike for boasting and megalomania.
They also believe that human beings must undergo suffering in order to gain wisdom and insight on how to live harmoniously (Furman 218). They should also be patient and believe that they would overcome the challenges. For instance, when Mwindo’s father locked Mwindo in the drum, Mwindo did not accept defeat and death, he sought his sister’s help. He was persistent and knew that the circumstance was not final. He knew that he would survive the ordeal and patiently pursued assistance of his sister. Mwindo underwent much suffering that transformed him from his pride and heroism into a wise, generous and benevolent ruler. He learnt humility and compassion through cosmic suffering (Furman 219).
The myth demonstrates that trials and suffering yield wisdom and insight. For instance, Mwindo and his father’s attitude about revenge changed based on the experiences of suffering in the underworld. Mwindo had purposed to revenge against his father when he pursued him to the underworld but he underwent much suffering before his father was handed over to him. Interestingly, the suffering in the underworld had changed his attitude about revenge for his father and so he did not kill him. They divided the kingdom and continued to rule in harmony instead of continuing to pursue each other. When Lightning took Mwindo to the sky, his suffering taught him against revenge and shedding of sacred beings’ blood. When he returned, he showed his people how to live in harmony and to preserve life (Biebuyck an...