Our group’s discussion this week centered around the role of gender in origin myths. The myths discussed included the Egyptian Heliopolitan myth cycle, the creation in Uganda, the Japanese creation story Izanani and Izanagi, and the Hindu myth Brahma creates the world.
To start off, the observation was made as to how mythology distinctly separates male and female characters, having them represent different roles, symbols, and characteristics. This was supported by the example of the Heliopolitan myth cycle, an Egyptian origin myth. I personally found the aspect of gender interesting here because there are many female and male counterparts that exist. Initially the creator god Atum created twins: Shu (male) and Tefnut (female). Together the twins bore Geb (the male earth) and Nut (the female sky). I find that this mythology describes the females as vessels to nurture and protect their male counterparts/ offspring. One example of this is seen in the belief that the goddess Nut has the task of protecting the male sun god as he journeys through the underworld each night.
[“The Goddess Nut.” Ask Aladdin: Your Egypt Travel Experts, https://www.ask-aladdin.com/egypt-gods/nut/ . July 20, 2020.]
Another observation was that male characters were usually in a position of power over a female character; they are not considered equal. This was supported by the myth of Creation in Uganda. Heavens offered the female character Nambi to the male Kintu if he manages to pass all his tests. Nambi has been portrayed in this story as a prize to be given away to a man who achieves the impossible. The input and opinion of the female characters were considered unimportant as Kintu dealt with his adventures.
Another myth that was explored for its portrayal of gender inequality was the story of Izanami and Izanagi (or the origin of the Japanese Islands). In this origin story the two gods Izanami (female) and Izanagi (male) undergo a small ritual to give birth to the land around them. During their first attempt, Izanani spoke first and from there they gave birth to children they deemed to be “not good”. Upon redoing the ritual with the man speaking first they gave birth to many of the islands. This example serves to reiterate the idea that women are portrayed as inferior in mythology.
In the story Brahma Creates the World, the concept that men should have a dominant role (and women a submissive role) is further illustrated. When Vishnu’s wife is massaging his feet as he lays down, there is an underlying message that a good/pious wife takes care of her husband and helps him with anything that he might need; the wife’s purpose is to serve her husband.
The god Vishnu and his wife Lakshmi [V, Jayaram. “Hindu God Vishnu, the Preserver.” Hindu Website, https://www.hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/vishnu.asp . July 20, 2020.]
Gender inequality is still very much present in our society. To draw on the ties to mythology, I will focus on Egyptian society and this article which discusses the challenges of being an Egyptian woman (Suleiman, 2014). The real world example discusses that women in Egypt have “a very low level of protection for their physical integrity”, and that various forms of abuse are “relatively common”. As with multiple societies, Egyptian women also have a lack of education in comparison to men. Overall, I think that the mythology portraying women as having the role of nurturing and domestic has contributed to the social status of women in Egypt today. Although there has been a lot of progress made for women’s (and human) rights recently, there is still a disparity that needs to be addressed.
Another important tie to the mythology was brought up in relation to the myth of Izanani and Izanagi. Further exploration of the myth The Triumph of Amaterasu shows that Amaterasu is Izanagi’s daughter and that Amaterasu’s grandson Ninigi was the great grandfather of the first emperor of Japan. All subsequent emperors of Japan claimed descent from Ninigi which further ties this myth and the ideas behind it into their worldview. Japan is typically considered to have a higher form of gender equality in comparison to other countries, however there are still large gender gaps, particularly in the workplace where women are less likely to be promoted, paid less, among other things (Cabo, 2019).
Additionally, I would like to mention that gender inequality very much exists in Canada, and we still have a long way to go in terms of eliminating traditional gender roles and supporting the feminist movement. The stereotypes portrayed in many of these myths are very outdated, and are not reflective of the society that we should be striving for.
Cabo, C. (2019, March 7). Gender Inequality in Japan. Retrieved July 21, 2020, from https://themetric.org/articles/gender-inequality-in-japan
Suleiman, A. (2014, March 12). Egyptian Women Victims of Cultural Traditions. Retrieved July 18, 2020, from http://www.ipsnews.net/2014/03/egyptian-women-victims-cultural-traditions/
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.