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The story reveals the competition for scarce resources between people and animals during times of famine, a situation not uncommon in sub-Saharan Africa. Thus the woman had reason to act as she did; she is not cast as a nasty person, only a danger. The woman is recognized as having her own agenda, different from her husband's. In this case, the conflict was a serious threat to the survival of the community and force was used to prevent disaster. In other African stories, however, in which problems are couple-centered, the women's independence is more likely to be preserved, and conflicts resolved with mutual respect.
Stories from Marginal Populations
Two groups of stories from peoples who have been outside mainstream cultures reflect the influence of prejudice and discrimination. Experiences of deprivation, however, do not necessarily affect peoples in the same way. A comparison of African American stories and Jewish stories reveals that unique historical experiences can influence relationships in different ways.
In both sets of stories, wives are strong and independent. The roles of husbands are different. In African American stories, the man tends to be the Boss who uses violence to control the woman. Husbands in Jewish stories, on the other hand, are more likely to be Puppets or Tolerant Men; only rarely is a husband the Boss.
African American Stories
African American stories were influenced by both the African and the European heritages. The wife in most stories tends to appear as a strong, independent woman, continuing in large part the tradition of her African counterpart. Unlike the African woman, however, the African American woman is cast as an unpleasant Shrew similar to the European wife. The husband is the Boss, like most European story husbands. There tend to be few, if any, Good Women and/or Wise Women. Neither are there many Puppets or Tolerant Men.
An example is the story, "The Woman Who Did Not Understand."
| A great hunter successfully hunted many bush cows. To protect the rest of the herd, one of the cows transformed herself into a beautiful woman to lure the hunter back to the forest and kill him. She married the hunter for this purpose, and every night asked him for the secret of his success in hunting. The man explained that he could transform himself into many different forms to escape detection. But he fooled his wife by saying his last transformation was into a
"nadanada," which means "nothing." His wife did not understand the word, but she lured him back to the forest. Changing into a bush cow, she told all the animals that his final transformation would be into a
"nadanada." This confused them greatly, and they did not know what to do. Their confusion gave the hunter a chance to destroy most of the bush cows. He spared one-the pregnant cow, who had been his wife. But he tore her arm off and left her in the forest.
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A complex of cultural factors influenced African American
folkstories. Slavery created great physical and psychological trauma. Continuing into the post-slavery era, men were deprived of the usual indicators of masculine status: financial success, land or capital
ownership, political power. Anger, hatred, and frustration often translated into violent
outbursts. According to Bernard, in the African American community these outbursts would frequently be directed by men against women.
The dominant European culture fostered male supremacy and female subordination in the home. These ideas were reinforced by Church teachings, which became a major influence in African American
life. Given the drastic effects of American slavery plus the influence of European cultural and religious teachings on family relationships, it is not surprising that African American folktales became replete with hostility, male dominance and violence against strong independent
women.
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