Xanthie B.

Lizada
Lesson 3
Literature of Middle East and Africa

 The Grasses – Rumi (translated by Coleman) page 604

1. Give your own analysis or explanation from every stanza of the poem.
- For the 1st stanza of the poem, my analysis is that it explain what is happening on the
surroundings while the butchers cut the branches of tress. As for the 2 nd stanza, it explains
how the reality works like a sky turned over like a cup above us, it describes about the world,
revolving. For the 3rd stanza, it explains how our body works as a human being, having
different emotions and the spirit that we have inside us. The 4 th stanza tells us that it is God
who controls the wind, and all living things seen or unseen, our reality comes from Him and
Him alone. For the last stanza, it talks about how the water from the sea or ocean works. It
talks about how the wind controls the wave of the ocean just like how it controls the grasses
in the land.
2. In “The Grasses”, what is being compared to the grasses? What is the message of the poet trying
to communicate with this comparison?
- The waves from the ocean is being compared to the grasses. The message that the poet wants
to convey with this comparison is if we feel like nobody understands us and we feel like
alone, it’s okay to rest for awhile and continue again on moving forward and it is also okay to
feel that kind of emotions and just go with the flow with life.
3. In your opinion, how relevant is Rumi’s advice for the people living in today’s world?
- It is quite relevant and very timely for me in today’s time especially to those people who are
silently fighting their own battles, it’s okay to feel those emotions at once but we need to
continue on moving forward. We can always surrender it to God and let the waves of life
follow through.

 How the World Was Created from a Drop of Milk – Fulani (page 625-626)
1. How do you characterized Doondari based on what you have read?
- Doondari is the creator of all things based on what I’ve read Doondari can be also familiar to
God who creator of heavens and the earth.
2. Why do you think Doondari returns as Gueno to defeat death?
- Doondari is the only one who can defeat death and he knows it because he is the one who
created it.
3. Why did the creation of the world start with a drop of milk instead of water or other things?
- The reason why the world started with a drop milk instead of water or other things, because
milk was the first that mentioned in the beginning of creations.
4. How do you interpret the series of defeats in the myth? In what sense does blindness defeat man,
sleep defeat blindness and so on?
- The series of defeats in the myth starting first with blindness and so on, Doondari created
those things that can be defeated through their weakness, as each one of those has the ability
to defeat them by targeting their weaknesses.
5. What truths about human nature or life do you find in this myth?
 - It is true that in human nature or life that we have right now, there are still people who are too
proud about themselves or about their capability that still ended up defeated. Because they
don’t use it on the right way instead they use it to boast and even belittle other people.
-
6. How satisfying do you find this Fulani myth’s explanation of why death exists?
- I find this myth very satisfying in a way that we can learn more about life and how to use it
effectively and preciously. We only live once, so we need to live most out of it and not to
proud that if our death will come we will remember the things that we did and won’t regret
anything. Because I interpret Doondari as our God, God created us and if we die we will
return to Him, if we become too proud we will be like the enemy or Satan. God will defeat us
for being proud and for being like the enemy.

 The First Bard Among the Soninke – retold by Ousmane Sako and Harold Courlander (pages
628-630)
1. How did you react to the older brother’s sacrifice?
- I was moved and proud of what the older brother sacrificed for his younger brother..
2. What does the older brother do to feed the younger brother?
- The older brother gave and fed the younger brother a meat that he cut from his thigh.
3. How does the younger brother learn where the food came from?
- The younger brother knew that it was his older brother’s flesh when he saw the blood stained
from his older brother’s thigh
4. How does the brother reward the older brother?
- The younger brother served him and became his dieli. The younger brother became his slave.
5. Do you think that the younger brother responds appropriately after he learns how he was saved?
Explain.
- In their culture and beliefs, I believe that what the younger brother did when he knew that his
older brother saved him was the appropriate response. Because if I was in that situation I
don’t know what’s the right thing to do, the older brother can even left him and save his own
life but instead he gave his own flesh to save his younger brother.

 Explain 5 West African Proverbs found in the book. Pages 664-667

1) Granary – a place for storing grain
2) Indigo/Camwood – plant sources of blue and red dye
3) Prostrate – to lie face down in worship
4) Ibadan – a city in southwestern Nigeria
5) Iyalode – a title given to a woman chief in Yoruba communities, here used in reference to Oshun.

 Write a personality profile and add a reflection. Instructions are found in pages 671-672.
- I am a third-year college student of Foundation University, hard-working, motivated,
outgoing and optimistic. I’m an active officer of our organization JFINEX in the College of
Business Administration. I always strive hard to have a good grades because of my
scholarship and because of my mother who is supporting me, I learn to be more resilient
because of the pandemic and online classes. I sometimes work under pressure because I can
brainstorm and work effectively. I sometimes procrastinate because I feel like not doing
anything and just watch my favorite anime series. I love talking to people even on random
days, I love hearing their stories and just listening to them, and I also love praying for them.
I’m starting to learn and discover new things about myself, I am capable to lead and serve.
Progressively, I’m finally getting out of my comfort zone and embracing the things ahead of
me.

Upon writing my personality profile, I learned that many things have happened and I’m
slowly becoming the person that I want to become 5 years ago. Slow progress is still a
progress and I just need to trust the process. This reminds me that I am capable of things I
thought was impossible. I now understands that the challenges I encounter are essential to
my personal growth, and everything will be worth it someday in God’s perfect time.