Discourse in desciplines ;Culture and society
1.2 )Looking for a rain god
1. 2078 Q.No. 5 Describe how "Looking for a Rain God" by Bessie Head presents enduring power of ancient tribal rituals and their conflict with contemporary codes of behavior in African life.[10]
ANSWER
People visited charlatans, incanters and witch doctors on whom they had the belief of bringing rain making religious practices and making the rain God happy. But all was in vain. They had one practice of hope still left, the practice of ritual sacrifice. The ritual sacrifice was the lost one for them to make hopeful about the rain.
It was the tragedy and fate of the individual family. Any family may come to the front. The family with low provisions and sustainability are prone to do such. That was the social and economic reality. They think they can solve the problem. They have blind beliefs and can not see any options rather than murdering the children. Because they think the Rain God can be called out by the blood of the children.
Man's law is insignificant in front of the nature's law. Nature's law is independent to man's law. The concept of justice, as perceived in man's law, is meaningless in nature's law. Man's law comprises modern law and tribal law Sometimes what is acceptable in one might be unacceptable in another. The community represents modern law. Though tribal law once accepted the ritual killing of the children, modern law doesnot accept it any more. Hence the two men are sentenced to death. The ritual sacrifice doesnot bring the solution. It doesnot bring rain. The natural crisis and the man's perception and expectation doesnot go simultaneously.
2.Summarize the story. And discuss its theme.
ANSWER
'Looking for Rain God' is a story that sets in rural Botswana, Africa where people survive on the farming. For that, they exclusively depend on the rain water for their farming. The story brings the situation about what happens when they have seven year long drought. That brings the tragic outcomes for them. The farmers suffer from starvation as they are depended on the rain for their farming as to grow crop.
The rain comes a bit, a spoonful of rainwater comes when they need a lot They go for farming when it rains. But that remains only for few days. The story brings the characters like Mokgobja, Ramadi, Tiro, Nesta, Neo and Boseyong (the two girls). Mokgobja is a hardworking. 70 years old male He believes in tradition. He is the head of the family. He is one of the two persons who convince the other members to sacrifice his two grand daughters. Ranadi is Mokgobja's son. He is a farmer, and supporter of this. family. He becomes irrational and agrees to his father's suggestion to sacrifice his two daughters. Tiro is Ramadi's wife. Nesta is a sister of Ramadi. They become emotionally weak and disillusioned. They eventually break down. Neo and Boseyong are the two innocent and cheerful girls. They play their children's play by imitating the adult word. They are victimized for the ritual sacrifice to appease the Rain God.
After the long wait for the rain, the women become hysterical. At the mean time, the oldest member of the family, Mokgobja remembers about the ancient practices of custom. Initially, we donot know what does he wisper to his son's ear and the women's ears. But Later on everything becomes clear. They believe that, as the rain doesnot come, the killing of the two children might be a solution to appease the Rain God. In the feeling of guilt, terror and despair, the whole family goes to the field to please the Rain God and return to the village with out bringing the girls. When the villagers become suspicious they simply say that both dies at random at once and they buried them in the field only. Then the police is called. In front of the police, the mother confesses. Then the men are sent for imprisonment, sentenced to death. Therefore, we can say ritual murder of the girls is not the solution for the long drought..
This story is the story of the man's survival against the forces of the nature. Man can not go against what the nature wants. When nature becomes unkind to man, man becomes hopeless and desperate. But, the story shows that the Mokgobja family does not lose the hope and remain hopeful and blind enough even to sacrifice the girls life. The family thinks that their survival is the most important than all.
We see here that the luck works much in their case. Because all the villagers believe that they did not have to undergo such situation because they had the sufficient provisions for them. It means that all the villagers do believe upon such ritual sacrifice and would be ready to be in such situation when they are desperate about their livings and hopeful for the Rain God. It is a social ill that always remains in the mind of the society This story reminds me a story "Lottery' by Shriley Jackson.
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