Theoretical Exploratns In Africa by Van

Author:Van [Van]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781136137945
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Published: 2013-10-28T00:00:00+00:00

Table 7.1 Sequences of elements in the myth of Sidi Mhammad, as found in twenty variants

Note: the version as presented by, e.g., informant iii contained the elements 1,7 and 11, in that order; further explanation in the text.

3 The myth of Sidi Mhammad in the light of cultural and structuralist interpretations

It is perfectly possible to ignore any specific historical content in the myth of Sidi Mhammad; or to explain such content away as an accidental touch of couleur locale (allowing, moreover, for considerable free variation between the various narrators), of no consequence to the myth as a statement of cultural and symbolic structure. At least two lines of analysis are open then for such an ahistorical interpretation.

From the viewpoint of cultural analysis, the myth can be read as a particular combination of a number of hagiographic themes8 which run through the Islamic cultures of North Africa and the Middle East, and which together serve to express the essence of sainthood as distinct from ordinary human existence. In these cultures the saint represents a distinct social category. He or she is characterized by an exceptionally close and harmonious relationship with God and with Nature; this enables the saint to circumvent the usual limitations of human toil and human social control, and instead to rely directly on divine grace (baraka). The saint reveals himself in various ways, ways which are often found in combination: through the ostentatious display of formal Islamic observance (in a cultural environment of popular Islam where very few people do perform the obligatory prayers, are sufficiently literate to have access to the Book, etc.); through wonder-working (karamat) and through the possession of material objects (such as stone cannon balls (kurra), or the white burnous) reserved for saints; and through a particular state of mind (niya) characterized by piety, humility and non-violence. Constituting a social category incomparable to that of non-saintly people, saints do not compete with ordinary human beings; on the other hand, the gradations of sainthood result in a saintly hierarchy, which defines some saints as being subservient to others, but which precludes relations of dependence between saints whose baraka is at the same level of excellence.

Considered in this light, the ‘rags-to-riches’ story of Sidi Mhammad is a restatement, cast in a local context, of what constitutes sainthood. Sidi Mhammad first appears as the essence of humility: a dependent herdsmen. His niya is further brought out by the fact that he keeps his saintly status a secret, and that he indulges in meditation or sleep unhindered by such social conventions as clothing and the behaviour expected from herdsmen. For herdsmen are supposed to remain alert in guarding the cattle entrusted to them against such accidents as may befall them on the steep and rocky forested slopes of Khrumiriya. The saintly herdsman's harmony with God and Nature is brought out by the fact that, even without the conventional attention, the cattle wander unhurt and return at the herdsman's first call, while partridges (like all birds, conventional messengers from Heaven) settle on his shoulders.

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