Comparing The Concepts Of Hindu Religion And West African Culture

Indian culture/Hindu religion and West Africa culture have a large impact in both literature and by applying the concepts of divinity, beauty, duty and truth. The concepts of divinity and beauty are heavily applied the the Indian book named the Bhagavad-Gita where the main character Arjuna is a warrior that is in inner conflict about going to war with people he learned are his relatives (flesh and blood) and so in one of the main scenes of the book in Chapter 11 Arjun goes to seek counsel and advice from Kishha who is actually The Supreme God in disguise. They speak about the universes leading up to Kirshna revealing to Arjuna his Godly form. The Hindus believed in the beauty and divinity of their Gods believed that God is a part of the individual

The king’s Horseman play is tragedy about the struggles of the Horseman Elesin. It is tradition in the Yoruba culture for a horseman to accompany their King in death. This a sacred duty for the purpose of guiding the king in the afterlife as one did in the Life of the living. The main character Elesin was honored in the news of serving the king in the afterlife not only for fulfilling the duty but also because after serving under the king so long they were very close companions so and so by law and tradition he must commit suicide one month following the king’s death. The drama of the play begins on the day Elesin prepares to serve his duty and commit suicide. Another main character in this play is Simon Pilkings who is a British Colonial district officer. Pilkings and the other Bristsh occupants of West Africa who are there like many other European powers because of the valuable resources Africa has to offer called the Race to Africa believe that all life is sacred and regard the act as barbaric and illegal. Therefore, Simon Pilkings believes it is his duty to stop Elesin from committing suicide. In continuum, Elesin is granted to have one wish by law. His wish is to marry and have sex with a beautiful young women whom he saw in the marketplace. Elsein wants to impregnate the young women so he will have a legacy left in the world of

Shiva in this form is doing the dance of the cosmos which means, that the self, the universe and God become inseparable. Nataraja is doing the dance to destroy a weary universes and prepare for the God Brahma to start the process of creation. The stature is represents how Indian/ Hindu culture admire the divine and visualize how beautiful and larger then life their Gods are such as Nataraja having multiple arms and gracefully posed for the dance. Furthermore, In Indian culture the more divine one becomes the more detached they are from worldly possessions and desires. Nataraja has two dances which are; aaya a gentler form of the dance and Tandava a dangerous and violent dance. Asaya deals with the creation of the world and tandava is associated with destroying old and wearily world views. The sculpture has a lot of balance and unity as shrown through the flames that encircle the sculpture signifying the burning of ignorance. Also, the hand pointing down at foot is supposed to create an image of an elephant trunk which represents the pushing down of ignorance as well. The dreadlocks represent rejection from society and the fire burning the negatives aspects of life and the universe. The crescent moon in Nataraja’s hair represent karma which is very significant in Hinduism. Lastly, Nataraja’s drum represents the sound of the creation of the universe and the lotus signifies