Published
September 18, 1986. How much does the past affect the
present? How much of what we believe today can be attributed to what our
ancestors believed in the past? Is the way contemporary men and women perceive
each other influenced by attitudes prevalent during years gone by? And do the beliefs
of one culture eventually impact another?
One of the newsletters on marriage I
subscribe to is published by The Association of Couples for Marriage
Enrichment, or ACME, for short. In the September, 1986 newsletter, there is an
interesting article by the founder, Dr. David Mace. Years ago, while studying
marriage in other cultures, Dr. Mace found this account of the creation in
Indian folklore. It gives some insight on what men and women in other cultures
may have believed about each other in the past.
“In the beginning, when Twashtri came to the creation of
woman, he found that he had exhausted his materials in the making of man, and
that no solid elements were left. In this dilemma, after profound meditation,
he did as follows.
“He took the rotundity of the moon, and the curves of the
creepers, and the clinging of tendrils, and the trembling of grass, and the
slenderness of the reed, and the bloom of flowers, and the lightness of leaves,
and the tapering of the elephants trunk, and the glances of deer, and the
clustering of rows of bees, and the joyous gaiety of sunbeams, and the weeping
of clouds, and the fickleness of the winds, and the timidity of the hare, and
the vanity of the peacock, and the softness of the parrots bosom, and the
hardness of adamant, and the sweetness of honey, and the cruelty of the tiger,
and the warm glow of fire, and the coldness of snow, and the chattering of
jays, and the cooing of the Kokila, and the hypocrisy of the crane, and the
fidelity of the chakrawaka: and compounding all these together he made woman,
and gave her to man.
“But after one week, man came to him and said, ’Lord, this
creature that you have given me makes my life miserable. She chatters
incessantly, and teases beyond endurance, never leaving me alone and she
requires incessant attention, and takes all my time up, and cries about nothing
and is always idle, and so I have come to give her back again as I cannot live
with her.’
“So Twashtri said, ‘Very well.’ And he took her back. Then
after another week, man came again to him and said, ‘Lord, I find that my life
is very lonely since I gave you back that creature. I remember how she used to
dance and sing to me, and play with me, and cling to me; and her laughter was
music, and she was beautiful to look at, and soft to touch; So give her back to
me again.’ But Twashtri said: ‘Out with you! Be off! I will have no more of
this! You must manage how you can.’
“The man said, ‘But I cannot live without her.’ And Twashtri
replied, ‘Neither could you live with her.’ And he turned his back on man,
and went on with his work.
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