God has only one measure for all people. (Haiti)
Juok is the Creator-God of the Shilluk peoples who live in Sudan on the west bank of the Nile.
Juok molded human beings out of clay, and he traveled all over the world to collect material. In Egypt he found the mud of the Nile, and so created red or brown people. In northern countries he used white earth or sand to create white people. In the land of the Shilluks, Juok created black people from the dark-colored earth on the banks of the Nile.
Human beings took time to create. First of all, Juok said, “These people will need to work, so I will give them legs so they can walk and run.” So the bodies were all legs.
“They need to grow food,” he said. So he gave humans one arm to hold the hoe, and the other to pull up weeds.
“They look clumsy,” Juok said. “They need to see what they are doing.” So he gave them two eyes.
“Crops are of little use if humans can’t eat the food they grow,” he said. “I will give each person a mouth.”
“They need to be able to celebrate the harvest,” he said. “They need to dance and speak and sing and shout for joy.” He then gave each one a tongue.
“But how will they dance and hear each other speak and sing and shout if they can’t hear?” Juok asked himself. He therefore gave each human being ears.
He then declared his job was done, and his creation of humans – red, brown, white, black – was perfect.
No comments:
Post a Comment