International Journal of English and Literature (IJEL) ISSN 2249-6912 Vol. 3, Issue 4, Oct 2013, 123-128 © TJPRC Pvt. Ltd.

IMAGES OF MOTHER IN AND SUNDIATA. A COMPARATIVE CRITIQUE

ROSHAN BENJAMIN KHAN Professor and Head, A. B. V. Govt. Arts and Commerce College, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India

ABSTRACT

Women in Ramayana (India) and Sundiata (Mali) manage to stand out because of how they portray themselves as important, towards their children. In critical analysis of the images of motherhood in both these epics Ramayana and Sundiata, the mothers come across as the power, “SHAKTI” image which changes the destiny of their respective heroes, in Ramayana and Sundiata in Sundiata. In Ramayana the mother of Rama, Kaushalya and his step mother and in Sundiata the mother of Sundiata, Sologon as mothers Djata and his step mother Sassouma Berete play a unique role in the formation of great dynasties through these hero’s. They are clearly influential and their strength of character is defined in the relationship between son and mother.

In Sundiata , the king of Mali Magan Kon Fatta marries a hunch back Sologon Djata because he is foretold by soothsayers that she is destined to bear a very special son,and he tries to make Sundiata his heir even though Dankaran Touman, his older son by his first wife , is able to muster more support because of his mothers royal blood. That the first wife Sassouma Berete , uses her connections to make Dankaran Touman the heir to the throne despite dead kings wishes to make Sundiata as king. Hence Sundiata along with his mothers, sister, and cousin are send to exile. Sologon’s strength of character keeps the remainder of the family together in exile and gives Sundiata the resolve to return back home to rid the country of the usurper. In Ramayana too we find that Kaushalya the eldest queen of Dashrath and mother of Rama fails miserably to secure rights as an heir for her son Rama even though Dashrath is in favour of Rama to be on the throne. Whereas the youngest queen Kaiketyi is successful in sending Rama to exile and produce throne for her own son .

When we read these epics we find that there are a lot of similarities in the portrayal of the image of mothers. In this paper we have tried to thrown light on the role of mothers in two different cultures and religion and how they come very close to each other when a comparative study is done on the image of mothers be it s Hindu society as seen in Ramayana or Muslim society as seen in Sundiata.

KEYWORDS: Mother, influential, strength of character, exile, rid the country of the usurper, Hindu and Muslim society

INTRODUCTION

“In a society governed by wisdom and heritage, family strives. There is peace and harmony which is interpreted as the power of destiny.”

The two great epics, Ramayana of India and Sundiata of Mali are bristle with irony. The ostensible root of the misfortunes visited upon the protagonist is the bedrock on which these epics are founded. Would the world have the song celestial if, Rama or Sundiata was devoid of fourteen years of exile?

The great epic Ramayana and Sundiata, each representing two different cultures, Ramayana forms the background of Hinduism and Sundiata Muslim culture of Mali, teaches lessons to the whole of humanity of family harmony and interpersonal relations where everyone lives for the other unlike the case of individual self centered humans. In both the societies women are often considered unimportant. But the women in both the epics manage to stand out because they 124 Roshan Benjamin Khan portray themselves as important as a mother would portray herself towards her child. They use their power of women hood in their culture to remain important. The mother assumes the role of a teacher, imparting all good aspects of learning, in turn achieves obedience and respects of their children. Grooming them in a way, where they anticipate their mother’s desires and needs, to their full satisfaction. Their mothers prepare them for great sacrifices in the interest of family and humanity. Implicit obedience to the parent’s words is the main feature of the family relationship according to ancient- wisdom. Rama and Sundiata heroes of the epics sacrificed the throne in spite of being prophesied to be the heir to their father’s kingdom, thereby fulfilling the wishes of their parents for the betterment of society and humanities.“It is difficult for the children to repay the debt of what the mother and the father have done to bring them up.”1 - Ramayan 2.111.9.

Ramayana is an Indian epic, which delineates with extreme clarity and the precision, the righteous conduct of human relationships of all types. Sundiata has no end, to the variety of relations between man and man, man and woman and it may be surprising that the ideal behavior of almost every human relationship, has been depicted in these epics.

For every human situation, for every intricate relation, ideal answer worthy of emulation by all people, at all times is in Ramayana and Sundiata.

Ramayana, an Indian epic and Sundiata, the epic of Mali, is the critical analysis of the images of motherhood where the mothers come across as the power and jealousy which changes the destiny of the respective heirs, Rama in Ramayana and Sundiata in Sundiata. In Ramayana the mother of Rama, Kaushalya and his step mother Kaikeyi, and Sundiata’s mother Sologon Djata and his stepmother, Sassouma Berete plays a unique role in the formation of great dynasties through these hero’s. They are clearly influential and their strength of character is defined in the relationship between son and mother.

In Sundiata, the king, Maghan Kon Fatta, marries Sogolon Djata because he is foretold by soothsayers that she is destined to bear a very special son, “Mysteries of mysteries , this is the woman you must marry, sire, for she will be the mother of him who will make the name of Mali immortal forever. The child will be the seventh star, the seventh conqueror of earth. He will be more mighty than Alexander,”2 and he tries to make Sundiata his heir even though Dankaran Touman, his older son by his first wife, is able to muster more support because of his mother's royal blood. That first wife, Sassouma Berete, uses her connections to make Dankaran Touman the heir to the throne despite dead king's wishes to make Sundiata as King. “Nare Maghan determined to solemnize his wedding with all the customary formalities so that nobody could dispute the rights of the son to be born to him.”3 Hence Sundiata along with his mother, sisters and cousin are sent to exile. Sogolon's strength of character keeps the remainder of the family together in exile and gives Sundiata the resolve to return home to rid the country of the usurper. In Ramayana too we find that Kaushalaya , one of the queen of the king Dasharath and the mother of Rama, miserably fails to secure kingdom for her son Rama, even though Dhasrath is in favour of Rama to be on the throne. “True to Law and true to Duty while I rule this kingdom fair,Wherefore would you see my Rama seated as the Regent Heir?"4 Whereas the youngest queen Kaikeyi is successful in sending Rama to exile and procure throne for her own son Bharata.“ By these rites ordained for Rama,-such the news my menials bring,--Let my Bharat, and not Rama, be anointed Regent King,Wearing skins and matted tresses, in the cave or hermit's cell, Fourteen years in Dandak's forests let the elder Rama dwell,These are Queen Kaikeyi's wishes, these are boons for which I pray,I would see my son anointed, Rama banished on this day!"5 “The son of another is always the son of another” 6

Kaikeyi, the queen of king , was the real mother of Bharata and step mother of Rama. Sassouma Berte, the queen of King Nare Maghan Kon Fatta was the real mother of Dankaran Touman and step mother of Sundiata. The Images of Mother in Ramayana and Sundiata. A Comparative Critique 125 very name of these stepmothers, Kaikeyi and Sassouma Berte sprouts from the administration, belonging to royal blood. They were manipulators and knew the art of the war. The secret of these young women was exceptional. Their characters were a high and abstract ambition. They could have borne to live an undistinguished life but not be forgotten in history. Their yearning desire had transformed to hope and this hope, long cherished in them, was to beam on their pathway to spring as a ruler mother, through their son.

In the epic Ramayana, the daughter of the mighty king , was Kaikeyi. She married king Dasaratha with a vow to her father that her borne son, would succeed as the future king of . The term Kaikeyī in means "belonging to the Kaikeyas"7 referring the ruling family of the clan, to whom Kaikeyī belonged. King, Maghan Kon Fatta’s first wife was called , “Sossuma Berete, daughter of a great divine…” 8 Sossuma Berete and Kaikeyi’s personality, is worth presenting and provides a strong clue to motivations to be women in power. Only sister to seven brothers, Kaikeyi grew up without a maternal influence and was raised by a vet nurse, , who accompanied Kaikeyi to Ayodhya as a trusted maid upon her marriage to Dasaratha.

In Sundiata, Sassouma Berte harbored a deep distrust of men in general and husbands in particular, and to considering his love as “fickle” and “passing” in nature. Kaikeyi was able to convince her husband to take her along with him during a military campaign against an enemy. Touched by her warrior’s courage and timely service, she was offered two boons.

Kaikeyi’s and Sassouma Berte worries, of losing their status of head and ruling queen at court, if Rama and Sundiata ascended the throne (making and Sologon , the queen mother) instigated jealousy and envy .It reminded them, that their stepson’s coronation would give Kausalya and Sologon, their former status, as the most important of their king’s powerful queens and would cut out their son, of the royal ancestry, forever. This ardent desire to retain the superior status over the kingdom resulted them to exile, as the long gone of their stepson’s would give time enough for their own son to consolidate their position as king of their dynasty. They were opportunist and worked for self interest getting their son, the kingdom and getting more power to establish a matriarch. Sassouma Berte was the first to rejoice at Sundiata’s infirmity. Her own son, Dankaran Touman, was a fine and lively boy, who spent the day running about the village with those of his own age. The king had had a bow made for him, and he used to go behind the town to practice archery with his companions. Sassouma was quite happy. Power comes in when Saussama feels Sundiata's as a threat to her son, Dankaran Touman's to get to the throne first.“ Sossuma Berete, turned out to be unbearable. She was restless, and smarted to see the ugly Sogolon proudly flaunting about the place. What would become of her, Sossuma Berete , if her son , was disinherited in favour of the child that Sogolon got into the world ?... Soon , dark schemes took form in the mind of Sossuma Berete…”9The concerns of Kaikey too are reflected in the voice of Manathra, “Get up , you foolish women… To a thoughtless heedless mother must I Bharat's virtues plead,Must the Queen Kaikeyi witness Queen Kausalya's son succeed? Speak thy mandate to thy husband, let thy Bharat rule at home, In the deep and pathless jungle let the banished Rama roam.This will please thy ancient father and thy father's kith and kin,This will please the righteous people, Bharat knows no guile or sin! Speak thy mandate to thy husband, win thy son a happy fate,Doom him not to Rama's service or his unrelenting hate.” 10

Caught in the maelstrom of their ego’s obsession, these stepmothers invited destruction. Kaikeyi is much detested character. Her soft picture undergoes a complete metamorphosis in the latter part of the epic, Ramayana. There has never been any other Kaikey and Sassouma Berte because, they are incomparable. The insecurity, the stepmothers suffer from, was having two co-wives, not their son as heir to the throne and lack of faith in the promises of men though they were bold, strong and wise women. Their names became pronounced as a wicked and evil women with power hunger and 126 Roshan Benjamin Khan shameful motherhood. But they sacrificed for the welfare of mankind. They knew they would be hated and disliked ever, for all times to come but to be a part of destiny they played and presented a picture of heartless, selfish womankind at its most degenerated, driving the protagonist himself into exile, for the sake of their son’s inheritance. “With the help of Sossuma Berete intrigues, Darkan Touman was proclaimed king and a royal regency was formed in which the queen mother was all powerful… Having become all powerful , Sossuma Berete persecuted Sogolon… banished Sogolon and her son… Sogolon Kedjou and her son lived on the queen mother’s left over…”. 11 Similarly Kaikeyi also takes to Manthara’s advice, “Hunchback… your clever ideas must be stored in it, your political wisdom and magic powers… I have accomplished my purpose… once Bharata is consecrated and Raghava has gone to the forest.” 12

They became the characters even to be blamed by all; the people of their country, their sons and their husbands. ”People recalled her scenes of jealousy and the spiteful remarks she circulated about her co-wife and her child.”13.Dasrath says to Kaikeyi, “Traiters to thy king, and husband, fell destroyer of thy race.”14 These popular legendary ambitions stepmothers Kaikeyi and Sassouma Berte were portrayed as villainous by the history but the composer of the epic, depicted them to be, the great chosen ladies. Such is the role of person with awareness. Only a man who is beyond duality can understand the role of a stepmother in both the epic poem. When posterity gazes back into the gloom, it trances the brightness as meaner glory fades and confess, that a gifted one had passed. “To be happy always is something which is difficult to achieve. That is to say, happiness and sorrow alternate in one’s life and there cannot be uninterrupted happiness alone.” 15

Kaushalya ,the real mother of Rama had been yet another queen of emperor of Ayodhya. She portrays as an ideal and liberal character in the epic the Ramayana Sologon, an ugly, hunchbacked women was the real mother of Sundiata and one of the queens of emperor Nare Maghan Kon Fatta. Motherhood is shown by Sogolon, Sundiata's mother who does whatever possible to keep her son out of danger from people who wants to harm him. Her son’s infirmity weighed heavily upon Sogolon Kedjou; she had resorted to all her talent to give strength to her son’s legs, but the rarest herbs had been useless.

Both of these real mothers of the protagonist were affectionate mothers, who loved their sons dearly. All their life they thought for the welfare of their son, family, people and country.“He has come , And happiness has come,Sundiata is here, And happiness is here” 16

Kaushalya’s Rama, in the Ramayana and Sologon’s Sundiata, in the epic Sundiata were nurtured under the shadow of their mothers. The real mothers’ contribution in their sons’ development into a powerful man was a boon for their sons through their instructions in their life time. It invoked the power of their son’s ability in protecting, fighting and ruling for prosperity, peace and harmony is a lesson for posterity in both the epic. “The time is no ripe for this harvest.”

She counseled, “for first you must cultivate your

Qualities that you may return a man to claim you crown.”17

Kaushalya’s and Sogolon’s strength of character keep the rest of the members of the family together in long exile and thereby giving their son, the determination to return home and serve the country. “A wise man should foresee tragedy or misfortune and take action to prevent or overcome such tragedy or misfortune well before it strikes. Thus only he can enjoy a safe and good life.” 18

Both these real mothers had the range of experiences beyond the ordinary either to discover what has been lost or to discover an identified problem. They endured unmerited suffering and paid the enormous personal prize for their son’s Images of Mother in Ramayana and Sundiata. A Comparative Critique 127 eventual achievements. “If it is foretold that your destiny should be fulfilled in such and such a land, men can do nothing against it…Neither the jealousy of a cruel stepmother, nor her wickedness, could alter for a moment the course of great destiny.”19

CONCLUSIONS

The role of women as a wife, real mother and stepmother or the relation between queens, control the destiny of their son, is of emphasis in these epics of two different cultures.When we read these epics, we find that there are a lot of similarities in the portrayal of the image of mothers. In this paper we have tried to throw light on the role of mothers in two different cultures and how they come very close to each other when a comparative study is done on image of mothers be it a Hindu society as seen in Ramayana or Muslim society as seen in Sundiata. The tears of mothers do not fall on the ground in vain; it will destroy those who caused them such anguish of heart causing tears to be shed. “God has his mysteries, which none can fathom. You perhaps, will be a king. You can do nothing about it. You on the other hand, will be unlucky, but you can do nothing about that either. Each person finds their way already marked out for them and they can change nothing of it. Not getting depressed, frustrated or dejected is the basis for all prosperity and happiness. Giving up one‘s life produces to continue to live is the way to joy and happiness.20

REFERENCES

1. Valmiki Ramayan 2.111.9. www.taoshobuddhameditations.com, Mediation Time ,P.64

2. Naine, D.T: Sundiata an epic of Old Mali. Longman Group Ltd(English Version)1965.P.6

3. Naine, D.T: Sundiata an epic of Old Mali. Longman Group Ltd(English Version)1965.P.9

4. Dutta.C. Romesh: The Ramayana. Epic of Rama, Prince of India (Book II) 1995.P.26

5. Dutta.C. Romesh :The Ramayana. Epic of Rama, Prince of India(Book II) 1995.P.34

6. Griot Djeli Mamadou Kauyate’, P.46

7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaikeyi

8. Dutta.C. Romesh: The Ramayana. Epic of Rama, Prince of India(Book II) 1995.P.3

9. Naine.D.T: Sundiata, an epic of old mali, translated by A.D. Pickett Longman, 1986.P.13

10. Dutta.C. Romesh: The Ramayana. Epic of Rama, Prince of India(Book II) 1995.P.31

11. Dutta.C. Romesh: The Ramayana. Epic of Rama, Prince of India(Book II) 1995.P.18

12. Dylan Dog : Manthara and Keikeyi.P.18

13. Dutta.C. Romesh: The Ramayana. Epic of Rama, Prince of India(Book II) 1995.P.22

14. Dutta.C. Romesh: The Ramayana. Epic of Rama, Prince of India(Book II) 1995 P.35.

15. Valmiki Ramayana, "The Ramayana" by R. K. Narayan 2.18.13

16. Diawara Manthia: In Search of Africa.P.93

17. Shepherd .D. Robert , Sundiata Keita: The Lion King, A traditional tale. P.11

18. Valmiki Ramayana, "The Ramayana" by R. K. Narayan 3.29.4 128 Roshan Benjamin Khan

19. Shepherd .D. Robert , Sundiata Keita: The Lion King, A traditional tale. P.16

20. Valmiki Ramayan . www.taoshobuddhameditations.com, Mediation Time ,P.69