Texts for Translation 2010:
  Frances Logan

Texts for Translation 2010:   Frances Logan
Mother Tongue (Родной язык) Тексты для 2011 перевода Галерея Переводы- победители Home Texts for 2011 Picture Gallery UpJohn Award Winning Translations Contact	Existence By Frances Logan We exist. Of that there is no doubt. We humans like to believe that we are the apex of life on this planet. This planet, an insignificant globe rotating around an insignificant sun, in an insignificant arm of one galaxy, in the vast, unending expanse of the universe. We humans are the epitome of life? How did we get here? What influences formed us to make us as we are? There are a myriad of creation theories, myths and legends which relate to the cultures and mores of the people. We were created by God according to the Torah, Qur’an and Bible. We evolved according to Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. Early mankind was influenced and the future shaped by space travellers in Erich von Daniken’s Chariots of the Gods hypothesis. There is even my own childish Jam-Jar Theory to name but a few. I am intrigued by these mostly ancient accounts of how mankind came to inhabit this Earth which had been handed down orally through the generations until at last being committed to print, this mostly being done fairly recently in the great scheme of things. We humans communicate. We communicate to live and live to communicate. We are not alone in this, most living organisms communicate in some form: to attract; to procreate; as a warning to others of the same species or perhaps it is through fear of loss of life. All of these are part of this ethereal thing known as life. However, as far as I’m aware, since I am not able to understand or converse in amoeba, ant or antelope, mankind is the only species that communicates to make sense of the world around us; simultaneously enabling us to be in touch with the past, the present and the future. We create stories to explain the known and unknown. We communicate in so many different forms for pleasure alone. Think of the great works of art by the masters, the edifices that communicate wealth, love or prestige, the tomes which have been written through the generations, the music that can lift us to a higher plane or take us down to the depths of Sheol. Such artists take great joy and pride in creating these works and gain great joy from them. Vast amounts of time, effort and energy have been given over to communicating thoughts, ideas and reasoning since the dawn of time. As a storyteller, I am particularly drawn to the spoken word. Storytelling is a seemingly simple and magical way of relating to others with no need of anything other than a teller and a listener. Storytelling is for everyone and everyone is a storyteller. Have you ever asked “How was your day?” and been told at some length of all the great or terrible events that had occurred? I would like to relate a well-known, ancient tale, which speaks to me as a woman - a tale that has been puzzling scholars and intriguing the not so learned. Let me begin by asking a simple question: Who were the first man and woman? Ask this question and most people in the western world would probably answer “Adam and Eve”. Even in this answer a dichotomy exists furthering even more writings, discussions and thoughts. According to the King James Version of the Bible there are two accounts of the creation of mankind in the Book of Genesis. In the first chapter it says ‘God created man . . . male and female, he created them.’ In the following chapter it then tells us that the first man, Adam, was created from the dust of the earth (the Adamah) and woman, Eve, created from a rib from his side. Taking this concept further, who then was this first woman created in the same way as Adam, from the same dust, at the same time, separate and equal to Adam? The answer to that question, according to Jewish folklore, is Lilith. In keeping with the folk interpretation, Lilith and Adam at first co-existed happily in the Garden of Eden. Life was joyful and peaceful with mutual respect and care. They had everything they needed for their existence; the fowl of the air, the fish of the sea, the fruit growing in abundance. Except for one - they could not partake of the tree that contained the fruit that was not to be eaten - the forbidden tree - the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. They obeyed the rules laid down by their Creator. This idyllic life continued until the time when Adam felt the urge to procreate. He told Lilith that the Lord had commanded it and that he should take charge. Forcing Lilith down against her will, he demanded she lie beneath him. She refused; and insisted that since they were created equally she should be treated equally and that they should come together with mutual respect and lie side by side. Still Adam persisted “I am your lord and master!” and once again forced himself down on Lilith. Finding herself weakening in the struggle, she cried aloud the sacred name of God – a name never to be uttered. With this, she was given such great power that she rose higher and higher, flying up into the night sky. In her anger, Lilith ignored Adam’s demands and cries for her to return and was cast out of the garden. She flew over land and sea, finally settling on the Red Sea coast, where she rested in a cave. For a time they lived separately and in her lonely existence, Lilith had opened herself to the spirits of the air and the earth which filled her with their seed and she gave birth to Spirit beings, which flew, throughout the world. Adam pleaded with God to force her to return. Three angels; Senoy, Sansenoy and Semangelof were sent to fetch Lilith back. She refused to return, laughing scornfully in their faces. The angels then declared that if Lilith did not return to Adam and be submissive to him, then one hundred of her children would be destroyed every day. This infuriated Lilith even more. She added that if Adam and any future wife of his were to ever have any offspring, she would kill them. Males would be left unharmed for eight days and females for twenty one days. After this time she would rage into a child-killer and destroy them. The angels argued hotly with her until they caught hold of her and tried to destroy Lilith by drowning her in the Red Sea. They struggled and fought, for what seemed like eternity. Just when she thought her life was at an end, with a final burst of energy Lilith pushed them away and screamed, “If you let me live, I will make a bargain with you. If mothers place sacred amulets with your names on them, around the beds of their sleeping infants, I shall leave them unharmed.” This was discussed and agreed. The Lord God then created Adam’s second wife, Eve, from Adam’s rib and since she had been formed from Adam; Eve had to submit to Adam in all things. Lilith, who according to the legend, still dwells in that same cave near the Red Sea. She is as active today as she had been then. For Lilith had refused the will of both God and Adam, became a demon - a creature of the night. She became the succubus, a seducer in the night, a demon that would have sexual intercourse with men while they were asleep and so spawning demonic offspring. Why indeed was Lilith then transformed from an almost godlike state (she had been created the same way as Adam, therefore, in the image and likeness of God) to that of demon? With so many mothers dying in childbirth, babies being still-born and neonatal deaths being very prevalent, the Creator could not be blamed for such happenings so, this must the work of a demon. Who better to blame than Lilith? When the story of Lilith was first recorded, Judaic life was male dominated. It was also very strict with many Divine Laws and many ways a man could break them (and interestingly, even more ways for a woman to break them). Even an impure thought was very much unwanted never mind an impure act. With sexual release being an unthinkable topic for discussion or action, it is not surprising that erotic dreams were common. However, these occurrences were greatly feared, for one was doomed for having “spilled his seed”. This action was unavoidable but caused great guilt. To relieve this anxiety Lilith was blamed, after all she was a female seductress, the succubus who had the power to overcome the unfortunate male - better than blaming oneself. There are many Jewish folk tales where men are tricked into marrying beautiful demonesses and Lilith is the greatest. Like many myths and legends, the story of Lilith can be viewed in many different levels and has been for many generations. The earliest mention of Lilith is in The Epic of Gilgamesh, an ancient poem from Mesopotamia, which is among one of the earliest known pieces of literature dating from around 2700BCE. In this story she was simply a night-demon - one of many. The ‘First Eve’ interpretation of the Lilith story was created in the middle-ages, this added reasoning, character and depth. Lilith is considered a modern day totem by many Neo - Pagans and feminist groups, particularly because she made the choice to fly from paradise rather than submit to Adam. She is independent. She is defiant. She is strong. She is woman! Here in this story we have the ancient past being brought up to the present day and the present being intermingled with the past. That is one of the joys of communicating, one of the joys of myths and legends, one of the joys of storytelling. Just in case you are wondering about my own ‘Jam-Jar Theory’, which was considered long before I’d even heard of, never mind read, Dr Seuss’ “Norton Hears a Who.“ As a child of around five years of age, I had been catching minnows in a local pond and keeping them in a jam jar (to take them home, which now would be totally frowned upon). When I lifted the said jar to examine the contents, I noticed that not only were there tiny fish but also water fleas and other swimming, floating life forms. This set me on a train of thought. These creatures were being held in their own universe, in a jam jar in the hand of a ‘giant’. Perhaps our world was floating, held within a jam jar of an even bigger giant and so on ad infinitum. Could it be that we, in all our glorious greatness, are nothing more than an amusing and interesting fascination for some giant or deity? As a storyteller, I am rather fond of my ‘Jam Jar’ theory. It allows for the possibility that we are all part of the snow-globe of parallel universes where past, present and future merge together and where we can unite with Lilith and learn from her desire to be forthright, fearless and free; stand against oppression in all its forms and create a better tomorrow even at the risk of being demonised by others. It is only in standing for freedom and justice that all people can find true and equal respect, be valued as individuals and claim their true dignity. Back to Texts
	Web Design by Haktar