Once Upon A Time, There were No Cultural Boundaries

Once Upon A Time, There were No Cultural Boundaries

 

 

Whether or not you take a bite of a vegetarian / vegan lifestyle, you probably started out as a full-blown carnivore, especially if you devoured those meaty fairytales served up by Children's Literature. Metaphors aside, what I mean to say is that these fairytales select animals; embellish their identities with some human attributes by suggesting they think and communicate like us; and incorporate them in stories to have their behaviour copied, that is, consumed by children.

 

Why? Because the creatures' behaviour conveys moral messages that reinforce our stereotypes and cultural values for the next generation so as to reproduce our communities. In doing so, fairytales imply the importance of animals in human society, despite some traditional claims about their inferiority. This, I argue, parallels views in Amerindian culture, where lines between the human and animal are also blurred: animals are seen as having human souls in non-human bodies; people assign creatures different traits and, by eating them, hope to acquire these traits to strengthen human communities. Do such resemblances mean that cultural boundaries are on their way out?

 

The Human-Animal Nexus

 

Both fairytales and Amerindian cultures muddy the distinctions dividing humans and animals and stressing our superiority. In the Three Little Pigs, for example, animals' experimentation with different building materials, namely straw, wood, and stone respectively, appears to mimic our historical evolution from an agricultural to an industrial society. They represent humans coming to terms with the demands of the natural world around them, epitomised by the wolf and his threats. Their victory symbolises the perceived triumph of modern humans over nature. Although making non-humans imitate us suggests we are ideal creations and animals are inferior emulations, readers may note that animals experiencing the same dilemmas as us reminds us that we share the world with them and are related in this sense at least.

 

Meanwhile, Amerindians suggest that animals are human spirits wearing animal bodies; they have personalities and emotions and could be monitoring us. This is why animals are respected and feared for their anger or power. Amerindians here may seem to go beyond fairytales, as animals' relations with humans are more than just about food: they can judge people and react accordingly. However, I argue that fairytales equally respect that animals think independently and have opinions on humans; the pigs' decision to defend themselves using human technology hints creativity and perhaps their distrust of people to protect them.

 

Role of Animals in Human Culture

 

Both fairytales and Amerindian culture illustrate how human communities can profit from non-human contribution. In Goldylocks and the Three Bears, the bears and their house are arguably a warning indicating the vulnerability of collectives and the impending threat of individualism: three bowls, three chairs, and three beds are used to identify each individual; there is nothing to identify the family as a whole. The hasty appearance of the bears together at the end perhaps provides hope that this vulnerable order, the nuclear family, can still be saved. Therefore, through animals, readers are instructed to maintain their communal links, conserving their common cultures and traditions.

 

Similarly, for some Amerindians, animals play a crucial role in social reproduction. Capturing the spirit of a Jaguar, a strong creature at the top of the hunting hierarchy, is believed to endow shamans with supreme powers. They then employ this to benefit the well-being of their community, and thus, hint the importance of animals. Indeed, some may contend fairytales don't explicitly describe animals as powerful agents but treat them more like tools to shape society. It nevertheless should be noted that the creatures must be given agency for humans to be able to relate to them and think that the morals they advocate are worth following.

In other words, children may look up at "lived happily ever after" stuffed with ideas and morals, regarding humans and animals as much closer species. This blog post has argued that Amerindians share this perspective, and hence, that there may be some truth in that fairytale about no cultural boundaries.