10 folktales about women in war

 It is International Women's Day. The sun is shining, flowers are blooming, and thousands of women and girls (as well as men) are crossing the borders of Ukraine, fleeing from war. They fear for their fathers, sons, husbands, friends; they are carrying their children, seeking shelter and hope as the unimaginable happens around them. On the other side of the border, women (and men) are waiting with supplies, cars, open doors, open hearts. And then there are the women who don't flee - because they can't, or because they have decided to take up arms and defend their homes. And yes, there are women on the other side too: women fearing for their loved ones, and protesting the war.

I have been struggling to put stories to this whole situation. I have looked at folktales and legends about peace, but they alt felt hollow and insensitive. But I always post folktale selections for International Women's Day, and this time, the topic felt like a given. I want to share old stories about women who live through war. They fight, they heal, they make peace, they survive, they sacrifice, they do heroic things.

Folktales hold memories, hope, and values; they have important messages for the future. 

Let's listen to them. And let's help, any way we can, so the current stories in the making can have better endings.

The king who trusted his kingdom to his daughters (Jewish folktale)

I have blogged about this one before. A princess who is kind and caring receives a magic box that turns her teardrops into diamonds. Using the diamonds, she travels her cruel father's kingdom, helping people any way she can. When the neighboring ruler attacks the country, no one is willing to fight for the cruel king - but when the princess sets out to meet the army, people are willing to follow her. The enemy is surprised by their numbers. Instead of fighting, she starts negotiations. War is avoided, and she falls in love with the neighboring prince.

The wall of pastries (Indian folktale)

A greedy king is very fond of pastries, but refuses to share any of his wealth with anyone. His clever cook, however, keeps stealing small amounts of pastry, and feeding them to the poor. When an enemy attacks the kingdom, suddenly an impenetrable wall of pastries appears, blocking their soldiers. The cook tells the king about her secret activities, and how small kindnesses saved the kingdom. The king learns generosity, repents for his greediness, and rules wiser than before.

The women of Weinsberg (German legend)

King Conrad III besieges the city of Weinsberg. The women trapped inside the walls negotiate for their freedom; eventually, the king agrees to let them walk away from the city, with as much as they can carry on their shoulders. With this promise, the women all pick up their husbands or sons, and they walk out of Weinsberg. The king keeps his word, and lets them go.

Airmed, the healer (Irish legend)

Airmed is one of the Tuatha De Danann, the daughter of Dian Cecht the famous healer. She takes part in the Second Battle of Mag Turied against the Fomorians, caring for the wounded and the dying. When her jealous father kills her brother, she cries so much that 365 kinds of healing herbs grow on his grave, watered by her tears. She collects and catalogs them, but Dian Cecht grows angry and scatters them again. Airmed's knowledge is lost, but the herbs remain to help people.

The nine daughters of Khan Afrat (Uyghur legend)

Khan Afrat goes to war with his sons and they all perish. His nine daughters take over the kingdom, dividing the duties of ruling, keeping the peace, and caring for their people. When an enemy attacks them, thinking them weak, they resist the attack, and - with the help of the Queen of Deserts - manage to defend their kingdom.

Teapots over the door (Hui legend)

In times of a rebellion a poor woman, defending an orphan girl, earns the respect of the enemy general. He promises not to hurt her, and tells her to mark her door by hanging a turnip above it. She runs home, and tells everyone in the village to hang turnips above their doors. When the enemy arrives, however, she realizes that her neighbor has no turnip. She lends them her own, and replaces it with a teapot. This way, she gives her life for her people - and in her memory, Hui people have been hanging teapots, or teapot pictures, above their doors.

Mulan (Chinese ballad)

The story well known from the Disney movie goes all the way back to a 6th century Chinese ballad. Mulan goes to war instead of her father, and serves in the army for ten years, dressed as a man. No one figures out her secret. When she returns, she puts on a woman's dress, and reveals her identity to her stunned fellow soldiers.

Puskás Klári (Hungarian legend)

The men of Gyergyószárhegy (Transylvania) are sent to war, leaving their home village behind. The Turkish sultan sends the Tatars, thinking the village to be easy pickings. Puskás Klári, however, organizes the defense of her home with the women, children, and old men left behind. They dig pots into the ground, throw beehives at the attackers, and Klári herself kills seven soldiers with various household objects. And then she walks home, lays down, and gives birth to triplets. By the way.

(Women fighting the Tatar invasion is a very common theme in Hungarian folklore. I blogged about them in Hungarian here.)

Flower Mountain (Hungarian legend)

There is a place called Virághegy (Flower Mountain) near Nagybánya. It was named after a legend: in the time of a Tatar invasion, people fled to a wise woman who lived on the mountain. She led the refugees to a valley, and transformed them all into flowers, to hide them from the enemy.

Lady Béla (Hungarian legend)

A very famous Hungarian historical legend. A girl inherits her father's castle and lands, and she lives a double life, pretending to be two sisters: one brave and strong, and one kind and friendly. When the Tatars come, she organizes the defense of her castle, and resists the siege, until - with the help of a neighboring knight - she breaks the attack and defeats the enemy.

L is for the Lianja epic (Epics from A to Z)

I have read a large number of epics for this challenge. This one was not only new for me too, but I also have to admit that it is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful pieces of oral literature I have ever read. Because I loved it so much, today's post is going to be a little longer than usual, so I can fit all my favorite parts into it. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did!

Origins

This epic, like yesterday's, is named after its main hero. The culture it belongs to is the Mongo, a Bantu ethnic group that lives in the tropical forests of the Congo Basin in Central Africa. This story has been narrated since the 14th century; the English text I read is based on the performances of three storytellers, recorded in the 1980's. The narration is divided into three nights' performances (the introduction of the book describes really well what these performances look like).

The Lianja epic, unlike many others I have read for this challenge, is a story of peace. It is the tale of a foretold hero-messiah who will come to lead warring tribes to brotherhood and prosperity. It is exciting, eloquent, visually captivating, all-around gorgeous, and has a strong, amazingly relevant message of peace, forgiveness, and cross-cultural understanding.

The Hero
Lianja, while definitely the most important, is not the only hero in the story - in fact, he is not even born until the third night of the performance. He is preceded by a line of strong and wise men and women, like Bokele who leads the Mongo out of darkness into the light, Lianja's father the half-spirit Ilele, or his mother Mbombe, who is not only a famous wrestler, but also named Lady of Wisdom for her advocacy for peace. Lianja also shares his destiny for peace with his twin sister Nsongo.

The Highlights
Too many to count, really. Here are some of my favorites:

1. The prominent role of women. They fight beside their husbands (they lead armies and they have their own groups of experienced female warriors), they decide their own destiny, and they give speeches of wisdom to the community. One time the elders of a council try to shut wise woman Mama Isaso up, and instead a spirit appears to tell them that they should listen.
2. The descriptions of nature. This epic teems with beautiful, detailed descriptions of scenery, nature, and everything that lives. My favorite line is "The clouds played acrobatic games across the sky."
3. The questioning of the enemy's motives. Multiple times in the epic heroes ask themselves: What made our enemies hate us? What do they think about us? Even evil spirits are described like this: "They are infinitely asking themselves the meaning of their lives. As they are questioning themselves and how to change their lives they are lost in their thoughts and thus go around all the cosmos creating havoc, death and misconduct among the living."
4. This line: "How much better is life among strangers with light, than home without the sun and the moon."
5. Choosing a wife: After every nation and kingdom sends girls he can choose form, Ilele turns down the "short-listed" (sic!) bride, saying he wants to marry a girl he had "met, talked with, and loved." He goes on a journey, and joins a group of girls at a dance celebration, picking one he likes. But when he says "I want you to be my wife" this it he response he gets: "Your wife? What do you mean by your wife? A first wife? A second one? Or just for the occasion?" (This smart girl turns out to be a half-spirit herself, and they don't get married). Eventually, Ilele wrestles Mbombe in a pool of palm oil and defeats her, and they get married (she actually wants to marry him before the wrestling, but she says she can't give any suitor preferential treatment). In the wedding song the ideal wife is described as "a girl of plentifulness, selflessness and greatness, a girl of bravery, courage and without self praise, a girl of kindness, power and a sense of humor." Damn right.
6. Talk before action. Most conflicts in the epic are solved through talking them out. When Mbombe is bullied for her too-long pregnancy, the elders gather the community and explain to them how their words hurt her, in simple terms so they can understand. The epic says "Even those who spoke ill of Mbombe did not quite hate her, though they may have said some things out of jealousy." When Mbombo's husband is killed by the rival Sau-Sau (instigated by evil spirits), she is the first one to stand up and say the Mongo should not take revenge, because violence does not bring a solution. She only starts grieving after she makes sure no one goes off to avenge her husband.
7. The miraculous birth of Lianja: Mbombe, after years of pregnancy, becomes a sort of All-Mother: She gives birth to insects, birds, animals, and an entire race of people, before at last her twins are born, fully grown and ready for action. One of the small details I really liked is that Mbombe approaches her children with caution: They might be hers, but they have just been born, and she does not know what they are like, or how they think. They are, essentially, grown-up strangers to her.

8. The tortoises. Tortoises play important roles in the epic. My favorite part is when Mbombe lies to Lianja, telling him his father had died when a tree fell on him (she doesn't want him to go on a revenge quest). Lianja sends the tortoises to investigate. Tortoises stage a re-enactment of the accident to see if a tortoise can get away from a falling tree. When they succeed, they report back to Lianja that his father could not have died that way. CSI: Tortoise. (They also say "trees hate to drink human blood.")
 9. Minimum casualties. After the epic final battle, and killing the evil chief-spirit that ruled the Sau-Sau, Lianja brings all his dead warriors and his enemies back to life to start a new nation together. They cut down the tree that started the war, and plant a tree of peace in its place. Lianja then sets out to lead his people to a Promised Land, and many other groups join them on the way. When they are attacked and they have to fight. Lianja always brings back the dead from both sides.
10. One of the beautiful parts of the journey is the time the traveling nation takes refuge in the branches of a baobab tree from a group of evil ogres. The tree protects them, and in exchange they heal the tree when the ogres try to cut it down. Powerful image.