The World Literature and Global Cultures
Different literatures in the world have provided a window into the global cultures (Menon, 2004). The most prominent literature comes from the culture of India known as the Ramayana. The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic related to the Hindu saying, “Valmiki” and is essential to the Hindus (Dutt, 2002). The name Ramayana is a compound of Rama and ayana (‘‘going advancing’’). The Ramayana has seven books (Menon, 2004). In these seven books are 24000 verses. It tells the story of Rama whose wife, Sita, was abducted by Ravana, who was the demon of Lanka.
The Ramayana is linked to Valmiki, who was the first Indian poet (Menon, 2004). The Indian tradition appreciates the fact that the poem is the work of Valmiki, who single handedly wrote the poem. Valmiki is also an actor in the drama.
The other literature comes from Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh was the 5th king of Uruk, which is the modern Iraq who ruled 2500 BC. As per a list of kings of Sumerian, Gilgamesh played king for one hundred and twenty six years. According to a writing in Tummal, Gilgamesh and Urlugal, his son, reconstructed a sanctuary that had been built for Ninlil, a goddess. This was a sacred place in the city of Nippur. Gilgamesh is the main character in the “Epic of Gilgamesh,” the most popular work still in existence of the early “Mesopotamian literature” (Menon, 2004). According to myths of Mesopotamia, Gilgamesh was deemed a demigod with superhuman strengths who was able to build walls around the city of Uruk to ensure security for his people from attacks (Dutt, 2002).
The works of Confucius and Chuang Chou further tells more on the global culture. Confucius was in existence even before the European (Greek and Roman) writers. He was a scholar as he loved learning (Dutt, 2002). He was also a teacher. However he taught informally, not in an organized institution. He taught Chinese history to the sons of ‘gentlemen’ who used to flock him (Dutt, 2002).
References
Menon Ramesh. (2004). The Ramayana: A Modern Retelling of the Great Indian Epic. New
York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Dutt Romesh Chunder. (2002). The Ramayana and Mahabharata condensed into English
Verse. New York: Courier Dover Publications
