By
Obododimma
Oha
In a very
sensational cartoon, a Pharaoh angrily tells his son (who has been playing with
Moses throughout the city on a chariot): “Don’t be the weak link in the chain!”
A Pharaoh is supposed to be severe, not soft. A Pharaoh is not supposed to
laugh so carelessly that you could count all his teeth and know the smell of
his mouth. A Pharaoh, moreover should know the deep breath of history and the
limits of court comic show. A Pharaoh is supposed to tell the difference
between the Egyptian and the stranger, even if the stranger has been adopted by
his sister. A Pharoah should know that he is the
custodian of the sacred tombs and the the secrets of the inner chambers. A Pharaoh should know that he is the Pharaoh!
Pharaoh’s son
is also already a Pharaoh, not just that he would one day become one. Pharaoh’s
son must therefore act and think Pharaoh. The chick of the eagle and the chick
of the vulture are not the same. One would rule the heights eventually but
another would rule the marketplace! Pharaoh’s son would sit on the throne of
thrones and rule over the Egyptian and the stranger, sternly! Pharaoh’s son is
expected to grow up knowing that he is the connective of the glorious past and
a greater future! Pharaoh’s son is carrying a great burden – the greatness of
ages to come and must not disappoint! He has collected the baton in a relay race.
Sadly,
Eurocentric and Hebraic discourses have given us a sad and regrettable picture
of Pharaoh as the unacceptable tyrant, with the design to distance and destroy
the referent. Think of sayings we have mastered like: “Pharaoh, let my people
go!” or “Pharaoh and his chariots perished in the Red Sea”! The Eurocentric and
Hebraic “Pharaoh” is a heartless terrorist; a sadist of the worst type! A
Eurocentric and Hebraic “Pharaoh” is a terrible metaphor of doom; a black and
hardened heart of stone! But a wise Pharaoh should remember that he is a star
that cannot and must not fall as the
enemies hope it would!
A Pharaoh who
is Pharaoh could be tough without being a sad and negative thing. The alternative
to the “wicked” Pharaoh does not have to be
a weakling who only plays flute like a clown and laughs loud and long so
that you could count all his teeth. He does not have to be an entertainer who
spends his time driving chariots crazily through the city! The alternative is
not he that forgets his name sometimes and goes on sick leave frequently. So,
when next I want to say: “Pharaoh, let my people go!” I should remember that I
am uttering a Eurocentric and Hebraic discourse of blackmail and blemish! I
should know that that borrowed metaphor is not mine and has never been or will
be.
Why remember Pharaoh and remember wickedness and its consequences? Why remember Pharaoh and
remember a fruitless and stupid and nonstrategic chase that ends in the walls
of water in the Red Sea?
Oh, there
were certainly very mean Pharaohs. But these mean Pharaohs needed to prove to
some people that Pharaohs were not the weak links in the chain that they
desired. Maybe the need for conviction, the need to put the fear of God into
some people, leads to an “unnecessary” tyranny. But a Pharaoh should remember
that he he still Pharaoh and prove it when the need arises. He should remember
that he is carrying the burden of the times, linking the glorious past to the
greater future. So, Pharaoh Senior was right: Pharaoh Junior should not be the
weak link in the chain! The chariot and its mechanics even take the image
closer to us!
Comments