ABSTRACT
The double is human and yet not entirely so; of flesh and blood but
with an element of unreality because we fail to recognize or identify
every one of his actions.… He is our neighbour, our equal, but also the
foreigner, the one who does things differently, has a different colour,
or speaks a different language. To better differentiate us from him, we
In this poem, replete with ominous dreams, heroic journeys, myth, visions,
floods and prayers, the metaphor of the ‘double’ or the ‘other’ is a poignant
representation of anyone or any group of people that societies either actively or
passively exclude via real or invented psychological barriers. Manguel reminds
us that we falsely separate ourselves from some humans (not to mention
from nonhuman Nature) to banish ‘the other’ from our lives and our percep-
tions. The Gilgamesh poem illustrates a common reaction to ‘the other’. To
validate unfamiliar ways of knowing is to acknowledge the stranger’s exis-
tence and their rights. However, like the mythical Gilgamesh, we are beset
by fears and ominous forebodings when it comes to embracing unfamiliar
ways of working. This story and Manguel’s interpretations have resonances
for community engagement.
