Where Animals Talk: West African Folk Lore TalesNassau, Robert Hamill
Philosophy
Where Animals Talk: West African Folk Lore Tales
Nassau, Robert Hamill
Animals -- Folklore; Tales -- Africa, West
Tortoise and Leopard had lived in peace in the same town, until
their mutual use and abuse of the great Goat, the gift of Njambe,
the Creator. A leopard is not satisfied unless he first takes the
heart of the animal he has killed.
Tortoise and Leopard built a town together. There they stayed. After
they had built, they cleared plantations. Their food was only
vegetables; for, they had no meat. Their hunger for meat became
great. Their hunters killed nothing.
One day, Tortoise, as he went in search of food, going and penetrating
in the forest, came upon the Goat of Njambe (a mythical, enormous
animal) in the forest by itself, and tied. It told Tortoise who
and what it was, and invited him to enter. He said to It, "Mbodi,
Friend-of-Njambe! open for me your house!" The Goat opened an aperture
of its body; Tortoise entered in; and It closed the aperture. Inside
of the Goat, Tortoise cut pieces of fine fat, and tied them into two
bundles. Then he said, "Mbodi, friend of Njambe! open for me the
house!" It opened the aperture; Tortoise at once went out; and It
shut it.
Tortoise returned to his town, and cut up the meat. He said to his
women, "Make ready leaves for momba!" (bundles of green plantain leaves
in which meats are cooked over hot coals). They at once plucked the
leaves, tied up the momba, and put them over the fireplace. They set
soup also on the fireplace. When it was boiled, they spread the table,
sat down together, and ate.
The children of Leopard, smelling a tempting odor, came to Tortoise's
end of the town. The children of Tortoise showed their food to them,
saying, exultingly, "Ye! do you eat such as that?" A child of Leopard
said, "Chum! let me taste it!" And he allowed him to taste it.
The children of Leopard went off hurriedly to their father, saying,
"Father! such an animal as your friend has killed! Perhaps it is
Ngweya; we do not know."
Then Leopard went to where Tortoise was, and he asked him, "Chum! as
to this meat-hunger, what shall we do? Let us arrange for the
town." Tortoise responded. "Yes, I am willing." So, in the evening, he
invited his friend Leopard that he should come and eat food. Leopard
came; they sat down together; and they ate. When Leopard had tasted,
he exclaimed, "Man! what animal is this?" But Tortoise would not
tell him. When they had finished eating, Leopard said to himself,
"I must know where Tortoise goes!"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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