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
Porcupine returned by sea, and kept the name in his memory, until he
was actually entering the town of his home; and, then, he suddenly
forgot it. The tribes of All-the-Beasts called out to him, as they
saw him coming, "Ngomba! tell us! tell us!" When he informed them
that he had forgotten it, they beat him, as they had done to Rat.
They had also in that country, another plant which was thought not
proper to be eaten. They did not know that its leaves were really
good for food.
On another day, they said to Antelope, "Go you; and tell Mbâmâ, and
ask him which shall we eat, this fruit or these leaves. What shall
we Beasts do?"
Antelope went by sea; and came to Boa's town. And he asked Boa,
"What do you here eat? Tell us." Boa replied, "I eat leaves of the
plants, and I drink water; that is all I do. And the name of the tree
that bears that fruit is Bojabi. You, all the Beasts, what are you
to eat? I have told you."
Antelope slept there that night. And the next day, he started on
his return journey. At his journey's end, as he was about to land on
the beach, a wave upset the canoe, and he fell into the sea. In the
excitement, he forgot the name. The anxious tribes of All-the-Beasts
had come down to the beach to meet him, and were asking, "What is the
name? Tell us!" He replied, "Had I not fallen into the water, I would
not have forgotten the name." Then, in their anger, they beat him.
Almost all the beasts were thus tried for that journey; and they all
failed in the same way, with the name forgotten, even the big beasts
like Ox and Elephant. There was no one of them who had succeeded in
bringing home the name.
But there was left still, one who had not been tried. That was
Tortoise. So, he said, "Let me try to go." They were all vexed with
him, at what they thought his audacity and presumption. They began to
beat him, saying, "Even the less for us, and more so for you! You will
not be able!" But Gazelle interposed, saying, "Let Kudu alone! Why
do you beat him? Let him go on the errand. We all have failed; and
it is well that he should fail too."
Tortoise went to his mother's hut, and said to her, "I'm going! How
shall I do it?" His mother told him, "In your going on this journey,
do not drink any water while at sea, only while ashore. Also, do not
eat any food on the way, but only in the town. Do not perform any call
of Nature at sea, only ashore. For, if you do any of these things on
the way, you will be unable to return with the name. For, all those who
did these things on the way, forgot the name." So Tortoise promised,
"Yes, my mother, I shall not do them."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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