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WHERE ANIMALS TALK
West African Folk Lore Tales
By
ROBERT H. NASSAU
Author of "Fetichism in West Africa,"
"The Youngest King," etc.
RICHARD G. BADGER
THE GORHAM PRESS
BOSTON
PREFACE
The typical native African Ekano or legend is marked by repetition. The
same incidents occur to a succession of individuals; monotony being
prevented by a variation in the conduct of those individuals, as they
reveal their weakness or stupidity, artifice or treachery.
Narrators, while preserving the original plot and characters of a Tale,
vary it, and make it graphic by introducing objects known and familiar
to their audience. These inconsistencies do not interfere with belief
or offend the taste of a people with whom even the impossible is not
a bar to faith; rather, the inconsistency sharpens their enjoyment
of the story.
Surprise must not be felt at the impossibility of some of the
situations; e.g., the swallowing by an animal of his wife, baggage
and household furniture, as a means of hiding them. The absurdity of
such situations is one of the distinctive attractions to the minds
of the excited listeners.
Variations of the same Tale, as told in different Tribes, were
inevitable among a people whose language was not written until within
the last hundred years; the Tales having been transmitted verbally,
from generation to generation, for, probably, thousands of years. As to
their antiquity, I believe these Tales to be of very ancient origin. No
argument must be taken against them because of the internal evidence of
allusion to modern things, or implements, or customs of known modern
date; e.g., "cannon," "tables," "steamships," etc., etc. Narrators
constantly embellish by novel additions; e.g., where, in the original
story, a character used a spear, the narrator may substitute a pistol.
Almost all these Tales locate themselves in supposed pre-historic
times, when Beasts and Human Beings are asserted to have lived together
with social relations in the same community. An unintended concession
to the claims of some Evolutionists!
The most distinctive feature of these Tales is that, while the actors
are Beasts, they are speaking and living as Human Beings, acting as
a beast in human environment; and, instantly, in the same sentence,
acting as a human being in a beast's environment. This must constantly
be borne in mind, or the action of the story will become not only
unreasonable but utterly inexplicable.
The characters in the stories relieve themselves from difficult or
dangerous situations by invoking the aid of a powerful personal
fetish-charm known as "Ngalo"; a fetish almost as valuable as
Aladdin's Lamp of the Arabian Nights. And yet, with inconsistency,
notwithstanding this aid, the actors are often suffering from many
small evils of daily human life. These inconsistencies are another
feature of the Ekano that the listeners enjoy as the spice of the
story.
From internal evidences, I think that the local sources of these Tales
were Arabian, or at least under Arabic, and perhaps even Egyptian,
influences. (Observe the prefix, Ra, a contraction of Rera equals
father, a title of honor, as "Lord," or "Sir," or "Master," in names
of dignitaries; e.g. Ra-Marânge, Ra-Mborakinda, Ra-Meses.)
This is consistent with the fact that there is Arabic blood in the
Bantu Negro. The invariable direction to which the southwest coast
tribes point, as the source of their ancestors, is northeast. Such an
ethnologist as Sir H. H. Johnston traces the Bantu stream southward on
the east coast to the Cape of Good Hope, and then turns it northward
on the west coast to the equator and as far as the fourth degree of
north latitude, the very region from which I gathered these stories.
Only a few men, and still fewer women, in any community, are noted
as skilled narrators. They are the literati.
The public never weary of hearing the same Tales repeated; like our
own civilized audiences at a play running for a hundred or more
nights. They are made attractive by the dramatic use of gesture,
tones, and startling exclamations.
The occasions selected for the renditions are nights, after
the day's works are done, especially if there be visitors to be
entertained. The places chosen are the open village street, or, in
forest camps where almost all the population of a village go for a
week's work on their cutting of new plantations; or for hunting; or
for fishing in ponds. The time for these camps is in one of the two
dry seasons: where the booths erected are not for protection against
rain, but for a little privacy, for the warding off of insects, birds
and small animals, and for the drying of meats. At such times, most
of the adults go off during the day for fishing; or, if for hunting,
only the men; the children being guarded at their plays in the camp
by the older women, who are kept occupied with cooking, and with
the drying of meats. At night, all gather around the camp-fire;
and the Tales are told with, at intervals, accompaniment of drum;
and parts of the plot are illustrated by an appropriate song, or by
a short dance, the platform being only the earth, and the scenery
the forest shadows and the moon or stars.
The Bantu Language has very many dialects, having the same grammatical
construction, but differing in their vocabulary. The name of the
same animal therefore differs in the three typical Tribes mentioned
in these Tales; e.g., Leopard, in Mpongwe, equals Njegâ; in Benga,
equals Njâ; and in Fang, equals Nze.
PRONUNCIATION
In all the dialects of the Bantu language, consonants are pronounced,
as in English; except that g is always hard.
The vowels are pronounced as in the following English equivalent:--
a as in father e.g., Kabala
â as in awe e.g., Njâ.
e as in they e.g., Ekaga.
e as in met e.g., Njegâ.
i as in machine e.g., Njina.
o as in note e.g., Kombe.
u as in rule e.g., Kuba.
A before y is pronounced ai as a diphthong, e.g., Asaya. Close every
syllable with a vowel, e.g., Ko-ngo. Where two or more consonants
begin a syllable, a slight vowel sound may be presupposed, e.g.,
Ngweya, as if iNgweya.
Ng has the nasal sound of ng in "finger," as if fing-nger, (not as in
"singer,") e.g., Mpo-ngwe.
CONTENTS
PART FIRST
Mpongwe Tribe
TALE PAGE
1 Do not Trust your Friend 13
2 Leopard's Hunting-Camp 18
3 Tests of Death: 1st Version 25
2nd Version 27
4 Tasks done for a Wife; and, The Giant Goat 30
5 A Tug-of-War 37
6 Agenda: Rat's Play on a Name 41
7 "Nuts are Eaten Because of Angângwe": A Proverb 49
8 Who are Crocodile's Relatives? 53
9 Who is King of Birds? and, Why Chickens live with
Mankind 54
10 "Njiwo Died of Sleep:" A Proverb 58
11 Which is the Fattest:--Manatus, Hog, or Oyster? 60
12 Why Mosquitoes Buzz 62
13 Unkind Criticism 63
14 The Suitors of Princess Gorilla 65
15 Leopard of the Fine Skin 68
16 Why the Plantain-Stalk Bears but One Bunch 76
PART SECOND
Benga Tribe
1 Swine Talking 81
2 Crocodile 82
3 Origin of the Elephant 82
4 Leopard's Marriage Journey 85
5 Tortoise in a Race 95
6 Goat's Tournament 99
7 Why Goats Became Domestic 100
8 Igwana's Forked Tongue 103
9 What Caused their Deaths? 106
10 A Quarrel about Seniority 109
11 The Magic Drum 113
12 The Lies of Tortoise 121
13 "Death Begins by Some One Person": A Proverb 126
14 Tortoise and the Bojabi Tree 129
15 The Suitors of Njambo's Daughter 134
16 Tortoise, Dog, Leopard, and the Njabi Fruit 140
17 A Journey for Salt 145
18 A Plea for Mercy 149
19 The Deceptions of Tortoise 153
20 Leopard's Hunting Companions 159
21 Is the Bat a Bird or a Beast? 163
22 Dog, and his Human Speech, 1st Version 165
2nd Version 168
23 The Savior of the Animals 173
24 Origin of the Ivory Trade, 1st Version 177
2nd Version 184
25 Dog and his False Friend Leopard 189
26 A Trick for Vengeance 192
27 Not My Fault! 195
28 Do not Impose on the Weak 196
29 Borrowed Clothes 198
30 The Story of a Panic 200
31 A Family Quarrel 201
32 The Giant Goat 202
33 The Fights of Mbuma-Tyetye; and, An Origin of
Leopard 208
34 A Snake's Skin Looks like a Snake 226
PART THIRD
Fang Tribe
1 Candor 233
2 Which is the Better Hunter, an Eagle or a
Leopard? 234
3 A Lesson in Evolution 234
4 Parrot Standing on One Leg 235
5 A Question of Right of Inheritance 237
6 Tortoise Covers His Ignorance 238
7 A Question as to Age 239
8 Abundance: A Play on the Meaning of a Word 240
9 An Oath: With a Mental Reservation 242
10 The Treachery of Tortoise 243
11 A Chain of Circumstances 245
PART FIRST
MPONGWE
FOREWORD
The following sixteen Tales were narrated to me, many years ago, by two
members of the Mpongwe tribe (one now dead) at the town of Libreville,
Gaboon river, equatorial West Africa. Both of them were well-educated
persons, a man and a woman. They chose legends that were current in
their own tribe. They spoke in Mpongwe; and, in my English rendition,
I have retained some of their native idioms. As far as I am aware
none of these legends have ever been printed in English, excepting
Tale 5, a version of which appeared in a British magazine from a
writer in Kamerun, after I had heard it at Gaboon. Also, excepting
Tale 14. It appeared, in another form, more than fifty years ago,
in Rev. Dr. J. L. Wilson's "Western Africa." But my narrator was not
aware of that, when he told it to me.
TALE 1
DO NOT TRUST YOUR FRIEND
Place
Country of the Animals
Persons
Njegâ (Leopard)
Ntori (Wild Rat)
Ra-Marânge (Medicine Man)
Nyare (Ox)
Ngowa (Hog)
Nkambi (Antelope)
Leopard's Wife; and others
NOTE
A story of the treachery of the Leopard as matched by the duplicity
of the Rat.
In public mourning for the dead, it is the custom for the nearest
relative or dearest friend to claim the privilege of sitting closest
to the corpse, and nursing the head on his or her lap.
At a time long ago, the Animals were living in the Forest
together. Most of them were at peace with each other. But Leopard
was discovered to be a bad person. All the other animals refused to
be friendly with him. Also, Wild Rat, a small animal, was found out
to be a deceiver.
One day, Rat went to visit Leopard, who politely gave him a chair, and
Rat sat down. "Mbolo!" "Ai, Mbolo!" each saluted to the other. Leopard
said to his visitor, "What's the news?" Rat replied, "Njegâ! news is
bad. In all the villages I passed through, in coming today, your name
is only ill-spoken of, people saying, 'Njegâ is bad! Njegâ is bad!'"
Leopard replies, "Yes, you do not lie. People say truly that Njegâ is
bad. But, look you, Ntori, I, Njegâ, am an evil one: but my badness
comes from other animals. Because, when I go out to visit, there is no
one who salutes me. When anyone sees me, he flees with fear. But, for
what does he fear me? I have not vexed him. So, I pursue the one that
fears me. I want to ask him, 'Why do you fear me?' But, when I pursue
it, it goes on fleeing more rapidly. So, I become angry, wrath rises
in my heart, and if I overtake it, I kill it on the spot. One reason
why I am bad is that. If the animals would speak to me properly, and
did not flee from me, then, Ntori, I would not kill them. See! you,
Ntori, have I seized you?" Rat replied, "No." Then Leopard said,
"Then, Ntori, come near to this table, that we may talk well."
Rat, because of his subtlety and caution, when he took the chair
given him on his arrival, had placed it near the door.
Leopard repeated, "Come near to the table." Rat excused himself,
"Never mind; I am comfortable here; and I came here today to tell
you that it is not well for a person to be without friends; and, I,
Ntori, I say to you, let us be friends." Leopard said, "Very good!"
But now, even after this compact of friendship, Rat told falsehoods
about Leopard; who, not knowing this, often had conversations with him,
and would confide to him all the thoughts of his heart. For example,
Leopard would tell to Rat, "Tomorrow I am going to hunt Ngowa, and next
day I will go to hunt Nkambi," or whatever the animal was. And Rat,
at night, would go to Hog or to Antelope or the other animal, and say,
"Give me pay, and I will tell you a secret." They would lay down to him
his price. And then he would tell them, "Be careful tomorrow. I heard
that Njegâ was coming to kill you." The same night, Rat would secretly
return to his own house, and lie down as if he had not been out.
Then, next day, when Leopard would go out hunting, the Animals were
prepared and full of caution, to watch his coming. There was none of
them that he could find; they were all hidden. Leopard thus often went
to the forest, and came back empty-handed. There was no meat for him to
eat, and he had to eat only leaves of the trees. He said to himself,
"I will not sit down and look for explanation to come to me. I will
myself find out the reason of this. For, I, Njegâ, I should eat flesh
and drink blood; and here I have come down to eating the food of goats,
grass and leaves."
So, in the morning, Leopard went to the great doctor Ra-Marânge, and
said, "I have come to you, I, Njegâ. For these five or six months I
have been unable to kill an animal. But, cause me to know the reason of
this." Ra-Marânge took his looking-glass and his harp, and struck the
harp, and looked at the glass. Then he laughed aloud, "Ke, ke, ke--"
Leopard asked, "Ra-Marânge, for what reason do you laugh?" He replied,
"I laugh, because this matter is a small affair. You, Njegâ, so big
and strong, you do not know this little thing!" Leopard acknowledged,
"Yes: I have not been able to find it out." Ra-Marânge said, "Tell me
the names of your friends." Leopard answered "I have no friends. Nkambi
dislikes me, Nyare refuses me, Ngowa the same. Of all animals, none
are friendly to me." Ra-Marânge said, "Not so; think exactly; think
again." Leopard was silent and thought; and then said, "Yes, truly,
I have one friend, Ntori." The Doctor said, "But, look! If you find a
friend, it is not well to tell him all the thoughts of your heart. If
you tell him two or three, leave the rest. Do not tell him all. But,
you, Njegâ, you consider that Ntori is your friend, and you show him
all the thoughts of your heart. But, do you know the heart of Ntori,
how it is inside? Look what he does! If you let him know that you are
going next day to kill this and that, then he starts out at night,
and goes to inform those animals, 'So-and-so, said Njegâ; but, be
you on your guard.' Now, look! if you wish to be able to kill other
animals, first kill Ntori." Leopard was surprised, "Ngâ! (actually)
Ntori lies to me?" Ra-Marânge said, "Yes."
So, Leopard returned to his town. And he sent a child to call
Rat. Rat came.
Leopard said, "Ntori! these days you have not come to see me. Where
have you been?" Rat replies, "I was sick." Leopard says, "I called you
today to sit at my table to eat." Rat excused himself, "Thanks! but
the sickness is still in my body; I will not be able to eat." And he
went away.
Whenever Rat visited or spoke to Leopard, he did not enter the house,
but sat on a chair by the door. Leopard daily sent for him; he came;
but constantly refrained from entering the house.
Leopard says in his heart, "Ntori does not approach near to me,
but sits by the door. How shall I catch him?" Thinking and thinking,
he called his wife, and said, "I have found a plan by which to kill
Ntori. Tomorrow, I will lie down in the street, and you cover my body
with a cloth as corpses are covered. Wear an old ragged cloth, and take
ashes and mark your body, as in mourning; and go you out on the road
wailing, 'Njegâ is dead! Njegâ, the friend of Ntori is dead!' And,
for Ntori, when he shall come as a friend to the mourning, put his
chair by me, and say, 'Sit there near your friend.' When he sits on
that chair, I will jump up and kill him there." His wife replies,
"Very good!"
Next morning, Leopard, lying down in the street, pretended that he
was dead. His wife dressed herself in worn-out clothes, and smeared
her face, and went clear on to Rat's village, wailing "Ah! Njegâ is
dead! Ntori's friend is dead!" Rat asked her, "But, Njegâ died of
what disease? Yesterday, I saw him looking well, and today comes word
that he is dead!" The wife answered, "Yes: Njegâ died without disease;
just cut off! I wonder at the matter--I came to call you; for you were
his friend. So, as is your duty as a man, go there and help bury the
corpse in the jungle." Rat went, he and Leopard's wife together. And,
behold, there was Leopard stretched out as a corpse! Rat asked the
wife, "What is this matter? Njegâ! is he really dead?" She replied,
"Yes: I told you so. Here is a chair for you to sit near your friend."
Rat, having his caution, had not sat on the chair, but stood off,
as he wailed, "Ah! Njegâ is dead! Ah! my friend is dead!"
Rat called out, "Wife of Njegâ! Njegâ, he was a great person: but
did he not tell you any sign by which it might be known, according to
custom, that he was really dead?" She replied, "No, he did not tell
me." (Rat, when he thus spoke, was deceiving the woman.) Rat went
on to speak, "You, Njegâ, when you were living and we were friends,
you told me in confidence, saying, 'When I, Njegâ, shall die, I will
lift my arm upward, and you will know that I am really dead.' But,
let us cease the wailing and stop crying. I will try the test on Njegâ,
whether he is dead! Lift your arm!"
Leopard lifted his arm. Rat, in his heart, laughed, "Ah! Njegâ is not
dead!" But, he proceeded, "Njegâ! Njegâ! you said, if really dead,
you would shake your body. Shake! if it is so!" Leopard shook his
whole body. Rat said openly, "Ah! Njegâ is dead indeed! He shook
his body!" The wife said, "But, as you say he is dead, here is the
chair for you, as chief friend, to sit on by him." Rat said, "Yes:
wait for me; I will go off a little while, and will come." Leopard,
lying on the ground, and hearing this, knew in his heart, "Ah! Ntori
wants to flee from me! I will wait no longer!" Up he jumps to seize
Rat, who, being too quick for him, fled away. Leopard pursued him
with leaps and jumps so rapidly that he almost caught him. Rat got
to his hole in the ground just in time to rush into it. But his tail
was sticking out; and Leopard, looking down the hole, seized the tail.
Rat called out, "You have not caught me, as you think! What you are
holding is a rootlet of a tree." Leopard let go of the tail. Rat
switched it in after him, and jeered at Leopard, "You had hold of my
tail! And you have let it go! You will not catch me again!" Leopard,
in a rage, said, "You will have to show me the way by which you will
emerge from this hole; for, you will never come out of it alive!"
Some narrators carry the story on, with the ending of Tale No. 6,
the story of Rat, Leopard, Frog and Crab.
Leopard's pretence of death appears also in Tale No. 3.
TALE 2
LEOPARD'S HUNTING CAMP
Persons
Ntori (A very large forest Rat)
Njegâ (Leopard)
And other Animals
NOTE
Besides the words for "hunger" and "famine," the Bantu languages have
a third word meaning, "longing for meat." In this story, Leopard's
greed is matched by the artifice of Rat:--It was a practice of African
natives to hide their ivory tusks in streams of water until a time
convenient for selling them.
Polite natives will neither sit uninvited in the presence of their
superiors, nor watch them while eating. If need be, to secure privacy,
a temporary curtain will be put up, and the host will retire, leaving
the guest alone. Rude or uncivilized tribes are offensive in their
persistent effort to see a white foreigner's mode of eating.
One of the tricks of native sorcerers is to jump into a fire.
It was a time of ngwamba (meat-hunger) among the Animals in Njambi's
Kingdom.
Leopard, being the eldest in his tribe, said to Rat,
"Ntori! child! this is a hard time for meat. I think we better go
to the forest, and make a olako (camp) for hunting." Rat replied
"Good! come on!"
So they began to arrange for the journey. The preparation of food,
nets, baskets, and so forth, occupied several days. When all was
ready, they started. Having come to a proper place in the forest, they
selected a site where they would build up their booths. Leopard was
to have his own separate camp with his wives and his children and his
people; and Rat his, with his wives and his children, and his people.
So they began to make two camps. Leopard said, "Ntori! child! I
have mine here. You go there yonder." So they built their booths
for sleeping-places; and rested another day; and then built their
arala (drying frames) over their fire-places for smoke-drying the
meat that they hoped to obtain. Next day, they prepared their guns,
and started out on the hunt. On that very first day, they met game,
and, ku! (bang) went their guns, killing an Elephant, and, ku! a wild
Ox. Then Leopard said, "Ntori! child! we are successful! Let us begin
the work of cutting up!"
After all the carcasses had been cut up, came the time to divide the
meat between the two companies. So, Leopard said, "As I am your Uncle,
I precede; I will choose first, and will give you the remainder." So
Leopard chose, taking out all the best pieces. When Rat saw that most
of the meat was going to Leopard's side, he thought it time to begin to
get his share. But when Rat laid hold of a nice piece, Leopard would
say, "No! child! do not take the best: that belongs to your Uncle"--
and Leopard would claim the piece, and hand it over to his women. So it
went on in the same way; to every nice piece that Rat chose, Leopard
objected that it belonged to him. After Leopard had taken all he
wanted, there were left only the bowels and the heads and legs for Rat.
Then they each went to their own camping-place, to spread the meat
on their arala, and to cook their dinner. But, all the while that
Rat was spreading bones and bowels on his orala, he was vexed; for,
there was very little meat on those bones; while Leopard's people's
arala were full of meat, and savory portions were simmering on their
fires tied in bundles (agewu) of plantain leaves. At the noon meal,
Leopard sat down with his family, and Rat with his. But Rat had only
poor food; while Leopard and his people were rejoicing with rich meat.
The second day was very much the same as the first. It was Rat who
did most of the hunting. With him it was, ku! (bang!), and some beast
was down; and, ku! and some other beast was down. Whenever Rat fired,
Leopard would shout out, "Ntori! child! what have you got?" And it was
Rat who would shout in reply, "Nyare" (ox), or "Njâku" (elephant),
or "Nkambi!" (antelope), or whatever the game might be. And it was
Leopard who offensively patronized him, saying, "That is a good boy,
Tata! (Little Father); bring it here to your Uncle." Then Rat and
all the servants would carry the carcass to Leopard. So that day,
the cutting and dividing was just like the first day; Leopard claiming
and taking the best, and leaving the skeleton and scraggy pieces and
the bowels for Rat.
After that second day's hunt, Rat was tired of this way of dividing,
in which he got only the worthless pieces. So he decided to get back
some of Leopard's meat by artifice, for his own table, even if he
had to take it from Leopard's orala itself. He began to devise what
he should do. As he was out walking, he came to a brook in which were
sunken logs of hard heavy wood. They had lain there a long time, and
were black with outside decay. With his machete in hand, he dived;
and remaining under the water, he scraped the logs till he had removed
the dark outside, and exposed the white inner wood. He kept on at
the job scraping and scraping until the logs appeared white like
ivory. Then he went back to Leopard's camp, and, with pretence of
excitement, exclaimed, "Mwe Njegâ! I think we will be going to be
rich. You don't know what I've found! Such a big ivory-tusk hidden
in the water! I think we better leave off hunting meat, and go to
get this fine ivory." Leopard replied, "Good! come on!"
The next day, they first arranged their fires so that the smoke-drying
of their meat might continue during their absence; and then started
for the ivory. They all prepared themselves, for diving, by taking
off their good clothing, and wearing only a small loin-cloth. Their
entire companies went, men, women, and children, leaving not a single
person in the camps.
Leopard says, "You, Ntori, go first, as you know where the place
is." Rat says, "Good! come on!" And they went on their way.
Arrived at the brook, Rat says, "You all come on, and dive." Leopard
asks, "My son! is it still there?" Rat, pointing, answers, "Yes! my
ivory is there." Leopard, looking down in the water says, "I see no
ivory!" Rat, still pointing, replies, "There! Those white things! Don't
you see them?" Leopard says, "I never saw ivory look like logs." Rat
answered, "No? But this is a new kind. I assure you they are ivory! I
have been down there, and I cleaned the mud off of them." Leopard
was satisfied, and said, "Good! come on!" And they all dived. They
laid hold of the supposed ivory, and pulled, and pushed, and lifted,
and worked. But it was stuck fast, and they could not move it.
While they were thus working, Rat suddenly cried out, "Njegâ! O! I
forgot something! I must go quickly back to the olako. I will not be
gone long. I shall return soon."
Rat came out of the brook; ran to the camp; took of his own bundles of
bones and scraggy pieces, and put them on Leopard's drying-frames,
and took the same number of bundles of good meat from Leopard's
frames. Then he ran back to the brook, to continue the work at the
so-called ivory.
Soon after that, Rat says, "Mwe Njegâ! it is time to return to the
olako; we have worked long; I am hungry." Leopard says, "Good! come
on!" So they returned to the camp to eat.
Rat says, "Njegâ! as I am so hungry, I will not wait with you, but
will go to my own olako at once. And I will put up a curtain between
us, as it is a shame for one to eat in the presence of his elder."
So Rat put up a curtain; and opened a bundle of nice meat; and he
and his people began to eat.
When Leopard took down one of his bundles, and opened it to share
with his women, he was amazed, and said, "See! only bones and mean
pieces! Ah! what is this matter!" And he called out to the other camp,
"Ntori! Tata!" Rat responds, "Eh! Mwe Njegâ?" Leopard inquires,
"What kind of meat are you eating?" Rat answers, "My own, from
my own bundles. But what kind have you, Mwe Njegâ?" Leopard says,
"My women prepared meat that was nice; but now I have only bones. I
am surprised at that."
The next, the fourth day, Rat said to Leopard, "I think we better
change from the hard work on the ivory. Let us go hunting today;
and tomorrow we will resume the ivory." Leopard assented "Good! come
on!" And they started out to hunt. They were successful again as on
the previous days. At the time of the division of the meat, Rat showed
no displeasure at Leopard's taking the best pieces; as he had now his
own artifice to get them back. And the meats of the day were placed
on their owners' respective drying-frames. By this day's doings,
many of Leopard's baskets were full, ready to be taken to town,
while most of Rat's were still empty.
On the fifth day, they went to the brook again, to their fruitless
work of pulling at the so-called ivory. The same things happened as
before; Rat remembers that he has forgotten something; has to go in
haste to the camp; rapidly changes the bundles on his and Leopard's
frames; returns to the brook; they all come back to the camp to eat;
and there were repeated Leopard's surprise, and his questions to
Rat about the kinds of meat they were eating. Thus they continued;
on alternate days hunting, and working at the ivory that was stuck
immovably fast in the mud; and Rat stealing; and Leopard complaining.
Finally, Leopard became tired of his losses; and, one day, without
letting anyone know what he intended doing, he said, "I will take a
little walk." Rat says, "You go alone? May I accompany you?" Leopard
said, "No! I go alone; I won't be long away; and I do not go far."
So Leopard went to the wizard Ra-Marânge, whom as soon as he saw him,
exclaimed, "What are you come for? Are you in trouble?" Leopard told
him the matter of the losses of the meat. Then Ra-Marânge jumped into
his fire, and emerged powerful and wise. And he said, "I will make
for you something that will find out for you who it is that takes
your meat."
So Ra-Marânge made a little image of a man, and conferred on it
wisdom and power, and gave it to Leopard, who took it to his camp,
and hid it in his hut.
The next day they all resumed the work at the brook, with the
ivory. There was the same diving, the same fruitless pulling,
Rat's same need of going back to the camp, and his same attempts at
stealing. While he was doing this, he sees something like a little
man standing near him. Rat puts out his hand to take from Leopard's
bundles as usual, and the image catches him by the wrist of that
hand. Rat indignantly says, "You! this little fool! leave me! What do
you catch me for?" But the image was silent; nor did it let go its
hold. So Rat struck at it with his other hand. And the image caught
that hand with its other hand. Then Rat was angry and kicked with one
foot at a leg of the image. And that foot was retained by that leg of
the image. Rat kicked with his remaining foot; it also was retained
by the image's other leg. He was thus held in the power of the image.
Rat, in desperation, said, "Let me go!" The image spoke, and simply
said, "No!" Rat felt he was in a bad situation; but he put on a bold
face. He knew that, by his long delay, the others must have given up
the work at the brook, and would by now be returning to the camp;
and, in a little while, he would be discovered. To forestall that
discovery, he shouted out, "Mwe Nejgâ, come quickly! I've found
the person who changes your bundles!" Leopard, on the path, heard
his voice, and replied, "My child, is that so? Hold him fast!" Rat
still daringly said, "Come quickly! He wants to get away from my
grasp!" Leopard replied, "Hold fast! I am coming!" They all came
hastily, both of Rat's people, and of Leopard's people; and there they
saw Rat held fast by the hands and legs of the image. Leopard asked,
"Where is he?" Rat, daring to the last, said, "This little man here
that I am holding." Leopard said, "Now that I am here, let go of him,
for I will take charge of him." Rat struggled, but in vain. Leopard
several times repeated his direction to Rat, "Let go of him!" But
Rat was utterly unable to withdraw his limbs from the power of the
image. And he gave up the effort, in shame. Then Leopard had to help
release Rat; the conferred power of the image being subservient to
him. He did not strike Rat, he being his relative. But rebuked him,
"Ah! Ntori! now I know it was you who made all the trouble about my
meat!" And he took back all his fine bundles, and returned Rat his
poor bundles. Rat went to his own camp ashamed, but still angry at
the unjust division of the meat.
As Leopard's baskets were now full, he announced that they should
prepare to break camp, and return to town. Rat's women murmured,
"Ah! all going away, and our baskets almost empty!" Rat comforted them,
"Yes; it is so; but, we will find a way to fill them!"
So, the next day, while the others were gone to get leaves and vines
with which to tie up their baskets, Rat took his empty ones to the
brook and filled them with stones, and tied them up with leaves,
as if they contained meat.
On the following day, as they were about to start on their journey,
Rat said to Leopard, "As you are the elder, go you first, and I will
follow." Leopard said, "Good! come on!" And they went on the path,
Rat keeping close behind Leopard's people. (Baskets being carried
tied on the back with a strap over the forehead, the bearer leans
heavily forward, and cannot see what is happening behind.) Rat had
prepared a hook with a handle. From time to time, as they came to
narrow places in the path where thorny branches met, he would strike
the hook into some basket before him, and in pretence, would say,
"Wait! a thorn on this branch has caught your basket! Let me unfasten
it." While the carrier would stand still for Rat to release the branch,
the latter seized the chance to take pieces of meat from the basket,
and substitute stones from his own baskets. The way was long; and,
at every obstructed place, Rat kept on at his pretence of helping
to free some basket of Leopard's from the thorns that caught it,
and changed pieces of good meat for his stones.
Before they reached Leopard's town, darkness began to fall, and
both companies were very tired, especially that of Leopard; for,
their baskets seemed to have grown heavier. Rat said, "Njegâ! All
this hard day's walk! Hide our baskets, yours in one place, and mine
in another, and let us go on to town and sleep; and we will send
back our women for the baskets in the morning." Leopard assented,
"Good! come on!" So they left their baskets, and all went to town.
The next morning, Rat sent his people very, very early. Leopard sent
his later, at the usual time of morning business. When his people
were going they met Rat's people coming back with their loads, and
exclaimed, "You are loaded already!"
When Leopard's people brought their baskets to the town, and opened
them, they were amazed to find that they had little else than stones
and bones. Leopard was very angry; and, going to Rat, he began to
scold, "You have taken away my meat!" "No I have my own. Look! these
baskets, you know them, they are mine! Perhaps some one stole your meat
in the night and put the stones in place. But, as you are in such a
trouble, I will share with you of mine." So he called to his women,
"Give Njegâ a few pieces of meat." Leopard took the meat, and Rat
and his people went away to their own town.
But Leopard was not satisfied. He was sure that Rat had played him
a trick. He had forgiven Rat his stealing at the camp; but, for this
last trick, he meditated revenge.
TALE 3
TESTS OF DEATH--1ST VERSION
Persons
Njegâ (Leopard)
Ntori (Wild-Rat)
NOTE
It is the proper and most friendly mode, that relatives and friends
should hasten to visit their sick, on the very first information,
without waiting to be invited or summoned.
Leopard told his head-wife, "Ntori has taken our meat and deceived
me in all these ways; I will kill him and eat him."
So he pretended to be sick.
The next day, news was sent to Rat that his Uncle Leopard was sick
of a fever.
The following day, word was again sent that he was very sick indeed,
and that he wanted a parting word with Rat. Rat sent back a message,
"I hear; and I will come tomorrow."
Rat suspected some evil, and did not believe that Leopard was sick. So
he went to the forest, and collected all kinds of insects that sting,
and tied them into five little bundles.
Next day, word came to him, "Njegâ is dead." Rat went quickly, taking
the five little bundles with him.
When he reached Leopard's town, he joined the crowd of mourners in
the street, and lifted up his voice in wailing. Leopard's head-wife
went to him, and said, "Come into the house, and mourn with me, at
your Uncle's bed-side." Rat went with her; but he did not take the
seat that was offered him, as a near relative, at the supposed dead
man's head. He first explained, "After a person is reported dead,
it is proper to make five tests to prove whether he is really dead,
before we bury him."
So he stood by the bed, at a point safe from Leopard's hands, and
opened a bundle, and lifting the shroud, quickly laid the bundle on
Leopard's naked body. The insects, infuriated by their imprisonment,
flew out and attacked Leopard's body, as it was the object nearest
to them, and they were confined under the shroud. Leopard endured,
and did not move.
Rat opened a second bundle, and thrust it also on another part of
Leopard's body. Leopard could scarcely refrain from wincing.
Rat opened a third, and laid it in the same way on another
part. Leopard's face began to twitch with the torture. Rat opening a
fourth, used it in the same way; and Leopard in pain began to twist
his body; but, when Rat opened the fifth bundle, Leopard could endure
the stings no longer. He started up from the bed, holding a dagger
he had hidden under the bed-clothing.
But Rat was too agile for him, and ran out before Leopard could fully
rise from his supposed death-bed, and escaped to his own place. The
mourners fled from the furious insects, and Leopard was left in agony
under the poison of their stings.
TALE 3
TESTS OF DEATH--SECOND VERSION
Persons
Njegâ (Leopard)
Ibâbâ (Jackal)
With Ngomba (Porcupine)
Nkambi (Antelope)
Njâgu (Elephant)
Iheli (Gazelle)
Ekaga (Tortoise)
With Ndongo (Pepper)
Hako (Ants)
And Nyoi (Bees)
And Others
NOTE
All of a neighborhood go to a mourning for a dead person. Failure to
go would have been regarded, formerly, as a sign of a sense of guilt
as the cause of the death. Formerly, at funerals, there was great
destruction. Some of a man's wives and slaves were buried with him,
with a large quantity of his goods; and his fruit trees adjacent to
the houses were ruthlessly cut down. All, as signs of grief; as much
as to say, "If the beloved dead cannot longer enjoy these things,
no one else shall."
The ancestor of the leopards never forgave the ancestor of the
gazelles, but nursed his wrath at the trick which the latter had
played on him with the insects. Unable to catch gazelles, because of
their adroitness, the leopard wrecks his anger on all other beasts
by killing them at any opportunity.
These two beasts, Leopard and Jackal, were living together in the same
town. Leopard said to Jackal, "My friend! I do not eat all sorts of
food; I eat only animals." So, one day, Leopard went to search for
some beast in the forest. He wandered many hours, but could not find
any for his food.
On another day, Leopard said to Jackal, "My friend! let us arrange
some plan, by which we can kill some animal. For, I've wandered into
the forest again and again, and have found nothing." Leopard made
these remarks to his friend in the dark of the evening. So they sat
that night and planned and, after their conversation, they went to
lie down in their houses. And they slept their sleep.
Then soon, the daylight broke. And Leopard, carrying out their plan,
said to Jackal, "Take up your bedding, and put it out in the open air
of the street." Jackal did so. Leopard laid down on that mattress,
in accordance with their plan, and stretched out like a corpse lying
still, as if he could not move a muscle. He said to Jackal, "Call
Ngomba, and let him come to me." So Jackal shouted, "Come! Ngomba,
come! That Beast that kills animals is dead! Come!"
So Porcupine came to the mourning, weeping, and wailing, as if he
was really sorry for the death of his enemy. He approached near the
supposed corpse. And he jeered at it. "This was the person who wasted
us people; and this is his body!" Leopard heard this derision. Suddenly
he leaped up. And Porcupine went down under his paw, dead. Then Leopard
said to his friend Jackal, "Well! cut it up! and let us eat it." And
they finished eating it.
On another day, Leopard, again in the street, stretched himself on the
bedding. At his direction, Jackal called for Antelope. Antelope came;
and Leopard killed him, as he had done to Porcupine.
On another day, Ox was called. And Leopard did to Ox the same as he
had done to the others.
On another day, Elephant was called in the same way; and he died in
the same way.
In the same way, Leopard killed some of almost all the other beasts
one after another, until there were left only two.
Then Jackal said, "Njegâ! my friend! there are left, of all the beasts,
only two, Iheli and Ekaga. But, what can you do with Iheli? for,
he has many artifices. What, also, can you do against Ekaga? for,
he too, has many devices." Leopard replied, "I will do as I usually
have done; so, tomorrow, I will lie down again, as if I were a corpse."
That day darkened into night.
And another daylight broke.
And Leopard went out of the house to lie down on the bedding in the
street. Each limb was extended out as if dead; and his mouth open,
with lower jaw fallen, like that of a dead person.
Then Jackal called, "Iheli! come here! That person who wastes the
lives of the beasts is dead! He's dead!"
Gazelle said to himself, "I hear! So! Njegâ is dead? I go to the
mourning!" Gazelle lived in a town distant about three miles. He
started on the journey, taking with him his spear and bag; but, he
said to himself, "Before I go to the mourning, I will stop on the
way at the town of Ekaga."
He came to the town of Tortoise, and he said to him, "Chum! have you
heard the news? That person who kills Beasts and Mankind is dead!" But
Tortoise answered, "No! go back to your town! that person is not
dead. Go back!" Gazelle said, "No! For, before I go back to my town,
I will first go to Njegâ's to see." So Tortoise said, "If you are
determined to go there, I will tell you something." Gazelle exclaimed,
"Yes! Uncle, speak!"
Then Tortoise directed him, "Take ndongo." Gazelle took some. Tortoise
said, "Take also Hako, and take also Nyoi. Tie them all up in a bundle
of plantain leaves." (He told Gazelle to do all these things, as a
warning.) And Tortoise added, "You will find Njegâ with limbs stretched
out like a corpse. Take a machete with you in your hands. When you
arrive there, begin to cut down the plantain-stalks. And you must cry
out 'Who killed my Uncle? who killed my uncle?' If he does not move,
then you sit down and watch him."
So Gazelle went, journeyed and came to that town of mourning. He
asked Jackal, "Ibâbâ! This person, how did he die?" Jackal replied,
"Yesterday afternoon this person was seized with a fever; and today,
he is a corpse." Gazelle looked at Leopard from a distance, his eyes
fixed on him, even while he was slashing down the plantains, as he
was told to do. But, Leopard made no sign, though he heard the noise
of the plantain-stalk falling to the ground. Presently, Jackal said
to Gazelle, "Go near to your Uncle's bed, and look at the corpse."
Leopard began in his heart to arrange for a spring, being ready
to fight, and thinking, "What time Iheli shall be near me, I will
kill him."
Gazelle approached, but carefully stood off a rod distant from the body
of Leopard. Then Gazelle drew the bundle of Ants out of his bag, and
said to himself, "Is this person, really dead? I will test him!" But,
Gazelle stood warily ready to flee at the slightest sign. He quickly
opened the bundle of insects; and he joined the three, the Ants,
the Bees, and the Pepper, all in one hand; and, standing with care,
he threw them at Leopard.
The bundle of leaves, as it struck Leopard, flew open. Being released,
the Bees rejoiced, saying, "So! I sting Njegâ!" Pepper also was glad,
saying, "So! I will make him perspire!" Ants also spitefully exclaimed,
"I've bitten you!"
The pain of all these made Leopard jump up in wrath; and he leaped
toward Gazelle. But he dashed away into the forest, shouting as
he disappeared, "I'm not an Iheli of the open prairie, but of the
forest wilderness!"
So, he fled and came to the town of Tortoise. There he told Tortoise,
"You are justified! Njegâ indeed is not dead! He was only pretending,
in order to kill."
And Tortoise, remarked, "I am the doyen of Beasts. Being the eldest,
if I tell any one a thing, he should not contradict me."
TALE 4
TASKS DONE FOR A WIFE
Place
In Njambi's Kingdom
Persons
A Rich Merchant and his Daughter
Njâgu (Elephant)
Njegâ (Leopard)
Njina (Gorilla)
Nguvu (Hippopotamus)
Ekaga (Tortoise)
Mbodi (An Enormous Goat)
Servants, and Townspeople
NOTE
The artifices of Tortoise compete with the strength of Leopard. The
story of the Giant Goat is a separate Tale in No. 32, of Part Second.
In the time when Mankind and all other Animals lived together, to all
the Beasts the news came that there was a Merchant in a far country,
who had a daughter, for whom he was seeking a marriage. And he had
said, "I do not want money to be the dowry that shall be paid by a
suitor for my daughter. But, whosoever shall do some difficult works,
which I shall assign him, to him I will give her."
All the Beasts were competing for the prize.
First, Elephant went on that errand. The merchant said to him, "Do
such-and-such tasks, and you shall have my daughter. More than that,
I will give you wealth also." Elephant went at the tasks, tried,
and failed; and came back saying he could not succeed.
Next, Gorilla stood up; he went. And the merchant told him, in the
same way as to Elephant, that he was to do certain tasks. Gorilla
tried, and failed, and came back disgusted.
Then, Hippopotamus advanced, and said he would attempt to win the
woman. His companions encouraged him with hopes of success, because
of his size and strength. He went, tried, and failed.
Thus, almost all beasts attempted, one after another; they tried to
do the tasks, and failed.
At last there were left as contestants, only Leopard and
Tortoise. Neither was disheartened by the failure of the others; each
asserted that he would succeed in marrying that rich daughter. Tortoise
said, "I'm going now!" But Leopard said, "No! I first!" Tortoise
yielded, "Well, go; you are the elder. I will not compete with you. Go
you, first!" Leopard went, and made his application. The merchant
said to him, "Good! that you have come. But, the others came, and
failed. Try you." Leopard said, "Very well." He tried, and failed,
and went back angry.
Tortoise then went. He saluted the merchant, and told him he had come
to take his daughter. The merchant said, "Do so; but try to do the
tasks first."
Tortoise tried all the tasks, and did them all. The first was that of
a calabash dipper that was cracked. The merchant said to him, "You take
this cracked calabash and bring it to me full of water all the way from
the spring to this town." Tortoise looking and examining, objected,
"This calabash! cracked! how can it carry water?" The merchant replied,
"You yourself must find out. If you succeed, you marry my daughter."
Tortoise took the calabash to the spring. Putting it into the water,
he lifted it. But the water all ran out before he had gone a few
steps. Again he did this, five times; and the water was always
running out. Sitting, he meditated, "What is this? How can it
be done?" Thinking again, he said, "I'll do it! I know the art
how!" He went to the forest, took gum of the Okume (mahogany tree)
lighted a fire, melted the gum, smeared it over the crack, and made
it water-tight; then, dipping the calabash into the spring, it did
not leak. He took it full to the father-in-law, and called out,
"Father-in-law! this is the calabash of water." The merchant asked,
"But what did you do to it?" He answered "I mended it with gum." The
father said, "Good for you! The others did not think of that easy
simple solution. You have sense!"
Tortoise then said, "I have finished this one task; today has
passed. Tomorrow I will begin on the other four."
The next morning, he came to receive his direction from the merchant,
who said, "Ekaga! you see that tall tree far away? At the top are
fruits. If you want my daughter, pluck the fruits from the top,
and you shall marry her."
Tortoise went and stood watching and looking and examining the
tree. Its trunk was all covered with soap, and impossible to be
climbed. He returned to the merchant, and asked, "That fruit you
wish, may it be obtained in any way, even if one does not climb the
tree?" He was answered, "Yes, in any way, except cutting down the
tree. Only so that I get the fruit, I am satisfied."
Tortoise had already tried from morning to afternoon to climb
that tree, but could not. So, after he had asked the merchant his
question, he went back to the tree; and from evening, all night and
until morning, he dug about the roots till they were all free. And
the tree fell, without his having "cut" the trunk at all. So he took
the fruit to the Merchant, and told him that he had not "cut down"
the tree, but that he had it "dug up." The merchant said, "You have
done well. People who came before you failed to think of that. Good
for you!"
On the third day, the merchant said to the spectators, "I will not
name the other three tasks. You, my assistants, may name them." So
they thought of one task after another. But one and another said, "No,
that is not hard; let us search for a harder." Finally, they found
three hard tasks. Tortoise was ready for and accomplished them all.
Then the merchant announced, "Now, you may marry my daughter; and
tomorrow you shall make your journey." They made a great feast;
an ox was killed; and they had songs and music all night, clear on
till morning.