 Chapter 12 of Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa, the Elphinstone Daryl. Chapter 12. Why the Bat is a Shame to be seen in the Daytime. There was once an old mother sheep who had seven lambs, and one day the bat, who was about to make a visit to his father-in-law, who lived a long day's march away, went to the old sheep and asked her to lend him one of her young lambs to carry his loathe for him. At first the mother she had refused, but as the young lamb was anxious to travel and see something of the world, and begged to be allowed to go, at last she reluctantly consented. So in the morning, at daylight, the bat and the lamb sat off together, the lamb carrying the bat's drinking horn. When they reached halfway, the bat told the lamb to leave the horn underneath a bamboo tree. Directly, he arrived at the house. He sent the lamb back to get the horn. When the lamb had gone, the bat's father-in-law brought him food, and the bat ate it all, leaving nothing for the lamb. When the lamb returned, the bat said to him, Hello, you have arrived at last, I see, but you are too late for food, it is all finished. He then sent the lamb back to the tree with the horn, and when the lamb returned again, it was late, and he went supper-less to bed. The next day, just before it was time for food, the bat sent the lamb off again for the drinking horn, and when the food arrived, the bat, who was very greedy, ate it all up a second time. His mean behavior on the part of the bat went on for four days, until at last, the lamb became quite thin and weak. The bat decided to return home the next day, and it was all the lamb could do to carry his load. When he got home to his mother, the lamb complained bitterly of the treatment he had received from the bat. It was buying all night, complaining of pains in his inside. The old mother-sheep, who was very fond of her children, determined to be revenged on the bat for the cruel way he had starved her lamb. She therefore decided to consult the tortoise, who, although very poor, was considered by all people to be the wisest of animals. When the old sheep had told the whole story to the tortoise, he considered for some time, and then told the sheep that she might leave the matter entirely to him, and he would take ample revenge on the bat for his cruel treatment of her son. Very soon after this, the bat thought he would again go and see his father-in-law, so he went to the mother-sheep again and asked her for one of her sons to carry his load as before. The tortoise, who happened to be present, told the bat that he was going in that direction, and would cheerfully carry his load for him. They set out on their journey the following day, and when they arrived at the halfway halting place, the bat pursued the same tactics that he had on the previous occasion. He told the tortoise to hide his drinking horn under the same tree as the lamb had hidden it before. This the tortoise did, but when the bat was not looking, he picked up the drinking horn again and hid it in his bag. When they arrived at the house, the tortoise hung the horn up out of sight in the backyard, and then sat down in the house. Just before it was time for food, the bat sent the tortoise to get the drinking horn, and the tortoise went outside into the yard and waited until he heard that the beating of the boiled yams into fufu had finished. He then went into the house and gave the drinking horn to the bat, who was so surprised and angry that when the food was passed, he refused to eat any of it, so the tortoise ate it all. This went on for four days, until at last, the bat became as thin as the poor little lamb had been on the previous occasion. At last, the bat could stand the pains of his inside no longer, and secretly told his mother-in-law to bring him food when the tortoise was not looking. He said, I am now going to sleep for a little, but you can wake me up when the food is ready. The tortoise, who had been listening all the time, being hidden in a corner out of sight, waited until the bat was fast asleep and then carried him very gently into the next room and placed him on his own bed. He then very softly and quietly took off the bat's cloth and covered himself in it, and lay down where the bat had been. Very soon, the bat's mother-in-law brought the food and placed it next to where the bat was supposed to be sleeping, and having pulled his cloth to wake him, went away. The tortoise then got up and ate all the food. When he had finished, he carried the bat back again, and took some of the palm oil and fufu and placed it inside the bat's lips while he was asleep. Then the tortoise went to sleep himself. In the morning, when he woke up, the bat was more hungry than ever, and in a very bad temper. So he sought out his mother-in-law and started scolding her, and asked her why she had not brought his food as he had told her to do. She replied, she had brought his food, and that he had eaten it, but this the bat denied, and accused the tortoise of having eaten the food. The woman then said she would call the people in, and they should decide the matter. But the tortoise slipped out first and told the people that the best way to find out who had eaten the food was to make both the bat and himself rinse their mouths with clean water into a basin. This they decided to do, so the tortoise got his tooth stick which he always used, and having cleaned his teeth properly, washed his mouth out, and returned to the house. When all the people had arrived, the woman told them how the bat had abused her, and as he still maintained stoutly that he had had no food for five days, the people said that both he and the tortoise should wash their mouths out with clean water into two clean calabashes. This was done, and at once it could clearly be seen that the bat had been eating as they were distinct traces of the palm oil and fufu which the tortoise had put inside his lips floating on the water. When the people saw this, they decided against the bat, and he was so ashamed that he ran away then and there, and as ever since always hidden himself in the bush during the daytime so that no one could see him, and only comes out at night to get his food. The next day, the tortoise returned to the mothership and told her what he had done, and that the bat was forever disgraced. The old sheep praised him very much, and told all her friends in consequence of which the reputation of the tortoise for wisdom was greatly increased throughout the whole country. CHAPTER XIII Why the Worms Live Underneath the Ground When Io III was ruling over all men and animals, he had a very big palaver house to which he used to invite his subjects at intervals to feast. After the feast had been held, and plenty of tumbo had been drunk, it was the custom of the people to make speeches. One day after the feast the head-driver ant got up and said he and his people were stronger than any one, and that no one, not even the elephant, could stand before him, which was quite true. He was particularly offensive in his allusions to the worms, whom he disliked very much, and said they were poor, wriggling things. The worms were very angry and complained, so the king said that the best way to decide the question who was stronger was for both sides to meet on the road and fight the matter out between themselves to a finish. He appointed the third day from the feast for the contest, and all the people turned out to witness the battle. The driver ants left their nest in the early morning in thousands and millions, and, as is their custom, marched in a line about one inch broad densely packed, so that it was like a dark brown band moving over the country. In front of the advancing column they had out their scouts, guard and flankers, and the main body followed in their millions close behind. When they came to the battlefield the moving bands spread out, and as the thousands upon thousands of ants rolled up, the whole piece of ground was a moving mass of ants and bunches of struggling worms. The fight was over in a very few minutes, as the worms were bitten in pieces by the sharp pincer-like mouths of the driver ants. The few worms who survived squirmed away and buried themselves out of sight. King Io decided that the driver ants were easy winners, and ever since the worms have always been afraid and have lived underground, and if they happen to come up to the surface after the rain they hide themselves under the ground whenever anything approaches, as they fear all people. CHAPTER XIV THE ELEPHANT AND THE TORTUS Or why the worms are blind and why the elephant has small eyes. When Ambo was king of Calabar the elephant was not only a very big animal, but he had eyes in proportion to his immense bulk. In those days men and animals were friends and all mixed together quite freely. At regular intervals King Ambo used to give a feast, and the elephant used to eat more than anyone, although the hippopotamus used to do his best. However, not being as big as the elephant, although he was very fat, he was left a long way behind. As the elephant ate so much at these feasts, the tortoise, who was small but very cunning, made up his mind to put a stop to the elephant eating more than a fair share of the food provided. He therefore placed some dry kernels and shrimps, of which the elephant was very fond in his bag, and went to the elephant's house to make an afternoon call. When the tortoise arrived the elephant told him to sit down, so he made himself comfortable, and having shut one eye, took one palm kernel and a shrimp out of his bag, and commenced to eat them with much relish. When the elephant saw the tortoise eating he said, as he was always hungry himself, you seem to have some good food there. What are you eating? The tortoise replied that the food was sweet too much, but was rather painful to him, as he was eating one of his own eyeballs, and he lifted up his head, showing one eye closed. The elephant then said, if the food is so good, take out one of my eyes and give me the same food. The tortoise, who was waiting for this, knowing how greedy the elephant was, had brought a sharp knife with him for that very purpose, and said to the elephant, I cannot reach your eye as you are so big. The elephant then took the tortoise up in his trunk and lifted him up. As soon as he came near the elephant's eye, with one quick scoop of the sharp knife he had the elephant's right eye out. The elephant trumpeted with pain, but the tortoise gave him some of the dried kernels and shrimps, and they so pleased the elephant's palate that he soon forgot the pain. Very soon the elephant said, that food is so sweet, I must have some more. But the tortoise told him that before he could have any, the other eye must come out. To this the elephant agreed, so the tortoise quickly got his knife to work, and very soon the elephant's left eye was on the ground, thus leaving the elephant quite blind. The tortoise then slid down the elephant's trunk onto the ground and hid himself. The elephant then began to make a great noise, and started pulling trees down and doing much damage, calling out for the tortoise, but of course he never answered, and the elephant could not find him. The next morning, when the elephant heard the people passing, asked them what the time was, and the bush-buck who was nearest shouted out, the sun is up now, and I'm going to market to get some yams and fresh leaves for my food. Then the elephant perceived that the tortoise had deceived him, and began to ask all the passers-by to lend him a pair of eyes, as he could not see, but everyone refused, as they wanted their eyes themselves. At last the worm groveled past, and seeing the big elephant greeted him in his humble way. He was much surprised when the king of the forest returned his salutation, and very much flattered, also. The elephant said, Look here, worm, I have mislaid my eyes. Will you lend me yours for a few days? I will return them next market-day. The worm was so flattered at being noticed by the elephant, that he gladly consented, and took his eyes out, which as everyone knows, were very small, and gave them to the elephant. When the elephant had put the worm's eyes into his own large eye-sockets, the flesh immediately closed round them so tightly, that when the market-day arrived it was impossible for the elephant to get them out again to return to the worm. And although the worm repeatedly made applications to the elephant to return his eyes, the elephant always pretended not to hear, and sometimes used to say in a very loud voice, If there are any worms about, they had better get out of my way, as they are so small I cannot see them, and if I tread on them they will be squashed into a nasty mess. Ever since then the worms have been blind, and for the same reason elephants have such small eyes, quite out of proportion to the size of their huge bodies. End of Chapter 14 Chapter 15 of Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa, by Alphen Stone Day Row. Chapter 15 Why a Hawk Kills Chickens In the olden days there was a very fine young hen who lived with her parents in the bush. One day a hawk was hovering round, about eleven o'clock in the morning as was his custom, making large circles in the air, and scarcely moving his wings. His keen eyes were wide open, taking in everything, for nothing moving ever escapes the eyes of a hawk, no matter how small it may be, or how high up in the air the hawk may be circling. This hawk saw the pretty hen picking up some corn near her father's house. He therefore closed his wings slightly, and in a second of time was close to the ground, then spreading his wings out to check his flight, he alighted close to the hen and perched himself on the fence, as a hawk does not like to walk on the ground if he can help it. He then greeted the young hen with his most enticing whistle and offered to marry her. She agreed, so the hawk spoke to the parents, and paid the agreed amount of dowry, which consisted mostly of corn, and the next day took the young hen off to his home. Shortly after this a young cock who lived near the hen's former home found out where she was living, and having been in love with her for some months, in fact ever since his spurs had grown, determined to try to make her return to her own country. He therefore went at dawn, and having flapped his wings once or twice, crowed in his best voice to the young hen. When she heard the sweet voice of the cock, she could not resist his invitation, so she went out to him, and they walked off together to her parents' house, the young cock strutting in front, crowing at intervals. The hawk who was hovering high up in the sky, quite out of sight of any ordinary eye, saw what had happened, and was very angry. He made up his mind at once that he would obtain justice from the king, and flew off to Calabar where he told the whole story, and asked for immediate redress. So the king sent for the parents of the hen, and told them they must repay to the hawk the amount of dowry they had received from him on the marriage of their daughter, according to the native custom. But the hen's parents said that they were so poor that they could not possibly afford to pay. So the king told the hawk that he could kill and eat any of the cock's children whenever and wherever he found them as payment of his dowry, and if the cock made any complaint, the king would not listen to him. From that time until now, whenever a hawk sees a chicken, he swoops down and carries it off in part payment of his dowry. Folk Tales from Southern Nigeria, West Africa, by Elphinstone de Rel, Chapter 16 Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky Many years ago the sun and water were great friends, and both lived on the earth together. The sun very often used to visit the water, but the water never returned his visits. At last the sun asked the water why it was that he never came to see him in his house. The water replied that the sun's house was not big enough, and that if he came with his people he would drive the sun out. He then said, If you wish me to visit you, you must build a very large compound, but I warn you that it will have to be a tremendous place as my people are very numerous and take up a lot of room. The sun promised to build a very big compound, and soon afterwards he returned home to his wife, the moon, who greeted him with a broad smile when he opened the door. The sun told the moon what he had promised the water, and the next day commenced building a huge compound in which to entertain his friend. When it was completed he asked the water to come and visit him the next day. When the water arrived he called out to the sun and asked him whether it would be safe for him to enter, and the sun answered, Yes, come in, my friend. The water then began to flow in, accompanied by the fish and all the water animals. Very soon the water was knee deep, so he asked the sun if it was still safe, and the sun again said, Yes, so more water came in. When the water was level with the top of a man's head the water said to the sun, Do you want more of my people to come? And the sun and moon both answered, Yes, not knowing any better, so the water flowed on until the sun and moon had to perch themselves on the top of the roof. Again the water addressed the sun, but receiving the same answer, and more of his people rushing in. The water very soon overflowed the top of the roof, and the sun and moon were forced to go up into the sky where they have remained ever since. CHAPTER 17 A Folk Stories From Southern Nigeria, West Africa This is a LibraVox recording. All LibraVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibraVox.org. Reading by Anita Sloma Martinez. Folk Tales From Southern Nigeria, West Africa, by Elphinstone De Rael. Chapter 17 Why the Flies Bother the Cows When Adiyaha Umo was queen of Calabar, being very rich and hospitable, she used to give big beasts to all the domestic animals, but never invited the wild beasts as she was afraid of them. At one beast she gave, there were three large tables, and she told the cow to sit at the head of the table, as she was the biggest animal present, and share out the food. The cow was quite ready to do this, and the first course was passed, which the cow shared out amongst the people, but forgot the fly, because he was so small. When the fly saw this, he called out to the cow, to give him his share, but the cow said, Be quiet, my friend. You must have patience. When the second course arrived, the fly again called out to the cow, but the cow merely pointed to her eye, and told the fly to look there, and he would get food later. At last all the dishes were finished, and the fly, having been given no food by the cow, went supperless to bed. The next day the cow complained to the queen, who decided that, as the cow had presided at the feast, and had not given the fly his share, but had pointed to her eye, for the future, the fly could always get his food from the cow's eyes wherever she went, and even at the present time, wherever the cows are, the flies can always be seen feeding off their eyes in accordance with the queen's orders. For information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVoxaDork. Focus stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa, by Elphinstone Daryl, Chapter 18. Why the Cat Kills Rats Ansa was king of Calabar for 50 years. He had a very faithful cat as a housekeeper, and a rat was his houseboy. The king was an obstinate, headstrong man, but was very fond of the cat, who had been in his store for many years. The rat, who was very poor, fell in love with one of the king's servant girls, but was unable to give her any presents, as he had no money. At last he thought of the king's store so in the night time, being quite small, he had little difficulty having made a hole in the roof in getting into the store. He then stole corn and native pears and presented them to his sweetheart. At the end of the month, when the cat had to render her account of the things in the store to the king, it was found that a lot of corn and native peers were missing. The king was very angry at this, and asked the cat for an explanation. But the cat could not account for the loss until one of her friends told her that the rat had been stealing the corn and giving it to the girl. When the cat told the king, he called the girl before him and had her flocked. The rat he handed over to the cat to deal with, and dismissed them both from his service. The cat was so angry at this, that she killed and ate the rat, and ever since that time, whenever a cat sees a rat, she kills and eats it. End of Chapter 18 Chapter 19 of Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa by Elphinstone Deirel. Chapter 19. The Story of the Lightning and the Thunder. In the olden days, the thunder and lightning lived on the earth amongst all the other people. But the king made them live at the far end of the town, as far as possible from other people's houses. The thunder was an old mother she, when the lightning was her son Eram. Whenever the Ram got angry, he used to go about and burn houses and knock down trees. He even did damage on the farms and sometimes killed people. Whenever the lightning did these things, his mother used to call out to him in a very loud voice to stop and not to do any more damage. But the lightning did not care in the least for what his mother said, and when he was in a bad temper, used to do a very large amount of damage. At last, the people could not stand it any longer and complain to the king. So the king made a special order that the sheep, thunder, and her son the Ram, lightning, should leave the town and live in the far bush. This did not do much good, as when the Ram got angry, he still burned the forest and the flames sometimes spread to the farms and consumed them. So the people complained again and the king banished both the lightning and the thunder from the earth and made them live in the sky, where they could not cause so much destruction. Ever since, when the lightning is angry, he commits damage as before, but you can hear his mother, the thunder, rebuking him and telling him to stop. Sometimes however, when the mother has gone away some distance from her naughty son, you can still see that he is angry and is doing damage, but his mother's voice cannot be heard. End of Chapter 19. CHAPTER 20. WHY THE BUSCH CAL AND THE ELEPHANT ARE BAD FRIENDS The Bush Cal and the Elephant were always bad friends, and as they could not settle their disputes between themselves, they agreed to let the head chief decide. The cause of their unparalleledness was that the Elephant was always boasting about a strength to all his friends, which made the Bush Cal ashamed of himself, as he was always a good fighter and appeared no matter animal. When the matter was referred to the head chief, he decided that the best way to settle the dispute was for the Elephant and Bush Cal to meet and fight one another in a large open space. He decided that the fight should take place in the marketplace, on the next market day, when all the country people could witness the battle. When the market day arrived, the Bush Cal went out in the early morning and took up his position, some distance from the town on the maiden road to the market, and started bellowing and tearing up the ground. As people passed, he asked them whether they had seen anything of the big, big one, which was the name of the Elephant. A bush buck, who happened to be passing, replied, I am only a small antelope, and am on my way to the market. How should I know anything of the movements of the big, big one? The Bush Cal then allowed him to pass. After a little time, the Bush Cal heard the Elephant trumpeting, and could hear him as he came nearer, breaking down trees and trampling down this small bush. When the Elephant came near the Bush Cal, they both charged one another and a tremendous fight commenced, in which a lot of damage was done to the surrounding farms, and many of the people were frightened to go to the market and return to their houses. At last, the monkey, who had been watching the fight from a distance whilst he was jumping from branch to branch, high up in the trees, thought he would report what he had seen to the head chief. Although he forgot several times what it was he wanted to do, which is a little way monkeys have, he eventually reached the chief's house and jumped upon the roof, where he caught an eight a spider. He then climbed to the ground again and commenced playing with a small stick, but he very soon got tired of this, and then, picking up a stone, he rubbed it backwards and forwards on the ground and then aimed a sort of way whilst looking in the opposite direction. This did not last long, and very soon he was busily engaged in a minute personal inspection. His attention was then attracted by a large praying mantis, which had blundered into the house, making much clatter with its wings. When it settled, it immediately assumed its usual prayerful attitude. The monkey, after careful stalk, seized the mantis, and having deliberately pulled the legs off one after the other, he ate the body and sat down with his head on one side, looking very wise, but in reality thinking of nothing. Just then the chief caught sight of him while he was scratching himself and shouted in a loud voice, Ha! Monkey, is that you? What do you want here? At the chief's voice, the monkey gave a jump and started chattering like anything. After a time he replied very nervously, Oh, yes, of course. Yes, I came to see you. Then he said to himself, I wonder what on earth it was I came to tell the chief. But it was no use. Everything had gone out of his head. Then the chief told the monkey he might take one of the right plantains hanging up in the veranda. The monkey did not want telling twice as he was very fond of plantains. He soon tore off the skin and holding the plantain in both hands. Took bite after bite from the end of it, looking at it carefully after each bite. Then the chief remarked that the elephant and the bush cow ought to have arrived by that time as they were going to have a great bite. Directly the monkey heard this, he remembered what it was he wanted to tell the chief. So, having swallowed the piece of plantain he had placed in the side of his cheek, he said, Ah, that reminds me. And then after much chattering and making all sorts of funny grimaces, finally made the chief understand that the elephant and bush cow, instead of fighting where they had been told, were having it out in the bush on the main road leading to the market and had thus stopped most of the people coming in. When the chief heard this he was much incensed and called for his bow and poisoned arrows. And went to the scene of the combat. He then shot both the elephant and the bush cow, and throwing his bow and arrows away, ran and hid himself in the bush. About six hours afterwards both the elephant and bush cow died in great pain. Ever since, when wild animals want to fight between themselves, they always fight in the big bush and not on the public roads. But as the fight was never definitely decided between the elephant and the bush cow, whenever they meet one another in the forest, even to the present time, they always fight. End of chapter 20. Chapter 21 of Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa. This is a LibriVox recording, or LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa by Epelstein Daywell. Chapter 21. The Cock Who Caused a Fight Between Two Towns Ekpo and Itam were half brothers. That is to say they had the same mother, but different fathers. The mother first of all had married a chief at Duke Town when Ekpo was born, but after a time she got tired of them, and went to Old Town, where she married Ichikwa, and gave birth to Itam. Both of the boys grew up and became very rich. Ekpo had a cock, of which he was very fond, and every day when Ekpo sat down to meals, the cock used to fly on to the table and feed also. Amaukwa, a native of Old Town, who was rather poor, was jealous of the two brothers, and made up his mind if possible to bring about a quarrel between them, although he pretended to be friends with both. One day Ekpo, the elder brother, gave a big dinner, to which Itam and many other people were invited. Amaukwa was also present. A very good dinner was laid for the guests, and plenty of palm wine was provided. When they had commenced to feed, the pet cock flew on to the table and began to feed off Itam's plate. Itam then told one of his servants to seize the cock and tie him up in the house until after the feast. So the servant carried the cock to Itam's house and tied him up for safety. After much eating and drinking, Itam returned home late at night with his friend Amaukwa, and just before they went to bed, Amaukwa saw Ekpo's cock tied up. So early in the morning, he went to Ekpo's house, who received him gladly. About eight o'clock, when it was time for Ekpo to have his early morning meal, he noticed that his pet cock was missing. When he remarked upon its absence, Amaukwa told him that his brother had seized the cock the previous evening during the dinner, and was going to kill it, just to see what Ekpo would do. When Ekpo heard this, he was very fixed, and sent Amaukwa back to his brother to ask him to return the cock immediately. Instead of delivering the message as he had been instructed, Amaukwa told Itam that his elder brother was so angry with him for taking away his friend, the cock, that he would fight him, and had sent Amaukwa on purpose to declare war between the two towns. Itam then told Amaukwa to return to Ekpo, and say he would be prepared for anything his brother could do. Amaukwa then advised Ekpo to call all his people in from their farms, as Itam would attack him, and on his return he advised Itam to do the same. He then arranged a day for the fight to take place between the two brothers and their people. Itam then marched his men to the other side of the creek, and waited for his brother. So Amaukwa went to Ekpo, and told him that Itam had got all his people together and was waiting to fight. Ekpo then led his men against his brother, and there was a big battle, many men being killed on both sides. The fighting went on all day, until at last towards evening, the other chiefs of Kalabar met and determined to stop it, so they called the Ekpo men together, and sent them out with their drums, and eventually the fight stopped. Three days later a big paliver was held, when each of the brothers was told to state his case. When they had done so, it was found that Amaukwa had caused the quarrel, and the chiefs ordered that he should be killed. His father, who was a rich man, offered to give the Ekpo's five thousand rods, five cows, and seven slaves to a demer's son, that they decided to refuse his offer. The next day, after being severely flogged, he was left for twenty-four hours tied up to a tree, and the following day his head was cut off. Ekpo was then ordered to kill his pet cock, so that it should not cause any further trouble between himself and his brother, and a law was passed, therefore the future, no one should keep a pet cock or any other tame animal. End of Chapter 21. Chapter 22 of Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa This is a LibriVox recording, or LibriVox recordings from the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa by Epelstein Daywell, Chapter 22 The Affair of the Hippopotamus and the Tortoise, or Why the Hippopotamus Lives in the Water Many years ago, the hippopotamus, whose name was Isotim, was one of the biggest kings of the land. He was second only to the elephant. The hippo had seven large fat wives, of whom he was very fond. Now and then he used to give a big feast to the people, but a curious thing was that, although everyone knew the hippo, no one, except his seven wives, knew his name. At one of the feasts, just as the people were about to sit down, the hippo said, You have come to feed at my table, but none of you know my name. If you cannot tell me my name, you shall all of you go away without your dinner. As they could not guess his name, they had to go away and leave all the good food and tombo behind them. But before they left, the tortoise stood up and asked the hippopotamus what he would do if he told him his name at the next feast. So the hippo replied that he would be so ashamed of himself that he and his whole family would leave the land and for the future would dwell in the water. Now it was the custom for the hippo and his seven wives to go down every morning and evening to the river to wash and have a drink. Of this custom, the tortoise was aware. The hippo used to walk first and the seven wives followed. One day when they had gone down to the river to bathe, the tortoise made a small hole in the middle of the path and then waited. When the hippo and his wives returned, two of the wives were some distance behind, so the tortoise came out from where he'd been hiding and half buried himself in the hole he had dug, leaving the greater part of his shell exposed. When the two hippo wives came along, the first one knocked her foot against the tortoise's shell and immediately cried out to her husband, oh, listen to my husband, I have heard my foot. At this, the tortoise was very glad and went joyfully home as he had found out the hippo's name. When the next feast was given by the hippo, he made the same condition about his name, so the tortoise got up and said, you promise you will not kill me if I tell you your name, and the hippo promised. The tortoise then shouted as loud as he was able, your name is Isitim, at which a chair went up from all the people and then they sat down to their dinner. When the feast was over, the hippo, with his seven wives, in accordance with his promise, went down to the river and they've always lived in the water from that day till now, and although they come on shore to feed at night, you never find a hippo on the land in the daytime. End of chapter 22. Chapter 23 of Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa by Eppleston Dayrail. Chapter 23, Why Dead People Are Buried. In the beginning of the world, when the creator had made man and women and the animals, they all lived together in the creation land. The creator was a big chief, past all men, and being very kind-hearted was very sorry whenever anyone died. So one day he sent for the dog, who was his head messenger, and told him to go out into the world and give his word to all people that for the future, whenever anyone died, the body was to be placed in the compound and wood ashes were to be thrown over it, that the dead body was to be left on the ground, and in 24 hours it would become alive again. When the dog had travelled for half a day, he began to get tired. So as he was near an old woman's house he looked in, and seeing a bone with some meat on it, he made a meal off it, and then went to sleep, entirely forgetting the message which had been given him to deliver. After a time, when the dog did not return, the creator called for a sheep, and sent him out with the same message, where the sheep was very foolish one and being hungry, began eating the sweet grasses by the wayside. After a time however, he remembered that he had a message to deliver, but forgot what it was exactly. So as he went about among the people, he told them that the message the creator had given him to tell the people, was that whenever anyone died, they should be buried underneath the ground. A little time afterwards, the dog remembered his message, so he ran into the town and told the people that they were to place wood ashes on the dead bodies and leave them in the compound, and that they would come to life again after 24 hours. But the people would not believe him and said, we have already received the word from the creator by the sheep, that all dead bodies should be buried. In consequence of this, the dead bodies are now always buried, and the dog is much disliked and not trusted as a messenger, as if he had not found the bone in the old woman's house and forgotten his message, the dead people might still be alive. Chapter 24 of Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa This is a LibriVox recording, or LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa by Eiffelston Daywell Chapter 24 of The Fat Woman Who Melted Away There was once a very fat woman who was made of oil. She was very beautiful, and many young men applied to the parents for permission to marry their daughter and offered dowry. But the mother always refused, as she said it was impossible for her daughter to work on a farm, as she would melt in the sun. At last a stranger came from a far distant land and fell in love with the fat woman, and he promised if her mother would hand her to him that he would keep her in the shade. At last the mother agreed, and he took his wife away. When he arrived at his house, his other wife immediately became very jealous, because when there was work to be done, fire would be collected or water to be carried. The fat woman stayed at home and never helped, as she was frightened of the heat. One day when the husband was absent, the jealous wife abused the fat woman so much that she finally agreed to go and work on the farm. Although her little sister, whom she had bought from home with her, implored her not to go. Reminding her that their mother had always told them, ever since they were born, that she would melt away if she went into the sun. All the way to the farm, the fat woman managed to keep in the shade, and when they arrived at the farm the sun was very hot, so the fat woman remained in the shade of a big tree. When the jealous wife saw this, she again began abusing her, and asked it why she did not do her share of the work. At last she could stand the nagging no longer, and although her little sister tried very hard to prevent her, the fat woman went out into the sun to work, and immediately began to melt away. There was very soon nothing left of her but one big toe, which had been covered by a leaf. This her little sister observed, and with tears in her eyes she picked up the toe, which was all that remained with the fat woman, and having covered it carefully with leaves, placed it in the bottom of her basket. When she arrived at the house, the little sister placed the toe in an earthen pot, filled it with water, and covered the top up with clay. When the husband returned, he said, Where is my fat wife? And the little sister, crying bitterly, told him that the jealous woman had made her go out into the sun, and that she had melted away. She then showed him the pot with the remains of her sister, and told him that her sister would come to life again in three months, quite complete, but he must send away the jealous wife, so that there should be no more trouble. If he refused to do this, the little girl said she would take the pot back to their mother, and when her sister became complete again, they would remain at home. The husband then took the jealous wife back to her parents, who sold her as a slave and paid the dowry back to the husband, so that he could get another wife. When he received the money, the husband took it home and kept it until the three months had elapsed. When the little sister opened the pot, and the fat woman emerged, quite as fat and as beautiful as she had been before. The husband was so delighted that he gave a feast to all his friends and neighbors, and told them the whole story of the bad behavior of his jealous wife. Ever since that time, whenever a wife behaved very badly, the husband returns her to the parents, who sell the woman as a slave, and out of the proceeds of the sale reimburse the husband the amount of dowry which he paid when he married the girl. Chapter 25 of Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa by Eiffelston Daywell, Chapter 25 Concerning the Leopard, the Squirrel and the Tortoise Many years ago, there was a great famine throughout the land, and all the people were starving. The yam crop had failed entirely, the plantains did not bear any fruit, the ground nuts were all shriveled up, and the corn never came to a head. Even the palm oil nuts did not ripen, and the peppers and all crows also gave out. The leopard, however, who lived entirely on beef, did not care for any of these things, and although some of the animals who lived on corn and the growing crops began to get rather skinny, he did not mind very much. In order to save himself trouble, as everybody was complaining of the famine, he caught a meeting of all the animals and told them that, as they all knew, he was very powerful and must have food, that the famine did not affect him, as he only lived on flesh, and as there were plenty of animals about he did not intend to starve. He then told all the animals present at the meeting, that if they did not wish to be killed themselves, they must bring their grandmothers to him for food, and when they were finished, he would feed off their mothers. The animals might bring their grandmothers in succession, and he would take them in their turn, so that, as there were many different animals, it would probably be some time before their mothers were eaten, by which time it was possible that the famine would be over. But in any case, he warned them that he was determined to have sufficient food for himself, and that if the grandmothers or mothers were not forthcoming, he would turn upon the young people themselves and kill and eat them. This of course, the young generation who had attended the meeting did not appreciate, and in order to save their own skins, agreed to supply the leopard with his daily meal. The first to appear with his aged grandmother was the squirrel. The grandmother was a poor decrepit old thing with a mangy tail, and the leopard swallowed her at one gulp, and then looked around for more. In an angry voice he growled out, this is not the proper food for me, I must have more at once. Then a bushcat pushed his old grandmother in front of the leopard, but he snarled at her and said, take that nasty old thing away, I want some sweet food. It was then the turn of the bush bug, and after a great deal of hesitation, a wretchedly poor and thin old doe tottered and fell in front of the leopard, who immediately dispatched her, and although the meal was very unsatisfactory, declared that his appetite was appeased for that day. The next day, a few more animals brought their old grandmothers, until at last it became the tortoise's turn. But being very cunning, he produced witnesses to prove that his grandmother was dead. So the leopard excused him. After a few days, all the animals' grandmothers were exhausted, and it became the turn of the mothers to supply food for the ravenous leopard. Now although most of the young animals did not mind getting rid of their grandmothers, whom they had scarcely even known, many of them had very strong objections to providing their mothers, of whom they were very fond, as food for the leopard. Among the strongest objectors were the squirrel and the tortoise. The tortoise, who had thought the whole thing out, was aware as everyone knew his mother was alive, she being rather an amiable old person and friendly with all comers. The same excuse would not avail him a second time. He therefore told his mother to climb up a palm tree, and that he would provide her with food until the famine was over. He instructed her to let down a basket every day, and said that he would place food in it for her. The tortoise made the bucket for his mother, and attached it to a long string of tai-tai. The string was so strong that she could haul her son up whenever he wanted to visit her. All went well for some days, as the tortoise used to go at daylight to the bottom of the tree where his mother lived and placed her food in the basket. Then the old lady would pull the basket up and have her food, and the tortoise would depart on this daily round in as usual leisurely manner. In the meantime, the leopard had to have his daily food, and the squirrel's turn came first after the grandmothers had been finished, so he was forced to produce his mother for the leopard to eat, as he was a poor weak thing and not possessed of any cunning. The squirrel was however very fond of his mother, and when she had been eaten, he remembered that the tortoise had not produced his grandmother for the leopard's food. He therefore determined to set a watch on the movements of the tortoise. The very next morning, while he was gathering nuts, he saw the tortoise walking very slowly through the bush, and being high up in the trees and able to travel very fast, had no difficulty in keeping the tortoise in sight without being noticed. When the tortoise arrived at the foot of the tree where his mother lived, he placed the food in the basket which his mother had let down already by the tai-tai, and having gotten to the basket and given a pull at the string to signify that everything was right, was hauled up, and after a time was let down again in the basket. The squirrel was watching all the time, and directly the tortoise had gone, jumped from the branch to branch of the trees, and very soon arrived at the place where the leopard was snoozing. When he woke up, the squirrel said, You have eaten my grandmother and my mother, but the tortoise has not provided any food for you. It is now his turn, and he has hidden his mother away in a tree. At this the leopard was very angry, and told the squirrel to lead him up once to the tree where the tortoise's mother lived. But the squirrel said, The tortoise only goes at daylight when his mother lets down a basket, so if you go in the morning early, she will pull you up, and you can then kill her. To this the leopard agreed, and the next morning the squirrel came at Cochro and led the leopard to the tree where the tortoise's mother was hidden. The old lady had already let down the basket for a daily supply of food, and the leopard got into it and gave the lion a pull. But except a few small jerks, nothing happened, as the old mother tortoise was not strong enough to pull a heavy leopard off the ground. When the leopard saw that he was not going to be pulled up, being an expert climber, he scrambled up the tree, and when he got to the top he found the poor old tortoise, whose shell was so tough that he thought it was not worth eating, so he threw her down onto the ground at a violent temper, and then came down himself and went home. Shortly after this the tortoise arrived at the tree, and finding the basket on the ground gave his usual tug at it, but there was no answer. He then looked around, and after a little time came upon the broken shell of his poor old mother, who by this time was quite dead. The tortoise knew at once that the leopard had killed his mother, and made up his mind that for the future he would live alone and have nothing to do with the other animals. End of chapter. Chapter 26 of Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa by Ethelston Darrell. Chapter 26 Why The Moon Waxes and Wains There once was an old woman who was very poor, and lived in a small mud-thatched hut with mats made from the leaves of the tomber palm in the bush. She was often very hungry, as there was no one to look after her. In the olden days the moon used often to come down to the earth, although she lived most of the time in the sky. The moon was a fat woman, with a skin of height, and she was full of fat meat. She was quite round, and in the night used to give plenty of light. The moon was sorry for the poor, starving old woman, so she came to her and said, You may cut some of my meat away for your food. This the old woman did every evening, and the moon got smaller and smaller until you could scarcely see her at all. Of course this made her give very little light, and all the people began to grumble in consequence, and to ask what it was so that the moon was getting so thin. At last the people went to the old woman's house, where there happened to be a little girl sleeping. She had been there for some little time, and had seen the moon come down every evening, and the old woman go out with her knife and carve her daily supply of meat out for the moon. As she was very frightened, she told the people all about it, so they determined to set a watch on the movements of the old woman. That very night the moon came down as usual, and the old woman went out with her knife and basket to get her food. But before she could carve any meat, all the people rushed out shouting, and the moon was so frightened that she went back again into the sky, and never came down again to the earth. The old woman was left to starve in the bush. And ever since that time the moon has hidden herself most of the day, as she was so frightened, and she still gets very thin once a month. But later on she gets fat again, and when she is quite fat she gives plenty of light all the night. But this does not last very long, and she begins to get thinner and thinner, in the same way as she did when the old woman was carving her meat from her. End of chapter 26. Chapter 27 of Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa. By Ethelston Darrell. Chapter 27. The Story of the Leopard, the Tortoise, and the Bushrat. At the time of the Great Famine, all the animals were very thin and weak from want of food. But there was one exception, and that was the tortoise, and all his family, who were quite fat, and did not seem to suffer at all. Even the leopard was very thin, in spite of the arrangement he had made with the animals to bring him their old grandmothers and mothers for food. In the early days of the famine, as you will remember, the leopard had killed the mother of the tortoise, in consequence of which the tortoise was very angry with the leopard, and determined if possible to be revenged upon him. The tortoise, who was very clever, had discovered a shadow lake full of fish in the middle of the forest, and every morning he used to go down to the lake and, without much trouble, bring back enough food for himself and his family. One day the leopard met the tortoise and noticed how fat he was. As he was very thin himself, he decided to watch the tortoise, so the next morning he had himself in the long grass near the tortoise's house and waited very patiently. Until last the tortoise came along quite slowly, carrying a basket which appeared to be very heavy. Then the leopard sprang out and said to the tortoise, what have you got in that basket? The tortoise, as he did not want to lose his breakfast, replied that he was carrying firewood back to his home. Unfortunately for the tortoise, the leopard had a very acute sense of smell and knew at once that there was fish in the basket, so he said, I know there's fish in there, and I'm going to eat it. The tortoise, not being in a position to refuse, as he was such a poor creature, said, very well, let us sit down under the shady tree, and if you will make a fire I will go to my house and get pepper, oil and salt, and then we will feed together. To this the leopard agreed and began to search about for dry wood and started the fire. In the meantime the tortoise waddled off to his house and very soon returned with the pepper, salt and oil. He also bought a long piece of cane tai-tai, which is very strong. This he put on the ground and began boiling the fish. Then he said to the leopard, while we are waiting for the fish to cook, let us play at tying one another up to a tree. You may tie me up first, and when I say tighten, you must loose the rope, and when I say loosen, you must tighten the rope. The leopard, he was very hungry, thought that this game would make the time pass more quickly until the fish cooked, so he said he would play. The tortoise then stood with his back to the tree and said, loosen the rope, and the leopard, in accordance with the rules of the game, began to tie up the tortoise. Very soon the tortoise shouted out, tighten, and the leopard at once unfastened the tai-tai, and the tortoise was free. The tortoise said, now leopard, it is your turn. So the leopard stood up against the tree and caught out to the tortoise to loosen the rope, and the tortoise at once very quickly passed the rope several times round the leopard and got him fast to the tree. Then the leopard said, tighten the rope. But instead of playing the game in accordance with the rules he had laid down, the tortoise ran faster and faster with the rope around the leopard, taking great care, however, to keep out of reach of the leopard's claws, and very soon had the leopard so securely fastened that it was quite impossible for him to free himself. All this time the leopard was calling out to the tortoise to let him go, as he was tired of the game, but the tortoise only laughed and sat down on the fireside and commenced his meal. When he had finished he packed up the remainder of the fish for his family, and prepared to go, but before he started he said to the leopard, you killed my mother, and now you want to take my fish? It is not likely that I am going to the lake to get fish for you, so I should leave you here to starve. He then threw the remains of the pepper and salt into the leopard's eyes, and quietly went on his way, leaving the leopard roaring with pain. All that day and throughout the night the leopard was calling out for someone to release him, and vowing all sorts of vengeance on the tortoise, but no one came, as the people and animals of the forest did not like to hear the leopard's voice. In the morning, when the animals began to go about to get their food, the leopard caught out to every one he saw to come and untie him, but they all refused, as they knew that if they did so the leopard would most likely kill them at once and eat them. At last a bush rat came near, and saw the leopard tied up to the tree and asked him what was the matter, so the leopard told him that he had been playing a game of tight and loose with the tortoise, and that he had tied him up and left him there to starve. The leopard then implored the bush rat to cut the ropes with his sharp teeth. The bush rat was very sorry for the leopard, but at the same time he knew that if he let the leopard go he would most likely be killed and eaten, so he hesitated, and said that he did not quite see his way to cutting the ropes. But this bush rat, being rather kind-hearted, and having had some experience of traps himself, could sympathize with the leopard in his uncomfortable position. He therefore thought for a time, and then hit upon a plan. He first started to dig a hole around the tree, quite regardless of the leopard's cries. When he had finished the hole he came out and cut one of the ropes, and immediately ran into his hole, and waited there to see what would happen, but although the leopard struggled frantically, he could not get loose, as the tortoise had tied him up so fast. After a time, when he saw that there was no danger, the bush rat crept out again and very carefully bit through another rope, and then retired to his hole as before. Again nothing happened, and he began to feel more confidence, so he bit several strands through one after the other until at last the leopard was free. The leopard, who was ravenous with hunger, instead of being grateful to the bush rat, directly he was free, made a dash at the bush rat with a big pour, but just missed him, as the bush rat had dived for his hole. But he was not quite quick enough to escape all together, and the leopard's sharp claws scored his back and left marks, which he carried to his grave. End of Chapter 27 Chapter 28 of Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information, or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by John Brandon. Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa by Elphinstone Dayrell. Chapter 28 The King and the Juju Tree Udu Ubuq Udum was a famous king who lived at Eidam, which is an inland town and does not possess a river. The king and his wife, therefore, used to wash at the spring just behind their house. King Udu had a daughter of whom he was very proud and looked after her most carefully, and she grew up into a beautiful woman. For some time the king had been absent from his house and had not been to the spring for two years. When he went to his old place to wash, he found that the Eidam Juju Tree had grown up all round the place, and it was impossible for him to use the spring as he had done formerly. He therefore called fifty of his young men to bring their machettes and cut down the tree. They started cutting the tree, but it had no effect, as directly they made a cut in the tree it closed up again. So after working all day, they found they had made no impression on it. When they returned at night, they told the king that they had been unable to destroy the tree. He was very angry when he heard this and went to the spring the following morning, taking his own machette with him. When the Juju Tree saw that the king had come himself and was starting to try to cut his branches, he caused a small splinter of wood to go into the king's eye. This gave the king great pain, so he threw down his machette and went back to the house. The pain, however, got worse, and he could not eat or sleep for three days. He therefore sent for his witch-men and told them to cast lots to find out why he was in such pain. When they had cast lots, they decided that the reason was that the Juju Tree was angry with the king because he wanted to wash at the spring and had tried to destroy the tree. They then told the king that he must take seven baskets of flies, a white goat, a white chicken, and a piece of white cloth, and make a sacrifice of them in order to satisfy the Juju. The king did this, and the witch-men tried their lotions on the king's eye, but it got worse and worse. He then dismissed these witches and got another lot. When they arrived, they told the king that although they could do nothing themselves to relieve his pain, they knew one man who lived in the spirit land who could cure him, so the king told them to send for him at once, and he arrived the next day. Then the spirit-man said, before I do anything to your eye, what will you give me? So King Udu said, I will give you half my town with the people in it, also seven cows, and some money. But the spirit-man refused to accept the king's offer. As the king was in such pain, he said, name your own price, and I will pay you. So the spirit-man said the only thing he was willing to accept as payment was the king's daughter. At this the king cried very much, and told the man to go away, as he would rather die than let him have his daughter. That night the pain was worse than ever, and some of his subjects pleaded with the king to send for the spirit-man again and give him his daughter, and told him that when he got well he could no doubt have another daughter, but that if he died now he would lose everything. The king then sent for the spirit-man again, who came very quickly, and in great grief the king handed his daughter to the spirit. The spirit-man then went out into the bush and collected some leaves which he soaked in water and beat up. The juice he poured into the king's eye told him that when he watched his face in the morning he would be able to see what was troubling him in the eye. The king tried to persuade him to stay the night, but the spirit-man refused, and departed that same night for the spirit-land, taking the king's daughter with him. Before it was light the king rose up and washed his face, and found that the small splinter from the juju tree, which had been troubling him so much, dropped out of his eye. The pain disappeared, and he was quite well again. When he came to his proper senses he realized that he had sacrificed his daughter for one of his eyes, so he made an order that there should be a general mourning throughout his kingdom for three years. For the first two years of the morning the king's daughter was put in the fatting-house by the spirit-man and was given food, but a skull who was in the house told her not to eat, as they were fatting her up, not for marriage, but so they could eat her. She therefore gave all the food which was brought to her to the skull and lived on chalk herself. Towards the end of the third year the spirit-man brought some of his friends to see the king's daughter and told them he would kill her the next day and they would have a good feast off her. When she woke in the morning the spirit-man brought her food as usual, but the skull who wanted to preserve her life, and who had heard what the spirit-man had said, called her into the room and told her what was going to happen later in the day. She handed the food to the skull and he said when the spirit-man goes to the wood with his friends to prepare for the feast, you must run back to your father. He then gave her some medicine, which would make her strong for the journey, and also gave her directions as to the road, telling her that there were two roads, but that when she came to the parting of the ways she was to drop some of the medicine on the ground and the two roads would become one. He then told her to leave by the back door and go through the wood until she came to the end of the town. She would then find the road. If she met people on the road she was to pass them in silence, as if she saluted them they would know that she was a stranger in the spirit-land and might kill her. She was also not to turn around if anyone called to her, but was to go straight on till she reached her father's house. Having thanked the skull for his kind advice, the king's daughter started off and when she reached the end of the town and found the road she ran for three hours and at last arrived at the branch roads. There she dropped the medicine, as she had been instructed, and the two roads immediately became one. So she went straight on and never so looted anyone or turned back, although several people called to her. About this time the spirit-man had returned from the wood and went to the house only to find the king's daughter was absent. He asked the skull where she was and he replied that she had gone out by the back door, but he did not know where she had gone to. Being a spirit, however, he very soon guessed that she had gone home, so he followed as quickly as possible, shouting out all the time. When the girl heard his voice she ran as fast as she could and at last arrived at her father's house and told him to take at once a cow, a pig, a sheep, a goat, a dog, a chicken, and seven eggs and cut them into seven parts as a sacrifice and leave them on the road so that when the spirit-man saw these things he would stop and not enter the town. This the king did immediately and made the sacrifice as his daughter had told him. When the spirit-man saw the sacrifice on the road he sat down and at once began to eat. When he had satisfied his appetite he packed up the remainder and returned to the spirit land not troubling any more about the king's daughter. When the king saw the danger was over he beat his drum and declared that for the future when people died and went to the spirit land they should not come to earth again as spirits to cure sick people. End of chapter 28, recording by John Brandon. Chapter 29 of Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org. Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa by Eppleston Daywell. Chapter 29, How the Tortoise Overcame the Elephant and the Hippopotamus. The elephant and the hippopotamus always used to feed together and were good friends. One day when they were both dining together the tortoise appeared and said that although they were both big and strong neither of them could pull him out of the water with a strong piece of tai-tai and he offered the elephant 10,000 rods if he could draw him out of the river the next day. The elephant seeing that the tortoise was very small said if I cannot draw you out of the water I'll give you 20,000 rods. So on the following morning the tortoise got some very strong tai-tai and made it fast to his leg and went down to the river. When he got there as he knew the place well he made the tai-tai fast round a big rock and left the other end on the shore for the elephant to pull by then went down to the bottom of the river and hit himself. The elephant then came down and started pulling and after a time he smashed the rope. Directly this happened the tortoise undid the rope from the rock and came to the land showing all the people the rope was still fast to his leg but there the elephant had failed to pull him out. The elephant was thus forced to admit that the tortoise was the winner and paid to him the 20,000 rods as agreed. The tortoise then took the rods home to his wife and they lived together very happily. After three months had passed the tortoise seeing that the money was greatly reduced thought he would make some more by the same trick so he went to the hippopotamus and made the same bet with him. The hippopotamus said I will make the bet but I shall take the water and you shall take the land. I will then pull you into the water. To this the tortoise agreed so they went down to the river as before and having got some strong tie-tie the tortoise made it fast to the hippopotamus's hind leg and told him to go into the water. Directly the hippo turned his back and disappeared. The tortoise took the rope twice round a strong palm tree which was growing there and then hit himself at the foot of the tree. When the hippo was tired of pulling he came up ploughing and blowing water into the air from his nostrils. Directly the tortoise saw him coming up. He unwound the rope and walked down towards the hippopotamus showing him the tie-tie round his leg. The hippo had to acknowledge that the tortoise was too strong for him and reluctantly handed over the 20,000 rods. The elephant and the hippo then agreed that they would take the tortoise as their friend as he was so very strong but he was not really so strong as they thought and had won because he was so cunning. He then told them that he would like to live with both of them but that as he could not be in two places at the same time he said that he would leave his son to live with the elephant on the land and that he himself would live with the hippopotamus in the water. This explains why there are both tortoises on the land and tortoises who live in the water. The water tortoise is always much bigger of the two as there is plenty of fish for him to eat in the river whereas the land tortoise is often very short of food. End of chapter 29 Chapter 30 of Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Elizabeth Jenkins Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa by Elphinstone Dayrail Chapter 30 of The Pretty Girl and the Seven Jealous Women There was once a very beautiful girl called Akeem. She was a native of Ibibio and the name was given to her on account of her good looks as she was born in the springtime. She was an only daughter and her parents were extremely fond of her. The people of the town and more particularly the young girls were so jealous of Akeem's good looks and beautiful form for she was perfectly made, very strong and her carriage bearing in manners were most graceful that her parents would not allow her to join the young girl's society in the town as is customary for all young people to do both boys and girls belonging to a company according to their age a company consisting as a rule of all the boys or girls born in the same year. Akeem's parents were rather poor but she was a good daughter and gave them no trouble so they had a happy home. One day as Akeem was on her way to draw water from the spring she met the company of seven girls to which in an ordinary way she would have belonged if her parents had not forbidden her. These girls told her they were going to hold a play in the town in three days time and asked her to join them. She said she was very sorry but that her parents were poor and only had herself to work for them so therefore had no time to spare for dancing and plays. She then left them and went home. In the evening the seven girls met together and as they were very envious of Akeem they discussed how they should be revenged upon her for refusing to join their company and they talked for a long time as to how they could get Akeem into danger or punish her in some way. At last one of the girls suggested that they should all go to Akeem's house every day and help her with her work so that when they had made friends with her they would be able to entice her away and take the revenge upon her for being more beautiful than themselves. Although they went every day and helped Akeem and her parents with their work the parents knew that they were jealous of their daughter and repeatedly warned her not on any account to go with them as they were not to be trusted. At the end of the year there was going to be a big play called the new YAM Play to which Akeem's parents had been invited. The play was going to be held at a town about two hours march from where they lived. Akeem was very anxious to go and take part in the dance but her parents gave her plenty of work to do before they started thinking that this would surely prevent her going as she was a very obedient daughter and always did her work properly. On the morning of the play the jealous seven came to Akeem and asked her to go with them but she pointed to all the water pots she had to fill and showed them where her parents had told her to polish the walls with a stone and make the floor good and after that was finished she had to pull up all the weeds around the house and clean up all around. She therefore said it was impossible for her to leave the house until all the work was finished. When the girls heard this they took up the water pots went to the spring and quickly returned with them full. They placed them in a row then they got stones and very soon they had the walls polished and the floors made good. After that they did the weeding outside and the cleaning up and when everything was completed they said to Akeem, now then come along you have no excuse to remain behind as all the work is done. Akeem really wanted to go to the play so as all the work was done which her parents had told her to do she finally consented to go. About halfway to the town where the new yam play was being held there was a small river about five feet deep which had to be crossed by weeding as there was no bridge. In this river there was a powerful juju whose law was that whenever anyone crossed the river and returned the same way on the return journey whoever it was had to give some food to the juju. If they did not make the proper sacrifice the juju dragged them down and took them to his home and kept them there to work for him. The seven jealous girls knew all about this juju having often crossed the river before as they walked about all over the country and had plenty of friends in the different towns. Akeem however who was a good girl and never went anywhere knew nothing about this juju which her companions had found out. When the work was finished they all started off together and crossed the river without any trouble. When they'd gone a small distance on the other side they saw a small bird perched on a high tree who admired Akeem very much and sang in praise of her beauty much to the annoyance of the seven girls but they walked on without saying anything and eventually arrived at the town where the play was being held. Akeem had not taken the trouble to change her clothes but when she arrived at the town although her companions had on all their best beads and their finest clothes the young men and people admired Akeem far more than the other girls and she was declared to be the finest and most beautiful woman at the dance. They gave her plenty of palm wine, fufu and everything she wanted so the seven girls became more angry and jealous than before. The people danced and sang all that night but Akeem managed to keep out of sight of her parents until the following morning when they asked her how it was she had disobeyed them and neglected her work. So Akeem told them that the work had all been done by her friends and they had enticed her to come to the play with them. Her mother then told her to return home at once and that she was not to remain in the town any longer. When Akeem told her friends this they said, very well we're just going to have some small meal and then we will return with you. They all sat down together and had their food but each of the seven jealous girls hit a small quantity of fufu and fish in her clothes for the water juju. However Akeem who knew nothing about this as her parents had forgotten to tell her about the juju never thinking for one moment that their daughter would cross the river did not take any food as a sacrifice to the juju with her. When they arrived at the river Akeem saw the girls making their small sacrifices and begged them to give her a small share so that she could do the same but they refused and all walked across the river safely. Then when it was Akeem's turn to cross when she arrived in the middle of the river the water juju caught hold of her and dragged her underneath the water so that she immediately disappeared from sight. The seven girls had been watching for this and when they saw that she had gone they went on their way very pleased at the success of their scheme and said to one another now Akeem has gone forever and we shall hear no more about her being better looking than we are. As there was no one to be seen at the time when Akeem disappeared they naturally thought that their cruel action had escaped detection so they went home rejoicing but they never noticed the little bird high up in the tree who had sung of Akeem's beauty when they were on their way to the play. The little bird was very sorry for Akeem and made up his mind that when the proper time came he would tell her parents what he had seen so that perhaps they would be able to save her. The bird had heard Akeem asking for a small portion of the food to make a sacrifice with and had heard all the girls refusing to give her any. The following morning when Akeem's parents returned home they were much surprised to find the door was fastened and that there was no sign of their daughter anywhere about the place so they inquired of their neighbors but no one was able to give them any information about her. They then went to the seven girls and asked them what had become of Akeem and they replied they did not know what had become of her but that she had reached their town safely with them and then she was going home. The father then went to his juju man who by casting lots discovered what had happened and told him that on her way back from the play Akeem had crossed the river without making the customary sacrifice to the water juju and that as the juju was angry he had seized Akeem and taken her to his home. He therefore told Akeem's father to take one goat one basket full of eggs and one piece of white cloth to the river in the morning and to offer them as a sacrifice to the water juju. Then Akeem would be thrown out of the water seven times but that if her father failed to catch her on the seventh time she would disappear forever. Akeem's father then returned home and when he arrived there the little bird who had seen Akeem taken by the water juju told him everything that had happened confirming the juju's words he also said it was entirely the fault of the seven girls who had refused to give Akeem any food to make the sacrifice with. Early the following morning the parents went to the river and made the sacrifice as advised by the juju. Immediately they had done so the water juju threw Akeem up from the middle of the river. Her father caught her at once and returned home very thankfully. He never told anyone however that he had recovered his daughter but made up his mind to punish the seven jealous girls so he dug a deep pit in the middle of his house and placed dry palm leaves and sharp stakes in the bottom of the pit. He then covered the top of the pit with new mats and sent outward for all people to come and hold a play to rejoice with him as he had recovered his daughter from the spirit land. Many people came and danced and sang all the day and night but the seven jealous girls did not appear as they were frightened. However as they were told that everything had gone well the previous day and that there had been no trouble they went to the house the following morning and mixed with the dancers but they were ashamed to look Akeem in the face who was sitting down in the middle of the dancing ring. When Akeem's father saw the seven girls he pretended to welcome them as his daughter's friends and presented each of them with a brass rod which he placed around their necks. He also gave them tombo to drink. He then picked them out and told them to go and sit on mats on the other side of the pit he had prepared for them. When they walked over the mats which hid the pit they all fell in and Akeem's father immediately got some red hot ashes from the fire and threw them on the top of the screaming girls who were in great pain. At once the dried palm leaves caught fire killing all the girls at once. When the people heard the cries and saw the smoke they all ran back to the town. The next day the parents of the dead girls went to the head chief and complained that Akeem's father had killed their daughters so the chief called him before him and asked him for an explanation. Akeem's father went at once to the chief taking the juju man whom everybody relied upon and the small bird as his witnesses. When the chief had heard the whole case he told Akeem's father that he should only have killed one girl to avenge his daughter and not seven so he told the father to bring Akeem before him. When she arrived the head chief seeing how beautiful she was said that her father was justified in killing all the seven girls on her behalf so he dismissed the case and told the parents of the dead girls to go away and mourn for their daughters who had been wicked and jealous women and had been properly punished for their cruel behavior to Akeem. Moral. Never kill a man or a woman because you are envious of their beauty as if you do you will surely be punished. End of Chapter 30 Chapter 31 of Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Jordan Klein Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa by Elphinstone Deirel Chapter 31 How the Cannibals Drove the People from Insofan Mountain to the Cross River, Ikeem. Very many years ago before the oldest man alive at the present time can remember the towns of Ikeem, Okuni, Abijan, Insofan, Obokum, and all the other injured towns were situated round and near the Insofan Mountain and the head chief of the whole country was called Agbor. Abragba and Enfitope also lived there and were also under King Agbor. The Insofan Mountain is about two days march inland from the Cross River and as none of the people there could swim and knew nothing about canoes they never went anywhere outside their own country and were afraid to go down to the big river. The whole country was taken up with yam farms and was divided amongst the various towns each town having its own bush. At the end of the year when it was time to dig the yams there was a big play held which was called the new yam feast. At this festival there was always a big human sacrifice, 50 slaves being killed in one day. These slaves were tied up to trees in a row and many drums were beaten. Then a strong man armed with a sharp matchet went from one slave to another and cut their heads off. This was done to cool the new yams so that they would not hurt the stomachs of the people. Until the sacrifice was made no one in the country would eat a new yam as they knew. If they did so they would suffer great pain in their insides. When the feast was held all the towns brought 100 yams each as a present to King Agbor. When the slaves were all killed fires were lit and the dead bodies were placed over the fires to burn the hair off. A number of plantain leaves were then gathered and placed on the ground and the bodies having been cut into pieces were placed on the plantain leaves. When the yams were skinned they were put into large pots with water oil pepper and salt. The cut up bodies were then put in on top and the pots covered up with other clay pots and left to boil for an hour. The king having called all the people together then declared the new yam feast had commenced and singing and dancing were kept up for three days and nights during which time much palm wine was consumed and all the bodies and yams which had been provided for them were eaten by the people. The heads were given to the king for his share and when he had finished eating them the skulls were placed before the juju with some new yams so that there should be a good crop the following season. But although these natives ate the dead bodies of the slaves at the new yam feast they did not eat human flesh during the rest of the year. This went on for many years until at last the Okuni people noticed that the graves of the people who had been buried were frequently dug open and the bodies removed. This caused great wonder and as they did not like the idea of their dead relations being taken away they made a complaint to king Agbor. He at once caused a watch to be set on all newly dug graves and that very night they caught seven men who were very greedy and used to come whenever a body was buried dig it up and carry it into the bush where they made a fire and cooked and ate it. When they were caught the people made them show where they lived and where they cooked the bodies. After walking for some hours in the forest they came to a place where large heaps of human bones and skulls were found. The seven men were then securely fastened up and brought before king Agbor who held a large plumber of all the towns and the whole situation was discussed. Agbor said that this bad custom would necessitate all the towns separating as they could not allow their dead relations to be dug up and eaten by these greedy people and he could see no other way to prevent it. Agbor then gave one of the men to each of the seven towns and told some of them to go on the far side of the big river and make their towns there. The others were to go farther down the river on the same side as Insofan Mountain and when they found suitable places they were each to kill their man as a sacrifice and then build their town. All the towns then departed and when they had found good sites they built their towns there. When they had all gone after a time Agbor began to feel very lonely so he left the site of his old town and also went to the cross river to live so that he could see his friends. After that the Nuyan feast was held in each town and the people still continued to kill and eat a few slaves at the feast but the bodies of their relations and friends were kept for a long time above ground until they become rotten so that the greedy people should not dig them up and eat them. This is why even at the present time the people do not like to bury their dead relations until they have become putrid. End of chapter 31. Chapter 32 of Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Jordan Klein. Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa, by Elphinstone Dayrell. Chapter 32. The Lucky Fisherman. In the olden days there were no hooks or casting nets so that when the natives wanted to catch fish they made baskets and set traps at the riverside. One man named Aekon Obo who was very poor began to make baskets and traps out of bamboo palm and then when the river went down he used to take his traps to a pool and set them baited with palm nuts. In the night the big fish used to smell the palm nuts and go into the trap when at once the door would fall down and in the morning Aekon Obo would go and take the fish out. He was very successful in his fishing and used to sell the fish in the market for plenty of money. When he could afford to pay the dowry he married a woman named Eiyang, a native of Okuni, and had three children by her but he still continued his fishing. The eldest son was called Ode, the second Yambi and the third Atuk. These three boys when they grew up helped their father with his fishing and he gradually became wealthy and bought plenty of slaves. At last he joined the Egbo society and became one of the chiefs of the town. Even after he became a chief he and his sons still continued to fish. One day when he was crossing the river in a small dugout canoe a tornado came on very suddenly and the canoe capsized drowning the chief. When his sons heard of the death of their father they wanted to go and drown themselves also but they were persuaded not to by the people. After searching for two days they found the dead bodies some distance down the river and brought it back to the town. They then called their company together to play, dance, and sing for 12 days in accordance with their native custom and much palm wine was drunk. When the play was finished they took their father's body to a hollowed out cavern and placed two live slaves with it one holding a native lamp of palm oil and the other holding a matchet. They were both tied up so that they could not escape and were left there to keep watch over the dead chief until they died of starvation. When the cave was covered in the sons called the chiefs together and they played Egbo for seven days which used up a lot of their late father's money. When the play was over the chiefs were surprised at the amount of money which the sons had been able to spend on the funeral of their father as they knew how poor he had been as a young man. They therefore called him the Lucky Fisherman. Footnotes 9. The Egbo Society would meet together and would be provided with palm wine and food as much as they could eat and drink which frequently cost a lot of money. Dancing and singing would also be kept up and a band would play consisting of drums made of hollowed out trunks of trees beaten with two pieces of soft wood native made bells and rattles made of basket work with stones inside the bottom consisting of hard dried skin and covered all over with long streamers of fiber. Other drums are also played by hand these are made out of hollow wood covered at one end with dried skin the other end being left open the drummer usually sits on two of these drums which have a different note one being a deep sound and the other slightly higher and a footnote end of Chapter 32. Chapter 33 of Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria West Africa This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Catherine. Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria West Africa by Elphinstone de Rao. Chapter 33 The Orphan Boy and the Magic Stone A chief of Inder named Inqita had a son named Ayonqita whose mother had died at his birth. The old chief was a hunter and used to take his son out with him when he went into the bush. He used to do most of his hunting in the long grass which grows over nearly all the Inder country and used to kill plenty of bushbuck in the dry season. In those days the people had no guns, so the chief had to shoot everything he got with his bow and arrows which required a lot of skill. When his little son was old enough he gave him a small bow and some small arrows and taught him how to shoot. The little boy was very quick at learning and by continually practicing at lizards and small birds soon became expert in the use of his little bow and could hit them almost every time he shot at them. When the boy was ten years old his father died and as he thus became the head of his father's house and was in authority over all the slaves they became very discontented and made plans to kill him so he ran away into the bush. Having nothing to eat he lived for several days on the nuts which fell from the palm trees. He was too young to kill any large animals and only had his small bow and arrows with which he killed a few squirrels, bushrats and small birds and so managed to live. Now once at night when he was sleeping in the hollow of a tree he had a dream in which his father appeared and told him where there was plenty of treasure buried in the earth but being a small boy he was frightened and did not go to the place. One day some time after the dream having walked far and being very thirsty he went to a lake and was just going to drink when he heard a hissing sound and heard a voice tell him not to drink. Not seeing anyone he was afraid and ran away without drinking. Early next morning when he was out with his bow trying to shoot some small animal he met an old woman with quite long hair. She was so ugly that he thought she must be a witch so he tried to run but she told him not to fear as she wanted to help him and assist him to rule over his late father's house. She also told him that it was she who had called out to him at the lake not to drink as there was a bad juju in the water which would have killed him. The old woman then took Ayon to a stream some little distance from the lake and bending down took out a small shining stone from the water which she gave to him at the same time telling him to go to the place which his father had advised him to visit in his dream. She then said when you get there you must dig and you will find plenty of money. You must then go and buy two strong slaves and when you have got them you must take them into the forest away from the town and get them to build your house with several rooms in it. You must then place a stone in one of the rooms and whenever you want anything all you have to do is go into the room and tell the stone what you want and your wishes will be at once gratified. Ayon did as the old woman told him and after much difficulty and danger bought the two slaves and built the house in the forest taking great care of the precious stone which he placed in an inside room. Then for some time whenever he wanted anything he used to go into the room and ask for a sufficient number of rods to buy what he wanted and they were always brought at once. This went on for many years and Ayon grew up to be a man and became very rich and bought many slaves having made friends with the arrow men who in those days used to do big trafficking slaves. After ten years had passed Ayon had quite a large town and many slaves but one night the old woman appeared to him in a dream and told him that she thought that he was sufficiently wealthy and that it was time for him to return the magic stone to the small stream from whence it came. But Ayon although he was rich wanted to rule his father's house and be a head chief for all of the in the country so he sent for all the juju men in the country and two witch men and marched with all his slaves to his father's town. Before he started he held the big palaver and told them to point out any slave who had a bad heart and who might kill him when he came to rule the country. Then the juju men consulted together and pointed out fifty of the slaves who they said were witches and would try to kill Ayon. He at once had made them prisoners and tried them by the ordeal of Isera bean to see whether they were witches or not. Fitnoit. The Isera of Calabar bean is a strong poison and was formerly much used by the natives. These beans are ground up in a stone mortar and are then swallowed by the accused person. If the man dies he is considered guilty but if he lives he is supposed to have proved his innocence of whatever the charge may have been which was brought against him. Death generally ensues about two hours after the poison is administered. If the accused takes a sufficient amount of the ground up beans to make him vomit it will probably save his life otherwise he will die in great pain. End of Fitnoit. As none of them could vomit the beans they all died and were declared to be witches. He then had them buried at once. When the remainder of his slaves saw what had happened they all came to him and begged his pardon and promised to serve him faithfully. Although the fifty men were buried they could not rest and troubled Ayon very much and after a time he became very sick himself so he sent again for the juju men who told him that he was the witch men who although they were dead and buried had power to come out at night and used to suck Ayon's blood which was the cause of his sickness. They then said we are only three juju men you must get seven more of us making the magic number of ten. When they came they dug up the bodies of the fifty witches and found they were quite fresh. Then Ayon had big fires made and burned them one after the other and gave the juju men a big present. He soon after became quite well again and took possession of his father's property and ruled over all the country. Ever since then whenever anyone is accused of being a witch they are tried by the ordeal of the poisonous acerabine and if they can vomit they do not die and are declared innocent but if they cannot do so they die in great pain. End of chapter 33