Reading Diary Week 6: Nigerian Folk Stories Continued

This is part B of the Nigerian Folk Stories unit by Elphinstone Dayrell.

The Story of the Lightening and the Thunder: Thunder and lightening lived on earth, and were mother and son. Lightening had a temper, and when he was angry he'd destroy everything in his path. Thunder would yell very loudly when her son threw his fits and would scare people in the town. The king made them move out farther, but they still caused destruction, so they were forced to go live in the sky.

The Bush Cow and the Elephant: The bush cow and the elephant weren't very good friends at all, and wanted the chief to settle all of their arguments once and for all. He decided that they would just need to fight, but caused problems fighting in public, so animals had to fight in the open bush after that.

The Cock who caused a fight between Two Towns: Ekpo and Etim were brothers and were very rich. Ekpo had a great chicken who caused a lot of issues between the two brothers. They fought about him, and ended up killing many men in the process. Since it caused a lot of issues, Ekpo was forced to kill his chicken so they never fought over him again.

The Affair of the Hippopotamus and Tortoise: Isantim was the biggest king in all the land and had seven wives. The hippos would only go down to the water in order to bathe, but didn't live in it like they do now. The hippo used to hold feasts, and told a tortoise if he guessed the king's name at the next meal, that he and his wives would be ashamed and go live in the water for eternity. The tortoise guessed his name, and that's why hippos now live in the water.

 

(Hippo)

Why Dead People are Buried: The creator decided that dead bodies would be put in a compound, and had wood and ashes over them, and then in 24 hours they would become alive again. The creator sent a messenger dog to tell the world his new plan, but the dog got distracted by a bone in an old woman's yard, so he didn't make it back in time to put the wood and ashes over the bodies. As punishment, the creator decided that all bodies would be buried underground, and not be able to come back to life again.

Of the Fat Woman who Melted Away: A fat woman was made of oil who many men wanted to marry. Her mother finally agreed to let a man from a far away land marry her and take her home with him. His other wife got very jealous, and put the woman in the sun and she ended up melting. The husband was furious and gave her back to her parents who sold her as a slave.

Why the Moon Waxes and Wanes: A starving woman used to cut parts of the moon off so that she could eat, but people found out and started wanting to get some of the moon too. The moon now hides, and gets thinner and fatter each month. 

How the Tortoise overcame the Elephant and the Hippopotamus: An elephant and hippo were very good friends. They were eating together and a tortoise showed up and agreed that he would give the elephant 10,000 rods if he could pull the tortoise out of the water. The tortoise tricked him a few times, and that's why tortoises live on the land and in water.

The King and the 'Nsiat Bird: The king wanted to marry the 'Nsiat Bird's daughter. The king agreed to marrying her, even though she was going to have twins, which wasn't allowed in their kingdom. The king loved his children, but it was custom for them to be killed since they were twins. The 'Nsiat Bird, not liking the idea of his daughter's children being killed, decided to take his daughter and her children and live in the trees.

Concerning the Hawk and the Owl: Rulers were supposed to put on huge feasts that they had to invite all species to. He used a hawk as a messenger, since they were the fastest birds. Once he got too old, the king told him to find his replacement and he chose an owl. The king made him take the owlet back to his parents and find another replacement, and the hawk chose a chicken, which the king also didn't want. The hawk's friend just used him as a way to eat chicken, which didn't make anything better.

The 'Nsasak Bird and the Odudu Bird: Both of the birds were friends, and decided that they were going to try to become chiefs. The king had them build houses and would decide which one was chief after inspecting them. The 'Nasak Bird ended up winning because of his cunningness.

The Election of the King Bird: Essiya wanted to find a new king of the birds and didn't take the decision lightly. In the end, he chose Ituen, the fishing eagle as the king.