Folk Stories From Southern Nigeria West Africa E-Book

Elphinstone Dayrell

• Herausgeber: Youcanprint
• Kategorie: Für Kinder und Jugendliche
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Beschreibung

This is one of the best collections of African folklore ever published. The tales, replete with African wisdom stories and animal fables is one of the best. I. The Tortise with a Pretty Daughter II. How a Hunter obtained Money from his Friends the Leopard, Goat, Bush Cat, and Cock, and how he got out of repaying them III. The Woman with Two Skins IV. The King's Magic Drum V. Ituen and the King's Wife VI. Of the Pretty Stranger who Killed the King VII. Why the Bat flies by Night VIII. The Disobedient Daughter who Married a Skull IX. The King who Married the Cock's Daughter X. The Woman, the Ape, and the Child XI. The Fish and the Leopard's Wife; or, Why the Fish lives in the Water XII. Why the Bat is Ashamed to be seen in the Daytime XIII. Why the Worms Live Underneath the Ground XIV. The Elephant and the Tortoise; or, Why the Worms are Blind and why the Elephant has Small Eyes XV. Why a Hawk kills Chickens XVI. Why the Sun and the Moon live in the Sky XVII. Why the Flies Bother the Cows XVIII. Why the Cat kills Rats XIX. The Story of the Lightning and the Thunder XX. Why the Bush Cow and the Elephant are bad Friends XXI. The Cock who caused a Fight between two Towns XXII. The Affair of the Hippopotamus and the Tortoise; or, Why the Hippopotamus lives in the Water XXIII. Why Dead People are Buried XXIV. Of the Fat Woman who Melted Away XXV. Concerning the Leopard, the Squirrel, and the Tortoise XXVI. Why the Moon Waxes and Wanes XXVII. The Story of the Leopard, the Tortoise, and the Bush Rat XXVIII. The King and the Ju Ju Tree XXIX. How the Tortoise overcame the Elephant and the Hippopotamus XXX. Of the Pretty Girl and the Seven Jealous Women XXXI. How the Cannibals drove the People from Insofan Mountain to the Cross River (Ikom) XXXII. The Lucky Fisherman XXXIII. The Orphan Boy and the Magic Stone XXXIV. The Slave Girl who tried to Kill her Mistress XXXV. The King and the 'Nsiat Bird XXXVI. Concerning the Fate of Essido and his Evil Companions XXXVII. Concerning the Hawk and the Owl XXXVIII. The Story of the Drummer and the Alligators XXXIX. The 'Nsasak Bird and the Odudu Bird XL. The Election of the King Bird (the black and-white Fishing Eagle)

Leseprobe

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

I. THE TORTOISE WITH A PRETTY DAUGHTER

II. HOW A HUNTER OBTAINED MONEY FROM HIS FRIENDS THE LEOPARD, GOAT, BUSH CAT, AND COCK, AND HOW HE GOT OUT OF REPAYING THEM

III. THE WOMAN WITH TWO SKINS

IV. THE KING'S MAGIC DRUM

V. ITUEN AND THE KING'S WIFE

VI. OF THE PRETTY STRANGER WHO KILLED THE KING

VII. WHY THE BAT FLIES BY NIGHT

VIII. THE DISOBEDIENT DAUGHTER WHO MARRIED A SKULL

IX. THE KING WHO MARRIED THE COCK'S DAUGHTER

X. THE WOMAN, THE APE, AND THE CHILD

XI. THE FISH AND THE LEOPARD'S WIFE; OR, WHY THE FISH LIVES IN THE WATER

XII. WHY THE BAT IS ASHAMED TO BE SEEN IN THE DAYTIME

XIII. WHY THE WORMS LIVE UNDERNEATH THE GROUND

XIV. THE ELEPHANT AND THE TORTOISE; OR, WHY THE WORMS ARE BLIND AND WHY THE ELEPHANT HAS SMALL EYES

XV. WHY A HAWK KILLS CHICKENS

XVI. WHY THE SUN AND THE MOON LIVE IN THE SKY

XVII. WHY THE FLIES BOTHER THE COWS

XVIII. WHY THE CAT KILLS RATS

XIX. THE STORY OF THE LIGHTNING AND THE THUNDER

XX. WHY THE BUSH COW AND THE ELEPHANT ARE BAD FRIENDS

XXI. THE COCK WHO CAUSED A FIGHT BETWEEN TWO TOWNS

XXII. THE AFFAIR OF THE HIPPOPOTAMUS AND THE TORTOISE; OR, WHY THE HIPPOPOTAMUS LIVES IN THE WATER

XXIII. WHY DEAD PEOPLE ARE BURIED

XXIV. OF THE FAT WOMAN WHO MELTED AWAY

XXV. CONCERNING THE LEOPARD, THE SQUIRREL, AND THE TORTOISE

XXVI. WHY THE MOON WAXES AND WANES

XXVII. THE STORY OF THE LEOPARD, THE TORTOISE, AND THE BUSH RAT

XXVIII. THE KING AND THE JU JU TREE

XXIX. HOW THE TORTOISE OVERCAME THE ELEPHANT AND THE HIPPOPOTAMUS

XXX. OF THE PRETTY GIRL AND THE SEVEN JEALOUS WOMEN

XXXI. HOW THE CANNIBALS DROVE THE PEOPLE FROM INSOFAN MOUNTAIN TO THE CROSS RIVER (IKOM)

XXXII. THE LUCKY FISHERMAN

XXXIII. THE ORPHAN BOY AND THE MAGIC STONE

XXXIV. THE SLAVE GIRL WHO TRIED TO KILL HER MISTRESS

XXXV. THE KING AND THE 'NSIAT BIRD

XXXVI. CONCERNING THE FATE OF ESSIDO AND HIS EVIL COMPANIONS

XXXVII. CONCERNING THE HAWK AND THE OWL

XXXVIII. THE STORY OF THE DRUMMER AND THE       ALLIGATORS

XXXIX. THE 'NSASAK BIRD AND THE ODUDU BIRD

XL. THE ELECTION OF THE KING BIRD (THE BLACK AND-WHITE FISHING EAGLE)

Folk Stories From Southern Nigeria

West Africa

By

Elphinstone Dayrell

F.R.G.S., F.R.A.I.

DISTRICT COMMISSIONER, SOUTHERN NIGERIA

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY

ANDREW LANG

PUBLISHED BY LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO.

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN 1910

© David De Angelis 2017 [all rights reserved].

INTRODUCTION

MANY years ago a book on the Folk-Tales of the Eskimo was published, and the editor of The Academy (Dr. Appleton) told one of his minions to send it to me for revision. By mischance it was sent to an eminent expert in Political Economy, who, never suspecting any error, took the book for the text of an interesting essay on the economics of "the blameless Hyperboreans."

Mr. Dayrell's "Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria" appeal to the anthropologist within me, no less than to the lover of what children and older people call "Fairy Tales." The stories are full of mentions of strange institutions, as well as of rare adventures. I may be permitted to offer some running notes and comments on this mass of African curiosities from the crowded lumber-room of the native mind.

I. The Tortoise with a Pretty Daughter.--The story, like the tales of the dark native tribes of Australia, rises from that state of fancy by which man draws (at least for purposes of fiction) no line between himself and the lower animals. Why should not the fair heroine, Adet, daughter of the tortoise, be the daughter of human parents? The tale would be none the less interesting, and a good deal more credible to the mature intelligence. But the ancient fashion of animal parentage is presented. It may have originated, like the stories of the Australians, at a time when men were totemists, when every person had a bestial or vegetable "family-name," and when, to account for these hereditary names, stories of descent from a supernatural, bestial, primeval race were invented. In the fables of the world, speaking animals, human in all but outward aspect, are the characters. The fashion is universal among savages; it descends to the Buddha's , or parables, to Æsop and La Fontaine. There could be no such fashion if fables had originated among civilised human beings.