African Myths and Folk Tales

by Carter Godwin Woodson

  After a time the dog walked away, and as soon as he got out of sight he ran away as fast as he could.

  After a while the leopard said he had brought them some ants to eat, and began to untie the parcel, but to his surprise and disappointment he found nothing but dry grass. He was very angry and ashamed, and called for the dog; but the dog had gone.

  When the leopard discovered how the dog had played him a trick and escaped, he went to the deity and consulted him about what he should do.

  The deity answered, “When you beat the drums for twin dances the dog will come.”

  Some time later the leopard’s wife gave birth to twins, and the leopard’s friends and relatives came together and beat the drums for the twins, and danced; the sheep also came to the dance.

  As they danced they sang, “Who will show me the dog? Who will show me the dog?”

  Others took up the refrain and waved their tails, saying, “There is no dog here, there is no dog here.”

  Late in the evening the sheep went home and told the dog about the dance, and what a wonderful entertainment it was.

  The dog replied, “I am sorry I was not there to see it all.”

  The sheep said, “In the morning I will put you into my tail and take you.”

  The next morning the sheep put the dog into his tail, and they went to the dance. When the drums beat they all sang, “Show me the dog. Who will show me the dog?”

  Others answered, “Here there is no dog, here there is no dog.”

  In the evening, when the drums were sounding loudly, the sheep became excited and danced and sang, and waved his tail so violently that the dog slipped out and fell to the ground. He immediately ran away, and again escaped. The leopard was very angry and caught the sheep and killed him. The dog ran off to man and lived with him.

  Now, whenever a leopard meets a dog, he kills it if he can. From that time, too, there has been enmity between the leopard and the dog, and also between the sheep and the leopard because the sheep shielded the dog.

  How the Dog Became the Friend of Man

  The dog and the jackal were once brothers and lived together in the forest. One day they had had very poor luck at hunting; and, as night fell, they were hungry and shivering with cold.

  “Jackal!” called the dog.

  “What do you want?” said the jackal.

  “A man has a home nearby,” said the dog.

  “I know,” said the jackal.

  “A fire is burning in his house,” said the dog.

  “Yes.”

  “Fire is nice and warm.”

  “Yes.”

  “There may be a bone lying near the fire.”

  “Yes.”

  “Why don’t you go and get some fire and the bone?” “Not I,” said the jackal. “If you want these things go and get them yourself.”

  “I am afraid,” said the dog and laid himself down to sleep.

  As it was getting colder and colder, however, the dog’s teeth began to chatter, because the dog had less fur than the jackal and felt the cold more keenly. At last he could bear it no longer and said, “I will go and get fire; you stay, and, if I don’t come back soon, you come and call me.”

  “Yes,” said the jackal.

  Off went the dog to the village, but as he was getting near it he disturbed the man’s fowls with a noise. The man came out with his spear, then, to kill the intruder.

  The dog pleaded for mercy. “Please don’t kill me!” said he; “I am a poor beast dying of cold and starvation; let me warm myself by your fire and then I will return to the forest.”

  The Dog and the Jackal

  “Let it be so,” said the man. “Warm yourself, but when you have done so, back you must go to the forest!”

  The dog entered the hut and lay down near the warm fire. He picked up a bone the man had thrown away and began to gnaw it. After a time the man asked,

  “Have you finished?”

  The Dog gnawing a bone by the fire in the Man’s hut

  “Not yet,” said the dog as he started on another bone. After a time the man asked again, “Have you finished?”

  “Not yet,” replied the dog, looking for another bone.

  The fire was warm and the bone tasted good. The dog felt happier than he had ever been before.

  So when the man asked for the third time, “Have you finished?” the dog answered:

  “Yes, but I want you to keep me with you. I will be helpful: instead of killing your fowls like brother jackal, I will help you to catch the fowls of the jungle; I will show you all the cunning ways of the wild beasts. For my service I only ask you for a place near your hearth and the bones from your meal.”

  “Thus let it be,” said the man; and since then the dog has lived with man.

  As the night falls now you will hear a plaintive howl in the bush, “Bo-a, bo-a” (dog, dog!). That is the jackal calling for his brother.

  The Cats and Fowls

  At one time the fowls used to be lords of the wild cats, and made them their servants, who had to supply them with food. Whenever a cat caught flying ants, the fowls took almost all they caught. The ants were put in large packets, which the cats had to tie up and bring before the fowls to let them see what they had taken.

  The Cat finds the Fowl asleep

  The cats did not like this task, and once or twice they wanted to stop doing it, but were afraid because the fowls threatened to burn them with their combs. The cats believed that the comb of the fowl was flaming fire. But one day the cats’ fire had gone out, and a mother cat sent one of the younger members of the family to the fowls to beg for fire.

  When the young cat arrived, he found the rooster very drunk and fast asleep, and the others away from home. He tried to wake him, but failed to do so. He, therefore, went back and told his mother.

  The mother said, “Go back again with some dry grass and put it to his comb and bring the fire.”

  So he went back and applied the grass to the comb, but there was no fire.

  The young cat came back to his mother and told her the grass would not take fire; the mother was angry and said, “You have not really tried; come along with me and do it again.”

  When they went again, the rooster was still asleep. They crept up to him very slowly, and touched the comb with the grass, and then blew on it to see if it was on fire, but there was never a spark. They felt it to see whether or not the comb was hot, putting their hands gently on it, thought they were very much afraid of being burnt.

  To their great surprise they found that the comb was very cold, even though it was red. After feeling it they finally waked the fowl and told him they were not going to serve him any longer. They were tired of his rule.

  The fowl was angry and began to make a great noise, and tried to frighten the cats with threats, but they said, “We don’t fear you; we have tested your comb while you were asleep and know that it has no fire in it, and now we will kill you if you say anything more.”

  The fowl saw that his empty boasting had been exposed, and from that time fowls have had to escape cats because of the enmity between them.

  Boasting is not courage.

  He who boasts much cannot do much.

  Boasting at home is not valor; parade is not battle; when war comes the brave will be known.

  Be courageous if you would be true. Truth and courage go together.

  Lies, however numerous, will be caught by truth when it rises up. The voice of truth is easily known.

  The laborer is always in the sun; the landowner is always in the shade.

  To love the king is not bad, but a king who loves you is better.

  Why Chickens Live with Man

  All the birds lived in a certain part of the kingdom of Njambi, the Master of all. The pelicans, chickens, eagles, parrots and all other winged kinds all lived together, separated from other animals.

  One day, some one asked the question, “Who is the king of the birds?” Each one named himself the king of the birds. The chi
cken said, “I!” the parrot, “I!” the eagle, “I!” and so on. Every day they had this same dispute. They were not able to settle it, or to agree to choose any one of their number as king.

  They said, then, “Let us go to Njambi, and ask him.”

  They agreed; and all went to him so that he might say who was the greatest among them.

  When they all had arrived at Njambi’s town, he asked, “What is the affair on which you have come?”

  They answered, “We have come, not for a visit, but for a purpose. We have a dispute among ourselves. We wish to know, of all the birds, who is the chief. Each one says for himself that he is the greatest of all. This one, because he knows how to fly well; that one because he can speak well; and another one, because he is strong. But, of these three things, flight, speech, and strength, we ask you, which is the greatest?”

  At once all the birds cried out to Njambi, each one saying, “Choose me; I know how to speak!”

  The Speaking Contest among the Birds

  Njambi quieted them, and said, “Well, then, come here! I know that you all speak. But, show me, each one of you, your manner of speaking.”

  The eagle, then, stood up to be examined.

  Njambi asked him, “How do you speak? What is your manner of talking?”

  The eagle began to scream, “So-o-we! so-o-we! so-o-we!”

  Njambi said, “Good! Now call me your wife!”

  The wife of the eagle came, and Njambi said to her, “You are the wife of the eagle; how do you talk?”

  The wife replied, “I say, ‘So-o-we! so-o-we! so-o-we!’”

  Njambi said to the eagle, “Indeed! you and your wife speak the same kind of language.”

  The eagle answered, “Yes; my wife and I speak alike.”

  They were told to stand aside.

  Then Njambi said, “Bring me here the parrot.” And he asked, “Parrot, how do you talk? What is your way of speaking?”

  The parrot squawked, “I say, ‘Ko-do-ko!’”

  Njambi then said, “Well, call me your wife!”

  She came; and he asked her, “How do you talk? Talk now!”

  The wife said, “I say, ‘Ko-do-ko!’”

  Njambi asked the parrot, “So! your wife says, ‘Ko-do-ko!’”

  The parrot answered, “Yes; my wife and I both say, ‘Ko-do-ko!’”

  Njambi then said, “Call me here the plantain-eater.”

  He came, and was asked, “And how do you talk?”

  He shouted, “I say, ‘Mbru-kâ-kâ! mbru-kâ-kâ! mbru!’”

  Njambi told him to call his wife. She came, and, when asked, spoke in the same way as her husband. Njambi sent them away, saying, “Good! you and your wife say the same thing. Good!”

  All the birds, then, in succession, were summoned; and they all, husband and wife, had the same manner of speaking, except one who had not been called.

  Njambi finally said, “Call the chicken here!”

  The rooster stood up, and strutted forward.

  Njambi asked him, “What is your speech? Show me your mode of talking!”

  The rooster threw up his head, stretched his throat, and crowed, “Kâ-kâ-re-kââ.”

  Njambi said, “Good! Bring your wife hither.”

  The hen came; and, of her, Njambi asked, “And, what do you say?”

  She replied, “My husband told me that I might talk only if I bore children. So when I lay an egg, I say, ‘Kwa-ka! kwa-ka!’”

  Njambi exclaimed, “So! you don’t say, ‘Kâ-kâ-re-kââ, ’ as your husband does?”

  She replied, “No, I do not talk as he does.”

  Then Njambi said to the rooster, “Why do you not allow your wife to say, ‘Kâ-kâ-re-kââ?’”

  The rooster replied, “I am a chicken, I respect myself. I jeer at all these other birds. They and their wives speak in the same way. A visitor, if he comes to their towns, is not able to know, when one of them speaks, which is husband and which is wife, because they both speak alike. But the wife of a rooster is unable to speak as he does. I do not allow it. A husband should be at the head; and in his wife it is not becoming for her to be equal with him or to talk as well as he does.”

  Njambi listened to this long speech; and then asked, “Have you finished?”

  The chicken answered, “Yes.”

  Njambi summoned all the birds to stand together in one place near him, and he said, “The affair which you brought to me, I settle it thus: The chicken is your head, because you others all speak, husband and wife, each alike. But, he speaks for himself in his own way, and his wife in her way to show that a husband is the head of his home. Therefore, as he knows how to be head of his family, it is settled that the chicken is the head also of your tribe.”

  But Njambi went on to say, “Though this is true, you, chicken, don’t you go back again into the forest, to your kingship of the birds. For the other birds will be jealous of you. You are not strong, you cannot fight them all. Lest they kill you, stay with me in my town.”

  Why the Hawk Catches Chickens

  In the olden days there was a very fine young hen that lived with her parents in the forest. One day a hawk was flying around, about eleven o’clock in the morning, as was his custom. He made large circles in the air almost without moving his wings. His keen eyes were wide open. They took 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 fly.

  This hawk saw the pretty hen picking up grains of corn near her father’s home. He thereupon closed his wings slightly, and in a second of time was near the ground. He then spread his wings out to check his flight. He alighted close to the hen on a high rock, as a hawk does not like to walk on the ground if he can hop along on something else.

  He then greeted the young hen in his most charming manner and offered to marry her. She agreed. The hawk, then, spoke to the parents, and paid mostly in corn the dowry which they asked. The next day the hawk took the young hen off to his home.

  Soon thereafter a young rooster that lived near the hen’s former home found out where she was living. He had been in love with her for some months, ever since his spurs had grown. He thought he would try to make her return to her own home. He, therefore, went at dawn to the hawk’s home, flapped his wings once or twice, and crowed in his best voice to the young hen. When she heard the sweet voice of the rooster she could not resist his invitation. She went out to him, and they walked off together to her parents’ house. The young rooster went strutting in front, stopping to crow from place to place.

  The Hawk on a high rock

  The hawk, although flying high up in the sky, far out of sight of the human eye, saw what had happened, and was very angry. He made up his mind at once that he would obtain justice from the king. He flew off to the king of birds and told him the whole story, and asked for justice.

  The king sent for the parents of the hen, and told them that, according to native custom, they must pay back the dowry they had received from the hawk when he married their daughter; but the hen’s parents said that they were so poor that they were not able to pay it.

  The Rooster and Hen

  The king, then, told the hawk that whenever and wherever he found any of the rooster’s children he could kill and eat any of them as payment of his dowry; and, if the rooster made any complaint, the king would not listen to it.

  From that time until now, whenever a hawk sees a chicken he swoops down and carries it off in part-payment of his dowry which should have been returned long ago.

  African Words of Wisdom

  He who marries a beauty marries trouble.

  Quick loving a woman means quick not loving a woman. (“Marry in haste and repent at leisure.”)

  When a person hates you, he will beat your animals.

  The hawk having caught my chicken will not stay because it knows it has done (wrong).

  When the hawk hovers over the yard the owner of the fowls feel uneasy.

  No one would ex
pose fowls on the top of a rock in the sight of a hawk.

  Hawks go away for the nesting season and fools think they have gone forever.

  A bird walking nevertheless has wings.

  The Fox and the Goat

  The fox and the goat went to a big meeting, and they were put together in one house. The fox and the goat got into a quarrel. The goat, then, told the fox that he intended to get him into a trouble out of which he would never be able to escape.

  The Goat meets the Leopard.

  The fox said, “All right; you put trouble on me, and I will return the same to you.”

  The goat went for a walk, and he saw a leopard, and being frightened, he asked, “Auntie, what are you doing here?”

  “My little one is sick,” said the old leopard.

  The goat then said, “The fox has medicine that will make your little one well.”

  The leopard said, “All right, you go and call him.”

  So the goat went to the fox and said, “They call you.”

  “Who calls me?” replied the fox.

  “I do not know,” said the goat; “I think it is your friend. You take this path and you will meet him.”

  The fox went down the path, and at length came upon the leopard. The fox became frightened and inquired, “Did you call me?”