Reading Notes: West African Folktales, Part B

How the Tortoise Got Its Shell

I like this story in that it provides an explanation for something that we see today! The story starts out with a king throwing a huge festival, and he needs someone to go fetch some wine for the party. He sends his friend, tortoise, to go get wine from the palm fields of a chicken. First, the tortoise has to fight the chicken in order to access the palm trees and the wine, and he ultimately wins. However, he drinks a lot of the wine before beginning his journey back home. This ends up being a fatal mistake! By the time he gets back to where the king is throwing the festival, the gates are closed and they assume that everyone is already inside. At this point, the tortoise gets trapped outside of the gates for nearly two months, and he dies. Once the gates are opened back up, they discover him underneath a mound of dirt. Through magical medicine, they are able to revive him, but unfortunately, the ceramic pot had molded to his back. This is why tortoises have their shells!

The general idea of this story is one that would work well with other means of storytelling, that being the explaining a current phenomenon through a story of mythology. In this story, the shell of a tortoise is explained. Here are some other phenomena that would be interesting to explain: the stripes of a zebra, the flight of a bird, the roar of a lion, the tail of a monkey, the mane of a horse, and the gills of a fish.


Why Tigers Never Attack Men Unless They Are Provoked

This was a surprisingly emotional story. A man and tiger first become unlikely friends. They spend time at the other's house and learn to trust each other. However, one day, the tiger is shot by some people. He does not die, but eventually wants to find out if his friend had any knowledge of the shooting. He pretends to be dead to test the man, and soon enough, the man comes along and finds the tiger and the cub. He stays with them all night to protect the cub, at which point the tiger promises to never harm a man unless he is provoked. I loved the emotional imagery of this man holding true to the friendship and offering his time and energy in order to protect the cub of the tiger. I would have liked if the story were continued a little bit longer. Perhaps the plot would have gained some excitement if the man and the tiger then teamed up against the people that originally shot the tiger!

Bibliography:
"West African Folktales: How the Tortoise Got Its Shell" by Barker and Sinclair; online link
"West African Folktales: Why Tigers Never Attack Men Unless They Are Provoked" by Barker and Sinclair; online link

Image Information: A tortoise walking through the grass.
Image Link: Wikimedia