Reading Notes: Stories from Nigeria Part A

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(Hawk: Source)
All of these stories have life lessons in the end, and here i categorized them into ones about marriage, animals, and the Earth.
“Never marry a stranger, no matter how pretty she may be”
  • This is self explanatory, you should know the people you marry. I agree with this one.
“When the rejoicing was over, the father reported what had happened to the head chief of the town. The chief then passed a law that parents should never allow their daughters to marry strangers who came from a far country. Then the father told his daughter to marry a friend of his, and she willingly consented, and lived with him for many years, and had many children.”
  • This is the second story that talks about the dangers of marrying strangers. Did not know this was a common problem
“The king grieved so much at having been compelled to send his favourite wife Adiaunen away that he died the following year. And when the people saw that their king had died of a broken heart, they passed a law that for the future no one should marry any bird or animal.”
  • Again, the message of this story is to not marry random people.


These stories explain why animals are the way they are

“All day long the people tried to catch him, so he had to change his habits, and only came out to feed when it was dark, and that is why you never see a bat in the daytime.”
  • This story explains why bats fly at night, and shows that one tricked a rat into boiling himself.
“From that time to the present all apes and monkeys have been frightened of human beings; and even of little children. The Egbos also passed a law that a chief should not allow one of his men slaves to marry a woman slave of another house, as it would probably lead to fighting.”
  • This one also is about marriage and why animals are the way they are.
“he king, therefore, made an order that for the future the fish should live in the water, and that if he ever came on the land he should die; he also said that all men and animals should kill and eat the fish whenever they could catch him, as a punishment for his behaviour with his friend's wife.”
  • This explains why fish live in the water.
“King Eyo 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 to the surface after the rain they hide themselves under the ground whenever anything approaches, as they fear all people.”
“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.”
“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.”
“From that time until now, whenever, a hawk sees a chicken he swoops down and carries it off in part-payment of his dowry.”

This one is about the sky

“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.”
One of the first ones that explains something besides animals or marriage, but why the moon and sun stay in the sky.


Bibliography: Stories from Nigeria, source

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