4 1 4 The Provenience of certain Negro Folk- Tales.
After some days the cotia became very thirsty. . . . Just then an old man \a black man . . . (mine the italics)] came along with a jar on his head. " I will see if I can get some water from that jar," thought the cotia. He ran ahead of the man, and lay down in the path. Presently the man came up. " Hullo ! " said he, " here is a dead cotia ! " and he shoved the animal to one side with his foot, and went on. As soon as he was out of sight, the cotia jumped up, and ran on through the woods until he was in front of the man again ; then he lay down in the path, as before. " Hullo ! " said the man coming up, " here's another dead cotia ! " and he kicked the animal out of his path. Again the cotia ran ahead of the man, and lay down in the path. " Hullo ! " said the man, " this makes three dead cotias that I have seen ; now if I see another one I will go back and get them all." Once more the cotia repeated his trick. " Hullo ! " said the man, " here's another dead cotia ! Now I will go back and get the others, and carry all four home." With that, he put down his jar, and went to look for the other dead cotias. As soon as he was gone, the cotia jumped up and thrust his head into the jar.^
There is an analogous Soudanese tale of a man carrying a basket of fowls to market who is fooled by a fox.^ This tale was collected in a country where there was a lively traffic in slaves. That the tale may have travelled here from the Portuguese West Coast appears not at all impro- bable. The cycle of the Master Thief is known on the West Coast. Lederbogen recorded it among the Dvala of the Cameroons.^ In the Dvala tale, however, although the cattle stealing incident is given the playing dead pattern is entirely lost. Elsie Clews Parsons.
1 Smith, H. n., Brazil, p. 552. New York, 1879. Also p. 555. -Klunziger, C. B., Upper Egypt, p. 401. New York, 1878. ^Jotir. African Soc. xiii, (Oct., 1904), p. 64.
