Where Animals Talk; West African Folk Lore Tales/Part 2/Tale 15
The Suitors of Njambo's Daughter
Place
In Njambo's Town
Persons
| Njambo and His Daughter Ndenga |
Ko (Forest Rat) |
| Nyati (Ox) | |
| Etoli (House Rat) | Kudu (Tortoise) |
| Njâ (Leopard) | Njâku (Elephant) |
NOTE
Africans cut down trees, not at the base, but some 12 or 20 feet up where the diameter is less. They sit in the circle of a rope enclosing the tree and their own body, the rope resting against their backbone at the loins, and their feet braced against the tree trunk.
The reason why Tortoise lives in brooks is his fear of Leopard.
All the Beasts were living long ago in one place, separate from the towns of Mankind; but they had friendship for and married with each other.
Among the towns of Mankind was living a man named Njambo. There was born to him a female child named Ndenga. In the town, at one end of it, there was a very large tree.
Njambo said of his daughter, "This child shall be married only with Beasts." So when the Beasts heard of that one of them, House-Rat, said, "I'm going to marry that woman!" So he went to the father to arrange what things he should pay on the dowry. Njambo said to him, "I do not want goods. But, if any one shall be able to hew down this tree, he shall marry my child."
At once. Rat took the axe that Njambo handed him, and began to hack at the Tree. He tried and tried, but was not able to make the axe enter at all. At last, he wearied of trying and stopped. He said to himself, "If I go to Njambo, and tell him I am unable to do the task, he will kill me." So, he left the axe, at the foot of the tree, and fled to his town.
Njambo waited a while, but seeing no signs of Rat's coming to him to report, himself came to the Tree, and found only the axe, but saw no person. He took up the axe, and went with it back to his house.
Off in the Forest, all-Beasts saw Rat returning, and were surprised that he came alone. They asked him, "Where is the woman?" Rat answered, "I wearied of trying to get the woman, by reason of the greatness of the task of cutting down a tree. So, I gave up the work, and fled, and have come home."
Then all the Beasts derided him, saying, "You like to live in another person's house, and scramble around, and nibble at other people's food, but you are not able to marry a wife!"
Then Forest-Rat said, "I will marry that woman!" So he went to Njambo for the marriage, and came to the town. Njambo said to him, "I do not object to anybody for the marriage, but, I will only test you by that Tree off yonder. If you are willing to hew the Tree, you may marry this woman!"
This Forest-Rat replied, "Yes! I shall wait here today; and will cut down the Tree early tomorrow morning." That day darkened. And Njambo's people cooked food for Forest-Rat as their guest. They all ate; and then they went to lie down to sleep.
Then after awhile, the light of another day began to break.
They arose. And they gave Forest-Rat an axe. He took it, and went to the foot of the Tree. He fastened two cords, with which to climb up to where the Tree was at half its thickness. There he tried to cut the Tree. But he was unable to cut away even the smallest chip. At last he exclaimed, "Ah! brother Etoli is justified! I am not able to cut this tree, because of its hardness."
So, he came down the Tree, and left the axe at the foot, saying, "If I go back to the house of this Man, he will kill me. No! I am fleeing."
When he arrived at his town, the other people asked him, "Where's the woman?" He answered, "The woman is a thing easy to marry, but the Tree was a hard thing to cut."
After waiting awhile for the Forest-Rat, Njambo came to the foot of the Tree; and, seeing the axe lying, took it, and went with it to his House.
Then Leopard tried for the woman; and failed in the same way as the two who preceded him.
Next, Elephant tried, and failed in the same way.
So did Ox in the same way.
And all the other Beasts, one after another, in the same way, wearied of the task for obtaining this woman.
But, there was left still one Beast, Tortoise, that had not made the attempt at the marriage. He stood up, and said, "I will go; and I shall marry that woman at Njambo's town!" Ox heard Tortoise say that; and struck him, saying, "Why! even more so we; and the less so you, to attempt to obtain her!" But Elephant said to Ox, "Let Kudu alone! Let us see him marry the woman!"
So, Tortoise made his journey to Njambo's town, and came there late in the afternoon. He said to Njambo, "I have come to marry your child." Njambo replied, "Well! let it be so!"
Tortoise said to Njambo, "First, call your daughter, to see if she shall like me." When she entered the room, Tortoise asked her, "Do you love me?" She answered, "Yes! I love you with all my heart." This made Tortoise glad; for the woman was very beautiful to look upon. Then Njambo told him, "Kudu, I want no goods for her; only the cutting of the Tree." Tortoise assented, "Yes! I will try."
So they all went to sleep that night.
And then the next day broke.
An hour after sunrise, Njambo called Tortoise, and, showing him the axe, said, "This is the axe for the tree." Tortoise took the axe, and went to the foot of the Tree. He looked at its sides closely, and saw there was a difference in them. He also looked very steadily at the top of the tree. Then he took rattan ropes, and mounted to the middle of the thickness of the Tree. He chose also the side opposite that at which the others had cut. He found it soft when he began to cut; and, at once the chips began to fall to the ground. He had begun the chopping early, and by the middle of the morning, the Tree began to fall. And it fell to the ground with a great crash, nji-i!
Njambo heard the fall of the tree, and he came to see it. And he said to Tortoise, "You have done well, because you have cut down the Tree. But, finish the job by cutting off the top end with its branches. That will leave the trunk clear." Tortoise asked Njambo, "What will you do with the log?" Njambo answered him, "To make a canoe."
So, Tortoise cut off also the end of the Tree with its branches.
Then Njambo told him, "Come on, into the town, to take your wife; because you have cut down the tree; that is the price I asked." The two came to the house in the town; and Njambo brought his daughter to Tortoise, saying, "This is your wife. And I give with the woman these other things." Those things were only different kinds of food.
Tortoise made his journey with his wife towards his town. He journeyed, going, going on, until he had reached half of the way. Then he said to his wife, "What shall I do? For, Njâ is ahead in the way?" The wife replied, "No! go on! I think Njâ will do nothing to us."
Shortly afterward, they met with Leopard in the path. Leopard said to Tortoise, "Ah! Chum! this wife is not proper for you to marry, only with me, Njâ." Tortoise said "No!" But Leopard insisted, "No! I take this one! I will give you another wife in her place." So, he snatched the woman from Tortoise, and ran away with her to his town.
Tortoise went on his way, as he went, crying, till he came to his own village. There Elephant asked him, "Why do you cry as you go? Has Njambo struck you about the affair of the marriage? For, we had heard the news that you had cut down the tree, and had taken the woman. What then is the reason?"
Tortoise answered, "Yes! I married the woman, because I had cut down the Tree. But Njâ took the woman away."
Then Elephant called all the Beasts together to take counsel. He said to them, "What shall we do, because Njâ has taken away the wife of Kudu?" They all replied, "We are all afraid of Njâ. None of us can dare to say anything to him. For, he kills us people. So, our decision is: Let Kudu give up his wife to Njâ."
But Tortoise said, "I am unable to leave her. If it be death, I will die because of my wife."
So, they all dispersed from the house of Tortoise, and went to their own houses.
At that time. Leopard had eight wives.
Tortoise removed from the Town-of-all-the-Beasts, and built a village for himself, about one-and-a-half miles away. He built on the public highway, where passed by all people. He put a very large stone in front of his door-yard, large enough for one to sit down on it. He made also a bench near the stone. And he put a plate with water in it on the ground by the stone. Then he placed a certain magic-medicine on the seat of the bench. And he uttered a Charm: "Let any one else who sits on this seat go free from it. But, if it be Njâ, let him not go from it."
He finished all these things late in the afternoon. The day darkened, and he went to his house, and slept his sleep. Soon the day broke.
That day, Elephant said, "I'm going to the forest, and my wives with me." As he came on his way, he passed by the street of Tortoise's House. He observed the stone and the bench and the water. He exclaimed, "Ah! I'll sharpen my machete here!" So, he sat down on the bench, and sharpened his machete. Then, went on his way into the forest with his wives.
After a while. Ox came on his journey, and saw the stone and water. He also sat down on the bench, and sharpened his machete. And then went on his way into the forest with his wives.
Soon afterward, Leopard journeyed along with all his eight, and the new one, the ninth, the wife of Tortoise. He came to the house of Tortoise. Looking into the door-yard, he exclaimed, "Ah! good! and fine! that Kudu has prepared these things."
Tortoise was in the house; he saw Leopard coming, and he rejoiced, "Very good! indeed! for the coming of this person." Leopard sat down on the bench, and sharpened his machete on the stone with the water of the plate. His women standing by, waited for him to finish the sharpening. When he had finished, he said, "I will get up, and start the journey again." But, he stuck fast to the bench. He exlcaimed, "My women! I am unable to rise! What shall I do?"
The "medicine" on the bench began to sting him like bees. And he cried out, "Ah! I'm dead! For, I am unable to rise!"
Tortoise, coming out into the yard, said to Leopard, "I am the one who caused you this. You will not move thence until you give me back my wife. If you do not, you will remain there a whole month, a whole year."
At this. Leopard felt very much grieved; and he inquired of his women, "The wife of Kudu is here in this company?" The woman answered, "Yes! I'm here." Then Leopard said, "Please, Kudu, take your wife, and remove me from this bench. It hurts me." So, Tortoise took his wife. And he added, "I want also my food you took from us in the path."
Leopard sent a child back to his town in haste to cut plantains. The child went; and the plantains were brought. Tortoise took them, and said, "Njâ! you are done, for your part. I have taken all I owned. But, if I release you, you will kill me, and take again my wife. You shall be released only after I have fled."
So, Tortoise fled with his wife and all his goods into a stream of water. When safely there, he shouted, "Let Njâ remove from that seat!"
At once. Leopard stood up, and was free. And he went back to his town, giving up his intended journey into the forest.