Term
| "The Python's Shining Stone" -- Ekoi -- Okun Asere |
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Definition
| Nigeria: Sheep and antelope have farms and generously give food to everyone else. Antelope trades farm for shiny stone. Sheep has to give stone for food to Effion Obassi and he makes it the moon. He hangs it so it only shines from one side--that's why it's dark sometimes. |
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Term
| "Mohammed with the Magic Finger" -- Arabian |
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Definition
| Libya: A mother brings her family to live "where there is no death." The son/uncle/youth grows up, and moves away. However, although no one "dies" in this town, when one gets sick, they kill them--as what happened to the mother. So the daughter/sister leaves the family in fright and finds a demon and marries him. The brother of the family comes back and sees what has happened. He leaves the town and goes to find his sister. The sister's little son, Mohammed, can tell that his uncle is coming because of his magic finger. The sister wants to kill her brother, so she tries to get her demon-husband to do it, but Mohammed always tells his uncle of her plan, and so he is unharmed. Eventually, the mother/sister gets herself and her husband killed with her murderous attempts. Mohammed (mirroring the growing wisdom of the uncle) and the uncle go on and sell the sheep and cattle. They part, with Mohammed saying "Don't take a job from the red-haired man." The uncle does so anyway, going against the interdiction, and gets a job from the red-haired man, who makes him complete impossible tasks under a contract he can't break for if he does, he owes the red-haired man a strip of flesh. Eventually Mohammed comes back, and switches places with the uncle. While Mohammed is under the employment of the red-haired man, he kills the red-haired man's mother, kills all of his sons but one, and then drives away all of his cattle (stealing it) until the red-haired man breaks the working contract and gives Mohammed a strip of flesh. Then with the strip of flesh, Mohammed and the uncle trade up the flesh until they get a wife and a cow for the Uncle. Then they part, never to see each other again, and the uncle is now a man. |
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Term
| "Sikhuluma, the Boy Who Did Not Speak" -- Xhosa |
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Definition
Southeastern Africa:
Part one: Two brothers are born, one unable to speak (Sikhuluma) and other normal (Sithalotshalwana). One day, the boys and hunters follow birds deeper and deeper into a forest (the separation), killing the birds and eating them as they go. When the group comes upon a homestead, Sikhuluma--speaking for the first time--tells them not to sleep there. Sithalotshalwana tells them it'll be fine, and the group sides with Sithalotshalwana. This pattern continues further until it turns out that they all die except for Sikhuluma. Sikhuluma returns home, following his dog. He retells the sad story to the village and is pardoned and actually thanked for letting everyone know what happened to the group of boys.
Part two: Sikhuluma wants to be circumcised and is. But after he does, he says he won't go until he can wear the skin of a monster. Sikhuluma's sister decides she will complete the task. She goes to the river and coaxes out the water monster with a loaf of bread. The water monster chases her into a village, where the monster is shot and killed. The skin is made into a coat for Sikhuluma (inside-out, for the outside was very scary) and he came out of his circumcision lodge.
Part Three: This is a bride quest. Sikhuluma goes to seek a daughter of Mangangedolo for a wife--which is dangerous because all of the previous suitors were killed. A mouse (symbolizing Sikhuluma's growing wisdom) gives Sikhuluma his skin as he starts his travels and gives advice to Sikhuluma of how to get a wife. He also gives him an interdiction--to not step on the earth, always the grassy areas. With the advice of the mouse, Sikhuluma survives all the tasks--including the one where Sikhuluma turned his coat so the fur was on the outside and therefore protected Sikhuluma as he slept by malling the dog that came to kill him. And eventually, Mangangedolo gives up his daughter to be his wife. But the story doesn't end there--Sikhuluma accidentily stepped on earth not covered by grass. Mangangedolo uses the footprint to cast a spell to kill Sikhuluma, which happens. His wife, upset, uses magic to reverse her father's spell, which brings Sikhuluma back to life after he comes out of an eland. The wife then uses her magic to build a magnificent house for her and Sikhuluma. Sikhuluma then officially became kind of his people. And they all lived in happiness |
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Term
| "The King's Telve Sons and One Daughter" -- |
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Definition
| King has twelve sons, but his wife his about to give birth to another child. He is worried, because the rules of the kingdom say that the last born will inherit the thrown, but if the last born is a woman (who is not allowed to be queen), all will be killed. So when it is a daughter, the sons flee into the forest for many years. Later, the daughter, discovering that this had happened, goes into the forest to retrieve the sons. When she gets there, she meets a man with a gun who says he'll shoot her. She explains she is looking for her brothers, and the man turns out to be one of them. Then she through flowers at them for some reason, and her brothers turned into doves and flew away. In mourning, a man comes and takes her away as a bride... and he turns out to be a king himself. But a fairy-godmother-like person comes and tells the girl that her brothers are still alive, but will remain the way they are until she completes impossible tasks--no talking for three years and sewing them clothes out of thorns. When the king asked her to marry him, she could not reply--because she was not allowed to speak. So he had her burned at the stake. But when she was about to burn, doves came from the sky and blew the flames out. Later, she is brought to the alter again as she was finishing the last suit of thorns for the brothers. But she was unable to say anything, so they were about to burn her again, but she finished in the nick of time, her brothers--now humans--saved her, and she became the queen. |
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Term
| "Ikàggen Creates an Eland" -- The San |
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Definition
| Klahari Desert and Namibia: Ikàggen, out of his son's shoe-piece, creates an eland. After Ikàggen takes his grandson to see the eland, later the grandson and the son of Ikàggen cut up and eat the eland. Later, Ikàggen bursts a gall on his face and creates the nighttime because men (his grandson and son) killed his creation (the eland). But he then creates the moon from an ostrich feather he found when he burst a gall upon himself, so a light is made for the night. This points to the ambiguity of God and of existence: humans must kill god's creation to live, but in killing the creation they upset the balance of nature and must therefore be punished. It is a paradox. |
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Term
| "Lion Child & Cow Child" -- |
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Definition
- Tale with a touch of myth - Touch the face of God - Prologue shows animals are negative - LC and CC leaving animal past behind - Embedded image: entrails of mother
o Eaten by dogs – cutting off from mother
o Dying to past and being reborn - Human queen sets tone for the rest of the story
o Does not make friends with animals - Part 1: Animal world
o Destroy lion
o Cow - Part 2: Human world
o Destroy 8 old men
o Village people - Part 3: Mythic world
o Destroy God
o Humanity - Lion and Cow set things right in the worlds = setting things right within themselves - Cow child becomes God |
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Term
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Definition
- Part 2 and 3 mirror part 1 - Two puberty rituals
o Thakane and her daughter - Father’s rite of passage did not work - Overall pattern: negative father, negative ogres, negative rock - Punishment does not fit the crime - Father’s actions are mirrored by ogre and the heart - Thakane’s rite of passage - Harmony with nature
o Animals comment on what father is doing – not in harmony with nature |
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Term
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Definition
- Anpu is not a mirror of Bata! - Significance of Bata's various transformations reveal change he is going through as he moves to adulthood.
o Ox
African Storyteller Final Notes Page 1
o Ox o Persea tree o Woodchip
- Mythic: Bata becomes pharoah - God creates wife
o Leaves Bata for someone else - Roles played by women - Bata flees from Anpu - Anpu's wife:
o Negative: Wife accuses Bata of rape
o Positive: Wife moves him to separation stage - Mirroring
o Bata is going into manhood Cuts of his penis
- Wife destroys Bata - Bata cannot consummate marriage - Bata's wife:
o Negative: Tries to kill him
o Positive: Wife moves him to ordeal stage - Women move Bata through his rite of passage - Ox and persea trees: images of transformation |
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Term
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Definition
- Youth and fox have adventures - Fabulous bird, beautiful woman, fantastic horse - Fox mirrors the boy’s developing wisdom - Fox transforms into young man – mirrors boy’s transformation - Good boy and bad boy - Puberty rite of passage - Relationship between boy and fox
o Fox helps boy – mirrors developing wisdom
o Boy helps fox - Listen to fox and all goes well - Brother – throws boy into pit (swallowing)
o Takes horse, bird and woman - Death of older brother – death to childhood past |
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Term
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Definition
- One reaches back to help another with their rite of passage - Atafa is going through rite of passage in Part 1 - Yarima is going through rite of passage in Part 2 - Must help someone go through rite of passage
- Part 1: difficulty for Atafa
o o o
Swallows her inheritance Yarima want to kill her b/c she’s ugly Vomits out inheritance – beautiful
- Yarima comes out of pit disheveled and Atafa cleans and clothes him o Reaching back and helping another rite of passage
- Yarima's father: moves Yarima into seperation stage o Went through rite of passage but failed
- Identity: rings that Atafa bakes into bread - Embedded image:
o Dates represent responsibilities after completing rite of passage - King moves story into 2nd rite of passage |
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Term
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Definition
- Generosity theme linked to puberty ritual - Honesty and generosity is necessary in the rite of passage - Pattern: waiting for baggage to come
- Pattern is realized with the help of jinni
African Storyteller Final Notes Page 3
- Pattern is realized with the help of jinni - Pretends to be a merchant - Jinni and Magical ring symbolize movement into adulthood - Death forces – Fatimah - Change as Ma’aruf grows into manhood with help of wives - Two sides of Ma’aruf
o Fatimah the dung – negative
o Dunya – positive - Son destroys Fatimah |
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Term
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Definition
- Significance of name: built around war like activities of father - Part 2 and 3 mirror part 1 - Part 1: daughter of king but ugly
o “I can still see the sun” - Turning point: small image where garment is given to sister of prince - Part 2 and 3: fantasy.
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Part 2: world of cannibalistic ogres She gets bigger and bigger b/c ogre chief is spoiling her by feeding her Fatness mirrors immorality Thunder and lightning – nature: decimate cannibalistic ogres
Part 3:
Head becomes huge Loses identity Umakaza takes over role of nature Selflessness: gives sister of prince a piece of her clothing Marries prince
- Super patterns: o Grotesqueness
o Nature
Part 1: morally Part 2: physically Part 3: big head
Part 1: the dude who took her away.... Idk how to spell his name Part 2: thunder and lightning Part 3: Umakaza becomes part of nature
- Remember relationship between 3 parts
o o o
Part 1: Father behaves badly Part 2: Cannibals behave badly Part 3: Prince behaves badly
- Usilo would not allow her to go through rite of passage |
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