Week 7 Reading Notes: Nigerian Folk Stories (Reading B)

The Election of the King Bird


Reading B:


  1. The Story of the Lightning and the Thunder
    • Thunder is the mother, Lightning is the son
      • Thunder is mother punishing the son for strikings things when angry
    • Stories often give purpose to little things in life 
  2. The Bush Cow and the Elephant
    • The theme of public battles to settle a dispute
    •  Explains why they fight 
    • Gives a reason to why you only see them in the bush and not near towns 
  3. The Cock Who Caused a Fight Between Two Towns
    • Always a consequence for someone that meddles in other peoples business 
    • mostly narration 
  4. The Affair of the Hippopotamus and the Tortoise
    • The backstory to why hippos are mostly in the water 
      • Hippo promised that if someone guessed his name he would spend his days in the water
  5. Why Dead People are Buried
    • Dead people would have come back to life within 24 hours if a dog told the world how to properly bury us in accordance to what god said
      • Put the blame of death on something  
  6. Of the Fat Woman Who Melted Away
    • scares women away from disappointing their husbands 
      • if they behaved badly they would be sold as a slave to cover the parent's dowry 
    • Mostly narration 
  7. Why the Moon Waxes and Wanes
    • The foot gets thinner because it feeds a starving woman its meet
    • People got mad at the woman and went to say something, but scared the moon off
      • leading to why the moon hide during the day 
    • Narration
  8. How the Tortoise Overcame the Elephant and the Hippopotamus
    • Explains why there are tortoises in the land and water 
      • the tortoise sent his son to live on land with the elephant 
  9. The King and the 'Nsiat Bird
    • Explains why 'Nsiat birds put their nests in trees
      • Also gives backstory to why birds are in the sky and not the ground 
    • Narration
    • Tons of these stories involve weddings 
  10. Concerning the Hawk and the Owl
    • The story of why Hawks eat chickens 
    • Moral: 
      • be afraid of those who do not protest when they are hurt
        • they are the ones who plot revenge 
  11. The 'Nsasak Bird and the Odudu Bird
    • A competition between the Odudu Bird and "Nsasak Bird to decide who will be the chief of small birds 
      • 'Nsasak bird won because it was clever and cheated 
      • Became a symbol 
  12. The Election of the King Bird
    • Fishing eagle is the king of all birds
      • Decided between him and the hawk 
      • Fishing Eagle feathers were worn to impose courage and skill on the wearer 

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