Here are several tales Yoruba. Oyo State was the most powerful of the Yoruba city-states. Ilé-Ifé is considered the city of origin of all Yorubas. Here, the Yoruba religion is practiced as in all Yoruba states.
A MAGICIAN passed through a grove in the forest where large numbers of brown birds flitted from tree to tree and filled the air with song. For a long time he sat and listened, delighted by their beautiful melodies, but in the end he became very jealous, because he himself did not know how to sing.
Finally, he felt that he must, somehow, possess the voices of these songbirds, so he gathered them all together and said:
“It saddens me that the gods gave you all such poor, ugly brown feathers. How happy you would be if you were brilliantly colored red, blue, orange and green!
And the birds agreed that it was a shame to be so ugly.
The magician then suggested that by means of his charms he could give them all beautiful feathers in exchange for their voices, which were, after all, of very little use to them, since no one came into the grove to hear them.
The birds pondered his words and greatly desired the beauty he promised them. So they stupidly agreed to give him their votes, which the magician placed all together in a large calabash. He then used his charms to turn the birds' dull brown feathers orange, green, and red, and they were very happy.
The magician hurried away, and as soon as he arrived in a deserted place, he opened the calabash and swallowed its contents. From that day on, he had an extremely sweet voice, and people came from far and near to listen to his songs.
But the birds were happy with their shiny feathers. And this is why the most beautiful birds are completely incapable of singing.
Yoruba Tales: The Three Magicians
A CERTAIN King was engaged in a series of wars, during which he employed three magicians or medicine men to perform charms for him, that he might destroy his enemies.
At the end of the war, these three magicians came to the king and humbly asked to be allowed to return home. The king stupidly refused, and to this the magicians said:
“We have asked your permission as a courtesy, O king, but we can very easily leave without it. »
Then the first magician fell to the ground and disappeared. The second threw a ball of string into the air, climbed onto the wire and also disappeared. The third magician, Elenre, remained standing.
“It is your turn to disappear,” said the king, trembling with anger, “or I will kill you.” »
“You can’t hurt me,” replied the magician.
Whereupon the king ordered him to be beheaded, but the sword broke in two and the executioner's arm withered. The king then ordered him to be speared, but the spear crumpled and was useless. An attempt was made to crush the magician with a stone, but it rolled off his body as lightly as a child's ball.
The king then sent for the magician's wife and asked her to reveal his secret charm. Finally, the woman confessed that if they took a blade of grass from the thatched roof of a house, they could easily cut off her head with it.
This was done, and the magician's head rolled back and stuck to the king's hand. It could not be deleted in any way. When food and drink were brought to the king, the head consumed them all, so that the king seemed likely to die.
Magicians were hastily summoned from all over the kingdom, but the leader mocked all their charms and remained fast.
Finally came the one who bowed down to the head and cried:
“Who am I to oppose you, great Elenre? I only come because the King orders me to.
To this, Elenre replied:
“You are wiser than all the rest! » and the head immediately fell to the ground, where it became a flowing river, which is still today called Odo Elenre, or the river of Elenre.
The magician's wife was also changed into a river, but because she had betrayed him, Elenre ordered the river not to flow, and it instead became a stagnant pool.
Yoruba Tales: Isokun and the Baby
A CERTAIN King Dekun had a wife named Isokun who did not bear him children, which was why there was great unhappiness in the palace.
One day, Isokun disappeared and was missing for several weeks, and although searches were made, no trace of her could be found. The truth was that Isokun had set out to visit the shrines of all the gods, in the hope that one of them would promise him a child. But although she traveled far, the gods of all the trees, streams and rocks refused her prayer.
When she finally approached home, she met a poor woman sleeping by the side of the road with her two-day-old baby.
Isokun stole the baby and rushed to the palace, where she informed the king that she was missing in order to give him the happy surprise of her little son.
There was great rejoicing in the palace, sacrifices were made and drums beat loudly.
Meanwhile, the real mother woke up to find that her baby had been stolen. She ran around the town distracted, and insisted on searching every house, but without success.
Finally, she arrived at the palace and insisted on entering too, which was possible at that time because everyone was celebrating the arrival of the king's heir.
All this time the baby cried from hunger, and since Isokun could not feed him, she invented other reasons to cry and tried in vain to calm him without arousing suspicion.
Attracted by the cries, the mother entered and took the baby to her breast, where he was immediately content.
Within moments the deception was exposed, the mother left with her child, and Isokun, ashamed and fearing the king's wrath, fled the palace and never returned.
Yoruba Tales: The Twin Brothers
A CERTAIN Yoruba king, Ajaka, had a favorite wife whom he loved very much; but, alas for his hopes! she gave birth to twins.
At that time it was the universal custom to destroy twins immediately upon birth, and the mother with them. But the king did not have the heart to carry out this cruel law, and he secretly commissioned one of his nobles to take the royal mother and her children to a distant place where they could live in safety.
Here the twin brothers grew to adulthood and loved each other very much. They were inseparable, and neither of them found pleasure except in the other's company. When one brother began to speak, the other finished his sentence, so harmonious were their thoughts and inclinations.
Their mother, before dying, informed them of their royal birth, and from that moment they spent the time vainly regretting their exile, and wishing that the law of the country had allowed them to reign.
At last they received the news that the king their father had died, leaving no heir, and it seemed to the brothers that one of them must go to the capital and claim the throne. But which one?
To settle this, they decided to throw stones, and whoever made the longest throw would claim the throne, then send for his brother to share in his splendor.
The lot fell on the youngest of the twins, and he left for the capital, announced himself as the son of Olofin, and soon became king with the consent of all the people. As soon as he could, he summoned his brother, who now lived with him in the palace and was treated there with honor and distinction.
But unfortunately! jealousy began to overcome his brotherly affection, and one day as he was walking with the king by the river, he suddenly pushed his brother into the water, where he drowned.
He then declared in the palace that his brother was tired of royalty and had left the country, wanting him to reign in his place.
The king had certainly disappeared, and as no suspicion fell on the twin brother, he was made king and thus realized his secret ambition.
Some time later, passing by the same place where his brother had drowned, he saw a fish rise to the surface of the water and begin to sing:
“Your brother rests here,
Your brother rests here.
The king was very afraid. He took a sharp stone and killed the fish.
But another day, when he passed the place, accompanied by his nobles and protected by the royal umbrella made of rare animal skins, the river itself rose in waves and sang:
“Your brother rests here,
Your brother rests here.
In astonishment, the courtiers stopped to listen. Their suspicions were aroused, and when they looked in the water, they found the king's body.
Thus the secret of his disappearance was revealed, and the wicked brother was rejected with horror by his people. At this disgrace he took poison and thus died.
Yoruba Tales: How Leopard Got Its Spots
At one time the leopard was colored like a lion, and had no dark markings; but he was pursued by Akiti, the renowned hunter, and feared being killed.
To avoid this, he ate the roots of a certain magical plant, which had the effect of making him invulnerable to all the hunter's weapons.
Soon after, Akiti saw him as he slipped through the dense undergrowth of the forest, but although he fired his poisoned arrows, Leopard escaped.
But where each arrow struck him, a dark mark appeared, and now, although the hunters still pursue him, he is rarely caught, but his body is covered with the marks of the arrows, so that when he goes among the trees look exactly like the mixture of sun and shadow.
Yoruba Tales: Another Leopard Spots Story
ACCORDING TO another story, Leopard once had very dark skin. He was wandering one day in a beautiful enclosure, when he saw a small hut in which a lady was taking her bath.
Around and around the hut Leopard walked, waiting for an opportunity to jump into the hut and seize his victim, for he was hungry.
But as he passed in front of the opening of the hut, the lady saw him, and, uttering a cry of terror, she threw her loofah at him, which was full of soap.
“She threw it at him and he ran away,
But to this day, the Leopard still
Is stained with soap from head to toe!
Yoruba Tales: The Head
THERE is a certain country where the inhabitants have heads but no bodies. The Heads move by jumping on the ground, but they never go very far.
One of the chiefs wanted to see the world, so he left one morning in secret. When he had gone some distance, he saw an old woman looking through the door of a hut, and he asked her if she would lend him a body.
The old woman willingly lent him the body of her slave, and the chief thanked her and continued on his way.
Later, he met a young man sleeping under a tree and asked him if he would lend him a pair of arms, as he did not seem to be using them. The young man accepted, and the chief thanked him and continued on his way.
Later still, he reached a bank where fishermen were singing and mending their cone-shaped nets. The leader asked if any of them would lend him a pair of legs, as they were all sitting and not walking. One of the fishermen agreed, and the leader thanked him and continued on his way.
But now he had legs and arms and a body, and so he appeared like any other man.
In the evening he reached a town and saw young girls dancing while spectators tossed coins to those they favored. The leader threw all his coins to one of the dancers, and she admired his beautiful form so much that she agreed to marry him and go and live with him in his country.
The next day they left, but when they arrived at the river bank, the stranger took off his legs and gave them back to the fisherman. Later they reached the young man, who was still sleeping under the tree, and the chief hugged him back. At last they arrived at the cottage, where the old woman was keeping watch, and it was there that the stranger returned his body.
When the bride saw that her husband was just a boss, she was filled with horror and ran away as quickly as she could.
Now that the Head had no body, no arms, no legs, he could no longer catch it, and thus lost it forever.
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