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HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS AND CUSTOMS
Dedicated
BY PERMISSION TO
SIR F. D. LUGARD, G.C.M.G., C.B., D.S.O.,
WHO HAS DONE SO MUCH FOR
THE HAUSA PEOPLE.
I.— READY FOR A BORI SPIRIT. II. — POSSESSED.
Bori is self-induced hysteria. During possession by the spirits, the patients imitate
certain persons or animals, and often ill-treat themselves. The spirit is usually
expelled by sneezing. Vide page 145 and Note III.
HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS AND
CUSTOMS
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE FOLK-LORE AND
THE FOLK
BEING VOLUME I OF THE
WEST AFRICAN NIGHTS* ENTERTAINMENTS SERIES
BY
MAJOR A. J. N. TREMEARNE
M.A. , Dip.Anth. Cantab. , F.R. G.S., F. R.A.I.; sometime Scholar and Prizeman,
Chrisfs College ; Hausa Lecturer and Wort Student ', Cambridge
Of Gray's Inn, Barrister-at-Law
Author of " The Tailed Head-Hunters of Nigeria''' ; " Some Austral-African
Notes and Anecdotes " ; " The Niger and the West Sudan " ;
"Fables and Fairy Tales;" &c.
WITH FORTY- ONE ILLUSTRATIONS, OVER TWO HUNDRED
FIGURES IN THE TEXT, AND A MAP
SECOND EDITION
Zonfcon
JOHN BALE, SONS & DANIELSSON, LTD.
OXFORD HOUSE
83-91, GREAT TITCHFIELD STREET, OXFORD STREET, W.
1913
Foreword to Second Edition.
IN re-issuing this volume, I feel that a word more
ought to be said about the bori dancing, although a
full description of the rites in Tunis and Tripoli will
appear shortly in The Ban of The Bori, which is to a
great extent a complement to this volume. The bori
are mostly disease-demons, and the dancing is a rite
comparable to inoculation, for the people believe that
by inducing the jinns to enter them when prepared
for their reception, they can make certain of immunity
at less convenient times. These spirits differ from the
familiar bori of the same sex, or guardian spirit, and
from the incubus or succuba of the opposite sex, to
whose jealousy are due all the precautions for the
protection of the bride and bridegroom, e.g., the facts
that the chief bridesmaid may impersonate the bride,
and that the bridegroom keeps away from his home at
first. A similar idea is seen in the case of Tobias and
Sarah in the book of Tobit, and the cult was brought
from the East, in all probability, though in very early
times, for words resembling bori are found in several
languages of West Africa with a religious — usually a
phallic — significance.
Further study amongst the Hausa colonies in
North Africa during the first half of this year has
shown that no statement made in this book need be
altered except partially in one instance, viz., that
regarding the prohibited degrees of marriage, for
amongst the Mohammedan Hausas the right to the bint
ahn is recognized more or less clearly, and amongst the
pagan Magazawa there are but few restrictions in some
parts. The statement was not made solely upon my
own authority ; I had the evidence of two other observers
as well, but I am sure that, although in certain districts
it may be right, the general rule is as is now stated.
In Volume II of this series (the Hausa text of the
stories contained in this book, in Folklore, and in
other publications), which is about to be published,
will be found further notes upon the customs of the
people.
A. J. N. T.
August 17, 1913.
Foreword to First Edition.
IN offering this volume on the Hausas, who are
interesting, not only on account of their beliefs and
habits, but also because of the services of their soldiers
to the Empire, I wish to express my best thanks
to Messrs. Hartland and Crooke (ex-President and
President respectively of the Folk-lore Society) for
supplying many parallels to the tales — marked (H) or
(C) ad hoc; to Professors Frazer and Westermarck for
reading Part I ; to Lieut. G. R. K. Evatt for several
photographs, and for comparing my material with his
own notes ; to Mrs. Mary Gaunt, Colonel Elliot, Major
Searight, the Royal Geographical Society, and the
Royal Anthropological Institute for five photographs ;
and, lastly, to my wife for correcting the proofs, and
to her friend, Miss E. M. Clarke, for most of the
figures — some of which were drawn at the British
Museum through the courtesy of the authorities there.
The acknowledgments on page 9 are a little
ambiguous. The two gentlemen to whom I referred
were Drs. Schon and Robinson ; Major Edgar com-
menced the study of Hausa long after I had done so.
A. J. N. T.
Blackheath,
September 27, 1912.
Abbreviations and References.
IN Part I, figures in parentheses, e.g. (40), refer to
the tales in Part II, while the Roman numerals, e.g.,
XL, refer to the notes in Part III.
In Part II, a figure in parentheses refers to the num-
ber of a note in Part III under a Roman numeral
corresponding to the number of the tale; thus (2) in
Story 41 refers to Note XLI, 2. An asterisk after a
word (e.g., spit* in Stories 14 and 83) means that it has
been purposely mistranslated. The correct rendering
will be sent with pleasure to anyone who requires it for
scientific purposes.
For the meanings of T.H.H., &c., see pages 9
and 10. Only six sets of initials of narrators are given
in Chapter I instead of seven, the missing set being
S.S. for Sa(r)rikin Samari, a carrier whom I employed
frequently.
Contents.
PART I.— FOLK-LORE AND FOLK-LAW.
PAGE
CHAP. I. — INTRODUCTION. — Value of Folk-Lore — The
People — The Narrators — Difficulties of
Collecting — Authorities — Commencement
and Ending of Stories i
CHAP. II. — SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TALES.—
Fondness for Tales and Proverbs —
Similarities — Uncle Remus — Elaborate
Traps and Easy Escapes — Chronology and
Style n
CHAP. III. — ANIMALS IN THE TALES. — The Animal Com-
munity— The King of Beasts and Insects —
Birds — Fish — Habits of Animals — Resem-
blance of Animals to Human Beings 30
CHAP. IV. — PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS AND VIRTUES. — A
Blind Man — A Woman's Tongue —
Bravery — Honesty — Debts — Indolence —
Gratitude — Morality — Love — Dislike —
Drunkenness — Hospitality — Salutations —
The Sign-Language — Games, &c. — Rid-
dles— Proverbs — Puns, &c. — Poetry 46
CHAP. V. — THE LORE OF THE FOLK. Meaning of the
Tales — Courtship — Intimacy previous to
Marriage — Marriage — Prohibited Degrees
— Relation of Husband and Wife — Cere-
monies — Avoidance — The Bachelor —
Parentage — Miraculous Births — Child-
birth— Infanticide — Relation of Parent and
Child — Adoption — Organization — Descent
—Tribal Marks — Development — Death and
Burial — Inheritance 74
CHAP. VI.— CUSTOMS AND SUPERSTITIONS.— Beliefs— Gods
and Spirits — Nature Myths — The Next
World — Diseases — Totemism — Mythical
Beings— The Half-Man— Dodo— A Fabu-
lous Bird — Wonderful Animals — Magic
Ointment — Transformation — Sacrifice —
Cannibalism — Ordeals, &c. — The Curse
and Blessing — Earth — Kola-nuts — Tabu —
Bori — Hallucinations 109
CHAP. VII. — CUSTOMS AND SUPERSTITIONS (continued}.—
Evil Influences — Witchcraft — Visits to the
World of the Immortals — Lapse of Time —
Magic and The Evil Eye — Lucky Days —
Rites — Conjuring — Charms and Potions —
Magical Gifts — Forms of Address— The
Kirari — Names. 153
CONTENTS
PART IL— HAUSA TALES, PARABLES AND VARIANTS.
PAGE
1. THERE is NO KING BUT GOD (B. G.) ... 183
2. THE PUNISHMENT OF THE SABBATH-
BREAKERS (U. G.) ... 186
3. THE TENDER-HEARTED MAIDEN AND THE
FISH (S. D.) ... 187
4. THE SPIDER, THE OLD WOMAN, AND THE
WONDERFUL BULL (S. D.) ... 190
5. THE FALSE FRIEND (U. G.) ... 193
^-6. A LIE CAN GIVE MORE PAIN THAN A SPEAR (M. K.) ... 195
7. THE KING WHO FULFILLED HIS PROMISE
TO THE LEPER (B. G.) ... 196
8. THE FRIENDLY LION, AND THE YOUTH
AND HIS WIFE (M. K.) ... 198
9. HOWEVER POOR YOU ARE THERE is SOME-
ONE EVEN WORSE OFF (A.) ... 202
10. THE BOY, THE GIRL, AND DODO (B. G.) ... 203
11. FALSEHOOD is MORE PROFITABLE THAN
TRUTH (U. G.) ... 204
12. VIRTUE PAYS BETTER THAN GREED ... (U. G.) ... 206
13. THE VICTIM DOES NOT ALWAYS SEE THE
JOKE (A.) ... 208
14. DODO, THE ROBBER, AND THE MAGIC
DOOR (S. S.) ... 209
15. THE DECEITFUL SPIDER, THE HALF-MAN,
AND THE RUBBER-GIRL (B. G.) ... 212
^j6. THE RICH MALAM, THE THIEVING SPIDER,
AND THE HYAENA (M. K.) ... 214
17. LITTLE FOOL, OR THE BITER BIT (E.G.) ... 216
18. How THE SPIDER ATE THE HYAENA-CUBS'
FOOD (B. G.) ... 219
19. THE SLAVE WHO WAS WISER THAN THE
KING (B.C.) ... 220
20. THE COCK BY HIS WIT SAVES HIS SKIN ... (U. G.) ... 224
21. THE HEN SEEKS A CHARM FROM THE
WILD-CAT (B. G.) ... 224
22. THE BATTLE BETWEEN THE BEASTS AND
THE BIRDS (S. D.) ... 225
23. THE GOAT FRIGHTENS THE HYAENA ... (M. K.) ... 227
24. THE SPIDER, THE GUINEA-FOWL, AND THE
FRANCOLIN (S. D.) ... 229
25. How THE CUNNING JERBOA KILLED THE
STRONG LION (M. K.) ... 233
26. THE CAMEL AND THE RUDE MONKEY ... (S. D.) ... 235
-27. THE BOY WHO WAS LUCKY IN TRADING ... (B. G.) ... 237
28. ONE CANNOT HELP AN UNLUCKY MAN ... (B. G.) ... 242
29. THE WONDERFUL RING (B.C.) ... 244
CONTENTS xi
j
PAGE
30.
THE GREEDY GIRL AND HER CURE
(S. D.) ...
252
31.
THE GLUTTONS
(S. D.) ...
254
32.
HOW DODO FRIGHTENED THE GREEDY
MAN
(B.C.) ...
255
33.
BORTORIMI AND THE SPIDER
(M.) ...
257
34.
THE HY^NA AND THE SPIDER VISIT THE
KING OF A FAR CITY
(B.C.) ...
26l
35-
THE HYAENA CONFESSES HER GUILT
(U. G.) ...
264
36.
THE GREEDY SPIDER AND THE BIRDS
(M.) ...
265
37-
THE HARE OUTWITS THE HYJENA
(U. G.) ...
266
38-
EVERYTHING COMES TO HIM WHO WAITS
(E.G.) ...
267
39-
THE LAZY FROG, AND HIS PUNISHMENT ...
(S. D.) ...
269
40.
THE SNAKE AND THE SCORPION
(E.G.) ...
270
41-
THE SPIDER WHICH BOUGHT A DOG AS A
SLAVE
(S. S.) ...
271
42.
THE WOOING OF THE BASHFUL MAIDEN...
(M.) ...
273
43-
THE GIRLS AND THE UNKNOWN YOUTH ...
(E.G.) ...
274
44-
THE SON OF THE KING OF AGADDEZ ...
(M.) ...
278
45-
THE BOY WHO BECAME HIS RIVAL'S RULER
(E.G.) ...
283
46.
THE WILD CAT AND THE HEN
(M.) ...
289
47-
THE DISHONEST FATHER
(S. S.) ...
2QO
48-
THE CONTEST FOR DODO'S WIFE
(M.) ...
292
49-
THE MAN AND HIS LAZY WIVES
(M. K.) ...
294
50.
THE Two WIVES, THE HY^NA, AND THE
DOVE ...
(M. K.) ...
295
Si-
THE MAN AND HIS WIVES, AND DODO ...
(M. K.) ...
298
52.
THE WIFE WHO WOULD NOT WORK
ALONE
(A.) ...
299
53-
THE THOUGHTFUL AND THE THOUGHTLESS
HUSBANDS
(U. G.) ...
300
54-
SOLOMON AND THE BIRDS
(S. D.) ...
302
55-
THE KING WHO COVETED His SON'S
WIFE
(M.) ...
304
56.
THE GIRL WHO MARRIED DODO'S SON ...
(E.G.) ...
307
57-
THE MAN WHO MARRIED A MONKEY
(S. S.) ...
3M
58.
THE MONKEY- WOMAN
(E.G.) ...
315
59-
THE DESPISED WIFE'S TRIUMPH
(S. D.) ...
317
60.
THE GOOD KISHIA AND THE LUCKY BOY
(M.) ...
323
61.
THE DETERMINED GIRL AND THE WICKED
PARENTS
(M.) ...
325
62.
THE WICKED GIRL, AND HER PUNISHMENT
(S. D.) ...
326
63-
THE Two HALF-BROTHERS AND THE
JEALOUS MOTHER
(M.) ...
333
64-
THE ORIGIN OF THE WHITE-BREASTED
CROW
(A.)
335
65.
THE BRAVE MOTHER AND THE COWARDLY
FATHER
(U. G.) ...
340
66.
THE FIGHTING RAM
(S. S.) ...
342
67.
THE LUCKY FOUNDLING
(M.) ...
345
xii CONTENTS
PAGE
68. THE WICKED FATHER AND THE KIND
STRANGER (B. G.) ... 347
69. THE WOMAN WHO COULD NOT KEEP A
SECRET (S. S.) ... 349
70. THE BOY WHO REFUSED TO WALK ... (M.) ... 351
71. THE WOMAN WHO BORE A CLAY POT ... (S. D.) ... 354
72. THE WOMAN WHOSE OFFSPRING WERE A
MOUSE AND A CAKE (S. S.) ... 357
73. How THE BEAUTIFUL GIRL ESCAPED FROM
DODO (M.) ... 359
74. THE PRECOCIOUS NEW-BABY SETTLES HIS
FATHER'S DEBTS (S. D.) ... 361
75. DODO'S DEBT (S. D.) ... 363
76. How THE EAGLE OUTWITTED THE TOWNS-
PEOPLE (S. D.) ... 365
77. THE SPIDER PASSES ON A DEBT (S. S.) ... 367
78. THE SPIDER PAYS HIS DEBTS (A.) ... 373
79. THE YOUNGEST SON AND THE WISE EWE (B. G.) ... 374
80. THE LUCKY YOUNGEST SON (B. G.) ... 380
81. THE DIVISION OF THE INHERITANCE ... (B. G.) ... 393
82. THE CITY OF WOMEN (B. G.) ... 394-
83. THE TOWN WHERE NONE MIGHT GO TO
SLEEP (B. G.) ... 397
84. THE MENDER OF MEN (U. G.) ... 401
85. THE PORCUPINE BECOMES A STEP-FATHER (B. G.) ... 407
86. How AUTA KILLED DODO (S. D.) ... 408
87. How THE ZANKALLALLA KILLED DODO ... (B. G.) ... 411
88. THE WRESTLERS AND THE DEVIL ... (B. G.) ... 414
89. THE Two GIRLS AND THE DEMONS ... (U. G.) ... 417
90. THE THREE YOUTHS AND THE THREE
DEMONS (U. G.) ... 418
91. THE UNGRATEFUL MEN (M.) ... 420
92. THE MAN, AND HIS WIVES WHO WERE
WITCHES (S. S.) ... 422
93. How THE ILL-TREATED GIRL BECAME RICH (B. G.) ... 424
94. DAN-KUCHINGAYA AND THE WITCH ... (M.) ... 428
95. THE BOY, THE WITCH, AND THE WONDER-
FUL HORSE (S. S.) ... 432
96. THE BOY WHO CHEATED DEATH (B. G.) ... 441
97. THE KING WITH CANNIBAL TASTES ... (S. S.) ... 447
98. THE MANY-HEADED CANNIBALS (S. S.) ... 449
99. WHY THE YOUNG GIANT LOST HIS
STRENGTH (U. G.) ... 452
100. THE YOUTH AND THE ONE- SIDED
GIANTESS (U. G.) ... 454
PART III.— NOTES.
I. — ON THE TALES
II. — ON TRIBAL MARKS
III.— ON BORI
Illustrations.
PLATES.
FACING PAGE
I.— READY FOR A BORI SPIRIT ... Frontispiece
II._ POSSESSED Frontispiece
III.— PRAYING FOR RAIN ... ... 16
IV. — RACES AT RAMADAN ... ... 16
V.— MALAMS ... 32
VI.— THE OLD AND THE NEW ... 32
VII.— A HAUSA LETTER 65
VIII.— A HAUSA LETTER ... ... 65
IX. — GRASS FOR THE ROOF ... ... 96
X.— HUTS IN VARIOUS STAGES ... ... 96
XI. — A VERANDAH ... 96
XII.— THE SKELETON OF THE ROOF 96
XIIL— HOUSES IN KANO ... 112
XIV. — HOUSES IN SOKOTO ... ... ... 112
XV.— A POTTER AT WORK ... 144
XVI. — TYPES OF POTS ... 144
XVII. — STAGES IN POT-MAKING 173
XVIIL— STAGES IN POT-MAKING ... .... 173
XIX.— A HAUSA CHEAP-JACK 208
XX.— MATS 208
XXI. — BUTCHERS * 240
XXII. — A BLACKSMITH ... 240
XXIIL— A MALE TRADER ... 256
XXIV.— FEMALE TRADERS 256
XXV.— FIREWOOD 288
XXVI.— COTTON 288
XXVIL— HAUSA BARBERS 313
XXVIII.— HAUSA BARBERS 313
XXIX.— YAMS 352
XXX.— SWEETMEATS ! 352
XXXI.—" DAINTIES » 368
XXXII.— MILK .v, ... 368
XXXIII. — TAKAI — THE CHALLENGE 416
XXXIV.— TAKAI— THE ASSEMBLY ... >: ..." .^ ... 416
XXXV. — TAKAI — THE BATTLE IN PROGRESS 432
XXXVI.— TAKAI— THE FINAL MEL£E ... ... ... 432
XXXVII.— BOXING ... ... ... 464
XXXVIII.— BOXING ... ... 464
XXXIX.— WRESTLING : ., - .... , •••-,.. 496
XL.— WRESTLING *.* ... 496
XLL— THE BORI JUMP ... 540
xiv ILLUSTRATIONS
FIGURES IN THE TEXT.
PAGE
FIG. i. — LEATHER PILLOW ... i
FIGS. 2, 3. — ANTIMONY BOTTLES 7
FIG. 4. — LEATHER KORAN-COVER 12
„ 5. — LEATHER PILLOW 13
„ 6. — LEATHER KORAN-CASE 21
„ 7. — LEATHER CUSHION 29
„ 8. — LEATHER BOOK-COVER 30
„ 9. — LEATHER KORAN-CASE 37
„ 10. — LEATHER PURSE 45
„ ii. — LEATHER MONEY-BELT ... 46
FIGS. 12-15. — LEATHER NEEDLE-CASES 51
„ 16, 17. — WOODEN DARRA BOARDS 59
FIG. 1 8. — LEATHER HAVERSACK 61
„ ig. — LEATHER HAVERSACK 73
FIGS. 20, 21. — LEATHER SLIPPERS 74
FIG, 22. — WOODEN CLOG 81
„ 23. — LEATHER SANDAL 81
FIGS. 24, 25. — LEATHER BOOTS 91
FIG. 26. — LEATHER BOOT (PATTERN) 97
„ 27. — LEATHER AND STRAW HAT 108
„ 28. — DECORATED CALABASH 109
FIGS. 29, 30. — BRASS BASIN 115
FIG. 31. — BRASS JUG 121
FIGS. 32, 33.— BRASS JUG (PATTERNS) 127
FIG. 34. — BRASS BOTTLE 131
FIGS. 35-37.— BRASS POTS 137
FIG. 38.— BRASS POT (PATTERN) 145
)} 3Q. — BRASS BOWL 152
„ 40. — PARCHMENT Box 153
9i 41. — WOODEN MORTAR AND PESTLE 159
J} 42. — WOODEN STOOL 159
„ 43. — EARTHENWARE JUG 165
FIGS. 44-48. — HAUSA POTTERY 173
FIG. 49. — TRAVELLER'S GOURD : 182
„ 50. — DECORATED GOURD 183
J9 51. — DECORATED GOURD 191
„ 52. — DECORATED GOURD 199
?j 53. — DECORATED GOURD :.. 211
„ 54. — DECORATED GOURD 221
)} 55. — DECORATED GOURD 233
FIGS. 56-58. — DECORATED VESSELS 239
,, 59,60. — DECORATED VESSELS 251
FIG. 61. — WOODEN SPOON 259
„ 62. — BRASS SPOON 259
}j 63. — GOURD SPOON 259
FIGS. 64-67. — WOODEN SPOONS 271
FIG. 68. — BASKET 281
„ 69. — GRASS MAT 291
ILLUSTRATIONS xv
PAGE
FIG. 70. — BASKET ... 291
FIGS. 71, 72. — STEELS FOR FLINT 301
„ 73-75- — RAZORS AND CASE 313
» 76,77. — REED AUTOHARP 321
FIG. 78. — VIOLIN ... 333
„ 79.— GUITAR ...341
„ 80. — GUITAR ... 351
„ 81. — SYRINX 361
„ 82. — FLUTE 361
?j 83. — CLARIONET 361
FIGS. 84, 85. — BRASS TRUMPETS 369
FIG. 86. — IRON RATTLE 379
„ 87.— DRUM 379
„ 88.— DRUM ... 389
„ 89.— DRUM 399
„ 90. — BRIDLE ... ... 411
,, 91. — BIT AND REINS 421
„ 92. — SADDLE 429
„ 93. — STIRRUP AND LEATHER 429
„ 94.— STIRRUP 439
„ 95.— HEAD ORNAMENT 439
FIGS. 96, 97.— SPURS 447
FIG. 98.— BELL ... 447
„ 99.— WHIP 456
FIGS. ioo, 101. — DANE-GUNS 457
„ 102-104. — KNIVES 465
FIG. 105. — CLUB 473
„ 106. — SWORD 473
FIGS. 107-110. — HAIRPINS 483
„ in. — GLASS BRACELET 493
„ 112. — HORSEHAIR WRISTLET 493
„ 113.— TIN BRACELET 501
„ 114. — TIN RING 501
„ 115. — WOODEN ARMLET 509
„ 116. — WOODEN COMB 509
„ 117. — SHELL GIRDLE 518
THIRTEEN FIGS. — TRIBAL MARKS 519
TEN FIGS.— TRIBAL MARKS 521
TEN FIGS. — TRIBAL MARKS 523
ELEVEN FIGS.— TRIBAL MARKS 525
TEN FIGS. — TRIBAL MARKS 527
ELEVEN FIGS. — TRIBAL MARKS 529
TEN FIGS.— TRIBAL MARKS S3I
TEN FIGS. — TRIBAL MARKS 533
NINE FIGS.— TRIBAL MARKS 535
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
VWVVVVvVV V V V V V V vv v v
FIG. i. — Leather pillow. Most of the designs are made with black or
red stain upon yellow leather, but the round spots are of green plush upon
brown leather, and the arcs are of purple plush upon light green leather.
The back of the pillow — which has an opening for the reception of the
cotton stuffing — is of red leather of the same shade as the binding of this
book. L., 36 £ in.
PART I.
Folk-lore and Folk-law.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION.
The People — Value of Folk-Lore — The Narrators — Difficulties
of Collecting — Authorities — Commencement and Ending of
Stories.
THE principal habitat of the Hausawa — or, as we
call them, the Hausas — comprises the Hausa States,
forming the greater part of what is now Northern
Nigeria, which is British territory, a good deal of the
French Possessions to the west, and also the hinter-
land of the Gold Coast. But the people, being great
travellers and traders, are met with all over the Sudan,
and many colonies have been established between
Tripoli and Tunis in the north and the Bight of Benin
in the south. Whether they came originally from the
east or north-east, or whether they are indigenous, is
i
2 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
still a moot question which is argued elsewhere.* At
any rate, probably everyone will admit that they are a
mixture of mixtures, and so it should not be surprising
that we can recognize many familiar anecdotes in the
tales collected in the West Sudan.
VALUE OF FOLK-LORE. — Many people regard folk-
lore as being nothing but " a collection of silly stories,"
a kind of "serious foolishness"; and it must be ad-
mitted that legends and myths are likely to descend to
such a level amongst civilized peoples, who neglect to
study them, and retain them merely as nursery rhymes.
But in their original form they contain much wisdom,
or " lore," and they throw so much light upon the
religious and legal systems of the inhabitants of the
district in which they arise, that, in this early stage of
its existence, a certain class of folk-lore is to a great
extent an enunciation of folk-law. It will become more
evident that this is so when we remember that ancient
customs have often been brought to light in trials (e.g.,
of witchcraft) before English courts — what, indeed was
the Common Law? — and this continues here even in
the present time, especially where land is concerned.
In Northern Nigeria, a Resident has a book for " In-
formal Cases" in addition to the ordinary "Court
Minute Book," and in it are entered accounts of trials
— particularly marriage disputes — which, in the judge's
opinion, should not be conducted in the ordinary man-
* The Niger and, the West Sudan (Hodder and Stoughton),
pages 51-64. I maintain that they came from the neighbourhood
of Meroes and that — although fhey have but little more connec-
tion with the Abyssinians than the Kafirs of South Africa have
with the Kafirs of India — the words Ba-haushe (the Hausa's
name for himself) and Babushe (a mythical ancestor) came from
Ba (descendant) and Habbeshi (mixture). The fact that they
still pay tribute to the Gwandara (who once owned most of the
country) at certain festivals, points to a non-indigenous origin.
VALUE OF FOLK-LORE 3
ner, because, being governed by native custom, English
law is inapplicable to them. In other words, the
Government recognizes that these customs are actually
local laws, and that the parties must be tried in accord-
ance with them, so long as they are fair and reason-
able, and have not been specially barred.*
If, therefore, the tales are to have any scientific
value at all, they must be related as nearly as possible
in the very words of the original version, varied (accord-
ing to the individual talents of the narrator) solely as
regards the mode of recitation and gesture. The only
real discretion allowed to the narrator should be the
insertion of a few peculiar passages from other tradi-
tions— and in fact portions of variants are often intro-
duced, as is mentioned in the notes — but even in that
case no alteration of these original or elementary
materials, used in the composition of tales should be
made, although it sometimes takes place. Generally
(in theory) the smallest deviation from the original
version will be taken notice of and corrected if any
intelligent person happens to be present, but it is very
difficult to persuade one Hausa to tell a story in the
presence of another. However, this has not proved a
very serious loss, for I have read the books written by
other Hausa students, and have pointed out the varia-
tions where this seemed desirable.
At any rate, the reader may be assured that the tales
have been gathered direct from the lips of illiterate
story-tellers, and that they have been set down with
accuracy and good faith. An authority says : " Every
* In this respect, Italy has set an example to the world, for
the Italian troops were instructed in native beliefs before leaving
their own country, so that they would not unnecessarily offend
even the people against whom they were to fight.
4 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
turn of phrase, awkward or coarse though it may seem
to cultured ears, must be unrelentingly reported; and
every grotesquery, each strange word, or incompre-
hensible or silly incident, must be given without flinch-
ing. Any attempt to soften down inconsistencies,
vulgarities or stupidities, detracts from the value of the
text, and may hide or destroy something from which
the student may be able to make a discovery of import-
ance to science."* Unfortunately some of the Hausa
vulgarities are unprintable, and where this is so, I have
purposely altered the offensive word, but in each case
it has been marked with an asterisk (*) so that no false
deduction may be drawn, e.g., in Story 45.
I have examined carefully every story given here,
and have tried to get the most out of it, and, in addi-
tion, a great deal of other information (usually confirm-
ing or denying something in a tale) has been inserted.
One cannot depend absolutely upon the tales, for it is
sometimes difficult to distinguish between the original
event and pure fiction ; slight changes take place, as
has been indicated; and lastly, stories (and here also
the people) travel, and pick up local characteristics en
route. Still, I hope that, in spite of its shortcomings, the
work will be of service — even of value — to the con-
scientious student of the people, whether he be an
administrator, or merely an amateur anthropologist,
and it is for this reason that so many figures have been
given in the text, for they can hardly fail to prove
useful in giving a good idea of the culture attained.
Probably, too, those general readers who have not
previously paid much attention to Hausa folk-lore, will
see that a fable may be more than a silly story if
analysed and understood.
* E. S. Hartland, The Science of Fairy Tales, page 21.
THE NARRATORS 5
In The Tailed Head-Hunters of Nigeria, I en-
deavoured, by comparing the customs of some Nigerian
savages with those of civilized peoples, to show that,
after all, humanity, whatever the colour, has much in
common. In this book, I have striven to reach the
same end by a comparison of the folk-lore.*
THE NARRATORS. — Nearly all of the hundred tales
in this volume were obtained during 1908 and 1909
at Jemaan Daroro, in the Nassarawa Province of
Northern Nigeria. A few had been told me previously
(in 1906-1907) when in Amar, the headquarters of the
Muri Province, by Ashetu, a policeman's wife, but all
the subsequent ones were related by men. Women and
children are said to be the best story-tellers, and
naturally so, but I found them difficult to get hold
of, and nervous and easily tired, so I had to rely
mainly upon my own sex, the narrators being Privates
Ba Gu(d)du and Umoru Gombe, of the ist Northern
Nigeria Regiment of the " W.A.F.F.," the Sar(r)ikin
Dukawa (Chief of the Leather-workers), and Momo
Kano and Mohamma, personal servants. So as to
distinguish them, each story is marked in the Table of
Contents with the initial of the person who told it to me.
The best Hausa was spoken by the last named, but
all were illiterate, and only two of them had even a
smattering of English. I urged Momo Kano to learn
the Hausa written characters, but he never got further
than learning their names, although merely on account
of this mild qualification, he wished to shave his hair
and wear a turban like a malam, or learned man. I
* At the same time, however much alike the early ideas may
have been, we must be careful to admit that the subsequent
development of white and black has been very different, and that
there is absolutely no reason to suppose that Europeans and
negroes can now be educated and trained upon similar lines.
6 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
hope that what he did proved useful to him on his way
to the next world — for he is now dead, I very much
regret to say.
DIFFICULTIES OF COLLECTING. — There are several
difficulties in the way of the collector. First, one has to
gain the confidence of the native, and that is an exceed-
ingly difficult thing for an official to accomplish, because
even his 'most innocent inquiries are suspected. Who
in England would give more information than he could
help to a person who was both judge and tax-collector ?
But that is not all by any means. However hard
one may study the language, there will be many words
which one does not understand, and it is almost im-
possible for most students to keep pace with some of
the narrators. To interrupt a native for an
explanation may often disturb him so much that
he loses the thread of the tale; to go on may
mean that one forgets to inquire afterwards,
or may not have the chance to do so again, as has
happened to me in several cases. Then, many of the
speeches are sung in a falsetto voice, which alters
the sounds and even the accents of syllables, the latter,
in any case, being frequently carried along in Hausa
composite words, or in words followed by a pro-
noun.
But, as Mr. Hartland says, it is common for the
rustic story-teller to be unable to explain expressions,
and indeed whole episodes, in any other way than could
the immortal Uncle Remus, when called upon to say
who Miss Meadows was : " She wuz in de tale, Miss
Meadows en de gals wuz, en de tale I give you like
hi't wer* gun ter me." I am not the only collector wrho
has discovered that when the tales had "sung parts,"
sometimes even they who sang them could scarcely
DIFFICULTIES OF COLLECTING 7
explain the meaning, especially when non-Hausa words
had been introduced by some intermediate narrator.
I sometimes found that, although several men would
give certain sentences in exactly the same way, not one
really understood what they meant, and I had to ask
the assistance of the Alkali, or native judge — as being
FIG. 2.
FIG. 3.
FIG. 2. — Antimony bottle of parchment, covered with alternate strips of
hide (with hair left on) of white, black, and brown. H., 3! in.
FIG. 3. — Antimony bottle of parchment, covered with leather. The lower
part is of red leather, with pattern in black, the upper part is of plaited
green and black strips. The leather loop (to hang on wrist or girdle) keeps
the bottle in position. L., of bottle 7j in.
the best educated man in Jemaa — to help me out of
the difficulty. Thus, in Hausaland, as elsewhere, the
popular memory may persist long after the proper ex-
planation has disappeared. There are one or two words
which I have been unable to translate, and, rather than
make a guess, I have left them in the original Hausa,
8 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
so that others may see and perhaps be able to explain
them. After all, how many English story-tellers can
give the meaning of " Fe Fi Fo Fum" ?
Again, the story-teller, if paid so much per tale, is
apt to skip certain parts which he thinks would puzzle
the listener, and, if paid by time, he may add on por-
tions of other stories, so as to avoid the trouble of
thinking out a whole fresh one. Or, perhaps the fault
may not be his at all ; he may have heard only a
mutilated version, an example of which may be seen
in No. 39, and that is all, therefore, that he can hand
on.
In many Hausa tales a character is suddenly intro-
duced, and as his name will probably not be mentioned
for some time, the listener is apt to become confused
when this sort of thing takes place : " He said, * Take
this.' He took it. He said ' I thank you.' He said
1 Come again to-morrow.' He said * I give you this.'
He said ' Good-bye until to-morrow.' He said * I am
going home.' He said ' Very well.' He went home."
Sometimes, too, a good deal will be understood, e.g.,
" She said ' To-morrow you must go.' As she was
travelling," &c. The whole mention of her departure on
the following day has been omitted. In these cases
I have supplied the missing information, but it appears
within square brackets so as to distinguish it from
remarks in parentheses actually in the story.
The Hausa squats cross-legged when telling a tale,
and although I tried to put the raconteur at his ease, so
as to watch his gestures, I never saw one move anything
but his eyes (and lips) during the narration.
AUTHORITIES. — Even a master of a subject cannot
afford to ignore the work of other writers, much less so
can one who is only a student, and I am indebted to
AUTHORITIES g
many authors for some of the matter in this book. First
of all (since the introductory chapters precede the tales),
I must mention Mr. Hartland's The Science of Fairy-
Tales, which is quoted so often that I have used an
abbreviation (S.F.T.), the number following the letters
in the text indicating the page.
The principal Hausa works consulted are Litafi na
Tatsuniyoyi na Hausa, by Major Edgar, and Dr.
Schon's Maganna Hausa, as revised by Canon Robin-
son, the abbreviations used in their case being (L.T.H.)*
and (M.H.) respectively, and the numbers being those
of the stories referred to. Unfortunately these will not
be of much use to any but the Hausa student, as they
have not been translated. All Europeans who wish to
speak the language are under a great obligation to the
two gentlemen named above, for by their early works
they have made it much easier for us who have fol-
lowed.
A book such as this could have been expanded
indefinitely, for the short notes could have been in-
creased in number and size, and more stories could
have been introduced. The illustrations, too, could
have been described at length. But a certain amount
of information regarding the Hausas has already been
published by me, and it would have served no good
purpose to have reproduced more than was necessary
to make the subject quite clear — besides, I am trying
to arrange that each book will supplement, not overlap,
the preceding works. Again, there is the question
of finance. My original intention was to publish some
200 tales both in Hausa and English, but that idea
had to be abandoned, and even in its present form this
work can hardly be expected to do more than pay its
* The first volume is meant unless otherwise indicated.
io HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
way, even if it does that.* However, although only 100
tales appear in full, by the aid of variants and notes,
about 500 are mentioned, in fact most of the published
work of others, and all of my own. An examination of
those books and articles which have already appeared
will certainly aid the student of folk-lore, and
so I have referred to them wherever necessary.
The abbreviation T.H.H. refers to The Tailed
Head-Hunters of Nigeria, the numbers under ten
indicating the numbers of the stories in Chapter
xxiii, the larger ones referring to the pages.
N.W.S. stands for The Niger and the West Sudan,
the numbers being those of the pages. M. and F.-L.
are abbreviations for Man (February and April, 1911)
and Folk-Lore (1910-1911), respectively, the numbers
being those of the stories, and as in these two journals
the translation of the text is literal, the true form
of the Hausa tale can be ascertained by anyone
interested.
Many other books have been read, of course, in
connection with this work, and they are quoted and
mentioned ad hoc, but the above have been the most
useful.
COMMENCEMENT AND ENDING OF STORIES. — Since the
spider is the king of cunning and craftiness, all fables
are told in his name. The narrator commences his story
(tatsunia is feminine) thus : —
* In IQIO the Anthropological Section of the British Associa-
tion appointed a Committee to advise and help me with the
publication of my MS., but, unfortunately, without result. At
the last meeting, at Dundee, a grant was made to a Committee,
consisting of Mr. Hartland (Chairman), Professor J. L. Myres
(Secretary), Mr. Crooke, and myself, in order to enable my MSS.
to be typed (in Hausa) in a form suitable for preservation in
certain University libraries, so students will eventually be able
to compare the original texts with the tales given here.
COMMENCEMENT AND ENDING n
Ga ta nan, ga ta nan, See her here, see her here,
or
Ga tan, ga tanka, See her (n is euphonic),
see the account.
The listener then replies : —
Ta so, ta taya mu Let her come and aid our
hira, conversation,
or
Ta so, mu ji, Let her come, and let us
hear,
or
Ta 20, ta wuche. Let her come and pass.*
And the narrator then proceeds with his tale.
When it is finished he says : —
Ku(r)rum bus kan Finished (Kurmus-ashes)
kusu (or bera). is the head of the
mouse, f
En ba don gizzo ba, Were it not on account of
the spider,
da na yi ka(r)ria I should have greatly lied.
dayaiva,
Da ma, ka(r)ria na yi. As it is I have told an un-
truth.
Ka(r)rian nan ta azu- This lie is lucky, (for)
zuka,
* There is a remarkable similarity in the tales from Sierra
Leone, given in Cunnie Rabbit, Mr. Spider, and The Other Beef
(F. Cronise and H. Ward, 1903), to many in my collection, even
part of the Hausa introduction is seen, though in Sierra Leone
the sentence is said at the end — " Story come, story go."
t Another translation of this (L.T..H., page 384) is, " The
whole flesh of the rat has been consumed, only the head being
left." Kurungus, Kurunkus, or Kungurus, meaning the cutting
off of the head.
12
HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
gobe da safe kaddan
na tashi dagga
kwana,
en samu ta(i)kin
kurdi chikke da
kurdi ga bay an
da(i)kina,
azuruja tinjim
gizzo ya zubar.
tomorrow morning when
I arise from sleep,
I will obtain a money-bag
full of money behind
my hut,
a pile of silver (which)
the spider has placed
(there).
If I do not get a money-
bag,
I shall at least get a bitter
gourd.*
Idan ba asamu
ta(i)kin kurdi ba,
asamu kurtu ma-
doachi.
The story proper often ends with the words suka
zona (" they remained "), an equivalent for our " they
lived happy ever afterwards." The Hausa would not,
however, bind himself to such a wide statement when
he knows that the wife at any rate, being only one of
four, will not be altogether content. Otherwise, why
call her Kishia?
x^
FIG. 4. — Koran cover of red leather, stamped designs, and
black borders. L., 23 in.
* The du(m)maj see note LVI, 3. It has an opaque inside
skin which glistens like silver when dry.
FIG. 5. — Pillow of yellow leather, green ends (sewn with purple cotton)
and yellow tassels. Pattern in red, with broad black, and narrow green
border. L., 40$ in.
CHAPTER II.
SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TALES.
Fondness for Tales and Proverbs — Similarities — Uncle Remus
— Elaborate Traps and Easy Escapes — Chronology and Style.
THE Hausas are extremely fond of tales and pro-
verbs, and almost every well-known animal and nearly
every trade or profession is represented in the folk-lore
of the people. Certain favourites of English children
will be found to have their representatives in the Hausa
stories; in fact, there seems to be very little which
is absolutely strange to the student of anthropology,
and here and there examples have been quoted to show
that similar stories exist in one part of the globe or the
other, the cast of characters being altered to suit local
requirements. Nor is this surprising, for gods, ances-
tors, witches, ghosts, and animals are believed by
natives all over the world to possess powers exactly like
those attributed by us to fairies and other super-
natural beings, and to have natures and social
organizations similar to those of mortals. Prob-
ably all these superstitions have the same origin,
namely, the belief in spirits, transformation, and witch-
craft, and it will be easy to understand why similar
legends should have been born in different countries
if we remember that the highest nation has climbed the
14 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
very same ladder of culture on the lowest rung of
which the uncivilized people are still standing. In the
tales which follow, some of the steps in the ascent are
easily discernible.
SIMILARITIES. — The tale of Jack the Giant Killer
has its African representative in How Auta killed
Dodo (86), the sister following a creeper — the magical
growth of which recalls the Indian trick of causing a
mango tree to appear — and eventually obtaining riches
from the same mythical monster (56), reminding one
somewhat of Jack and the Beanstalk — and this story also
contains elements of Jephtha's daughter, and Moses
dividing the Red Sea. Dodo, no less than the giant,
can " smell the blood of an English (or Hausa) man "
(14 and 56). The hyaena takes our wolf's place in
changing her voice, and pretending to be the mother
of the kids or puppies (F.-L. 22 and M.H. 21), but
the idea is the same. Cinderella was not the only one
who had shoes which would fit no one but her (86),
nor was it only Hop O' My Thumb who found a way
to save his brothers, at the expense of the children of
the house, by changing their clothes in the dead of
night (94). Little Red Riding Hood is represented by
How Dodo frightened the Greedy Man, and in all prob-
ability, both are sun-myths. Dick Whittington's cat
brought him power and riches by catching mice, and
when Auta had lost his city (29), his pet recovered it
for him in a somewhat similar way. The variant
is even more like our legend. The white-ant
releases the lion in one story (T.H.H. 2), and was
rewarded much worse than was the mouse with us, but
the account of How the Spider obtained a Feast (78
and F.-L. 7) has an exact counterpart in an English
rhyme in which the crocodile asks the lion, wolf,
SIMILARITIES 15
leopard, lynx, fox, duck and frog to his dinner party.
Instead of a goose, the Hausa wife has a hen which
lays golden eggs (though the white is silver), and she
also kills it to see if there are more inside. The Hausa
Half-man represents the " One-leg " of European tales,
and the knife held by an invisible hand (75) is familiar,
as also is that of the food serving itself (93).*
A reversed edition of Blue Beard — or rather the
incident of curiosity in it — occurs in Story 82,
and it resembles even more strongly an Annamite saga.
The stories of The Arabian Nights are recalled
when reading New Bags for Old (M.H. 83) and
The Wonderful Ring (29, Aladdin), The Boy who
Refused to Walk (70, The Old Man of the Sea),
Dodo, The Thief, and the Magic Door (14, Ali Baba),
and the story of the vanishing city (79) ; and a certain
chief of Zanfara, Umoru, is said to have gone incognito
amongst his people at night to find out their opinion
of him, so that if it were unfavourable, he might kill
them next day.
* In connection with these I must quote from a rather remark-
able passage in The Occult Review (April, 1912, pages 193-4) to
show that the Hausa stories are not so foolish compared with
our own as they might at first seem to be. The writer states
that such phenomena have been attested for a number of years
by scientific men on the Continent, and he continues : " On one
occasion, for example, a glass decanter was seen to be moved
from the sideboard on which it stood on to the seance table, and
thence rise and float about the room, no one touching it, and
there being no possibility oi any connection between it and any
object in the room. Finally, the glass bottle held itself, or was
held by invisible hands, to Eusapia's mouth, and she thereupon
drank some of the water it contained." And, later on, " Sir
William Crookes informs us that on several occasions a bunch of
flowers was carried from one end of the table to the other, and
then held to the noses of various investigators in turn for
them to smell." The writer remarks : " Here, then, we have
phenomena, attested by scientific men, happening within the past
five or ten years, rivalling any of a like nature that are reported
to have occurred in fairy stories ! "
1 6 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
The " Swan-Maiden " of Europe (who appears as a
seal-maiden of the Shetland Isles, a fish-maiden in
England, and a dove-maiden in other parts), becomes in
the Hausa lore a " Donkey-Maiden " (T.H.H. 4), and
she also is coerced into matrimony by the seizure of her
skin, but in this case she does not seem to be anxious to
escape again — or, at least, the tale does not indicate it.
It is evident, however, that the skin must be kept out
of her way, for in another tale (L.T.H., ii 59) the
husband throws away the dog-skin which his wife has
been inhabiting into a river, and it is only then that
she appears to the world as a woman.*
In European tales these maidens usually disappear
if reproached, no matter what they do ; in a Hausa story
(F.-L. 39) a dove gives a youth wives and a city to
rule over (though she herself does not marry him), on
the condition that he will not abuse or ill-treat her, and
immediately the tabu is broken the youth becomes as
poor as ever. There is a further resemblance, for
in a Hausa story (43) the maidens have to guess
the name of the youth at whom they have set their caps
— or perhaps one should say " head-cloths " consider-
ing the costume of the country ; in a Welsh tale it is
the man who must make the discovery.
The inevitable escape of the superhuman female from
her mortal husband is said to be due to the fact that
amongst savages the marriage ties are very loose, but
as civilization advances, prohibitions appear, and so the
wife must remain. If so, the Hausa story must be of
fairly recent origin compared to its European counter-
* She killed a dog and got inside its skin to escape from an
evil spirit, Iska, and arrived safely at a town. She lodged at a
house, and when the people were out she used to do the house-
work. But one day the son lay in wait, and saw her, captured
her, and married her.
[III. — PRAYING FOR RAIN. IV.— RACES AT RAMADAN.
The lower photograph is in remarkable contrast to those in the frontispiece. Islam is gradually
obliterating the Pagan beliefs, and native spirits are shy of the European. Vide page no.
SIMILARITIES 17
parts, and this is only what we should expect. Another
explanation (page 120) is that the husband slights his
wife's totem, and so she leaves him.
Jephthah's Daughter has already been mentioned;
one is reminded of four other Bible stories in Why the
Giant Lost his Strength (99, Samson), The King
Who coveted his Son's Wife (55, David and Uriah),
The Boy who became his Rival's Ruler (45, Adonijah
and Absalom), and The Wicked Father and the Kind
Stranger (the Good Samaritan, 68). Stories of Solomon
are to be found (54 and variant), and some resembling
those of other Israelitish patriarchs.
The two doves passing the eye to each other (F.-L.
36) put one in mind of the Graiai to a slight extent,
except that there are only two of them instead of three ;
and the account of the manner in which the hyaena, after
having been rescued from the well, rewards her pre-
server (F.-L. 1 6) has its counterpart in many countries.
To many of Grimm's stories parallels can be found.
In his tale of " The Twelve Brothers," the sister has to
keep silence for seven years in order to have them
changed back from ravens into men, and the king
whom she has married is going to kill her owing to
false accusations, which she is powerless to answer,
brought by other women in the palace. But the seven
years are completed just as she is to be burnt, the spell
is broken, and the wicked women suffer instead. This
has many points of resemblance to Story 30. In Hausa-
land, again, jealous women substitute a dog for a baby
in the queen's bed (page 94), and the queen is con-
demned and imprisoned until the truth is known. The
strong man who, in lieu of wages, receives permission
to kick his master, reminds one of the price of the
bull in Stories 76, F.-L. 4 and 5, and T.H.H. 7, while
2
i8 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
in Strong Hans, the hero, Fir-twister, and Rock-
splitter, who are beaten by the dwarf when left behind
on guard, we can recognize Awudu and his companions
who wrestled with the Devil (88). The tale of Ferdi-
nand Faithful and Ferdinand Faithless is much the
same as that of Salifu (T.H.H. 6), especially at the
end, where the captured princess kills the king by a
trick and marries the man who had carried her off.
Grimm's shepherd-boy is quite as good in repartee as
is the precocious new baby (74), and the Youth who
could not shudder may be compared, perhaps, with
the people who could not sleep (83). The trick of
setting up a corpse and making a person who hits it
believe that she herself is the murderer is known to the
simple Hausa (80). As in Europe, so in Africa
(100), blood will tell — or rather speak.
As regards beings not quite human, we see that the
promise to a supernatural of an unborn child, or of a
living child in marriage, occurs in many tales (75 and
56). The robbers capture women for food in Europe,
as do the many-headed cannibals in Africa (98), and the
role of the dwarfs in saving a beautiful victim from her
step-mother may be played by the aljan (L.T.H., ii, 88).
It is always the youngest son who saves his brothers
(94), and the youngest daughter who seeks for her long-
lost sister (14 and 56), and the former may even change
himself into an animal (e.g., a horse, 49), and allow
himself to be sold for the benefit of the family ex-
chequer, only to change back again and escape when
the money has been got safely away. The filling with
water of a cask with holes in its bottom (or a sieve, 95)
is common in the land of witches, and when chased by
one of these creatures, European children might throw
down a brush, a comb, or a looking-glass — which would
UNCLE REMUS 19
change into a mountain— and by the time that she had
gone home and got her axe to clear the way, they would
be out of reach. Similar events are narrated in Stories
95 and 96. The magic bag, out of which different
things appear which will be indispensable to the hero,
is represented in West Africa by the magic handker-
chief (T.H.H. 6).
In the animal kingdom, also, the similarities are
numerous. The three crows in the tale of Faithful John
talk together and are overheard in exactly the sam«
manner as are the two doves in Story F.-L. 36, and all
birds, whatever their " nationality," seem to know the
healing properties of certain leaves (12). Many animals,
birds, and fish reward the hero for sparing their lives
(as in 3), and ants will sort out grain if kindly treated
(as in 76). We thus see that the Hausa is with the
European in emphasizing the fact that kindness to
animals, especially in seeing that they are fed first (as
in 79), will always bring its own reward. The fox and
the wolf correspond to the jackal and the dog at the
marriage-feast (F.-L. 29), for the jackal runs to the door
from time to time and measures himself, so that he may
not eat too much and swell, and be unable to escape;
while in the contest of wits, the cat's place is taken by
the dog, the jackal again playing the part of the cun-
ning reynard (F.-L. 30).
Inanimate objects, too, are equally possessed of
wondrous powers in Europe and in Africa, the story of
The Straw, The Coal, and The Bean reminding one of
The Dog, The Salt, and The Cake (F.-L. 2). The list
of similarities could be continued almost indefinitely,
but there is room to mention only one more here,
though this may be given in fuller detail.
UNCLE REMUS. — Several persons expressed surprise
20 HA US A SUPERSTITIONS
at seeing in Fables and Fairy Tales some stories
resembling those of the immortal Uncle Remus, but
surely one must expect to find such similarities in West
Africa, for, although they were related and recorded in
America, they had come originally from the former
country in the days of the slave-traders.* The jerboa
kills the lion here (25) instead of the hare (though the
latter is the hero in M.H. 77), and the tar-baby of
Uncle Remus becomes the rubber-girl in Hausaland,
but the incidents are essentially the same. Even
amongst the Hausas themselves, the spider and the
jerboa are interchangeable, and sometimes even the
jackal becomes the hero.
The " Tar-Baby Story," as it is popularly known,
will serve to illustrate what I have said above about
the existence of the same story in many parts of the
world, f though the student who really wishes to study
this particular phase should read the classics of Sir E. B.
Tylor, Professor Frazer, the late Mr. Andrew Lang, Mr.
Hartland, and others. It has been stated that at least
three distinct African versions of the tar-baby episode
in Brer Rabbit's career have come to light, but there
are more than three. One writer! found two variants in
* An example of the contrary condition of things is seen in
Dr. Schon's collection (M.H. 5) where our story of the mother
and the stupid youth (who puts needles in the hay, butter in his
sleeve, a puppy in a pot, and so on) has been translated into
Hausa by a missionary boy, and is given as a tale of the country.
The Dog in the Manger is also found there (M.H. 53), with a
Hausa ending. (i Because of that, whenever the dog sees the
cow he chases her, and the cow tries to gore him. Whenever he
barks she is frightened, and runs away."
t Mr. Hartland tells me that although it seems indigenous to
Africa, it is a very widespread incident, being found in North
America, quite independently of negro importation (Boas,
Indianische Sagen, p. 44), and also among the Buddhist Jataka
(cf. Jacob's Indian Fairy Tales, pp. 194 and 251).
£ Folk-Lore, vol. x, page 282.
UNCLE REMUS
21
the Blantyre and West Shire districts, on the other side
of the Continent, in one of which it was the cock which
was overreached with tragic results by the swallow, in
the other the rabbit's place was taken by the cat, and
it was a small bird which was too sharp for her.
In a Shisumbwa tale the owner of the field cut a log
of wood into the shape of a girl, adorned it with cloth
and beads, and smeared it with gum. The rabbit came
FIG. 6. — Koran case of yellow
in dark red stain. L,, 6| in.
leather, with pattern
Note the fastening.
up and addressed the girl, and, receiving no reply,
behaved in much the same fashion as the spider in
Story 15. But he escaped eventually through artifices
similar to those employed by the spider in Story 18,
and the youth in Story 90. In a Ronga tale the rabbit
used to frighten the women away by blowing a war-
horn, and, when caught by the gum-maiden, he saved
22 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS'
his own life at the expense of the chief, in much the
same way that the partridge saved hers in Story 24,
and the boy his in Story 70. In an Angola tale a
monkey also was caught, while in company with the
rabbit, by a wooden image of a girl smeared with the
gum of the wild fig-tree which had been set up by the
leopard, the owner of the farm. They escaped and
caught him, and then robbed and tortured him (thus
causing his spots), and since then they have always
had to sleep one in a tree, the other in a hole, so as
to be secure from surprise.
In Sierra Leone the spider has a similar adventure
with a virgin of wax. So as to be able to eat all the
rice and yet escape the trouble of working, he said that
he was ill, and having made his wife promise to bury
him on his farm, he pretended to die. He was interred
there, and soon afterwards the rice began to disappear in
a mysterious manner, for every night (after the others
had gone home) he would emerge from his grave and
eat. His wife having sought advice from a " country-
fashion-man " made a virgin of wax (from the chockooh
tree), and the spider was caught as usual. All the
people beat him, and that is why his body is flat
nowadays; formerly he was " roun' lek pusson."*
In the Yoruba versionf the hare is the victim
of an image smeared with bird-lime. The ani-
mals were suffering from thirst, and at last they
decided that each should cut off the tips of his ears,
and that the fat from them should be sold so as to get
money to buy hoes with which to dig a well. All cut
their ears except the hare, and they dug their well, but
by and by the hare came up, making such a noise with
* Cronise and Ward, o-p. cit., page 109.
t Lt.-Col. A. F. Mockler-Ferryman, British Nigeria, page
288.
UNCLE REMUS 23
a calabash that all the other animals bolted away with-
out waiting to see what it was. Then he slaked his
thirst, but not content with this he bathed in the water,
and made it muddy. After his departure the animals
saw what had occurred, and they set up an image, and
smeared it with bird-lime. The usual thing happened,
of course, and the hare was well beaten, but at last he
was allowed to go, and he has lived in the grass ever
since. Thus he has longer ears than other animals.
Two distinct versions of the story as told in
Northern Nigeria are given later on (15 and 15 v).
In all of the above, the tar-baby, rubber-girl, wax-
virgin, or gum-maiden, whichever it may be, does not
reply to the thief when he accosts her, but this is not
always the case. In a Kongo story,* the gazelle pro-
tected his farm from the leopard by carving and setting
up a wooden fetish called Nkondi, and when the leopard
threatened to hit, kick and bite, the Nkondi dared him
to do so. The leopard accepted the challenge, of
course, and suffered in the approved fashion.
Now is this simply a " silly story " ? Has this tale
become so widespread simply because of its power to
amuse children ? Is it not much more likely that the
fetish-posts which one sees in the fields — simply sticks
to which rags or bunches of leaves are tied —
are the representatives in real life of the tar-babies in
the fables, especially since to them is ascribed the power
of catching thieves? Is it not exceedingly probable
that the tales have been built up to impress upon the
listeners the magical power of these posts? Certainly,
in most cases, the owner of the field has to depend for
the preservation of his crops upon the respect in which
the fetishes are held. The Hausa Kunda or Rwanda
* Folk-Lore, vol. xx, page 210.
24 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
(which sometimes has an inverted calabash on the stick
as well as, or instead of, the leaves or rags) is supposed
to cause the hands of the thief to fall off directly he
sees it, and if it fails the executioner may perform the
task when the thief is condemned (vide Note i, 2). It
seems quite clear if we remember that not only
does the ignorant pagan erect such charms to
warn off human beings, but even the intelli-
gent Mohammedan believes that similar objects will
keep locusts away (see Note vi, i), the only difference
being that with the latter a sheet of paper is substituted
for the leaves.
ELABORATE TRAPS AND EASY ESCAPES. — In some
cases one is struck by the very easy manner in which
captured men or animals escape (23, 26, and 90, and
F.-L. 23) — possibly because they can make themselves
invisible,* though this is not always stated. A favour-
ite method is that of the youths in 89, or the hyaenas
* Perhaps the original ideas of the wonderful escapes were
similar to those regarding the " spirit cabinet " of to-day, in
which a person bound and chained can move about, although
discovered a minute later to be still in his shackles ! Perhaps
there is a more simple explanation. We know that even to-day
persons mesmerised can see things or not see things, as directed,
and it is quite possible that the idea of invisibility in the tales
arose originally through this fact, the subject becoming in time
the hero or the villain, as the case may be, the other being
developing meanwhile into the antagonist, and the operator
being even then credited with magic powers. The knowledge
of hypnotism is old. Possibly the struggle between Moses and
Aaron and the Egyptian sorcerers was simply a competition in
the powers of suggestion, for a similar thing is said (The Occult
Review, April, 1912, page 190) to have happened lately in Egypt
— at any rate, there is a papyrus dated 3766 B.C. describing a
seance in which a magician bound on a head which had been
cut off, and made a lion follow him. As a fairly frequent
modern example of appearance and disappearance, the case
of sentries in war-time may be noted, for to a man tensely on
the alert (even if he has no fear) bushes may move, and hostile
scouts seem to come and go in a most realistic manner.
CHRONOLOGY AND STYLE 25
in 23, but often the Dodo, or whatever it may be, just
lets the victim loose, and tells him to wait while he goes
and gets fire with which to cook him, and is surprised to
find, on his return, that the " meal-elect " has disap-
peared. In others, however, there seem to be unneces-
sarily elaborate means taken by the hero of the tale to
secure the downfall of his adversary, or vice versa ; thus
in one story (T.H.H. 6), Slipperiness, personified, is
summoned to cause the youths carrying food to the hero
to fall down and so spoil it. Why could not the ants
already there have eaten it ? Again, a large force is sent
out to kill a slave (19), whereas the King had the power
of life and death over him, and could have ordered his
immediate execution. Of course, a ram with magical
attributes may be too much for a couple of hundred
men, yet he is very easily overcome in the end, and by
the very simple — but no doubt effective — means of an
ordinary poisoned arrow.*
CHRONOLOGY AND STYLE. — The chronological order
is not always strictly observed, for the ant speaks after
it has been swallowed (T.H.H. 2), and a bird sings
after it has been cut up and cooked (M.H. 45), even
after it has been eaten If That they can do this
is not altogether surprising, for the dead ewe can hear
the youth addressing her (79), and only comes back to
life when she thinks that he is really going to commit
suicide for her sake.
* It is interesting to note that the strength of the ram was
in a wind (or spirit of the wind, iska] that attended him, and
that the Egyptian god of the wind, Kne-ph, had a ram's head.
But Kne-ph is identical with Ra, the sun, and the fact that the
Hausa Rago (ram) goes away each day, and, in a variant, has
birds to help him, suggests that the story is a sun-myth, borrowed
from Egypt.
t A similar thing happens in a Sierra Leone story where the
Devil turns Pigeon (Cronise and Ward, page 160).
26 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
Now and then the style is made much more graphic
by the narrator addressing the characters in the second
person as if actually present. An example will
be found on page 158, but a much better one
is given in L.T.H. 119, where in one of the
cases tried by the jackal, the narrator says " You, O
Dog, want to seize the Monkey. You, O Hyaena, want
to spring upon the Dog. You, O Dog, want to catch
the Wild-Cat." Another method is for the narrator to
interrupt his narrative to call attention to the position,
thus in F.-L. 49, " See, they alight together. There
is the fugitive, there is the one who wants to seize
him " ; and there is another example in Story 15. The
changing of the person is extremely confusing at times,
for the narrator may commence a speech in the first per-
son and finish it in the third, thus making the listener
uncertain as to whether the words are a quotation or a
description. Even a member of a Hausa audience
sometimes has to ask " En ji wa " — Let me know who
(it is who is speaking).
Parables are often introduced into the stories, thus
in the trial of a Ba-Maguje (pagan Hausa) who had
married his own daughter, his defence was that he
had inquired of a malam if it would be right. The
malam denied having been asked, but the other said " I
asked you that if a man had a mare with a foal, and
the mare died, could he ride the foal, and you said
' yes.* " In another, a chief desires the wife of one of
his slaves, and he sends the husband on a journey.
The wife is virtuous, wonderful to relate, shaming the
chief by saying that " the master does not drink from
the same vessel as his dog.'* The slave returns, finds
the chief's boots, and thinks his wife false, so he sends
her away. Her parents go to the alkali and demand
CHRONOLOGY AND STYLE 27
that their farm (the daughter) be given back to them,
as it has borne no fruit. The husband says that he is
afraid to go to the farm because he has seen the spoor
of the lion there. But the chief assures him that the
lion will not harm him, and so all ends happily. Other
examples, also, remind one of Biblical parables.
Not only in substance is it that the Hausa story
may call to mind an English tale, the monotonous
repetition of The House that Jack Built, and The
Old Woman and the Pig, find rivals in The Boy
who was Lucky in Trading (27) and Story 78. Here at
any rate is a " silly story " ! But is it ? Sir E. B. Tylor
points out* that a poem printed at the end of the Jewish
Passover services begins " A kid, a kid, my father
bought for two pieces of money/' and it goes on to
describe how a cat came and ate the kid, a dog bit the
cat, and so on, until " Then came the Holy One,
blessed be He ! and slew the angel of death, who slew
the butcher, who killed the ox, that drank the water,
that quenched the fire, that burnt the stick that beat
the dog, that bit the cat, that ate the kid, that my father
bought for two pieces of money." The learned writer
says that one interpretation of this is that Palestine (the
kid) is devoured by Babylon (the cat), which is over-
thrown by Persia, and later on Persia is conquered by
Greece, Greece by Rome, until at last the Turks are
victorious. But in the end the nations of Europe will
drive out the Turks (their territory is rapidly diminish-
ing), the angel of death will destroy the enemies
of Israel, and so that nation will once more be supreme.
The Hausa story, also, may have a deep significance.
As has been said before, some parts of the stones
are often told in a sing-song voice, and at any rate
* Primitive Culture, i, page 86.
28 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
many of the speeches are sung, especially if an animal
be speaking, sometimes in falsetto, always with a strong
nasal twang. In the examples which follow, the words
are intoned so as to resemble the actual sounds of the
animals concerned. The wild-cat wants the rooster to
come out to play with her at night, and calls out Saidu,
Saidu, which the rooster said was his name. The
rooster takes no notice, but at dawn next morning he
calls out " Chikkakalike, Chikkakalike, who has been
calling Saidu? " The wild-cat comes again, and later
on has more success, the rooster falling into her clutches
and calling out in a choked voice, Kurait, as he is
being hurried off to the bush, the other roosters asking
what sort of amana (friendship) is this? A variant
(L.T.H., 46) has a happier ending, the people of the
house driving off the cat, and thus saving the cock.
At one time the lion used to roar " Allah Abin Tsoro
(God is to be feared), Za(i)ki Abin Tsoro (the lion is to
be feared), but since his conquest by man (see page
31), he has substituted the word Mutum (man) for
Za(i)ki in the latter part.
In some recitals the words are intended to sound
like the barking of -two dogs quarrelling, but one of
the greatest favourites is supposed to represent a
hysena, some big dogs, and some puppies :
Ga tulun zuma. (see the pot of honey) says the
^ _ _/
Enna, enna, enna? (where, where, where ?) ask the
puppies.
Ga ragon seyeruwa. (see a ram for sale) says the
hyaena.
fabu seye, babu seye. (not buying, not buying) reply
the big dogs.
CHRONOLOGY AND STYLE
29
; ga abu ba(k)ki, (I see something black, black,
ba(k)ki, ba(k)ki. black) say the puppies.
(watch it well) reply the big
dogs,
(the dog is my cousin) says the
hyaena.
Chan, chan, chan. (go, go, go) exclaim the big
dogs who are of a different
opinion.
Dub a dakeau.
Ka(r)re zumuna.
FlG. 7. — Leather cushion, with pattern picked out (and thus appearing
white) and circles of black. D., 22J in.
FIG. 8. — Book cover of red leather, part of pattern picked out, part
stained black, edge sewn with yellow leather. L., i8£ in.
CHAPTER III.
ANIMALS IN THE TALES.
The Animal Community — The King of Beasts and Insects —
Birds — Fish — Habits of Animals — Animals Resemble Human
Beings.
ACCORDING to the Hausas, all the animals lived
together at one time as members of a single community
in a kind of Garden of Eden, but the sins of one of
the number — usually the tricks of the spider or the
thefts of the hyaena — destroyed the happy family.
These animal communities were organized on exactly
the same lines as are the human tribes to-day, of course,
with chiefs, officials, and subjects, who had duties and
dwellings such as are familiar to the narrator in his
daily life.* One story shows how the lion was
king before the arrival of man, and, so far as
I am aware, there is no idea of a Hausa Adam
naming the animals, for they seem to have been first
in the world.
THE KING OF BEASTS AND INSECTS. — The hare
* Dr. Leo Frobenius (The Childhood, of Man, page 410) says
that although there are animals who build themselves houses,
who clothe themselves, who rear live-stock, till the land, and
have established orderly government, there are no animals which
understand the use of fire, and he holds that " it is this posses-
sion that distinguishes the development even of the very lowest
peoples from that of animals." From several of the stories given
here, it will be seen that his remarks are not correct as regards
Hausa Folk-lore.
THE KING OF BEASTS AND INSECTS 31
(zomo) appears in a few of the Hausa tales, and is
usually the victor (F.-L. 20), but the great hero is the
spider (gizzo) who is the king of cunning, and, as has
been seen, after each account the narrator excuses him-
self for his untruths by stating that the story has, been
told in the name of this insect. In one story (L.T.H. 20)
the Hare agrees to go partners in a farm first with the
Elephant, and then with the Giraffe, and makes them
do all the work by pretending that he himself has done
what each has accomplished in the others' absence.
When all has been finished he frightens both of them
away, and so has the farm to himself.
The King of Beasts is usually the lion, though he
cannot conquer the leopard (damissa, 78), but some-
times the spider is said to possess the throne (F.-L. 2).
Certainly, by reason of his having obtained a charm
for popularity from a malam (T.H.H. i), no animals
will betray him, and his tricks usually go unpunished.
However, Za(i)ki (lion) stands for power and dignity,
and is a complimentary title for a chief, and there is
no doubt that a leader would rather be known as such
than as a Gizzo. At one time the lion was not afraid
of man, it was only when his lioness had been killed
by a poisoned arrow that he believed that man was
greater than he.* Probably this tale arose after the
discovery of poison for arrows.
The lion is no match for the spider in low cunning,
he has to get the help of an old woman on the only
occasion on which he comes off best (T.H.H. 2), the
insect being shown at various times as outwitting not
only him (F.-L. n), but also the hyaena, the buffoon
* Kanta, the founder of Kebbi, is said to have issued a
proclamation to the spirits and wild beasts to leave his people
in peace, and they did so, whereas before this, men had been
killed daily.
32 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
of the animal world (21 and F.-L. 2, 3, n), the hippo-
potamus, and the elephant, and as being stronger than
these two beasts together (F.-L. i); the snake (F.-L. 4),
the jackal (F.-L. 14), the lamb (F.-L. 13), all the animals
(F.-L. 3, 6 and 7), and even man (F.-L. 12), and young
women (72). But he does not seem equal to an old
woman (83, F.-L. 14 and T.H.H. 2), and men often
pay him out in the end (17, F.-L. 9, 16 and 32), as
do certain of the animals, such as the tortoise (F.-L. 8),
the jackal (F.-L. 10), and the goat (F.-L. 13). There
is no sense of proportion, the spider carries a boy on
his back (70), and can lift any animal (F.-L. 6, 7, 8),
and eat it (36 and 78). But this is probably due to
the fact that he takes human shapes at times (15), and
may possibly be a giant. The female spider is called
Koki ; probably it is a different variety, for such dis-
tinctions of sex are rare, though one may have been
made in the case of this particular insect to mark its
superior position. The spider is always represented as
being very greedy, even refusing to share a feast with
his wife whenever he can manage to do so, and con-
sidering the rapacious nature of the local chiefs, the
reason would seem to be that greed is one of the
attributes appropriate to royalty !*
* The character of this insect is so well summed up in
Cunnie Rabbit that I give it in full : " The Spider appears to be
the national hero, the impersonation of the genius of the race.
To him are ascribed the qualities most characteristic of the
people, or those most to be desired : cunning, sleeplessness,
almost immortality, an unlimited capacity for eating, and an
equal genius for procuring the necessary supplies. He possesses
a charmed life, and escapes from all intrigue. He is a tireless
weaver, and has spun the thread of his personality into all the
warp and woof of the national life. With him the adults
associate most of their traditions, while the children love him,
and push him tenderly aside if he chances to come in their way.
He is inclined to be lazy, and refuses to lift even the lightest
burden if it is in the nature of work; if it is something to eat,
he can carry the carcase of an elephant with the greatest ease."
V.— MALAMS, OR LEARNED MEN. MOHAMMEDAN PRIESTS, WHO (AS A BODY)
BELIEVE IN MAGIC. VI.— THE OLD AND THE NEW.
Note the rich embroidery on the dress of the shorter man, and the leggings (attached to the
trousers) of the other.
The horsemen (Filani and Hausa) were all-powerful before the arrival of the Europeans, who
trained the subdued races to conquer their conquerors
THE KING OF BEASTS AND INSECTS 33
Dr. Rivers tells me that, in his opinion, the insect
stands for some legendary hero, who, by reason of
superior tactics and strength, overcame the indigenous
inhabitants. This certainly seems to be the case in
many stories (the Hyaena representing 'the conquered
people, in all probability), but in others it would
appear as if the spider were more nearly connected
with the sun.
Sometimes the jerboa (kurege) takes the part of the
spider, and often does much better, for, so far as I
know, he is never outwitted. Thus he even kills the
lion (25), and gets the better of the hyaena on many
occasions (F.-L. 27) ; and he is too clever even for the
jackal (F.-L. 26). Charms and aphrodisiacs are made
from his body, his bite will cause madness, while if
a man be touched in a certain part with a jerboa's tail,
he will become impotent, it is said. In the stories here
given, the variants which have come to my notice are
mentioned, but there are no doubt many others; and
the same thing applies in the case of other animals.
The jackal (dila) has a special kirari, or form of
address, " O Learned One of the Forest " (6), and
though he sometimes enters into contests with other
rivals, such as the spider (F.-L. 10), or the dog (F.-L.
30), it is as a judge that we usually find him engaged
(26, F.-L. 1 6), though his sentences are more clever
than just.* His title of Malamin Daji is claimed also
by a large species of wood-pigeon which is always
making itself heard.
The leopard seldom finds a place in <the Hausa folk-
lore ; if he does appear, it is merely so that he can kill
* In Northern India, too, the lion is the King of Beasts, with
the jackal as his minister. Vide Crooke, The Po-pular Religion
and Folk-lore of Northern India, 2nd ed., vol. ii, page 210.
3
34 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
the hyasna; he is never a friend of man. The monkey
(birri) is sometimes mentioned, but not the baboon
(gogo). I was told by men at Amar that if a leopard
kills one of the latter animals his tribe will lie in wait,
and if their enemy climbs a tree, and, crouches upon a
branch, the baboons will drop down upon him and kill
him.
The dog (ka(r)re) is considered anything but
sagacious, perhaps because it is such a very poor
specimen — resembling a mongrel greyhound. There
seems to be only one breed, but some animals grow
very much larger than others, and there may really be
several varieties. Most are cowardly curs, and are
therefore good watch-dogs ; some of the bigger members
of the family will attack hyaenas — as did a little fox-
terrier which I had for a time — but they are not used
in war. Strangely enough, considering the low estima-
tion in which they are held, they are supposed to kill
witches and Dodo, but only if properly treated (M.H.
11). We find that throughout folk-lore dogs are asso-
ciated with the spirits of the dead, and are regarded as
being able to drive away evil spirits.* They are
scavengers, and are not used at the present time for
food, either ceremonial or otherwise, so far as I can
ascertain, though they may have furnished a disli at
one time (30), but the Magazawa eat them now, and
certain tribes in the Jemaa district always include a
dog in a marriage gift. Some say that the brown and
white dogs were once used in hunting — certainly some
kinds were (M.H. 52) — but that the black ones are
regarded as evil spirits which cause blindness. The
abhorrence of the black dog may be due to Semitic
* In England it used to be thought that a spayed bitch pre-
vented a house being haunted. Crooke, 0$. cit.^ ii, 222.
THE KING OF BEASTS AND INSECTS 35
influence, for the animal was so much despised that the
price of a dog was not accepted as an offering to God,
and Mohammedans regard the animal as impure.*
The dog is always in difficulties with the hysena (F.-L.
20 and 30), and has to be very clever to get out of
danger (F.-L. 21 and 22), and although on one occasion
he manages to play a trick on her (F.-L. 33, which is a
variant of 23), it is the goat which thinks out the plan.
He is no match for the jackal (F.-L. 29 and 30).
The hyaena, as mentioned above, is the buffoon of
the animal world, and is deceived by the goat (F.-L. 18,
23 and 33), the jerboa (F.-L. 26 and 27), the ostrich
F.-L. 38), the jackal (F.-L. 30), the scorpion
(F.-L. 15), the lizard (F.-L. 19), the dog (F.-L. 22,
33), even the donkey (F.-L. 25 and 28), and, of course,
man (F.-L. 32); but he sometimes manages to avenge
himself on the two latter (82 and T.H.H. i). The
hyaena is a noted thief, and has a bad name (34 and
F.-L. 2), and she is very vain, being quite overcome by
flattery (53 and F.-L. n).f She is fond of dancing and
of music, and she once (M.H. 38) returns a child to its
mother because the latter has taught her a song.
She has some magic power of appearing and
disappearing (though this is not shown in the
tales), and is sometimes called aratna, the friend,
though for what reason I could not discover. One
man informed me that the name is given because
* But there is a Greek belief which is closer to the Hausa
viz., that the sight of a black dog with its pups was unlucky.
Compare also our saying of a sullen person that a black dog
has walked over him — or is on his back.
t In India the tiger and even the Rakshasa (Dodo) are
amenable to courtesy, and will release a victim if addressed as
" Uncle." Crooke, o-p. cit., i, 249. The Hausa calls a witch
" Mother " (95).
36 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
she tries to come into a man's house at night, but it
may be that the Hausa magician resembles his col-
league in North-West Uganda in being able to make
the hyaena take the place of a dog, and in that case
amina would be better translated by " familiar," per-
haps. Another man said that Amina was simply one
of the names of the beast, she having taken several so
that she may have an advantage in the division of food,
as is shown in the following story. Some of the
animals had found a carcase, and the hyaena, being
the biggest present, said " I will divide it up." She
took one quarter, and said " This is for Amina " ; she
took another fourth part, and said " This is for
Burungu " (despoiler) ; she took a third quarter, and
said "This is for Maibi derri" (Traveller by night);
and then she took the remainder and said " Now the
rest is yours."
The goat (bunsuru and akwia) and sheep
(rago and tinkia) are not supposed to be at all
foolish in Hausaland. The goat can outwit the lion
(F.-L. 1 8), and the hyaena (F.-L. 18, 22 and 33); the
sheep also is too good for the latter (F.-L. 15 and 16),
and may kill even men (66). It is often said by new-
comers that they cannot tell the difference between sheep
and goats, because the former have hair like the latter,
not wool, and even in the tales they are confused, but
the animals are quite distinct in reality. There are
several varieties of the sheep, a large kind from Bornu
with a very Jewish nose being the most valuable.
Nowadays, of course, rams are killed by the
Mohammedans, but even in the old days sheep and
goats had some sacrificial value, as will be seen later.
The shivering of the goat is noticed in F.-L. 23, the
animal pretending to the hyaena that he was God
THE KING OF BEASTS AND INSECTS 37
through being able to produce rain (by shaking him-
self) when all else was dry.*
The horse (doki) is said to have been introduced
about 1000 A.D., but he does not appear to enter into
the folk-lore to any great extent, though when he takes
any active part at all it is always to help man against
witches (95 and M. 2). The friendship is not
always reciprocal, however, far in some stories (67 and
68) a man's affection for his adopted son is measured
FIG. 9. — Koran case, back of fig. 6.
by the number of valuable horses which he allows him
to kill.
The donkey (ja(i)ki) is not altogether an ass (F.-L.
25 and 28, and L.T.H., ii, 2), though a very
small specimen, and although he may not be
able to deceive other animals in the way described
in the stories quoted, he certainly can give a good deal
* In India the shivering is supposed to be due to an in-
dwelling spirit, and the goat is made use of in disputes re
boundaries. Crooke, o$. cit.t ii, 224.
38 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
of trouble to his drivers by walking between trees and
thus getting rid of his load. The Hausa traders own
great numbers of these animals, and make them carry
about 150 Ibs. ; they also ride on them occasionally. At
one time the donkey lived in the forest (F.-L. 28), but
in the end he took refuge in the town.
The two stories which I have obtained concerning
the tortoise (kunkuru) show him to be well able to hold
his own with either man (82) or spider (F.-L. 8). The
elephant (F.-L. i, 14 and 38), camel (rakumi 26), and
hippopotamus (dorina* F.-L. i) are dull beasts, yet
Toron Giwa (Bull Elephant) is a complimentary title
of a chief. It is said that at first there was no elephant,
but that God made every living thing give up a small
piece of its body, and with these He made this beast.
"That is why the elephant is the biggest." The
monkey (birri) is foolish (F.-L. 16), and sometimes
impertinent (26). The porcupine (begua) and the
hedgehog (bushia), for they seem to be confused,
are possessed of wonderful powers over men (2) and
witches (M. 5), not only in this world, but also in the
next (85), they can take people up to the sky (L.T.H.
ii, 14) — as also can the wild-cat (64) — and are always on
the side of right.
One does not expect to find the snake (machiji F.-L.
30), the scorpion (kunama F.-L. 15), the centipede
(buzuzu F.-L. 44), or the locust (fara 87), acting as the
friend of man, but it will be seen that such an opinion
is not necessarily correct. f The names of certain snakes
* From doki na rua — water-horse.
t But the Hausas worshipped the snake, in all probability—
though it does not follow that the ''sa in the name indicates this —
and there were both good and evil serpents in Egypt. Most of
the other animals, &c.s named here are noted by Robertson
Smith {Kinship and Marriage, pages 2ig et sqq.) as being Arabic
totems, so good offices would be expected from them.
BIRDS 39
are sometimes bestowed on warriors as a compliment !
One kind of centipede is said to come out only at
night, and to emit a light about four inches in length,
and if it should walk over a person's hand, the hand
will emit light afterwards. It is somewhat surprising
that lizards (kaddanga(r)7i) but seldom find a place in
the stories, for they are always present in the houses.*
One kind is said to be killed and mixed with chaff to
fatten cattle.
BIRDS. — Birds seem usually much more intelligent
than animals (F.-L. 5, 6, 38 and 42), though not always
(F.-L. 41), and they can give even Solomon a hint at
times (54). They are almost always on the side of
man, even at the expense of another human being;
eagles (mikia 76), pigeons (tantabbara F.-L. 42), doves
(kurichia 50 and F.-L. 36), and other birds (T.H.H. 7)
backing him up whether he deserves it or not. Usually
they protect a victim against his oppressor (12), or at
any rate help those in need of aid (44). The domestic
fowl (kaza) is usually a fool (21 and F.-L. 44),
though the rooster (zakarrd) may sometimes have
his wits about him (20). The small first eggs of a hen
are commonly attributed to the cock, and it is said that
the white-breasted crow hatches her young from stolen
hen's eggs.
* This agrees with Dr. Rivers' remarks (paper, Folk-lore
Society, June, 1912). He believes it to be " a general rule that
man has not mythologized about the domestic animals with
which he is in daily contact, but rather about those he sees
only occasionally, so that special features of their structure or
behaviour have not a familiarity which has bred contempt and
made them unfit subjects for the play of imagination." The
author's definition of " myth " excludes stories which are purely
fictitious, so the tales based upon the habits of familiar domestic
animals (e.g., the donkey and the dog) are not really exceptions
to his rule.
40 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
There is, of course, a battle between the beasts of
the forest and the birds of the air (22) as in our
own fairy-tales, but I have not come across a story so
interesting as one told in Southern Nigeria where the
bat (jemage) could not decide to which side he ought to
belong (to the animals as a mouse, or to the birds on
account of his wings), and so has now to avoid both,
by lying low in the daytime when birds are about, and
by flying at night out of reach of the animals.
FISH. — Fish do not often find a place in the stories,
though they can act the part of a fairy godmother to a
Hausa Cinderella when they do (3). But they are not
always grateful. One which was released by a malam
for a similar reason given in (3), swam away to a safe
distance and abused him, and its name, Butulu, has
been a synonym for ingratitude ever since.
HABITS OF ANIMALS. — It is only natural that in
some of the stories the peculiar habits of the mem-
bers of the animal world should have been com-
mented upon. So far from being too dull to
think at all, the native has an inquiring mind,
and he must invent a reason, where it is not
apparent, for the events of everyday life. No doubt his
thoughts run upon strange lines, but he certainly does
think, let anyone who doubts this try to get the better
of a Hausa or Yortiba trader !
The panting of the dog and his fondness for lying
down are, of course, objects of notice (41 and F.-L. 20),
and become tacked on to a good many stories (F.-L.
30). Thus when the hare and the dog are caught by
the hyaena, and she asks which of them she had been
chasing, the hare says "Why, surely he who is now
panting," and the dog has to fly for his life. The
fondness of hysenas for dogs and goats is not likely to
HABITS OF ANIMALS 41
go unnoticed by a people who value their pets and
property (F.-L. 20 and 23), nor is the fact that hawks
are partial to chickens (22), wild-cats to fowls (20, 21
and 45), and cats to mice (62 and 79). The wagging of
the donkey's head deceives the hungry hyaena who
thinks that he is biting at meat each time (F.-L. 25),
and another story shows that he became domesticated
because the hyaena discovered that what she had thought
to be horns were in reality only ears (F.-L. 28). The
hyaena was therefore no longer afraid of him, and the
donkey had to flee into the town for protection, pre-
ferring to be a servant of man than to furnish a meal
for his enemy. The thieving propensities of the hyaena
are recorded (34 and T.H.H. i), also those of the mouse
(62 and F.-L. 34 and 38), and dog (79).
I have several times seen a snake trying to swallow a
frog, and evidently the sight is not uncommon (F.-L.
45 and 50), although the frog is seldom seen in the day-
time (39). The difference between the effect of the
poisons of the snake and the scorpion is seen in Story
40. Although the spider remains still for a long time
(hence his name maiwayo, for he is supposed to be
thinking out some plan), he can get away quickly
enough when one wants to kill him — the presence of
such large numbers of the insect being explained in
Story F.-L. 32. It is rather hard on him that the boy
(70) and the partridge (24) both borrow his particular
trick and beat him. Ants carry grains singly, so
they may be used for sorting out different kinds (80),
and their store-houses are useful to poor people (38 and
F.-L. 45).
The fact that the note of the crow resembles the
word da (son) is satisfactorily explained in a story about
the origin of that bird (64). It will fly away at once if
42 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
anyone prepares to throw a missile at it (F.-L. 40). The
way in which doves (or wood-pigeons) will fly a little
way along the road in front of a traveller and settle in
the road, and then fly on again and settle again, until
at last they fly back and leave him to go on alone, is
shown in The Search for a Bride (F.-L. 36). Pigeons
are easily tameable, and will come to eat grain if it be
offered them (F.-L. 42).
Examples could be multiplied almost indefinitely,
but this part of the subject is not particularly important,
and the above will be sufficient, probably, to show that
the Hausa is not altogether unobservant — even in
matters not directly concerned with the food-supply !
ANIMALS RESEMBLE HUMAN BEINGS. — Many animals
behave exactly like human beings, as regards, for
instance, living in houses (24 and F.-L. 50) which
have to be repaired (F.-L. 7). The familiar story
of Little Golden Hair and the Three Bears conveys a
similar idea, though this perhaps is not a good example
of our folk-lore. The forest communities are organized
on similar lines, as has been mentioned, and each
species of animal may have its own quarter in a general
city, or even a city to itself (F.-L. 20).
The Hausa animals also resemble the Hausa folk in
visiting (24 and 34), courtship (F.-L. 27), marriage
(F.-L. 12 and 27), feeding their young (3), spinning
(F.-L. 33), grinding corn (163), marketing and fleeing
from their creditors (167 and F.-L. 5, 7 and 50),
working on the farm (15 and F.-L. 10) or in the smithy
(41) — and it is not only the British workman who can
invent excuses for the inevitable delays — dancing (F.-L.
n), wrestling (F.-L. 19), seeking revenge (F.-L. 18
and 50), fighting (22), and even going to the next
world (85). Some of the highest human virtues are
ANIMALS RESEMBLE HUMAN BEINGS 43
possessed by a few of the animals, particularly the
horse, as, alas ! are most of the vices !
As one would naturally expect, men and animals
can converse, even without any transformation — though
the former may not always understand (50 and F.-L. 36)
—and, as has been mentioned above, sometimes even
inanimate objects also can talk and act.* In fact,
man is evidently very closely connected with every
other living thing, f since one may marry the
other (57, 58 and F.-L. 37, 38, 45 and 47),
and have offspring (72 and F.-L. 48), even though the
latter be not animate in the ordinary sense — perhaps
such have the power of changing into human beings
at will (71). As has been mentioned, a chief is often
addressed as " Lion " or " Bull Elephant," these refer-
ring merely to the man's power; but a closer connec-
tion with the animal kingdom would seem to lie in the
epithet " Son of a Wild Beast," which, strange to say,
is considered complimentary ! In addition to these
forms of address, the name of some animal is often given
as a name to a child, but this need not be treated further
here, for it is considered under " Names " in Chapter
VII.
In the case of monkeys, particularly the big
baboons, it is just possible that the stories of
marriage between animals and human beings were
founded upon actual events. An Ijo cook whom I had
* This is found elsewhere, of course, though expressions like
" Dead as a door-nail " and " Deaf as a post " point to a contrary
opinion.
t For the reason I have used capitals in the stories for the
initial letters of the names of animals, and even for those of
things when taking an active part. The numerous capitals look
somewhat strange in cold English type, perhaps, but they
certainly reflect the idea in the mind of the Hausa. To him the
characters are exceedingly real and personal.
44 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
in 1903 told me that the women of his country were
afraid of monkeys assaulting them in the bush, and
that some other tribes were the issue of such unions.
Here, Son of a Wild Beast would be a true description.
In Ilorin similar stories were told, but (as at Jemaan
Daroro) it was always some other tribe which was the
result. At the same time, I have never heard of an
actual case — though it is not altogether inconceivable —
and I suspect that either the husbands invented the
tales so as to keep their wives from wandering in the
bush, or else that the legend may be placed on a par
with those of tail-bearing people, and that it is due
simply to a wish to revile a less civilized tribe. I fear
that not much stress can be laid upon the fact that the
words for "aunt " and " baboon " are the same !
Although it may be usual to suppose that animals
help man only because of some previous aid, this does
not always hold good in Hausa Folk-Lore, for the animal
or bird in question which proposes to do the good turn
usually prefaces his remarks with the cheerful assertion :
" You men of the world, you return night for day "
(i.e., evil for good), and the person benefited imme-
diately proceeds to prove the statement true in many
cases. It is gratifying to find that this is not a purely
distinctive human failing, for the denizens of the forest
treat each other in a similar way, and the animal-bene-
factor may be maimed (F.-L. 16), or even killed
(T.H.H. 2) by the one which he has placed under an
obligation. Still, it is quite possible that parts of the
stories have been lost, and that could the whole be
traced, there would be found running through the vast
majority the principle that " one good turn deserves
another."
At any rate, kindness to animals is strongly insisted
ANIMALS RESEMBLE HUMAN BEINGS 45
upon. The wise ewe abundantly rewards the youth for
always seeing that she was fed before he himself ate
(79), the dog and cat (29) and other animals (80) well
earn their keep, and the bull gives a good or bad report
to the Mender of Men according to whether the be-
reaved mother has tended the herd well or ill (84).
Other instances are quoted amongst the examples of
gratitude in the following chapter.
Of course, accidents do occur even in the best regu-
lated human-animal families, as where the snake in the
end kills his benefactor after having previously saved
his life (80), but this is plainly unintentional, and it
does not appear in every variant of the story.
FIG. io.— Purse of red leather
with pattern in black ink. The
lizard is outlined in stitches of white,
blue, and yellow leather. The in-
side pocket is pulled down by the
loop at the bottom. L., 5$ in.
FIG. ii. Money-belt of red leather, pattern picked out. L., 30$ in.
CHAPTER IV.
PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS AND VIRTUES.
A Blind Man — A Woman's Tongue — Bravery — Honesty —
Debts — Indolence — Gratitude — Morality — Love — Dislike
— Drunkenness — Hospitality — Salutations — The Sign-Language—
Games, £c. — Riddles — Proverbs — Puns, &c. — Poetry.
A BLIND man is supposed to be very cunning, a
proverb running " If you gamble with jack-stones (cow-
ries), do not do so with a blind man, for he is certain
to hide one under his feet." There are very many
blind people in Northern Nigeria, Kano being, I be-
lieve, the worst place for eyesight.
A WOMAN'S TONGUE. — Garrulous females are noted
in Nigeria, one saying is " A woman's strength
is a multitude of words," and there are others
to the same effect. When a woman is silent
it is evident that there is something radically
wrong (44 and 62). Very often the words can be ignored,
but not always, for a hairdresser is as famous there as
here, as is mentioned later under kirari, and her scandal
may cause trouble.
BRAVERY. — Courage is greatly admired, and natur-
ally so in a people who have had to fight con-
tinuously for their very existence. There is a
proverb to the effect that even Death admires
valour, and that although she may kill the
body she cannot destroy that virtue. The Hausa
HONESTY 47
heroine often shows up well in the tales (65), but it is
rather difficult to idealize the hero, for instead of going
through his dangers and trials to win the maiden of
his choice, his motive is more often (45) to commit
adultery with someone else's wife ! There are excep-
tions, however, for in one tale a chief's son wins the
daughter of another chief by brave deeds, and she
deserves all that he does for her, for she has already
suffered indignities by having persisted in her wish to
marry him at a time when he appeared to be poor. As
the brave man is usually rewarded (10, 60 and 94), and
the coward is punished (65), it is evident that the Hausas
consider that courage covers a multitude of sins (86),
and after all, some of the greatest generals of the
European world have been anything but spotless in
their private lives. A story like 86 variant is rather
opposed to the stereotyped lessons one is taught in
childhood about virtue and not evil-doing being
rewarded. Lady Lugard* says that in an en-
counter between Songhay and Hausa troops in
1554, twenty-four of the former fought 400 of the latter,
and at last they gave in, only nine being then alive,
and all of them being badly wounded. The Hausas
dressed their wounds, and when well enough, sent them
back to the Askia with the courteous message that men
so brave should not be allowed to die.f
HONESTY. — Fair dealing pays at times (12), but it is
by no means always the best policy ; indeed at times it
is extremely unprofitable (n). To expect anything but
* A Tro-pical De-pendency, page 213.
t It is rather sad to think how these people have deteriorated.
Captain Hay ward says (Through Timbuctu and. Across the Great
Sahara, pages 236 and 237) that the Sonrhais (another spelling),
near Gao, are absolutely poverty-stricken, making no attempt
to improve their position, and living on rotting fish and grass,
so the Bambaras (once their slaves) hold them in great con-
tempt, and say that they are more like sheep than men.
4*> HAL'S A SLPERSTIT1OXS
deceit from a woman is to invite disaster, and no
sensible man would think of courting one without giving
her false and exaggerated ideas of his wealth and posi-
tion (L.T.H., 26). An appropriate training is neces-
sary in the gentle art of lying : A certain man said to
his son " Arise, let us go that I may teach you how to
lie, so that you may know how to obtain your living
some day." Thev came to a large river, which they
entered, the father being in front, and he said to his
son " I have dropped a needle." The son replied 4< It is
true, I heard the splash." Next the father said " A
big fish has touched me," and the son replied " I have
just trodden upon it." The father looking up and
seeing a small cloud, said " It is raining," and the
son replied 4' I am alreadv wet through." Then the
father said " That is good enough, you will do, you
can lie even better than I can."
Deceit and trickery seldom bring down any
punishment so long as the trick is sufficiently clever
(86 and F.-L. 12). That certainly is the essential thing,
the Hausa admires a quick wit (20, 23, 25) and is quite
content to leave a fool to his fate (21). Thus when a
man trying to steal growing gourds falls through the
grass roof, and pretends that he is an angel, and that
the people in the hut must hide their faces lest they
should see him, and he gets a present and goes off, the
people deceived are held up to ridicule. Judgments
resembling those of Solomon are common. Thus
(M.H. So) a kind man had allowed a blind man to ride
on his bull, but when they reached the town the blind
man claimed the bull as his own, and complained to
the chief that the other (the real owner) was trying to
steal it from him. The chief put them in separate
rooms, and said that he himself would keep the bull.
DEBTS 49
Food was brought to each, and the blind man ate, but
the other said " How can I have any appetite when my
bull has been stolen from me? " The chief knew then
that he was the real owner and gave him the bull. In
another case (L.T.H. 17) where much the same kind of
thing had happened, the one who had kept the pro-
perty pretended to be deaf and dumb, and would not
speak. " The King showed his hand to the Deaf-Mute
in the manner that one questions a Deaf-Mute " [i.e.,
by the sign-language], and the Man replied (on
his hands) that the property was his. Then one of
the Councillors rose up and said " O King, see what
the Deaf-Mute is doing, he is abusing you." The thief
called out that this was not so, and by speaking
betrayed his trick, and so he lost the case.
DEBTS. — In a country where trading is so general
an occupation, debts are naturally contracted with
great frequency, and it must be the constant study
of the debtors how to avoid repayment. Of
course, if a man is as cunning as the spider (77
and 78) he will probably manage comfortably,
though even he may be brought to book at last
(F.-L. 5). In two variants (L.T.H. 151 and 159) a
man and a jackal respectively take the spider's place,
but here, instead of having his creditors killed, the debtor
allows each animal, except the lion, to escape from his
particular enemy through a back passage, on his giving
a discharge for the debt — and in the latter case even a
promise of a payment also. There is a story (L.T.H.,
ii» 36) of a man who borrowed 500,000 cowries from an
Asben, and made a farm on the road and caught two
jerboas. The Asben came to demand his money, and
the debtor loosed a jerboa which he had with him, say-
ing " Go tell my wives to prepare food for the guest,"
4
50 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
and after a little they went to the house. They found
food ready (for the wives had seen the Asben), and on
the husband's asking where was the messenger, they
replied that it was tied up. The Asben was so taken
with the idea of having such a servant, that he bought
it (really the other jerboa) for the sum owing, and thus
released the debtor. But the mere ordinary man
must pay up and look cheerful (77), unless he has a
precocious child (74), or a member of the animal king-
dom to aid him (76 and T.H.H. 7), or unless God comes
to his assistance (75), and at first sight it is rather diffi-
cult to see why the Almighty should help one who is
wholly undeserving, according to our ideas. But, then,
we are not Hausas !
INDOLENCE. — Laziness, though very wrong in a
wife (49), is not at all reprehensible in a hus-
band (38), and, as a proverb says, " To volun-
teer for work is worse than slavery." This
entirely bears out what I have said elsewhere, that
though natives can work, and work well, they will never
do so unless there is some compulsion, either in the
form of a tyrant king, a hard-hearted husband or parent,
or the pangs of hunger. High pay in Nigeria has
produced the curious result that labour is harder rather
than easier to obtain, for directly a man has saved
enough money to have a holiday he leaves his work ;
and the larger the wages he receives the sooner will he
be able to do so.
GRATITUDE. — It is very seldom that any moral
is expressed at the end of a fable, though this
does sometimes occur (91); usually the wrong
triumphs in a way that would scandalize the
children in our nurseries. Even a good deed
may be repaid by an evil one without any con-
GRATITUDE 51
demnation ; thus the lion eats the white-ant which has
released him (T.H.H. 2). Sometimes, however, there
is a mild reproof for such conduct — as where the hyaena
bites the monkey's tail held out to help her out of the
well (F.-L. 1 6) — sometimes there is actual punishment
(F.-L. 39). There is seldom any forgiveness for an
FIG. 12.
FIG. 13.
FIG. 14.
FIG. 15.
FIGS. 12-15. — Leather needle-cases. The sheath slips up and exposes the
cushion for the needles. Figs. 12 and 15 are of red leather ; figs. 13 and 14
of yellow and green. L., 3^ in.
evil deed, wives and parents usually losing their lives
when they do wrong.
A good deed does not by any means always
go unrewarded (3), however, and where there is what
is called an alkawali, there is evidently some necessity
to repay it. Thus the youth commits suicide because
52 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
his friend the lion has done so (8), the girl puts an end to
herself because her mother has killed her preserver, the
pigeon (F.-L. 42), and there are other examples.* In
some cases, the debtor appears to deceive the corpse
so that it will arise again (79) ; in others (65 and 99), the
sentiment is more genuine. It would almost seem from
Story 24 that if a person on a journey comes to grief,
his fellow-traveller should share his fate ; but this cannot
be the case, for if it were, the Hausa nation would soon
die out, considering the number of traders.
The story of The Ungrateful Men shows that when
people have been partly cured of infirmities they ought
to be thankful, and should not tempt Providence by
expecting still more. Perhaps this idea was due to the
pagan doctors who wished to save themselves from the
consequences of their indifferent skill, but it seems more
likely to be of Mohammedan origin.
MORALITY. — There seems to be no credit given to
women for any moral ideas, the frail fair (or
rather, dark) are stated to be tainted at birth, and the
lover's chief difficulty is not to persuade the wife (for
she is always ready for intrigue), but to avoid the hus-
band, f The latter is regarded as being exceedingly
foolish if he thinks otherwise, and attempts to prevent
* It is just possible that these ideas are connected with
totemism, and that the human being must himself die if he has
brought about — even indirectly — the death of his own particular
protecting animal, cf. the mock sacrifice of a Hindu for having
killed an ape. (Vide Frazer, The Dying God, page 217.)
t The Hausa's ideal woman is as follows. Her body
should be of medium size, soft skinned, and well buttocked,
though not too fat nor too thin; neither should it be too tall nor
too short, though the fingers and toes should be long. Her voice
should be soft (but she should not be too fond of using it — she
should prefer to listen to the silver tones of her husband), her
eyes bright, and her teeth should be well spaced.
N.B. — There is no idea of prettiness in the face !
LOVE 53
the inevitable, for " the wiles of a woman [which are
known to men] are ninety and nine, but not even Satan
has discovered the hundredth." In some cases, the
husband calmly accepts the fact, and trades on his wife's
adultery. I have several stories on this subject, but
they cannot be included here. Except as regards the
wife of another, a man has practically no restrictions,
and so there is no need for any standard of morality in
his case.
LOVE. — There is nothing exactly corresponding to
what we call " love," nor is there a word which defi-
nitely expresses such a sentiment, so meaning " like "
or " desire," and to translate Ina son ki by "I love
you " is absurd, for only the wish for possession and
the animal lust are indicated by the words. Of course
there are exceptions, especially in the tales ; thus a
father is described as being so fond of a daughter
that " he seemed to wish to take her up and eat
her." But usually, the wife who can give most is
the most desired (44 and 59), and the same applies
to the children (44). A mother might prefer another
woman's son to her own daughter (59), and a Hausa
chief may be content to replace his old family by a
new one (7), and although this seems unnatural to us,
we must remember that the same thing was done by
Job who is held up to us as such a pattern. A maiden
is wooed by riches (67), women generally are attracted
by them (45), and a wife will desert her husband for
any man who is richer (45), for, as a proverb delicately
puts it, "With wealth one wins a woman." There
is seldom any forgiveness for parents (64), and
a wife will demand the death of her rivals (59), but
children may be forgiven (44), and they may forgive
others sometimes (63, variant).
54 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
DISLIKE. — Hatred, fear, and contempt are expressed
in many ways. Spitting after or before a person is,
of course, the most patent method, and although this
may have been originally with the idea of getting rid
of any influence exerted by the particular person to
whom objection was taken, it seems to be done nowa-
days simply for the sake of showing hate or contempt.
Sometimes a clicking noise is made with the tongue to
indicate the latter. Gestures, too, may be insulting, as
is stated later, and, needless to say, the Hausa is at
no loss for an accompaniment of words which are
appropriate, perhaps, but not polite.
The feeling of hatred is seldom mentioned in the
tales, revenge being more often considered a matter of
policy than of a balm to the wounded feelings. But
many stories show how an envious rival wife or step-
sister is punished.
DRUNKENNESS. — Drunkenness was not looked down
upon before the Mohammedan Filani conquered the
country, and in the unsubdued pagan districts it is
still very prevalent (T.H.H., page 244). In one story
it is related of a man that " he had no other occupation
than drinking native beer."
HOSPITALITY. — Hospitality and courtesy to strangers
are strongly emphasized (32 and 79), for, since the
Hausa is such a great traveller, these virtues are very
important to him, and they are, of course, imposed by
Islam. So universally is the stranger regarded as a guest
that the name for each (bako) is the same, though the
Hausa visitor will not necessarily be entertained for
nothing, any more than will the " guest " at an English
lodging-house. A male stranger would not be expected
to do any work in the house of his host, though a
woman might help in the preparation of food (23), or in
THE SIGN-LANGUAGE 55
the gathering in of the harvest (86 variant). Greed is
usually condemned (30 and 32), but the punishment
seems to be rather an advantage in some cases (31).
The giving of alms is much praised by the Mohamme-
dan priests and others who live thereby, but the Hausa
does not always give simply because of a thankful heart,
or on account of his piety. There is a fever which
breaks out when the guinea-corn is ripe, and the only
way of avoiding it is to give presents of corn to the
poor.
But the Hausa does not believe in too much
economy, as is shown in a story of a Gwari and a Bassa
(always butts for ridicule) who had a competition in
making a little meat go a long way. The Bassa man
ate a mouse-tail with his porridge, and yet managed to
have a little piece left when the porridge was finished.
But the Gwari capped this. He smeared butter on the
remainder of the tail, stuck it on a spit by the fire, and
with the gravy, which then ran down, he ate his por-
ridge, thus saving the whole of his meat.
SALUTATIONS. — Numerous salutations are insisted
upon, and a European who has a multitude of these will
pass as a greater scholar than one who thinks more of
the grammatical part of the language. No matter how
often a couple of Hausas meet during the day they will
always make the most minute inquiries after health,
fatigue, and news, and I have tried to render graphically
in the T.H.H. (page 210) the gradual decrescendo of
question and answer.
THE SIGN-LANGUAGE. — Some motions have been
mentioned under the heading of Dislike, but they do
not by any means exhaust the vocabulary, of which
the following are fairly representative : —
HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
Come here.
Go away.
I am going away again.
Will you
morrow ?
return to*
I have been — days on the
road.
I am a chief.
I (mounted man) greet my
superior.
I (footman) greet my
superior.
I (woman) greet my
superior.
I am your inferior.
I wish to marry yon.
1 do not understand.
I refuse.
Yes.
Certainly.
(1) Hand (or both hands) held out-
wards, palm towards the person
addressed, and the fingers closed and
opened a few times, or
(2) Hand waved with elliptical motion,
back of hand towards person ad-
dressed, fingers close together.
N.B. — If the person is not looking, a
pebble may be thrown to attract his
attention.
Hand (or both hands) held out, palm
towards person addressed, fingers
close together and pointing upwards.
Hands extended, and then swept up-
wards and outwards from the waist.
Head laid on open right hand as if in
sleep, and then face rubbed as if
awaking.
Head as before, and fingers (of both
hands, if necessary) then bunched,
the number of fingers showing the
number of days.
Finger (usually of right hand) run
round crown of head to indicate a
turban, and then an imaginary beard
pulled^
Clenched right fist raised to level of
turban, fingers inwards, and waved.
Hand raised till elbow square, palm
towards superior, and waved.
Hand on open mouth, and the kururua
cry made (see T.H.H., page 252).
Hand placed on front of head, and
head patted.
N.B. — Kneeling is also a sign of
respect (64).
Woman first beckoned, both forefingers
bent and then crossed.
N.B. — The same sign, or a forefinger
crossed over a thumb, indicates a less
honourable avowal.
One hand laid in the other, both palms
upwards.
Arms lowered, hands upwards, palms
towards person addressed, and waved
horizontally.
Head raised.
Head raised energetically, and eye-
brows raised.
GAMES, &c.
57
No.
Certainly not.
That is so.
I am angry or grieved.
I am pleased.
I am horrified or sur-
prised.
I don't care.
I scorn you.
I despise and defy you.
Your father is like *
Your mother is like *
(I have) — cowries.
(I have) — pennies (half-
pennies or tenths).
(I have) a three-penny
piece.
(I have) a six-penny
piece.
(I have) a shilling.
Forefinger waved before the face, palm
outwards.
One shoulder raised, head lowered on
same side and shaken.
Forefinger and thumb touching the
lower lip, other fingers closed, palm
inwards.
Hands clapped, arms close to body.
Arms extended, hands clapped.
Hand curved like cup and placed over
mouth several times, palm inwards.
Lips pouted and moved upwards, per-
haps shoulders shrugged also.
Lower lip protruded, or person spat at.
Both hands held up level with face,
fingers pointing towards the person
addressed (probably to throw back
the influence of the evil eye).
One forearm held up and grasped by
the other hand.
Outstretched forefinger and thumb of
one hand placed against forefinger
and thumb of other hand, forming a
diamond-shaped opening.
Imaginary cowries collected on the
ground in fives.
Imaginary circles of appropriate size
drawn on palm of one hand with
forefinger of the other, and (for the
local coinage) hole punched in centre.
Space of proper size marked off on nail
of forefinger with a finger of the
other hand.
Second finger held up and nail of finger
of the other hand run down, in-
dicating a division into two.
Second finger held up.
There are many others, of course, some of which resemble
our signs made to indicate similar ideas.
GAMES, &c. — Games of all kinds are exceedingly
popular, boxing (99), wrestling (88), horsemanship
(96), and darra (F.-L. 49), all being mentioned in the
stories given here, while dances have been described
elsewhere (T.H.H., pages 254-265). Even " Hunt the
slipper " has its representative ! The Hausa is an
58 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
inveterate gambler, too, so there are many convenient
ways of losing money, and alas ! loaded cowries are not
unknown, for it is not only a blind man who cheats.
The Mohammedan Filani did all they could to put down
this vice, but the native servant now asks why he
should not play jack-stones if his master plays
bridge ! There are non-gambling games resem-
bling " noughts and crosses," the " race-game," and
" hi cockalorum," but there are much more sober
amusements also, such as the propounding of riddles,
quotation of proverbs, playing on words, counting-
games, and, of course, the telling of tales.
RIDDLES. — Some of the best known riddles are : —
(1) I have two coats, the one which I always wear is
new, the one which I do not wear is old. Answer : A
road — which soon becomes impassable in West Africa
if not used.
(2) I have two roads open, though I follow the wrong
one, I am not lost. Answer : A pair of loose and shape-
less Hausa trousers.
(3) The master is inside the hut, but his beard is out-
side. Answer : A fire, the smoke of which escapes
through the thatch.
(4) The daughters of our house are always washing.
Answer : The small saucers (gourds) used to bale out
water from the large pots, and left floating in them.
(5) God has saddled him, but I shall not mount.
Answer : A scorpion.
(6) The daughters of our house never go to the bush
but they clap first. Answer : The wood-pigeons, which
make a noise when flapping their wings.
(7) Red fell down, red picked it up. Answer : A ripe
fan-palm fruit (see LXXX, 9), picked up by a Filani
(called " red," as are Europeans).
RIDDLES
59
(8) The house of the youths is full of meat.
Answer : An egg.
(9) The great twins turned around, but they did not
meet. Answer : The ears.
(10) I washed my calabash, I went east with it,
I went west with it, but it did not dry. Answer : A
dog's tongue.
(n) I have a thousand cows, but only one rope to
tie them with. Answer : A broom — which is simply
a number of twigs tied together.
FIG. 16.
FIG. 17.
FIGS. 16 and 17. — Boards for the game of darra, which resembles back-
gammon to some extent. The pieces may be specially made, or merely
stones ; used sparklets are in great request. L., 15 in. and 25! in. respec-
tively.
(12) The cows are lying down, but the big bull is
standing up. Answer : The stars and the moon.
(13) A very tiny thing can bind up the traders'
loads. Answer : A packing-needle.
The list of riddles could be greatly extended, but
these will be sufficient to give an idea of the Hausa
train of thought ; those who wish to see other examples
60 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
are recommended to read the books already mentioned.
Parallels to these could be given, but as I have no space
to go more fully into this part of the subject, I will
merely point out that numbers 3 and u, and a variant
of 9, have been noted in Sierra Leone (Cunnie Rabbit,
page 193 et seq.).
PROVERBS. — But if riddles are numerous, what
can be said of the proverbs? Some examples
have been given already, but perhaps a few
more will not be out of place, for they cover
almost every subject imaginable, and many old
friends. will be recognized in spite of a dress suitable
for the Tropics. Judging by the behaviour of most
of the Hausas one meets, forethought is quite un-
necessary; yet "The day on which one starts is not
the time to commence one's preparations," which in-
clude the hollowing out of the gourd or traveller's
water-bottle. " I won't break the large pot
(which corresponds to our tank) in the house
until the new one has been brought," for " It
is only when the quiver is quite full that it is
necessary to pull some of the arrows partly out," so as
to get at them quickly. The blind man cannot see our
bitter grapes, although "Since he lacks eyes he says that
eyes smell." But few normal people believe this, for
" seeing is better than hearing," of course, although
" The one-eyed man thanks God only when he has seen
a man who is totally blind." Like a burnt child, " If
the blind man has scorched his ground-nut once, he will
eat it raw next time," instead of trying to cook it again.
11 Although the eye is not a measure, it knows what is
small," and " Even without measuring (one knows
that), a bridle is too large for a hen's mouth."
Since murder will out, " Dig the hole of evil shal-
PROVERBS
61
low," else the wrongdoer may not be able to get out
again. At any rate do not cry until you are out of
the wood, for " If the bush is still burning, the locust
will not congratulate her mother " on her escape, and
be on your guard, for " The eye which sees the smoke
will look for fire."
With us, a physician might have to be told to heal
himself, and " If the hyaena had known how to cure
FIG. 1 8. — Haversack of red leather, turned inside out, black sides and
border. The upper pattern is in green stitches on red, and in black stitches
on green. Lower pattern in green stitches on red, and in black stitches on
yellow ; centre of lower pattern in black ink. I2f in. x 9^ in.
herself of small-pox, she would have done so." Still,
all is more or less in vain, for " The man who must
die, medicine will not save." At the same time, " He
who is sick will not refuse medicine," and like the Devil,
" It is when one is in trouble that one remembers God."
Although " The legs of another (man) are no good
for travelling " in many cases, " He who is carried
62 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
does not realize that the town is far off " ; at any rate,
" To have (a horse) is better than to be able (to ride)."
Certainly " An egg in the mouth is better than a hen
in the coop " where a wild-cat may get it. " Hurry is
not strength,'* and " The one who makes useless fuss
will meet with obstructions " ; for it is only " By travel-
ling * softly, softly * that you will sleep far away."
Even if his shoe does not pinch him, " The owner
of the house knows in what spot the water will drip
on him " from a leaky grass roof, and " He who runs
from the white-ant may stumble upon the stinging-ant,"
though he may not have a frying-pan on the fire.
Beware of great bargains, for " Whoever wants to make
an exchange does not want his own property," so there
may be something wrong with it.
Birds of a feather may fly together, but " Fire and
cotton will not be found in the same place," for the
latter would be burnt up if near the flame. Eggs and
stones also are not good neighbours, for there is
no connection between them, and " Who would com-
pare a fish and a tick ? " Again, " A man will not enter
a slaughter-yard if he is afraid of the sight of blood,"
but " Evil knows where evil sleeps."
Although it may be quite true that " A chief
is like a dust-heap where everyone comes with his
rubbish (complaint) and deposits it," everyone likes
power, for " A wealthy man will always have followers."
In fact, according to the hen, " It is not the obtaining
of food which is hard, it is (the finding of) a place
where you can go and eat it which is so difficult." There
ought to be some consideration even here, for " Blood is
not demanded from a locust," any more than from a
stone. " The value of relationship lies in the feet,"
because if a relative does not care for you he will not
PROVERBS 63
trouble to come to your house. The rich man, lest he
be apt to belittle the sufferings of poor people, must
remember that " The stone which is in the water does
not know that the hill is (parched) in the sun."
" A man's disposition is like the marks in a stone,
no one can efface it," or them rather, and " Everyone
has his own peculiarities : a one-eyed man would look
sideways down a bottle," for instance. Again, while
" Some birds avoid water, the duck seeks it." This is
quite natural, for as in the case of a house, " At the
same time as the wall itself is built, the finger-marks
on it are made," and a man cannot avoid his fate.
Certainly " If there is a continual going to the
stream (or well), one day there will be a smashing " of
the pitcher, and " However hard a thing be thrown
up, to earth it will fall " again, so it is a mistake that
" The Dodowa (block of pounded black locust-tree
seeds) calls the dark salt (from Bornu) black."
The Hausas, having no wagons, cannot very well
hitch them to stars, but " If the vulture satisfies you, the
guinea-fowl will fly off with her beautiful marks," for
birds in such different sets could not possibly associate.
Now, " Blood has more dregs than water," and since
' We are mice of the same hole, if we do not meet
when going in, we do so when going out," in fact, like
father, like son, or rather, " The son and his father
cannot be distinguished." Even if not as much alike
as two peas, " On seeing them, one would say ' A
calabash cut in half.' " One must be careful, for " If
you despise (a man solely because of his) appearance,
you may be sorry," " It is not the eye which under-
stands, but the mind." Take the mote out of your own
eye, for " Faults are like a hill, you stand on your own,
and then talk about those of other people."
64 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
wanna takarda yafito waje alkali lokoja || yagaida
This letter it comes from the (native) judge (of) Lokoja, he salutes
bature fulishi baya gaisuwana wanna \\ yaro
the white man (i/c) police. In addition to my greetings (I send you) this youth,
sunansa aliyu yafasa yarinyanakayi || jiya daderre niku'a
his name Aliyu, (for) he broke the girl on the head yesterday at night. As for me,
natanbayeshi aikida shikiyi \\ ya gayamini shina'yi
I asked him the work that he does, (and) he told me (that) he is doing
aiki gumna sabanda hakana banyimasa \\
work (for the) Government. On account of thus (that) I did not give to him
hukunshiba nakawoshi gareka domin
judgment (I did not try the case). I bring (send) him to you so that
kayimashi || hukunshi baya gawanna engayamaka
you may give him judgment. In addition to this I report to you (that)
wani || mutumi da ankakama jiyadaderre wuri da
a certain man who was caught yesterday at night (in the) place where
ankayi gobara \\ anchi shiyasa wuta niku'a natanbayeshi
there was a fire, it is said (of him that) he lit the fire. As for me, I asked him,
|| yachi bashiyasa wutaba niku'a nakaishi gida
(but) he said it was not he (who) lit the fire. As for me, I put him in the house (of)
dogari domin ingari yawayi enkawo
the chief's police so that when the town was astir (day broke) I might bring
makashi \\ shiku'a yagudu gida dogari
to you him. (But) as for him, he escaped (from the) house (of) the chiefs police
dudamarri
both he and the handcuffs.
wanna takarda yafito waje alkali lokoja yagaida \\
This letter it comes from the (native) judge (of) Lokoja, he salutes
bature kulfau baya gaisuwa engayamaka \\
the white man (i/c) the whips (police). In addition to the greeting, I report to you
wanga mache tazo gareni sunanta iyuwaje \\ sunan
(that) this woman she came to me, her name (is) Iyuwaje, (and) the name oi
da uwantanan amije sungayamini \\ sarkin gubi
her mother (with her is) Amije. They told me (that) the Chief of Gbebe
yada'mesu su \\ sunada shari'a da sarkin gubi \\
he is persecuting them, they, they have a case against the Chief of Gbebe ;
yanzu nan sunkazo wurina .'. je * \\ dumin kazi(ji)
only now they have come to me, so that you may hear
abinda ke chakaninsu \\ da sarkin gubi
the matter which is (in dispute) between them and the Chief of Gbebe.
N.B. — The Alkali of Lokoja, or his clerk, does not write good Hausa
and there are several mistakes in his letters which are too obvious to neec
any remark here.
VII. — A HAUSA LETTER.
* The writer has omitted to mention the sending of the complainant
to me.
HAUSA LETTERS
«*f _*-°^
^-*>» <
VIII.— A HAUSA LETTER.
66 ]HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
Politeness will not do anyone harm, for " Bowing to
a dwarf will not prevent your standing erect again.*'
Nor will unselfishness, for " If you love yourself others
will hate you, if you humble yourself others will love
you." You must not expect rewards for nothing, " The
prize for the race is given to the hare, and the frog must
accept the fact." Remember that " God is the All-wise,
not his slave " (man), for often " Lack of knowledge
is darker than night," and " A fool is always a slave."
Be content with what you have, " It is easier to plaster
up (the old wall) than to build a new one," and remem-
ber that " There are three friends in this world —
courage, sense, and insight"; and there are five of
which a man should be suspicious, viz. : "A horse, a
woman, night, a river, and the forest."
PUNS, &c. — Next we come to the plays on words,
some being in the form of our " Peter Piper picked a
peck of pickled pepper," some being merely puns. Of
the first, the best known is probably the following about
the seven crocodile-skins, and it must be rendered in
Hausa, of course, to see the alliteration, the point being
that in saying this over very quickly a word will prob-
ably be said in the wrong place, and so the sense will
be altered.
Sa(r)riki ya aiko en kai ma-sa patar kaddan Kano bokkoi,
Ban kasshe patar kaddan Kano bokkoi ba,
Na kai ma-sa patar kaddan Kano bokkoi?
Bara da na kasshe kaddan Kano bokkoi
Ai na kai ma-sa patar kaddan Kano bokkoi.
A better one (L.T.H., page 292) runs : —
Da kivado da kato suka teffi neman koto,
Kivado ne zai ma kato koto,
Ko kuiva kato ne zai kwache ma kwado koto.
PUNS, &c. 67
The translation is : —
A Frog and a Slave went to seek for food.
The Frog wanted to take the food from the Slave,
And again the Slave wanted to take the food from the
Frog.
The following one is given in Hausa Sayings : —
Kunun kuki, kunun kunkuki mutanen kuki, ga
kununku.
Ku uku, ku sha da sainyen safe.
Broth of the kuki-tree, broth of the kunkuki, O men of
Kuki, behold your broth.
You three, drink it in the cool of the morning.
One (in Hausa Proverbs) runs : —
Babba ba ya babba baba ba.
Puns on words are met with. One is given in F.-L.
11, others occur in Story 74. One more is : —
Zumu Zumua ne relatives are like honey.
But in the pronunciation of
Gata, iyaka ta kama gatan iyaka
The day after to-morrow your mother will catch the
sentry on the boundary
great care must be taken, for a slight change will make
the last two words read " your mother's hinder parts."
There is a similar catch in gatan birri, a baboon.
A play upon words is not always appreciated, and
when a man who has promised to give a boy as wages
abinchin nama (food with meat in it) and he tries to
palm off abin chin nama (a thing to eat meat with,
68 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
e.g., a knife), he is taken to the Alkali (from the Arabic
Al kadi), and punished.
Even our celebrated word sequence to prove that " a
lie is nothing " (lie — story — tale, tail — brush — convey-
ance— jin, gin — spirit — ghost — shadow — nothing) has
its Hausa counterpart, though the latter is in the form
of question and answer. " How art thou ? — I am sick.
Art thou not reclining ? — I recline, am I a king ? Does
not one beat the drum for the king ? — Beat a drum for
me ! Am I a state-camel ?* Does not the camel carry
a load ? — Carry a load ! Am I a donkey ? Does one not
beat a donkey ? — I have a beating ! Am I a thief ?
Does not one tie up a thief ? — Tie me up ! Am I a
lizard ?f Does not one eat the lizard ? — Eatt me ! Am
I a market ? Does not the market rise ? — Rise ? Am I a
hawk ? Does not the hawk carry off the young chicken ?
— Carry off the young chicken ! Am I a wild-cat? "i|
And so on,§ but there is no definite goal to be reached
as in the English proposition, the length of the game
varying in proportion to the ingenuity of the performers.
Some games seem to have a hidden meaning, and I
have two in one of my old note-books. One goes : " One
it is (i), two it is (2), they have been eaten (3) the white
(4) pumpkins (5), You (6), O Hen (7), what has brought
you (8) to the nest? (9). An egg (10)." The meaning
is that the hen mistook the little pumpkins for eggs.
Unfortunately 1 was not able to go over the next one
during my last tour, and I cannot explain its full
meaning. It runs : "I ran away, with a gurr (i), I
* Some are furnished with drums as in our mounted bands.
t An edible variety.
+ A play on the word chi, which means inter alia eat, and
hold (market).
|| Both of these prey on the chickens, of course, as will be
seen in Stories 22 and 21, &c.
§ Hausa Sayings, page 60.
PUNS, 6r»c. 69
climbed a rock to the south (2), see me (3), I have
finished (4). Truly (5), the drummers of the south (6)
can sew (7) a drum (8) on top of (9) a bird (10)."
This does not sound very illuminating, but that is my
own fault. These two were said to be counting-games
(hence the numbers in parentheses inserted in the places
indicated by the narrator), and they may correspond in
some degree to a Jewish poem, the last verse of which is
" Who knoweth thirteen ? I saith Israel know thirteen :
thirteen divine attributes, twelve tribes, eleven stars, ten
commandments, nine months preceding childbirth,
eight days preceding circumcision, seven days of the
week, six books of the Mishnah, five books of the Law,
four matrons, three patriarchs, two tables of the
Covenant ; but One is our God Who is over the heavens
and the earth."* I do not say that there is any direct
connection between the above, in fact, another man told
me that the second saying was invented simply to con-
fuse non-Hausas (cf. our selling sea-shells on the sea-
shore), but there certainly is between the latter and the
following : What is one in the world ? — There is no
other one (God) but Allah. What are two in the
world ? — There are no other two but day and night.
What are three in the world ? — There are no other three
but fire and food and water. What are four in the
world ? — There are no four but the legal wives, who-
ever goes beyond four is punished. What are five in
the world? — There are no five but chieftainship, a
horse, a cow, a son, and health. What are six in the
world? — There are no six but the shames (generally
nine). What are seven in the world? — There are no
seven but the hand. What are eight in the world? —
There are no eight but the eyes. What are nine in the
* Tylor, 0$. cit., page 87.
70 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
world ? — There are no nine but that man is in the womb
nine months, he does not reach ten. When he has been
there nine months, if the mother has not miscarried,
he is born. What is ten in the world? — There is no
ten but a corpse (i.e., finished).
" I met a man going to St. Ives " has some resem-
blance to the following : A man had a fowl, and the
fowl had forty chicks. The fowl and each chick had
forty eggs each and all were hatched. How many fowls
were there then ?
Lastly, I might mention that there is a game in
which the players must give the names of an animal,
a bird, and a fish three times without any hesitation,
changing the name in each case thus : Lion, eagle,
frog-bellied fish ; hyasna, vulture, cat-fish ; dog, sparrow,
electric-eel — an easy thing to write, but difficult to
say quickly in the proper order.
POETRY. — It must not be thought, however, that the
Hausa has no better literature than word-games. Some
religious poems are given in Canon Robinson's
Specimens of Hausa Literature,* the following extracts
from which will probably be sufficient to give an idea
of their beauty. It will be seen that the writers have
been influenced by their Islamic training : —
" Thou who art puffed up with pride because of thy
relations, thy kingdom, or thy property, on the
day when thou meetest with the angels, thou
shalt be confounded. . . .
This world, thou knowest, is a market-place ; everyone
comes and goes, both stranger and citizen."
* Pages 2, 4, 24, 26, 28, 38, 46, and 80, respectively, a few
slight changes have been made. It is extremely difficult to pro-
cure any writings in Hausa, nearly all are in Arabic. The ink
is obtained from the fruit of the farra-kaya, a large white-thorn
tree, the pens are reeds or pointed sticks, the paper is imported.
POETRY 71
11 My brother, you know that we shall die; let us give
credence, let us put aside quarrelling,
For this world is not to be trusted; thou escapest to-
day, have a fear for to-morrow. . . .
A false friend will not become true, act thou not
deceitfully, nor follow a fool. . . .
My boy, I bid you be watchful, let the world flee
away, refuse to cleave to it,
Accomplish deeds fit for the next world, make much
preparation ; leave alone the things that belong
to this world, which is to come to an end.
Give up delaying, and saying that it will do when
you are old ; death may come before you are old."
" The fool would say ' This world is a virgin girl ' ; the
wise man knows that the world is old.
The wise man is a good friend, he would show to us
the course of this world.*'
" My friend, repent truly, and abandon falsehood,
abandon deceit, leave off drinking beer, and palm-
wine, and honey-beer.
Repent to God, cease from repenting like the wild-
cat; it repents with the fowl in its mouth, it
putteth it not down."
"Where is this greatness of thine and of thy lovers?
To-day thou liest in the tomb.
Where is the protection on the part of those who
praised thee ? To-day they carry thee to the place
of burial.
Truly it was falsehood they spake concerning thee,
they loved thee not ; though even had they loved
thee thou wouldst have no power to-day. . . .
A line (of men) is formed, a prayer is said for thee.
Alas ! thou knowest not what is done, thou
fool.
72 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
They wash their hands thus, and their feet; they all
salute one another.
They scatter in silence, they leave thee in the grave;
thou thyself criest, but there is no coming out.
Thy goods are divided, rejoicing is made, thy goods
are given to thy children, each receives some-
thing.
Thou art forgotten, no share is allotted to thee; the
suffering in the tomb is sufficient for thee."
Not only are there poems in prose, but there is even
one which rhymes. A rhyming kirari is often found,
and there are many couplets which quite satisfy the
Hausa ear, but in the following poem even the metre
is regular, and in some cases words have been clipped
or mis-accented so as to fit in, showing that in Hausa-
land as elsewhere, " poetic licence " is not unknown.
It is a war-song composed by Abdallah, the son of
Fodio, to commemorate the defeat of Yunfa, King of
Gobir, by Othman, the Filani conqueror, in an attack
upon the town of Ruga Fako, about 1804. Yunfa was
the most powerful king in the Hausa States before the
Filani conquest, but he was finally routed and killed
at Kwoto, Alkalawa, the capital of Gobir, then falling
into the hands of the victors.
The whole poem is given in Canon Robinson's
'Hausa Grammar, the first and last verses are : —
Yanuiva mun gode Allah, Mun yi imanchi da salla,
Har jihadi don ka Jalla Mun kasshe dengi na da(l)la.
Sun sa(n)ni su sun yi tarki.
Wansu chan muzabzabina, Dukiassu ta fi dina,
Ga su, sun zam fasikina. Mu, Amir-al-Muminina.
Munka samu, mun yi Sarki.
POETRY
73
The translation given in the Grammar (except for
one trifling alteration) is : —
Brethren, we thank God, We performed acts of faith
and prayer,
Even a holy war for Thee, We slew the breed of dogs.
Exalted One,
They know (now) that their task was beyond them.
Some were waverers, Their wealth was more (to
them) than religion,
Behold them, they have We, the Prince of the Be-
become profligates. lievers,
We have found, we have made him King.
FIG. 19. — Haversack, like fig. 18, but
with red border.
FIG. 20.
FIG. 21.
FIG. 20. — Slipper of red leather over black, which shows through.
FIG. 21. — Slipper of red leather, with black edging, and a green welt
upside. Heel is usually turned down.
CHAPTER V.
THE LORE OF THE FOLK.
Meaning of the Tales— -Courtship — Intimacy previous to
Marriage — Marriage — Prohibited Degrees — Relation of Husband
and Wife — Ceremonies— Avoidance — The Bachelor— Parentage—
Miracu^us Births — Childbirth — Infanticide — Relation of Parent
and Child — Adoption — Organization — Descent — Tribal Marks —
Development — Death and Burial — Inheritance.
IT is now time to try to find out from the stories
something about the life of the people, and in doing so
one has to be very careful not to see too much in them
alone, but to confirm all deductions by information
drawn from other sources. As the most important
institution is the family, we may commence with that,
showing how it first comes into existence, and the sub-
sequent relations of its members.
COURTSHIP. — There seems to have been some test
of fitness for marriage at one time, possibly the guessing
of the name mentioned in 43 is one, the successful
maiden gaining an influence over the youth by pro-
nouncing it. Another story (F.-L. 12) relates how a
father shut his daughter in a hut, and made a mound
COURTSHIP 75
of filth in front, the suitor having to clear this away,
without spitting or without drinking — hardships in a
hot country — in order to win the bride, and after all the
men had failed, the spider came, and succeeded by
means of a trick.* In the cases where certain conditions
are laid down, there appears to be no disgrace whatever
in avoiding them, provided that the delinquent be not
found out, so it is not always the case that only the brave
deserve the fair; the cunning are often more successful.
In another story (M.H. 7), the test is to ride a rogue
camel, and all the suitors fall off but the right one whom
the maiden has already chosen. Sometimes (especially
in the case of witches) the bride is won by the man
who can throw a stone so as to open a magic basket (95).
Women were not allowed to choose their own hus-
bands, and a story is told of how a girl was punished
who said that she would not marry anyone whose body
was not free from blemish (F.-L. 44). No youth was
found able to comply with the conditions (was the
examination of the body another test of fitness ?), and in
the end she married a snake (or a Dodo in a variant)
which had turned itself into a faultless youth for the
purpose of deceiving her. She was saved by her
younger sister, and after her escape, she swore that she
would never again be so presumptuous as to wish to
choose for herself ; a very satisfactory conclusion to the
parent who wished to make money out of his offspring !f
* Since writing this, I have read Cunnie Rabbit, and from a
story there (page 40), in which the spider has to obtain the teeth
of a lion, to extract palm-wine from the poisonous sasswood tree,
and to capture a live boa constrictor, it is evident that the task
was a test.
t In a Sierra Leone story (Cronise and Ward, page 178) the
girl is deceived by a Half-Devil, who borrows half a body so
as to look like a man. She is saved by her brother, and returns
home ready to listen to the advice of others regarding the choice
of her next husband.
76 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
Certainly the moral here is more orthodox than that of
Story 61, where the parents had to give in to their
determined daughter, and the sequel shows how little
they relished doing so. Still, there is no denying that
an adult girl has a good deal to say in the matter.
I am not certain who gave the bride away. Evidently
the consent of the mother was necessary (56), although
the bargaining was done with the father (64), and some-
times the latter would obtain a bride-price from several
suitors at the same time (47), though he might not
always be so lucky as the Kagoro parent in evading
repayment to the disappointed lovers (T.H.H. 233),
unless he had a malam to aid him (47 variant). Should
there be no parents nor uncles nor aunts alive, elder
brothers or sisters, or even protectors or hosts will
arrange the marriage, and, since they thus act as parents,
they will be called suruku. The girl in early times
was promised before she had arrived at puberty, in
which case she herself would let her fiance" know (if
she liked him) when the proper time had arrived; the
age is probably much later now, because her consent is
usually sought. This is solely for the reason that if
she objects to the husband provided for her, she will
almost certainly be unfaithful ; it is not due to any con-
sideration for the happiness of the girl herself. Still,
her wishes usually run parallel to those of her parents,
viz., on golden lines, the richer the suitor the more
certain he is of success, for, as the poor youth bitterly
complains, " Those who can give your parents presents
can give you some also " (62). It is not only the father,
however, who deceives the suitors. In one story (M.H.
41), a girl is sought by four youths, and she tells one
to hide in a pot, and that she will run off with him.
The next youth is told to take the pot to the bush for
INTIMACY PREVIOUS TO MARRIAGE 77
she will be inside it, and he does so, thinking that the
person there is she. The two others are apparently told
that the girl is to be carried off, and they follow, and
seize the bearer. During the struggle which ensues,
the pot is thrown on the ground, and broken, and the
first youth appears instead of the maiden, and all give
up the suit in disgust.
Kola-nuts are always sent to the female when the
suitor proposes marriage or otherwise, and their accept-
ance or rejection signify her gratification or displeasure
with the offer. As they are said to be aphrodisiacs
there may be something symbolical in this gift. Cow-
ries also may be sent when making the less honourable
proposal (44), possibly they are a phallic symbol here.
INTIMACY PREVIOUS TO MARRIAGE. — Apparently,
boys and girls were allowed to sleep together before
marriage (94), though the complete act (chi) was pro-
hibited, as is shown in another story which is un-
printable. This was known as Tsarenchi, and it
brought no disgrace upon either party. There was
also a curious custom by which they were shut up
together and left for some time. One writer* states
that the custom was called Fita furra, and that several
of each sex were shut up in the autumn in an enclosure,
and left there for a month, food being taken to them by
an attendant, the expense being borne by some rich
man who thought that he was conferring a benefit on
the community. At the end of this time any of the
girls found to be enceinte were considered to be the
wives of the youths with whom they had lived. A
jigo or gausami (long pole) was erected inside the
enclosure, and sacrifices of sheep, fowls, &c., were
* Man (R.A.I.), 1910, article 40.
78 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
made there to the deities Kuri and Utvargona so as to
ensure fecundity in the clan.
The stories I have collected (64 and F.-L. 36)
evidently refer to this, but in them not several, but only
one youth and one maiden are shut up together, the
time being a week, and it is related that during that
period the former has to abstain from certain kinds of
food. In each case the youth breaks the tabu, but
being befriended in one case by a leper, in the other
by a cat, he manages not only to escape the punish-
ment— death, apparently — but even to make out that
he had been in the right, and so win the bride.
MARRIAGE. — The first wife is the chief, the " house-
mother," each of the others being called her kishia,
from kishi, " jealousy," for an obvious reason.* I fancy
that there was no limit to the number originally, except
the length of the husband's purse. But this was only a
temporary check, for a wife in Hausaland is an invest-
ment, and, when once procured, she more than earns
enough to maintain herself, and in addition furnishes
sons who will work for their father, and daughters who
will bring in marriage fees to the family coffer. The
wives are usually quarrelling, and numerous tales of
the triumph of the youngest are told, likewise of the
infidelity of all of them to their husbands — but they
cannot appear here. Should a wife run away with
another man, the husband usually contents himself
by enforcing the payment of a bride-price equal to the
amount which he originally paid to the woman's
parents. There is seldom much feeling aroused except
anger, for a wife is regarded simply as property in
* For a similar idea on the other side of Africa, see Wester-
marck, The History of Human Marriage^ page 499, when he says
that the Hova word for polygyny is derived from the root rafy
— an adversary.
PROHIBITED DEGREES 79
most cases, and so long as the injury done to the owner
is paid for, there is no need to be annoyed. Still,
there are exceptions, and, apart from any feeling of
jealousy, a man of high rank would not so easily for-
give such an insult by one in a lower grade.
Human beings may mate with animals and insects,
according to the stories, and the unions are not always
unhappy, not at any rate when the spider is the
husband (F.-L. 12), in spite of the fact that there
is necessarily deceit on one side or the other. In
fact in one story (T.H.H. 5) the spider is described as
being the best husband of all, though I fear that the
reasons given would not convince us. In another
(L.T.H., ii, 34) the ram proves himself to be a much
better son-in-law than two others who are men. But
except where the spider is concerned, such mixed
marriages seldom seem to be a success, though the
porcupine may make quite a good step-father (85).
PROHIBITED DEGREES. — Marriage with one's own
daughter was never allowed, though if it had taken
place there seems to have been no punishment formerly
except the contempt of the other people. But the
parents of a wedded pair could inter-marry (L.T.H., ii,
43). A man might not marry two sisters, though it is
probable that, at one time, he could marry a wife of his
deceased brother, even a widow of his father — except
his own mother. Children of sisters or half-sisters may
not marry nowadays ; nor can those of brothers or half-
brothers ; but the child of a brother or half-brother may
wed the child of a sister or half-sister. There is there-
fore no claim to the bint ahn ; but other cousins may
marry, and such unions are often encouraged so that
the property may be kept in the family, and also be-
cause there is less likelihood of friction, the parents of
8o HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
both parties having an interest in preserving the
marriage. In some clans men prefer to marry women
who have the same totems as their mothers, but usually
they are content so long as the women have not the
same totems as they themselves have, i.e., they are
exogamous.
The women of a conquering tribe (e.g., Filani) are
never allowed to marry with men of the vanquished
race (e.g., Hausa), but the converse is exceedingly
common, and a Filani conqueror always used to de-
mand a Hausa princess of the defeated State in mar-
riage.
Several stones show that neither a man (57, 58 and
F.-L. 47) nor a woman (48 and F.-L. 45) should marry
without knowing something of the history and the
family of the other, nor should either marry out of his
tribe (48). A man should not make anyone a member
of his household unless he has full knowledge of his
habits and character (41).
RELATION OF HUSBAND AND WIFE. — Obedience is
naturally expected from the wives (50), and also hard
work (49 and 57), but they ought to show some com-
mon sense when the circumstances are unusual (51).
They should be cheerful at all times — for they ought
to minister to a husband's pleasure, not make him
dull — and they must answer when spoken to. The
husband, on his part, must remember to share his
pleasures (53), and to take care that he shall not, like
Solomon, be ruled by women (54).
CEREMONIES. — The original Hausa ceremonies of
courtship and marriage have been modified by Moham-
medan influence, particularly so far as the marriage of
a free virgin is concerned, the present proceedings being
a mixture.
CEREMONIES
81
The youth would court the girl on the sly nowa-
days, and give her presents, and try to win her favour
generally. After a time, if she accepted him, he would
tell his parents, and they would go first to her father's
younger brother (he is the one appealed to in F.-L. 36),
and to her mother and the younger sister of the latter,
and tell them. On their consenting, the suitor's
parents would go the round of the fiancee's whole
FIG. 22.
FIG. 23,
FIG. 22.— Wooden clog (left foot). FIG. 23.— Leather sandal (light foot),
coloured red, yellow and black. Sometimes feathers are inserted under the
" button " on the cross-straps.
family (61), though their consent was apparently un-
necessary,* in fact, possibly the paternal uncle's word
was sufficient. Then on a certain day, these would
assemble, and the youth's parents would present a
* Perhaps they would give them presents, for " when the
festival came he was told to go and pay respects to the relations
of the girl's parents, both male and female, and greet them
attentively. He was shown some twenty houses, and he paid
them each man two shillings and each woman one shilling and
sixpence." Hausa Sayings, page 73.
6
82 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
calabash of kola-nuts, and 10,000 cowries* to the girl's
father and mother, who would then say ' ' We give
her," and the others would say " We accept her."
So much for the engagement ; the subsequent cere-
monies are best described by giving accounts of actual
marriages. When the wedding-day drew nigh, some
girl-friends were summoned secretly to the mother's
house, and on the bride's entering they surrounded her,
while the mother stained her with henna, f afterwards
bandaging the parts thus treated, the girl pretending
to resist. Then the bride and her maids all commenced
the women's cry, and went on for three days, the mar-
riage taking place next morning, followed by a feast at
the bridegroom's house in the evening, and lasting all
night. At dawn next day she was taken to her new
home. During this time the best-man had been feeding
the bridesmaids with food supplied by the bride-
groom's family. Then the bride's presents (house-
hold utensils, food, and garments) were brought and
examined, and both the bride and bridegroom were un-
veiled— for he also had been stained with henna. J His
friends came and brought him new clothes, and he
emerged and rode about with them until sunset.
What happens subsequently is as follows. In the
middle of the night the bridegroom and his best-man
enter the hut, and the latter tries to make the bride
* Equal in value to ics. in the northerly districts, to 2s. 6d.
in Ilorin.
t In Hausa Sayings it is stated that the parents of the bride-
groom supply the henna and leaves and staining rags, and that
they also give money to be divided up amongst the beggars ; but
I think the above is correct. On further inquiry I am sure that
it is, though the bridegroom would obtain the henna for his
body from his own parents.
£ It is somewhat unusual to find that the bridegroom is
anointed, but this occurs in India also, where a mixture of
turmeric is used. Crooke, op. cit., ii, 29.
CEREMONIES 83
speak to him,* but as she will not do so he gives her
kola-nuts " to buy mouth " (i.e., speech), and he goes
away. The husband makes advances, but gets a blow
for his trouble, and then he and she wrestle until he
finally conquers. If he finds that she is a virgin, he
will give her money, and he will leave her, and hide in
the best-man's house because he is ashamed of his own
previous impurity, whereas she was undefiled. If,
however, he finds that she is not innocent, he will break
the big water-pot, and the sleeping-mat, and the
drinking-bowl, and cut off some of the strings of the
blind to shame her, and he will place a pot on a long
pole, and set it up so as to give the news to the whole
town.
Part of the foregoing is given in Litafi na Tatsuni-
yoyi na Hausa (pages 246 and 426). There are some
differences in the description in Hausa Sayings, but it
is possible that the general account of the ceremonies
is correct, and that there are slight variations in the
different localities. This is only to be expected if we
remember that the Hausas have been mixing con-
tinually with diverse tribes of indigenous negroes.
' In the evening the girl was bathed. The young
man's parents brought some fifty large bowls of meal,
and of cakes about twenty, and some twenty mortars
full of fura were brought. When night fell the bride-
groom's friend came with the horse on which he was to
carry off the maiden. f To the Bathing-place were
brought fifty dates and fifty kolas, and about ten
thousand cowries shell-money to be dispersed among
* In England it is often said that the best man has the right
to kiss the bride if he can do so before the husband.
t There is no mention in this account of any actual abduction
having occurred, I believe that it still occurs in the case of well-
to-do people.
84 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
the youths. They brought new calabashes and soap.
When the bathing was finished the girl was taken to
her husband. After this they came and played at the
husband's house — guitar, and violin, and devil-
dancing," and drumming and merriment went on until
six o'clock next morning.
During the festivity, the bridegroom sat out-
side in a special chair, but the bride was inside (vide
xcviii, i). In the morning, after the departure of the
elders, " the young folk asked of the bridegroom's
parents that food might be given them. So they were
given two chickens, one in the daytime and one in the
evening, and also salt,* and dodowa meal, and wood
and corn." The bride's friends then put a stone in a
calabash of porridge and took it to the bridegroom, and
he gave it to his friends. But on the boys finding the
stone " they fall to abusing the girls, and they throw
back at them their property, and the girls take it up and
return to their own affairs. In the evening again they
will behave like this, and again in the morning — even
for three days. On the fourth morning the ' uncovering
of the head ' will take place, f that is, the man and the
* Salt is widely recognized as a preservative against evil
influences. The Hindus wave it round the head of a bride and
bridegroom and bury it near the house door as a charm.
(Crooke, op. at., page 198.) Roman Catholic priests still use it
in baptism ; the Hausa mother says that her baby's flesh is salt,
so that the witches will not take it, and the practice of putting
salt in coffins was both religious and utilitarian. The other
gifts probably symbolise plenty in the new household.
t The author remarks in a note that the covering and sub-
sequent exposing of the head are widely employed in the prelim-
inary ceremonies among non-Mohammedan tribes in Africa,
Sir Harry Johnston (Liberia) mentions it as being practised
among the Atonga of Nyassaland. There the bride's father
must give a hen or a cock to the bridegroom's father immediately
after the marriage to indicate his approval or disapproval of
his son-in-law, and the gift of the two fowls mentioned above
CEREMONIES 85
woman take off their fine clothes and move about in
public," and the bridegroom returns to his own house.
The following account of the modern customs was
given to me at Zaria in 1905, and several differences will
be noted. " If you want to marry a virgin, you go and
ask her. If she agrees you go to her father, and if he
gives his consent you get some money, perhaps 10,000
cowries, and take them to him. He takes some of it,
perhaps 2,000 cowries, and gives it to his family, the
remainder he divides into two parts, and gives one-half
to the girl's mother, and the other to his relatives. That
is how the engagement is arranged.
" Some time afterwards, say two or three months, if
the girl is willing to marry, you go to her father, and
talk over the price, and he will tell you what is the
whole sum that you must pay. Perhaps you will then
say ' Give me a month, my money is not sufficient as
yet; wait until I have got it.' When you have got it
you take it to her father, 20,000 cowries. He takes it
and gives it to the girl's mother to buy cloths, and food
for the feast, and food that she will eat during the
marriage, enough for about two weeks. The white
cloth also that she will wear during the marriage you
will buy.
" From about five to seven days the -bride remains in
her father's house, she wears a white cloth, she covers
up her face — her nails have been stained with henna.
Other girls come and play with her, and she is taught
things ; these girls eat the food provided by the bride's
father [at the husband's expense].
may have some connection with such a custom. Amongst the
Rahazawa (pagan Filani) the girl is given a white cock by the
bridegroom, and this she releases and it becomes sacred (Man,
1910, art. 40). Another reason given me for the gift of chickens
is simply that the parents could not afford goats. i
86 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
11 After about seven days her relatives come to her
house, and seize her, and take her to her husband's
house. The husband does not come outside, his friends
[groomsmen] come out and take the girl, and try to get
her to enter the house, but she refuses. Then money
is taken and given to the bridesmaids who have accom-
panied her to the house, and one takes her hand, another
pushes her, until she has entered. All the women go in
with her, all are singing and clapping. Then the bride-
groom's friends enter the house and throw money
amongst them. In the middle of the night, the adult
women leave, but the bridesmaids stay in the hut.
" The bridegroom is not there; he has gone to his
best-man's house, he will not return to his own house for
five days or seven days. If he comes before the time is
up the bridesmaids will drive him away, but about the
sixth day he comes and gives the bridesmaids some
money, perhaps 1,000 cowries, and says ' Return to
your homes, the marriage ceremonies are ended.'
Then the husband and wife eat food together*, and the
* The following account in the Blackheath Local Guide of
May u, 1912, will show that the Hausa customs are not so
very strange to us after all : " The marriage of W , son of
W , London, to R , daughter of the late J , Mon-
mouthshire, South Wales, took place on Saturday, the 2oth ult.,
at St. Matthew's Church. . . . The choir received the bride
[veiled, and in white] at the door of the church. . . . The
organist played the accustomed bridal music. . . . An * at home *
followed, and two old Celtic traditions (one distinctly Manx) were
revived, the bridegroom carrying the bride over the threshold
as indicating successful capture and possession, and the making
of broth by the bride as the first act of formal betrothal and
marriage, a custom in vogue in the Isle of Man within living
memory and coming down from the days when the Celtic Empire
dominated all Western Europe, over two thousand years ago,
indicating the husband's duty to ' capture ' food for the pot
on the slowrie and the wife's prerogative to cook it. Both drank
from the same slig or shell, as custom had ordained." Amongst
the Welsh, the bridegroom on the wedding morn would go with
his friends on horseback, and carry off the bride. Westermarck,
The History of Human Marriage, page 387.
CEREMONIES 87
shyness of each towards the other is ended, so they
commence to talk/'
According to another account, obtained at Jemaan
Daroro in 1909, after the contracting parties have
arranged matters as before, the relatives of both parties
(but not the parties themselves) go to the malam, and
the actual binding service is performed. The bride is
smeared with henna four days before the feast, which
takes place at the house of a relative of hers ( ? uncle),
and the bride goes, but not the bridegroom. She is
then taken to her husband's house wrapped in white
cloths, and accompanied by bridesmaids, the husband
having gone to another house for the time.
Next afternoon there is a feast at the bride's uncle's
house, but she does not come to this one (nor does he),
she is fed by her mother with the food which he has
provided. In from two to seven days he returns to his
house, and lives with his wife.
There are several changes therefore : the bride's
father has ousted the uncle, the bride attends the feast
(75), and the bridegroom does not live with her at once.*
The fee seems to have been increased, but some of it
goes to the provision of a gift in accordance with
Mohammedan ideas (see T.H.H., page 231). There is
one thing which ought to have been mentioned, and
that is, that when the bride is taken to her husband's
house she screams and pretends to resist, and this seems
to be a survival of marriage by capture ; especially as a
horse was used formerly, and may be still in some dis-
tricts. Her apparent reluctance is now ascribed to
* It may have been a compliment to stay away for seven
days, for in one story (L.T.H., ii, 45) we find : " She was brought
to the palace. The King rejoiced, and said that he would not
go to her hut until seven days had passed." But it was not at
all complimentary to stay away for longer than this.
88 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
shyness,* and it will be noted that such a feeling is
insisted upon, the girl being expected to resist the appli-
cation of henna, and the bridegroom being compelled to
keep away from his wife. The henna is doubtless a
Mohammedan introduction ; formerly it would seem that
oil or grease was used instead, for there is a proverb,
" However cunning the bride, she will be smeared with
oil."f These elaborate ceremonies are not necessary in
the case of women previously married, nor is any shy-
ness expected, the only exception being that the wives
will still scream when going to their new home. If pots
were still broken there would not be much water in the
Jemaa houses ; the late chief told me that there was not a
virgin over the age of ten in the whole town !{
AVOIDANCE. — It is difficult to understand to what
extent the mother-in-law (surukua) has to be avoided by
her daughter's husband. It is evident that there is some
barrier set up, for he will not always eat food in her
house (5) — though, perhaps, the objection is dying out
* A woman is said to have nine " shames," a man one — there
being only ten in the world. She loses three on the morning
after the wedding, three more after having given birth, and if
she commits adultery she has not even one left.
t In Liberia, too, the bride is rubbed with animal fat. John-
ston, Liberia, page 1038.
+ The customs are kept up by people more to the north-west,
however. The parents stand outside the house when the bride-
groom enters, and two friends of his hold the bride's legs. If
the bride is a virgin, a white cloth with the usual signs is
exhibited to the parents, and presents are brought. If the bride
is not innocent, the husband plants a pole in front of the hut,
breaks her dishes, &c., and hangs them upon it. This is done
on purpose to make the girl wish to leave, for if she goes away
of her own free will, her parents must return the marriage fee,
but they keep it if the husband drives her away. The men of
Argungu, however, must serve on the farms of their parents-in-
law-elect for some years, until the girls are ready for marriage,
and must give annual presents also. (L.T.H., ii, page 416.)
There the bride is smeared in henna for seven days, the bride-
groom for four, and she is taken to his house by the best man.
THE BACHELOR 89
{24) — and the word surukuta (the relationship thus
•established) has a second meaning of avoidance (7).
Yet, on the other hand, the son-in-law is delighted
when his wife's mother visits him (83) ; he pays her the
.greatest marks of respect which are due to an
honoured guest, and when he goes to see her, the
journey is considered to be of more importance than any
ordinary trip (24). Great respect is due in any case to
the wife's father (47, variant), though he may not always
get it, for he and his wife are apt to make themselves
nuisances to a generous son-in-law, since both of the
woman's parents may eat in his house. A theft from
•either or from both of the parents-in-law is particularly
vile (5 and 13).
I am informed that a wroman also has to avoid her
parents-in-law, but this does not seem to be correct —
or it may have been an older custom — the general rule
is for a husband to bring his wife to his own house or
to that of his parents.
THE BACHELOR. — An unmarried man is looked down
upon, so there is no need to extricate him in the stories
from any danger into which he may have got himself
(82), he may be killed without any regrets being wasted
over him. Amongst the Hausas, if a man lives without
a wife, although having money enough to procure one,
he is regarded as being not quite normal. Besides this,
he is expected to help in increasing the population, so
there are not many unmarried adults. I do not suppose
that there is a single woman who has not had relations
of some kind.
A bachelor is the butt of many jokes, being known
as " a man with a broom " because he has to sweep his
own hut, and he is supposed to dream of nothing but
house work, i.e., women's work.
90 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
PARENTAGE. — The desire of motherhood is strongly
implanted in the Hausas, several stories relating how a
woman prayed to have offspring whatever it might be
(71 and 72), and even when it was abnormal the result,
seems to have been quite satisfactory in most cases,
though there are exceptions (70).
MIRACULOUS BIRTHS. — Stories of miraculous births
are common, of course, and are mere fancy, but one
tale (M.H. 43), being somewhat out of the ordinary, is
worth noting; it is the story of a Woli. The reason
why he was called " Consecrated " was that his mother
had died in child, and when she had been buried, she
gave birth in the grave. Now the people near heard the
baby crying, and they took hoes, and opened the grave,
and brought out the child. He was taken to the chief,
who said " He is the Servant of God," and gave orders
that he was to be brought up by a malam. But no
sooner did the baby arrive at the learned man's house,
than he began reading the Koran, and the malam said
that he was to be taken back to the chief's house, for
he was already qualified.
Another version is given in Hausa Sayings, the
mother in this case being buried close to the dye-pits.
" During three subsequent months the dyers were
molested by an unknown person who repeatedly spilt
the dye, hid the dyeing poles, and generally made mis-
chief. By day nothing was seen of him, but a watch-
man placed at night in a chedia tree close by reported
next morning that he had seen a boy crawl out of a
hole in a neighbouring bank, play the same pranks with
the dyers' property as before, and finally return to his
hiding-place. When the place was dug open the body
of the woman was found within with a live child beside
her. Though dead, only one half of her body had
MIRACULOUS BIRTHS
corrupted. The other half from head to foot had re-
mained fresh and undecayed, so that her baby had been
born and successfully weaned.* As they gazed at this
remarkable sight the woman 's body dissolved into dust.
The boy under the name of Alfa dan Marinna survived
to old age at Katsena, where until recently (1909) he
was still living."!,
FIG. 24.
FIG. 25.
FIG. 24. -Long riding-boot. Height, 24 in. FIG. 25.— Boot of red
leather, pattern picked out or stained black. Sole untanned. Height, 17 in.
The two stories seem to be the same, the first was
written in 1856, and the events have naturally become
more and more wonderful in the succeeding half-
century.
* Generally two years or more, see the following section.
t Alfa is probably the same as Malam — it is so in Ilorin —
and is akin to Woli, or better, Walli. Dan Marinna means Son
of the Dye-pit.
92 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
The woman's cough becoming a child (85) is
miraculous, undoubtedly, but, perhaps, no more so than
the fact that the neighing of a horse carries away a
man (96).
CHILDBIRTH. — When a woman has been enceinte
about seven months, a stock of firewood is collected in
her house — say, 20 loads or so — and from the day that
she is delivered, or even before, she washes in warm
water until about forty days afterwards. With the
water is often mixed an infusion of the leaves of the
runhu (a small tree with yellow blossoms), and the
woman does not put her hands into the water to wash
her body,* but takes a branch, and dips it in, and
sprinkles herself. The actual childbirth is much the
same as amongst the Kagoro — for which see Journal of
the R.A.I., January-June, 1912. Should the wood col-
lected not be sufficient, the husband may have to get
more (19). Should the mother die before being de-
livered, no attempt is made to save the child. After
the child has been born, the mother remains for a week
inside her hut, her female friends visiting and con-
gratulating her, but on the eighth day the Malams
and relatives are assembled, and kola-nuts are given to
all. A special dish (tuon sund) consisting of corn, oil,
&c., is prepared, and perhaps a ram or even a bull is
killed and eaten, the midwives getting the head, legs,
and skin, \vhile the officiating Malam takes the saddle.
After the child has had its head shaved, it is given two
names, one of which is whispered into the child's ear,
the other being announced to the company. The
* Professor Westermarck suggests to me that this is because
she is unclean, and says that the washing for forty days is an
Arab custom.
INFANTICIDE 93
Malams then bless the child, ask God to preserve it from
witchcraft, and bless the breasts of the mother.
The child is nursed for two years, during which time
the mother lives apart from her husband, but on its
being weaned she sleeps with him again. Boys will
be circumcised when about seven years of age (vide
R.A.I, journal}, though some of the pagan Hausas
do it much earlier, but girls are not mutilated in any
way.
INFANTICIDE. — I was told that albinos were once
killed and eaten by an army before setting out to war,*
and there is a fairly widespread practice amongst people
in the southern part of the old Zaria province of throw-
ing idiots and deformed children into the river. f It was
not legal to kill them, apparently, though the result was
exactly the same so far as I could see, and there does
not seem to have been any idea of sacrifice in this act,
though there was in another connection. Whether this
custom was ever indulged in by the Hausas proper I
cannot say, but I was told that the people of Argungu,
on the other side of Nigeria, kept it up until quite lately.
Certainly Story 73 would seem to point to the putting to
death of abnormal infants. There is no suggestion in
any of the stories which I have read that a child is a
changeling. In the only instance given here of a father
doubting his offspring (64), the question rests upon the
son's legitimacy, not upon any fairy influence.
I do not think that there was any killing of twins,
* In Argungu the chief would kill perhaps five men, and
cut up the flesh into small pieces and give them to his followers
to be dried and kept until the outbreak of war. The bones were
then pounded up and eaten in soup. (L.T.H., ii, page 420.)
t See T.H.H., pages 230, 240, for a description of this, and for
an English parallel to the belief that the child changes into a
pillar of fire.
94 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
there was none in recent times at any rate, and triplets
would be considered lucky now, owing to the prevalence
of sterility. Twins are supposed to have a special power
of picking up scorpions without injury, but I have
seen others do it who were not twins. Perhaps a
malam had kindly provided them (on payment)
with a concoction w<hich when used both as a potion
and a lotion renders the poison harmless ! I have not
come across any story which mentions twins, and at
first I thought this strange, but, after all, our own folk-
lore does not say much about them. Had they been
put to death, I fancy the fact would have appeared
somewhere, whether in the disgrace of the mother, or
in the miraculous escape of the victims. In one story,*
a woman gave birth to forty children at a time, and the
rival wife killed them and substituted forty puppies. The
children were buried, but came up as flowers which were
eaten by a cow, and this animal re-bore the children, and
they were at last restored to the King, much to the
delight of the original mother who had been kept in
the meantime in a fowl-pen. It is satisfactory to
know that she was washed when she was taken out !
Another story (L.T.H., ii, 21), however, points to a
different conclusion, for where a woman gave birth to
a hundred children at a time both she and the husband
ran away and left them, and they were brought up by
her sister, their " Little Mother." Even a European
father might have tried to disappear under similar
circumstances !f Perhaps these two stories show that
any number above two were thought to be dangerous.
* ffausa Stories, Harris, page i.
t The Countess Hagenan is said in old books on midwifery to
have given birth to 365 at one time, but this case is now regarded
as being one of " hydatidiform mole," or " vesicular degeneration
of the chorion." Vide Whitbridge Williams, page 572.
RELATION OF PARENT AND CHILD 95
RELATION OF PARENT AND CHILD. — Obedience from
the children is expected, of course, but the parents
have their duties also. They are usually kind to their
children, but there are tales to the contrary, those of
the step-mother variety being fairly plentiful. The
daughter of a dead wife is usually badly treated by a
surviving kishia, and is set to do some task which
is thought to be impossible (93). She accomplishes
it by reason of her sweet nature, and becomes rich ;
and the step-mother is so angry that she sets her
own daughter a similar task, hoping for a like reward.
In this case, however, the result is a failure, and so the
ill-treated girl is avenged on her persecutors. Or the
good girl may be aided by an animal (F.-L. 48), and
marry the King's son. In Story 3 a fish acts the
part of the Fairy Godmother.
Sometimes, however, the rival wife* treats the child
better than his own mother does (60), but this is very
rare, though the parent may be unnatural. In the end,
he or she usually meets with death at the hands of the
victim (64, 65, 68), though the narrator is not always
sure that this is quite as it ought to be when the child
must kill either the offending parent or a benefactor. In
such cases he will ask " Now, did the child do right or
not ? " If one says " Yes," he will exclaim : " What !
Is it right to kill your own parent?'1 If one replies
" No," he will say : " What ! Is that how a benefactor
should be rewarded?" I found that the safest way
* Mr. Hartland has pointed out that co-wife would be a
better word, especially in Story 52, but unfortunately he did not
see the work until in print. However, if I err, I do so in good
company (e.g., with Robinson), and, after all, considering the
amount of quarrelling, " rival " cannot be a very inappropriate
description, especially as each wife has her own particular title,
the first being " House-mother," the next " Lieutenant of the
House-mother," and the last one " Bride."
96 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
was to refer the questioner to the spider, who, being
the King of Cunning and of Folk-lore, no doubt de-
lights in this sort of problem !
Needless to say, there is a certain rivalry between
the different children, even when they are of the same
mother (27), and, of course, this spirit is greatly in-
creased when one goes outside the family, thus (in 45)
a boy who is the rival of the King's son accomplishes
various feats, and becomes King himself, and so rules
over his rival. Sometimes, as in this case, the reason of
the triumph seems most unsatisfactory to our ideas : per-
haps some parts of the stories have been lost.
ADOPTION. — Sterility is common amongst the
Hausas, and there seems to be no doubt that there was
some form of adoption of sons to fill the place of
natural-born ones. There is no mention of the adop-
tion of daughters, and this and the fact that the adopted
sons usually kill some animals (usually horses, 67 and
68), and also the intense desire for sons, even someone
else's (59), seem to indicate that each father (and, pos-
sibly, each mother) had to have a son to perform some
sacrifice or other rite for him. The son must be obtained
in a proper lawful manner, with the consent of his
natural parent if alive, but where none exists the boy
can give himself (69). Even a woman can adopt, but
whether she does this to herself or to her dead husband
is not quite clear, though she evidently suffers by not
having a son.
It is just possible, as in the case of the Hindus, that
a son is necessary to carry on the worship of the Hausa
ancesters, though the reason given nowadays is
simply that if a man has no children his goods go to
strangers. If any such custom be discovered, it will be
more easy to understand why a perfectly true
o
« s
ni
ni
>< §
rs. v "^
< .5
a Q D
£ 5 S
^ °
5 •> 5
S < 1
ORGANIZATION
97
(though undoubtedly impolite) remark on the manner of
a person's birth is regarded as a much more deadly
insult than anything said about his purely personal
characteristics. Many Hausas (and indeed others) will
say that they do not mind being abused themselves, but
that they cannot bear anything derogatory to be said
about their parents.
FIG. 26. — Pattern on boot similar to fig. 25.
ORGANIZATION. — The Hausas are very good agricul-
turists, and, as a people, are more inclined for peace
than for war, though individually they are very good
fighters when properly led. They have been, and still
are, the traders of West Africa, always extending their
sphere of operations, and forming new colonies in every
7
98 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
direction. The language is thus widely spread, and,
being fairly easily learnt, and rich, it often displaces the
local tongues to a great extent.
The people were very good organizers, their system
of revenue collection being adopted by the Filani, and
this, shorn of its abuses, is what is practically in force
now under us.
The Hausas seem to care but little what strange
people rule the country so long as they can trade in
peace, and keep their land safely, and yet they are great
believers in leadership. A district is under an im-
portant chief or Sa(r)riki, under whom will be lesser
chiefs over areas, and a chief of each separate town.
But this is not by any means all, for the chief will
have his deputies and other officials, and each of these
will have his complete set of parasites. Not one of these
exalted persons will do more work than he can help, he
simply states that God will provide for him (or cause
some kind person to do so), and sits down to wait for
something to turn up Yet the Hausa can work when
he likes, the intense agriculture in some parts shows
this, and the traders have made a name everywhere in
West Africa. The town itself will be divided into
quarters, corresponding more or less closely with the
nationality of the dwellers in them, the Ungival Yoru-
baiva, Ungival Nufawa, &c., all of which have their
respective head with its long neck. Every profession
and trade, too, has its Sa(r)riki, the same word being
used in every case, and even beggars and cripples have,
a recognized chief, while in Kano, at any rate, the blind
have " Leaders of the Blind." This is really not quite
so absurd as it seems, for the people like to have dis-
putes and other matters settled by their own particular
heads. Thus in L.T.H., 40 — the snakes which were
DESCENT 99
quarrelling refused to separate for a man, but did so
when asked by Miss Snake. In court, a person always
pleads through the head of his house or village.
In some of the tales it will be noticed that Kings of
Lies, Truth, Good, and Evil are mentioned, but a man's
wisdom and credit are measured usually by the length of
his purse. A rich man may tell any lie and be believed,
while even the most obvious truths of a pauper may be
scoffed at. "If the King says 'it is black/ we ex-
claim ' very black/ if he says ' white,' we say ' pure.' '
A story in L.T.H. (50) is identical in effect with a
passage in the Apocrypha (Ecclesiasticus xiii, 23)
which runs, " When a rich man speaketh, every man
holdeth his tongue, and, look, what he saith, they extol
it to the clouds : but if the poor man speak, they say,
What fellow is this ? and if he stumble, they will help to
overthrow him." Even a person who claims to have
some special remedy will find it difficult to see his
patient if dressed in rags (80).
DESCENT. — The degrees of relationship are not well
defined. A man will call a cousin or even a fellow-
townsman my brother, or rather " son-of mother-of-
me," while an uncle, a step-father, and even a protector
is called father (45). To distinguish the real parent, a
qualification is used after the word parent such as "he
who begot me" (64), and a true child is called "my
child, of my own flesh." Uncles and aunts have special
words to denote them, for they are not always called
fathers and mothers, the same words being used for the
paternal as well as the maternal relatives, unless it is
important to distinguish them, in which case they are
called "younger brother of my father," &c. Except
when used in the ist or 3rd persons the words uba
(father) and wvoa (mother) are seldom heard, as " your
ioo HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
father" and "your mother" carry insinuations, and
are therefore terms of abuse in most cases. The fact
that the word for a brother is " son-of mother-of-me, "
and not " son-of f ather-of-me, " may indicate that de-
scent was once traced through women ; for it would be
much more important in that case to remember the
relationship to the female than to the male parent.
Story 59 also (where the wives return to the homes
of their parents to be delivered) points to a system of
matrilinear descent, and the same may be said of
Story 64 (if the explanation be correct), where the son-
in-law lives in his wife's city, and inherits the chieftain-
ship after her father's death. Certainly it seems to
be so in some stories where the King gives the
hero his daughter in marriage, and one-half of the city to
rule over. But the latter is not usual, for the bride in the
other tales is always brought to live in the husband's
town, and this indicates father-right. The fact that in
many districts the inhabitants of villages which are
foreign colonies pay their taxes not to the local chiefs,
but to those of the district from which they have immi-
grated, shows that the system was based upon a tribal
and not a territorial bond, I.e., that it was patriarchy.
TRIBAL MARKS. — During 1908 and 1909 I measured
over a hundred Hausas at Jemaan Daroro — at least they
said that they were Hausas — and the wearers of the
markings given later probably represent the average of
the people at present, except where the contrary is noted.
Many others presented themselves for examination, but
only those who could speak the language, and were able
to state that both parents were Hausas and were
" passed " by some of my men, were accepted, but even
so, I dare say that the patterns of some of these will
show their Hausa blood to be of very recent infusion.
TRIBAL MARKS 101
At the same time, several tribes, although widely diver-
gent in other respects, may have similar designs if these
consist of a few lines only, and, in fact, even when
the lines are numerous.* Nothing seems to have been
done in the way of systematizing the markings — at any
rate not in Nigeria — and these notes were written (for
the R.A.I. Journal originally) in the faint hope of
initiating the process.
A knowledge of marks might be very useful in cer-
tain circumstances, for they often indicate a man's
special qualifications as well as the tribe to which he
belongs; thus a river-dweller, especially a Nupe or a
Kakanda (long sloping cut on each cheek), should be
able to paddle and swim, an inhabitant of a district
farther north (e.g., Zaria) might know of donkey or
even camel transport, a Cow-Filani (straight cut down
forehead and nose) would understand the management
of cattle, a man of Jemaa (various) possibly mat-
making, and a native of. Kano (several thin short slop-
ing cuts on each cheek) perhaps leather or brass work.
But sometimes a noted character will try to obliterate
his marks; others add special ones as charms to bring
good luck, as personal ornaments, or for the purpose of
relieving or preventing pain, and it is just possible that
cuts made at random at first may have developed into a
stereotyped pattern when successful in such an object.
* As in the case with the Kagoro, Moroa, Kajji and other
tribes, vide T.H.H., page 95. With regard to the accompanying
figures and Appendix II at the end of this book (part of an
article in the R.A.I. Journal, January-June, IQII), I ought per-
haps to say that the outlines of the faces, &c., are not intended to
represent faithfully the actual features ; they are merely to show
the position of the marks. These have been reproduced as much
like the originals as possible, even the operator's errors being
shown, though no attempt has been made to draw them exactly
to scale.
102 HA US A SUPERSTITIONS
Others again, may be enslaved, and, if young enough,
be given the markings of the master's tribe, and lastly,
small-pox may play havoc with the designs. Absolute
dependence cannot be placed upon them, for that pur-
pose, therefore, but they are usually a sure guide to
identification.
Tribal marks generally are known by the Hausas as
zani; they are usually mere simple cuts, but the akanza
has blue pigment, or sometimes charcoal rubbed in.
Keskestu are small dots in parallel lines; kaffo are ranks
of short perpendicular cuts representing horns; zubbe
are groups of fine slanting lines on the cheek ; other
names are noted as they occur. In addition to the cuts,
the women paint lines on their faces, known as katam-
birri, at times of feasts, special visits, &c., but it is
doubtful if there are any strictly defined designs.
Sometimes lightish coloured spots were seen on the
chest and back, called kasbi, which are said to appear
just before puberty, and to be a sign of a lustful nature.
I noticed occasionally that the top of the head was
flat, and was told that this was due to the carrying of
loads in childhood — tiny mites, hardly able to toddle,
are often seen with pots of water. Sometimes the fore-
head (and even all round the head) was very much
wrinkled from the same cause. The carriers told me
that anyone who carried too heavy a load for any length
of time would sicken and die, and that was the reason
given by independent witnesses in two or three inquests
which I had to hold. I have seen men said to be ill
from this cause, and they seemed to be wasting away
gradually, although they had plenty of money for food,
without showing visible signs of any disease. The
Government is taking steps to prevent overloading, and
no man may be compelled to carry more than 60 lb.,
DEATH AND BURIAL 103
and that this is very moderate is shown by the fact that
Hausa traders will sometimes take a couple of hundred-
weight of their own wares.
DEVELOPMENT. — A man settles down in the forest,
near to some stream or other permanent water-supply,
and there he clears the ground and makes a farm. Soon
he has saved enough to obtain a wife, and she will take
the produce to market and give him more time for his
work. Then he obtains another wife, and he thus
has someone to help him in the fields, and as he
increases the number of huts, the place becomes
known as Giddan Mutum Daya (The House of
One Man). He soon gets other wives, concu-
bines, and slaves, and his compound becomes a
kauye or hamlet. Probably other men come to settle
there, and as the original founder has at least four fami-
lies growing up, the population increases by leaps and
bounds. If the spot be near a trade route, and travellers
can be induced to lodge there, other huts will be erected,
and a market will be formed ; if too far from the main
road for this, parties of women will be sent to a spot on
the road to sell fura and other light refreshments. In
this way, the hamlet develops into a town, perhaps into
a city, and even a poor man may have become a power-
ful chief in twenty years' time (or even much less under
specially favourable conditions), with his train of
officials, his attendants, and his slaves, exactly like
those of his native-town (63). One of the legends of
Daura makes a girl the foundress of the country of that
name.
DEATH AND BURIAL. — In Gobir, Katsina, and Daura,
when a chief began to fail in health or strength, he
was throttled, and, after his entrails had been removed,
his body was smoked over a fire for seven days. By
io4 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
that time the new chief had been elected, and he was
then conducted to the centre of the town, and there
made to lie down on a bed. A black ox was brought,
and slaughtered over him so that the blood ran all over
his body, and then the ox was flayed, and the dead
chief was put inside it, and dragged to the grave (a
circular pit), where he was buried in a sitting posture.
The new chief had to reside for seven days in his
mother's house, being washed daily, and on the eighth
he was conducted in state to the palace. In Daura the
new chief had to cross over the body of his predecessor.*
I think that it is quite likely that the story of The
Youth and the Magic Ointment (post, page 132) has
some reference to king-killing, for the ruler agrees to
give up his life to his younger rival. Another circum-
stance should be noted, and that is that in this tale (as in
Story 45) the new chief takes the wives of the one whom
he has supplanted; in fact, the hero having slept with
the wife (45) while the real husband was alive appears to
give him the right to the throne. f
Amongst certain people subject to Argungu (to the
north-west of Zungeru) the new chief was chosen as
follows : The bull was killed as soon as the old chief
* Frazer, Totemism and Exogamy, vol. ii, page 608. A Yesko
(Hausa) chief has to wait much longer before he is installed, vide
T.H.H.j page 125. Black oxen seem to have some connection
with death and disaster, cf. our expression " The black ox has
trod on his foot," i.e. , misfortune has come to him.
t Such a mode of succession seems to have been known to
the ancient Israelites, for the offences of Reuben and Absalom
against their fathers denoted supersession; Abner tried to get
Rispah, the dead Saul's concubine; and in reply to Adonijah's
petition for Abishag, Solomon said, " Ask for him the kingdom
also," and put him to death. (Vide Driver, The Book of
Genesis, page 382.) Admiral Seymour claimed the English
throne because he married Katherine Parr. Filani conquerors
demand a daughter of the conquered chief in marriage, and there
is, no doubt, a similar idea in this.
DEATH AND BURIAL 105
was dead, and the corpse was wrapped in it, and then
placed on a bed, and carried out into the open. The
dead chief's relatives were then made to stand in a
circle around the body, and the elders of the town spoke
thus : " O Corpse, show us who is to be chief, that we
may live in peace, and that our crops may do well."
The bearers then took the body round the ring, and it
would cause them to bump against the man it wished
to succeed. It was then buried seven days afterwards,
and the new king was installed amidst rejoicings. It
is probable that the man who had brought about the
death of the old king was always chosen originally, as
having proved himself the stronger.* At any rate,
this happened in the case of one of the '" Hausa
Banza " (False Hausa States), for we are told that with
the Kororofawa, the king was allowed to reign only two
years, and he was then killed by a member of the royal
family. The internal organs of the corpse were then
removed, and it was placed on a bed, and smeared with
butter, a slow fire being lighted underneath. After two
or three months, the chief men were assembled under-
the king-slayer, and they were officially informed of the
king's death. The king-slayer was then given a whip
and a cap (the emblems of chieftainship), and if he
could turn his head smartly without making the cap
fall he became chief. The dead king was then buried
in a funnel-shaped grave, f
At the present time, on a death taking place, the
* An Indian custom seems to support this view. In the case
of a suspicious death amongst the Gonds, the relations solemnly
call upon the corpse to point out the delinquent, the theory being
that if there had been foul play of any kind, the body, on being
taken up, would force the bearers to convey it to the house of
the person by whom the spell had been cast. Crooke, op. cit.,
", 37-
t Journal of the African Society, July, 1912, page 40.
106 HAL'S A SUPERSTITIONS
women of the family and friends assemble, and cry for
one day, the mourners sometimes throwing ashes and
dust on themselves, and drums beat the news. Narrow
strips of fa(r)ri (white cloth) are sewn together to form
a shroud, and the body is washed, and wrapped in it,
and then in a mat (83), while outside this there may be
a stiffening of sticks (82) — but there is no proper coffin.
The grave may be made so that the corpse can be placed
in a sitting posture, and may even be lined with sticks,
but unless the deceased has been an important person, it
will be simply a shallow trench* two to three feet in
depth. It may be in the compound of the deceased's
house, or even outside the town ; there are no regular
cemeteries.
The corpse is then carried on the heads of one or
more bearers, and placed in the grave, together with a
small branch, and perhaps some pots and treasures. f
* The rule that the shape of the grave (the abode of the
deceased after death) follows that of the house which he inhabited
during life is subject to some modification in Hausaland. The
Mohammedans have introduced oblong graves, corresponding to
the plan of the mosques and the houses of the chiefs and of the
great men in the north. But in the south, although most of the
people still live in circular huts, they may be buried in oblong
trenches as has been mentioned above. Still, circular graves
were used before the introduction of Islam, and this exception
would seem to be merely a temporary one, and really helping to
prove the rule.
t Possibly the Hausas were once buried in pots, for peoples
on each side of them used this mode, e.g., the Baribas of Borgu
(N.W.S., page 69) and the Gwari (Man, IQII, art. 53.) With the
latter tribe and some others, on the death of a chief, a con-
cubine, a groom, and a favourite horse were slaughtered, and
dressed in their best, and put in the grave (a circular hole with
a porch above it) with the chief. Firewood, grass, and sleeping-
mats were also put inside, and a bed on which the corpse of the
chief was placed in a sitting posture, leaning against the wall.
The corpse was then addressed, and the grave was closed, a large
water-pot being placed on the top (L.T.H. ii, QS). For a some-
what similar custom amongst the Aragga, see T.H.H., page 187.
INHERITANCE 107
Loose earth may be thrown in then, and all will be
over, but in the case of more important persons, grass
might be placed next to the corpse, and perhaps sticks
as well, and over this there would be built a cover of
clay, the loose earth being heaped above. After the
return of the mourners, the division of the inheritance
is made.
It is related of one chief that he used to kill not only
everyone who displeased him, but that he would even cut
open living women with child so that he could see the
stages of development. On his death a grave was dug,
and he was put in it, but the earth threw him out again.
A second time he was put in, but once more he was
ejected, and a hut had to be built for the corpse. This
is curiously similar to our own tales about tombstones
which refused to remain standing.
INHERITANCE. — Two stories (80 and T.H.H. 6) relate
that, on the death of the father, his property was
arranged into lots equal to the number of sons, and that
each elder son took his share, but that the youngest,
who had promised to do this, took only a certain animal
—which, of course, turned out later to be possessed of
magical powers. But this was not known at the time,
for on the youngest son's refusing his proper
share, his mother abused him, and tried to persuade
him to change his mind, so she evidently lost also.
Now under the Mohammedan system she would have had
her share independently of his acceptance, in fact it
would have been increased by his refusal to partake, so
the system was probably more like that of the Hindu,
where a mother takes part of what her son inherits.
But it could not have been this altogether, for in Story
81 we see that all children inherit their father's property
io8
HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
equally,* and they are always anxious to know what he
intends leaving them (85), though, as there is no men-
tion of the wives receiving anything separately, each
probably took part of her own child's share. The
property of each mother is inherited solely by her own
children, apparently (63). Although under the Moham-
FiG. 27.— Hat of straw partly covered with leather. Worn over cap,
head-kerchief, &c., or allowed to hang down over the back. D. about
50 in.
medan law wills are allowed, it is evident from the above
that they did not exist before the introduction of Islam.
* Mr. Evatt tells me that in Birnin Kebbi sons take more
than daughters whatever their ages. Amongst sons, the elder
ones take more than the younger, but daughters share equally
with one another. If a girl were the sole heiress, she would
take only about one-half, the other moiety going to the chief.
Owing to the introduction of the Koranic laws, the details of the
old systems are extremely difficult to obtain.
FIG. 28. — Lid of wooden calabash, decorated with brass. D., 9^ in.
CHAPTER VI.
CUSTOMS AND SUPERSTITIONS.*
Beliefs — Gods and Spirits — Nature Myths — The Next World —
Diseases — Totemism — Mythical Beings — The Half-Man — Dodo —
A Fabulous Bird — Wonderful Animals — Magic Ointment — Trans-
formation— Sacrifice — Cannibalism — Ordeals, &c. — The Curse
and Blessing — Earth — Kola-nuts — Tabu — Bori — Hallucinations.
IT is evident from these stories, and from the account
of bori, given later, that various gods or spirits of some
kind were worshipped at one time, for a King of the
Thicket and a King of the Heavens are mentioned (64),
as well as Dodo, and spirits are said to live in the baobab
and tamarind trees. Iblis and the Aljannu have been
borrowed from the Arabs, and they sometimes take the
place of one of the local spirits ; and since witches, too,
often play similar parts, it is very difficult to obtain a
clear idea of what the beliefs really were. In Story 90
the three beings which assume human shape are known
alternately as demons (or jinns, aljannu\ or devils
(iblisi), and Death and a witch are also interchangeable,
as is mentioned later, while in another story (F.-L. 49)
Iblis is a female, the wife of a devil, and she sells charms
* Part of this and the following chapter, and some sections
of the preceding chapters, were read before the British Asso-
ciation at the Portsmouth meeting last year.
i io HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
to enable the holders to transform themselves into
animals, &c. The demons are not always evil,* for
they may do a good turn to a well-behaved girl (89),
though they will punish one who is forward ; they have
cloven feet " like the hoof of a horse." The aljanmi
live in families as do human beings, they work, and
suffer hunger and thirst. The prevalence of the Daura
legend (see page 124) in districts unconnected with each
other (it existed in Songhay), has made one writerf
think that at some former time fetish worship extended
much farther to the north than it does at present. But
the Hausas themselves had no fetishes; except for the
posts set up in the fields, they worshipped the spirits
themselves which lived in the wells or trees.
It is only natural that there should be a belief in
evil spirits in a country where every tribe is the enemy
of its neighbours, for stragglers near the boundaries
often disappear, and — since they are probably sacrificed
or eaten in secret — they are heard of no more. But
under conditions of increasing peace and enlightenment,
these rites grow more rare, and the boundaries become
more safe and defined, with the result that such dis-
appearances can be sheeted home, usually, to some
particular set of human beings, or even to individuals.
These foreign spirits then retire (though those of an-
cestors may still remain, of course), and aid and redress
are sought in the European court-house rather than in
the mud-hut of the medicine-man.
At present, the vast majority of the people calling
themselves Hausas are Mohammedans, but there are
* This is not surprising, for daimon once meant " god " or
" divine being," but came to be employed specifically to signify
secondary deities (or children of the gods), and finally the shades
of the dead. Toy, Judaism and Christianity (1892), page 155.
t Lady Lugard, A Tropical Dependency ', page 260.
GODS AND SPIRITS 111
some communities which have remained pagan, and
which keep up their pagan rites, though often much
influenced by Islam, so that they now have what " is
in fact, though not in name, a crude monotheism with
some local spirit in the place of Allah."*
GODS AND SPIRITS. — The Magazawa (Sing., Ba-
Maguje), as the Hausas are called who are still pagans,
sacrifice to certain spirits, but they do not make images
or fetishes of any kind. Some of these spirits are : —
Kuri, a male corresponding to Pan, another name
being Rago (96); he barks like a dog, and wears a
goat-skin. Possibly the baboon is responsible for this
idea, as he barks; or Kuri may have come from Kure,
a male hyaena. The proper sacrifice to him is a young
red he-goat, but he eats human beings (96).
Uwardowa, a female, the goddess of hunting, the
name signifying " Forest-Mother." The appropriate
offering is a red she-goat, or a red cock.
Uivargona, "Farm-Mother," or Uwardawa, "Corn-
Mother," also a female, goddess of agriculture. She
prefers white-coloured victims. The spirit of corn is
incarnate in a bull,f and at the first of the New Year a
man will put on a horned mask, and dance, so as to
promote a good crop.
Sa(r)rikin Rafi (or Kogi) is a water spirit, perhaps
the same as Dodo, who is mentioned later. It would
appear that a virgin was sacrificed to him at one time.
Ayu is a spirit living in the water, which drags
people down. This name is also given to the manatee.
* Frazer, Totemism and Exogamy, vol. ii, page 601.
t As elsewhere, vide Frazer, Spirits of the Corn and of the
Wild, i, 288. In Egypt, the time for ploughing was indicated by
the sign of the bull, but oxen were not used in agricultural work
by the Hausas.
ii2 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
Uivayara is a spirit which kills the mother and her
new-born child.
The echo is attributed to a supernatural agency, in
fact it is sometimes called Iblis, devil, or Kurua, mean-
ing soul, spirit, shadow.
Fatalua and Magiro are evil beings of some kind,
though I could not discover the exact meaning of the
words. Canon Robinson (Dictionary) gives " ghost,
hobgoblin, spectre " for the former, and " ghost, evil
spirit " for the latter. Kaura is said to be an evil spirit
which makes men fight.
Gajjimare is the god of rain and storms, which has
the shape of a snake, and is double-gendered, the male
part being red, the female blue. It lives in the storm-
clouds (same name), but is supposed to come out at
night, and it is also said to inhabit wells, and in fact
all watering-places, so a pot is kept full in every house.
Gajjimare (rainbow) may be represented by the water-
serpent killed in the legend of Daura before referred to,
but sometimes it is said to be the husband of Uwar-
dowa, and the father of Kuri. Other names of the
rainbow are Masharua, "water drinker/' and Bakkan
gizzo, " spider's bow."
NATURE MYTHS. — I thought at first that the story
of the Fufunda (page 129) must have been imported—
because the ending has a Mohammedan flavour — and
Canon Robinson agreed with me, but it may not be
altogether foreign, for the idea that the sun comes out
of a great gate which the Heaven opens for it is known
elsewhere in West Africa.* At any rate, the variant
to Story 95 seems to be a sun-myth, of genuine Hausa
origin. There the youth and the spider pass beyond
* On the Gold Coast, vide Tylor, Primitive Culture, vol. i,
page 347-
XIII AND XIV.— HOUSES IN KANO WITH GRASS FENCES, AND IN SOKOTO
WITH MUD WALLS.
NATURE MYTHS 113
the world, and meet a witch, who tries to kill them, but
her scheme is frustrated first by the crowing of a cock,
then by the watchfulness of the spider. Witches or
other man-eating monsters appear elsewhere as being
connected with night,* so the idea is not strange in
the case of the Hausas. The witch is able to kill the
travellers only during the night, apparently, and
although married to the youth in another version (95)
she does not sleep with him, and he will not allow her
even to enter his hut. The spider and the youth set
out at daylight, the cock having announced the dawn,
and cross a river of fire, which is probably the first
flush of dawn ; a river of cold water, possibly the mists ;
and a river of hot water, which might symbolize the
warmth, f and they are safe only after having done this.
The razors on the horse may have been introduced
merely to ''adorn the tale," or the tail may represent
the bright fleeting clouds at dawn, pierced by the sun-
ray s.|
But the night monster need not always be a female,
* Tylor, op. cit., pages 335-342.
t This would mean a slight change in the order of the
obstacles, but such an alteration should be permissible, for the
myths are not supposed to be exact. In this very story, although
the travellers had reached a place where " there was no land,
nothing but wind, water, and darkness," the cock manages to
escape capture by hiding " in the grass."
t Dr. Leo. Frobenius (The Childhood of Man, page 371)
comes to a similar conclusion, and says : " When spiders break
the witch's head at night-time, when her blood flows round about,
we are decidedly reminded of Maui [N.Z.], who contends with
the fire-god, or with other solar-deities, who rise out of a blood-
bath in the morning. ... In the form of rays the sun emits
its sea of light ; in the form of rays the spider, too, weaves its
web. Thus the slender threads of the spider become solar rays,
and the sun becomes the spider, which in artful ways ensnares
the souls of mortals." The Bagos of West Africa represent the
sun as " a thievish witch in the middle of a spider's web."
8
ii4 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
even in Hausa tales, for in another (L.T.H., ii, 77) a
princess is married to a husband who is nothing but a
ball of hair, and has eaten three previous wives. She
takes a number of garments with her, and when left
alone with him at night, she throwrs some in the fire each
time that " he swells up and is going to eat her." He,
not to be outdone, plucks some hair out, and burns
that, and just before daylight, as she destroys her last
garment, he pulls off his skin — all the hair having gone
already — and "then the girl beheld a youth, red, red
(white) was he; and he was shivering with the cold."
She gave him clothes to put on (apparently quite ignor-
ing the fact that they were all burnt), and then daylight
appeared, and she was safe.
In other stories, too, there seems to be a sun-myth
element, e.g., where the girl is swallowed, and comes
up again as shining metal (55 variant), and where the
fiery Dodo catches the father and the boy, and they
get out of the bag and escape (32), particularly as in
the last case a witch is substituted for Dodo in a
variant.*
The stars are supposed to visit each other and talk
{M.H. 25). The morning-star in harvest time (which
Canon Robinson thinks to be the a in Aquila) is
known as the eagle-star. A constellation which appears
at the commencement of the rains is known as Kaza
Maiyaya, the Hen with Chickens.
* Dodo's Debt is evidently a sun-myth, although the bride
herself is not swallowed, the story corresponding in many
respects to the Basuto Myth of Litaolane. Dr. Frobenius ob-
serves (o*p. cit., page 286), " It is very characteristic that the
insular and coast peoples let the sun be devoured by a fish [e.g.,
Jonah], since for them the sun sinks under the sea, while, on
the contrary, the Basutos, living on the mainland, instead of the
fish make the monster Kammapa responsible for the disaster." The
Hausas, for a similar reason, make Dodo act the part of the
•destroyer.
NATURE MYTHS
Some myths of the sun and moon have been men-
tioned already, but there are many others. In the story
of the hyasna and the bitch (F.-L. 22), for instance,
the latter agrees to provide meals with all her six
puppies, on the former promising to give her six cubs
later, but mistrusting the hyasna, the bitch kills the cubs
first and hides her puppies in a tree, giving them a
rope-ladder to let down for her when necessary. The
FIG. 30.
FIG. 29. — Brass basin, pattern stamped out from inside"; corrugated
bottom. D., 15! in. FIG. 30.— Pattern on upper face of lip of fig. 29.
hyaena, of course, tries to get at the puppies, but is not
so successful as she is in the case of the girl in Story
84, and she chases the bitch until turned into wood.
Another version is that the hyaena sank into the
n6 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
earth and was buried. This reminds one of a
Malayan story noticed by Professor Tylor,* which
is to the effect that both the sun and moon are
women, both having stars as children. Each agreed
to eat up her children, and the sun's stars perished,
but the moon hid hers, and when the sun found
this out she chased the moon to kill her. The
chase is still going on, the sun sometimes biting the
moon (an eclipse), while the sun still eats her own
children (at dawn, when they fade), but the moon
brings hers out only at night, when the sun is far
away. I suggest that the Hausa story has a
similar meaning, for — as Sir Edward Tylor shows
— tribes far apart do have similar stories, and
even Europeans preserve them.f The savage re-
gards stars as being alive, or combines groups of them
into mythical creatures, and even the modern astrono-
mer finds the myths useful in mapping his celestial
globe.
The following story (M.H. 33) would not seem to
support the above suggestion, but it is impossible to
say if the ideas were those originally possessed by the
Hausas or not. " Some men say that the moon and the
sun did not quarrel before the sun gave birth. Then
the sun called the moon and asked him to hold her
daughter while she went and washed herself. The
moon took the sun's daughter, but was not able to hold
it, for it burnt him, and he let it go, and it fell to earth
* Primitive Culture, vol. i, page 356.
t There is a story in Sierra Leone, however, of a similar
agreement between the spider and the leopard regarding their off-
spring, and there seems to be no indication of any celestial myth
contained in it. Vide Cunnie Rabbit, page 211. Here the spider
escapes by frightening the leopard, and tying him up. Compare
the spider and the lion in T.H.H., 2.
NATURE MYTHS 117
— that is why men feel hot on earth. When the sun
returned, she asked the moon where her daughter was,
and the moon replied " Your daughter was burning
me so I let her go, and she fell to earth." Because of
that the sun pursues the moon.
" But others say that the moon's path is full of
thorns, while that of the sun is sandy, and on that
account the moon cannot travel quickly, as does the sun.
So when the moon can proceed no farther, he gets on
to the sun's path, and the sun catches him. When the
sun has caught him the people take their drums " and
ask the sun to spare the moon.*
Judging by Indian analogies, Story 65 might refer
either to the eclipse, or to the birth of the New Year,
for both in the worship of Rahu and at the Holi festi-
val, a tribal priest walks through the fire,f but suffi-
cient proof is not forthcoming.
There is some virtue in being swallowed, for an ugly
girl can be brought up again in a beautiful form, " half
silver and half gold " (F.-L. 48). But if animals (M. 8)
or insects (87) act the part of Jack the Giant Killer,
they usually seem to kill their adversaries by cutting
their way out of their hosts, as does the knife sent by
God to the terrified bride (75). The swallowing of the
victim, and his cutting his way out are well-known
incidents in eclipse stories.
Once the sun and the wind had a quarrel about
which was the more powerful, and they agreed to test
their powers by trying to seize by force the tobe of a
traveller. The wind first caught him, and blew off his
* The full translation is they " take their mortars, stretch
skins over the openings, and beat the drums " thus formed, and
so, says Frobenius (op. cit., page 97), we see how the drum was
invented.
t Crooke, op. cit.^ i3 19 and iis 317.
u8 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
tobe, but he caught the arms and folded it up, and
stooping down, avoided all further danger. Then the
sun beat upon the man, and soon he was so hot that
he would have thrown away his tobe, there was no
escape from the heat, for he was far away from any
shelter. Thus it was that the man said that the sun
was the more powerful, and his opinion was accepted by
the contestants.
THE NEXT WORLD. — Dunia (world) is often used,
as with us, to denote the evil principle of this life.
The next world is evidently a replica of this, since the
families are together (85), and live in houses, and souls
there have the same anxiety about what is to be left to
them as do mortals here. It is above, probably (64),
but there is a heavenly night and day (85). Animals
go to it too, and the inhabitants die a second time.
Souls may transmigrate from one human body to
another, especially in the case of members of the same
family, but they cannot enter animals. Some (Garu-
baiva) believe that souls are good or bad, the latter
being condemned to wander about, the former return-
ing to the womb of a woman of the family, and
reappearing, usually, in a grandchild of the deceased.
Others (Babban Dammo) think that the souls will
come to kill the living people if not placated or pre-
vented, and so they place thorns on the corpse to pre-
vent the soul escaping.*
DISEASES. — Several diseases seem to be personified,
such as Dan Zanzanna, who gives small-pox to his
enemies, Dogua, an evil spirit which injures the
tamarind and baobab trees, and causes paralysis and
death of people eating the fruit. The latter is also
called Maigidda bin (the owner of two houses), because
* Frazer, Totemism and Exogamy, vol. ii, pages 604, 605.
TOT EM ISM 119
when he becomes tired of one tree he goes to live in the
other. Another meaning of Dogua, I was told, is
Hunger, and to this also the description would apply,
for if he had killed one person (i.e., destroyed one
house), he could always go to another.
TOTEMISM. — Although a doubt may be raised as to
whether the pagan customs and beliefs of the Hausas
should be classed under the head of totemism or not,
it can be said, at any rate, that in many points they
resemble true totemism very closely. The word for
both totem (if really so) and tabu is kan gidda (that
which is upon the house), and most of these totems
are birds. Persons having the same totem or tabu
constitute a clan, but these clans do not coincide with
the political divisions of the country, for members of
the latter are distinguished by scarifications on their
faces, and these marks do not refer to the totemic clan.
Some clans sacrifice the totem annually (e.g., a hen),
others will not do so, nor will they even touch it (e.g.,
frog). A Hunter community of Katsina which has a
short black snake as its totem will not eat anything
killed by it, but it is friendly, and lives in the rafters,
and comes down to the floor of the hut if a son be born.
At least one community (Babban Dammo) claims to be
descended from its totem, which is an iguana. The
Magazawa were originally exogamous, but in some
districts marriages within the totem may now take
place.*
Some of the stories contain totemistic elements,
probably Stories 3 and 3 variant refer to the mythical
ancestors (a fish and a frog) of some clans, as likewise
do F.-L. 42 and 47 (a pigeon and an elephant), and
T.H.H. 7 (a bird). The Donkey-Maiden (T.H.H. 4)
* Frazer, Totemism and Exogamy, ii, pages 600-607.
120 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
and the Dog-Maiden (L.T.H., ii, 59), and possibly
also the Monkey-Woman (57 and 58), belong to the
class of which the tales of the Swan-Maiden and
Beauty and the Beast are types. The explanation of
these latter stories is that they referred originally to
the fact that husbands and wives would claim totems
of different kinds, and that they would resent, there-
fore, any taunts about their origin (58), for these would
be equivalent to injuries done to their animal kinsfolk.
Each husband and wife would revere his or her own
family totem, but would not be bound to respect that
of the spouse, and so quarrels would arise, and perhaps
end in permanent separation, one or the other becoming
the supernatural husband or wife who has mated for a
time with a human being.*
There is a story (L.T.H., ii, 280) strongly sugges-
tive of the primitive stage of " conceptional totemism "
which ought to be mentioned. A certain woman had
started out on a journey, when the leaf of a silk-cotton
tree fell upon her, and she returned home, sending to tell
those who were expecting her that she had been lucky.
The leaf she put under a water-jar, in a cool spot, and
it began to grow. Then the woman said " Tell the
King that I have a son." And when the King, her
brother, sent to ask his name, she said " It is Son-of-
a-Silk-Cotton-Tree." Soon the tree grew as high as
the jar, and the jar was taken away, the tree being left
alone in the hut, and when it had grown up higher,
the roof was taken off. A slave was told off to look
after the tree, and four wives were brought, a hut being
built for each near the original one. The wives came
every morning to pay their respects to the tree, and
the youngest used to scrape the bark. One day the
* Frazer, ib., page 571.
TOTEM ISM 121
tree told the slave to get him clothes, and, when these
had been procured, the slave saw a man come out of
a hole in the tree, and put on the clothes. This being
visited his first wife that night and gave her bracelets,
returning to the tree in the morning, and then he
visited the others in turn, but he scratched the youngest
FIG. 31. — Brass jug, deep red colour, used for holding water for a chief,
especially at ceremonies ; hinged lid. H., nf in.
for having hurt him by scraping his tree. Then the slave
told the mother, and the son went through the proper
marriage ceremonies, " the King seized him and
smeared him with henna, while his mother seized the
King's daughter (the senior wife) and smeared her,"
and the husband and his wives lived naturally. Un-
122 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
fortunately there is no further mention of the tree, but
it probably disappears, since the newly-formed family
take possession of the house, and the slave says, " The-
Son-of-a-Silk-Cotton-Tree has become a man.*'*
It is not improbable that other stories of miraculous
births would be on similar lines to the above if fully
told, for one can never be certain that the whole
account has been preserved. Thus where a woman
bears a mouse, a cake, or a household utensil, f she
may have been touched by it or its type, in the original
version, before conception. From other stories, it
seems that the life of a tree in the compound may be
connected with that of one of the sons of the house,
and so the state of his health when absent can be told
by the appearance of the tree.
MYTHICAL BEINGS, &c. — There are giants in the
Hausa Folk-Lore (33, 1 99 and 100), and many-headed
* Compare this story with those obtained by Dr. Rivers in the
island of Mota, in the Banks' group. A woman in the bush finds
a fruit (or animal) in her loincloth, and takes it home, and the
people tell her that she will give birth. She replaces the fruit
and builds a wall around it, and tends it every day. After a
time it disappears, and is supposed to have entered the woman
in some supernatural manner — but not by a physical impregna-
tion. After a time a child is born, and it is regarded as being
in some sense the (animal or) fruit which had been found, and
tended by the mother. R.A.I. Journal, xxxix (1909), page 172.
Compare also the story of Batau who turned into two trees,
and when being cut down at the suit of his faithless wife (who
had married Pharaoh), made a chip fly into her mouth, and
caused her to conceive. The International Library of Famous
Literature, Ed. Dr. R. Garnett. Vol. i, page 81.
Tree marriages are not uncommon in India, a man taking
a plant as his third wife (the third being unlucky) and a girl as
his fourth. Girls, too, are wedded to trees amongst the Kurmis.
Crooke, o-p. cit., ii, 115.
t In India marriages to jars, nuts, £c., take place. Vide
Crooke, op. cit., ii, 117.
+ According to the Kano Chronicle, Barbushe was a man of
great stature and might, a hunter who slew elephants with his
stick, and carried them home on his head. In this respect he
resembles Bortorimi.
THE HALF-MAN 123
cannibals (98), but I have not heard of any dwarfs*
(unless the boys in 70 and 71 be exceptions), and
this is rather surprising, for Hausaland seems to
have been inhabited by " little black men " at one time.
It is just possible that this points to the probable origin
of the Hausas from the east across the desert — where
there was no such dense forest, and therefore no pygmy
race — for if they had gradually driven these little people
down the coast their folk-lore would surely have had
some mementoes of them ! The giants are represented
as being much more powerful than the average man,
and although it has been proved by scientific observers
that monstrosities are really weaker — for some part of
the body has developed at the expense of the rest — the
idea is natural.
THE HALF-MAN. — There is a somewhat unusual
creature in the " Half-Being " (Barin Mutum or Bare-
Bare) who appears in one of the stories as a half-man
(16), and in three others as a half-woman (16 variant,
84, and 100). I do not mean a being half-human, half-
animal, such as in Story 73, but half a human body,
" with one arm, and one leg, and one eye," as if
a person had been split up from the pelvis to the
skull.
Mr. Crooke tells me that the Hausa " Half-Being "
probably comes from the Arabic " Split-Man " (Shikk)
—who resembles the Persian " Half-Face " (Nimchah-
rah) — a kind of demon, like a man divided longitudin-
ally, which runs with amazing speed and is very cruel
* I refer to the pagan Hausas, but " in March, 1909, a man
named Awudu saw two black dwarfs, a man and a woman, each
about one foot high, emerge from a rimi tree and walk towards
him across a valley. They then disappeared as suddenly as they
had come." Hausa Sayings, page 96. This may be due to
Mohammedan influence.
i24 HAL'S A SUPERSTITIONS
and dangerous (vide Burton, Arabian Nights, Library
Edition, iv, 279).*
DODO. — Dodo is a mythical monster or bogey, in
fact, the giddan tsafi (house of magic) is often called the
giddan dodo; I do not think that he can be a croco-
dile, though I jumped to that conclusion at first,
for one of his names is Kadindi (75), and I
thought that this might be a corruption of
Kaddodi (pi. of Kadda). Possibly he is a water-
snake, for there are somewhat similar stories in
regard to that reptile. Thus in the legend of Daura (a
corruption of which is given in M.H. 15), a youth is
represented as coming to the place, and killing the
snake which lived in the well, and prevented the people
* Examples of the split or divided being occur elsewhere, for
in a Sierra Leone tale (Cunnie Rabbit, page 22) a girl marries
a half-devil who had borrowed half a body to supply his
deficiency, but, on returning to his own home with his bride,
the borrowed half fell away from him. In Uganda, too, the
half-man is known, the Banyoro telling a tale of a man " who
had only one eye, one ear, one leg, one arm, and one bull."
(Kitching, On the Backwaters of the Nile, page 141.) He lived
at the top of a hill, and after a youth of the Bahuma had tres-
passed, " Old One-eye " presented himself and his bull at his
father's kraal to be buried, raising himself and returning each
day, no matter what the mode of burial was. The Zulus go
further, for they tell of a whole tribe of half-beings, who on
finding a normal Zulu girl one day, say " The thing is pretty !
But oh the two legs." (Tylor, o$. cit., i, p. 391.) Even in
Australia, too, there is a being, Turramulan, whose name means
" leg on one side only," or " one-legged " (Lang, o-p. cit., vol. ii,
page 30). The Daitya of India has only half a body, but he is
not divided like the Barin Mutum, and I do not know of any
tales of a half-being in our own folk-lore, for the one-eyed ogre
had nevertheless a full complement of limbs. But a German
story relates how a beaker was stolen from the underground
folk, the thief (who was mounted) being followed first by
" Three-legs," then by " Two-legs," and lastly by " One-leg,"
who nearly caught him. (Hartland, o-p. cit., page 152.)
Professor Tylor says (loc. cit.) that these realistic fancies
coincide with the simple metaphor which describes a savage as
only " half a man."
DODO 125
drawing water, the youth then marrying the princess,
and becoming the chief of the town (cf. Story 86).
In fact Lady Lugard says that the youth did kill " the
dodo or fetish lion." And she continues that " Dodo
signifies the King of Beasts, and may apply equally
to rhinoceros, elephant, or any other great wild
animal."* Certainly, his keen sense of smell is an
animal attribute, but not much reliance can be placed
upon this tale, for, in another one, a bird is the
fearsome object which " makes women afraid, and
causes all .men to run away." In fact, this type of
story is found in many countries, even in Scotland. f
But although in some stories he is evidently a water-
god (10, 56 and 75), and can give a charm or safe-con-
duct to a human being to enter water, and be safe from
danger of drowning, in others he has a house in the
forest (14 and 73), and he cannot cross running water
(14 and T.H.H. 5), so there is evidently some con-
fusion. Perhaps when he has once assumed the human
shape he cannot readily transform himself again, and
yet this would not account for his inability to cross a
stream which women have managed without difficulty.
Probably there are different species of Dodo, or else,
when the human form has been assumed, water is
tabu. Canon Robinson's Dictionary gives for Dodo
an " evil spirit, spirit of a dead man which is supposed
to walk about on the day of his death, but to rise and
* She remarks : " The myth may be taken to indicate that, in
the time of the hero, the worship of the goddess was substituted
for the worship of the fetish " (A Tropical De-pendancy, page
260). But it may resemble the Babylonian myth of Marduk, and
represent the killing of the wet season by the dry. Vide Frazer,
The Dying God, p. 107.
t Vide Professor Frazer's Translation of Pausanias's Descrip-
tion of Greece, bk. ix, ch. 26, 7 (vol. v, pp. 143 sqq.), and The
Magic Art, ii, pp. 155 sqq.
126 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
disappear the same evening; it appears at times in
trees, and catches men." The fact that he is unable
to cross running water also gives him a ghostly
character.
However, whatever he is, he has the power of
assuming human shape; one story (48) gives the con-
verse also — he is even called " a man of men." Like
a witch, he is afraid of dogs (51), and he takes her
place in some of the stories (100). He is evidently
a giant (T.H.H. 5), for he has to stoop to
enter the houses (86), the parts of his body are very
big (32), and he can swallow any number of people and
animals (75). It is possible that he resembles a white
man,* except that he has very long hair (55), and a
tail (86). f He is too strong for the lion (48), and he
roars.
He usually feeds on human beings (14 and 75), but
sometimes he may treat them very well instead (56),
and his human wife seems to be safe, at any rate so
long as she does not try to escape (14 and 56). His
offspring is evidently not desired (73), and it is possible
that deformed children were attributed to him, and killed
accordingly. If this is so, the girl could not have
* In Story 56, the girl is said to have been conducted into the
river by the mutanen rua^ who were described by the narrator
as being white people with very long hair; these are Dodo's sub-
jects apparently. Canon Robinson says that he is " hairy all
over." He seems to correspond to the Rakshasa of Bengal.
There is a female Dodo or Dodoniya, the common plural being
Dodonai.
t This may have some reference to the pagan tribes to the
south whose women wear tails. Vide T.H.H., page 107. It is
said that when the Seyawa came from Dal to Bogorro, they
found a man named Sangari who was covered with hair, had a
tail, and knew not the use of fire. So they shaved off his
hair, and cut off his tail, but even now his pure descendants
will not eat roasted meat.
DODO
127
bathed so as to cause conception, though this is known
in other countries where a water-god is married or
worshipped.
The hero usually cuts off the head or tail of the
slaughtered enemy as evidence, but in one story he also
leaves his boots behind (86), and there is a competition
FIG. 32.
FIG. 33.
FIG. 32. — Pattern under body of fig. 29. The bold designs are stamped
out from inside, the dots are stamped in from the outside. FIG. 33. — Pattern
on handle of fig. 31.
amongst the warriors who pretend that they have done
the deed, like that amongst the sisters in " Cinderella."
One Dodo story (M.H. 4) resembles some of the
variants of the Swan-Maiden tales. Two girls claim to
be the most beautiful in the city, and as they cannot
agree, they set out into the world to ask the people of
128 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
each city to vote for one or the other. They collect many
presents Avhile doing this, and at length return towards
their own city, but at the river the elder makes the
younger enter deep water and she is lost. After a time
the maiden appears to her brother who tends flocks on
the bank, attends to his hair ( ? a magic rite), and rubs
him with oil. Then a youth volunteers to go and rescue
her, on the condition that if successful he shall have
her in marriage. The parents agree to this, so, having
made himself appear like a leper, he enters the water
and asks Dodo if he wishes to be shaved. Dodo
does, fortunately, so the youth produces his razor (at
which the water becomes white, and the watchers above
are unhappy), and commences to shave him (at which
the water becomes darkest black, and the watchers
weep), and then cuts Dodo's throat (at which the water
becomes red, and the watchers rejoice).
He marries the maiden, but she, being ungrateful,
gives him dirty dishes to eat and drink from. At last
he washes off his paint and a friend tells her that he
was not really a leper, so she washes the utensils. But
he will not now use them thus, and tells her that she
must procure the tail of a young lion and wash them.
So she sets off into the forest, and having made friends
with a lioness, she hides in the den, cuts off a tail, and
escapes with it, and all ends happily.
A FABULOUS -BIRD. — In Story 44 (variant), a
fabulous bird, the Jipillima, is mentioned, which
feeds on human beings, and whose droppings
have magical powers of healing. I asked the
narrator whether the jipillima was the same as the
fufunda (probably phoenix, mentioned in Canon Robin-
son's Grammar), and he said that it was ; but another
man whom I questioned on the subject informed me
A FABULOUS BIRD 129
that both of them were azenchin wofi (lies).* I do not
know if the fufunda story is genuine Hausa or bor-
rowed from the Arabic, but it is at any rate interesting.
A king wanted to send someone to see where the sun
arose, and a poor man, named Ataru, volunteered to go.
A horse was given to him, and after journeying for a
month| he passed beyond everything, and came to the
country of the storks, which, however, were men there.
One knew Ataru, and took him to the King of the
Stork-Men, and the other storks recognized him. He
asked them where the sun came out, and they gave him
directions how to proceed, so next day he took his
departure and, after having passed a dark place, he
reached a white place, a river of silver, a little of which
he took and wrapped in his sleeve. Next he came to
a red place, to a golden river, and after having done
the same thing there, he continued his journey, passing
a large gutta-percha tree, a large fig tree, and a large
durumi tree. At last he arrived at a tamarind tree, and
there he saw the fufunda, an enormous bird, and he
rested that night. In the early dawn a cockj crew, and
when the sun was about to come forth he crew again,
and after a little he crew a third time. Then the
Opener-of-the-Door came and opened the door, and
said " The sun is coming forth/' and he repeated " The
sun is coming forth." Immediately Ataru galloped off,
but before he had reached the City of the Storks the sun
had scorched him, he could only just get along, and
* One description of the jipillima is a bird with a white head
and wings, the rest of the body being mixed black and white.
t This makes a more Eastern origin probable, for many
Hausas have been to Mecca, and they knew that to travel even
as far as that takes several months.
+ Not the phoenix, for the word sakarra, rooster, is used.
9
130 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
when he had dismounted they nursed him until he was
well again.
The story ends with the information that the
fufunda is the King of the Birds, it has only
one egg ; after the creation of the world it laid that egg
and sat on it; it has not hatched it, it will not hatch
it until the last day. He who is good will come under
its shadow, he who is evil will remain in the sun's heat
until his brains boil, he will see the shadow of the
fufunda, but he will not enter it.
WONDERFUL ANIMALS. — A horse to which magic
powers are likely to be ascribed in the near future is
Gunya, the charger of Ismaila, one of the greatest fight-
ing chiefs of Argungu. It is related (L.T.H., ii, page
346) that on going out to fight, the chief used to con-
sult it, and if it neighed three times victory was certain,
whereas if it did not do so, defeat was just as inevitable.
It was given a state funeral when it died.
The Zankallala (87), although no bigger than two
clenched fists, is a terrible enemy, for he carries a snake
in his hand as a walking-stick, he wears a pair of
scorpions as spurs, and a swarm of bees as a hat. He
rides upon the jerboa, and flocks of birds attend him,
to sing his praises, and to worry those with whom he
fights.
Although there is no ghostly reaper in the Hausa
tales, a man who possesses a kiviyafa is very lucky, as
this animal will do all his farm work for him if con-
trolled by the proper words of command (L.T.H., ii,
71). But the exact words must be used, else it will not
commence or stop when required, and the person in
whose possession it happens to fall may be injured, as
in the case of the robber and the magic door (14).
Sometimes the spirits of trees in the vicinity will help
MAGIC OINTMENT 131
(L.T.H., ii, 74), and with them, too, great care must
be exercised. The dog-maiden and the donkey-
maiden have been mentioned before; they can hardly
be classed as wonderful animals, for they are really
human beings temporarily in an animal form.
MAGIC OINTMENT. — The fairy unguent, so popular
in European tales, appears but seldom in Hausa Folk-
lore; in fact, I have come across only one instance
(L.T.H., ii, 27). A man and his wife gave birth to
four daughters in succession (about 2 years and 9
FIG. 34.— Brass bottle, with cap. H. , 5 j£ in.
months between each), and as it happened that every
one of them disappeared on the day that she was to
have been weaned, the parents got the reputation of
having eaten them. Last of all, a son arrived, and the
mother decided to nurse him until he weaned himself.
As he grew up, he found that the boys of his town
would not play with him (see also 56), and one day,
when he was out riding by himself, he came upon two
black snakes fighting, so he took off his tobe, and
threw it down, and they separated, and departed. Soon
132 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
afterwards, he heard a voice calling him, and he saw
an old woman, who gave him some lotion, telling him
to rub his eyes with it. He did so, and immediately
he saw a large house, and, on entering it, found his
eldest sister. She made him welcome, and her hus-
band, a bull, did likewise, and, when he left, the bull
gave him a lock of his hair. He then found the other
sisters, who were married to a ram, a dog, and a hawkr
receiving hair or feathers from them, respectively, and
after that he went home and told his parents of his
adventure, and that his sisters were alive. Next day he
went to a far city, and made love to the wife of the
King (vide xlv, 8), and he persuaded her to make the
King show his affection for her by " taking his own
life, and joining it to hers." The King said " My life
is behind the city, behind the city in a thicket. In this
thicket there is a lake ; in the lake is a rock ; in
the rock is a gazelle ; in the gazelle is a dove ; and in
the dove is a small box." The Queen told the youth,
and he made a fire behind the city, and threw in the
hair and feathers. Immediately the bull appeared, and
was told to drink up the lake ; the ram was set to break
the rock, the dog to catch the gazelle, and the hawk to
capture the dove. The youth thus obtained the box,
and, on his return, found that the King was dead,
having become unwell from the moment of the youth's
leaving the city, and becoming worse and worse as his
supplanter succeeded.* So the Queen married the hero,
and he was made King, his sisters' husbands — who had
become men — being given subordinate posts, and his
parents were brought to live in the city.
TRANSFORMATION. — Instances of a human being
* Instances of the External Soul are exceedingly common,
vide The Golden Bough, second edition, iii, pp. 351-389.
TRANSFORMA TION 133
taking the form of an animal or a bird while preserving
his original identity are numerous ; for instance, he may
become a horse, a scorpion, a snake, an eagle, a crow,
or another kind of bird (F.-L. 49), or a frog, a mouse,
a cat, or a hawk (19). He may also become an in-
animate object such as an ant-hill, a stump, or a ring
(F.-L. 46), even a part of the human body, such
as the eyebrow or the pupil (19). It has been sug-
gested that Story 71, where the prodigy is supposed to
have been born in and to have lived in a clay pot,
really means that the boy changed himself into a pot ;
but I do not think that this is so, for the cake in the
following story seems to have no power to change into
a human being, and to avoid being eaten by the
mouse.
But the power of transformation does not belong to
man alone, the contrary also holds, and members
of the animal kingdom can become human beings
for the time being, or at least that power is possessed
by the buffalo (F.-L. 46), the gazelle (F.-L. 47), the
monkey (57 and 58), the snake (F.-L. 45), the pigeon
(F.-L. 42), and of course the spider (15 and F.-L. 12).
When animals take human form the change is usually
made to deceive some particular person, but sometimes
it is for the purpose of benefiting him. Thus
a witch, Dodoniya, a lion, or a buffalo becomes
a beautiful girl, so that she can lure the hunter
to the forest and destroy him (48 and F.-L. 46), a snake
becomes a handsome youth so as to marry a girl who
says that she will choose her husband herself (F.-L. 45),
and that only a man whose body is without a fault of
any kind will be eligible. On the other hand, in two
stories (F.-L. 42 and T.H.H. 7) a bird saves a girl's
life by taking her place, and I am not at all sure that
134 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
this does not indicate some process of substitution in
sacrifice ; it is, at any rate, worth noting that when the
change has been made it is complete in all respects,
and that the newly made man or animal behaves as if
he were really what he represents himself to be. But
apart from this, inanimate objects sometimes have the
power of speech (14, 72, 77, 91 and 100), and even of
movement and action (2 and T.H.H. 6).
In some stories, a whole succession of trans-
formations is effected by the hero and his ad-
versary, the length of the sequence often depend-
ing solely upon the enthusiasm and imagination of the
narrator.* Sometimes, again, the change is made for
the purpose of profit ; thus a boy becomes a horse, and
after his brothers have sold him he becomes a boy
again, and runs away (F.-L. 49). After all, why should
not the Hausa believe in transformations, or even a
series of them ? The life-history of the butterfly is
hardly less amazing than many of the tales. Indeed,
the gentle change of the chrysalis into its wondrous
final form, might well call to mind the Sleeping Beauty
re-awakened to life by a kiss from the handsome
prince.
Apparently the person or animal undergoing trans-
formation must roll on the ground (57), and, if the
former, must first remove any clothing or ornament
appropriate only to human beings. Perhaps this has
* This is not peculiar to Hausa folk-lore, in a Finnish tale
we find a similar idea. " ' If thou wilt not release me,' she
said, ' I will change into a salmon and escape thee.' But
Ilmarinen told her that he would pursue her in the shape of a
pike. Then the maiden said first, that she would become an
ermine, but Ilmarinen told her he would turn into a snake and
catch her; and then she said that she would become a swallow,
but Ilmarinen threatened to become an eagle." There are many
other examples elsewhere.
SACRIFICE 135
some connection with the nudity charm, though naked-
ness is usually opposed rather than favourable to evil
influences.
It will be noticed that those persons who can trans-
form themselves into animals, &c., have had some
charm or medicine given them (F.-L. 49), usually both,
and it has been suggested that the idea arose originally
because the medicine was some powerful soporific
which caused the patient to see visions, or else, per-
haps, clouded his intellect, making him an easier sub-
ject to mesmerize. But this explanation ignores the
savage notion of the ancient animal kingdom, and
seems to be rather more elaborate than is necessary.
The witch who is mentioned in Story 91 was, possibly,
invisible, until she had spoken.*
SACRIFICE. — Story 56 indicates that there was
once a sacrifice to a water-god, and though he is
here called Dodo, that may not have been his original
name. The sacrifice was made, apparently, to prevent
an overflow of the river, though the first reason given
is similar to that in the Biblical tale of Jephtha
and his daughter, and there seems to have been
some disgrace attached to the victim, for the sister of
the girl who married Dodo's son is mocked by her
companions. In another story (L.T.H., ii, 51) the
sacrifice of a daughter of the chief is said to be made
annually to Dodo, so that the water-supply will be
plentiful. The Hausa St. George kills the snake, and
there are no more sacrifices. I am not sure that
this rite has any connection with the sacrifice of the
* In many cases, English witches were supposed not only to
have taken drugs internally, but to have rubbed unguents on
their bodies as well, sometimes parts of human bodies being
amongst the ingredients. Vide T.H.H., page 238.
136 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
Egyptian virgin to the Nile in order to secure a good
inundation, but it is certainly not impossible.*
Infanticide and the slaughter of victims at war time
have already been mentioned.
Story 99 suggests the burying alive of a wife with
her husband, so that he may live with her again, and
this is what one would expect. As the grave itself was
turned into a palace, and there is no mention of the
couple returning to earth, it is evident that it is the
next world, and not this one, in which they settle down.
But other relatives may be interred also (65),! and even
persons outside the family may be sent to keep the
departed spirit company (76), this referring, in all
probability, to debtors and slaves purchased for the
purpose. How long ago this custom (if it really
existed) was discontinued, it is impossible to say; even
the wild Kagoro have abandoned it, though it is
* The Egyptian custom was abolished by the Arab conquerors.
Many instances of sacrifice or marriage to a water god have been
noted by Professor Frazer (The Golden Bough, ii, pages 150-170).
The Akikuyu of British East Africa worship the snake of a
certain river, and at intervals of several years they marry the
snake-god to women, but especially to young girls. In Timor a
young girl was taken to the bank of the river, and set upon a
sacred stone, and soon the crocodiles appeared, and dragged her
down. In other parts, the offering was made to ensure a proper
water supply, as in the Hausa variant. The hero who converts
the pagans from this worship is saved by the Koran if a Moham-
medan, by the Sign of the Cross if a Christian (as in the Rouen
legend), and in later times it is he who is supposed to have killed
the monster — i.e., to have put down the sacrifice. A few writers
have thought that some of the European scenic festivals represent
the triumph of Christ over sin and death (Horner, O'p. cit.,
gives a picture of Christ delivering souls from the mouth of the
Hell-Monster), but Professor Frazer points out that the tale of
the conquest of the dragon is older than Christianity, and cannot
be explained by it.
t Cf. an Indian custom. " In Jesalmer, a curious variation
of the Sati ceremony seems to have prevailed ; mothers used to
sacrifice themselves with their dead children." Crooke, op. cit.,
i, 188.
SACRIFICE
137
reported to be still in existence among a neighbouring
tribe.*
In Stories 67 and 68, animals were killed by a boy
FIG. 35.
FIG. 36.
FIG. 37.
FIG. 35.— Brass bowl or lid, fluted. D., 8$ in. FIG. 36.— Brass pot,
pattern stamped out. H., 5! in. FIG. 37. — Brass pot (white tin colour
inside), stamped pattern. H., 8£ in.
who is posing as the adopted son of the owner of the
animals, and it seems extremely probable that this was
* See T.H.H., pages 178 and 187. The Kagoro may place
skulls on the grave even now.
138 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
a sacrifice to be performed only by a son. It is not
merely a test of affection, for the owner is afraid that
he will be disgraced if the truth be discovered, and
prefers death rather than that. To make the offering
the more efficacious, the father orders his adopted son
to leave the saddle on the animal.*
Stories F.-L. 42 and T.H.H. 7 seem to indicate a
form of substitution, for which see T.H.H., page 187.
CANNIBALISM. — Except in the case of albinos as
mentioned before, cannibalism does not appear to be
connected so much with sacrifice as with the taste of
the flesh, and Number 97 reminds one very much of
the well-known story in England concerning the flavour
of a certain brand of stout. Evidently the victims
were fattened up (98) before being eaten. f
It is just possible that the desire for the heads of
enemies with which "to make cooking places'* (59)
may indicate some form of cannibalism amongst the
Hausas themselves — or at any rate of head-hunting;
certainly there is an idea of rendering service after
death in Story 43 to the person possessing the skulls
(compare T.H.H., page 153). It seems to have been
the fashion to wear the skin of a slaughtered animal
and to smear some of its fat on one's head, and then
to dance before the assembled crowd who applauded
the hero (F.-L. u, and L.T.H. 31), and this certainly
recalls the ovation to the successful Kagoro who had
brought back a hot and dripping head.
* It is worth noting that in the Punjab when a horse was
sacrificed it had to be saddled first. Crooke, o$. cit., i, 46.
t Dr. Frobenius (o-p. cit., page 80) gives a story in which it
appears that the Hausa escort of a European in the Congo
captured and ate natives en route. But the account is too vague
to be of much value.
ORDEALS, &c. 139
ORDEALS, &c. — The only ordeal mentioned in the
stories which I have read is that of stepping over the
magic gourds (83), but the Hausas used poisonous
decoctions as well, such as the gwaska, which seems to
be much the same as the sap (described in T.H.H.,
page 201) of the Kagoro and others.
A modern test made by malams is as follows : The
suspected persons are made to sit around a fire as close
as possible. If a person shivers he is guilty, but
should no member of the party do so within a certain
time — about an hour — all are innocent, and another
party is called up.
Another way is to cut a hole about the size of a
sixpenny-piece in a small gourd and to fill it with ink.
Each of the suspected persons then dips a forefinger
into the ink, and those who are innocent will be able
to withdraw again without trouble. But directly the
finger of the guilty person enters, the gourd closes on
it, and will not release it — not even if pulled or struck —
until a malam has recited a portion of the Koran over
it. This seems to be a mixture of Islam and Paganism.
Swearing on the Koran is often no more efficacious
than is " kissing the Book " with us. Of
old, oaths used to be taken on iron, and even
now many of the less civilized Hausa people
are tested with this metal, a bayonet being passed
across their throats, and then between their legs. I
found an even better method. A cartridge was put in
a calabash of water, and the witness had to drink some.
The rifle was rested upon his head for a moment,
and then pointed at his heart, and he was told that it
would thus know where to find its child (the cartridge
being supposed to have communicated its properties
to the water) if the swallower told an untruth. I have
. HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
known this method to break up a case that had looked
quite hopeless a few minutes previously.
It is related of a chief of Missau that, before making
up his mind whether to quarrel or remain friendly
with the Sultan of Sokoto, he set two rams to fight,
saying that one was he, the other the Sultan, and, as
the latter won, he determined not to break the peace.*
Judging by Story 7, the fulfilment of a promise is
considered absolutely necessary, and is praiseworthy
even if it results in the loss of wives and family. This
may be some kind of pagan covenant too sacred to be
broken, but it appears to be rather more like a
Mohammedan oath, at any rate in form, and if so the
story may not be a very old one — or this particular part
may have been changed to suit the altered circum-
stances.
THE CURSE AND BLESSING. — A curse is feared,
especially if the person pronouncing it be powerful.
In 1906 the Mohammedan Sultan of Sokoto pronounced
a curse on anyone rebuilding Satiru or tilling its fields,
because a rising had been originated there.
A blessing, once given, could not be recalled,
apparently, and one version of the legend of the origin
of the Hausa states strongly resembles the story of Isaac,
Jacob, and Esau. Bawo (from Bornu), after having
killed the snake which prevented the people drinking,
* Compare this with Dr. Barth's note on the Marghi, and
" their curious ordeal on the holy granite rock of Kobshi. When
two are litigating about a matter, each of them takes a cock
which he thinks the best for fighting; and they go together to
Kobshi. Having arrived at the holy rock, they set their birds
fighting, and he whose cock prevails in the combat is also the
winner in the point of litigation. But more than that, the master
of the defeated cock is punished by the divinity, whose anger he
has thus provoked ; on returning to his village, he finds his hut in
flames." Benton, Notes on Some Languages of the Western
Sudan, page 146.
>
THE CURSE AND BLESSING 141
had married Umma (or Daura) the queen of the city
of Daura, and had had a son (called Kachi in one ver-
sion, Bawo Bawo in another) by her, and other children
a concubine, namely, Kano, Daure and Yabuwu.
When they had grown up, Bawo summoned them to
bless them, and he told Kachi to come in the evening,
intending to give him the " bottle of dyeing "
(i.e., the magic flask containing the charm or blessing
which would make him supreme in that handicraft).
But Kano, who was hiding, heard this, and came first,
and said " Here I am, Father." So Bawo, who was
blind, took the bottle of dyeing, and gave it to him,
and that is the reason why Kano's dyes are so much
better than those of any other city. Then Kachi arrived,
and said to his father " Here I am," and Bawo said
"What! was it not you to whom I gave the bottle?
Kano has already been here," and he gave him (not
being able to recall the bottle of dyeing) fire in order
that he might set alight to the bush, his country to
extend over all the space which the fire burnt, and all
this became Katsina.
There is another version to the effect that Biram
wedded a Berber maiden, Diggera, by whom he had
six children, and when they grew up they were given
special gifts : Kano and Rano were the dyers and
weavers, Katsina and Daura the traders, and Zaria and
Bauchi the slave-dealers.*
I The Hausa utters a prayer after yawning, hiccough-
ng, or sneezing (compare our " Bless you "), but this
nay be due to Mohammedan influence — at any rate,
:he present invocations are Koranic in character.
I
* This is very much like a Llanberis legend (S.F.T. 327),
according to which the eldest son became a great physician, the
second a Welsh Tubal-Cain, while one of the daughters invented
the small ten-stringed harp, and the other the spinning-wheel.
142 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
EARTH. — A white earth is sometimes eaten to secure
easy childbirth, red is rubbed on the body — often
smeared with grease — for the sake of adornment, and
yellow or white lines may be drawn on the face either
as a protection, or — especially when mixed with black
strokes — so as to give an additional charm.
Mothers, if proceeding to another country, may rub
the heads of their children with earth so that they will
not forget their native land ; sometimes the emigrants
take a little of the soil of the country with them.
KOLA-NUTS. — Kola-nuts, brought perhaps from
Ashanti, are in great demand owing to their
stimulating properties, and a little of the first
mouthful is spat on the ground. It is said to
be "for Allah," but there would probably be
no objection to the pieces turning into silver as in
Story 44, and being secured by a human being in-
stead. They are given to guests at marriages and
births, and correspond to invitation-cards to the feasts.
There is apparently some idea of a contract in the gift
when made to a fiancee (see page 21), in fact goro
sometimes almost equals alkawali, for the rooster's
promise of chickens to the hawk in Story 22 is a goro.
On being asked "What will you give me for my
news?" the proper reply is "A kola-nut."*
TABU. — There seems to be a tabu in Story 82 cor-
responding to those common in the folk-lore of Europe
and elsewhere — for the husband is not allowed to gratify
his curiosity in regard to a certain thing. Story 4 may
also have an element of such a prohibition in regard
* Kola-nuts have great significance all over West Africa ;
amongst the Mendi of Sierra Leone, members of the Porro society
use two red nuts as a symbol of war, one white nut broken in
two indicating peace (Haywood, op. cit., page 30).
TABU 143
the wife, who is of supernatural origin in both these
ises, and a Kaffir tale (S.F.T. 328) will help perhaps
explain it.* The tabu on the mention of a name
ill be found under Names.
A man was not allowed to see his wife's younger
sister at one time, apparently (14, 56, and F.-L. 44).
But that prohibition no longer exists in Hausaland,
although it does in other countries. f
In Story F.-L. 48, the elephant's daughter puts a
ring in the food which she has prepared for the King's
son, so that he may recognize her as the beautiful girl
to whom he made love at another place. This idea of
the fiancee serving in the kitchen is well known in
Grimm's stories, and since, both in those and in the
Hausa parallel, the girl had plenty of opportunities for
addressing the prince directly, it would seem that there
must have been some tabu against her doing so.
The mother will seldom allow the father to see her
nursing her first-born on account of the " shame "
which she is said to feel, though there is no such ob-
jection in the case of the others, though the tabu on the
name may apply in their case also. In fact, the eldest
child is known as the kunya (shame) of its mother.
One girl, the eldest of her family, told me that her
mother would not allow her to be anywhere near her
when her father was expected. At the same time, the
parents are very kind to their children, and are as fond
of them as it is possible for a native to be.
* The woman was born because her human mother had eaten
magic pellets given to her by a bird, and was married to a chief.
It was noticed that she never went out in the day-time, but once,
in her husband's absence, she was compelled (by her father-in-
law) to do some work outside (fetching water), and she also
was lost, disappearing into the river.
t Vide Frazer, Taboo and the Perils of the Soul, pages 338,
144 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
A wife must not allow her husband to see her eating.
She first cooks his meal and serves it to him, out in the
open courtyard unless wet, and later on she retires
inside the house to eat with her daughters and young
sons. The reason is said to be that she might open
her mouth too wide, and so anger or disgust her
husband. Probably, the original idea was that the
soul might escape through the mouth at that time.
The men take it in turns to dip in the dishes, and
they must not refuse to invite a friend or stranger
to partake if one be present ; it would be unlucky to
ignore him. This is evidently due to the fact that the
envious glances of a hungry man would injure the
person eating. Many amusing tales are told of the
means by which a person tries to avoid inviting the
other to share his meal — even pretending to be dead—
but all to no purpose.
There are some others. A few pagan Hausa com-
munities may not eat food if iron has touched it, and
may not eat what is saved of the corn after their village
has been destroyed by fire. Some will not carry fire in
a calabash, but only in an earthenware dish, others
observe exactly the contrary rules, or carry it in two
sticks. Restrictions regarding dress have also been
noted, thus the Hausas of Maradi will not wear any-
thing of a light blue colour* lest it cause poverty, and
amongst the Katumbawa of Kano no unmarried boy
may put on sandals. f
It is very dangerous for a human being, especially a
woman, to mix with supernaturals unless invited to do
so, as was the good sister in Story 56, or the woman in
Number 51. Females are expected to hide themselves,
* See remarks re blue colour, page 164.
t Vide Man, 1910, Article 40.
XV. —A POTTER AT WORK. XVI.— TYPES OF POTS.
Pots are made over a mould, by building with strips of clay, or by a combination of both
methods. Vide page 1 73.
BORI
and, if they do not do so, the demons may kill them (90),
or at any rate they will be very much displeased (bad
sister in 56). Probably the objection which witches
have to being seen extends to all supernaturals. Even
if a girl sees something extraordinary, such as the
witch's back bursting open (93), she is expected to
make no remark upon it unless asked.
BORI. — There is a peculiar institution amongst the
Hausas known as Bori, and although it is not magic
FIG. 38.— Pattern on knob of fig. 35.
exactly — being more like hypnotism, perhaps — it may
be mentioned here conveniently, since it is regarded as
uncanny by the more educated people. The ceremonies
are usually described as a " dance," and although that
term hardly describes the frenzied actions of the per-
formers, I shall retain it for the sake of convenience.
The Hausa word rawa means " to dance " as we under-
stand the term, and also " to drill," so the range is
fairly wide. The equivalent of Bori in Canon Robin-
10
146 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
son's Dictionary is given as "an evil spirit," "a
demon," or "a delirious person," but it may mean
rather the rites and ceremonies of a particular society,
the members of which simulate the frenzied behaviour
of insane persons. Probably " hallucination " is a
satisfactory equivalent.
Bori dancing is said* to have originated in the
Hausa States, previous to the introduction of Islam.
At first merely a treatment for the insane, later on it
was degraded into an objectionable form of dancing,
though the origin was still apparent, since the actions
of the dance simulated different forms of insanity. Each
special division of Bori represents some kind of mad-
ness, and every Mai-bori ("actor," or "dancer," or
" person possessed "), who may be either a male or a
female in most cases, will profess one or more.
Bori was intended originally as a remedy for in-
sanity, as has been mentioned above, or perhaps for in-
herited hysterical tendencies, the idea being that those
who were really mad would be thereby less likely to
commit acts of violence — it will be remembered that
lunatics are never shut up amongst these pagan peoples,
being regarded as people specially set apart by the
gods, and, appropriately enough, the word for a person
"touched" is tabu. Later on, the treatment was adopted
by a class called Kama (consisting of disreputable males
and females) in order to attract more attention. And
later still, young children, generally girls, who were
not thriving, or who were criminally or morbidly in-
clined, were subjected to the influence, for they were
supposed to be possessed of some evil spirit which had
to be exorcised. To be accused of Bori, therefore, is
* See T.H.H., pages 254 to 262, for a full description and the
authorities quoted. See also extra note in Part III.
BORI 147
not necessarily a disgrace, though many men have
objected to their wives practising it.
According to the account of Richardson, the
explorer, Bori must have degenerated a long time ago,
for one evening in 1850 " I found that one of our
negresses, a wife of one of the servants, was performing
Boree, the ' Devil,' and working herself up into the
belief that his Satanic Majesty had possession of her.
She threw herself upon the ground in all directions, and
imitated the cries of various animals. Her actions
were, however, somewhat regulated by a man tapping
upon a kettle with a piece of wood, beating time to her
wild manoeuvres. After some delay, believing herself
now possessed, and capable of performing her work,
she went forward to half-a-dozen of our servants who
were squatting on their hams ready to receive her. She
then took each by the head and neck, and pressed their
heads between her legs — they sitting, she standing —
not in the most decent way, and made over them, with
her whole body, certain inelegant motions not to be
mentioned. She then put their hands and arms behind
their backs, and after several other wild cries and jumps,
and having for a moment thrown herself flat upon the
ground, she declared to each and all their future — their
fortune, good or bad."*
The person possessed often claims to foretell the
future, but there is even more in the following account,
which is mentioned in L.T.H. (page 242.) " There is
a certain river at Argungu called Gandi, each year
people come to fish in it. When they are about to go,
all are assembled in the city, and then the chief woman
drinks a potion and becomes possessed," and a man
* Benton, Notes on Some Languages of the Western Sudan,
page 154.
148 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
named Makwashe goes into the water first, because the
demons know him. " If the chief woman says ' Enter
the water,' whoever enters will immediately fill his
basket with fish, and then come out. If she does not
tell the people to enter, whoever goes in, when he sinks,
will not come out again, but will die. For it is said
the river has many demons (jinns) in it." Perhaps the
river has a varying current, and Makwashe tries it first
and gives the woman the news !
After the conquest of the Hausa States by the
Mohammedan Filani, at the beginning of last century,
Bori was forbidden in the large cities, but it flourished
in the smaller towns and villages. Later on, the Masu-
bori (plural of Mai-bori) were allowed to practise their
rites, even in the large cities, on payment of an annual
tax, which was divided amongst the chiefs and head-
men, and was really a bribe to ignore the practices.
Under the British occupation the tax developed a more
legal form, but serious steps have been taken lately to
abolish the performances, and I am told that they are
no longer held. It is said that there was a contest in the
reign of Wake, chief of Gwari, between the malams,
the magicians, and the Masu-bori. Wake secretly put
a black bull into a hut, sealed up the door, and chal-
lenged the contestants to say what the hut contained.
The magicians divined correctly, and the Masu-bori
also gave the true answer, but the malams did not know,
so they repaired to the mosque, and prayed that what-
ever the animal might be, God would turn it into a
black horse. When Wake asked for their answer, and
the malams replied " a horse," he was much cast down,
for he was a Moslem, but lo ! when the hut was opened,
a black horse appeared, and since then " he who does
mot respect a malam does not respect God."
BORl 149
It is amongst the Hausa, Nupe, and Egbirra people
that Bori proper is mostly held in favour, but there is
another kind also, called kwaga, amongst the Kanuri
of Bornu, which seems to be purely a state of hysteria
in some cases, of fever or other sickness due to ex-
posure in others, especially in the case of one who has
sat under a tree, or near to water, " where a bad spirit
lives."
Anyone of any age may learn it on payment of the
usual fees, so the right to initiation is not hereditary,
i.e., there is no strictly observed caste of Masu-bori.
The initiation or treatment may be carried out at the
house of the District Head of the sect, the Ajenge, or at
that of the patient, except among the Nupe tribe. In
addition to the varying tuition fee, and the necessary
accommodation, the following are necessary : A large
new pot, four fowls (a white cock and hen, a red cock
and a black hen), money for the Uivar Tuo (literally
" mother of porridge ") who supplies the food, one large
ram, one small black he-goat, one white cloth, one black
cloth, and three grass mats — one each for the candidate,
the Maigoge (the violinist, the chief musician) and the
Uwar Tuo.
Some days are auspicious, others not, apparently,
and so a consultation takes place between the Ajenge
and the Maigoge in order to fix the date (always a
Friday) on which to commence the treatment, and when
this has been decided upon, the Ajenge goes into the
bush, and collects the necessary herbs and bark, and
prepares his medicines. Two days later, the candidate
enters the house, clothed in white, and accompanied by
a couple of selected tutors, and certain ceremonies take
place which are at present unknown to us.
When the period of initiation has been completed,
150 HA USA SUPERSTITIONS
the candidate, followed by a crowd of fully qualified
Masubori, is led to a selected tamarind tree, around the
trunk of which has been wrapped the black and white
cloths before referred to. The small black goat is killed
near the tree, the meat is cooked and eaten, and playing
and dancing go on all the time round the tree. Then the
initiate is carried home, and more dancing, the final
rite, takes place near some big tree, a baobab if possible,
probably for the object of propitiating the evil spirits
which dwell there, all Masu-bori being afraid of them.
.After it is over, the initiate's friends are informed as to
the particular kind and the number of the degrees
conferred, and the newly-made member may then per-
form in public, and give way to his particular hallucina-
tions. The initiate is then said to be "baked," whereas he
was only unbaked before, like the unfinished clay pot.*
Each spirit has a special colour or object which is
called its tsere (protection, refuge, &c.), into which it will
pass instead of into the possessor, and these objects and
colours are prized by those who wish to escape from the
influence, or at any rate induce it only when required. f
* There is something derogatory in being not properly cooked.
Abdurahmani, Sultan of Sokoto, was known as an Unbaked Pot,
because of his evil deeds. It is just possible that this has some
reference to cannibalism.
t It may be of interest to note that in Morocco the jinns are
supposed to have special colours by which they are attracted. A
regular ginn-cult is practised by the Gnawa, a regularly con-
stituted secret society, the members of which live on amicable
terms with the gnun (jinns). By ascertaining the day when a
ginn has entered a man, his colour can be determined, for the
ginns of each day of the week have a special colour, and the
Gnawa dress themselves and the patient in the colour required.
If the day of seizure is not known, perhaps the whole seven
colours will be used. The Gnawa not only expel gnun, but can
attract them at will, for by inhaling the smoke of a certain
incense, and by dancing, they can induce the gnun to enter their
bodies, and when thus possessed, they can foretell future events.
Vide Westermarck, Journal of the R.A.I., July-Dec., 1899. The
Gnawa and the masubori resemble each other to some extent.
HALLUCINATIONS 151
Thus the Sa(r)rikin Rafi has as its tsere a kola-nut and
a small chicken, the Wanzami (barber), a razor, and so
on, the connection being obvious in most cases.* There
is also a special vocabulary employed by the Masu-bori,
but as the performers are frowned upon by the authori-
ties, both Christian and Mohammedan, the latter regard-
ing Bori as being converse with the powers of evil, it is
difficult to obtain information of the spirits themselves,
or of the spirit language. Some words are given in the
book quoted above, however, malam (a learned man,
priest, magician) becoming maiwalwala (the trouble-
some one) for a reason which appears to be obvious
considering that he is a Moslem ; ga(r)ri (town) becom-
ing jan garu (red walls) ; berichi (sleep) becoming
kankanana mutua (little death), and so on.
When a Bori headman dies, a red goat and kid, a
black kid, and a red and a speckled cock are killed.
Speeches are made at the foot of one of the haunted
trees, or a rock, and then the body is buried. After
this, the goats and fowls are eaten, together with
porridge, milk, and honey.
HALLUCINATIONS. - - In some stories (93), the
Israelitish ideas of lands " flowing with milkf and
honey " is expressed, and not only this, but food cooks
itself and asks to be eaten, and houses appear (50), and
perhaps run away (59). In some cases fowls ask to be
destroyed, as does a bird in M.H. 45, and it will be
remembered that in European tales animals beg human
beings to kill them, e.g., Beauty and The Beast. But
in the latter, the animal is really a man or woman com-
* Vide Hausa Sayings, page 103.
t The picture of the river of milk may be due to pagan Filani
influence, for in India " the sacred portion of the Phalgu is said
occasionally to flow with milk." Crooke, o-p. cit., p. 21.
152
HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
pelled by a witch to take a lower form until delivered
from the spell ; there seems to be no such notion in
the Hausa stories. I suppose that the idea arose
through mirages and the hallucinations of hungry
and thirsty travellers in the hotter and dryer countries to
the north-west. Certainly the desert to the north near
Aiwalatin was waterless, and caravans frequently
perished of thirst in former times. The mirage was
common there, and the desert had the reputation of
being haunted by demons says the authoress of A
Tropical Dependency (page 89). And yet, perhaps, I
ought not to say this, considering that even with us
(see footnote, page 15) glasses of water hold themselves
up to one's mouth ! Possibly the idea may apply more
to the next world, especially if the witch (93) is the same
as Death (79), but it is no more surprising than that of
the appearance of a city in a place where before there
had been only a few huts.
FIG. 39. — Brass bowl, patterns in dots. D., 9t^ in.
FlG. 40. — Parchment box. D. , 2T5g in.
CHAPTER VII.
CUSTOMS AND SUPERSTITIONS (CONTINUED).
Evil Influences — Witchcraft — Visits to the World of the Im-
mortals— Lapse of Time — Magic and the Evil Eye— Lucky Days
— Rites — Conjuring — Charms and Potions — Magical Gifts —
Forms of Address — The Kirari — Names.
THE belief in evil influences generally is well
developed, both sexes being represented. Old women
are considered to be very cunning, though I have never
heard of any, whether old or young, being accused of
possessing the power of witchcraft, except perhaps
temporarily. But in the tales any woman may become
a witch (91), and she is liable to do so by drinking a
brew of the leaves of the locust tree. All females
are supposed to be very clever in deceiving men ; there
is a proverb " A woman is more crafty than a king."
But charges of witchcraft were not confined to
women, for Malam Jibrella was expelled from a Moham-
medan state in Northern Nigeria on this account in
1888. He afterwards declared himself the Mahdi in
Gombe, and was defeated and captured by a British
force fourteen years later. A mother will often say that
the flesh of her baby is bitter or salt, in case there may
154 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
be any witches about. A white man's flesh is supposed
to be very salt.*
WITCHCRAFT. — In 1906, when in Amar (Muri
Province), the native police-sergeant one day brought
three constables before me who accused their wives of
being witches. I laughed at the time, and told them
to go back to barracks, but soon afterwards the sergeant
reported that the men were preparing to desert, for
they really believed that what they had stated was a
fact. I therefore summoned the women, and asked them
if the charge were true, and on being informed that
it was, I placed them under a guard, not knowing quite
what to do with them. Next day I put a galvanic battery
on to each in turn, telling them that they would feel the
evil influence pass right out of them, and, as they
thought that they did so, the matter ended happily. A
simple trick may be much more successful sometimes
than the most learned judgment !
Witches can, of course, change into anything they
like, and they often feed on human flesh, their chief
mode of obtaining victims being to turn themselves
into beautiful girls. A variant makes a buffalo do a
similar thing in order to avenge her tribe on a family
of hunters; a Dodoniya may do the same.
All witches have many mouths which they can cause
to appear all over their bodies at will, and the owner
can turn them back into one by slapping herself. The
mouths both eat (M. 95) and drink (93 and 95), and
they are the sign of the possession of unholy powers, for
the owners do not like being seen in this state.
This is not at all surprising ; a similar objection is
* Salt seems to be very generally regarded as being particu-
larly inimical to evil spirits, the idea being based probably on its
power of preventing decay. The gnun of North Africa are
afraid of salt and steel, says Professor Westermarck, loc. cit.
WITCHCRAFT 155
found in European tales, the Peeping Tom usually
losing his eyesight.* In the Hausa tales the death of
the Peeping Tom is often desired (95), although he is
never blinded, but in one case (94) the hero's brother
loses his eyes, and it is probable that he himself (though
not a Peeping Tom) escapes simply because he will
not put himself into the witch's power of his own free
will. Even the Half-Woman (15, variant) will not
allow herself to be seen nor talked about.
A witch is usually powerless in the towns, and must
entice the victims to a distance to work them ill (95, 96
and F.-L. 46), though this is not always so (91 and 94).
But she can never seize her victim whenever she wants
to do so, he must first voluntarily place himself in her
power. Sometimes she is malignant only when roused
by an offending party who has jeered at her (M. 95),
and this touchiness is not confined to Hausa witches,
for we find (S.F.T. page 46) a similar incident in a
Harvey Isles tale.f The Hausa witch can give charms
* Thus in Southern Germany and Switzerland, on Twelfth
Night, a mysterious being goes abroad named Dame Berchta,
who is the relic of a heathen goddess, a leader of the souls of
the dead. Once a servant boy hid himself and watched her come
to the house of his master who had laid a repast for her (as was
the custom), and her followers blew through the hole and blinded
him, and from this and other similarities Mr. Hartland (S.F.T.
90) concludes that the legend and procession of Lady Godiva
are survivals of a pagan belief and worship located at Coventry ;
that the legend was concerned with a being awful and mysterious
as Dame Berchta, or even Hertha, who killed a mortal every
year, and was worse than Diana.
t The hero, Tekonae, having pretended to eat the food (live
centipedes) yet manifested no burning thirst, and at last Miru
(the horrible hag who ruled the shades) said " Return to the
upper world. Only remember this — do not speak against me to
mortals. Reveal not my ugly form and my mode of treating
my visitors." This, however, is not universal, for in Finnish
Legends, M. Evind tells us (page 129) that " evil things cannot
bear to have their wicked origin told, and if, therefore, one sings
the source of any evil, one makes it harmless at once," exactly
the opposite of the Hausa idea.
156 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
for ailments (30 and 94), and in fact, if properly treated,
she may be even exceedingly benign (93), the best
means of securing her favour being to rub her back
while she is washing. This simply means that women
like to get someone else to perform the office for them,
and witches — being lonely creatures, but still women—
greatly appreciate little services from ordinary mortals,
when such services have been duly invited. Witches
seem to be somewhat simple at times, in spite of their
magical powers, for they may be deceived rather easily
(90). Apparently there is no objection to their address-
ing their husbands by name (95).
Witches do not appear to be afraid of iron, for they
sharpen their knives, and although one is cut down by a
sword (94) the danger to her was not in the substance
of the weapon, but in its shape, and even so, it does
not finish her off completely. The same applies to the
iron club in the variant to Story 95. Witches also
touch the legs of horses, but as the animals are not
shod in Hausaland we learn nothing from this, and ii
fact, I was told by another man that any touching oi
iron was fatal.* They are, at any rate, afraid of dogs
(95), as is Dodo (51), and the belief in the peculiar
power of dogs in this respect is not confined to the
Hausas — see Story 96, variant. Do not we ourselves
say that dogs can smell death ?
The animals guarding the palace in Story 45 would
seem to have been bewitched, for the dogs eat grass and
the horses meat, and it is only when the boy gives them
their proper food (and thereby breaks the spell?) that
they let him pass in peace.
* The Hausa seems not to fear iron now, although he did so
once in all probability. For the respect shown by pagan tribes
to Hausa blacksmiths, see T.H.H., p. 136.
LAPSE OF TIME 157
VISITS TO THE WORLD OF THE IMMORTALS. — There
are several stories concerning the visits of a youth
to a witch (Maiya), but one makes him go to the
house of Death (Mutua) instead, and as the main parts
of the tales are almost identical, perhaps there is some
connection between the two in the Hausa mind,
especially as the hero does not die before setting out
upon his journey. Other stories show that a witch and
Dodo are often interchangeable. Usually, of course, to
eat of the food in the land of spirits is to acknowledge
one's union with them, thereby renouncing all hope of
returning to mortal abodes, for joining in a common
meal often symbolizes some union, even if it does not
actually constitute one. Strangely enough, however,
the Hausa mortal may eat the food provided there
(though he does not always do so, 95 and M. 2), and
he may return none the worse for it (93 variant and 96),
though it is evident that this is very dangerous, and
people may refuse to touch any food the price of which
is the death of the purchaser (76). The youth's in-
telligent horse sometimes saves his master (95 and 96),
but at others the spider acts the part of the preserver
(M.H. 20). When a witch is killed, every bit of her
must be destroyed, for even a single drop of her blood
can kill the victim (95 and 100, variant).*
LAPSE OF TIME. — It ought to be noted, perhaps, that
there is no supernatural lapse of time during these visits
to Death, or to a witch, e.g., that the visitor is detained
a year when he thinks that it has been only a day, a
feature so strongly marked in European tales. I have
never heard of any local Rip Van Winkle. The
Hausa hero does not suffer through having carried off
* In Grimm's tales, too, drops of blood can talk.
i58 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
the food, and, on his return, he finds everything as he
left it. On the contrary, time seems to pass much more
quickly in the other world than in this, as is shown by
M.H. 67, the following being a free translation of the
principal incidents. There were once three students,
the eldest of whom was not quite sincere. On the day
of the feast of Idi, the other two came to his house, and
said " Let us go to our teacher." He said " Very well,
but stay and eat first," and then he told his wife to
place water behind the house so that he might wash.
When she had done so she entered her hut to get some
cakes, and he went to where the water was. He took
off his clothes and squatted down to wash,* but when
he had put his hand into the water, it became a sea,
like the Mediterranean. " See him squatting on the
shore!" Then angels said to him "O thou at the
waterside, if thou art a woman, thou wilt become a
man; if a man, thou wilt become a woman." And by
the power of God, he immediately became a beautiful
girl !
She saw a city ahead of her, and entered it, and
went to the Chief Priest (Liraam), and said that she
was to be a daughter to him, and three months after-
wards she married a student whom he chose from about
forty who wished to marry her. She conceived, and
bore a son, and, after she had carried him for two
years, she weaned him, then she bore a daughter. She
had four children in all, two sons and two daughters,
and she lived twelve years in the city.
The day on which she weaned the younger
* The Hausa squats down to wash (unless he be right in a
stream) and throws the water over himself with his hands. He
washes outside his house, for he uses only a calabash, there is no
kind of bath to catch the water. In this story the magic water is
first a sea, then a river.
LAPSE OF TIME 159
daughter* was a Friday, and she came to the river-
side and washed her cloths, and she was happy, for
that night she was to return to her husband. f But lo !
she became a virgin again, and as she was squatting
by the side of the river, she heard the angels say to
her " O thou at the waterside, if thou art a woman,
FIG. 41.— Wooden moriar and pestle for pounding corn, &c.
H. about 18 in.
FIG. 42. — Wooden stool.
thou wrilt become a man ; if a man, thou wilt become a
woman." Immediately she became a man, and there
he was squatting behind his house, " see the water, see
his tobe and other clothes." He dressed himself, and
entered his house, and saw the students who asked
* This would really be just over eleven years, but the year in
which she came and the one in which she went would be counted,
so the time would be correct according to Hausa ideas. In any
case, one does not look for exactitude in a story.
t She would not live with him while nursing her child. See
T.H.H. 239, and R.A.I. Journal, Jan. -June, 1912.
160 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
"Have you washed?'* And he found that his wife
had not yet come out of her hut, and when she saw
him she was annoyed at his not staying longer so as
to give the cakes time to cool. After that they went
to the mosque, and the eldest student, Sheku, then
really believed.*
A magical appearance is attributed to Shefu
Othman, son of Fodio, the Filani conqueror of Hausa-
land. It is said that a man named Dodo, coming from
Gwanja, was crossing the Niger when he was nearly
upset, and he called out " O Shefu, son of Fodio, help
us." Immediately a man appeared, and righted the
canoe, and then disappeared again, and when Dodo
had reached the other bank he vowed a gift of five
calabashes of kola-nuts. On his arrival in Sokoto
twenty days afterwards, Dodo took three calabashes,
but Shefu said that five was the number vowed, and
the man admitted it. But there was stronger proof
than that, for at the very hour when Dodo had called,
Shefu was in the council chamber, and he left it for
a moment, and on his return the councillors saw that
his clothes were wet through. When they asked the
reason he said that they would know it in twenty days'
time.
In one story, the Mutanen Lahira (People of the
Next World) are described as living at the bottom of a
well, and a mortal, who falls in, has to give them
presents of clothes before they will take him up again.
* Professor Frazer has kindly pointed out a parallel in a
Turkish tale quoted by Addison in the Spectator ', No. 0,4 (June,
1711), and he there refers to a similar story in the Koran. The
other stories which my informant noticed are an Indian one in
the Katha Sarit Sagara, translated by Tawney, ii, pp. 326 sq.;
and a Sumatran tale given by Van Hasselt in his Volks Beschrij-
ving van Midden Sumatra, pp. 78 SQ.
MAGIC AND THE EVIL EYE 161
MAGIC AND THE EVIL EYE. — The women paint rings
in red, white or yellow round their eyes to avert the
evil eye. The praising of a woman's beauty by any
man except her husband is a serious injury, and the
proper reply to complimentary remarks, however sin-
cerely made, is " Ba ruana, Ka ji? " — "I don't
care, do you hear?" At the same time, an air of
prosperity in a man is not by any means despised, for
"a good appearance means good fortune/'
An amusing instance both of the fear of the evil eye
and sympathetic magic came to my notice in 1907, when
at Amar. I made a life-sized target to represent a man
firing, and set it up in the barrack-square, so as to be
able to give the men instruction in aiming, before
transferring it to the rifle-range a little distance off.
The next day I was implored to have it removed,
for some of the police constables' wives had seen it, and
feared a miscarriage in consequence, and I was solemnly
assured that if it were left there no births would occur
that year amongst the women in barracks. I was also
asked to keep the face free from any lines or spots, for
I was told that if there were any tribal marks on it, those
men having scarifications, marks, or tatuing resembling
them would die if the target were pierced. Of course I
complied with their wishes, for the fear was evidently
genuine, the target being set up in the butts at once,
and the face \vas painted white to resemble that of a
European, so that the natives could shoot at it in peace
and comfort of mind, and have the knowledge of a
good deed done on the few occasions on which they
managed to hit it.
It seems that not only lines and dots resembling
tribal marks are to be feared, but any spots at all (37
and F.-L. 8), and of course animals are as much afraid
ii
1 62 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
of them as men. Perhaps spots have a religious signifi-
cance. In an old print in which Our Lord is depicted
as rescuing souls from Hell,* his body is covered with
spots, though they do not appear on those of the demons
or souls. But in other cases the spots are probably
used more as a decoration (though there may still be a
religious element) as in the case of the women in Sierra
Leone, and the men of the Gan tribe in Uganda.f
Possibly spots represent the evil eye. They are often
used to avert the power, but in the stories mentioned
here the animal using the spots does not wish to avoid
the harmful influence issuing from another, but to
terrify him.| In fact, one man said that the spots
were eyes, showing that the object could see in all
directions, and, judging by the analogy of the Kunda,
detection is followed by immediate punishment if
necessary.
I could not hear of anyone having injured his enemy
by operating on an effigy, but I am quite prepared to
believe that this is done, considering the above
anecdote, and also since a charm can be written so as
to injure another. The girl scooping up the water
in a calabash, and thus emptying the streams, in
Stories 61 and F.-L. 17, seems to be a case of
sympathetic magic, as also does the healing of the
boy's eye by that of a goat in Story 94, and perhaps
.also the annihilation of the pagans by dashing the
* Ancient Mysteries Described. By William Hone (1823).
William Reeves, London. Page 140.
t On the Backwaters of the Nile, page 231.
+ Dr. Seligmann tells me that the peasants in the Kandian
district of Ceylon hang black pots, decorated with white spots
and circles, in their farms to protect their crops, and these must
be intended to harm would-be thieves. Mr. Crooke tells me
that the peasants in Northern India hang up old pots, black
with soot, and smeared with patches of whitewash. Here, also,
the idea seems to be rather to work injury than to escape from it.
LUCKY DAYS 163
sweat from the brow (64) and the destruction by the
girl who escaped from Dodo of the gifts which he
had given her (73). An example in L.T.H. (106) is
perhaps even stronger, for there a woman who wishes to
make her husband love her has been told by the
malam to get dust from the chief's house. The chief,
who is very unpopular, finds the woman doing this,
and thinks that she is trying to injure him. There
may be special properties in the earth on which the
intended victim has trodden, as is pointed out in
Story 4 and Note IV, 4.
I could never get the chief of Jemaan Daroro to tell
me who would succeed him, nor would the recognized
heir (the present chief) nor anyone else enlighten me,
so there was evidently a reason against doing so, in fact
I was told that such things are not spoken of. As there
was no doubt that we should appoint the heir, there was
no need for me to press the point after I discovered that
there was an objection to giving a reply. This is
evidently due to some fear that the person so named may
never come to his own (after all, we ourselves can
understand that), but whether the belief is Filani or
Hausa I am not certain, for the family was mixed. It
does not seem quite in keeping with the ideas of the
latter, for they are confirmed fatalists (28), some of the
proverbs already quoted showing this point well. It
may be for quite another reason, however, viz., that
the mention of the chief's death is tantamount to ill-
wishing, the mere expression of the idea being con-
sidered to show that the event is desired.
LUCKY DAYS. — There are lucky days and unlucky
days which are now indicated by the malams (F.-L. 36).
but a European official cannot always defer to a " con-
scientious objector," and when a chief refuses to travel
164 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
on important Government work simply because the stars
are not propitious, or there is some similar obstacle, one
has to explain that although the signs and portents may
be against a native doing his own work, a different
system of astronomy applies to ours, and that he
must therefore rely on our reading for that particular
occasion. To wash or shave on certain days, or at
certain hours, is dangerous, for the person himself, or
his wife (or her husband), would soon die, and these
tabus remind one of the jinns of each week-day in
Morocco.
RITES. — There are certain ceremonies for the bring-
ing back to life of men (4, 62, 65 and 99), and even of
animals (79). Both have a place in the next world—
which is very much like this (85) — but when they die
there they can never rise again.
The goat usually seems to play a part in these
magical rites (70), especially a black one (e.g., in Bon),
in fact the colour black seems to have particular pro-
perties. Thus when Awudu, Chief of Zaria, was en-
gaged in a war which ended in the conquest of the
Katab country in the south-west of his kingdom, he
gave the people a black bull to sacrifice on the Dutsin
Kerrima to appease the demons there (see T.H.H.,
page 99).* With some tribes in the Sudan the word
"black" is avoided because it is held in horror as
being of evil omen,f the words " blue," " green," &c.,
being used instead, but writh the Hausas almost the
contrary is the case, for all cloths darker than royal blue
are called ba(k)ki. I think, however, that this is due
simply to laziness, not that there is any objection to
* He thus resembled the Greeks who sacrificed black oxen to
Pluto and other infernal deities.
t Yacoub Pasha Artin, England, in the Sudan, page 160. *-v
RITES 165
naming the colour blue, at the same time some Hausas
will not wear cloths of that shade. Certainly some
persons (possibly Mohammedans) do not like the word
11 black/' although they have no objection to " white,"
and that is strange considering that the latter colour,
and not the former, is connected with death in Hausa-
land.*
A magical creation of white crows is related in
L.T.H. 57, where the Chief of Gobir took a small bag
of medicines, and threw a little of the powdered condi-
FIG. 43. — Earthenware jug, incised pattern, used to hold water for ceremonial
ablutions. H., 6f in.
ment on to a pot of live cinders, and when the smoke
had risen some hundred white crows appeared.
The liver has special virtues. It may be used as a
remedy for illness (80), it has magical powers of
* The following Arabic legend is interesting in this connec-
tion. The King of China once came upon a white and a black
snake fighting. He killed the latter, and the former turned into
a lovely lady whose sister married him as a reward for his help,
and gave birth to the Queen of Sheba. Hartland, o-p. cit., page
316. Compare this with the story of the magic ointment in the
preceding chapter.
1 66 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
becoming alive (66 — is it the seat of life?), and it is a
name for the man who divided the inheritance in Story
81. It is often specially mentioned even when there are
no magic rites (17 and 34). Canon Robinson says* that
he was told that in the event of a man being bitten by a
mad dog, the animal was at once killed, and the victim
ate the liver, an elaboration of " the hair of the dog
that bit you." In one story (L.T.H. 41) the blood of
the liver restores the sight of a blind man.
I do not know whether haruspication was practised,
but probably it was (and still is?) for one story (L.T.H.
129) relates how a jackal took a goat to the house of a
hyaena (against which he had a grudge), and persuaded
her to accompany him to the forest because he was
going to kill the goat, and perform magic rites. He had
previously warned his pups to steal the liver, and when
it could not be found he drew a knife across the throat
of each in turn, but as it did not hurt them he pro-
nounced them innocent. The hyaena, seeing that a slur
was cast upon her, offered to undergo the same ordeal,
and, of course, the jackal killed her.
Divination was also practised, patterns being drawn
in the sand — previously smoothed down — or by looking
in a heap of sand for special signs. The following
tale will show how useless it is to try to avoid one's
fate. A man consulted a malam as to his end, and
the malam read in the earth that a buffalo would cause
it. The man then went away, and of course kept out
of the way of this animal. One day, long afterwards,
there was a big hunt, and the man was going to join
in it, but, remembering the result of the malam's
divination, he hid in a corn-bin instead. After the
* ffaitsaland, see page 144.
CONJURING 167
hunt was over, the booty was distributed, and as it
happened, the owner of the bin was given a head.
Wishing to hide it, he threw it into the bin, and the
horns pierced the man hiding in there, and killed him.
Next morning the dead man was found, and the
people, remembering the prophecy, said " That which
a man will obtain, and that which will happen to him,
from his birth are they fore-ordained."
There is also a kind of fortune-telling, and dreams
are interpreted. The bori women pretend to tell for-
tunes, as mentioned before.
Another story of Othman's magical powers is told
of an Asben who had lost his camels. On appealing
to the Shefu (sheik), he was told to look, and he saw
them to all appearance quite close. He went after
them, but he took 30 days to reach the place in which
they were.
It is just possible that the song of the birds in
Story 87 is a necromantic spell which enables the zan-
kallala to kill Dodo ; an example occurs in Sierra Leone
in the story of Goro the Wrestler, where the song of
incantation chanted by the mother enables the child to
overcome all the animals, so such spells are known in
West Africa.* There may be some connection between
the idea in this and the singing of the snake-charmers
mentioned later.
CONJURING. — Of course there are conjuring tricks
such as the gourd from which water drips or not at
the command of the operator, the needle and the cotton
which pass through the youth, and the magic hoe-shovel
which cannot be held down on the ground — there being
a slight hypnotic element in this — but they are described
* Cronise and Ward, o-p. cit., page 14.
168 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
in full elsewhere (T.H.H., pages 207-209), and the ac-
counts need not be repeated here. There was a female
snake-charmer in Lokoja, but I never saw her do more
than make the reptile coil around her body and uncoil
again. The skilled performers, who wear a lot of hair
on their heads, are said to be able to charm the reptiles
by singing to them.
Snake-charmers were not always popular. It is
related of one chief that he was so much annoyed by
their music that he decided to rid himself of their atten-
tions for ever, so, pretending to be glad to see them, he
invited the leader into an inner room. Here he cut off
his head, and had it placed in a food-calabash, the body
being removed. Then the remaining charmers were
asked to come to the feast, and were left alone in the
room. Soon, one wished to see what had been pre-
pared, and, uncovering the calabash, he saw his
leader's head ! Hurriedly replacing the mat, he made
his escape, followed by the others, and the chief was
not troubled again.
I have seen it stated that a guinea-corn plant can
be made to grow from a seed, and that a child can
be apparently killed, chopped up, and brought to life
again as in India, but I have never heard of these
things myself, so I cannot say whether such is the case
or not.
CHARMS AND POTIONS. — Charms are used of course,
but I doubt if many of purely pagan origin now exist
in the Mohammedan districts, for the malams naturally
wish to substitute verses of the Koran written and sold
by themselves, and wrapped in small leather cases.
These are worn all over the body, and may be tied to
the manes or tails of horses and other animals. There
are special kinds for special objects, and once, when I
CHARMS AND POTIONS 169
was about to go out with a small patrol, I found a
malam offering great bargains in charms which would
invariably protect the wearers against wounds from
arrows or other weapons. I offered to let him wear all
the charms he could put on to his person, and to give
him half a sovereign if I failed to wound him first
shot, but he was much too modest and retiring to accept
the offer ! I hoped that this would have the effect of
making my men save their money, but I dare say the
malam explained to their satisfaction that a white man
was rather outside the influence of black man's magic.
At any rate, all the men were covered with them when
we did set out. I was told that the fruit of the small
dundu tree if ground up and drunk with water will make
it impossible for the drinker to be wounded by a sword ;
other decoctions are of more use against arrows or
clubs.
There was a special kind (sha bard) which had
a great vogue when the European first began to
conquer the country, its virtue being that by its
means the white man's bullets would not only cause no
harm to the wearer, but would even rebound and wound
the one who had fired the rifle. Considering the num-
ber of casualties, it is strange to think that the trade
still flourishes. My cook had fought against our troops
at Kano, and had been defeated, but his faith in native
charms was as strong as ever.
On another occasion, I saw a girl sitting on the
wharf, with a calabash of very dirty-looking water be-
side her, and I was informed that a malam had written
a verse or two on a prayer-board (resembling the boards
at College on which the grace is written), and had
then washed off the ink with water, and it was this
mixture which was to cure her of the fever from which
170 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
she was suffering ! I gave her some quinine, and next
morning I heard that she had recovered, but the malam
claimed the credit, though he had advised her to swallow
the quinine lest I should be offended ! Or it may be
that he really believed in the efficacy of his treatment,
for in certain respects Mohammedanism does not seem
to be much of an advance on paganism, and the native
— even the household servant and the soldier — will often
prefer a charm of local manufacture to the best
European medicine.
The above treatment must not be derided, however,
for it has been proved over and over again to the entire
satisfaction of numbers of the Hausa folk, that if a
man have the hiccoughs, and the names of seven liars
be written on the board, and the ink washed off and
drunk by him, he will be cured at once !
There are charms for childbirth (21) amongst other
things, the head of a young demon being particularly
potent (L.T.H. 71), but I fancy that herbs play quite
as important a part in these (59) as the malam 's ink,
for the Hausas are adepts at prevention, and possibly in
the opposite direction also. But in a good many
cases, it seems to be that the rite to be enacted is the
important thing (45), e.g., in Story 70, where a boy
is made to walk. Many of the tatu marks are charms,
as is mentioned later, and the Tsuguna ka chi daiva
(squat down and eat yams) which makes all seeing it
rush off immediately and offer the wearer food, is
deservedly popular.
It is not only for causing or saving life that charms
exist. For if in a mixture of ink and water, as described
above, there be soaked — with the appropriate words, of
course — a piece of wood taken from a tree which has
been struck by lightning, a very powerful potion is
CHARMS AND POTIONS 171
produced.* If a person washes his own body with
this, his enemy (not he himself) will die, and this is
very convenient, for the enemy would not give him the
chance of washing his body.f
Charms are also made to give the wearer the power
of making himself invisible, and these are particularly
useful to thieves — for the priests have no hesitation in
taking fees from whatever quarter they are offered. A
policeman of mine was covered with them, as I discov-
ered when I at last found him out and put him in prison,
and his nickname in Jemaan Daroro was " King of the
Door-blind," because (I was told) he could pass his
body into a house without disturbing even that flimsy
protection. There is a potion which will give the
gambler success if he washes his hands (which throw the
shells) and mouth (which says the wrord sabi at the same
time) with it.
There are love-philtres which will create desire when
drunk by the person selected, or certain rites may be
performed to accomplish the same desirable end, and
last, but not least, certain tatu patterns make the wearer
quite irresistible. The fruit of the begeyi tree will
reconcile husband and wife, if eaten.
A high level of reasoning is shown in L.T.H. 34,
where a woman seeks a charm to give her the power of
ruling her husband. The malam tells her that she
must bring him some buffalo-cow's milk, and she gets
this after having gradually made the beast accustomed
to her presence. When at last she brings the milk, the
* Robinson, Hausaland, page 141.
t The Hausa is not the only one who kills with a written
charm. Only last year I heard of an English society lady who
had hidden a paper in a drawer for some time with a wish written
upon it, in order to cause an injury to someone who had offended
her, and she quite believed that it would act !
i;2 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
malam asks " How did you get it? " " By strength of
will, by luck, and by coaxing,'* she replies. " Good,"
says the malam, " by the same means that you obtained
the buffalo's milk will you be able to rule your hus-
band."
For some affections, the cure is more a rite than a
charm. Thus, for a swelling on the throat, one should
tie a mortar behind (like an infant) and walk about the
house ; while for a certain kind of boils there is nothing
so efficacious as kneeling to a dog ! As these boils are
mainly on the knee, there is more sense in this than is
apparent at first sight, for the kneeling might burst
them.
MAGICAL GIFTS. — Presents (as apart from charms
which are purchased) from supernaturals are not com-
mon in Hausa folk-lore — though, as certain gifts have
magical properties (29), they may have come originally
from other than mortal donors — but members of the
animal kingdom sometimes reward a hero and take the
place of the fairies in the tales of other countries (12
and 62). There is no philosopher's stone, but there is
a tree which will turn what it touches into money,*
and there is also a magic carpet, though this last has
almost certainly an Arabian origin.
* It is called Jato itachen kurdi or Jato na arsikki, and " the
approach to it is guarded by phantoms — fearful men and animals,
leopards, hyaenas, and enormous snakes. . . . The writer
was entirely incredulous of every property attributed to the lucky
tree until May, IQOQ, when one night, looking in a direction
where there was nothing but uninhabited bush, he saw at a dis-
tance of between 500 and 1,000 yards a ruddy light which
hovered unsteadily in the air, appearing and disappearing at
intervals of about a quarter of a minute like a large will-o'-the-
wisp. The natives unanimously recognized it as the light of the
Fortunate Tree, but declined to explore in its direction. It is
probably an electrical manifestation at the tips of the branches
similar to the St. Elmo's fire seen at the extremities of ship's
masts in certain conditions of atmosphere." Hausa Sayings,
page 93.
POTTERY
173
The five figures, Nos. 44 to 48, show the stages in one method of pot making.
Illustrations XVII. and XVIII. correspond with the third and fourth diagrams.
i74 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
FORMS OF ADDRESS. — It is worthy of note that the
personification of animals is emphasized in the tales
of some tribes by an honorific prefix corresponding to
" Brer Rabbit," " Miss Cow," &c., of the Uncle Remus
stories. This does not apply to the Hausa versions,
but there is a form of address or kirari used for certain
members of the animal kingdom. For instance, that
of the lion is " O Strong One, Elder Brother of the
Forest " (6), the hyaena is addressed as " O Hyaena, O
Strong Hyaena, O Great Dancer," and on hearing this
the animal at once begins to dance, and will go away
(53). The dog has a long kirari, part of which is
unprintable, it is " O Dog, your breakfast is a
club, your jura a stick (i.e., a beating), O Dog, you
spoil a prayer (because if a dog's shadow touches a man
while praying it ruins the supplication),* you are the
hyaena's perquisite, your ribs are like the plaits in a
grass mat, your tail is like a roll of tobacco, your nose
is always moist." That of the jackal has already been
mentioned (6).
The horse is known as " O Prancing One, that
which the Great Man rides; O Horse go carefully; O
Offspring of another, I have you."
A small species of crocodile is addressed thus, " O
Tsari, you causer of anger, if you are chased you fall
into the water."
The spider is Gizzo Gizzami, which seems to mean
14 O Spider of Spiders," but he is usually known by
* Mr. Crooke thinks that this has been borrowed from Islam,
as dogs are regarded as unclean animals. According to a tradi-
tion by Abu Hurairah, Mohammed said that when a dog drinks
in a vessel, it must be washed seven times, and that the first
cleansing should be with earth (Miskfcat, Book iii, chap, ii, pt. i),
quoted by Hughes, Dictionary of Islam, page 91.
FORMS OF ADDRESS 175
his nickname Maiivayo, the Crafty One, or less often
Munafikin Allah. The butterfly's kirari is most appro-
priate, " O Glistening One, O Book of God, O
Learned One open your book," i.e., your wings. The
common locust is not at all a favourite, but there may
be a particular species which is harmless, " O Locust
of the tumfafia tree, you are not eaten, and you do not
eat anything."
Birds, too, have their kirari, the hen's is " O Fowl,
you foul your own nest." A turkey is prized, " O
Turkey, you are too valuable to be killed for a
stranger's feast." There is one small house-bird
which nests in the inside of the grass roofs of entrance-
halls or unused huts (where there is no smoke) which,
if caught and held by the back of the neck, like a
kitten, will swing to and fro. The holder will sing
" O Chada, swing, I will give you your mother, O
Yellow Beak," and this means that the bird is not to
be afraid. I have forgotten the rest, unfortunately;
the bird is a kind of swallow, I think. A small bird
like a sparrow, renowned for its twittering, is addressed
11 O Suda, you are full of news, you tell it though not
asked." I called a Court messenger Momo Suda for
a reason which I considered most appropriate, but he
was not at all pleased. The eagle is supposed to be a
wise bird, " O Eagle, you do not settle on the ground
without a reason," i.e., that there is something there
to eat. The belief that the White-Breasted Crow rears
chickens has been mentioned elsewhere, " O White-
Breasted Crow, make the offspring of another become
yours," is its kirari.
I do not know if many fish have been immortalized
in this way ; the mud-fish (or lung-fish) is addressed " O
Mud-fish, eat your own body," from the fact that it
1 76 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
lives in the mud during the dry weather, and does not
get any food.
Persons and bogies also have their proper titles.
Dodo is often known as Mijjin Mazza, " Man of
Men,'* not what one might expect considering his
general reputation. A bachelor is said to dream of the
grinding and pounding corn that he will have to do
next day. But an old woman has the least compli-
mentary titles : " O Old Thing, you are thin every-
where except at the knee, of flesh you have but a hand-
ful, though your bones would fill a basket." Another is
" Bend down your head, Sword, I'll kill your lice, and
you will end my married life." The first is obvious, the
meaning of the latter is that when one woman does
another's hair (a tedious operation, for it has been
up for weeks probably, and will not be done again for
some time) they usually talk scandal, and so the young
wife will hear tales of her husband, and probably
quarrel with him.* The word sword refers to the old
woman's sharp tongue, and has a familiar sound.
The general kirari of a wife and husband is " O
Woman whose deception keeps one upon tenterhooks
(thorns), your mouth though small can still destroy
dignity. If there were none of you there could be no
household, if there are too many of you the household
is ruined." Another version is " O Woman, your
deception is a cloak of pain, without you there is no
household," &c. But this kirari is a double one, for
* The hair is worn in a single hard ridge on the top of the
head, and as it is plastered thick with grease it soon becomes full
of vermin. It is so firm that the women sometimes hide English
silver coins in it. (Vide note xciii, 5.) Beriberi women also
wear a ridge, but the hair is arranged in a number of tiny plaits.
The Filani (whose hair is much longer, and not curly) wear long
curls on each side of the face.
FORMS OF ADDRESS 177
O Chief when I came to you what did
you give me ? I brought my goods to your house, and
when you had seen them you squandered them, now
you wish to get rid of me." The first part will be
clear from w7hat has been said in Chapter V, but the
last part requires a little explanation, being built upon
the following story. A rich woman took pity upon a
poor man and married him. He was fond of her, and
at first he would not touch her property. But one day
he asked for money to buy a new tobe, and she gave
it to him. One success spurred him to further efforts,
and soon he had spent all her money in new clothes
for himself. When he saw that she had nothing more
to give him (and he had the clothes, which are a form
of currency) he began to illtreat her, and so she sang
this pathetic song.
In addition to the general kirari, every celebrated
man has a special individual nickname resembling our
Richard, the Lion Heart. But sometimes the titles
(real or false) are strung out to almost endless lengths,
for as each professional flatterer must live by his
tongue, he will take care to make as much use of it as
possible.
It is not etiquette to refer to the members of a man's
family individually — unless, perhaps, one be ill — though
a general salutation such as " Are all your household
well ? " is quite correct. The forms of address and the
descriptions vary for an important person and for a
poor man, thus one says "The beggar is dead," but
1 The Chief is missing " ; an enemy may be " ill," but
a friend is " not well." And while a common woman
about to become a mother might "make belly," her
sister in more polished circles would have " two selves."
There is also a distinction between human beings
12
178 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
and animals, in spite of the fact that they can transform
themselves, for while it is correct to say " the man is
lame," the horse is described as being '* without a
leg "; my brother may be " blind," but my dog, if in
the same unfortunate state, " has no eye."
NAMES. — There is evidently some magic in names,
and the first-born child is usually, if not always, known
by a nick-name, for all Hausa children have a secret
and a public name, the first being known only to them-
selves. Thus the wife of one of the Court Mes-
sengers (native runners) was always known as Yar
Jekada (Daughter of the Tax-Collector), her real name
— almost forgotten even by the owner herself — being
Ashetu. This prohibition applies even to adopted
children, for Story 69 relates how a boy offered to let
a childless old woman treat him as her son on condition
that she would not even tell anyone else his name, and,
as she could not keep the secret, she died childless.
Children are often named according to the day on
which they were born, thus Lahidi because born on the
first day, Sunday ; Laraba, on the fourth day, Wednes-
day; Bi Salla, because they appeared on the day after
the Feast, and so on.*
The names may commemorate some special inci-
dent, such as the arrival of a European, but in that
case, if girls, they are usually called Matan Bature, or
" Wife of the White Man," though the reason is not
evident unless there is some idea of betrothal in infancy.
Twins would probably be named in pairs thus AI
Hassan and Hassana, Husein and Huseina, and so on.
* This corresponds to some extent with our custom of christen-
ing children born on Christmas Day, Noel (and even Melbourne,
Tasma, &c., after the name of the place where the interesting
event occurred).
NAMES 179
Again, they may simply show the order in which the
owners were born, for instance, a son after two
daughters is known as Tanko, a daughter after two sons
as Kandi, and the next child after twins might be called
Gumbo.* The sole survivor of a family, the members
of which had died in infancy, would probably be known
as Be ran (left).
The names of animals are sometimes used, Kura, the
hyaena, being fairly common (another occurs in Story
81), and it has been suggested that when such a name
is given in infancy it indicates a survival of totemism.f
When several children of one mother have died in
infancy, 'means must be taken to avert a similar fate in
the case of those born subsequently, and it is lucky for
them that these measures are not so elaborate as those
on the Gold Coast, which are quite sufficient to kill the
child right off (see T.H.H. page 173). First a special
name is given, Ajuji being a favourite in the case of
both males and females; next a special charm (consist-
ing of a leather belt ornamented with brass rings) is
worn on neck and waist until the child is grown up ; and
sometimes the hair will be shaved or dressed in a special
way. The mother, too, may partake in the last; if
three children have died she will shave one side of her
head ; if four, the whole. Very often in the case of
other peoples, an opprobrious name is chosen for a
child born after the death of others, so as to depre-
fr We may compare with these, perhaps, our own names of
Tertius, Decima, and others. Even the celebrated " Elizabeth,
Betty, Bessie, and Bess " has a Hausa representative in Aye-
shetu, Ashetu, Ayesha, and Shetu or Shatu.
t This is probably correct, though not invariably so nowadays.
An Englishman would not necessarily be in the totemistic stage
simply because he lived in, say, " The Pines," and called all his
daughters by the names of flowers — an actual case in Ballarat.
i8o HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
date it, and make the evil influence less likely to be
exerted against it. In India Kuriya (" Dunghill ") is
a common name for a male,* and it is exceedingly likely
that Ajuji has come from juji which has a similar
English equivalent. Possibly, too, instead of indicating
the order of birth, originally, Tanko may have come
from tankoshe (repelled), Kandi from kandilu (cow-
dung), and Gumbo (also spelt Gambo) from gambu or
gyambu (lame, sore legged).
Wives must not address their husbands by name,
not at any rate their first husbands, nor must they tell
it to others (56); there is a song " O God, I repent, I
have spoken the name of my husband." They usually
call him " Master of the House, "f or perhaps use some
nickname, or his title if any. But the prohibition does
not seem to apply to witches, or at any rate they can
pronounce it with impunity (95), and this is only to be
expected if the origin of the tabu was due to the fear of
sorcery. Although the name is in this case considered
to be part of its owner, it is a vulnerable point of attack
only by an evil-disposed wife, but care is taken to ensure
that nail-parings, hair, &c., shall be buried, for not only
the wives, but anyone else can work the owner
harm through their agency. I am not sure if
the prohibition against a wife mentioning her
husband's name applies before marriage or not,
but I think so, for, although in Story 43 only
the maiden who could guess the name of the
unknown youth could become his wife, and then the
* Crooke, o$. cit., p. 187.
t Or " Master of our House." No one but the master himself
would use the term " my " when referring to the house, family,
or possessions. So the Hausa servant speaks of his European
master as " Our Whiteman," and to tell him that his baggage
is arriving, he would say " There are our loads."
NAMES 181
name was a fictitious one ; in Story 42, the bashful girl
was beaten for pronouncing it to the owner. But the
unmarried girl may perhaps tell the name of her
beloved to her parents (61), without evil consequences.*
Men are often known as So and So, Son of So and
So (e.g., Othman dan Fodio, the Filani Conqueror),
but in Story 86, variant, the hero is addressed by his
sister as " Auta, Brother of Barra."
Nicknames are very common, especially those sug-
gested by some physical characteristic, such as Babban
Kai (Big Head), and Maika(r)rifi (the Strong One). Or
they may commemorate some act, the " Burier-alive "
in T.H.H. 7, and Rice and others in Story 43, or some
speech such as " There-is-no-King-but-God " (i). The
words Lion or Bull Elephant when applied to a chief
are not really nicknames, they are forms of address;
but sometimes the names of other animals, such as Giwa
(elephant), may be when given later in life, for they
probably point to some physical characteristic.
Slave-names correspond to some extent to our
" Praise God Barebones," though the sentence is often
much longer, part being spoken by the person calling,
and the rest by the owner of the name when answering.
Thus " Ku(l)um Safiaf)—and the person addressed
* Perhaps the Hausa has a similar reason to that of the Hindu
for the tabu " by which a Hindu woman is prevented from using
the name of her husband. To this, however, there is one notable
exception — c At marriages, coming of age, first pregnancy, and
festive days . . . . it is usual for the women to recite or sing
a couplet or verse in which the husband's name occurs. At
marriages .... an old man or an old lady gets close to the
door, and refuses to allow the young women to go unless they
have told their husband's najne. [This is either] part of a
ceremony whose object is to drive to a distance any spirits whose
influence might blight the tender life of the unborn child,5 [or it
may be] a survival of the custom of distinctly admitting
maternity and paternity." Crooke, o$. cit., ii, 6.
1 82
HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
replies " Ina Godia," meaning " Every morning — I give
thanks." Again, " Bia Maradi— Allah," "The Giver
of Joy — is God." Others still are in the form of a ques-
tion, as " Mine ya fi dadi? — Dan uwa," meaning
" Who is best off? — He who has a mother " (to look
after him). Allah Keauta is exactly our Theodore.
Some of course are shortened, and are difficult to under-
stand, such as " Kun so " — and the reply " Na samu,"
which in its proper form is " Kun so en rassa " — " You
wanted me to go without "; " Allah ya sa na samu "
— "but God caused me to obtain." A common name
is Allah bai — which is really " Allah shi ba baba mu
samu " — i.e., " God give our chief plenty, so that we
may have some of it " — there is no unnecessary reti-
cence in the Hausa invocations ! !
FIG. 49.— Gourd used by travellers. Can be grown in various shapes.
FIG. 50. — Decorated gourd, pattern left in relief and stained purple.
D. 3| in.
PART II.
Hausa Tales, Variants, and
Parallels.
THERE is NO KING BUT GOD.
When one [who is an ordinary Person] comes to
the council, he says " May the King live for ever,"
but a certain Man came and said " There is no King
but God." Now he was always saying this, and at
last the King became very angry with him. So he
k two rings of silver and gave them to him to keep
or him, with the intention of avenging himself upon
im. So [the Man whom everyone now called]
1 There-is-no-King-but-God " took the two rings, put
them into an empty Ram's horn, and gave it to his
Wife to keep for him.
About five days afterwards, the King said " O,
There-is-no-King-but-God, I am going to send you to
1 84 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
a certain village," and the other replied " It is good."
And when the King sent him, he said "Tell my
People to come in and help to build the city wall."
No sooner had he gone, than the King said [to his
Attendants] " Go to the Wife of There-is-no-King-but-
God," and, he continued, " Offer her a million cowries,
offer her a hundred body-cloths, and a hundred head-
cloths, if she will give the King that which There-is-no-
King-but-God gave her to take care of." When the
Wife heard this, she said " I agree," and she brought
the horn and gave it to them, and when the King
had received it he opened it, and looked inside, and
saw his rings there. So he replaced them in the horn,
and pressed them down, and said " Take this, and
throw it into a certain lake that can never dry up."
But as it happened, just as the Attendants had arrived
at the lake, and had thrown in the horn, a great Fish
swam by, and swallowed it.
Now on that very day There-is-no-King-but-God
returned from his journey, and when he had arrived,
he met some men of his city who said that they were
going off to fish with nets at the lake. And he went with
them, and lo ! he caught the very same great Fish, and
as his Son was cleaning it, the knife struck the horn
with a keras. Then he said " Opp, there is something
inside this Fish." " What is it? " asked There-is-no-
King-but-God, and the Son said " Well I never, there
is a horn in its inside." Then his Father said " Pull
it out that we may see it," and the Son pulled it out,
and gave it to him. So he opened it, and looked, and
what did he see but the King's rings which he had
given him to keep for him! Then he said "Truly
there is no King but God."
Just as they had finished cleaning the Fish, the
THERE IS NO KING BUT GOD 185
King's Messenger came and said " There-is-no-King-
but-God, when you have refreshed yourself (i), the
King wants you/' So he replied " I come." And
when the Messenger had gone, he said to his Wife
" Where is that thing which I gave you to take care
of ? " She replied " Oh, I don't know, a Mouse must
have taken it." Then he said " There is no King but
God."
When he had refreshed himself he took the path to
the court, and when he had come he sat down. And
the Councillors began saying " May the King live for
ever," but he said " There is no King but God." Then
the King told all the Councillors to be silent for he
was going to talk with There-is-no-King-but-God, and
he asked " Is there no King but God?" And the
other replied " Yes, there is no King but God."
Then the King said " I want immediately that thing
which I gave you to keep for me." And as h,e spoke,
the Guards arose and stood about him, so that if he
could not give back the thing, they would take him
to be impaled (2).
But There-is-no-King-but-God put his hand into his
>cket, and pulled out the horn, and held it out to the
Angy and when the King had opened it he saw his
rings. Then he said " Truly there is no King but
God," and the Councillors saluted There-is-no-King-
but-God. Then the King divided his city into two,
and gave him half to rule over.
In a variant (L.T.H. 92) the King gets the King of
the Thieves [a recognized individual] to steal the rings
on the advice of a Leper. The ring was thrown into
the water, and the Fish which swallowed it was bought
by There-is-no-King-but-God. Other trials are im-
posed like those in Story 80. In another (L.T.H. 113)
the Man catches the Fish at a ford on his way home.
1 86 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
This is one of the many versions of a tale first
recorded by Herodotus, iii, 40, sqq., where the adven-
ture is attributed to Polycrates, despot of Samos in the
sixth century B.C. Variants are very numerous. The
story occurs in the Arabian Nights and throughout the
East as far even as Japan (Nihongi, Aston 's Translation,
i, 92, sg<?.). In Africa it has been recorded in Senegambia
by Berenger-Fe"raud (Contes Pop. de la Sene gamble,
145), and in Morocco by Doutte" (Magie et Religion
dans I'Afrique du Nord, 157), where it is a Moham-
medan tradition. It has also been reported by Miss
Kingsley (West African Studies, 565) from Old Cala-
bar, where it seems to be a native tale. It is localized in
many parts of Europe. The arms of the city of
Glasgow commemorate the tale as a miracle of St.
Kentigern, the Apostle of Strathclyde. (H.).
In India, it appears in Kashmir (vide Knowles,
Folk-tales of Kashmir, p. 27, and in North Indian
Notes and Queries, iii, 11 ff.). (C.).
2
THE PUNISHMENT OF THE SABBATH-(I)-BREAKERS.
A number of Men went out to fish with nets,
and on the way they met an Old Man, and the Old
Man asked "Where are you going?" They replied
" We are going fishing." Then he said " Ah, to-day
is not the day for fishing," for it was the seventh day,
but they answered that they were going all the same, so
he said " Very well, go." And they went, and began
to cast their nets.
Soon the Hedgehog made a noise like thunder, and
said " Are you equal to me? " But they said in their
hearts that there was no one who would stop them now.
Then the Boys [who were standing on the bank ready
to catch the Fish when thrown to them by the Men in
THE MAIDEN AND THE FISH 187
the water] were turned into Pelicans, and the Men
became big Monkeys, and they could not return home.
You know that the seventh day is the one on which
the Fishes pray.
This appears to be a corruption of the story in the
Koran, a Hausa version of which is given in M.H. (9),
the reason of the Men refusing to listen to the Messenger
of God being that the Women derided them for even
thinking about it.
3
THE TENDER-HEARTED MAIDEN AND THE FISH.
A certain Man went to the river to catch Fish, and
he brought one home, and gave it to his Wife, so the
Wife said to her Step-Daughter (i) " Get up, go to the
river, and wash the Fish, but if you let it go, when
you have come back I will thrash you."
So the Step-Daughter went to the river, and had
begun to wash the Fish, when it said " O Maiden, will
you not set me free that I may go and give my Young
Ones suck? " (2). And she replied " Very well, go,"
and she waited. When the Fish returned, it said (3)
"Now, pick me up, and let us go," but she replied
11 No, no, you may go free." Then the Fish said " I
heard what was said to you, that you would be beaten
[if I escaped]," but she replied " Fish, swim away."
And the Fish said " Good-bye until to-morrow, you
must return in the morning." So the Maiden went
home, and she was seized, and beaten, until at last her
Father said " Leave her alone, God will give us
another to-morrow."
Next morning she got up, and went to where she
1 88 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
had left the Fish. Now the Fish had summoned all
its Relatives to come and see the Maiden who had set
it free, and all the Relatives came, there were many of
them. Then the Fish called the Maiden, and said
"Come here," and when she had gone up close, the
Fish continued " Now, see the One who has saved my
life. I was caught, and it was decided that I should
be cooked, so I was given to her that she might come
and wash me, but she set me free. That is why I said
" You come, all of you, and see her, and thank her."
Then it said to her " Go home, whenever you are
hungry come here, until the first night of the feast " (4).
When the first night of the feast came, all of the
Family [except the Step-Daughter] were going off to
the dances, to those which the Young People perform,
and the Fish said " When they have gone, you come
to me.'* All of the Others went off to the dances — an
old cloth had been chosen and given to the Step-
Daughter, although the Wife's own Daughter had
been given a new cloth to wear — and so she went to
the Fish, wearing the old cloth. But the Fish brought
her a heap of finery, and the Maiden went to the dance
looking splendid.
Now when the King saw her, he sent to tell her
that she was the Maiden whom he wished to marry.
But she replied " Very well, but go to my Father's
house, I was not born in the playground" (5). So the
King ordered his Messengers to go to the Father's
house (6), but the Father said "What! It cannot be.
I have no Daughter such as the King would wish to
marry." Now his Wife [heard them talking, and she]
said to her Daughter " Go, run home, do you not hear
that the King wants to marry you?" But the Girl
replied " No, no, it is not I, it is another, the King
THE MAIDEN AND THE FISH 189
noticed her at the dance." So the Messengers came,
and arranged for the marriage, and the King gave the
Rival Wife (7) riches, and the Parents said " Let her
oe carried away and taken to the King.'* In the even-
ing she escaped, and ran to the Fish and told it, and
said " I have been married to the King." And the
Fish replied " Thanks be to God, go to the King's
palace, and to-morrow we will come." So she said
"Very well," and went, and in the morning all the
Fishes assembled, and the Fish told its Relatives what
had happened. So they collected grain, and in the
evening when the night had come, they sent word
saying " Let nobody from the King's palace go outside
at night" (8). Then they took the grain and brought
it to the Maiden, and they collected cloths, and brought
them to her.
Now, that night, the Women of the King's palace
seized the Maiden's hands, and cut them off, because
of their jealousy, and they said derisively " Look at the
King's Wife, she has no hands !" But she roused her
Chamber-Maid, and said " Go to the Fish, and tell it
what has happened to me, the Women have cut off both
my hands." When the Fishes had heard, they said
" Since she did not bring grief upon us, she also shall
not have any." So at midnight the Fishes took the
road, and came to the palace, and restored her hands to
her (9).
Next morning the Women said " Let them be
given guinea-corn to pound up," and they continued
14 Let the Bride be called to come and pound." So the
Bride came out, they thought that she had no hands,
but she took hold of the pestle, and they saw that she
had hands. Then other People, who had heard them
say that she had no hands, laughed at the jealous
Women, and they were made fun of until they were
190 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
shamed. But the Bride merely ignored them, and
returned to the King (10).
A variant (L.T.H. ii, 69) is even more like Cinder-
ella, for the Maiden leaves her boot of gold behind, and
next morning she is the only one whom it will fit, in
fact, the boot runs to her, and puts itself on her foot.
In this case, the Frog acts the part of the Fish in return
for food which the Maiden has given him, and the other
Wives of the King's Son are good to her. The Step-
Sister, however, tries to take her place in the palace,
and is killed on being discovered, while the rightful
Wife comes back to her own.
4
THE SPIDER, THE OLD WOMAN, AND THE WONDERFUL
BULL.
Once there was a certain Old Woman who used to
boil herbs and take them to the market to be sold, and
at last she had saved up enough money to buy a Bull-
Calf, and when she had bought him she took him to
her compound, and looked after him. She tended him
until he had grown into a great Bull.
One day the Spider saw the Bull, and he went and
told the King. He said " O King, how many ears
have you ? " And the King replied " I have one ear."
The Spider said " Cut off the one and give it to me
to eat, and you will hear some news " (i). And the
King said " I have done so, what have you seen? "
The Spider replied " I have seen a Bull in the Old
Woman's house, a very big Bull." Then the King
sent Men to go and loose the Bull, and they tried to do
so, but he refused to allow them. Then they said
11 Beat the Spider [it is he who brought us here]."
But the Spider said " If you beat me you must beat
THE WONDERFUL BULL
191
the Old Woman also." Then the Old Woman said to
the Bull " Go up to the heel-peg (2), the Councillors are
possessed with evil, even for the smallest thing they
will haul one to the Court." So the Bull went off, and
was brought to the King's palace. Then they tried to
make him lie down, and as he refused, they cried out
"Beat the Spider." But he said "If you beat me
you must beat the Old Woman also." So she said
FIG. 51. — Lid of fig. 50.
So
" O Bull, lie down, and let them slaughter you.
he lay down, and they slaughtered him.
When they had slaughtered the Bull, they gave
the Old Woman the entrails, and then she went home,
fow the Old Woman had left some cotton boles at
tome, and when she returned she saw that the cotton
id been spun. So she hid in her hut [to see who had
me it], and soon she saw some Young Girls appear
id commence spinning again. But when they saw
i92 HAUSA SUPERSTITIOXS
her they began to change into entrails so as to [disguise
themselves and] hide from her, but she said " Remain
as you are," and they replied '* Very well."
Now one day the Spider came along again, and he
met the Beautiful Girls, so he went and told the King
that he had seen Beautiful Young Girls at the Old
Woman's house. So the King said to his Messengers
41 Go and bring the Old Woman and the Girls." So
they came, and the Old Woman was told to return
home with all but one whom the King had chosen as
his Wife.
After a time the King began preparing for a cam-
paign, and he told his Bride to give up going outside
the house, for if she did any work she would melt ; and
when he had said this, he went off to the war. Now
when he had gone, the Women of the household who
had been there before she had come, told her to come
outside and work (3), so the Girl did so and began to
work, but she melted near a fire. Then a Pigeon was
summoned, and they said to her " Go and tell the King
that the Bride has melted." Thus the King heard the
news, and returned home, and said " Whatever made
the Girl go outside and work?" And they replied
" The Women of the house made her do so."
Then the Old Woman was summoned, and, when
she had beaten the ground in the place where the Girl
had melted (4), the Girl rose up. Then the King said
44 What made you go outside and work?" And she
replied " They made me do so." Then the King put
to death all those Women of the house, and he sum-
moned the Old Woman and gave her presents, and he
lived with the Bride.
In a variant (L.T.H. 160) the Young Girls are
known as ll Of-the-Stomach, " " Of-the-Liver, " "Of-
THE FALSE FRIEND 193
the-Heart," " Of-the-Kidneys, " " Of-the-Fat," accord-
ing to the part which gave each birth, and it was the
last-named whom the King married. The Old Woman
resurrects her by putting the spots of grease in a pot,
pouring in water, and leaving the pot closed until the
morning.
5
THE FALSE FRIEND.
A certain Youth said to his Friend " Come, accom-
pany me to my Wife's People's house," so the Friend
went with him, and they took the road, and started
travelling. When they had come to the Mother-in-Law's
house, the People said " Oh, welcome, welcome." The
Husband had taken his Mare with him.
Well, food was brought to them, but the Youth said
that his Friend could eat, but that he himself could not
do so, as they were in his Mother-in-Law's house (i),
and they said " Very well." The mid-day meal was
brought also, and the Friend said " Come and eat," but
he replied " No, no, you eat, I shall not eat anything,
this is my Mother-in-Law's house." So the other ate
it, and when the evening meal was brought, the Youth
refused that also.
Now in the middle of the night, he was seized with
hunger, and he roused his Friend, and said " I am very
hungry, there is plenty of millet at the farm, and here
is a rope. I shall tie it to a post in this hut and
take the other end with me (2), and go and get some of
the bundles." So he did so, and went, and got some
bundles. But while he was away, the Friend untied the
rope, and made it fast to a post in the Mother-in-Law's
hut; so when the Youth had got his millet, he felt his
way along the rope until he had come [and entered]
his Mother-in-Law's hut. .When he had got inside, he
13
194 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
said " I have been, I have got my bundle," and he
continued " This year these People have a great quantity
of millet, and I have taken some." Now the Father-in-
Law was lying there, and had been watching all this
time ! But the Youth thought that it was his Friend,
so he pulled off the ears of corn, and when he had
finished the lot he cooked them and ate them. When
he had had enough, he said " O Friend, where is the
water? " and the Father-in-Law pointed with his hand,
but did not open his mouth lest he should betray
himself. When the Youth had drunk, he said " Make
room for me to lie down," but the Father-in-Law
said " O Youth, this is not your hut." When the
other had looked, he saw that it was his Father-in-
Law, and he left the hut, and went and put on his
saddle, and mounted his Mare, although it was night,
and started off. Before day had broken he had come
near his own town, but just then his Mare (3) bucked
him off, and returned to the Mother-in-Law's house,
and when she had arrived they caught her, and tied
her up.
Then the Wife's Father came out, and went to the
Mare, and opened the saddle-bags and put in his hand,
and — would you believe it ? — the Friend had half-filled
them with dirt.* When the Father-in-Law had put in
his hand, he brought out the leg of a fowl, but when he
put it in again he stuck it in the dirt.
The Youth [was so much ashamed that he] would
not go back to his Wife's town, nor would he go and
get his Mare, both of them he abandoned to his Father-
in-Law. As for the Friend, he went his own way next
morning.
That kind of friendship is not pleasant.
A LIE AND A SPEAR 195
In a variant (L.T.H. 101) a Malam takes a Boy
with him to hold his Mare, and (although there is no
mention of his refusing any of the food offered)
in the night he steals three Fowls, and rides off.
At daybreak, the Malam dismounts to say his
prayers, and the Mare gets away from him, and
returns to the house of the Parents-in-Law. The
Malam follows, and pretends that he was put out
of the house, and accuses the Boy of stealing the
Fowls, but no one believes him. If this change is due
to Mohammedan influence, it is rather strange that the
Malam should be much worse than the Youth.
6
A LIE CAN GIVE MORE PAIN THAN A SPEAR.
A Jackal once lived with a Hyaena, and whenever he
stretched himself he would say " A lie can give more
pain than a spear." But the Hyaena would reply " A
spear does more harm than a lie."
One day the Jackal went to the market, and bought
honey-cakes and then took them to the Lion's lair, and
on his arrival he said " O Great One, Elder Brother of
the Forest, see here is something nice that I have
brought for you " ; and he gave him the cakes (i). The
Lion took them, and tasted them, and found them
delicious, so he said " O Wise One of the Forest,
where did you get these very nice things?" " I got
them at the Hyaena's house," the Jackal replied, " they
are her tears*; she will not give any to you, however,
but only to us young ones." Then the Lion asked
" Where is the Hyaena? " and the Jackal said " She is
at home."
So the Lion started off for the Hyaena's house, and
on his arrival he said to her " Shed some of your sweet
tears for me." So she shed some, and he tasted them,
196 1HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
and found that they were not sweet, and he said " No,
no, not that kind." So she tried again, and he found
them bitter also, and then he got angry, and seized her,
and squeezed her, and he kept on squeezing her, and
she kept on shedding bitter tears, until he had almost
killed her. Then he left her, and went home.
Soon afterwards, the Jackal arrived, and she ex-
claimed " Truly a lie can give more pain than a spear."
Then he said " Oh, you have found that out, have
you?" And she replied "I have."
In a variant of this story (F.-L. 23) the Goat deceives
the Lion by a false description of the Hyaena's products.
7
THE KING WHO FULFILLED HIS PROMISE TO THE LEPER.
A Blind Man and a Female Leper married, and after
that, they gave birth to a hundred Children, and amongst
the whole lot there was not one who could walk; some
dragged themselves along the ground, some crawled
about, some could not raise themselves at all.
Soon after the hundredth Child had been born,
an Enemy's Force came and attacked the city in
which they lived, and the Man said [to his
Wife] "You take fifty and I'll take fifty of the
Children, and let us go and hide them " (i). So the
Woman took one and put it on her back, and she took
another and put it on her breast; the Man took one
and put it on one shoulder, he took another and put
it on the other shoulder, and he took a third and put
it on his chest ; and they went off with the five Children,
and began running. Soon the Hostile Horsemen spied
THE KING'S PROMISE 197
them, and followed them at a gallop, and they ran on
until they had come to the brink of a river. Then
the Man plunged in and became a Bull-Hippopotamus,
and his three Children became young Hippopotamus-
Calves ; the Woman also plunged in and turned herself
and her young into Crocodiles.
Just then the Enemy arrived and halted at the
brink of the river, and the Hippopotamus came close
up and, with his chest, caused the water to over-
flow, and the wave carried off twenty Horses, the
Riders only just escaping. Then the remainder
returned to the " War-Mother " (2) and said " See,
there is something in the water which is too
powerful for us." "Can one Man be too strong?"
asked the King. " Let us go and see him," he con-
tinued, so he started off and came to the bank of the
river. When he had arrived, and had stopped, the Hip-
popotamus took up the water and hurled it at them, and
about fifty Horses and Men were killed. Then the
War-Mother said " Truly that is not a Man, it is a
Devil." So they started off, and left the place, and
returned to besiege the city.
Then the Hippopotamus and the Crocodile came
out of the water, and changed themselves back
into Human Beings again, and they went on and
hid their Children afar off on the other side of the
river. And after that, they returned, and followed behind
the Enemy, and re-entered the city. Then they went to
their King, and said " See, we have ninety-five
Children here, in the name of God and his Messenger
we claim your protection for them, for we are going to
escape." And the King replied " I will answer for their
safety." So they arose and fled.
Soon afterwards, the Besiegers attacked and took
HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
the city, and, when the King saw that the city was
lost, he said " A pledge in God's name is difficult of
fulfilment." For was he to rescue the Offspring of his
own body and leave those of the Blind-man and the
Leper, or should he fulfil the promise that he had
made [for he could not save both his own and theirs].
But he abandoned his own, and put their ninety-five on
Horse-back, and he escaped with them. And the
Enemy looted his palace and captured everyone of his
own Children.
Now after the Enemy had departed again, the Blind
Man and the Leper returned with their five Children, and
the King came back with the ninety-five, and said
" Here are your Children." And now the King
possessed nothing but his own life, he had no property
of any kind. But when the Children grew up, one of
the Maidens amongst them became very beautiful, and
the King said that he wanted them to give her to him
in marriage, and they said that she was his.
Now when he had married her, the Girl would bring
forth* from her body 10,000 cowries in the morning,
and 20,000 in the evening, so the King bought Slaves
and filled his palace with them, until his household was
even larger than it ever was before (3). And there
was avoidance (4) between him and the Leper (5).
8
THE FRIENDLY LION, AND THE YOUTH AND HIS WIFE.
There was once a certain Hunter, and whenever he
went to the forest he would kill some Beast and bring it
back for himself and his Wife to eat. But one day he
returned without having shot anything, and they went
THE FRIENDLY LION
199
hungry. Next day he went out again and wandered
about, but got nothing. But at last he caught a
Locust, and wrapped it up in leaves, and brought it
home and put it down (i). Now when the Wife saw the
parcel of leaves, she thought that it was meat, so she lit
her fire, and put on the pot to boil, and then she undid
the leaves, and while she was doing so, the Locust
jumped up with a " boop " and went off. Then she
said to her Husband " The Thing which you brought
has disappeared." And he abused her, and said " You
~-^mVK^P^MiWHH«MHBi^^
FIG. 52. — Decorated gourd, pattern cut on red ground, small lid at top.
go too, and wherever it goes you must follow and bring
it back." Now the Wife was with Child, but she took
the road, and followed the Locust. Just as she was
about to catch it, it jumped up, and went on as before,
and so she had to follow on again, and every time
she tried to catch it, it escaped and went on further.
Thus it continued, she could never catch it, and at
last she became tired, and night was at hand. So she
looked for a hollow tree, and no sooner had she found it
and entered, than she felt the pains of labour, and she
200 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
gave birth in the hollow tree to her Child, a Son. Then
she put him on her back and went out to seek food (2).
They lived on there for some time, and the Son
began to understand a little, and he used to walk about,
and go even to the den of a Lioness which had a
Whelp. Whenever the Lioness brought meat, the Boy
would get his share, and take it to his Mother in the
hollow tree, and soon the Whelp got to know them
both, and they used to play together.
But one day, the Lioness, while out hunting, saw the
Boy's Mother, and she sprang upon her, and killed
her, and took up the corpse, and brought it to her den.
The Whelp recognized the body, and refused to eat of
it, and he told the Boy ; so they dug a grave, and buried
the Mother. And, when the Whelp had grown up into
a Young Lion, he killed his Mother the Lioness, and
told the Boy [who was now a Youth]. But the Youth
refused to eat the flesh, and so they dug another grave,
and buried the body.
After a time, the Youth said to the Young Lion
" I am going to the town to live and marry," and the
Young Lion replied "Very well." Then the Youth
said " But I want a tobe, trousers, and a turban also,
and money, and other things," and the Young Lion re-
plied " You are right." So he went to the edge of the
forest, and lay in wait on the road, and when the
Traders were passing he sprang upon them, and killed
them, and they fled and left their loads (3). Then the
Lion took them, and carried them to the Youth, and the
Youth went off to the town with them.
When he had settled down, he married, and he
lived in the town, and the Lion used to come at night
and enter the Youth's house. But one day the Wife
saw him, and she was afraid, and ran away crying
THE FRIENDLY LION 201
out " There is a Lion in our house." Then the Lion's
heart was broken, and he returned to the forest, and
went and lay down at the foot of a tree. And he said
to the Youth (4) " If you hear me roar only once you
will know that I am dead, if you hear me twice you will
know that I am still alive." And the Youth said " Very
well." And the Lion went off (5).
Soon the Youth heard the Lion roar, and as it was
only once he knew that the Lion was dead. So he
arose and followed the Lion's spoor, and came to the
place, and found the Lion dead. Then he said " Since
the Lion is no longer alive, my life is of no use to me,"
and he took his knife and stabbed himself, and fell
dead on top of the Lion. So they were quits (6).
In a variant, the ending is not so sad, for when the
Youth went to look for the Lion, a Guinea-Fowl told
him to take her dirt from the foot of a tamarind tree,
and to mix it with water, and when he had done so,
" he came and he gave it to the Lion, and the Lion
drank this, and came to life again." But he said " O
Youth you go to your house and live there, but I will
go to the forest."
In another variant, a Female Friend of the Wife
who is staying with her during the Husband's absence
sees the Lion drinking milk out of a calabash which
has been placed ready for him, and the Lion, thinking
himself ambushed, rushes away, staking himself so
badly on a fishing-spear blocking the gateway that he
dies of the wound and of a broken heart. On the
Husband's return, he goes to the den and rips open his
inside.
The Hausa story has not much resemblance to the
Roman legend of Romulus and Remus, but some can
certainly be seen in a Southern Nigerian version (given
in British Nigeria, page 283). In the days when Iddah
(7) was but a village, a Woman from Ohimoje found
202 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
her way there, and brought forth a son in the forest,
and left it there. A Leopardess found him and reared
him with her Cubs, and when he grew up, the
Leopardess, having observed the customs of Human
Beings, was troubled about his nakedness, so she way-
laid a Man, and took his clothes, and brought them to
her Foster-Child. Later on, she decided that he must
associate with his own kind, so she took him to the out-
skirts of Iddah, and left him there. The Youth entered
the town, and, on finding some of the People fighting,
he took upon himself the position of Arbiter, and so
much impressed were they, that he was proclaimed King
on the spot. He was thus the first King or Attah, and
by marrying with Women of the town, he had children
as bold as Leopards. After a time, the Leopardess,
knowing that she was about to die, came to bid him
farewell, and the Attah begged her to remain with him,
but she ran away to the forest, and died there. The
Attah followed, and flung himself upon the body, and
the People who followed found them both dead, so they
buried them together.
9
HOWEVER POOR YOU ARE, THERE is SOMEONE EVEN
WORSE OFF.
There was once a certain Man, and he was very poor,
he had no food, no tobe, nothing but a loin-cloth. So
he arose and went to the King, and said " O Lion (i),
I am weary of life so kill me (2) ; I have no food, I have
no tobe, I have nothing but a loin-cloth, my poverty
is too much for me." So the King said " Very well,"
and he ordered his Attendants to take him and put him
to death.
But just as they were about to kill him, another
Poor Man, who was quite naked, saw him, and said " I
have a favour to ask; when you have killed this Man,
give me his loin-cloth." Now the other heard this,
THE BOY, THE GIRL, AND DODO 203
and he said " Stop, do not kill me, take me back to the
King, I want to say something to him." So he was
taken back to the King, and they said " Oh, this Man
has something to say." Then the King said " Well,
let him come and say it, so that I may hear." And the
Poor Man said " Well, I want you to let me go alive,
to-day I have seen one who is even poorer than I,
for he wants my loin-cloth. Now that is what caused
me to ask that I might be brought before you again. I
do not wish to die." Then the King said " Very well,
go your own way, and give thanks, you have seen One
who is even poorer than you."
This is finished.
10
THE BOY, THE GIRL, AND DODO.
A CERTAIN Boy used to go to a village to escort a Girl
to his town. Now there was a river between them, and
one day when they arrived at the bank of the river, he
saw that it had risen, and he said " Stay here, and let
me go and see if it is very deep or not " (i). So he went
and entered the water, and was just about to come out
[on the other side] when he heard a Father-Dodo asking
" Have you caught him?" and just then the Young
Dodos came and grasped his foot, but he kicked them
off, and got out. Then [he heard the Father-Dodo
speaking again], he said " Never mind, he will return."
Just as the Boy had crossed, he heard the cries of
Hyaenas, about twenty of them were rushing on to the
Girl. The Hyasnas were on the other bank, the Dodos
were in the water ; was he to take the road to the town
and escape, leaving the Girl to her fate, or was he to
return to help her? And he wondered whatever he
204 HA USA SUPERSTITIONS
should do. But at last he said, " If a Man must lose his
life, let him die for Someone-else's sake," and he threw
himself into the river, and swam across and got the Girl.
But when they were crossing again, Dodo seized
him, both he and the Girl were caught, and they were
dragged down under water. He struggled with them
for about twenty days, and during that time his
Parents were searching for him, but could not find
him, and the Girl's Parents were looking for her,
but could not find her. But on the twenty-first day
he conquered the Dodos, and he and the Girl both
emerged from the water, and he took her home.
The Parents were glad.
For a variant (which is at the same time a contrast)
see the variant to Story 53.
n
FALSEHOOD is MORE PROFITABLE THAN TRUTH.
This is about certain Men, the King of Falsehood
and the King of Truth (i), who started off on a journey
together, and the King of Lies said to the King of
Truth that he [the latter] should get food for them on
the first day. They went on, and slept in a town, but they
did not get anything to eat, and next morning when
they had started again on the road, the King of Truth
said to the King of Lies " In the town where we shall
sleep to-night you must get our food," and the King
of Lies said " Agreed."
They went on, and came to a large city, and lo, the
Mother of the King of this city had just died, and the
whole city was mourning, and saying " The Mother
of the King of this city has died." Then the King of
FALSEHOOD AND TRUTH 205
Lies said "What is making you cry?" And they
replied " The King's Mother is dead." Then he said
" You go and tell the King that his Mother shall arise."
[So they went and told the King, and] he said " Where
are these Strangers? " And the People replied " See
them here." So they were taken to a large house, and
it was given to them to stay in.
In the evening, the King of Lies went and caught a
Wasp, the kind of Insect which makes a noise like
" Kurururu," and he came back, and put it in a small
tin, and said " Let them go and show him the grave."
When he had arrived, he examined the grave, and then
he said " Let everyone go away." No sooner had they
gone, than he opened the mouth of the grave slightly,
he brought the wasp and put it in, and then closed the
mouth as before. Then he sent for the King, and said
that he was to come and put his ear to the grave-
meanwhile this Insect was buzzing — and when the King
of the city had come, the King of Lies said " Do you
hear your Mother talking?" Then the King arose;
he chose a Horse and gave it to the King of Lies; he
brought Women and gave them to him ; and the whole
city began to rejoice because the King's Mother was
going to rise again.
Then the King of Lies asked the King of the city
if it was true that his Father was dead also, and the
King replied " Yes, he is dead." So the King of
Lies said " Well, your Father is holding your Mother
down in the grave, they are quarrelling," and he con-
tinued " Your Father, if he comes out, will take away
the chieftainship from you," and he said that his Father
would also kill him. When the King had told the
Townspeople this, they piled up stones on the grave (2),
and the King said "Here, King of Lies, go away;
206 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
I give you these horses," and he continued that so far
as his Mother was concerned, he did not want her to
appear either.
Certainly falsehood is more profitable than truth in
this world.
In a variant, a Man dies, leaving Falsehood, a Son,
and Truth, a Daughter. They have plenty of corn,
but they hide it, and go begging. Truth tells what
they have really done, and so she gets only abuse, but
Falsehood says that they are Orphans, and starving,
and so he is given plenty. " Falsehood will procure
food more quickly than truth."
12
VIRTUE PAYS BETTER THAN GREED.
Once the King of Good and the King of Evil (i)
started off on a journey, and the King of Evil said
11 O King of Good, you bring your food, and we will
continue eating it until we have finished it, and then
we will eat mine." So they travelled on and on, until
the food of the King of Good was finished, and then he
said " You now, King of Evil, bring your food." But
the King of Evil refused to do this, so the King of
Good wasted away.
They travelled on and on, until one night they
slept at the foot of a large tree. Now there was a
Bird's nest at the top of the tree, and the Bird up there
said " The leaves of this tree " — the King of Evil
was sleeping but the King of Good could not do so, for
hunger was troubling him — the Bird said (2) " This is
such a tree, that if a Person gathers its leaves, and rubs
the eye of a Blind-man [with the juice] it will be
VIRTUE AND GREED 207
healed." Then the King of Good arose quietly, and
went and picked the leaves of the tree, and threw them
into his bag, and he continued gathering the leaves
and throwing them into his bag until dawn came.
When it was light they arose and went on, and came
to a certain city, and lo, the Son of the King of this
city was a Blind-man. Now the King of Good went to
the King of the city, and asked the King to find him a
Blind-man and he would heal him. Then the King said
" Are you able to heal the eyes?" and he continued
11 How much shall I have to give you if you heal my
Son's eyes for me? " " A million cowries," replied the
King of Good. And the King said " Agreed; but wait
till to-morrow."
When day had dawned, the King of Good said
" Let them be taken to another hut, the two of them
only; besides himself only the King's Son could be
present." So they were taken to another hut. Then
the King of Good asked them to give him a little water
in a gourd, and he took some medicine and mixed it,
and rubbed the Blind-man's eyes, and lo ! at last they
were healed. Then the King of the city said " Since
you have healed my Son's eyes for me, you shall be my
Deputy." So the King of Good was made the Deputy-
Ruler of the city ; half the city came under the Deputy.
And as soon as he could, he took the King of Evil
and killed him (3).
The Borlawa (a people of Bornu) have a tale which
resembles this, but in it the Bad Man plucks out the
eyes of the Good Man. The events occur as in the
above, but the Good Man is kind to the Bad Man when
he next sees him. The latter, however, tries to get
some of the magic leaves for himself, and is killed by
the Birds.
208 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
The conference overheard by the hero takes place fre-
quently between demons or other supernatural powers.
Skeat and Blagden (Pagan Races of the Malay Penin-
sula, ii, 359 note) quote from Goudinho de Eredia, a
Portuguese writer of the early part of the seventeenth
century, a statement that "at the equinox, especially
the autumnal, on the day called divaly [probably the
South Indian or Tamil feast called Thivali] trees,
herbs, plants talk and disclose the remedy for every
malady. To hear them people hide in the forest." (H.).
N.B. — In Northern India it is Divali (Crooke,
Popular Religion and Folk-Lore of Northern India,
2nd ed., ii, page 295).
13
THE VICTIM DOES NOT ALWAYS SEE THE JOKE.
A certain Thief lived with his Wife, and whatever he
stole in the town he brought to her. So they went on
for a long time, until one night the full moon was
shining almost like the sun, and the Wife said " Well
now, see, that full moon makes it easy to walk about, are
you going to stay in the house?" and the Husband
replied " Oh, all right, I'll go." So he started off, and
went to his Father-in-Law's house, for the Father-in-
Law had a certain big Ram, there was none like it in the
whole town. The Thief went and took it away, and
brought it to his Wife, and said " See what God has
given us to-day " (i). Then she said " Good, but kill
it now, lest when day has broken the Owner should
see it, and know it to be his " (2). So he said " Very
well, and he killed it, and skinned it, and cut up the
flesh into small pieces.
When day broke, the Woman saw that the skin
of the Ram was exactly like that of her Father's Ram,
and she said to her Husband " Hullo, Owner-of-the-
XIX. — A HAUSA CHEAP-JACK. XX.— MATS.
The Hausa is widely known as a trader, his cloths, metal-work, and grass mats, as well as other
manufactures, being greatly in demand.
THE MAGIC DOOR 209
House, where did you get this Ram, is it my
Father's ?" But he replied " Poof, is your Father's
Ram the only one in the town ? Truly, I merely caught
this Ram loose." So she said "Oh, all right." But
while they were sitting there, the Thief's Mother-in-
Law arrived, and said to the Wife " Have you not
heard the News ? Last night a Thief got into our
house, and stole your Father's Ram." And the
Daughter said " Indeed." But when her Mother had
gone, she said to her Husband " As for you, you knew
quite well that it was your Father-in-Law's Ram, and
yet you went and stole it, and said that it was not his,"
and she began to cry and to weep. Then he said
" Well, did not you yourself tell me to go and steal ? So
far as you are concerned, had I stolen from another
Person's house you would not have cried about it, it is
only since you knew that it is your Father's Ram that
you have done so." And he continued " A Tatuer
does not like to be tatued himself." Then she said
" Well, my heart is broken," and she went out of the
house, and returned to live with her Parents.
In L.T.H. 116 the Wife tells the Husband that the
Moon almost seems to be saying " Go and bring some-
thing," and after the Thief has acted upon the sugges-
tion, the Mother comes to summon the Wife to condole
with the Family on the loss ; otherwise the story is the
same.
'4
DODO, THE ROBBER, AND THE MAGIC DOOR.
This is about Dodo, he lived in the forest, and was
always wandering about looking for People to eat. One
day he caught a certain Woman, and brought her to
14
210 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
his home and married her, and he made her live there
with him.
Now after a long time, her Sister said that
she was going to find her, so she took a creeping-
gourd (i) and planted it, and said that wherever her
Sister was the gourd would guide her to her. So the
gourd-plant crept on, and on, until it reached the door
of her hut and [the Girl followed, and when she had
arrived] the Sister said " What has brought you
here?" Then the other replied " I waited for some
years but did not see you, and that is why I planted
this gourd to guide me to you." Then the Sister said
" Yes, but what about Dodo, he eats People? " The
other replied " Well, can I not be a Younger Sister
to you?" So the Sister took her, and put her in a
binn of cotton-boles. But when Dodo returned, he said
" Ambashira, whence have you got a Human Being
to-day? [I can smell one]." Then she replied " It is
I, have you become tired of me, do you wish to kill
me and live alone? "(2). So Dodo was silenced, and
at daybreak next morning the Sister packed her
Younger Sister's bundle, and told her to go home, but
to return in a week.
When the seven days had passed, the Younger
Sister returned, and as Dodo had gone to the forest,
they slept together, and next morning at dawn they tied
up their bundles and went off, and they got across the
river. But as they were leaving the house, Ambashira
spat* (3) on the floor.
When Dodo returned from the forest, he called
" Ambashira," and the Spit answered, but when Dodo
entered the hut he could see no one, there was only
the Spit. So he went off along the road, and followed
their footprints. But when he came near, they had
THE MAGIC DOOR
21
already crossed the river, so Dodo stopped on his side
of the river, and he returned home.
Soon the Women met a certain Robber who said
that he was going to commit a theft in Dodo's house.
So they said " When you go, say to the door * Zirka,
bude ' (4), and when you have stolen what you want, and
have gone out again, say ' Zirka Gumgum.' ' So he
went to Dodo's house and said " Zirka bude," and the
FIG. 53. — Decorated gourd, pattern in relief in brown.
door opened. And he went in and stole Dodo's riches,
but when he was ready to go away again he forgot the
words, he could then remember only Zirka Gumgum,
and immediately he had said this the door jambed more
tightly than ever into the wall. Then he tried, and tried
to get out, but he could not do so.
Now the Women from where they were standing
[knew this, and they] began singing " O Mad Robber,
we gave you the chance to steal, but we did not give
212 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
you forgetf ulness," and they went off home. So Dodo
when he returned caught the Robber in his house, and
he killed him, and stuck his body on a spit. Soon the
flesh was cooked, and then Dodo ate it.
In a variant (L.T.H. ii, 16) a Man and his Wife and
Children have to go to the forest and eat herbs because
they are so poor. The Wife finds a way of catching
Guinea-Fowls, but the Husband ruins it. She then
tricks Elephants into supplying her with Fish, but the
Husband again interferes with disastrous results. Then
she finds Dodo's house, and sees him come up, and say
;' Baram," and the door opens. When he has entered,
he says " Zarga gungun," and the door closes again.
She does the same for a week, and steals Dodo's food,
but when the Husband goes, he is caught. Dodo
makes him show him where his Family is, and he takes
all of them to his house, intending to eat them, but the
Wife hides herself and her Family in a Mouse-hole,
and saves their lives, the end of the tale resembling that
of F.-L. 24.
'5
THE DECEITFUL SPIDER, THE HALF-MAN, AND THE
RUBBER-GlRL.
The Spider one day told his Wife to measure him
out some ground-nuts (i), and said "Peel and cook
them." So they were peeled, and cooked, and salt and
oil were mixed with them, and then he said that he was
going to sow (2).
So he took his hoe, and started off, but he found a
cool, shady spot near the water, and he sat down, and
ate his fill ; and, after he had had a drink, he went off
to sleep. When he awoke, he got some mud and plas-
tered it on his body, and then he returned to his wife,
THE RUBBER GIRL 213
and told her to bring him some water with which to
wash, for he had come back dirty from his work.
This went on every day, until at last the Wife said
that she had seen ground-nuts ripe in everyone's farms,
and that those which her Husband had sown must be
ripe too, so she would go to the farm and grub them.
But the Spider replied " No, no, it was not you who
sowed the ground-nuts, I myself will go and dig
them " (3). Really, he intended to commit a theft on the
Half-Man's farm, and he went there, and stole some
ground-nuts, and brought them back to his Wife.
Now when the Half-Man came, and saw that he had
been robbed, he said that he would make a trap with a
Rubber-Girl (4), and catch the Thief. [So he did so]
and when the Spider came again, he saw a Beautiful
Girl with a long neck, and fine breasts (5). Then he
came up close and touched her breasts, and said " O
Maiden," and the rubber held his hand. Then he ex-
claimed " Ah ! Girl, let me go, you must want me
badly." He put his other hand on her and it stuck
also, and he said " You Girls, are you amorous enough
to hold a Man? I will kick you." Then he kicked
with one foot, and the rubber caught it, and he became
furious, and said " O Base-born of Your Parents."
Then he kicked with the other foot, and the rubber
held him all over, so that he was bent up. Then he
said " Very well, I am going to butt you," and he
butted, and his head stuck (6).
Just then the Half-Man, from where he was hiding,
saw the Spider, and he said " Thanks be to God."
Then he got a switch of the tamarind tree, and put it
in the fire, and he brought some grease, and rubbed
it in (7), and he came up, and rained blows upon the
Spider until his back was raw, his whole body was
2i4 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
raw. Then he released the Spider from the Rubber-
Girl, and said " Look here Spider, if you come here
again, I, the Half-Man, will kill you."
In a variant (L.T.H. ii, 72) the Spider is caught by
a female " Half-Being," but she lets him go on condi-
tion that he does not say anything about her. He
breaks his promise, and she tries to kill him, but he
escapes.
For parallels, see Chapter VI.
16
THE RICH MALAM, THE THIEVING SPIDER, AND THE
HYAENA.
This is about a Malam who had riches of all kinds;
Cattle, Horses, Goats, all of these he had. One day
the Spider came to him, and said " Peace be upon you,"
and the Malam replied "And on you too, be peace " (i).
Then the Spider said " I want to tend your flocks for
you, I will also sweep the place where the Sheep are
kept." And the Malam said very well, that he agreed.
So the Spider lived there, and every morning he
would clean up the rubbish and throw it away, and
sweep the place. Now when the Spider had first come,
he had taken a big basket, and had said that he
was going to put the sweepings into it, but really,
every morning he would kill a Goat, and put the body
in the basket, and cover it up with sweepings, and
then he would take it to the forest, and eat it.
But one day the Malam saw that the animals were
being diminished, and he said to himself " I wonder
if the Spider is playing me some trick," and he said
THE THIEVING SPIDER 215
4 Well, I must watch him closely." Next morning
the Spider killed a big Ram, and put it in the basket,
and then found that he could not carry it. Just then
the Malam saw him, and he came up and said " Let me
lift it on to your head," but when he felt the weight,
he said " You must lighten it." Then the Spider said
" No, no, I can manage it, do not touch it.*' But the
Malam replied " You cannot do so, it must be light-
ened," and he put in his hand and threw out some
of the sweepings, and then he touched the body of the
Ram, and pulled it out. When he had done so, he
said " Oh indeed, that is how you are acting towards
me, is it ? " And he seized him, and tied him up to the
entrance of the pen, and beat him all over, and left
him there.
During the night the Hyaena came along, and when
she had come close, and had seen the Spider, she said
'What has happened that you have been tied up?"
And the Spider replied " Opp, I was tending this
Malam's flocks, and every day I killed a Goat that he
gave me, and ate it, but I said that I was tired of it,
and was going to run away." Then the Hyaena, the
Greedy One, exclaimed "Good gracious, Hoes one obtain
so much in the Malam's house that he becomes tired of
food? " and she continued " Now as for me, I should
like to have such abundance." "Opp, that is easy,"
replied the Spider, " all you have to do is to loose me,
and I will tie you up in my place." So the Hyaena
said " Good," and she loosed him, and he tied her up,
and then said " Well, I am going to the forest," and
off he went.
In the morning the Malam came, and when he saw
the Hyaena he beat and beat her until she was nearly
dead. But at last she managed to slip her bonds, and
216 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
she ran off, and went to the forest to look for the
Spider.
That is all, the Spider and the Hyaena both escaped.
In a variant (M.H. 3) the Jerboa is the Villain of
the piece, and it is the Malam's Daughter who finds
him out by helping him with the load — and this would
certainly be the case if there were a daughter, for no
Malam would do any work when there were others to do
it for him. In the variant, the Hyasna is not told that
the Jerboa is going to run away.
In another (L.T.H. 150) the Hyaena takes the place
of the Spider, and the flocks are owned by an Old
Woman who is helped by a Lion.
This story is widespread, being found also
among the Masai (Hollis, The Masai, 214), the
Bechuana (Arbousset and Daumas, Exploratory Tour,
Eng. Ed., 59), and in the Cameroons (Journ. Afr. Soc.,
1V> 63). Outside the Continent, it is found among the
Bisayans in the Philippine Islands (Journ. Amer. Folk-
Lore, xxix, 108), being possibly an importation from
Europe, where it is common. In North America it is
combined by the Yuchi Indians of Oklahoma with the
Tar-Baby (Speck, Ethnology of the Yuchi Indians,
152). It is also told by the Uraons in India (Rep. Brit.
Assn., 1896, 661). (H.).
17
LITTLE FOOL, OR THE BITER BIT.
Certain Parents had a Son, and his name was " Little
Fool." One day they went to their farm, and when
they returned they said " Have you not cooked
even a single bean for us? " But he replied " Oh no,
you did not say to cook you any." So they said " Very
well, to-morrow cook a bean for us " (i).
THE BITER BIT 217
When morning came [they went off again, and] he
took a single bean and put it into the largest jar (2) and
cooked it. And when they returned and saw the big
jar, they said " Little Fool, what are we going to do
with all these beans ? " But when they had opened the
jar, and had seen that there was only one bean inside,
they said " O Little Fool, is it only a single bean that
you have cooked for us?" Then he replied " Well,
you did not say to cook ' beans,' you said 'a bean.' '
So they said " Very well, to-morrow cook beans."
Next morning [they went off again, and] he got
inside the barn, and called others to help him, and
they cooked every one of the beans. So when the
Parents returned they saw pots of beans right from the
door of the entrance-hall up to the centre of the com-
pound. Then they said " O Little Fool, whatever shall
we do with all these beans? " And he replied " Ah !
are you the only ones to eat ? I can easily find others
to help." Then they said " Do so," and he went to
the forest and brought back ten Gazelles, and said
"See, here are your Fellow-Feasters."
Well, next morning when the Parents went to the
farm they left him at home with the Gazelles, and it
happened that the Spider arrived on a trading trip, and
gave the salutation " Peace be upon you," and Little
Fool said to him " Welcome." Then the Spider said
" Let us slaughter your Gazelles, and I will take the
meat and sell it for you." And Little Fool said
"Agreed." So they slaughtered all the Gazelles, and
they put the meat into the saddle-bags, and these were
put on to the Spider's Donkeys.
[As the Spider was going off with them] Little Fool
said " Ah, this bag is not full," and he continued " You
must stay here now and wait for my Parents who have
2i8 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
gone to the farm, and I will go on with your Donkeys
and get some more meat to fill these bags." But the
Spider said " Oh Little Fool, come now, yoa know
that a real Friend would not behave badly." Then
Little Fool replied " Truly I shall not act except as a
Friend would," and the other said "All right."
When Little Fool had gone off with the Donkeys,
he took off the bags, and [removed the meat, and] he
took dirt* and filled them, and he put pieces of liver on
the top. Then he brought the Donkeys back, and said
" See, now the bags are full, I have made a profit."
So the Spider said " Good, now let me go." Now as
he travelled along, the [hoofs of the] Donkeys were
saying " Dir-ty-muck, dir-ty-muck, dir-ty-muck," and
the Spider said " O You of Evil Origin, say ' Meat-
it-is, meat-it-is, meat-it-is.' " So he went on home,
and said to his Wife " Quick, quick, unload the Don-
keys," and she did so. Just then the Cat said " Um
yau," and the Spider said " Excuse me, will the liver
suffice to fill you?" Then he put his hand into the
bags (3) and pulled out the pieces of liver and gave
them to the Cat, and she ate them.
But when he put in his hand again he found nothing
but dirt. Then the Spider said " Opp, Little Fool has
tricked me; because of his cunning he has found me
out," and he continued " I'll leave it at that."
In a variant (L.T.H. 83), the Spider returns to ask
for an explanation, and finds Little Fool covered with
ashes. "Oh dear! " he says, "those Gazelles which
we seized belonged to the King. He has sent for my
Father, and has told him to bring them at once, and I
do not know what to do." Then the Spider said " May
God preserve you, I am off." In another (L.T.H. 157)
where Little Fool was sent by God in answer to an Old
Woman's prayer, both she and he deceive the Spider.
JTHE SPIDER AND THE HYAENAS 219
18
How THE SPIDER ATE THE HYAENA-CUBS' FOOD.
One day the Spider went to the Hyaena's house when
he knew that she was out for a walk, and began talking
to the Cubs. He asked one what his name was, and
the Cub answered " Mohammadu." Then he said to
another "And what is your name?" and he replied
" Isa." Then the Spider asked a third Cub his name
and he said " It is Na-taala." When he had asked
them all, he said " Now, look here, your Mother-
Hyaena asked me to come here and live with you, so
you must know my name, it is For-you-all." Now
whenever the Hyaena brought food she used to say
14 It is for you all," and [so after that] the Spider
would at once exclaim " You see, it is all for me only,
you heard what our Mother (i) has said." So the
Spider would eat up all the food.
This went on for about a month, and as the Spider
had always taken the whole food, the Cubs by this time
had wasted away. Then one day the Hyaena said "Come
out of the den, My Children, and let me see you." Now
when they appeared, she saw that they had become very
thin, and she said " Whatever has happened to you,
O My Children, to make you so thin?" "Ah," re-
plied they, " you have brought us no food." " What !"
she exclaimed, " What about all that which I have been
bringing for you all?" "Oh," they replied, "For-
you-all has eaten it, he is in there." Where is For-
you-all ? " she said, " Let him come out and show him-
self." Then the Spider pushed forward his ears until
they were sticking out of the hole (2), and said " Catch
hold of my boots first, then I will come out and you
can see me." Immediately the Hyaena seized hold of
220 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
the ears, and angrily threw them behind her, and the
Spider [for his whole body had been pulled out] got
up, and ran away. Then she said " Where is For-
you-all ? " And her Cubs said " It was he whom you
threw over there behind you.'*
Now the Spider ran on to the house of the Dog
where he was weaving, and he sat down. But soon
the Hyaena approached, looking for the Spider, and
she came upon the Dog and the Spider sitting there
by the loom. Then she said " Of you two, whom was
I chasing? " And the cunning Spider at once replied
" Look at the Dog's mouth, he is panting tremendously,
that is proof that it was he who has been running
away " (3). Immediately the Hyaena sprang towards
the Dog, but the Dog got away in time, and the Spider
also ran away, so both escaped from the Hyaena.
In a variant (M.H. 2) the Jerboa plays the part of
the Spider, in another (L.T.H. 5) the Hare takes his
place, and manages to make the Dog pay the penalty.
19
THE SLAVE WHO WAS WISER THAN THE KING.
There was once a certain King who had three male
Slaves, and each was married and had a Son. One
Son was called " He-who-will-not-see, " another was
called "The-Gift-of-God," and the third " You-are-
wiser-than-the-King," and they were brought to the
King for him to see.
They lived with their Parents until they grew big,
and when they were adult, they went to the King to
work for him. So a bundle of guinea-corn was brought
THE WISE SLAVE 221
and given to " He-who-will-not-see," and a bundle to
11 The-Gift-of-God," but only a bundle of husks was
given to " You-are-wiser-than-the-King." And the
King said " Now, next year, let each bring three-
hundred bundles." So they said "We will obey,"
and they went away [to make their own farms].
When the year had passed, and the harvest had
been gathered in, He-who-will-not-see brought his 300
FIG. 54. —Inside of fig. 53.
bundles, and The-Gift-of-God brought his 300, but
You-are-wiser-than-the-King brought a basket of
husks. And when they had come into the King's
presence He-who-will-not-see said " Here are my 300
bundles," and The-Gift-of-God said " Here are my
300 bundles," but You-are-wiser-than-the-King said
'There are mine also." Then the King said " Why
have you not brought me 300 bundles?3' And he
222 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
replied "Well, the bundles of husks that you gave
me I planted, this is what came up." So the King
said " Oh, I see." So he brought a Cow and gave it
to He-who-will-not-see, and another to The-Gift-of-God,
but he gave a Bull to You-are-wiser-than-the-King.
Next year He-who-will-not-see brought two Calves,
and The-Gift-of-God brought two Calves. But
You-are-wiser-than-the-King took his axe, and hung it
on his shoulder (i). There was a dead tree behind the
King's palace, and he climbed it, and began cutting
the wood. Then the King said " Well, each of the
others has brought his two Calves, where is You-are-
wiser-than-the-King ?" Then the Attendants said
"Ah! there is Someone like him chopping wood,"
and then they exclaimed "It is he." Then the King
said to him " O, You-are-wiser-than-the-King, what
are you doing here?" and he replied " I am cutting
wood for my Father who has given birth." Then the
King said " What, can a Man bring forth a Child? "
and You-are-wiser-than-the-King replied " Oh, so you
knew that a male could not bring forth young, yet you
gave me one, and told me to bring you two Calves? "
Then the King said " Ahem, what shall I do with
this Boy ?" Then the Courtiers said "Opp, kill him" (2),
and they continued " Give him a blue-striped tobe (3),
and blue-striped trousers, and a turban with a border
of embroidery. Then choose a good Horse and put
caparisons on him." They said that the King's own
Son should put on an old tobe, old trousers, and an old
turban. " Then send them out on the road, but order
the Gun-men (4) to go on in front, and to wait in
ambush, and tell them to kill the one whom they see
in grand clothes, for he is You-are-wiser-than-the-
King " (5).
THE WISE SLAVE 223
Now You-are-wiser-than-the-King when he had seen
through this, sent a Man on ahead with ten gourds
of pito, and ten of pure water, and when he and the
King's Son overtook the Man, You-are-wiser-than-the-
King said to the King's Son " Let us have a drink of
water." Then he took the gourd of beer, and gave it to
the King's Son, but he himself drank water. Then
the King's Son began rolling about (6), and when they
had gone on a little further, You-are-wiser-than-the-
King said " Let us have another drink of water," and
so they drank again, and the King's Son collapsed.
Then You-are-wiser-than-the-King said " O King's
Son, I will not leave you thus," and he continued
" Take this blue-striped tobe and put it on, these blue-
striped trousers, and put them on, this turban, and put
it on, and I will leave my Horse, and you can ride it."
So the King's Son said " Very well," and You-are-
wiser-than-the-King gave the King's Son his Horse
and all his trappings, and he himself put on an old
tobe, and mounted a broken-down Horse.
So they went on, and came to where the Slaves, the
Gun-men, were hidden, and when they came up the
Slaves shot the King's Son, and he died. Immediately
' You-are-wiser-than-the-King galloped back and saluted
the King, and said " Who is the equal of You-are-
wiser-than-the-King? " Then the King answered " I
am," and he jumped up to seize him, but You-are-
wiser-than-the-King changed himself into a Frog.
Then the King changed himself into a Snake to swallow
the Frog, but You-are-wiser-than-the-King became a
Mouse. Then the King changed himself into a Cat,
but the other became a Red-Bird, and the King became
a Hawk. The Red-Bird flew against an Old Woman
who was sweeping the courtyard, and fell into her eye,
224 HA US A SUPERSTITIONS
and became the pupil, then the King became the eye-
brow. And even now they are like that, the pupil of
the eye is afraid to come out lest the eyebrow should
catch him (7).
That is the end.
20
THE COCK BY HIS WIT SAVES HIS SKIN.
One day the Cock started off to condole with the
Mourners at a burial, and as he was going along, he met
a Wild-Cat, and the latter said " Where are you
going?" The Cock replied " I am going to condole
with the Mourners." " Where ? " asked the Wild-Cat.
" At the house of my Relatives " was the reply. Then
the Wild-Cat said "Oh really, are there to be two
deaths then ? " But the Cock replied " Oh no, neither
two nor three, I live with the Dog " (i).
They went on a little way, and then the Wild-Cat
said " Really, Cock, you are a very laughable Person,
but I must go off on my own business." So he de-
parted, and the Cock went on.
In a variant (L.T.H. 132) the Cock replies " There
will be two or three [Mourners] " (2).
21
THE HEN SEEKS A CHARM FROM THE WILD-CAT.
A certain Hen went to a Wild-Cat, and said that she
wanted a charm for childbirth, so the Wild-Cat said
" Go and pluck the feathers from your head, and put
BEASTS AND BIRDS 225
on salt and pepper (i), and then come back and I will
give you the charm for childbirth." And [when she
had gone] he lit his fire and put on logs, and the fire
caught them. The Hen went and plucked the feathers
from her head, and she rubbed on salt and pepper, and
then returned, and said " I have done it, and I have
come for you to give me the charm for childbirth." So
he said " Very well, let us go close to this fire, you go
in front, and I will go behind and follow you. While
we are going round and round the fire, you must keep
on saying : —
' * A charm for childbirth I am seeking,
A charm for childbirth I am seeking.' '
So they went up to the fire, and began going round
it, the Wild-Cat behind, when suddenly he seized her,
and threw her on to the fire, and ate her.
In a variant, the Wild Cat can change into a Malam,
and it is in this shape that he prescribes for the Hen,
who is told to pluck her whole body clean.
22
THE BATTLE BETWEEN THE BEASTS AND THE BIRDS.
A Rooster and an Elephant kept house together.
But one day the Elephant went and caught hold of the
door-post of the Rooster's hut, and broke it. And the
Rooster went and took a lot of rubbish and threw it
inside the Elephant's hut (i). Then the Elephant said
" O Rooster, I am going to fight you," and the
Rooster replied "Very well, let each assemble his
Relatives." So the Elephant went and called out all
the Beasts of the Forest, and the Rooster went and
15
226 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
mobilized all the Birds, and when the latter had come
near to the battle-field, the Hawk said to the Rooster " I
am the Commander of your Army " (2).
Now the Hyaena was detailed as a Scout by the
Beasts to see if the Birds' Force was drawn up, and the
Birds said " O Ostrich, you go on in front of us.'* And
it happened that as the Hyaena was approaching the
Birds, the Ostrich was working towards the Beasts, and
they met, and watched each other. Then the Hyaena
said "O Ostrich, is your Army ready?" "What
about you?" asked the Ostrich, " is yours ready?"
And when the Hyaena had replied " Yes," the Ostrich
said " Go back and tell them, and I will report to
mine." But when the Ostrich had turned round, the
Hyaena saw her flesh through her feathers,* and she was
immediately overcome with greed, and said " Ostrich,
wait, let us have our little fight first, just you and I."
"Very well," replied the Bird, "You beat me three
times, and I will return the blows three times." So the
Hyaena came close up, and beat the Ostrich three times,
and then the Ostrich stood up, and said " Now let me
have my turn," and she beat the Hyaena with her
wings, she kicked her with her feet, and she pecked
her with her beak. "That is the three times," cried
the Hyaena, but the Ostrich said " Oh no, that is only
once." So she again pecked her with her beak, and
pulled out her eyes, and then she said "Now let each go
back." When the Beasts of the forest saw that the
Hyaena had been blinded, they said "What is the
matter?" "Do you see that my eyes have been
plucked out? " she asked. " We are not able to fight
them." She was overcome with fear. But the others
said " Come, let us advance."
Now the two armies arrived on the battle-field at the
THE CLEVER GOAT 227
same moment, and the Rooster said " Let us attack."
Then the Commander of the Birds came and saluted
the Rooster, and, when the forces had approached each
other to fight, the Hawk took a string blind (3) and a
Hen's egg, and flying on to the Elephant, he broke the
egg on her head. Then the Hawk called out " The
Elephant's head is broken, the Elephant's head is
broken, " and when the Elephant had touched her head
with her trunk, she said "Oh! dear, my head is
broken !" Then the Hawk threw the string blind over
her, and called out " Her inside is falling out, her
inside is falling out," and when the Beasts of the
Forest had come close and looked [they thought that it
was true, so] they all ran away.
Then the Rooster went off home, and said " To you,
O Hawk, will I give a present for fighting so well,
whenever my Wife has Young you come and take one.
That is my obligation (4) to you."
In a variant (F.-L. 38) the Elephant and Cock both
woo a Woman, and it is on account of their rivalry in
love that they fall out. In another (L.T.H. ii, 4) the
Birds help a Bull against an Elephant, and they fly in
the eyes of the enemy while the Bull gores him. In
this story, the Hya3na, the drummer, escapes in time,
and returns later to find the Elephant dead, and then
she eats him. She never stays to fight.
23
THE GOAT FRIGHTENS THE
This is about a Goat which was living with her
Kid, a Male. One day they started off and went for a
walk, and they had lost their road, when just before
sunset they saw a house ahead of them. So they came
228 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
to it, and found the Hyaena there talking to her Cubs,
and the Hyaena said "Welcome."
Now when they had come in, and were conversing,
the Hyaena arose and took some grain, and began
grinding it. Soon the Goat said to her " O Hyaena,
let me relieve you," but the Hyaena replied " Oh no,
does a Guest grind? " Then the Goat said " Oh, let
me do it, a Female is not treated as a Guest " (i). So
she took the stone, and began grinding and grinding,
and the Hyaena watched her. Then the Young Goat
became afraid, he thought the Hyaena was going to
seize him, and he came and stood close to his Mother,
the Goat. Then she said " Now, when I sing you must
take up the chorus" (2), and the Kid said "Very
well." So the Goat began her song, saying
" I have killed ten Elephants," and the Kid said " It
is true."
" I have killed ten Lions," and the Kid said " It is
true."
" I have killed ten Leopards," and the Kid said " It
is true."
" I have killed ten Hyaenas,"
And the Kid said " Hush, O Parent, do not speak
thus, if the Hyaena hears that she will run away and
leave us without any food " (3). But the Hyaena did
hear (4), and said " What did you say O Goat ?" And
the Goat replied, singing
" I have killed ten Elephants," and the Kid said " It
is true."
" I have killed ten Lions," and the Kid said "It is
true."
" I have killed ten Leopards," and the Kid said " It
is true."
" I have killed ten Hyaenas,"
THE SPIDER'S VISIT 229
Then the Hyaena said " Oh, let me send my Cubs to
get water for us to drink," but when she had entered
her hut she said " O Cubs, run off, escape, and do not
return, this is too much for us." So they fled, and
disappeared into the forest.
When they had gone, the Hyaena returned to the
Guests and sat down, but after she had waited a little
while, and the Goat was still singing, the Hyaena said
" Well, O Guest, I sent the Cubs to get water, but
see, they have not returned, excuse me while I go and
look for them." Then the Hyaena went off at a run, and
did not return, and so the Goat took the Hyaena's goods
and chattels, and she and her Kid carried them off.
In a variant (F.-L. 33) the Goat and the Dog frighten
the Hyaenas off in a similar way. They then hide in
the house, and when the hyaenas return the intruders
make strange noises, so the owners leave the house for
good, and the Goat and Dog live there instead (5).
24
THE SPIDER, THE GUINEA-FOWL, AND THE FRANCOLIN.
The Francolin said to the Guinea-Fowl " Will you
go with me on a journey? " But just then the Spider
arrived, and said " Come with me, I am going to visit
my Mother-in-Law." Then the Guinea-Fowl said
* Your journey is the more important, let us go to-
gether, you and I." So they started to go to the town
where the Spider's Parents lived.
While on the road, the Spider said to the Guinea-
Fowl " See this grass, if when we have arrived at the
town, they bring me some ground-nuts, you come back
here and get some of this grass so that we can roast
them." " Very well," said the Guinea-Fowl.
23o HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
They went on, and as they were travelling, the
Spider said " There is a spoon (i), if when we have
arrived at the town they bring me porridge, you come
back here and get the spoon so that we can eat it " (2).
Soon they arrived at the house, and porridge was
made and brought to them, so the Spider said to the
Guinea-Fowl " Go, get the spoon and bring it." As
soon as she had gone to bring the spoon, the Spider ate
up all the porridge except for a little bit, and when she
returned, he said " O you Sluggard, you have been a
long time going, the People have since come and taken
away their porridge."
Then he said " But see, they have brought ground-
nuts, get that grass and bring it here so that we may
roast them." So she went off to get the grass, and when
she returned she found that the Spider had eaten
up all the ground-nuts. He said " You have been so
long that the People took away their ground-nuts."
Next morning they said " Now, we must go home."
So the Spider's load was tied up, and that of the
Guinea-Fowl also, and they started off on the road.
Soon they came to the bank of a big river, and the
Spider lighted a fire, and said " Stop here, I am going
over there, if you hear me fall into the water, you throw
yourself into the fire " (3). So he went on, and took a
stone and threw it into the water so that it made a sound
like pinjim. When the Guinea-Fowl heard this, she
said " The Spider is dead," so she threw herself into
the fire so that she also might die. Then the Spider
came and pulled the dead Guinea-Fowl out of the
fire, and plucked her feathers out of her body, and ate
it. Then he took the Guinea-Fowl's load, tied it on to
his own, and went off home.
Some time afterwards he went to see the Francolin,
THE SPIDER'S VISIT 231
and said " O Francolin, will you not also accompany
me on a journey?" And when she had agreed, off they
went. As they were travelling they came to the grass,
and the Spider said " See this grass, if when we have
arrived at the town they bring us ground-nuts, you
come back here and get this grass so that we can roast
them." But the Francolin picked some grass on the sly
and hid it.
Then the Spider said " There is a spoon, if when we
have arrived at the town they give us porridge, you
come back here and get the spoon." " Very well,"
said the Francolin, but she took it then, and hid it.
Soon they arrived at the town, and porridge was
brought, so the Spider said " Go and get that spoon."
The Francolin said " Oh, you said to bring it, here it
is." Then the Spider was very angry, and said " Very
well, take the porridge yourself and eat it." So the
Francolin took it, and ate all but a little bit which she
gave to the Spider to eat.
Then ground-nuts were brought to them, and the
Spider said " Go and get some grass that we may roast
them." But she replied " Oh, here it is, I got it long
ago." Then the Spider was furious, and he said
1 Take the ground-nuts and eat them." But when
she had roasted them, and had eaten all but a few, the
Spider snatched them away and ate them.
Next morning they said " Well, we must go home,"
so the Spider's load was bound up for him, and the
Francolin 's for her, and they took them and started off.
Soon they arrived at the bank of the river, and the
Spider lighted a fire, and said " Stay here, I am going
over there, if you hear me fall into the water, you throw
yourself into the fire." " Very well," said she. So he
went and took a stone and threw it into the water, and
232 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
it made a sound like pinjim. Then the Francolin went
and got one of the Spider's long boots and put it on
the fire, while she herself crawled inside the Spider's
load, and hid. Soon the Spider came and searched in
the fire, and took out the boot and ate it. " Well," said
he, " The Guinea-Fowl was certainly more juicy than
this Francolin " (4). So he took the Francolin 's load
and tied it on to his own, and started off home.
Then the Francolin, who was inside, said " The
Spider is a fool, he has eaten his boot," and when the
Spider heard this he was so frightened that he ran away,
he thought that he heard the Francolins' war-drums
beating (5).
When he had returned home, he untied the load,
and he had begun putting the contents into a calabash,
when the Francolin flew out and settled on the Spider's
Wife's head. Then the Spider said to his Wife " Stand
still, do not move," and he picked up the wooden pestle
to strike the Francolin, while on the Female Spider's
head, but the Francolin flew off, and the Spider missed
him, but killed his WTife. Then the Francolin settled
on his Son's head, and the Spider struck at him but
killed his own Son. Then the Francolin settled on the
head of the Spider's Baby, and the Spider took the
pestle and missed, and killed his Baby in the same way.
Then the Francolin settled on the head of the Spider
himself. The Spider ran outside and climbed up and
up a tree until he had come to the top, and then he
bobbed his head so that he might throw the Francolin
down and kill her, but she saved herself with her wings
and the Spider fell down and was killed.
Then the Francolin went and seized all the Spider's
possessions, and went away (6).
THE 'CUNNING JERBOA
233
In a variant (F.-L. 13), the Spider kills the Lamb,
but the Kid plays the part of the Francolin.
FIG. 55.— Decorated gourd, like fig. 52.
25
How THE CUNNING JERBOA KILLED THE STRONG LION.
This is about the Beasts of the Forest. The Lion was
killing and eating them so fast that one day they said
" Look here, the Lion will soon annihilate us, let us
take counsel to see what we can do to save ourselves."
So they all assembled, and went to the Lion, and said
" O Great One, Elder Brother of the Forest, we have
something to ask you," and they continued " We will
bring you one of our number every morning to eat if
you will leave the rest of us alive." Then the Lion said
" Very well," and they went off.
Next morning they drew lots (i),and the lot fell upon
the Gazelle, so the others seized the Gazelle and took her
to the Lion. Then the Lion killed her and ate her, and
did not hurt any of the others. The following morning
234 HA USA SUPERSTITIONS
the Beasts did the same thing, and they took the Roan
Antelope to the Lion, who killed and ate him.
This went on every day, until at last the lot fell upon
the Jerboa, and the others seized him, and were about to
take him to the Lion, when he said " No no, leave me
alone, I will go to the Lion of my own free will." Then
they said " Very well," and they released him. Now
would you believe it, the cunning Jerboa was going to
kill the Lion !
The Jerboa went to his hole and fell asleep, and
did not go out before noon. But the Lion in his den
began to feel hungry, for nothing had been brought to
him, so he arose, in anger, and went to look for the
Beasts of the Forest, and he was roaring. The Jerboa
came out of his hole and climbed a tree near a well,
and watched the Lion from afar off, and, when he had
passed, the Jerboa said " What is making you roar? "
The Lion replied " Ever since daybreak I have been
awaiting you, yet you have brought me nothing."
Then the Jerboa from the top of the tree said '* Well,
look here, we cast lots, and the lot fell upon me, and I
was coming to you, and bringing some honey for you
that you might enjoy it also, when another Lion in this
well stopped me, and stole the honey from me." Then
the Lion exclaimed "Where is this Lion?" and the
Jerboa replied " He is in the well, but he says that he is
stronger than you are." Then the Lion was furious,
and he ran to the well, and stopped on the brink, and
looked in, and saw another Lion in the well looking at
him. In reality it was only his reflection, not a real
Lion. Then the Lion abused him — but there was only
silence. Again he abused him — silence. And then he
became mad, and sprang upon him in the well, and he
sank in the water and was drowned.
THE RUDE MONKEY 235
So the Jerboa returned to where the Beasts were, and
said " Well, 1 have killed the Lion, so you can feed
in the forest in peace, but I am going to live in a hole."
So the Beasts said "Well done," and they continued
41 Cunning is better than strength, the Jerboa has killed
the Lion."
In a Malayan story (Skeat, Fables and Folk-Tales,
page 28) the incidents are almost identical, but it is a
Tiger which is killed, the Chevrotain being the hero in
that country, as he is also in Sierra Leone (Cronise and
Ward, page 17).
26
THE CAMEL AND THE RUDE MONKEY.
One day a Jackal climbed a kainya tree (i), and
igan eating the fruit, and soon a Camel came up,
id said "O Jackal," and the Jackal said "Yes."
What are you eating?" asked the Camel. " I am
iting kainya fruit," was the reply. The Camel said
Pick some for me too," and the Jackal did so, and
ten descended from the tree and went home.
The day passed, and next morning a Monkey arrived
and climbed the tree, and began eating the fruit, and
the Camel seeing him there said " Will you not pick
some for me to eat? " and the Monkey gave him some.
The Camel asked again and again, and the Monkey
picked more for him, but at last he became tired of
doing this, and said that he would give him no more,
and called him a humpback. Then the Camel abused
him and called him a Beast with deep-set eyes. Now
this made the Monkey very angry, for he was ashamed
of his deep-set eyes, and he said that the Camel had
236 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
no hind-quarters. Then the Camel seized him (2), and
bound him, and carried him off.
As he was going along he met the Spider who said
14 O Camel, what has caused you to seize the Monkey ? "
And the Camel replied " Ask him himself." So the
Monkey said " I wras up the kainya tree when he asked
me to pick some fruit for him, and then more, and
then more, and I got tired of it, and said * O Hump-
backed One.' He replied that I had deep-set eyes, and
then I said ' O One with the tiny behind.' ' Then the
Spider said " The Monkey was wrong, do not loose
him," and they passed on.
Next they met the Lion, and the Lion said " O
Camel, what has caused you to seize the Monkey?"
And the Camel said " Ask him himself." So the
Monkey said " I was up the kainya tree when he asked
me to pick some fruit for him, and then more, and then
more, and I got tired of it, and asked if he had no
shame. He replied that I had deep-set eyes, and I said
' O Humpbacked One, with a rump like as if you
had drunk feiraba(3).'" Then the Lion said " The
Monkey was wrong, do not loose him," and they passed
on.
Then they came upon the Jackal sitting outside his
hole, at the foot of a tree, and he said " Come here and
I will arbitrate between you." Now the Jackal was
the Monkey's Friend [and he knew what a nuisance the
Camel was], but the Camel did not know this, for the
Jackal is very cunning (4), so they came close, and sat
down, and the Jackal said " Loose the rope from him
first (5)," and the Camel did so.
Now the Monkey was sitting on the Jackal's right
side, the Camel on the left, and suddenly the Jackal
said " My judgment is that you, O Monkey, shall
THE LUCKY BOY 237
climb that tree, while I enter my hole." Immediately
the Monkey sprang up into the tree, the Jackal
dived into his hole, and the Camel was left sitting by
himself.
That was all, the trial was finished, so the Camel
went off.
In a somewhat similar tale (F.-L. 16), the Hyaena
seizes the Monkey, although the latter has done her a
good turn.
27
THE BOY WHO WAS LUCKY IN TRADING.
There were once a certain Boy and his Father, and
the Boy said that he was going on a trading expedition,
so the Father said " Here is a little Scorpion, you can
have it for food." The Boy took it and started off,
and soon he met some Farmers, and they said " Bring
that little Scorpion here," and when he had done so,
they killed it. Then he said " O You, Farmers, give
me my little Scorpion." " Which little Scorpion?"
they asked. " The little Scorpion which my Father
gave me as food for the journey," he replied. And
[in order to keep him quiet] they took a sickle, and
gave it to him.
So he went on, and soon he met some People reap-
ing guinea-corn, and they said " Bring us your sickle
that we may reap with it." So they took the sickle,
and when they had done so, and had reaped the corn,
he said " O you Reapers, give me my sickle." Then
they said " Which sickle?" And he replied "The
sickle which the Farmers gave me.*' " Which
Farmers ? " they asked. " The Farmers who killed my
little Scorpion," he replied. Then they said "Which
238 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
little Scorpion? " And he answered " The little Scor-
pion which my Father gave me as food for the journey."
So they took some millet-flour and gave it to him, and
he went on.
As he was travelling he met a Filani Maiden who
was selling sour milk, and she said " Hey, Boy, bring
me your millet-flour that I may mix it with my sour
milk" (i), and he gave it her. So she mixed it with
her milk, and drank the lot. Then he said " Oh, I
say, Filani Maid, give me my millet-flour." Then she
said " Which millet-flour?" " The millet-flour that
the Reapers gave me," he answered. " Which
Reapers?" she asked. " The Reapers who took my
sickle." "Which sickle?" she asked. And he re-
plied " The sickle which the Farmers gave me."
" Which Farmers? " she asked. " The Farmers who
killed my little Scorpion," he replied. Then she said
"Which little Scorpion?" And he answered "The
little Scorpion which my Father gave me as food for
the journey." So she gave him some butter.
As he was travelling on and on, he met with a Man
carrying tobacco, and the Man-with-the-tobacco said
" Hullo, you have some butter, bring it here that I may
mix it with my tobacco and pound it up." So the Boy
gave him the butter, and he fried it, and mixed the
tobacco with it. Then the Boy said "Alas! alas! O
Man-with-the-tobacco, give me my butter." But the
other said "Which butter?" "The butter that the
Filani Maiden gave me." " Which Filani Maiden? "
asked the other. " The Filani Maiden who drank up
my millet-flour," he replied. "Which millet-flour?"
asked the Man. " The millet-flour that the Reapers
gave me," he answered. "Which Reapers?" he
asked. " The Reapers who took my sickle. " " Which
THE LUCKY BOY
239
sickle ? " he asked. And he replied " The sickle which
the Farmers gave me.'' " Which Farmers?" he
asked. " The Farmers who killed my little Scorpion,'*
he replied. Then he said "Which little Scorpion?"
And he answered " The little Scorpion which my
Father gave me as food for the journey." So the Man
gave him some potash (2).
As he was travelling along with the potash, he
FIG. 56.
FIG. 57.
FIG. 58.
FIGS. 56-58. — Decorated vessels of wood or gourd, pattern cut on purple
ground, D. of largest, 3f in.
met a Filani Youth (3) who was tending Cattle, and
the Filani Youth said to him " Here Boy, bring your
potash here that I may put it in the water, and give it
to the Cattle to drink." So the Boy handed it to him,
and he gave it to the Cattle, and they drank. When
they had done so, the Boy said " Alas ! alas ! O Filani
Youth, give me my potash." Then he said " Which
24o HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
potash? " And the Boy replied " The potash that the
Man-with-the-tobacco gave me.*' " Which Man-with-
the-tobacco? " asked the other. "The Man-with-the-
tobacco who used up my butter,'* he replied. " Which
butter? " asked the other. " The butter that the Filani
Maiden gave me." "Which Filani Maiden?" asked
the other. " The Filani Maiden who drank up my
millet-flour," he replied. "Which millet-flour?"
asked the Youth. " The millet-flour that the Reapers
gave me," he answered. "Which Reapers?" he
asked. " The Reapers who took my sickle." " Which
sickle? " he asked. And he replied " The sickle which
the Farmers gave me." "Which Farmers?" he
asked. " The Farmers who killed my little Scorpion,"
he replied. Then he said "Which little Scorpion?"
And he answered " The little Scorpion which my
Father gave me as food for the journey." So he chose
a Bull and gave it to him (4).
The Boy went on and on with the Bull, until he
came to a certain city, and he lodged at the house of
the Chief Butcher (5), and the Chief Butcher said
" Hullo Boy, bring us your Bull that we may slaughter
it." And when the Bull had been slaughtered, and the
meat had been sold, the Boy said " Alas ! Chief
Butcher, give me my Bull." And the other said
"Which Bull?" The Boy said "The Bull that the
Filani Youth gave me." "Which Filani Youth?"
asked the other. "The Filani Youth who took my
potash," he replied. "Which potash ?" asked the other.
And the Boy replied "The potash that the Man-with-
the-tobacco gave me. "Which Man-with-the-tobacco?"
asked the other. The Man-with-the-tobacco who used up
my butter," he replied. "Which butter?" asked the
other. " The butter that the Filani Maiden gave me."
XXI. — BUTCHERS. XXII. — A BLACKSMITH.
Any meat not sold immediately after the kill is stuck on spits, and exposed to the sun. The skins
are pegged down to be cured.
A Hausa blacksmith is often found in a village of another tribe which even the Hausa trader could
not enter.
THE LUCKY BOY 241
4 'Which Filani Maiden?" asked the other. " The
Filani Maiden who drank up my millet-flour," he re-
plied. "Which millet-flour?" asked the Chief
Butcher. " The millet-flour that the Reapers gave
me," he answered. "Which Reapers?" he asked.
"The Reapers who took my sickle." "Which
sickle? " he asked. And he replied " The sickle which
the Farmers gave me." "Which Farmers?" he
asked. " The Farmers who killed my little Scorpion,"
he replied. Then he said "Which little Scorpion?"
And he answered " The little Scorpion which my Father
gave me as food for the journey." So the Chief
Butcher took two Slaves and gave them to him, a Male
and a Female. .
When he had got them, the Boy returned to his
Father's house, and said to his Father " The trading
has been successful, I have returned." He had ob-
tained two Slaves for his little Scorpion !
That is the end of this.
With this story and numbers 77 and 80, may be
compared one from Sierra Leone (Cronise and Ward,
page 313) to account for the origin of the axe.
" Dah breeze take me wing, eh !
De wing wey de 'awk done gie me ;
'Awk done yeat me fis', eh !
Deh fis' wey wattah gie me ;
IWattah take me pot, eh !
Dah pot wey de bug-a-bug gie me ;
Bug-a bug yeat me corn, eh !
De corn wey dah girl bin gie me ;
Girl yeat me bird, eh !
Wey mese'f bin ketch um."
The breeze then gives him fruit, but the Baboon
steals it, and has to give him an axe instead. The Xing
takes the axe, but has to give him great riches for it.
This is a very favourite tale throughout Africa,
16
242 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
it exists among the Damara (Bleek, Reynard the Fox,
90), the Zulus (Callaway, Nursery Tales, 37), the
Kabyles (Riviere, Conies Pop. de la Kabylie du Djur-
djura, 79, 95), the Anyanja (Folk-Lore iii, 92; xv, 344).
It is found in Europe from Malta (Archivio perlo Studio
delle Trad. Pop., xiv, 459) to Brittany on the west
(Se"billot, Conies Pop. de la Haute Bretagne, i, 346) and
among the Cheremiss of the Russian government of
Kasan on the east (Porkka, Tcheremissische Texte,
63). (H.).
28
ONE CANNOT HELP AN UNLUCKY MAN.
There was a certain Man, a Pauper, he had nothing
but husks for himself and his Wife to eat. There was
another Man who had many Wives and Slaves and
Children, and the two Men had farms close together.
One day a Very-Rich-Man who was richer than
either came, and was going to pass by on the road.
He had put on a ragged coat and torn trousers, and a
holey cap, and the People did not know that he was
rich, they thought that he was a Beggar. Now when
he had come up close, he said to the Rich-Man " Hail
to you in your work," but when he had said " Hail,"
the Rich-Man said " What do you mean by speaking
to me, you may be a Leper for all we know !" So he
went on, and came to the Poor-Man 's farm, and said
" Hail to you in your work." And the Poor-Man
replied " Um hum " (i), and said to his Wife " Quick,
mix some husks and water, and give him to drink." So
she took it to him, and knelt (2), and said " See, here
,is some of that which we have to drink." So he said
" Good, thanks be to God," and he put out his lips
as if he were going to drink, but he did not really do
so, he gave it back to her, and said " I thank you."
THE UNLUCKY MAN 243
So he went home and said " Now, that Man who
was kind to me I must reward.5' So he had a calabash
washed well with white earth (3), and filled up to the
top with dollars, and a new mat (4) was brought to
close it. Then the Very-Rich-Man sent his Daughter,
who carried the calabash, in front, and when they had
arrived at the edge of the bush (5) he said " Do you
see that crowd of People over there working ?" And
she replied " Yes, I see them." He said " Good, now
do you see one Man over there working with his
Wife? " And she replied " Yes." " Good," he said,
" to him must you take this calabash." Then she said
" Very well," and she passed on, and came to where
the Poor-Man was, and said " Hail," and continued
;< I have been sent to you, see this calabash, I was
told to bring it to you."
Now the Poor-Man did not open it to see what was
inside, his poverty prevented him (6), but he said
* Take it to Malam Abba, and tell him to take as much
flour as he wants from it, and to give us the rest."
But when it had been taken to Malam Abba, he saw
the dollars inside, and he put them into his pockets,
and brought guinea-corn flour and pressed it down
in the calabash, and said " Carry it to him, I have taken
some." And the Poor-Man [when he saw that there
was some flour left] said " Good, thanks be to God,
pour it into our calabash (7), and depart, I thank you."
Now the Very-Rich-Man had been watching from a
distance, and [when he saw what had happened] he
was overcome with rage, and said " Truly if you put
an unlucky Man into a jar of oil he would emerge quite
dry (8). I wanted him to have some luck, but God has
made him thus."
244 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
In a story given in L.T.H. (14) a Son of the King
of Katsina gave orders that the Poorest-Man was to be
brought before him, and when he had come, the Prince
heaped riches upon him, " ten Goats, ten Asses, ten
Mules, ten Camels, of all the things in the world he
gave him ten each." The Poor Man was then given a
house to live in, and told to go to it, but just as he had
arrived he fell down and died. Then the People said
" Whatever good a Man proposes to do to you, if God
does not wish it, it will be all in vain."
29
THE WONDERFUL RING.
This is about a certain Woman who had two
Children, both Sons. One day they left home, and went
into the world to try their fortune (i); the Elder took
three cloths, and the Younger took three cloths, and
with these the Elder bought a Goat, the Younger a
Scraggy Dog. When they returned, their Mother said
"Welcome to you," and the Elder said "See what I
have gained, a Goat; and the Younger said " See what
I have gained, a Scraggy Dog." Then she said [to the
latter] " O, you, may God curse you, whatever made
you buy a Scraggy Dog? " And the Elder Son said
" Opp, will he be able to do as well as I ? "
Soon afterwards, they prepared to go away again,
the Elder took four cloths (2), the Younger three, and
off they started. The Elder obtained a Bull, but the
Younger got only a Skinny Cat. When they returned
their Mother said " Welcome to you," and the Elder
said " See what I have gained, a Bull ; and the Younger
said " See what I have gained, a Skinny Cat." Then
the Mother said to him " May God curse you, whatever
made you buy a Skinny Cat?" And the Elder Son
said "Opp, will he be able to do as well as I?';
THE WONDERFUL RING 245
" Ah," exclaimed the Younger Son, " I am storing up
favour with God.'*
Once more they made ready to go off, and the
Elder Son took ten cloths, while the Younger again
had three, and on their travels the Elder gained two
Slaves, two young Girls ripe for marriage (3), while
the Younger got only an Old Woman, wizened up,
and with breasts like long boots (4). So they returned,
and their Mother said "Welcome to you," and the
Elder said " So far as I am concerned, this is what I
have gained, two young Slave-Girls." And the
Younger one said " I have gained an Old Woman,
wizened up." Then the Mother said " May God curse
you, whatever made you buy an Old Woman wizened
up (5) ? " The Elder Son said " Opp, will he be able
to do as well as I ? " But the Younger Son said " Ah,
I am storing up favour with God."
Now, as it happened, the Old Woman was really
the Daughter of the King of the city to which they
used to go to trade, and the King had no Son, and
no other Daughter but her, the Old Woman. She
had been taken prisoner during a war, and had been
lost to the King, and now the Younger Son had bought
her. One day a Man 'of her city came to the Boys*
city — she had been given flour and water and was
selling it — and while she was calling out its good quali-
ties and saying "Here is fura, here is fura(6)," the
Man from her city said " Bring it.** When she had
done so, and he had seen her, he grasped his body, and
said "What! Gimbia ! You have been sought for
from town to town, and not found.** Then she said
" I have been here, a certain Boy bought me, I am
kept in slavery.*' Then he said "Indeed!** and he
continued " Let us go, take me to your Master that I
246 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
may see him/' So they went, and she called the Boy
aside so that his Mother should not hear, and said to
her fellow Townsman " Here is my Master." Then
the Man from her city said " If you agree, follow her,
and go to her city, go to her Father, the King of the
city, and he will ransom her." So the Boy said " I
will," and he went and told his Mother. But she said
" Oh ! go, Luckless One, go, and they will take from
you even the Wizened Old Woman." But he said
" Ahem, perhaps, but I will go."
So he put his Slave in front of him (7), and they
went to her city, even unto the door of the King's
palace, and the whole town was excited, saying " Gim-
bia has returned." Then the King rejoiced, and he
took the Younger Son to a house, and said that he was
going to slaughter a Bull in his honour, but the other
said that a Ram would do.
Now the Slave said to her Master " See here, if my
Father offers you a million cowries, say that you do
not agree; if he offers you a thousand head of Cattle,
say that you do not agree; if he offers you a thousand
Horses, say that you do not agree; if he offers you a
hundred Slaves (8), say that you do not agree." And
she continued " What he must give you to ransom me
is nothing else than the small ring on his little finger."
The Younger Son said " I see." She said " It alone
he must give you to ransom me, if you get that ring, it
is the spirit (9) of the city, you will rule the whole
city," And he said " I understand." So when the
King said " Here is the ransom, a million cowries,"
he said " I will not accept them." The King said " I
will give you a thousand head of Cattle," but he re-
plied " I will not accept them." The King said " I
will give you a thousand Horses," but again he said
THE WONDERFUL RING 247
" I will not accept them." " I will give you one hun-
dred Slaves " said the King, but once more the
Younger Son said " I will not accept them." At last
he said " What you must give me to ransom her is
that small ring on your little finger." Then the King
said " If I were to give you this ring at once, the whole
city would arise and follow you on the road, and kill
you," and he continued " I will give you the ring, but
I will first give you a certain Charger which can out-
strip all the other Horses of the city in a race." Then
he said " See, here is the ring, put it into your mouth,
and as soon as you are outside the door start gallop-
ing."
Now to go from this city to the Boy's city took
thirty days, but he was going to gallop and get there
in one day. Just as he emerged from the gate of the
city, the whole of the People rushed up and raised the
alarm, and put on their saddles, and as soon as they
came they followed the Boy at a gallop. They galloped,
and galloped, and galloped, until they almost caught
him (10), but he managed to enter the gates of his own
city and leave them outside. Then they said " Well,
if you follow a man and he escapes, and gets into his
own house, you must leave him alone "(n).
No sooner had the Boy arrived at home and had
dismounted, than the Horse fell down and died, and
then his Mother said " You see, I told you that you
are unlucky, see now the Wizened Old Woman has been
taken from you, and though you were given a Horse
in exchange, it is dead." Then the Elder Son said
44 Will he be able to do as well as I?" But the
Younger Son replied " I am storing up fortune with
God," and he left the city, and went and lived in a
booth in the forest.
248 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
Now the ring was on his finger, and when he lay
down to sleep he heard sounds of dit, dit, dit, the earth
was moving, a city was coming ! And when day
broke, lo ! there was a big city with walls, and flat-
roofed houses, and women without number. Then he
went and called his Mother, and made her a house for
herself, the Scraggy Dog and the Skinny Cat had their
houses built for them, and the Elder Brother had
his (12).
Some time afterwards a certain Bad Woman heard
the news, and said that she would have no one but him,
and he said that he wanted her. So he lived with the
Bad Woman, and he gave her everything that she
wanted, whatever it might be that she wished for he
gave it to her.
One day when dawn came she started crying, and
she cried, and cried, and at sunset she was still cry-
ing. She said " Is it true that you do not love me? "
'Why do you say I do not love you?" he asked.
' What has come between us is this," she replied, " if
you love me, give me that ring to keep on my hand
for a day." But when he had given it to her, she took
it to her Paramour, and so when night came, the city
arose and settled down around the Paramour's
house, and the Younger Son was left with only the
Scraggy Dog, the Skinny Cat, his Mother, and his
Elder Brother.
When morning broke he saw this, and began cry-
ing, but the Dog asked " What is it you are crying
for ? " And he replied " You see what the Bad Woman
has done to me." Then the Cat also said " What is
it you are crying for?" And he replied "You see
what the Bad Woman has done to me." Then they
said " Opp, that is easily remedied, did you not bring
THE WONDERFUL RING 249
us here so that we might one day do you a good
turn? "(13).
Now the Dog and the Cat departed for the city to
which the Bad Woman had taken the ring, so that they
might steal it. But [just outside the city] they came
to a large river which barred their progress. Then the
Dog said " Opp, I can swim, you, O Cat, get on my
back.*1 So he took the Cat on his back, and they
crossed the river, and it was now sunset. Then the Cat
said " Now, O Dog, go into the city, steal food and
eat your fill (14), and then return and meet me here."
So the Dog entered the city, and stole and stole food
until he had had enough, and then he returned and
met the Cat at the brink of the river. " Now," she
said, " You stay here, while I go into the city." And
when she had entered into the house to which she first
came, she killed a thousand Mice. She left that
house and entered another, and killed another
thousand, then she went to a third house and killed a
thousand Mice there also. Then the King of the city
heard the news — the one who had the ring on his
finger — and he said " Bring me that Cat, so that she
may come and kill the Mice in my palace." And when
she had been brought, she killed a thousand of them.
Then the Princes of the Mice came to her, and said
1 What crime have we committed that you are killing
us thus?" And she replied "My Master's ring is
here, in the possession of the King of the city, if you
do not steal it and bring it to me, I will kill every one
of you." Then they began to make plans, and plans,
but they did not get the ring, and she said " As you
have not got it for me your trouble is upon your own
heads," and she killed five hundred of them straight off.
Then one of the Mouse-Kings said " Now, our kind
25o HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
cannot get it, but the Roof-Mouse can," so they went
to the house of the King of the Roof-Mice (15), and
called him, and the King of the Mice said " O King
of the Roof-Mice, you know what evil has happened to
us, order your People to steal for us this ring so that
we may be free from being slaughtered thus." Then
the King of the Roof-Mice said " Opp, that is a simple
matter."
Now the King of the city used to sleep with the
ring in his mouth all night, and the Roof-Mice came,
and began searching and searching in the hut, but they
did not get it, and at last they climbed the bed. The King
was sleeping with his mouth open, and, as it happened,
the ring rolled out of his mouth, and fell close by him.
Immediately one of the Roof-Mice picked up the ring,
and another bit the King on the tongue so that he
awoke (16). And when he awoke he began feel-
ing about until the Bad Woman said " What is the
matter? " Then he said " A Mouse has bitten me in
the mouth." And she said " Let me know the worst,
has it taken the ring?" And he felt about, and said
11 No, no, we shall see it in the morning."
So the King of the Roof-Mice took it to the Cat,
and she put it in her mouth, and she went back to the
Dog, and the Dog carried her on his back, and they
re-crossed the river, and returned home. Then the Cat
said " O Master, leave off crying, it was an easy task,
see the ring !"
When he arose next morning, he saw that the city
had returned, and when day broke the Bad Woman
saw that she had no city, and that but for her and her
Paramour there was no one. Then she said to him
" May God curse you. If you put an Unlucky Man
into a pot of oil he would come out quite white, but a
THE WONDERFUL RING 251
Lucky Man will find someone to buy water, even on
the banks of the Niger " (17).
In a variant (L.T.H. ii, 80) the Old Woman is
obtained in a somewhat different way, and she turns
out to be the Mother of the King of a distant city, who
ransoms her for one of two little balls, which he keeps
in his mouth. In this case the Hero is not pursued, nor
is there any mention of the temporary loss of the city
which he founds.
In another story (L.T.H. ii, 42), a Man is going on
a trading trip, and each Wife gives him something to
take. The fourth Wife — who has never done any work
at all — giving him only a tin with an Insect in it. The
Husband sets out, and at the first town, a Cat steals his
tin, and eats the Insect, and on his complaining, the
Cat is handed over to him in conformity with a code
resembling the lex talionis. He goes on until he
reaches a city where Cats are unknown, and during the
first night she kills numbers of Mice. The King is
told of this, and he and his People buy the Cat for 200
Slaves. The Husband returns, and gives them to his
fourth Wife, and turns out the other three (18).
FIG. 59. FIG. 60.
FIGS. 59, 60.— Decorated vessels, like fig. 58.
252 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
30
THE GREEDY GIRL AND HER CURE.
This story is about a Girl who was so greedy that
whatever she saw she would take and eat it. Even
bones a hundred years old she would take and eat.
At last her Parents said " Get ready and go away, we
love you no longer, you are so very greedy."
So she went to a Girl-Friend, and said " See, my
Parents have told me to go out into the world, they
love me no longer because I am so very greedy [come
with me out into the world]," so they both started off,
the Girl and her Friend. Now as they were going along,
they came upon nine Dogs in the road, and immediately
the Girl seized them, and ate them. When she had
eaten the Dogs, she said to her Friend, who was stand-
ing in the road, that she was going a little way into
the forest,* and when she had returned, and her Friend
asked her where she had been, she could say only
" Urn, um," she could no longer speak human words,
only those of the Dog.
Now they went on to a certain far city, and came to
the King's palace (i), and when the King saw the Girl
he said that he would make her his Wife, but she
spoke not a word, she could only bark like a Dog. So
she was married to the King [and everyone remarked
how] very beautiful she was. As for the Friend, the
King's Brother married her. So they lived thus, the
Girl could not talk, but only bark, and though the
King tried and tried to make her speak, she could not
do so. And this went on until it was ordered that
all the Women of the town should assemble and pound
grain together at the King's palace, so that the Girl's
speech should return (2).
THE GREEDY GIRL 253
Now in the middle of the night the Girl-Friend
came and roused the Girl, and they returned to the
place where she had eaten the Dogs, and thence they
went to the house of a Witch. Then the Friend said
to the Witch " O Parent (3), will you not make me a
charm for a Girl who has eaten Dogs?" And the
Witch beat and beat the Girl's back, and lo ! all the
nine Dogs emerged. Then both of the Girls returned
home, to the King's palace.
Next morning, at daybreak, all the Women of the
town assembled at the King's palace to pound corn,
and they began pounding and pounding, and as they
were doing it the pestles sang : —
" O Dogs, come out quick-ly,
O Dogs, come out quick-ly " (4).
When they had finished, the Girl came out of the
palace with a pestle of silver in her hand. Then the
Sun said " Oh, oh, oh, she is beautiful." And the
Earth asked " Shall I give way and give you room
to pass?" But she said " If you give way where
shall I tread?" So she went to where the Women
were pounding, and began to beat. Then she said
to the King " Draw me your sword, if one is not
happy in his position, he will try to change it "(5).
The King hearkened unto her words, and he lived
with her as his sole Wife, and they ruled the world.
He killed all his other Wives (6).
In a variant (L.T.H. ii, 78) the Girls are Step-Sisters
'ho were so much alike that they could not be told
irt. A dead Dog was found and " Little-Eve " ate
with a similar result as in the above, but she was
ired by a Dodoniya (or She-Dodo), who brought seven
>ogs out of her throat. The other Wives, Concubines,
254 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
&c., had complained to the King that she could only
bark, but when asked to speak she did so, and their
heads were requisitioned as stones for the cooking-place.
THE GLUTTONS.
Once Bankammi and his Wife Barrankamma
built a house in a certain town and lived there.
When he went to the forest he used to kill an
Elephant and eat it, and if when he had carried one
home, he called his Wife and said " Here Barran-
kamma," and gave it to her, before he could go inside,
turn round, and come out again, he would find her
with only the bones left. Every morning at daybreak
she would grind a whole barn full of corn, and give it
to him, and when he had [mixed it with water and] (i)
drunk it, he would go off to the forest.
Now the King of the City heard about them, the
People said " They are of a truth great eaters, both
the Husband and his Wife." So the King said
" Summon them here," and he said to the Citizens
" Let everyone pound corn, and make porridge, make
pudding, and bring it to the King's palace."
Then the King said " See, we have two Guests
in the town." Then the porridge and the pudding were
taken to Bankammi and Barrankamma and they ate
every bit, and they told the King that they were still
hungry. Then the King said " Bring them a tank (2)
of water," and it was brought, and they drank it, but
they said that they were not satisfied. Then the King
said " Indeed! You must try to get along with that,"
and he continued " Now, you can sleep here to-night,
THE GREEDY MAN 255
but to-morrow I shall send you away, we cannot put up
with you."
So next morning he brought four Slaves and gave
them to the Gluttons saying that the Slaves could
farm for them (3).
32
HOW DODO FRIGHTENED THE GREEDY MAN.
There was a certain Man who had a Son, an Orphan,
without a Mother. Now the Father had a Bull (i), and
he said " I am not going to kill it where there are
Flies to settle on it to eat some." So they went far into
the depth of the forest, and he told his Son to hold
up some bad smelling meat to see if there were any
Flies about. So he did so, and not a Fly came, so they
killed the Bull there, and prepared to eat the whole of it.
Now, as it happened, they had forgotten to bring
fire (2), so the Father climbed a tree, and afar off he
saw a red glow like fire — which was really Dodo's
mouth* — and he said to his Son " See there is fire over
there, go and get some." But when the Son tapped
Dodo's mouth ket, ket, ket, as if to get some embers,
Dodo said " Who is that? " and the Son replied " My
Father says that you are to come."
Then Dodo took up his leather bag, that in which
he used to store his meat — the bag was like a hill in
height — and he came to where the Father was, and said
'Who has summoned me? " Then the Father said
" It was I," and [pretending that he had invited him
to the feast] he took a forequarter of the Bull, and gave
it to him. Dodo put it in his bag, and said " Does a
Man invite his Friend to a feast on account of a tiny
256 HA USA SUPERSTITIONS
morsel like that? " So the Father took the other fore-
quarter, and gave it to him, and Dodo put it in his
bag, and said " Does a Man invite his Friend to a
feast on account of a tiny morsel like that? " Then the
Father cut the Bull in two and gave him half, and
Dodo put it in his bag, and said " Does a Man invite
his Friend to a feast on account of a tiny morsel like
that ? " Then the Father gave him the rest of the meat,
and Dodo put it in his bag, and said " Does a Man
invite his Friend to a feast on account of a tiny morsel
like that ?"
Now there was nothing left but the hide, the
hoofs, and the head (3), and these the Father col-
lected and gave to Dodo, but he put them in his bag,
and said " Does a Man invite his Friend to a feast on
account of a tiny morsel like that? " Then the Father
said " Alas, there is no more." But Dodo replied " Oh
yes there is, you also are meat." So the Father seized
his Son and gave him to Dodo, and Dodo put him in
his bag, and said " Does a Man invite his Friend to a
feast on account of a tiny morsel like that ? " Then the
Father said " But really there is nothing left." But
Dodo said "What about yourself?" and he put the
Father inside the bag.
Then he pulled out the Son, and told him to
watch the bag because he was going away to get some
wood to roast them. But when he had gone, the Son
took a knife and ripped open the bag, and the Father
emerged. Then they ran away, leaving the meat there.
So when Dodo returned, he found that they had run
away, but that they had left the meat, so he roasted it,
and ate it.
Now when the Father and Son had returned home,
they said that they repented, they would never be so
I
Jo
2S
11
H 3
I-H' 2
BORTORIMI 257
greedy again, and that if they saw a Man passing
along the road, even if he were not close to them, they
would invite him to share their meal. They said that
greed was not right, that they would not indulge it
again (4).
In a variant, it is the Witch who glows like fire, but
the rest of the story is like numbers 48 and 51.
33
BORTORIMI AND THE SPIDER.
There was once a certain Man whose name was
Bortorimi, a Giant was he, there was no one like him
in all the world, for, when he used to go to the forest,
he would kill some twenty Elephants, and bring them
home for his meal. One day the Spider sent his Wife
—the female Spider — to Bortorimi's house to get fire (i).
So she went, and while she wras there, they gave her a
great piece of meat, so she took it home with her. Then
the Spider said "Who has given you that meat?"
And she replied " I got it at Bortorimi's house." Im-
mediately the Spider said " Put out your fire." And
when she had done so, she returned to Bortorimi's
house, and said that the fire had gone out (2). So
more meat was given to her.
Then the Spider himself went to Bortorimi's house,
but when Bortorimi gave him some meat he ate it all up
at once, and did not bring any home. When he had
eaten it, he said to Bortorimi " Where do you get this
meat?" And the other replied "Over there in the
forest, a great way off." " I see," said the Spider,
"may I accompany you next time?" And Bortorimi
258 HAUSA SUPERSTITIO\S
said " Very well,11 but that he would not be going until
the next morning, [so the Spider went home],
But the Spider could not wait until the dawn had
come, so he pulled the roof off his hut (3), and set it on
fire, and this made the whole place as light as if day
had broken, although it was really not even dawn, but
midnight. Then the Spider ran to Bortorimi's house,
and stood outside, and called out " Hey, Bortorimi,
Bortorimi, awake, awake, it is dawn." But Bortorimi
replied " Oh ! come, Spider, now I was watching you
when you took the roof off your house and burned it."
So the Spider went home again.
Soon afterwards he mounted a rock and made the
first " Call to Prayer " (4), and said that dawn had
come. Then he went and roused Bortorimi, saying
' Everyone is astir, they are calling to prayer, wake
up." But Bortorimi said " Oh ! dear Spider, can you
not have patience?" and he refused to go.
Now Bortorimi's nose was as big as a house, there
was a market inside it. At daybreak they started off,
and when they had come to a certain great river,
Bortorimi said to the Spider " Drink your fill." And
when the Spider had drunk all he wanted, Bortorimi
pouted his lips and drank up all the water, leaving only
the mud. Then they went on, and at last they reached
the depths of the forest where the Elephants used to
feed.
When they had arrived at the spot, Bortorimi said to
the Spider " Go and spy on the Animals there, and
abuse them, and when you have done so, and they
chase you, run and get inside my nose." " Very well,"
said the Spider, and off he went and abused the Ele-
phants, calling out " Hey, you Animals, you are not
properly born " (5). Immediately they charged down
BORTORIMI
259
upon the Spider, but he went off at a run, and jumped
into Bortorimi's nose, and Bortorimi captured the whole
herd of Elephants, and killed them.
Now as soon as the Spider got inside the nose
(where there was a market) he began his tricks, saying
that he was a King's Son, and so he ought to have a
FIG. 6r.
FIG. 62.
FIG. 63.
FIG. 61. — Spoon of white cottonwood, incised pattern, L., 125 in.
FIG. 62.— Brass spoon, stamped pattern, L., 9T56. FIG. 63. — Ladle made
by splitting a gourd.
present of ground-nuts to eat, and the Old Woman
selling them there gave him some (6).
Just then Bortorimi finished killing the Elephants,
and he began calling out "Spider, Spider, come
out." So the Spider emerged, and Bortorimi said
to him " Now choose the Elephant that you are going
260 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
to take." But the Spider said that he could not carry
one (7), so Bortorimi heaped them all together and
carried the lot. When they had got home, Bortorimi
said " Now Spider, here is yours," and the Spider
skinned the Elephant, and roasted it, and ate every bit,
he would not give any to his Wife.
As soon as the Spider had eaten it, he returned to
Bortorimi's house, and said " O, Bortorimi, are you not
going back to the hunting-ground?" But Bortorimi
said " Umm, I shall not return, this is enough for me."
In one variant (L.T.H. 144), Butorami is described
as a certain kind of large Beast. In another one (L.T.H.
90) Futaranga, takes the Hyaena to draw the Ele-
phants, and she hides in his nose. Then the Hyaena
takes the Dog hunting and builds a large nose of mud
for him to enter when chased. But he breaks it, and
has to flee, and when the Elephants catch the Hyaena
she says that it was not she who had abused them, and
so they leave her. Both of the hunters escape, but they
have to be content with a dead Gazelle for their bag.
In a Sierra Leone story (Cronise and Ward, page
233) the Frog plays the part of Bortorimi, but instead
of hunting Elephants, the Frog used to jump down the
throat of a Cow which considerately opened her mouth
for the purpose, and let the Frog get some fat from
her inside. The Frog tells the Spider about it, and
invites him to join in the feast, saying that he " mus'
come to-morrow mawnin', early in de mawnin'." The
Spider cannot sleep, and wakes the Frog at midnight,
but the Frog will not go. Soon afterwards the Spider
crows like a Cock, but still the Frog is not deceived.
Next he sings like the Morning-Bird, but is again
unsuccessful, and the Frog and he do not set out until
day has really broken.
THE GREEDY HY&NA 261
34
THE HY^NA AND THE SPIDER VISIT A CHIEF.
This is about a Hyaena and a Spider. The Spider
said " O Hyaena, buy honey, and let us go and do
homage to the King," and the Hyaena replied
" Agreed." So they bought honey, and they were
travelling on and on, when the Hyaena said to the
Spider " I am going into the bush for a minute."
Then the Spider said " Very well, but put down your
pot of honey and leave it here until you come back."*
But the Hyaena replied " Oh no, surely it is my own ! "
So she went into the bush and drank the honey, and
when she had done so she placed some dirt in the pot
instead, and then she returned to the Spider.
When they had arrived at the city, they went and
saluted the King, and they were made welcome, and
were given a lodging in the palace. Then they took
their pots, the Spider took his pot, and the Hyaena
hers, and they said " Here is the offering which we
make to the King." So the Hyaena's pot was taken and
placed in the house, and the Spider's was placed in the
entrance-hall, and when the Hyaena's pot was opened,
dirt was found in it, but when the Spider's pot was
examined the People found honey. So they went and
told the King, and said " Lo ! in the Hyaena's pot is
only dirt," and the King answered " Oh, very well,
they have come to get something good from me, I know
what kind of a good thing the Hyaena will get."
In the evening, sleeping-mats were brought, and
the People said " These are for the Hyaena to sleep
upon." Then skins also were brought, and they said
* These are for the Spider " (i). Now the Hyaena
would not agree to this, but the Spider said " Look here
262 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
Hyaena, they said that I was to sleep on the skins, and
you on the mats. You say you will not agree, you want
to eat the skins, that's why." But the Hyaena replied
" No, no, a real Friend would not act thus," and so the
Spider said " Very well, but look here, if you eat the
skins you will make me ashamed of you." So he gave
her the skins, and she gave him the mats, and he went
and lay down.
During the first sleep she arose, and started eating
the skins, and the Spider called out " Oh, so you have
begun eating them? " But she replied " No, no, it is
a Mouse." Before dawn had come she had eaten the
skins all up, there was nothing left of them. And then
the Spider said "All right, O Hyasna, how are you
going to excuse yourself, how are you going to get out
of the scrape?" But the Hyaena replied " Opp,
cannot we say that a Thief has been here and has stolen
the skins?" "Well, Hyaena, even if you do say it,
the King will not believe you, he will know it is you,"
said the Spider. " I found a way in, I will find a way
out somehow," was the reply. So the People told
the King, they said that a Thief had stolen the skins.
But he replied " Oh no, I know quite well that the
Hyaena has eaten them."
Then the King said " I will say Good-bye to them,
to-day." And he brought a Bull, and said to the Spider
<4 On account of the present which you brought to me,
I give you this Bull." But an old He-Goat was brought
and given to the Hyaena. Then the Spider said that he
thanked the King, and the Hyaena said that she also
thanked him. So off they started, and they were
travelling on and on, the Hyaena was dragging the old
He-Goat along, when she said " Let me eat a leg, you
can become lame, you are lame now." So she pulled
THE GREEDY HYAENA 263
off a leg and ate it, and kept saying to the He-Goat
"Travel with three-three, travel with three-three." Then
she pulled off another leg and ate it, and kept saying to
the He-Goat "Travel with two-two, travel with two-
two." Then she pulled off a third leg and ate it, and
kept saying " Travel with one-one, travel with one-one."
Then she pulled off the remaining leg and ate it, and
kept saying " Travel with none-none, travel with none-
none." Then she took the rest of the body and ate it,
but she left a small piece of the liver which she gave to
the Spider, and he ate it.
Now they were travelling on, and on, when she
said " Give me my piece of liver." Then the Spider
pointed out to her the sun, which had nearly set and was
very red, and said to her " See, there is fire over there,
go and get some and return, and we will eat the Bull."
So the Hyaena went off at a run, and ran on and on,
but the sun was always afar off. And when she had
gone, the Spider killed the Bull and took off the hide,
and climbed up a tree with the lot, not even the skin or a
bone did he leave, and he covered up the blood on the
ground.
When she had become tired, the Hyasna returned,
and kept calling "Where is the Spider, where is the
Spider? " At last she sat down on her haunches by a
tree, and lo ! it was the very tree in which was the
Spider. After a little he threw a bone on to her head,
and she said " Well, I never, will God give me food
at the foot of a tree? " But when she had eaten the
bone, she looked up and saw the Spider, and said " Oh,
so it is you? I thought, that it was God," and she
continued " Spider, for God's sake give me one of
the legs." But the Spider said that he would not do
so, and she replied " Very well, you are very brave
264 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
because you are up in the tree, aren't you? I will get
one who is taller than you to come and seize you in the
tree."
Then she went and found the Ostrich, but when the
Ostrich came, the Spider made a noose of tie-tie, and
he caught her, and as he dragged her she let fall an
egg. Then the Hyaena pounced upon the egg and ate
it, and called out " O Spider, drag her, so that the eggs
will fall out." But the Ostrich said " Opp, Hyaena,
is that how you would treat me? Release me O Spider."
And the Spider did so. Then the Hyaena said " Now
let us have a race," and she went off at a run, and the
Ostrich followed, but she just escaped.
As for the Spider, he descended from the tree, and
went home.
A Malayan tale (Skeat, op. cit., page 7) has similar
incidents. A Shark catches the Chevrotain in the
water, but allows him to go on his promise to teach him
magic. The Chevrotain ties up the Shark (much as the
Spider cloes the Lion in T.H.H. 2) and kills him. Just
then the Tiger arrives, and wants the meat. The
Chevrotain first sends the Tiger to wash the meat, and
then to get fire, and then to get drinking-water. In
the meantime the Chevrotain has taken the whole of the
meat to the top of a she-oak tree, and on the Tiger's
return he finds that both Friend and feast have dis-
appeared.
35
THE HYAENA CONFESSES HER GUILT.
All the Beasts of the Forest had assembled, and they
took council, for they said " Our guinea corn has dis-
appeared; on Friday let us come in the morning and
punish the Thief."
THE GREEDY SPIDER 265
So when the Friday came, in the morning, about
eight o'clock, they all assembled in one place, all except
the Hyasna, who refused to come. They waited and
waited for her until late, but she did not arrive, and then
they got tired of waiting, and separated again.
That night they saw her coming "softly softly,"
and they said " O Hyasna, we came and looked for you,
but did not see you, [how is it that] you have come only
now? " Then she said " As I did not come, whom did
you punish ? " And they replied " We did not punish
anyone." Then she said " It is true, I am the Thief."
And since then even until now the Hyaena has
admitted her evil deeds, whatever theft has been com-
mitted you may be sure that it is she who has done it (i).
In another story (F.-L. 2) the Spider steals the corn
belonging to the Animal Community, and places some
dirt of the Hyasna in the empty bin. On finding this,
the Hyasna is blamed, of course, and she is driven out.
36
THE GREEDY SPIDER AND THE BIRDS.
This story is about certain Birds, Magpies. They
used to go to the middle of a lake where they could
get food in the mud, the fruit of a small kadainya (i) like
mangoes. They did this every day, and once they let
fall one of the fruits just by the door of the Spider's
house, so next morning at daybreak the Spider found
it (2) and ate it. Then he said " Ahem," and he went to
the house of the Birds and asked them about it, he said
" Where do you get this? " And they replied " Over
there far away." Then he said " When you are going
266 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
next time will you not ask me to go too ? " So they said
very well," [and he went home].
By this time the People were walking about,
and the Spider went again to the Bird's house,
and they took the wing of one of their number
and put it on the Spider, and they took the wing
of another and put it on the Spider's other side,
and then they started and flew away. When they
had arrived at the tree, every fruit that the Spider saw
was ripe he claimed as part of his share, and they
let him have it, and so not one of them got any, for
the Spider ate them all.
Now when the Spider had finished, they let him go
to sleep in the tree, and when they were ready to start,
they pulled the wings from him, and went off home.
And as they went the Spider awoke from his sleep [and
was going to fly off, but he found that he had no wings]
and he said " Oh dear." Then he picked off a small
twig and threw it into the water, saying " If the water
is deep here, the stick will sink." But when he had
thrown it down, it rose to the surface, so the Spider said
" Opp, the water is shallow," and jumped in. But the
water was deep, and he sank, and was drowned.
37
THE HARE OUTWITS THE
Once the Hare and the Hyaena went out hunting,
and whenever the Hare killed a Beast, the Hyaena would
take it and put it into her own bag. At last the Hare
went and killed a Spotted Deer, and the Hyaena came
up, and said that it was she who had killed it, [and she
THE LAZY MAN 267
took it] (i). So the Hare left her and went off at a
run, and returned to the road towards home.
Then he got some red earth and plastered his body
with it, and he got some white earth, and smeared it on,
so that the whole of his body was spotted, and when he
had done this, he climbed up on to a high ant-hill and
sat there. Soon the Hyaena turned to go home, and
when she had come back [a part of the way] , she saw a
Something on an ant-hill, and she said " O Something-
on-the-ant-hill, I have been out hunting with the Hare,"
and she continued " shall I give you all the meat which
we have obtained?" So she pulled out one of the
Beasts and gave it to him (2), and then she said " May
I pass?" But the Hare said only " Umm, umm."
Then the Hyaena pulled out another and threw it to him
and said "May I pass?" But the Hare said only
II Umm, umm." Then the Hyaena pulled out another
and threw it to him, and now all were finished except the
Spotted Deer. Then the Hyaena said " May I pass? "
But the Hare replied " You still have some meat." So
the Hyaena pulled out the Spotted Deer and threw it to
him, and he let her go free and she went past.
Then the Hare went and washed the whole of his
body and took the meat.
In a variant (F.-L. 8) it is the Tortoise which
deceives the Spider.
38
EVERYTHING COMES TO HIM WHO WAITS.
There were once a certain Man and his Wife who had
nothing to eat, and they used to dig out the holes of
the Ants so that they might get the grains of corn there,
268 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
and eat them (i). One day they had returned, and
were lying down in their hut, when the Husband noticed
a Lizard which fed itself by simply opening its mouth
and letting the Flies fall into it. Then he said " I am not
going to wander about outside, digging out those ant-
holes, and looking for food, see that Lizard, he only
lies down, and yet he gets his fill (2). So his Wife said
"Oh, very well."
But she went out and walked to an Ant-hill, and
dug, and lo ! what did she see but a cooking-pot, closed
up, and when she had opened it she saw that there were
dollars inside it. Then she replaced the covering, and
closed the hole, and went and told her Husband, and
said " Let us go together." But he replied " Not I, I
am not coming, go and call your Family to help you."
So she went to her Brothers and Sisters, and told them.
But they replied "It is a lie, were it any good you
would have told your Husband." But she said " Very
well, let us go, however, and you will see."
Now when they had come, and had opened the pot,
they saw only a Snake inside, and they said "There you
are, see, it is exactly as we said. If it had been any
good you would have told your Husband. But we shall
be avenged," and they went home.
In the night they took the pot carefully, and went
and placed it by the hut, they pushed the door ajar,
and then they went home again. And just as dawn was
about to break, the Husband awoke and saw something
shining by the door, and he said " The food has come."
So he went and opened the pot, and he saw that it
was quite full of dollars. There were so many that they
had enough for themselves, and the Wife even took
some and gave them to her Family (3).
THE LAZY FROG 269
A similar transformation of a snake into gold, when
placed in a house for an evil reason, takes place in
L.T.H. 133, where a scoffer tries to kill a malam.
39
THE LAZY FROG AND HIS PUNISHMENT.
Once a Frog and a Fowl lived together. Every night
the Fowl would say " O Frog, to-morrow you must go
and get wood for the fire." But when the morrow had
come the Frog would go off and sit idly in the sun,
and would say " I shall not get wood now, see the sun
is up." [So the Fowl had to do all the work] (i).
One day a Hawk flew down and seized the Frog,
and the Fowl said " Take him, the Stiff-Backed One,"
so the Hawk flew off with the Frog, and the Fowl had
the house to herself.
In a variant (L.T.H. ii, 21) the Frog first refuses to
help to build a hut, although a tornado has come on,
and he enters a hole, leaving the Fowl outside. The
water fills the Frog's hole and he hops over to the hut
which the Fowl has built, asking for shelter, but she
refuses until he threatens to summon the Wild-Cat.
The Frog then lights a fire and gets up on her bed, and
annoys her generally, until she at last asks him to get
on the roof and pick some pumpkins to eat. Imme-
diately the Frog climbs up, a Hawk seizes him, and the
Fowl cries out as above.
That even a story like this may not be quite as
absurd as it appears to be is shown by Dr. Haddon
(op. cit., page 343), for the Kenyahs tell this to illus-
trate the dilatoriness of the Sebops. The Monkey and
the Frog were sitting in the rain. The Monkey said
that they would beat bark-cloth next day, and the Frog
270 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
agreed. But the next day was fine, so the Frog
refused. As it was cold again at night, he again
agreed, but refused when warm once more, and at last
the Monkey became disgusted, and left him. The Frog
still hoots and howls when the rain comes down, but
sits silent in the sunshine.
40
THE SNAKE AND THE SCORPION.
One day a Scorpion went to a Snake, and said that
she wanted such a poison that if she stung a Man he
would die at once. But the Snake said " Oh ! Scorpion,
I will not give it to you, you are very hot-tempered,
and you would kill off Everybody." Then the Scorpion
replied no, no, she would use it only now and then.
So the Snake said " Very well, go now, come again
to-morrow and I will give it to you " (i).
Now next day, the Snake went out for a walk, and
the Scorpion came while he was still out, so she went
inside his hut, and lay down on one side of the door.
Soon the Snake came in, and while he was getting
through the door he squashed the Scorpion, and when
she felt hurt she stung him.
Immediately he felt the pain, he wriggled in and
wriggled out, he wriggled in and wriggled out of the
hut, the pain was driving him mad. Then the Scorpion
said to him " O Snake, what has happened to you? "
And he replied "Welcome, when did you come?"
She said " Oh, I came sometime ago, before you
returned." Then he exclaimed " For God's sake
don't bother me, something in the hut has hurt me."
So she said " It was a sting, O Snake, it was I," she
continued, " when you came in, while you were enter-
THE SPIDER'S SLAVE 271
ing you squashed me, and as I felt a movement I
stung you ; is it my sting which has given you pain ? "
Then the Snake said " Get out, get out, leave my
hut, I will not give you any of my poison, you would
kill Everybody."
FIG. 64. FIG. 65. FIG. 66. FIG 67.
FIGS. 64 and 67. — Wooden spoons for stirring food while being cooked.
FIG. 65. — Wooden spoon, pattern burnt, L., 9! in. FIG. 66.— Ditto,
L., lofe in.
41
THE SPIDER WHICH BOUGHT A DOG AS A SLAVE.
One day the Spider went to the market and saw
,some Dogs for sale, so he went home and thrashed his
guinea-corn, and said that he was going to buy a
Slave with it. So he did so, and brought the Dog
home.
Then he went and bought a hoe, and gave it to
the Dog, and told him to go and work on the farm(i),
272 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
but the Dog only lay still and took no notice. So
the Spider seized the hoe and they went off to the
forest, but when he told the Dog to get up and work,
the Dog only lay still, and said nothing. Then the
Spider pointed out the limits of the day's work, and
said that when they had done so much they would
return, but the Dog only lay still and said nothing.
So the Spider himself began digging, and said that
as the Dog was panting so hard he must be tired, so
he could lie down.
Now as the Dog was lying there, a Hare passed
by, and immediately the Dog arose, ran off, and caught
the Hare. And then the Spider said " Well I never,
so my Slave is a Hunter, he who can kill with his
teeth/1 he continued, "will do better with an arrow."
So he took the Dog's hoe, and brought it to the
Monkey, the Smith, and told him to make arrow-heads
out of it (2), so that he could give them to the Dog.
And he and the Dog returned home.
Now the Spider was always going to the Monkey's
forge, and asking would the arrow-heads be finished
that day (3), and one day the Monkey said to the Spider
" Have you obtained a Slave ? " And he replied " Yes,
it is for him that I want the arrow-heads, so that he
may enjoy the chase." Then the Spider said that he
would bring the Dog, but the Monkey asked him not
to do so. The Spider was always going to the Monkey
and complaining that the arrow-heads were not being
done quickly, until at last he became angry, and .
brought the Dog, and the Dog when he saw the
Monkey, began stalking him, and when they had come
close the Monkey ran away, and the Dog ran after
him and caught him. As he was bringing the Monkey
back, the Spider said " Let him go, it is the Smith,
THE BASHFUL MAIDEN 273
do not seize him," and then [being afraid that he too
would be seized] he fled, and he ran on past his
house, not stopping to go inside, and called out to his
Wife " Get up, and run away, see the Dog is seizing
people, and eating them."
Now as they had run away, they had left the house
with no one to claim it except the Dog, so he took it
for his own, and the Spider and his Wife disappeared
into the forest (4).
42
THE WOOING OF THE BASHFUL MAIDEN.
There was once a certain Boy, the King's Son, who
used to play with the other Boys of the town, and his
name was Musa (i). And there was a certain Beautiful
Maiden who wanted to marry him, but he did not want
her, and so she was shy and avoided him (2).
Now one day all the Maidens went to the river to
bathe, and they had taken off their cloths, and had
begun to bathe, when the Boy came and seized all the
cloths on the river-bank, and climbed a silk-cotton tree.
So as each one came back from bathing and looked,
she could not see her cloth, but when she searched she
saw him, and said " Musa, give me my cloth." Then
he let it fall down to her, and she went home. And
when she had gone, another came out of the water,
looked, and did not see her cloth, and then said " Musa,
give me my cloth," and he dropped it down to her,
and she went home.
At last there was only one Maiden left, she who
loved him, [and when she had looked and had seen
Musa with her cloth, she re-entered the water], and
18
274 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
she said " So and So, So and So, give me my cloth,
please." But he refused, and lo ! the water rose to
her knees. Then she said " So and So, will you not
give me my cloth?" And he replied " I will not give
it to you until you have spoken my name — Musa."
Now the water had reached her neck and was still
rising, but she did not want to come out naked, for
she was ashamed, so again she said " So and So, give
me my cloth." But again he refused, and the water
rose over her head, and she was about to be drowned
when she called out " Musa, give me my cloth," [and
then she came out of the water]. So he let down her
cloth to her, but he [himself descended from the tree,
and] pulled out a whip, and began to beat her.
After that, he seized her and took her to his house,
and then he found that he desired her, so they were
married.
43
THE MAIDS OF THE CITY AND THE UNKNOWN YOUTH.
This is about a certain Youth, there was no one so
handsome as he in the whole city, and his name was
Denkin Deridi (i). Now all the Maidens were in love
with him, so he said that only she who knew his name
should be his Wife; for in the whole city there was
no one who knew it except a certain Old Woman.
And all the Maidens started to cook special dishes, the
first boiled rice, the second grilled meat, the next
made a porridge of guinea-corn flour, the next Maiden
one of millet, the next boiled bitter roots (2) like pota-
toes, another bread-fruit, and the last made a dish of
evil-smelling dadaivam basso (3).
THE UNKNOWN YOUTH 275
Now the Youth built a hut, and closed it up in
every direction, there was no way in (4). And when
the Maidens were on their way to where he was,
the Old Woman stood in the middle of the road,
and to each Maiden, as she was about to pass
by, the Old Woman said " Come here and rub
my back." But each Maiden replied "What! leave
me alone, I am going to the Youth whose name I do
not know/' And the Old Woman said " Very well."
All the Maidens had gone by except the one with the
evil-smelling dadawam basso, and when she had come
close, the Old Woman said " O You, Maiden, come
here and rub my back," and she replied " I will."
So she put down her load, and rubbed her, and when
the Old Woman had finished washing (5), she said
" Good, the name of the Youth is Denkin Deridi,"
and the other replied " Thank you."
Well, all the Maidens arrived at the hut, and the
one who had boiled the rice — she was in front — came
up, and said " O Youth, come and open the door for
me that I may enter." "Who is there that I should
open the door for her to enter? " asked he. And she
replied "It is I, Rice (6), the sweetest food." Then
the Youth said " Well, I have heard your name, now
you tell me mine." But she replied " I do not know
your name, O Boy " (7). And he said " Very well,
go back again," and she retired crying.
Then came the Maiden who had grilled the meat,
and said " O Youth, come and open the door for
me that I may enter." "Who is there that I
should open the door for her to enter?" asked he.
And she replied "It is I, Grilled-Meat-with-
Salt, the most delicious food." Then the Youth
said ' Well, I have heard your name, now you
276 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
tell me mine." But she replied " I do not know your
name, O Boy." And he said " Very well, go back
again," and she retired crying.
Next came the Maiden who had made a porridge
of guinea-corn flour, and said <c O Youth, come and
open the door for me that I may enter." " Who is
there that I should open the door for her to enter? "
asked he. And she replied " It is I, Porridge-of-Guinea-
Corn-Flour, the sweetest to swallow." Then the Youth
said " Well, I have heard your name, now you tell me
mine." But she replied " I do not know your name,
O Boy." And he said " Very well, go back again,"
and she retired crying.
Next came the Maiden who had made a porridge
of millet-flour, and said " O Youth, come and open the
door for me that I may enter." " Who is there that I
should open the door for her to enter?" asked he.
And she replied "It is I, Millet, who makes the best-
tasting flour." Then the Youth said "Well, I have
heard your name, now you tell me mine." But she
replied " I do not know your name, O Boy." And he
said " Very well, go back again," and she retired cry-
ing.
Next came the Maiden who had boiled the bitter
roots, and said " O Youth, come and open the door for
me that I may enter." "Who is there that I should
open the door for her to enter? " asked he. And she
replied "It is I, Bitter-Roots, the cure for hunger."
Then the Youth said " Well, I have heard your name,
now you tell me mine." But she replied " I do not
know your name, O Boy." And he said " Very well,
go back again," and she retired crying.
Next came the Maiden who had cooked bread-
fruit (8), and she said " O Youth, come and open the
THE UNKNOWN YOUTH 277
door for me that I may enter." "Who is there that
I should open the door for her to enter?" asked he.
And she replied " It is I, Bread-Fruit, well steamed" (9).
Then the Youth said " Well, I have heard your name,
now you tell me mine." But she replied " I do not
know your name, O Boy." And he said " Very well,
go back again," and she retired crying.
Now all had tried except the Maiden who had made
the dish of evil-smelling dadawam basso. But when
she came up, the other Maidens said to her " What!
You, O Evil-born One ! the good foods have not suc-
ceeded, much less can you, O Stinking One." But
some said " Oh, let her go, let us see what she will
do." So she came up and said " O Youth, come and
open the door for me that I may enter." " Who is there
that I should open the door for her to enter? " asked
he. And she replied "It is I, Dadawam Basso, the
sweet-scented food " (10). Then the Youth said
" Well, I have heard your name, now you tell me
mine." And she answered " Your name, O Boy, is
Denkin Deridi." And immediately he said " Come
into the hut, O Maiden." So he opened the door, and
said that she was the one who was to be his Wife.
Then the one who had brought rice said let her
head be cut off, and let it be one of the stones for a
cooking-place. And the one who had brought grilled
meat said let her head be cut off, and let it be one
of the stones for a cooking-place. And the one who
had brought a porridge of guinea-corn flour said let
her head be cut off, and let it be one of the stones for
a cooking-place (i i ). The rest of them said "I will
draw water for you," or " I will get wood for you,"
or "As for us, we will grind flour for you " (12).
278 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
The incident of the maidens going to seek fortune or
perform a task, and one of whom is kind to a beggar
or a supernatural being and in consequence attains the
object desired, while the others are punished, is very
common. The story of the Three Heads of the Well
(Halliwell, Popular Rhymes and Nursery Tales, 39) is
one of a large number of European examples (H.).
44
THE SON OF THE KING OF AGADDEZ.
There was once a certain Man who had two Wives,
and each one had a Daughter, but he did not love the
Mother of one, so a hut was built for her and her
Daughter on the edge of the dunghill, where the
sweepings were thrown, and they had to go and live
there, and all that they had to eat was boiled husks.
Now one day the Husband was going to bargain
in the market, and the Daughter of the Disliked Wife
said " O Father, see here are some cowries, buy me
the Son of the King of Agaddez " (i). Then he cursed
her, but she said again " When you go, buy me the
Son of the King of Agaddez." So he took the money
— five cowries (2).
Now when he had come to the market, he said
" Where is the Son of the King of Agaddez ? " Then
the People fell upon him with blows, and said " O
Evil-born, why do you ask where is the Son of the
King of Agaddez?" And they covered him with
blows until he was unable to stand. Then they said
" Good, leave him thus, and let everyone go home."
But as he was about to rise, the Son of the King of
Agaddez said " When you go, tell the Maiden that I
will come on Friday." So the Father said " Good,"
THE PRINCE OF AGADDEZ 279
and went home. And when he had arrived, he called
his Daughter, and seized her, and tied her up. Then
he took a whip, and began to beat her, and he kept on
beating her until he was tired (3). Then he said " Pre-
pare, he is coming on Friday." And she said " Very
well," and went off crying.
So on the Thursday she swept her hut clean, she
could not do it well enough, and she spread mats on
the floor. On the Friday he came and alighted on the
roof of the hut, while the whole city was asleep, only the
Maiden being awake, so he came through and alighted
on the bed. She had bought kola-nuts and scent, and had
put them by, so now she took them, and gave him them,
and he began to eat. And as soon as she had given
him them, wherever he spat there would be silver, and
the Girl picked it up. She was picking it up, and put-
ting it in a cooking pot, and covering it up [all night],
and when he saw that it was enough, he arose and went
home.
Now he was always coming and doing this, but one
day, when they had let the Girl go out for a walk, they
saw that she had rilled all the cooking-pots with silver.
Then the Women of the house came, and put needles
in the bed, they put about a hundred needles there.
So that night when he had come — the Girl herself was
not there — and had alighted on the bed, all the needles
pricked him, and he died. Soon afterwards the Girl
came in and found him dead, and she commenced cry-
ing, and saying what would she do, the Son of the
King of Agaddez had died in her hut.
Now the Boy's Father heard the news, and the Girl
said to him " O hear me, hear me, I did not know."
Then they sent and seized the Parents, but left the
Girl, and they tortured the Parents until they died.
280 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
And when they were dead the Girl was summoned, and
the King said to her " Iss, you must not do that again,
it is not right," and he continued " you see, you have
made me lose my Son. Now, shall I kill you or let
you go?" Then she said "Ah! whatever you do, it
is all the same to me, if you kill me I will have brought
it upon my own head." So the King let her go, and
he gave her a hut in his own compound, and he gave
her presents, so she lived there. He pitied her.
A variant in which Ba-Komi (" Nothing ") takes the
place of the Son of the King of Agaddez (the girl hav-
ing asked her father to buy her " nothing "), is to the
same effect as the first, second, and fourth paragraphs
above — though there is no beating — but the ending is
different. In this case the daughter of the rival wife
put thorns on the roof. In the evening, Lahidi heard
the wind bip, bip, bip, and so she spread her mats, and
lit her lamp. But when Ba-Komi came, he alighted on
the thorns, and they stuck into his flesh. Then Lahidi
[who did not know] said "Welcome" — but there
was no reply. " Welcome " — silence. Then he said
" Chip, I am going home," and he gave her one tobe
[instead of 10 black tobes, 10 white tobes, 10 pairs of
trousers (4), 10 turbans, and 100 bowls of grain, as
usual]. He had two of each there, but he would not
give her all, for his heart was broken [and he went off] .
Well, at daybreak, Lahidi saw the remainder of the
thorns, and she guessed that her Step-Sister had put
them there to prick him, and she knew that he must be
ill. So she shaved her head, she split up her body
cloth and made a tobe and trousers, and set out to seek
for medicine to take to the King's Son.
As she was travelling in the depths of the forest, she
came to the foot of an enormous Kainya tree, and she
squatted down there. Just then a Jipillima, the biggest
one, flew up and settled in the tree, and said " Ah me !
To-day I have not been fortunate, I have eaten only
99 Men, I left the other one because he was a Leper."
THE PRINCE OF AGADDEZ
281
Then a second arrived, and said "Ah me! To-day I
have not been fortunate, I have eaten only 79 Men, I
left one because he was a Leper." [Then other Jipil-
limas arrived and the narrator gives 59, 49, 39, 29, and
19, as the numbers eaten]. Then another arrived, the
smallest of them, and said "Ah me! To-day I have
not been fortunate, I have eaten only 9 Men, I left one
because he was a Leper." Then he saw the Girl
squatting, and he said " But I, Auta [know one thing],
there is a certain King's Son who is so ill that he is
FIG. 68. — Basket of grass, stained red, white, and black. II., 6^ in.
almost dead, but if our droppings be taken and given
to him to drink, he will recover " (5). Now Lahidi
heard this, and she went and gathered their droppings,
and wrapped them in her tobe, and ran away. She ran,
and ran, and ran until she arrived at the city where
the King's Son was.
So she came [to the door of the palace] and called
out "The Disciple asks for alms" <6). But the
Attendants exclaimed " What kind of senseless Disciple
282 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
is this to come when the King's Son is so ill that he is
almost dead? Bring a sword and kill him." But
others said " No, no, let him beg." Then Lahidi said
" Ba-Komi, Lahidi salutes you," and when he heard
this he raised his head, and said " Let that Disciple
come here." When she had come close, Lahidi undid
the Jipillima droppings, and said '* Here is medicine,
give it to him to drink." Now, when he had drunk it,
the King's Son began to vomit, and as he vomited,
the thorns came out, and lo ! at last all the thorns had
come out ! Then the People said " Well, what shall
we give this Disciple? " The King's Son said " Let
me give you 100 Horses," but she said that she did not
want them. He said " Let me give you 100 Slaves,"
but she said that she did not want them. He said " Let
me give you 100 Head of Cattle," but she said that she
did not want them. He said " Let the city be divided
into halves," but she said that she did not want it.
Then she said " The little ring on the King's ringer
[is all I want]," so it was pulled off and given to her.
Then she returned to her home, and would you believe
it, no one knew that she was a woman.
As soon as the King's Son had recovered, he took
a large sword, with the intention of killing Lahidi. So
he went at night and entered the door, and she said
"Welcome," but he drew his sword. Then she said
" For the sake of the Disciple who gave you the medi-
cine which cured you, and to whom you gave a ring,
spare me." Then he trembled, and put back the sword
in its sheath, and said " How did you manage to find
out that a Disciple had cured me? " And she replied
'* It was no Disciple, it was I," and she showed him
the cloth that she had split up to make trousers, and
the cloth with which she had made a tobe, and the ring
that he had given her.
Then he said that he wanted to marry her, and the
parents said " Very well, but if she marries who is
going to bring us water ? " So he brought 100 Head
of Cattle and 100 Slaves, and said " Here are youf
Water-Carriers." Then she was given to him in mar-
riage, and thus the Father became rich all through the
Daughter whom he did not love."
THE RIVAL'S RULER 283
In a Sicilian tale (Pitre, Bibliotica, iv, 342) a queen
procures repeated interviews with an emperor's son by
means of a spell consisting of 3 golden balls put into
a golden basin with 3 quarts of pure milk. One day
a servant breaks a drinking glass and puts the frag-
ments into the milk. The prince appears covered with
blood and vanishes, nor does she recover him until she
learns the remedy by overhearing the conversation of
some demons (see Story 12, variant), which enables her
to heal him, and he marries her. In a Danish tale
(Grundtvig, Danische Volksmarchen, i, 252) belonging,
like the foregoing, to the Cupid and Psyche cycle, the
heroine is persuaded to stick a knife in the bedstead.
Her husband scratches himself with it and she loses him
for the moment. (H.).
The commission to the father appears also in Sicilian
tales (Pitre, iv, 350; xviii, 70). Cf. Folk-Lore, vi, 306,
a tale apparently from the south of England, and an
Indian tale from Mirzapur, N. Ind. N. and 2, ii, 171,
No. 633- (H.).
45
THE BOY WHO BECAME His RIVAL'S RULER.
A certain Man once had a large household, so far
as Wives and Slaves were concerned, but he had no
Son. So he was always going to different Malams,
and saying " Give me a charm that I may beget a
Son, for I have none.*' But all to no purpose, until
at last he went to a certain Malam who said to him
* You must go and live in the forest, and you must
plait hobbles for Horses, and sell them until you can
buy a Slave-Wife, then when you have built a house
you will have a Son."
So he went into the forest, and lived there, and
when he had made enough money, he bought a Slave-
Wife, and she conceived and bore a Child, a Son.
284 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
Then the Father arose and went to the town, and made
more and more money, and stored it there, but he still
lived in the forest.
The Boy soon began to understand, and grew up,
and then he used to wander about in the town, leaving
his Father outside. Now one day he met one of the
Sons of the King on the road who said " Hullo Boy."
And he replied "Well." "Will you not come with
me? " asked the King's Son, and the Boy said " Very
well." The King's Son was courting,* and he made
the Boy hold his Horse for him while he went inside
the house to woo the Girl.* After a time the King's
Son came out again, and they started off, and when
they had come to the road again, the King's Son said
" Well, you go your way, and I will go mine." So
the Boy went home, and his Father said " Where have
you been since dawn?" And he replied " I have been
wandering about in the town."
The next day the Boy again went to the town, and
the King's Son again met him, and said " Hullo Boy,
come, let us go again to where we were yesterday,"
so the Boy went off with him. Now as the King's
Son was dismounting, some of the Women of the
house came out, and said " Hullo, look at this most
handsome Youth, is he fit only to hold a Horse?"
This made the King's Son so angry that he came out
again from the doorway, and mounted his Horse, and
went off. When the Boy had come home, he said to
his Father " Why do you make me go about as if I
were a Slave ? I have no tobe, no trousers, no turban,
not even a cap." So the Father arose, and went into
the town at night, and opened his treasury, and took
out some clothes, and gave them to the Boy.
Next morning the Boy took the road, and came
THE RIVAL'S RULER 285
to the place where he had before met the King's Son.
When the latter came, he said " Hullo ! where did you
get a loan of those clothes, or are they your own?"
and the Boy replied " Um." So they went off to the
house, and when the King's Son had dismounted he
told the Boy to hold the Horse, but he refused to do so.
So they both entered the house, and saw the Women.
When they had come out again the King's Son said
" Look here, Boy, to-morrow let each show what he
has to eat at home," and so they parted.
Now when he had arrived home, the King's Son
said " Make me some guinea-corn porridge, and some
of millet, and of dark rice, and of acha, and of white
rice, and of black millet also." And these were made,
and the King's Son ate them. As for the Boy, he said
" Bring me sour milk in a calabash," he also told them
to bring him a heap of silver, and they brought it. So,
as he drank the milk, he threw the silver into his mouth,
and swallowed it.
Next morning the Boy took the road, and came to
the meeting-place. The King's Son also came, and
said " O Boy, have you come? " He replied " Yes."
Then the King's Son said " Good, let us go." So
they went to the Girl's house. When they arrived
there, he said " Now, let each show what he ate yester-
day," and he began to vomit, and the black rice, and
acha, and white rice, and everything that he had eaten
fell out, so that the Girl might see that there was plenty
in his home. Then the Boy said " Good, have you
finished? Give me room now." Then he did the
same, and the Women of the house began scrambling
for the silver which was thrown on the ground, and
praising the Boy. As for the King's Son he ran away,
he felt so ridiculous.
286 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
Then the Boy went home, and said to his Father
" Let us leave this village and return to the town (i),"
so they arose and went.
One day the Boy asked '* Has the King's Son a
Mother?" And they said " He has, she is still liv-
ing." So the Boy ordered two handfuls of silver to
be brought to him, and he took them to the Smith, and
told him to make him ten spindles, and he got his
Father to bring purple cord and to plait it into a
blind (2). Then he went down the street, holding the
spindles and ten kola-nuts in his hand. He went as
far as the road leading to the river, and there he sat
down, and asked someone to point out to him the
Slave of the Mother of his Rival. When he had spoken
to her, he gave her the ten silver spindles and the ten
very large kola-nuts, and told her to take them to her
Mistress.
Now when the Girl had returned, she called out to
her Mistress " Help me to put down this water." And
the Mistress said " You are always bringing water,
have I never helped you before that you should cry out
so ? " When she had come out of the hut (3), and had
caught hold of the calabash, and had felt that it was
not heavy, she was going to make a fuss, but the Slave
whispered " Silence." Then they entered the hut, and
when she had uncovered the calabash she saw the
spindles inside, and the ten kola-nuts as large as Rob-
bers' heads (4). Then she said " Who sent you to me
with these? " and the Slave replied " A certain Youth
said that I was to tell you that he would visit you later."
Then she said " But how will he manage it ? "
Then the Slave wrent back to the Boy, and said
11 How will you manage it? " The Boy said " What
is there to hinder me? " She replied " Our house has
THE RIVAL'S RULER 287
three entrance-halls. In the first are ten Watch-Dogs,
in the second are ten Slaves, in the third ten Horses.
The Horses are given Ox-bones to eat, the Dogs are
given grass, and the Slaves smoke nothing but
potash "(5). He replied "Very well," [and gave her
the blind to take to her Mistress].
When night had come, the Boy persuaded his
Father to kill ten Bulls, and the heads were cut off.
Then he sent ten Youths to cut grass, and he got ten
tobes and ten rolls of tobacco, and he went off towards
the King's palace. He entered the first hall, and spread
out the bundles of grass for the Horses, and the Horses
said " Ah ! see, that which we most desire has been
given to us to-day. " He passed on and entered the
second hall, and the Dogs said " Wu, wu, «w," but
when the Bulls' heads had been thrown to them, they
said " We are not eaters of grass, and see to-day God
has given us meat." Then the Boy passed on and
came to where the Slaves were (6), and all rose up with
cutlasses in their hands. But he gave each of them a
present, everyone got a tobe and a roll of tobacco.
Then he passed on, and searched for the door where
his blind was hanging, and when he saw it he went in,
and found his Rival's Mother there. He Had a bottle
of scent in his hand, and he sprinkled the contents in
all directions, and then he sat down.
In the morning, the King went out, and he saw
all his Slaves with tobes. He passed on, and found the
Dogs eating Bulls' heads. He passed on, and found
that the horses had grass (7). Then he said to the People
outside '* Go in and tell the Boy who is inside that he
is King, I abdicate to-day (8), he who does not wish to
serve the Boy as King may follow me, she who does
not care for me any longer may keep away from me."
288 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
So, you see that the new King of the town was the
Boy, and the Son of the ex-King came and did homage,
and said " O Great One, I hope you have slept well."
And the Boy said " See, my Son has come." And the
People said " See, they were Rivals for the affections
of Women, now the Boy has taken the place of the
other's Father."
In a variant (L.T.H. ii, 48) a Youth sets out to get
the King's Chief Wife, and several Persons join him
in his quest. He sends the Old Woman in whose house
he lodges with scent to the Wife, and she sends him
kola-nuts, and directions how to reach her. He gives
kolas to the Male Slaves guarding the entrance, cloths
to the Females who next accost him, and bones to the
Dog, and grass to the Horse as here. He then sees
the tree, hut and blind indicated to him, and reaches
her. The ending is different, however, for the King
suspects something, and has a search made. However,
by the help of his Companions, they escape, the Robber
getting them out of the city, the Soldier keeping back
the King's troops until Another has cut out a canoe,
and so on.
The incident in folk-tales of appeasing animal
and other guardians with food or some other require-
ment is often found, especially in tales belonging
to the Cupid and Psyche cycle. Sometimes these
guardians are already furnished with food which is in-
appropriate; and they are then appeased by changing
it, as above. So in an Arab tale from Egypt, the hero,
going to seek the singing rose of Arab Zandyg, finds
tied up at the palace gate a kid and a dog. Before the
kid is a piece of flesh, and before the dog some clover.
He changes them, putting the clover before the kid
and the flesh before the dog, and thus is enabled to
accomplish the object of his quest (Spitta Bey, Conies
Arabes Modernes, 143). (H.).
XXV.— FIREWOOD. XXVI.— COTTON.
In the larger markets almost anything may be bought, from rough sticks to wooden matches, from
raw cotton to the finished (and often inferior) cloth from Manchester.
THE WILD CAT'S WIFE 289
46
THE WILD-CAT AND THE HEN.
This is about a certain Hen which was going to
marry a Wild-Cat. The Wild-Cat had told her to
summon all her Relatives to take part in the marriage-
breakfast, so she invited them accordingly, and the
Guests came in large numbers. Now the Wild-Cat
hid in the house, and as each Fowl arrived, she looked
up at the house, and saw his eyes [but she went in all
the same].
At last, when all the Guests had assembled, the
Wild-Cat prepared to kill them, and he sprang upon
the Fowls and killed them. And that night he told
his Wife [the Hen] to go to bed, and when she had
lain down, he twisted her neck, and ate her(i).
Usually the Victims are deceived by the Villain of
the story pretending to be dead. Thus the Spider
frightens the Mourners so much that the Elephants and
other big Beasts trample upon the smaller ones in their
anxiety to escape (F.-L. 6), or the Cat may deceive
Mice in a similar manner (L.T.H. 78).
In a Southern Nigerian tale (British Nigeria, page
287) the Bush-Cat sought to avenge herself upon the
Monkey for having tied her tail to a tree while she was
asleep. The Monkey, however, was wily, and he
escaped when she sprang at him, but since that time he
has always lived in the trees. Except for the fact that
it is the Rabbit which escapes instead of the Francolin,
a Sierra Leone story (Cunnie Rabbit, page 221) is
almost exactly the same as the Hausa one (F.-L. 6).
2QQ HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
47
THE DISHONEST FATHER.
A Girl and her Friend went out to make love, and
when they had gone, the Girl herself found a Lover,
and she took him, but she prevented her Friend from
doing the same, so the Friend became angry and
returned home.
Now the Girl's Father was very dishonest, and he
said " Let us go away from here," he said that he had
cheated too much. So he told the Girl to grind corn
[to make flour for the journey]. As she pounded, she
sang : —
" Grounding rations now I do,
Father has cheated Men of money,
In the morn or in the even
We will flee and leave the town."
The Father wondered what would he do, his evil
deeds were many.
So they went to another town, and there he gave his
Daughter in marriage, one Daughter to four Suitors.
Then the drummers were summoned, and they beat
sentences saying that he must leave off evil-doing.
Then he asked if he left off evil-doing how would he
live? And they said " Well, one Husband will pay all
the money." And one of them did this, and lived alone
with his Wife.
A variant of this (L.T.H. 76) gives a much better
story, and shows what a mutilated account one's own
narrator may give (i). In other cases, my versions
show to advantage. The variant relates how the Father
had promised his Daughter to three Suitors, and won-
ders what he would do, and continues : " So he arose
and went to an old Malam, and said ' Malam, I have
THE DISHONEST FATHER
291
a favour to ask,' and the Malam replied ' Well.' The
Father said ' I have only one Daughter, but I have
taken money from three Suitors, I have told each that
I would give her to him, and the Girl is now ready for
marriage.' The Malam replied ' I see. When you
depart, go and pray, and draw your sword and place
it close to your head. When you have bent down, lift
up your head, and if you see a Bitch come and cross
in front of you, make haste and take your sword, and
FIG. 70.
FIG. 69 — Mat of red, white, and black grass, used as cover for cala-
bashes having no lid. D., nf in. FIG. 70. — Basket of coloured grass, like
fig. 68.
cut her down and divide her into two. Then you will
obtain what you are seeking.'
* When the time for prayer came, the Father arose
and prayed, and he had bent down and raised his head,
when, see, the Bitch came, and crossed quickly in front
of him, so he made haste to take his sword and cut her
in two, and immediately two Young Girls appeared, as
beautiful as his own. So he took them home, and
smeared henna upon them together with his own
292 HALS A SUPERSTITIONS
Daughter, and he gave each Suitor one, and so ended
the trouble.
" After a time he wanted to know which was his own
Child amongst them, so he set out on a round of visits.
The first Daughter whom he found was quarrelling and
called the Father names, the second had become im-
moral, but when he came to the house of the third and
saluted, they responded, and he was given a fine
lodging, and he rested. He was made much of, for
him was prepared porridge with meat, sour milk mixed
with jura was presented to him, everything was brought
which was proper to his position, and then he knew
that he had found the one who was the Daughter of
his own blood."
48
THE CONTEST FOR DODO'S WIFE.
There was once a certain Woman who was the Wife
of Dodo — for Dodo had emerged from the forest and
had become a Husband — [and she wanted a human
victim]. So she came to the town bringing a small
basket with a lid to it, and she placed it on the brink
of a dye-pit (i) where the People were dyeing. And
when she had placed it there, she said " He who can
knock over that basket may have me for his Wife " (2).
So the Men all began to throw — they did not know
that she was already married to Dodo — for they saw that
she was very beautiful. The Great Men threw first,
but they were unable to knock it over and open it (3),
and all threw, until at last only a certain Small Boy was
left to throw. Then they said " Pick up a stone and
throw." But he said " My Betters have tried and tried,
and have failed to open it, much less shall I be able
to do so." But he took a small piece of gravel and
DODO'S WIFE 293
threw it, and the basket opened ! So the People said
4 ' He is her Husband," and they were married.
Three weeks went by, and then the Woman said that
she ought to go to her own town and see how her
People were, so the Boy said " Very well." Now the
Boy's Father was a Hunter who knew the whole
country, he could transform himself into an Elephant,
or into a Lion, or into anything at all. And he knew
that the Woman was Dodo's Wife, as also did the Boy.
Next day the Boy and his Wife started off and into
the forest, and when they had come into the middle of
the forest she said " Look away for a moment."* No
sooner had he done so than she became a Dodo, and
rushed up to eat the Boy. But he changed himself
into a Lion. She made as if to spring upon him, buc
he became a Snake, and then she let him alone, and
the Boy became a Bird, and flew off.
At last he reached home, and he spoke of what had
happened, and his Parents said " Ah, we told you not
to marry her." And they added " When you marry a
Woman do not tell her the secrets of your family."
And he said " I see."
There is evidently a good deal missing from this
story; it is a variant of M. 8 and F.-L. 46. He ought
to have told her that he could change himself into a
Lion, and into a Ma , and his Father ought then to
have interrupted him, and to have prevented him from
saying Machiji (Snake), so that she would not know
next day that the Snake was he.
In a Sierra Leone tale (Cronise and Ward, page
261) an Elephant becomes a Girl and marries the Hunter
who tells her that he can turn himself into a tree, or
an ant-hill, and is then stopped by his Mother who has
294 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
overheard the conversation. Next day the Hunter and
his Wife go to the forest, she becomes an Elephant
and charges at him and he turns into a tree. She
charges again and he becomes an ant-hill. She charges
again and he gets up and "he go fa' down inside
wattah, he turn dat t'ing wey (which) turn fas', fas',
'pon top de wattah. He loss f'om Elephan', but he
bin broke all de bone w'en de Elephan' 'mas' um. . .
So ef ooman come to yo', no tell um all de word wey
yo' get inside yo' heart."
49
THE MAN AND HIS LAZY WIVES.
A certain Farmer and his three Wives used to work
on their farm, but one day the Women said that they
would not do any more hoeing, that they were tired of
it; so the Husband said "Very well." But he
concocted a trick. He made three loin-cloths (i), and
hid them, and next morning he called his Chief Wife
aside, and said to her " See this loin-cloth, I give it to
you to tie on, but do not tell the others, for there is a
certain charm for child-birth in it, and if you tie it
on, you will have a Son " (2). So she replied " Very
well, good," and she put it on.
When she had gone, he called the Second Wife
aside also, and said " See this loin-cloth, I give it to you
to tie on, but do not tell the others, for there is a certain
charm for child-birth in it, and if you tie it on, you will
have a Son." So she replied " Very well, good," and
she put it on.
Then he called the Youngest Wife also, and when
she had come, he said " See this loin-cloth, I give it to
you to tie on, but do not tell the others, for there is a
certain charm for child-birth in it, and if you tie it on,
THE TWO WIVES 295
you will have a Son." So she replied " Very well,
good," and she put it on.
So they all went off to the farm, the Husband and
the three Wives, and when they had arrived, and had
started hoeing, the Husband began to sing, saying : —
" Quickly, quickly, Loin-cloth Wearers,
Quickly, quickly, Loin-cloth Wearers."
Then they went faster and faster, they tried hard, and
worked in all truth. They beat the earth like one Man,
and they all rose up again together (3).
After a time the Chief Wife's loin-cloth became
uncomfortable (4), and she pulled it off, and said " I
cannot work with that on." But when she had taken
it off she became thoroughly tired, and she said " Oh
indeed, so I was given the loin-cloth to make me work
hard, well, I'll wear it no more." When the others
heard this they said " Opp, is it thus that we have been
tricked?" So they also undid their loin-cloths, and
pulled them off. Then the Husband said " Well, had
I not done that to you, you would not have worked
so hard," (5) and he continued " Now let us go back
home again."
They returned.
According to a variant, the object of giving the loin-
cloths to the wives is to make them work like men, and
there is no idea of any charm for childbirth.
50
THE Two WIVES, THE HY^NA, AND THE DOVE.
This is about a Husband and his two Wives. One
of the Women was well off, the other was not. One
296 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
day the Chief Wife, the poor one, said " Well,
I am going to travel in the forest," and her
Husband replied " All right," so off she went. She
travelled on and on, until the sun had fallen,
and night had come, and then she said " May God
give me a little hut," and immediately she saw a large
house ahead of her. So she came close and entered it,
but saw nothing inside, so she said " May God give me
food," and He gave it to her. So she ate until she was
satisfied, and then she said " May God give me a
bed," and He did so, and she lay down.
As she was about to lie down (i), she heard a
Dove coo-ing and saying " Make your soup and drink
it," and the Woman said " Whatever kind of Bird is
talking thus?" But she got up, and made her soup,
and drank it.
In the night a Hyaena came, howling, and saying
" May I come into the King's porch, may I come
into the King's porch?" But the Woman shut
the door, and the Hyaena went off.
In the middle of the night who should come
but Dodo, and he was roaring, and saying " May
I come to the King's porch?" And the Woman
arose, and opened the door of the entrance-hall,
and Dodo entered. When he had got in, she
ran and entered her hut, and hid, but Dodo came
on, saying " May I enter the King's palace?"
So the Woman opened the door of the hut, and
ran away and hid in the space beneath the bed (2).
Then Dodo came into the hut, and climbed up on to the
bed, and pulled off his tobe and trousers, and lay down.
In the morning he threw down silver, and tobes, and
pairs of trousers, and other goods, and left all of them
for her, and went off. So when he had gone, the
THE TWO WIVES 297
Woman collected the things, and brought them home,
and showed them to her Husband.
Then the Rival Wife said "Well, I also shall
go to the forest/' but the Husband said " No, no, what
we have is enough for us all " (3). But she said " I
will go though," and so he said " Very well," and
off she went. She travelled on and on, until the sun
had fallen, and night had come, and then she said
" May God give me a hut," and immediately she
saw a large house ahead of her. So she came close
and entered it, but saw nothing inside, so she said
" May God give me food," and He gave it to her. So
she ate until she was satisfied, and then she said " May
God give me a bed," and He did so, and she lay down.
As she was about to lie down, she heard a Dove
coo-ing, and saying " Make your soup and drink it,"
and the Woman said " Whatever kind of Bird is
talking thus? " And she got up and took a stick, and
hit the Dove, and killed it, and then she cooked and
ate it.
In the night a Hyaena came, howling, and saying
" May I come into the King's porch, may I come into
the King's porch ? " But the Woman did not hear her,
for she was asleep, and the Hyasna came and seized her,
and ate her up (4).
Next morning another Dove heard the news, and
she came and told the Husband, but he said " Oh well,
I told her not to go, see, her blood is upon her own
head." Then the Dove said " I see," and she flew off.
So the Husband lived with the Chief Wife only.
In a variant (M.H. 34) the Second Dove found a
finger of the Dead Woman, and she took it to the
Husband's house and told him what had happened.
298 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
5i
THE MAN AND HIS WIVES, AND DODO.
This is about a Man who had two Wives. Now
whenever he used to go to the forest, he would leave
his Dogs in the hut, and tie them up, and say that if
either of the Wives loosed them he would beat her
when he came home again.
One day when he had taken his flute (i) and had
gone to the forest as usual, it happened that Dodo saw .
him from afar off as he was walking along. And when
the Man saw Dodo he ran and climbed a tree, and took
his flute and began to blow upon it. Immediately the
Dogs heard it from where they were in the hut, and they
began to whine. Then the Chief Wife said " Opp,
whatever is making the Dogs whine like this? I will
loose them." But the Rival Wife said " No, no, do not
do so, the Head-of-the-House (2) has said that whoever
looses them will be beaten on his return." But the
Chief Wife said " I will let them go," so the other
said " Oh, very well, do so if you like." So the Chief
Wife loosed them, and no sooner had she done so than
they raced off, and ran until they had reached the tree.
Immediately Dodo fled, and the Dogs followed, and
they caught him, and killed him on the spot.
When they had done this the Man returned home,
and said " Who let the Dogs loose? " And the Rival
Wife replied " It was she who did it, I myself said
that she was not to do so." Then the Husband said
11 If she had not let them go, Dodo would have seized
me." And he beat the Rival Wife, but he gave the
Chief Wife a present.
A variant (L.T.H. ii, 3) is a mixture of this one,
and stories 32 and 48. The Witch when she has taken
THE FOOLISH WIFE 299
the Youth into the forest changes herself into a Hyaena,
and he goes through various transformations until he
becomes a ring, and she does not recognize this as
him (see F.-L. 46). He then changes into a Man, and
climbs a tree, which she tries to root up. He then calls
his Dogs and they rescue him, and lick up every drop
of blood lest the spot should seize the youth.
52
THE WIFE WHO WOULD NOT WORK ALONE.
There was once a Man who had one Wife, and they
lived thus for nine years. But one day the Wife said
"O, Owner-of-the-House," and he said " Yes."
11 What kind of a Man are you ? " she asked. Then he
said " Why do you ask me what kind of a Man I
am, what have you to complain about? " " It is this,"
she replied, " I have been alone with you nine years,
am I never going to have a Rival Wife? " Then he
said " Oh no, I do not want to set up a Rival, lest
you should be jealous." But she said " No, no, I shall
not be jealous, I myself will find a Wife for you." So
he said " All right, find one for me, will a Man refuse
to marry? "
So she went and got her Friend, a Widow, and
brought her to the house, and she [the Widow] and
the Husband wooed each other, and in the morning
they were married (i), so the Bride lived with the
Chief Wife and her Husband. As for the Husband,
everything he got he would give it to her, and not to
the Chief Wife. He left the Chief Wife's hut and
always slept with the Bride (2).
This went on thus until one day the Chief Wife
came, and said " Look here, O, Owner-of-the-House ! "
300 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
And he replied " Well." She said " Who brought you
this Bride, was it not I ? " And he said " It was you."
Then she said " Very well, I do not like her, so she
must leave the house, you must send her away." But
he replied " Oh no, I lived with you alone, and you
yourself said that you wanted a Rival, it was not I who
sought her, and so now I will not drive her out." Then
the Chief Wife said " Well, as far as I am concerned,
I cannot agree with her, you must send her away."
But he replied " No, it is you who must go," and he
drove her out of the house.
When she had been sent away, she said " Alas,
had I only known, I should not have done thus," and
she continued " He who rides the Horse ' Had I
known ' will feel sore " (3).
53
THE THOUGHTFUL AND THE THOUGHTLESS HUSBANDS.
A certain Man and his Friend started to go out
for a walk, and when they had gone, and were walking
along, they came upon a diniya tree, and they climbed
it — like honey is its fruit — and the Friend said " Let
us eat a little, and take some home." And the other
said " Very well." Now the fruits which the Friend
picked he put in his bag [but the other ate all of those
which he got], and after a time he said " Well, "ict us
go home." So the other said " All right, let us go,"
and they returned.
They went home, and in the night they were
sleeping with their Wives, and the Friend took some
THE TWO HUSBANDS
301
fruits and gave them to his Wife, and she ate them all
but a few. In the morning when she arose, she went
to the house of her Husband's Friend's Wife, and she
took some diniya fruits and gave them to her, and said
'What, did not your Husband bring you any?"
" Oh no,'* the other replied, " he did not bring me
any."
That caused the Wife and Husband to begin
quarrelling, for she said what had she done that her
FIG. 71
FIG. 72.
FIGS. 71, 72. — Steels for flint, carried in small leather purse.
L. about 2 in.
Husband had not brought her any diniya? Then he
said " Let me go and get you some." Now when he
had gone and had climbed the tree, a Hyaena came and
stood at the foot of the tree, and soon afterwards a Lion
also came. Then the Man in the top of the tree began
singing, and saying " O Hyaena, O Strong Hyaena,
the Dancer " (i). Immediately the Hyaena began to
dance, and she went off, and the Lion followed her.
And when they had gone, the Man descended and ran
302 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
all the way home, and ever after that he would bring
his Wife some.
In another Story (L.T.H. ii, 57) a Boy is picking
dates for a Girl whom he has brought from another
city. She is standing underneath, and she hears the
Animals coming — for they all sleep there — and runs
away. The Boy plays his pipe, and the Animals all
dance away, leaving the Hedgehog on guard, but the
Hedgehog also dances off, and so the Boy escapes.
54
SOLOMON AND THE BIRDS.
A certain Woman, one of the Wives of the Prophet
(i) Solomon, went to another house, and saw that the
House-Wife had made a fine floor (2), and had made
her house look splendid. So she said " What did you
mix with the earth of your floor to make it look so
fine? " The other Woman replied " My Husband shot
a number of Wild Beasts, and I collected the blood and
put it in."
Now when his Wife had returned home, Solomon
spoke to her, but she remained silent. Then he said
"What has happened to you to make you angry ?"
She replied " I went to call upon my Friend, and saw
that she had made a fine floor, her Husband had shot
Wild Beasts, and had given her the blood so that she
might mix it with the earth. Now, see here, all the
Birds come and hover over you like an umbrella (3),
you must take some and kill them, and give them to
me for my floor." So he said " Very well, to-morrow
some will be taken and given to you." " Good," she
replied, " May God bring us safely to to-morrow " (4).
SOLOMON AND THE BIRDS 303
Now next morning not one Bird came, but about
breakfast time the King of Birds flapped his wings,
and came to the Cock, who said to him " Have you
heard what the Prophet Solomon said yesterday?"
The King of the Birds said "What did he say?"
" The Prophet Solomon said that he would kill us,"
replied the Cock. Then the King of the Birds said
11 Oh ! Well, I am going home."
About ten o'clock the King of the Birds returned,
and Solomon said " Have you been delayed in the town
that you have not been here ever since dawn?" He
replied " We have been arguing on three subjects at
home." " What are the differences of opinion amongst
the Birds?" asked Solomon. He said "They asked
me ' Which is the longer, the night or the day ? ' and
I replied ' From the morning, since the first call to
prayers, until the evening, until it is almost time to go
to sleep, all this is daytime, surely the day is longer
than the night.' Then they asked me * Who are the
most numerous, Women or Men ? ' and I said
1 Women, for a Man who is Led by his Wife is also a
Woman ' " (5). Then Solomon said " Go home." (6).
Now soon afterwards, his Wife went out and came
to the house of the Owner-of-the-Fine-Floor, and the
latter said " Oh dear, is it true that what I said to you
in fun, you believed, and that you went and told it to the
Prophet? I cut wood and beat it, and soaked it in
water, and sprinkled the water on the floor. I was only
making game of you."
In a Malayan story also (Skeat, page 64) King
Solomon has an argument with the Birds, in which the
Thrush, the Woodpecker, and the Heron show to
advantage.
304 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
55
THE KING WHO COVETED His SON'S WIFE.
Once there was a certain Maiden whose name was
Kwallabbe, and she was very ugly. Now, her Mother
[hated her for it and] turned her out of the house
saying " Go to that city, you can find a home with
someone there." So she went to the King's palace,
and she was taken in and allowed to live there.
But whenever the King's Son came to eat his meals,
he would say " Take her away " — for he said that she
was very ugly, and that he did not like her. Then the
Maiden returned to her Mother, and said " O Parent,
they do not like me, they are trying to drive me out of
the city." Then her Mother swallowed her, and brought
her up beautiful, and said " Now, return to the city
and stay there." So she went off, and returned to
the King's palace, and while she was there the King's
Son made love to her. So she went to her Mother and
told her, and the Mother consented. So she married
the King's Son.
After a time the King himself fell in love with the
Maiden, and wanted her for his own, so he mobilized
his Troops as if for war, and told his Son that he was
to go with the Army. Now when the Son was about to
start, the Maiden put a date-stone into the lock of
hair (i) on his head, and the Troops moved off. Now
after they had been marching for some time, [they
arrived at a well], and it was now noon. Then the
King said " Chiroma " (2), and [when he had come
close, the King] said that he was to enter the well, and
send up water for the Horses. So he said " Very
good," and he went down, and sent up water until all
the Horses had drunk their fill (3). Then the King
THE KING'S SON'S WIFE 305
said " Now fill up the well with earth," and when this
had been done, [and his son had been entombed], the
King returned home. When he had arrived he sum-
moned the Maiden, and said " Ah ! see, your Husband
is dead." And she replied " It is so," and she refused
to touch any food ; for about ten days she did not eat
anything.
Now the Son was in the well, and lo ! the date-stone
in his hair began to grow, it shot up through the mouth
of the well, and grew up high. And the Son followed,
and followed, climbing the tree, until he emerged at the
top and it grew very high, and he remained in it (4).
One day his Wife's Slave passed, she used to go to
a Filani camp (5) to get milk, and she saw a Man like
Dodo. " O Girl, come here," said he, but she refused.
Then again he said " O Girl, come here," and she said
" Very well," and came close. When she had come, he
pulled the ring off his finger, and dropped it into the
milk (6), and said " Now, when you go home, do not
let anyone help you down with your calabash of milk
except my Wife," and the Girl said " Very well." So
when she returned, she said " Come and help me, Mis-
tress," but the other refused. Then she said again
" But you must come," so she did so. And when she
had helped her to put it down, the Slave said to her
" Put your hand into the milk." So she dipped it
in, and took out the ring. Then she said " Who
gave you this ? " And the Slave replied " You know it
then ? " and she told her where her Husband was.
Then the Wife got a Horse, and summoned the
Drummers, and the Barbers, and they went off. When
she arrived she caused him to be washed, and when that
had been done he was shaved, and after that robes
were placed upon him, and then she said " Good, let
20
306 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
us go." So he mounted a Horse, and he went off, and
came upon his Father who was holding a council
meeting. Then the Son said " O People, what does
One do to an Enemy? " And they were silent. Then
again he spoke asking what One did to an Enemy.
Then he drew his sword and killed his Father, and
said " Praise be to God, the city has become mine."
Then the People said " Blessings upon you, and
fortune," and he replied "Thanks" (7).
So he lived in the palace and ruled over the city.
A variant (F.-L. 48), where the Girl after having
been swallowed emerges half gold and half silver, states
that the Mother was an Elephant, and that it would have
been unsafe for the Maiden to have remained in the
forest. That version certainly seems more satisfactory
than this, for here the Mother could have swallowed her
at first. Also wrhy was this Mother living away from
the city? Another variant makes the Girl to be born
in a gourd, as is the Boy in a clay pot in Story 71.
In yet another (L.T.H. ii, 55) the Girl is named
Atafa, and, after her Mother and Father have
died, she swallows all the Animals and property, and
goes as a poor Maid into the City. The King's Son
despises her until he has found out that she is rich,
and then the King also wants her, as in this Story. The
Son is sent out with an Expedition (the King does not
go), and on reaching the well, each Man refuses to
enter it "because the Horses do not belong to his
Father," so the Son does. He is entombed, and the
date-tree grows up, and he appears, all white, and sits in
the branches. The rest of the story is as above.
An Annamite tale has some points of resemblance.
It is (S.F.T. 323) to the effect that a Woodcutter who
found some Fairies bathing, took the raiment of one
of them, and hid it, so the Owner had to become his
Wife (as in T.H.H. 4). A Son was born, but when he
DODO'S SON 307
was three years of age, the Mother found her clothes
and vanished, leaving, however, her comb stuck in his
collar. The Husband on his return, took his Son to the
fountain where they met some of his Wife's Servants
drawing water, and while speaking to them the
Husband dropped the comb into one of the jars. On
the Girl's return, the Wife recognized the comb, and
sent him an enchanted handkerchief by the means of
which he was able to go to her.
i
!
56
THE GIRL WHO MARRIED DODO'S SON.
A certain Man was on a journey, and he came to the
King of the city, and said ' ' The Pagans are preparing
for war, but there is a river in the road which will pre-
vent your passage." Then the King said " Indeed,
let me go and see." So he arose, and went to the
;-iver side, and said " O River, let those which are in
his river hear, I have come to ask them to let me pass
hat I may go and fight the Pagans." Then from out
of the water came voices " What will you give us if
you go to war ? " And he said " If I go and fight, and
return, and God has given me the victory, I will give
the Son of the King of the River a Daughter of my
own blood in marriage." Then they said "Agreed,"
and the River went over to one side, and left a passage
open. And when he had gone and fought, and captured
a large number of Slaves in the Enemy's city, and had
returned and crossed the river to go home, the water
returned and flowed on as before.
Now he lived at home, and traded off his Slaves
which he had taken, and said nothing further to the
River. So the River rose, and the water came almost
308 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
up to the city, until the People said " Verily the water
will destroy the city." Then the King arose, and
prostrated himself, and said to the River " Be patient,
the Girl is not yet marriageable, wait a little while
for her." And then the water fell again.
Then the King arose, and went into the palace, and
said " O Chief Wife," and she replied " Yes." " Will
you not give me your Daughter that I may give her
to the River-Dwellers?" he continued. But she said
" I will not give you my Daughter." Then he arose and
went to the Youngest Wife, and said to her " I have
come to you with a petition, for the sake of God give
me your Daughter." "Very well," she said, "to
whom do both I and the Girl belong ? Are we not yours ?
Take her, and give her to them." So the King caused
the Girl to be brought, and kola-nuts and money, and
the marriage was proclaimed. Then he ordered ten
Men to take her to the River. So they took the Girl,
and made her prostrate herself, and said " Here, O you
River-Dwellers (i), see a Beautiful Bride whom we have
brought you." Then they went away, they returned
to the city, and left the Girl there, and when they had
gone, the River-Dwellers came out from the water,
seized the Girl's hand, and made her enter the water.
She was brought to the house, the house of Dodo, the
King of the River, and after a time the Children
of the River-Dwellers got to know her, and used to
play with her.
Now this Youngest Wife of the King of the city
had a Child in arms (2), and this Infant began to learn,
and in time she grew up. And the King's other
Children used to mock her, and say " We dislike you
because your Sister was thrown into the River." Then
the Girl said to her Mother "Is it true that I have a
DODO'S SON 309
Sister who was thrown into the River?" And the
Mother replied " Yes, it is true that you had a Sister."
Then the Girl said " Indeed ! May God bring us
together."
Now one day when she went to the market to buy
something to eat, she procured a small gourd (3), and
brought it to the place where the Worshippers in the
Mosque used to wash (4), and she dug up the earth, and
planted the gourd, and said " Now, Gourd, I want
you to guide me to the place where my Sister is." So
the gourd sprouted, and started creeping along, and
went on until it had gone outside the city, and it grew
and grew, until it had reached the river, and had
entered and reached the Sister's house. Then it
climbed the house, and blossomed, and fruited. Now
next morning, the Girl said to her Mother " I am going
to look for my Sister." " Do you know where she is ? "
asked she. And the Girl replied " I shall follow this
gourd, it will guide me." So in the morning as she was
starting, her Mother said " Very well, go, if I could
lose the Elder and yet bear it, surely I can put up
with the loss of you, the Younger One."
So the Girl followed the gourd, and went on and
on until she arrived at the bank of the river, and then
she said " Really ! is that where my Sister is ? " Then
she shut her eyes, and threw herself into the water.
Now the Sister in her house heard the splash, and on
going out she saw a Human Being, so she took her up
in her arms, and carried her into the house. And when
the Girl had recovered consciousness, she said " Where
did you come from? " The Sister replied " I am of
the King's house." " Who is your Father?" asked
the Girl. " So-and-So is my Mother," replied the
Other. Then the Girl said " O, Sister, I used to be
310 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
mocked, People used to say that you had been killed
in the river, that is why I have come to see you." Then
the Sisters both burst out crying.
Just then the Husband, Dodo's Son, approached,
and they heard him coming, and the Wife said to her
Sister " Run, hide yourself lest my Husband see you."
So the Girl arose, and got inside the space under the
earthen seat (5), and her Sister had no sooner covered
her with a cloth than he arrived, and entered the room.
" Hullo," he exclaimed, '* I smell a Mortal in my
house." "It is nobody," she replied, " it is I.11
" Oh no," he said, " it is a Stranger." So he got up,
and pulled away the cloth, and caught hold of the Girl,
and said to his Wife " So we have a Girl-Visitor and
you would not tell me, did you want to hide her from
me? " She said " Yes, it is my Sister who has come."
So they lived together for five days, and the Girl made
friends with Dodo's Son and played with him.
But one morning she said " I must leave and go
home." And her Sister said " Very well, but wait
until the Owner-of-the-House has returned, and I will
tell him, then you shall go home." When Dodo's Son
had returned, he said " O Girl, are you leaving to-
morrow ? " And she said " Yes, I must go to-morrow
lest my Mother mourn for me." "Very well," he
replied, and then said to his Wife " To-morrow when
morning has come, take her and put her inside the
ccrn-binn that she may get two small baskets with lids,
and take them." So next morning the Wife took her
Sister to the corn-binn, and when she had taken out
the small baskets, she said to her " Mind when you go,
you give my regards to all at home." And she took
her out of the water, and accompanied her a short dis-
tance on the way (6). At last she said " When you
DODO'S SON 311
have emerged from that forest you will see a low hill
ahead, and when you have got so far you must throw
down the basket which is in your right hand. When
you have traversed another forest, and have reached
another hill, you must break the basket in your left
hand." And then they parted, and the Sister returned
to her Husband in the water.
So the Girl went on as far as the hill which her
Sister had pointed out to her, and then she broke one
of the little baskets. Immediately Cattle, and Slaves,
and Horses emerged from it, and they took her up and
set her upon a Horse (7). Then when she had come to
the other hill, she broke the basket in her left hand,
and immediately Camels, and Donkeys, and Mules, and
Drummers, and Trumpeters, and Buglers emerged from
it, everything that could be thought of appeared. So
she set off again to go home. But she sent three Men
on ahead, saying .'* Tell the King not to run away
when he hears the noise of my Host (8), it is I who am
coming who have been to see my Sister." So the
Messengers came to the King, and told him the news,
and when she had arrived they all turned out to salute
her. She dismounted then, and went into the palace.
Now one of the other Daughters-of-the-House said
11 I also will go and see my Sister." So she also
planted her gourd in the place where the Worshippers
used to wash, and the gourd grew and crept to the
river, entered the water, and climbed the Sister's house.
And when the Sister went outside the house, she said
" Hullo, I have got a gourd," and Dodo's Son said
" Good, keep it to yourself." And, he continued " I
must tell you something, on the day that anyone asks
you my name and you speak it, from then you will
never see me again " (9).
3i2 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
Well, the other Girl went to her Mother, and said
' I shall take the road to-morrow morning, I am going
to visit my Sister," and she was given permission.
So next morning she started off, and when she had
reached the river, she threw herself in. The Sister then
came out of her house, and lifted her up, and said to
her "And whence come you also?" "From the
King's house," she replied, and then the Sister took
her inside, and set her down. Just then the Son of the
King of the River arose, and approached the house,
and the Wife said " Get up and hide." But the other
Girl said " Certainly not, you want to hide me so that
I may not see your Husband " (10). When the Hus-
band came into the hut, he saw the Visitor sitting down,
but he went out again without a word (n).
Soon the other Girl said that she must return on the
morrow, but the Sister said " Very well, but stay until
the Owner-of-the-House returns, and then he will bid
you adieu." So in the morning she said to him " The
other Girl is going home." He said " Very well, take
her to the corn-binn, and let her take two small
baskets." So she took her to the corn-binn, and told
her what to do, but when the other Girl had heard this,
she said " There are large baskets here, yet you tell
me to take small ones !" And she took one of the big
ones, and she was taken out of the corn-binn, arguing.
Then Dodo's Son said " Now go with her, and put
her on the road."
So the Sister went and put her on the road to her
home, and said " Now, see that hill over there, when
you have arrived there throw down this basket." So
the Sister returned to the water, and the other Girl went
on. But she broke the basket at once, and a lame
Horse, a Donkey and a Slave both blind, emerged, and
BARBERS
FIG. 73-
FIG. 74.
FIG. 75.
Figs. 73 and 74 show different patterns of razors, and Fig. 75 the case in
which they are kept, an ancient stone axe-head being often used as a hone.
The illustrations purtray the attitude in shaving and hair-cutting.
314 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
a lame Goat. Then she set off home, she was very
angry.
In a variant (L.T.H. ii, 62) the King gives his
Daughter to the river itself. A Youth emerges, and
takes her, and he turns out to be the Son of the King
of the Dodos. He lives with her and his other Wife for
some time, but then goes to his own city, telling the
Girl to visit hers. Instead of this, she follows him,
and has to escape from his Mother, in much the same
way as do the Youth and the Spider in Story 95
(variant). Afterwards the Dodo-King dies, and the
Youth succeeds him, once more going to the Dodo city,
and this time he and his human Wife part for good.
A somewhat similar choice of baskets is given in a
Japanese tale recorded by Lord Redesdale, in Tales of
Old Japan (page 135), in which an Old Man kept a
Sparrow, but one day when away, his Wife became
angry with it, and, having cut its tongue, let it loose.
Some time afterwards the Old Man met it, and it brought
him to its house, and entertained him. When he went
away, the Sparrow gave him two wicker baskets, one
heavy and one light, and the Old Man chose the
latter. On reaching home he opened his light basket,
and " lo and behold ! it was full of gold and silver and
precious things." Then the Old Woman went off also,
but she had to ask for a present, and she chose the
heavy basket. But when she opened it " all sorts of
hobgoblins and elves sprang out of it, and began to
torment her."
For another parallel see Story 93, variant.
57
THE MAN WHO MARRIED A MONKEY.
There was once a certain Man who married a female
Monkey. He said that he had a farm, and he told her to
go to it, but she said that her teeth were aching. So
he said Oh, very well, that she could stay at home.
THE MONKEY-WOMAN 315
But when her Husband had gone, she climbed the
barn (i) and stole some guinea-corn, and took it to the
stones, and ground it. And while she was doing this
she commencing singing, and saying that her tooth-
ache was all a pretence, that her Husband was at the
farm, and she was having a holiday. So she cooked
food and ate until she was satisfied, then she took what
was left, and hid it. But when she saw her Husband
returning, she got on to the bed, and began crying,
and saying that her teeth were very painful.
Now a certain Woman came, and told the Husband
that his Wife was a fraud. And he asked himself
what he would do. Then he decided to drive her out
of the house, so he did so, and when he had sent her
away he lived like a Bachelor (2).
A story on similar lines makes the Spider wed the
Crown-Bird, but he, too, finds that his Wife will not
perform any wifely duties, and so he drives her away.
58
THE MONKEY-WOMAN.
Once there was a Man who married a Widow, and
lo ! she could change herself into a Monkey. He had
a tomato (i) farm, and when he had married her, he
said " I am going to the forest to hunt, but see this
farm, you must watch it lest the Monkeys come and
plunder. " And she replied " Very well."
Now, as soon as he had gone, she went off to the
farm, and stopped in the centre of the farm, and pulled
off her cloths, and laid them on top of an ant-hill. Then
3i6 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
she lay on the ground, and rolled about, and when she
had done so a Monkey-tail grew out of her buttocks,
and she became a Monkey out and out. Then she put
her hand to her mouth, and called " O Monkeys, O
Monkeys, O Monkeys," and Monkeys to the number
of about 500 came out of the forest, and she said to
them " [Now eat, but] not the blossoms, and not the
small ones." So they ate up all the full-grown
tomatoes, and then they went off, and she became a
Human Being again, and went home.
When the Hunter had returned, a Friend said to
him " Your Wife can change herself into a Monkey."
But the Other exclaimed "Oh! You have begun to
make trouble have you ? You want to part us." " [You
think that] I do not want you to be happy, that I
wish you only evil? " asked the Friend. And he con-
tinued " But since you think I am complaining with-
out cause, tell her to grind corn for you because you
are going to watch [at another farm]." And the
Husband said '* Very well," he agreed to that.
So [on the following day] the Wife ground corn
for him, and he went off and set up some posts
at the edge of the tomato farm, so that he could
sit on them (2), and he got a ladder, and mounted
it, and sat there. Soon afterwards, he saw her afar off
approaching the farm, she was coming in the shape of
a Human Being. But when she had reached the centre
of the farm where the ant-hill was — and he was watch-
ing her all the time — she pulled off her cloths and
threw them down, and she fell on to the ant-hill and
rolled about. So she became a Monkey, and she arose,
put her hand to her mouth, and called " O Monkeys,
O Monkeys, O Monkeys." Then he saw the Monkeys
coming out from the edge of the forest rat tat tat, rat tat
THE DESPISED WIFE'S TRIUMPH 317
tat, and they ate up the tomatoes hop. When they had
gone, she became a Woman again, she took up her
cloths and folded them on (3), and went home.
So the Husband descended from the scaffold, and
followed her, and [when he arrived at his house] she
said " O Owner-of-the-House, welcome.*' But he re-
plied " I want no welcome [from you], get your things
together, and get out, I am not able to live with a
Monkey! "(4).
In a variant (F.-L. 47) the Man marries a Gazelle.
In another (L.T.H. n) he soliloquises thus " I shall
never again marry a Woman whose People I do not
know."
59
THE DESPISED WIFE'S TRIUMPH.
There was once a King of a certain city who had
four Wives, of whom he loved three, but he did not
like the fourth at all. So he went and obtained birth-
potions for the three, and they came outside to grind
them upon the stones, and when they had done so they
went inside again, but the Unbeloved Wife had only
corn to grind there. Now God allowed them all to
conceive, the whole four of them, including her, and
at the proper time the King said " Let each return to
her Mother's house for the event " (i).
So the three Loved Ones left the city, and went off
to their homes, but the fourth did not know which was
her native town (2), and she went along the road aim-
lessly, and saying " God will provide me with a home
where I can be taken care of." So she went on and
3i8 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
on in the forest, until at last she saw afar off a little
hut. Now just then she heard a tornado rumbling in
the distance, and she ran towards the hut; but as she
ran it ran also, as she chased it, it was always ahead,
until she cried out in desperation " O God, wilt Thou
not make that hut stop so that I may enter it and
escape from the coming storm ? " And immediately the
hut stopped where it was.
Now when she came up to go inside, she saw a
great Head* (3) lying in the doorway, and a Dog
crouching by its side. But [when she would have run
away], the Head grunted out " Um," and the Dog
interpreted. ' That means, that you are to come in,"
he said. So she entered the hut, and no sooner had she
done so than down came the storm.
Soon the rain stopped, and then the Head grunted
" Um/' and the Dog said to her " That means, ' Where
are you going?' ' The woman answered " My Sister-
Wives have gone to the houses of their Parents to be
laid up, but I have no Relatives so I must find some
place where I can be attended to." Then the Head
again grunted " Um," and the Dog said " That means,
' Have you no Parents?' ' And she replied " I have
none, I was carried away to the city when I was a
Tiny Mite, and I cannot remember the name of my
native-town." " Um," grunted the Head. "That
means, ' Would you like to stay here with us?' " ex-
plained the Dog. And she replied " Does a Human
Being refuse to live with his kind? " Once more the
Head grunted " Um," and the Dog said " That means,
1 Be content, and stay with us.' '
About the tenth Hay afterwards, the pains of labour
gat hold upon her. Then the Head grunted "Um,"
and the Dog said " That means, ' What is making your
THE DESPISED WIFE'S TRIUMPH 319
eyes look so strange ?' ' And she answered that she
had gnawing pains in her inside. Again the Head
grunted " Urn," and the Dog said " That means, that
you must take this writing and dip it in a calabash of
water and drink " (4). So she did so, and drank the
ink and water. " Urn," grunted the Head. " That
means, ' Go outside,' " explained the Dog. So she went
out, and found herself in another hut, and several Old
Women (5) came to help her, and she brought forth
her Child, a Son.
Now the King [her Husband] had said that who-
ever gave birth to a Son would have a Bull killed in
her honour at the King's palace on the day of her
return. And this Woman now had a Son ! So they
washed the Child, and she saw that food had been
placed at her side, so she ate, though she did not know
whence it had come. Then she saw that warm water
had been placed in a vessel behind the hut, and so
she went and bathed herself (6).
She was there forty days, and then she went to the
Dog and said "Tell my Father (7), the Head, that
to-morrow my Rival Wives will be going home to the
palace." Then the Head grunted "Urn," and the
Dog interpreted " That means, that to-morrow you
also shall go." Next morning the Head grunted
" Um," and the Dog said " That means, that you are
to come in here." So she entered, and saw that the
house was full of People, even her own Mother who
had borne her was there. One brought a present, and
another brought a present, all heaped up things for
her. Her Mother gave her a necklace of silver
dollars (8), strung on a purple cord, and she put it in
her basket. Then they escorted her to where the Head
was, and she knelt down, and said " O Father, I am
320 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
going home." " Urn," it grunted, and the Dog said
"That means, 'Bless you/" " Urn," it grunted
again. " That means, * Go in health and in peace,' "
explained the Interpreter. So she started off, crying
and weeping, and the People escorted her until they
had brought her to the road which she knew, and
then they stopped, and said " Now go on, and may you
arrive safely."
So she went on, and overtook her Rivals at the
river (9) where they were bathing. Now all three of
them had given birth only to Daughters, and as she
stepped into the river to go over the ford, the Chief
Wife said " Are you not going to stop, and let us
see what sex your Child is?" But she said "No."
Then the Chief Wife ran after her, and pulled the Child
from off her back (10), and when she saw that it was a
Male, she put it on her back, and went off at a run,
leaving her own Child on the bank of the stream. Then
the Young Wife returned and took up the Chief Wife's
Daughter, and went on home. The Chief Wife when
she had reached home, said " Tell the King to come out
and slaughter a Bull in my honour." But the Others
went to their own houses quietly, the Young Wife
entered in silence, she did not say a word.
Now the Boy grew up, and he began to go
out to the forest (11), and one day he was seized
with a sudden illness while in the bush and he
died there. Then the other Boys returned, and said
" Mohammadu has died in the forest," and the Towns-
People mounted their Horses, and galloped off, and
fetched him. They brought him to the palace, and
were going to take him and bury him in the earth, when
the Wise Men said " This Corpse is speaking, do not
bury it." Then they summoned the four Wives to
THE DESPISED WIFE'S TRIUMPH 321
come, and the Wise Men said " Go to your houses (12),
prepare food, and bring it."
So they went and made some, but the real
Mother had nothing but chaff to make food with,
and this she kneaded. Then each picked up her
calabash, and brought it to where the Wise Men
were. And the Wise Men asked " Which is the
Chief Wife?" and they said to her " Come here,
FIG. 76.
FIG. 77.
FIGS. 76, 77. — Front and back of reed auto-harp in general use.
L., I7f in.
and bring your dish." So she said " Good, if it is 1
who have borne him he will rise up." So she went to
the Corpse and said " Arise, and eat this food," but he
did not move. Then Another came up, and said " If
it is I who have borne you, arise," but he did not.
The third Woman also came up, but he did not move.
Then his real Mother came up with the chaff — it was not
proper food — and said " Arise, and eat this chaff; It
21
322 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
was by treachery that you were snatched from me at
the river-side." And immediately he rose up.
Then the King was overjoyed, and said that she was
to be taken and placed in his own apartments. But
she said " No. First cut off the heads of the Chief
Wife, and of the other two, so that I may have a
cooking-place" (13). And he consented.
So they had their heads cut off; but she lived
happily (14).
Another Story (L.T.H. ii, 44) has some points of
resemblance to this one, and to Story 64. A Merchant,
when setting out on a journey, told his Slave to look
after his four Daughters, and give them food. Three
of them gave in to the Slave, and he gave them plenty,
but the fourth, Auta, would not do so, and she got
nothing. The Merchant had given each Daughter a
looking-glass, and on his return he asked to see them.
When the Girls looked, they saw that only Auta's was
bright, so each borrowed hers and showed it to her
Father. When Auta was going to him, the Slave took
her glass and spoiled it, and the Father ordered that
she should be taken to the forest and that her hands and
feet should be cut off. The Slave did this, and left her,
but she was rescued by another Merchant, who married
her. Soon afterwards he and the Father went on a trip
together, but he forgot something, and the Slave was
sent back to tell the Chief Wife. He recognized the
Girl, and said that he had been ordered to tell the Chief
Wife to put the Girl and her newly-born Twins on a
Camel, and drive them into the forest. This was done,
and the Girl asked God for water, her hands and feet,
and a house (see 50), and He gave them to her. Next
morning when she awoke, she found that she was in the
midst of a large city of which she was Queen, and soon
afterwards who should arrive but her Father and her
Husband. She told them about it, changed the Slave
into a White-Breasted Crow, and lived happily.
THE GOOD K IS HI A 323
60
THE GOOD KISHIA AND THE LUCKY BOY.
Once there was a certain Boy who lived with his
Mother and her Rival Wife, the Kishia. And when he
began to grow up, his Playmates, when they mounted
their Horses and passed through the town, used to say
" O Playmate, if your Mother is not displeased with
you, let her buy you a Horse "(i). They were always
saying this to him, and at last the Kishia said " Are you
not going to buy your Son a Horse?" And the
Mother replied " Would you like to do so, I have
not a cowrie to spare." So the Kishia bought him a
Horse, and the robes [proper for a Rider].
After that, whenever his Playmates mounted their
Horses, he got his, and they used to go out riding
together. This went on until the Boy reached marriage-
able age, and the Kishia arranged a marriage for
him (2). And when she had done this, she said to him
" Go, wherever you wish to go, if you can go, go."
So he said " I obey."
Now the King of the city summoned him, and said
1 While on your travels, if you go to the city with
which we are now at war, bring back for me the King's
spear." And the Boy said " I will."
So off he started with his Wife, and went straight
to the city with which they were at war, and outside the
walls they met the King's Daughter, and he said to her
11 Let us return to the city " (3). When they had
entered, she took them to a lodging, a fine hut. Then
he said to her " Now I have one favour to ask you,
and that is that you will take me to where I can obtain
a spear." " Opp, that is a simple matter," she replied,
and she took him to a house where there were three
324 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
huts, the first full of swords, the second full of spears,
the third full of other weapons. Then she said " Here
is the house of spears, choose any one that you like."
So he said " Good," and he chose that of the King.
Then he said " I have done so, will you return with
me ? " And she answered " Urn."
So they left the city, and after a time they came
to a great river, and the river was full. But the other
Girl could swim, for she was the Daughter of the King
of the River (4), and she went and called, and canoes
appeared. So they took up their bundles, and went
to their own city, and the Boy went to his King and
gave him the spear. Then the King divided the city
into two, and gave half to the Boy to rule over, and
he gave him Slaves, and Horses also. The Boy married
the Girl from the other city also (5), and he and his
Wives ruled the world.
In a variant (L.T.H. 25), the Youth was sent by a
jealous Master to recover a spear with which he had
wounded the hostile King during a war, leaving the
spear in the wound. The King had died, and the
Daughter ruled the city, so the Youth made love to
her. He put scent instead of oil in his lamp, he gave
his horse kola-nuts instead of grass to eat, and he tied
him up with an expensive turban instead of a cheap
rope. This so overcame the Lady that she gave him
the spear, and went off with him, as in the above, but
the Towns-People pursued them, and when stopped by
the river they did not know what to do. Just then
the Daughter of the King of the River came up, and
said " Hullo, Servant-of the-Son-of the-King-of the-
City-of-Us (6), what are you doing here?" He re-
plied "Look, do you see that crowd of Horsemen?
They are coming after me and this Woman. They
want to catch me, and I do not know what to do? "
The Daughter of the King of the River exclaimed
" Opp, is it because of that; is that all?" And she
THE DETERMINED GIRL 325
took a piece of gravel, and threw it into the river, and
immediately the waters divided, and he and the Woman
crossed. As soon as they had gone over the waters
returned, and joined together again ; and so the fugi-
tives made good their escape.
61
THE DETERMINED GIRL AND THE WICKED PARENTS.
This is about a Girl named Faddam. Now it
happened that a certain Man wanted to marry her, and
she loved him too, but her Parents did not like him, and
her Parents' Relatives did not like him, and so they
refused to give her to him. But one day, she scooped
up the whole of the water of the town stream in a
gourd (i), and climbed a tree, and thus everyone in
the town was without water to drink. Soon People
came to ask the Girl to give them water. "Who is
asking ?" she said. "It is your Mother,'* was the
reply, and so she said "Oh! No, I shall not give
you any."
This went on until People began to die, so the
Parents were again sent to the Girl, and when they had
come, they said " Give us water to drink lest the
whole town die." " If I give you water to drink, will
you give me Musa in marriage? " she asked, and they
replied " Yes." Then she descended, and opened her
gourd, and immediately the water flowed all over the
town.
So she was married, and in due course she gave birth
to a Child, a male. Now when she had brought forth
her Son, she left him in the house, and her Parents
came and suffocated the Child, and killed it. So when
326 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
the Girl returned she saw this, and told her Husband,
and he said " Very well, we shall be avenged." The
Parents were summoned to attend the funeral rites,
but the Husband dug a well, and hid the mouth with a
mat (2), and when the Parents had come, he made them
sit on the mat, and so they fell into the well, and were
killed.
In a variant (M. 6), the well is first filled with
burning logs.
62
THE WICKED GIRL AND HER PUNISHMENT.
There was once a certain Girl who loved a Youth,
but her Parents said that they would not give her to
him in marriage. He was always coming and begging
them to let him marry her, but they would say ** We
shall not give her to you."
Now, one day the Girl came to him, and said " I
have come to you to ask you to give me your knife
so that I may go and kill my Mother, then we can
run away to some other town, and get married." But
he said " No, no, we must not do that." Again she
came and said " Give me your knife, that I may go and
kill my Mother." But again he replied " No, no, you
must not kill your Mother because of me," and he
continued " Go home and stay there. Those who can
give your Parents presents can give you some also " (i).
Five days passed, and then the Girl asked
"Will you give me your knife to cut pumpkins?"
Now the Boy forgot, and he pulled out his knife (2) and
gave it to her, and immediately on receiving it, she
THE WICKED GIRL 327
went and cut her Mother's throat. Then she ran to
the Youth, and said " Now, you see I have done it;
if we do not flee, you and I will be killed. Look at
the blood on your knife (3), I have cut my Mother's
throat with it." So they started off, the Youth took
a bow and arrows, sent the Girl in front of him, and
they escaped from the city.
They pressed on and on towards the forest; they
slept that night, and next morning they pushed on again
until, when they had reached the centre of the forest,
the Girl was seized with an internal pain, and she fell
down and died. Then the Youth drew out one of his
arrows and fitted it to the bow and stood and guarded
her body.
Soon the Beasts of the forest all assembled to eat
her, but he would not allow them to do so, but said
that nothing should touch her unless he should first
be killed. Then the Eagle came, and alighted in front
of the Youth, and said " Let us feast." But he said
" No, no, did I not promise that I should not leave her?
Shall I allow you to eat her body ? " The Eagle replied
" Do not put your trust in Women, they are not
truthful." But the Youth said " I do not agree, I
trust this one." Then the Eagle said " Have you a
flask? " (4). And he said " I have." The Eagle said
"Give me it," and he took it, and flew off. But
soon he returned with water in the flask, and said
" Have you a knife? " And the Youth said " Yes."
Then the Eagle said "Separate her teeth," and he
plucked out two feathers from his wings, and stirred
them around in the water. So the Girl's mouth was
opened, the water was poured in, and immediately the
Girl rose up. Then the Eagle said to the Youth " See
these feathers, keep them, some day when you have
328 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
gone to another city, and have obtained something to
eat, you will repay us for our feast which we have lost
to-day."
So the Youth and the Girl went off again, and
reached a city, and came to the house of an Old
Woman, which they entered, and they remained there
until the afternoon, they even slept there. Next
morning they heard weeping, and they were told that
the King's Mother had died. Then the Youth arose,
and said " Let me go and see what can be done." So
he started off and came to where the death had taken
place, and when he had come, he went up to a Man
and said " Can you obtain for me an interview with the
King?" "The King's heart is broken," he replied
" is anyone going to bother him now? " But another
said " Here, do you know what his business is? Go
and ask the King indeed." And the King when he
had heard, said " Tell the Youth to come." So he
was summoned, and he came, and said " If I bring your
Mother back to life, what will you give me?" Then
one of the Attendants said " Have you ever seen any-
one who has died come back to life? " But the King
said " Leave him alone, perhaps he has some magic " ;
and he continued, addressing the Youth, " I will give
you ten Slaves." He said " See, this house also will
I give you, and these Horses." So the Youth said
14 Very well, bring me water in a flask," and water was
obtained and brought to him. Then he walked around
to the back of the house, and stirred the Eagle's
feathers in the water, and brought it back, and said
" Now open the King's Mother's mouth." Imme-
diately after the water had been poured down her throat,
she rose up, and remained alive, so the Youth's presents
were brought and given to him. Then he returned to
THE WICKED GIRL 329
his house, and remained in the town, and whenever
anyone died, someone would come and summon him
to give the Dead Person the charm so as to bring
him back to life again.
Now after a time, one of the King's Slaves made
the Girl fall in love with him, and he said " Look here,
Girl, since we know each other so well, will you not
give me your Husband's charm?" And she said
11 Very well." So when she went to bed and her
Husband talked, she remained silent; when he asked
her anything she did not reply. Then her Husband
said " What is the matter with you ? " And she replied
1 Well, we have been together for some time now, but
you have got something which you are keeping secret
from me; you are always hiding it." Then he said
" Is it only that which has made you so quiet? Well,
here it is; keep it for me." So he gave the Girl the
Eagle's feathers. No sooner had she received them than
she took a water-pot, and said that she was going to
the river for water. But instead of doing so, she went
and gave the feathers to the King's Slave, who took
them to his house.
Soon afterwards, another death took place in the
King's Family, and the Youth was summoned as
usual, so he came and said to his Wife " Where
is the thing which I gave you to keep for me?"
And she replied "It is here somewhere, I put it
just here." They looked but did not find it;
they looked again but did not find it. But the
King's Slave went, and said to the King "If I
make him rise up again, how much will you give
me? " The King replied " Everything that you want
I will give you." So he said " Very well," and he made
the Dead Man rise up. When he had done this, the
330 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
King's Slave asked that the Youth should be seized and
given to him for a Slave, and the King said " Very
well, go and seize him." So he went and caught him,
and took his Wife for himself. The King's Slave bound
the Youth, and put handcuffs on him, and took him to
the forest, and made him clear the ground.
Some time afterwards, the Eagle came to where
he was, and said " Where is that which you promised
me ? I told you that the Woman was not faithful, but
you said that she was. Now let me do you another good
turn. To-night, hold your leg-irons up to your
thighs (5), and go into the city and find me a Cat."
So he went and found a Cat, and he returned and hid
the Cat until daybreak. Then the Eagle came again,
and said " The reason why we sought you, O Cat, is
that we want you to get us a Mouse." So the Cat said
" Very well," and immediately she ran in where the
Youth had been cutting wood, and caught a Mouse.
Then the Eagle said " O Cat, and you, O Mouse, you
know the smell of my feathers. Take the road, go into
the city, and enter the house of the King's Slave, and if
the Mouse sees any feathers, you, O Cat, take them,
and bring them here."
So they went to the city, and entered the King's
Slave's house. The Mouse looked everywhere, in
the pots, in the quiver (6), but did not see them,
and he went outside to the Cat, and said " I
cannot see them." Then the Cat said " Return, go and
look again"; and the Cat entered and cried out
" Miyau." Then the Sleepers said " Thank God, she
will catch that Mouse for us which has been preventing
our sleeping." So they went to sleep, both the King's
Slave and his Wife. Then the Mouse came and sniffed
at the Slave's mouth, and saw where the feathers were,
THE WICKED GIRL 331
so he said to the Cat " Here they are; I see them."
"Where do you see them?" asked the Cat. The
Mouse replied " In his mouth." Then she said " Very
well, go and bite him," so the Mouse went and bit him,
and he went " Poof," the feathers fell out, and the Cat
caught them, and took them to the Youth in the forest.
Next morning, the Eagle came again, and said " Where
are they ? " and the Youth replied " See them." Then
the Eagle said " Good, but let me have another
understanding. Some day you must pay me back for
my feast which I gave up."
Now it happened that next day another of the King's
Sons became ill, and died, and the King's Slave was
sent for and told to work his magic. But he said that
he had lost his charm. Then the King said " Summon
the other one to come. Here is a Horse, go quickly
and bring the one who is in the forest." He was sent
for quickly, and was brought, and when he had come,
the King said " See, we have summoned you. May
God cause your power to return to you." " How
can one who lives out in the forest obtain magic?"
asked the Youth. But the King said " For God's
sake, help us." Then the Youth said " Very well, but
what will you give me? " The King replied " Every-
thing that is in the Slave's house I will give you."
Then the Youth prepared his charm, and raised up the
Dead Man, and the King said " Go and seize the
Slave." So the Youth went and caught the Slave and
his Wife ; he undid his own handcuffs, and put them on
the Slave, he took another pair and put them on the
Wife, and then he took them to the place where he
had been cutting wood, and said that they were to stack
it all in one place. Then he sent to the Eagle telling
him to come ; and when he had arrived, the Youth said
332 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
" Go, assemble all your Relatives, to-morrow we shall
meet at the clearing."
Next morning the Eagles collected; all the Birds
assembled, and all the Beasts of the forest also came.
And when all had arrived, the Youth said " Now set
fire to the pile." So they set fire to it ; the fire consumed
all the wood, and left a great mass of embers. Then
he said to the Slave and his Wife " Get up and fall into
the fire." But they refused, so he told his Attendants
to get up and drag them in, and they threw them into the
fire. Every time that they got out, they were thrown
in again, and at last they were cooked. Then the Youth
told the Attendants to pull the bodies out of the fire,
and caused them to be put out in the open. Then
he said "Eagle!" And the Bird replied "Urn!"
11 Now see, here is your feast," the Youth said, and
then he mounted his Horse, and returned to the city.
It is certainly true that Women are not to be trusted.
This and Story 29 are very widespread tales, for
" in the Punjaub, among the Bretons, the Albanians,
the modern Greeks and the Russians we find a conte
in which a young man gets possession of a magical
ring. The ring is stolen from him, and recovered by
the aid of certain grateful beasts, whom the young man
has benefited. His foe keeps the ring in his mouth,
but the grateful mouse, insinuating his tail into the
nose of the thief, makes him sneeze, and out comes
the magical ring!" (A. Lang, Myth, Ritual and
Religion, ii, page 315).
There are European stories in which a faithful
husband defends his wife's body and succeeds in com-
pelling her restoration to life. Afterwards she is un-
faithful and procures his death by her lover; but he is
restoreH to life and avenged on her. See Hapgood,
Epic Songs of Russia, New York (1885), 217 ; Pitre, vii,
THE HALF-BROTHERS 333
Biblioteca, 5; Sebillot, iii, Conies Pop. de la Haute
Bretagne (Paris, 1882), 32. In an Annamite story the
wife is punished by being changed into a mosquito.
Landes, Conies et Legendes Annamites (Saigon, 1886),
207. (H.)
63
THE Two HALF-BROTHERS AND THE WICKED MOTHER.
This is about two Women, both Wives of the same
Man. After a time their Husband died, and, as it
FIG. 78. — Violin (one string) and bow. L., 26^ in.
happened, he left them both with Child, so in due
course the Women gave birth. Both brought forth
Sons, and the Sons were exactly alike; they were as
Twins — neither Mother could distinguish her Son.
After a time, when the Boys were growing up, the
Mother of the rich Boy died (i), and the possessions
334 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
descended to her Son. Then the other Wife wondered
what she could do to kill the Son and get the property
(2).
So she went to a Magician, and when she had come,
she said " O Magician, what shall I do to kill the
Boy?" He replied "On your return, tell the Boy
to go to the forest with you ; when you have gone,
tell him to climb a tree ; and when he has climbed up,
seize him, and gouge out his eyes; then go home."
When she had returned, she said to the Boy " Come,
let us go to the forest." So they went, and when they
had gone, she said " Now, climb up." But when the
Boy had put his feet against the tree to climb, she
seized him, and gouged out his eyes, and returned to
her house alone (3).
Then the other Boy, his Half-Brother, said " Where
is my Brother?" And she replied "Oh, Goodness!
I have left him behind." So he was silent. Then she
prepared the evening meal for her own Son, but he
refused to eat, and as he refused to eat, she said
" What is the matter with you ? " But the Boy refused
to talk. Soon afterwards the Boy went to search for his
Brother in the forest. And he went on, and on, calling
as he went, until at last he came upon his Brother in a
hole. So he pulled him out, and cried, and put mud
on his eyes, and gave him water to drink. And it
came to pass that God made the Boy see.
Now they lived there in the forest, and after a
time they built a town and became its Rulers (4). And
when the Mother heard the news that her Sons had
become rich, she said " Good," and she went to where
the Boys were, and saluted them, and they responded.
Then One, her own Son, said " What does One do to
his Enemy?" and the Counsellors replied "She
THE WHITE-BREASTED CROW 335
should be killed." Then the Son took a sword, and cut
down his Mother.
In another story (L.T.H. ii, 31), a Girl is badly
used, and is rescued from Hyaenas by her Step-Mother
after her real Mother has refused to aid her. She goes
to another city, and marries the King, but returns on
hearing that the Step-Mother is dead. She finds that
the news is false, and she is overjoyed and gives her
presents, she also makes gifts to her real Parents, but
she will not stay in their city.
64
THE ORIGIN OF THE WHITE-BREASTED CROW.
A certain King was always saying to his Son that
he was not his own Son, although the Son was exactly
like him, and one day the King said " Let him be
taken outside the town and killed, he is a Bastard."
Now the Boy had for his Friend the Son of the
Minister (i), and when the People of the city had gone
to the forest, [he persuaded them to let the Son live,
and] they cut off one of his hands, and showed it to the
King, and said that they had killed him.
Soon afterwards a Female Leper came along, and
found the Boy lying down, and she said " Who is this
Son of Adam?" Then she returned home, and drew
some water, and fetched it, and when she had washed the
stump of the hand which had been cut off, she licked
it, and it became as before. Then she sent him in
front (2), and they went home. He grew in knowledge
and in strength, and, when he had become old enough
to have a house of his own (3), she made one for him to
live in, and he married the Daughter of the Ant. Then
336 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
he found some Traders, and got them to go to his
Father, and to say " See, he has married the Ant's
Daughter. " But the Father sent to him, and said that
it was not the Ant's Daughter, but the Daughter of
the King of the Thicket whom he should have married.
Then he began to cry, and cry, until the Leper came
to him, and questioned him, and said " What has
happened to you ? " He replied " My Father says that
I must marry the Daughter of the King of the Thicket."
" Is that all that has happened to make you cry? " she
asked, and then she took some money (4) and went to
the thicket to arrange the marriage, and she brought
back a Wife. Then he sent to his Father, and said
lo ! he had married the Daughter of the King of the
Thicket also. But the Father replied "It is not the
Daughter of the King of the Thicket whom he should
have married, but the Daughter of the King of the
Water."
Then the Boy began to cry, so the Leper said " Son-
of-the-Master-of-the-house-of-us (5), whatever troubles
you, tell me." When he had done so, she went into the
water and found the King of the Water, and said " I
have come to visit you, for I hear that you had some
Daughters, and I want one, I have a Son." Then he
called his Daughters together, and said " Choose the
one who seems best to you." So she chose one, and
they went home together, and she married them. So he
went and sent to his Father, and said that he had
married the Daughter of the King of the Water. But
the Father replied " It should not have been the
Daughter of the King of the Water, but the Daughter
of the King of the Heavens."
Then the Boy commenced crying again, and he kept
on crying until the Leper came, and said " What has he
THE WHITE-BREASTED CROW, 337
done to you? " He replied " My Father says that I
must marry the Daughter of the King of the Heavens.'*
"Who will take me up there?" she exclaimed. But
the Wild-Cat said " Catch hold of my tail, and I will
take you to the Heavens." So she ascended, and found
the King of the Heavens, and said " I have come to
see you, for I have a Son, and I have heard that you
have marriageable Daughters." Then he assembled
them, and said " Come and choose." Now they were
quite fifty in number, and she took the eldest, the
Heiress of the House, and the King said " Count out
your money and take her." So they came to the
Leper's house, and the Boy and Girl were married.
Then the Boy sent the news to his Father, but he
replied that it should not have been the Daughter of
the King of the Heavens, but the Daughter of the King
of Agaddez."
Again he began crying, and the Leper came and
questioned him, and then she went to the King of
Agaddez, and said " I have a Son at home, give me
your Daughter for him." But he said " I shall not
give you the Girl until I have seen your Son." So she
went out and brought the Son, and the King of
Agaddez said " Very well, put them in a strong hut
for a fortnight, and if during that time he does not eat
any corn he shall be her Husband." So they entered
the room, and the door was shut on them, and locked.
Now every night the Boy's Mother (6) used to bring
him food and drinking water, but the Girl did not know,
for she used to enter softly, and rouse him, and when
he had eaten she would take away the calabash.
They had reached the last day of their confinement
(7) when the Girl said " I notice the smell of corn ! "
" Where could I get it? " he asked, " it is kola-nut."
22
338 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
[But she did not believe him, and] when evening came,
she said " To-night I shall lie in front, and closer to the
door." So when the Leper entered, she roused the
Girl, thinking that it was her Son. Then the Girl got up,
and plunged her hand into the soup, and she flicked
her hand against the wall — she did not see the Leper—
and said to the Boy " You are eating corn." k Where
could I get any in this town?" he asked, for he did
not know that the Leper had roused her. She replied
" To-morrow you shall die, you shall be killed." Then
he said " Oh, all right, kill me, but where could I get
any, O, Gimbia?"
They went to sleep again, but the Leper [who had
heard the conversation] went over to the other side
of the hut, and roused her Son, and he ate the
food. Then she returned to her house, and ground up
some kola-nuts, and she took a lot of water (8), and
brought it back, and caught hold of the Girl's hand,
and poured kola-water on it, and she washed the Boy's
hands. Then she went to the wall where the Girl had
flicked the soup, and poured kola-water there also.
When day broke the house was opened, for the Girl
was calling out " He has eaten corn, open the door."
But when the hut had been opened, much kola-water
was found on the wall, and the People rejoiced. And
when the Girl had seen it, she said that, as after all it
was not corn but kola, he was to be her Husband. So
he took her, and they went to their house, and he sent
the news to his Father.
Now when the Father heard, he remained silent, but
he made an alliance with the Pagans, and they came
and surrounded the city. The Son was inside the
house when he saw that the Pagans had surrounded
the city, so he arose, ancl found the Ant's Daughter, and
THE WHITE-BREASTED CROW 339
said " See, my Father has come to make war on me.'1
" Had you not better go to the Daughter of the King
of the Thicket?" she asked. So he went to the
Daughter of the King of the Thicket, and said " See,
my Father has come to make war on me, and I do not
know what I shall do." But she said " Will you not
go to the Daughter of the King of the Heavens ?"
So he went, and knelt (9), and said " What shall I
do now, see my Father has come to make war." " Is
it your Father who gave you being ? " she asked, and he
replied " Yes." Then she said " Go to the Daughter
of the King of Agaddez, will you not? " So he arose,
and went (10). The Daughter of the King of Agaddez
was sitting on a chair, and he said " Gimbia, may your
life be prolonged," and he continued " See, my Father
has come to make war on me, he has allied himself with
the Pagans." Then she flicked the perspiration from
her brow, and said " Let them be annihilated, the use-
less Pagans " (n). " But not my Father and the Son
of the Minister " he exclaimed (12).
Immediately all the Pagans fell dead, and the Son
went and brought his Father and his Friend into the
city. Then he brought a tobe, a cap, and a turban,
and he saluted his Father, and gave him them ; and
he gave some to his Friend also, a tobe, a cap, and
everything. Then he took his Father to the door of
the council-chamber, and he drew his sword, and
questioned the People, saying " If a man hates you,
what is to be done with him?" They replied "He
should be killeci." So he took his sword, and cut off
the head of his Father, and the turban fell off, and rolled
itself around the neck (13). Then it rose up in the air,
and became a White-Breasted Crow, and called " Da !
da! da!" (14).
340 HAUSA SUPERST1TIOXS
In a similar story (F.-L. 36) a Malam supplies the
Youth with ground-nuts, and the Girl finds one, and
puts it in a tin in the pocket of her under-cloth, and
wraps seven other cloths outside. During the night
the Malam invokes the aid of a Cat — which makes the
Girl sleep soundly — and a darra-stone is substituted for
the ground-nut, so the Youth escapes.
THE BRAVE MOTHER AND THE COWARDLY FATHER.
A Certain Boy, the Only Son of his Mother, came
home one day and died, and so the Father wandered
about everywhere seeking charms to raise him up again.
At last a certain Magician summoned him, saying
" Come here, I have a charm,'* and the Magician said
" Go to the market of the Filani Slaves who bring
wood, and buy 100 bundles. "
So the Father went, and bought 100 bundles of
wood, and all were brought to one place, and made
into a stack as big as a house. And People came, and
set fire to the pile, and the fire burnt up, and died
down, and nothing but the red-hot embers were left.
Then the Boy's Father was told that if he took off his
clothes, and threw himself into the fire, his Son would
come to life again. So the Father said that he would
throw himself into the fire, and he came up at a run ;
but when he felt the heat, he turned, and went round
the fire [instead of through it]. Then he said " O
Magician, may this be tried a second time ? " And the
Magician replied " It may be attempted twice." So
the Father again came up at a run, but again he felt
the heat, and went round the fire.
Then the Boy's Mother became angry, and said
THE BRAVE MOTHER 341
"O Magician, may a Woman try it ?" And the Magician
said " She may " (i). So the Mother retired a little
way, and ran up with a rush, and when she had come
up, she jumped, and fell into the fire head first. Imme-
diately the fire turned into a house of gold, but the
Boy's Father became a Jerboa. Then the Son came to
life, and the People said to him " Your Father has been
changed into a Jerboa," and they continued " If you
kill him, you will live with your Mother, if you do not
kill him your Mother will die." So the Son caught the
Jerboa, and killed him, and lived with his Mother.
FIG. 79. — Guitar. L., 22 in.
A variant (Harris, ]Hausa Stories, page 99) is to the
effect that a Boy had run off to the forest with a Girl,
but that Iblis had killed him there. The Parents fol-
lowed, and Iblis told the Mother that she must go
through various dangers to bring her Son to life, but
she refused. The Girl, however, volunteered, and
she plunged into the river of fire and swam through
it, she plunged into the river of water and swam
through it, she reached the rubber-tree, and entered
the hollow in it. She seized the Snake and put it out-
side, and then she seized the Lizard (which gives
leprosy) and brought it to Iblis, and said " Here it is,
342 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
O Father." The Boy came to life, and had to decide
which Iblis would put to death, his Sweetheart or his
Mother.
66
THE FIGHTING RAM.
It happened once that some Filani left their district,
and went off with their Cattle, but forgot a certain She-
Goat which was with Young, and soon afterwards she
lay down at the foot of a tree and gave birth to a
Ram (i). The Ram wandered about and fed, and would
go perhaps as far as Jagindi (2) for pasture, and return
to his Mother in one day ; he would go even as far as
Kefrl (3) for pasture, and return to his Mother in one
day.
Now, one day, the Spider was passing, and saw
the She-Goat, and he went and told the King, saying
that he had seen something worth seeing — that could
not be brought to the palace, but only to the Spider's
house. Then the King said whatever went to the
Spider's house was destroyed. So the Spider said to
send him with some Men, ten Men, to go and bring
him the Thing.
So they went, and found the She-Goat, the
Parent, and they tied a rope to her. Then she
began bleating and saying " Me, me-e-e. Son of
Zaberrima, I am being taken away (4) to be killed,
killed by the Townspeople." Now the Ram heard from
where he was, far away, and said " I have overcome
the Buffalo, I have beaten the Elephant, I will gore with
my horns." And on his arrival — the Spider had not
waited, he had only come to show where the She-Goat
THE FIGHTING RAM 343
was — the Ram killed every one of the Men, and then
he took his Mother, and led her back to the tree.
Now the Spider went, and told the King that those
Men were Weaklings, and said to send him with a
hundred Horsemen. So off they went and seized the
She-Goat, and started to drag her along. Then she
began bleating, and saying " Me, me-e-e, Son of
Zaberrima, I am being taken away to be killed, killed
by the Townspeople, come quickly." Now the Ram
heard from where he was, far away, and said " I have
destroyed Men with my horns, I have gored with my
horns, I have overcome the Buffalo, I have beaten the
Elephant." And then he came, and killed every one of
the Horsemen.
Then the Spider went off again, and said to the
King " Those men were not strong," and asked that
he should be sent with two hundred Horsemen. So
he was sent with them, and he went and showed them
the She-Goat, and then he returned, and when he had
gone they began dragging her along. Then the She-
Goat began bleating, and saying " Me, me-e-e, Son of
Zaberrima, I am being taken away to be killed, killed
by the Townspeople, come quickly." Now the Ram
heard from where he was, far away, and said " I have
killed Horsemen, I have destroyed Men w^ith my horns,
I have gored with my horns, I have overcome the
Buffalo, I have beaten the Elephant." Then he came,
and on his arrival he gored all the Men, and killed
them.
Once again the Spider went to the King, and it
seemed as if all the Townspeople would be killed off (5),
when a certain Man said " Let three Cats be bought,"
and he went and bought them himself. Then he asked
that he should be sent with two Men, and he was sent
344 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
with them, and he went and tied a rope to the She-Goat,
and began dragging her off. As he dragged, she be-
gan bleating, and saying " Me, me-e-e, Son of Zaber-
rima, I am being taken away to be killed, killed by the
Townspeople, come quickly." Now the Ram heard
from where he was, far away, and said " I wear a collar
of hair, I am the Son of Zaberrima, I have killed Horse-
men, I have destroyed men with my horns, I have
gored with my horns, I have overcome the Buffalo, I
have beaten the Elephant." On his arrival — the
Draught which he made had killed all the Men
previously — the Man took a Cat, and threw it into
the Wind, and the Wind caught it up and took it to
the Ram, and the Ram stopped to eat it. Then again
he came on, and again the Man took a Cat, and threw
it into the Wind, and the Wind caught it up and took
it to the Ram, and the Ram stopped to eat it. Then
once more he came on, and once more the Man took a
Cat, and threw it into the Wind, and the Wind caught
it up and took it to the Ram, and the Ram stopped to
eat it. And by this time the Men had dragged the
She-Goat along, and had brought her to the King.
When the Ram had finished eating the Cats, he
followed the tracks of his Mother, his Mother which
had been tied up in the King's palace. And the Ram
on his arrival pushed down the wall, and entered the
palace, but they shot him with arrows, and he died,
and his Mother was killed.
The People had meat.
In a variant (L.T.H. 156) the Hare is the Villain,
the Mother is a Sheep. The Ram calls himself Zanza-
bariya and has Birds which are his servants and beat
the Men with their wings, the wind helping. In this
THE LUCKY FOUNDLING 345
story some contestants are killed on both sides in the
fights, and at last the Ram dies ; there is no mention pf
any Cats. The Sheep is taken to the King's palace
and mated with an old Ram, and " they are still
having issue."
There is a story told by the Mbamba of Angola in
which a cannibal husband is similarly delayed by his
fugitive wife, who flings down first millet, then sesa-
mum and lastly eleusine. Chatelain, Folk Tales of
Angola (Boston, 1894), 99. (H.).
67
THE LUCKY FOUNDLING.
There was once a Man of Auzen (i), and ever since
he had been born he had never had a Child, and the
Townspeople used to mock him. So he told his Wife
that he was going to get a Son from a certain city, and
she said " Let us go by all means," and he said " Very
well." Now as they were travelling along, they came
upon a Boy lying in the road, his mouth was full of
ants (2) and dirt, perhaps something had killed him,
they did not know. So they lifted him up, and bathed
him, and took the ants out of his mouth. Then the
Man of Auzen said " Good, let us go home, what we
were seeking we have found " (3). So they returned.
Now when he had got home again, he said that the
Boy was his, but his Fellow-Citizens said that the Boy
was not his, that he had stolen him from some town;
but he maintained that the Boy was his. Then they said
" Very well, if he is really your Son, let us collect
five Camels each, and give them to our Sons that they
may take them to the forest and kill them." So the
346 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
Sons were given five Camels each, and they went and
killed them, and returned.
Now, after this, some said that the Boy must be his
Son, but others still maintained that he was not, and
they said " If he is your Son let us collect our Horses,
and give our Sons ten each that they may go and kill
them." Then he exclaimed " Poof, that is nothing,"
and when the others had given their Sons ten each,
he gave his Boy twenty, and put on gorgeous capari-
sons, and said " When you have gone, and have killed
them, do not bother to bring back even the saddles."
So the Boy said " Very well," and he mounted one of
the Horses, and when the others had killed their Horses
they brought back the saddles, but he did not bring
even one, he left them all there.
Now after this, more People said that the Boy was
his Son, but others still maintained that he was not, and
they said " If the Boy is his, let him and our Sons
go to the far city where there is a Beautiful Maiden,
and seek her in marriage." Now this Maiden had no
equal in beauty anywhere, even Kings came to woo her,
but she refused them. Well, one day, about five of the
Boys packed their bundles, and prepared to go off to
woo the Maid. And as the Boy was about to start, his
Father filled one pocket with silver, and another also,
and he poured gold into his mouth, and silver also.
So off they went to where the Maiden lived.
Each one tried, but wooed in vain ; the first came
and asked her and she refused ; the next tried but she
would not have him ; the whole five of them tried to
persuade her, but she would not listen to them ; and
there was only the Boy himself left. Then he came.
Now before, the Maiden would not answer a word, but
when he came she smiled, and when she smiled he said
THE WICKED FATHER 347
" Praise be to God," and he poured out the silver from
his mouth (4). Then she said "What, all silver, have
you no gold? " He opened another pocket and poured
it out in front of her, and then she clasped him in her
arms, and said that he would be her Husband.
Then the Boy returned home, and the People said
" Of a truth the Boy is his Son." And the Boy told
his Father about the Maiden, so a house was built
for him, and the Maiden was brought. Then the Father
gave Them twenty Slaves, and Horses, and Camels,
and the Maiden the same.
This and the next are common, many variants
exist, but with such slight differences that it seems
unnecessary to give them.
68
THE WICKED FATHER AND THE KIND STRANGER.
A certain Man had a Son. Now he was very
poor, and lived on Jerboas, and whenever he heard
that there was a Jerboa which no one could catch,
he would go and capture it straight off. One day
he was out catching Jerboas, as usual, with his Son,
and they came and dug out one ; but the Jerboa jumped
up with a " buroop " and escaped. Then the Hunter
said " Alas for me, I who can beat anyone at catching
Jerboas have allowed one to escape ! I am disgraced !"
Then [mad with rage], he hit his Son with a club, and
the Son fell down with blood pouring from his nose,
but the Father went away and left him lying there.
Soon afterwards, a certain Rich Man came along ;
who had riches beyond avarice, but no Son. And he
HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
came close and lifted up the wounded Boy, and washed
him with warm water, and he adopted him as his Son.
The Rich Man brought a Horse and gave it to him, and
he mounted it ; he brought a tobe, and gave it to him,
and trousers. Then he took him to his own city, and
said to the King " See, I have been on a journey, and
while on my travels I got a Son." The King said that
he was lying, that it was not his Son. And he continued
that if the Boy were his own Son let him give the
Boy a Horse a day for ten days, and he, the King,
would do the same with his Son, that they might race.
And that when they had raced, they should unsheath
their swords, and that each should kill his Horse for
ten days running. That would mean ten Horses each.
The Rich Man agreed, and when they had done thus,
the King said " lie certainly is your Son." Then the
King brought his Daughter, and said " Give her to
him, and let them marry." The Deputy-King also
brought his Daughter, and said " Give her to him, and
let them marry." Then the Boy was given a turban,
and so became a Man.
Now it came to pass that the real Father, the one
who had hit him with the club, heard the news of his
Son, and so he came to him ; and he wore a Jerboa
skin in front, and a Jerboa skin behind. When he had
come, he blessed the house, and asked the Rich Man
to give him back his Son. But the Rich Man said
' I ask you to leave me in peace, and, if you will do
so, I will give you ten Slaves, ten Horses, ten Bulls,
and ten Mules." He said " I will give you all these,
but the fact that your Son is your Son you must con-
ceal, for I have lied to the King in saying that I got a
Son when on my travels. Take these gifts, and go to
your own town. Whenever your Son wishes to see
THE WOMAN'S SECRET 349
you he shall come to you, for I will not take him from
you by force, and I will not sell him.'* But he said that
he would not agree, he, the Father, the wearer of the
Jerboa skins, and he went and let out the secret.
He went with his club to where a feast was being
held, and poked his Son, saying " Throw away that
turban, and come and eat Jerboa." Then the Rich Man
drew his sword, and put it into the Boy's hand, and
said " Now to-day I am disgraced before the whole city ;
I have said that you were really my Son, and see, your
Father has come, and he says that he will take you
away." And he continued " As for me, I do not value
life now ; take the sword, and kill either me or else your
Father." Then the boy cut down his real Father, and
they went back into the city (i), the Rich Man and the
Boy.
Now, for the sake of argument, do you think the
Boy did right or wTong?
69
THE WOMAN WHO COULD NOT KEEP A SECRET.
A certain Old Woman had never had a Child, but
one day a Boy came to her, and said that he liked her,
and would live with her, and that she could always
say that he was her Son. But he warned her never to
speak his name, which was " Owner-of-the- World, "
for from the day that she uttered it she would never
see him again.
Now when the other Boys of the town used to
lount their Horses, he also used to go riding, and they
called him ' ' Son-of-the-Old-Woman . " But another Old
Woman went to her, and questioned her, and said
350 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
" What is the name of your Son? " At first she re-
plied " I will not tell you his name," but the other
said for God's sake to tell her, so she did so, she said
11 His name is * Owner-of-the-World.' " When the
Son was returning he was passing at a gallop, but the
other Old Woman called out "Hullo! Owner-of-the-
World." Then the Boy turned back and abused his
adopted Mother, and said that God would not bless her.
Then he began crying, and said that his name was
O \\ner-of-the-World, but that she would die in ashes.
He sang —
ly name is Owner-of-the-World
I am goin
God may bring us together again,
I am going,
Good-bye until another day " (i).
While he was singing thus [he sank into the earth
so that] the sand in which he was standing was up to
his Horse's knees. He continued to sing —
" My name is Owner-of-the-World,
I am going,
God may bring us together again,
I am going,
Good-bye until another day."
And gradually the Horse was covered, and disappeared
into the earth. The Boy still went on singing —
" My name is Owner-of-the- World,
I am going,
God may bring us together again,
I am goins.
Good-bye until another day."
and at last he also had disappeared.
So the Old Woman was left alone, she had no one to
care for her, and she died in the ashes (a).
THE LAZY BOY
35'
In a variant (L.T.H. ii, 45), the Boy is not adopted,
but is born in the Family, and no sooner is he born
than he tells his Father and Mother that he must not
be given a name nor must his head be shaved. They
agree, and on the eighth day a Ram is killed, but the
other ceremonies (see page 92) are omitted. After the
departure of the Guests, he tells his Parents that his
name is Mamayad Duniya, but that neither must men-
tion it. He has four Wives, and becomes very rich,
but one day the Mother tells a Friend his name, as
in this story, and he sinks into the earth in sight of
his Wives. They rush to save him, and disappear
also, as do the Horse-holders. The Father kills the
Mother and her Friend with a pestle, and then falls
dead himself.
FIG. 80. — Long guitar with iron rattle. Total length, 53 in.
THE BOY WHO REFUSED TO WALK.
This story is about a Woman who had never given
birth, and at last she said " O God, wilt Thou not give
me even a Cripple or a Leper to bring forth? " And
lo ! God caused here to conceive, and she brought forth
a Son, and called him Little Crab (i).
They lived on, and, even when the Boy had grown
up, he refused to alight from his Mother's back and
HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
walk, and at last she said to herself " Whatever shall
I do to the Boy to make him walk? " One day she
went to a Magician, and, when she had arrived at his
house, she said " O Magician, will you not give me a
charm which will make the Boy walk about on the
ground? " And he replied " I will, but first you must
go and buy a Goat." When she had been, and had
bought a Goat, he said " You must go into the depths
of the forest," and he continued "When you have
killed the Goat, say ' Boy, get down, so that I may go
and get some wood to cook the meat for you,' and then
the Boy will alight " (2). So she went into the midst
of the forest, and killed the Goat, and said " Boy, get
down, so that I may go and get some wood to cook the
meat for you." Then the Boy alighted, and imme-
diately the Mother ran away.
Soon after she had gone, the Hyasna came along,
and exclaimed " O Boy, have you got some meat?"
And he said " Yes," and he continued " but my meat is
a reward for carrying me on the back." And he went
on "If I give you this meat, and you eat it, will you
carry me on your back?" "I will," replied the
Hyasna; " Get up," and she ate up the meat. When
the Hyasna had eaten the meat, she said " O Boy, get
down, I wish to go away."* But the Boy replied " I
refuse to do so unless you give me back the meat which
you have eaten." Then she made as if she would bite
him, but the Boy shifted to another spot, and she could
not reach him, and so she had to go about carrying
him.
When the Boy had been on her back for about ten
days, the Hyasna went to the Magician, and said " O
Magician, will you not give me a charm which will
make the Boy get down ? " And he replied " I will, you
XXIX.— YAMS. XXX.— SWEETMEATS !
ims are somewhat rare in some parts of Northern Nigeria, but there are several varieties in others.
The sweetmeats may consist of any mess made of honey, or of squares of dried blood.
THE LAZY BOY 353
must go and buy a Goat, and take it to the forest, and
kill it, and say ' O Boy, get down, so that I may go
and get some wood." So the Hyaena said " Very well,"
and she went to the forest, and killed the Goat. Then
she said " O Boy, get down so that I may go and get
some wood for you," and he alighted; and immediately
the Hyaena ran away. But after she had gone a little
way, she returned to the place where the meat had been
put, and climbed a tree, and she made a long hook (3),
and drew up some of the meat, and ate it. Then she
descended so as to get the remainder of the meat, but
the Boy saw her, and he pulled the Hyaena towards him,
but she escaped from his grasp, and ran away.
After a little while, the Spider came along, and
when he saw the Boy and the meat, he said " O Boy,
will you not give me your meat? " But the Boy re-
plied " My meat is a reward for carrying me on the
back, if you will carry me on your back, you may eat
it." " Oh I It is a reward for carrying you on one's
back!" exclaimed the Spider. " Indeed, carrying you
on the back would not be difficult." Then the Boy
said " Very well, first take me on your back, and you
may eat it." So the Spider lifted up the Boy, and put
him on his back, and when he had done so, he ate up
the meat. When he had finished it all, he said " O
Boy, get down," but the Boy refused. Then the Spider
took the Boy to the Female-Spider's hut, and said to
her " Bring your stick, and beat this Boy." But when
she had brought her stick, and had come up close to
beat the Boy, he moved to one side, and she caught the
Spider himself instead, and when she had hit him he
fell down and died, and the Female-Spider ran away.
Then the Boy alighted from the Spider's body, and
he went and threw himself into the water. Of old the
23
354 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
Boy was a Water-Dweller, so he merely returned to his
home.
In a variant (L.T.H. ii, 22) the Hyaena has to fall
down a well to escape — the Boy staying at the mouth
to avoid being drowned — and after she has been in the
water a month, he thinks that she must be dead, so he
goes off. She is not, however, and she returns to her
house, but the Boy hears of it, and gets in by a trick.
The Hyaena dies of fright, and the Boy bursts open
through laughing at her.
In a Sierra Leone story (Cronise and Ward, page
287) it is an Old Woman who gives the Spider a Sheep
on condition that he carries her. The Spider lets her
get on his back, and then finds that she can lengthen
her limbs at will, and thus get such a grip that he
cannot unseat her. However, by a trick, he manages
to terrify her, and cause her to let go her hold, and then
he escapes. Later on he returns to the place to find
her dead, but the skull jumps upon his nose, and he
has to carry it to the town, where it is removed by the
Blacksmith.
71
THE WOMAN WHO BORE A CLAY POT.
There was once a certain Woman who had no Son,
and she prayed to God saying " Let me have a Child,
even though it be a clay pot.'* So God caused (i) her
to conceive, and after nine months she brought forth
a big clay pot which she took and placed among her
crockery.
Now next morning, when the Mother had gone to the
forest to look for firewood, the Son, who was in the
pot, emerged, and also went to the forest to look for
THE CLAY POT 355
firewood. After a time he came upon the place where
the Beasts of the forest had made a hedge, and he
began cutting it. Then the Gazelle said " Hey, who
is cutting this hedge? " for the Gazelle had been told
off to watch the place until the other Beasts returned.
The Boy said " Let me come in and you will see me,"
and, when he had entered it, he said " Here I am, I
have come." "What is your name?" she asked.
' ' The-Gif t-of-God, " he replied; and he continued
" Will you not give me some water to drink ? " So she
brought him some, and he drank it, and then he said
" Bring me some to bathe my head" (2). When he
had been given it, he said " Get up, and let us wrestle."
So he wrestled with the Gazelle, and threw her, and he
plucked out her mane (3) and tied her up with it. Then
he went and cut the wood, and took it home, and re-
entered his clay pot.
In the late afternoon, the Beasts of the forest re-
turned to their settlement, and when they saw what had
happened, they said " O Gazelle, whatever have you
been doing that you are tied up?" And she replied
" A certain Boy came, and started cutting wood, and
when I remonstrated we wrestled, and he bound me
up." Then the Hyaena said " Oh, well, to-morrow 1
shall stay here, and keep guard."
Next morning the Boy came again and started to
cut the wood, and the Hyaena said " W"ho are you? "
He replied " It is I, who are you?" So the Hyaena
said " Enter that I may see you." When the Boy had
come into the cleared space [inside the hedge], he said
11 Give me water to drink." When she had given
it to him, he said " Get me some that I may bathe my
head," and when she had brought it, he said " Get up,
and let us wrestle." Then the Hyaena thought " That
356 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
Boy has no sense, I am big and he is tiny." So she
sprang upon him to seize him, but he caught her, and
threw her on the ground, and he bound her, and le*ft
her, and went back to his clay pot. In the afternoon
when the Beasts returned, they loosed the Hyaena, and
said " Whatever have you been doing that you are
bound thus? " And she replied " A certain Boy came
and I wrestled with him, but he threw me on the
ground, and bound me." Then the Elephant said
" Oh ! very well, to-morrow I myself shall stay and
keep guard."
When the morning came the Boy arrived, and began
cutting the trees hop, hop, kop, and the Elephant said
" Who is that ? " He replied " It is I," and he entered
the clearing. Then he said to the Elephant " Give me
water to drink," and, when she had given it to him, he
said 4< Get me some that I may bathe my head," and
when she had brought it, he said " Get up, and let us
wrestle." And he threw the Elephant also, and bound
her, and then he went home.
Now when the Beasts returned, they said " This is
quite enough, since even the Elephant is conquered we
must run away." So they began tying up their loads
that afternoon in order that they might flee. But the
Boy [who had guessed their intention], came by night
to where they were, and got inside a jar of oil, and
hid. When dawn came, the Beasts said " Now, let
each take his load and escape, lest he come and catch
us." So off they started, and they entered the depths
of the forest, far, far away.
After a time the Hyaena began to lag behind, and
she said to the others " You go on, I will catch you up
later," and then she opened the jar to steal some oil.
But the Boy dealt her a blow, and said " Lift it up, and
THE MOUSE AND THE CAKE 357
go on." [She was so frightened that] she took it up
again, and ran, and ran, until she had overtaken the
others. [But she did not tell them, because by doing
so she would have exposed her own evil intentions.]
So they went on, and came to the place which they
were going to make habitable (4), and then they said
" O Hyaena, come here and give us some oil." But
she said " No no," for she was afraid of the Boy. They
said " For Goodness' sake come and give it to us," but
she still said " No." Then the Elephant grew angry,
and seized the jar, and opened it, and at once the Boy
dealt her a blow, Pan, and sprang out. As he did so,
all the Animals ran away, and left their belongings
behind, so he returned to the town and told the People,
and they came and seized all the loads, and took them
to his Mother.
After that he left the clay pot, and he never lived in
it again.
In a Sierra Leone story (Cunnie Rabbit, page 55) a
Girl wrestles with all the Animals who come to get fire,
and, aided by the Mother who chants a spell, she beats
all but the Snail, which has made the arena all slimy
beforehand.
Mr. Crooke points out that the Rishi or Saint
Agastya was produced, like a Fish, from a jar into
which the seed of Adityas had fallen (Muir, Original
Sanskrit Texts, part i, 1858, page 77).
72
THE WOMEN WHOSE OFFSPRING WERE A MOUSE AND
A CAKE.
There was once a certain Man who had two Wives,
one had given birth to a Mouse, and the other to a
358 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
Cake. The Cake was kept in a cooking-pot, the Mouse
was put in a place of his own near the door.
Gradually they grew up, and at last they were taken
to the gate of the town, and told to go out into the
forest. When they had gone, the Mouse saw a lot of
ripe chiwo (i) fruit above, and said that he would climb
up, while the Cake collected the fruits for him on the
ground. He also said that the Cake was to eat the
black parts, and leave him the red, but the Cake ate
the whole lot. .When the Mouse descended, he said " O
Cake, where is my fruit ? " And the Cake said " I have
eaten it." Then the Mouse said " Now I am angry,"
and he said that he would nibble off a bit of the Cake,
and eat it. The Cake said " Poof, nibble a bit then,"
so the Mouse did so, and ate it, but he left the rest.
Soon they started off again, and got some fire-
wood, and the Mouse said to the Rest-of-t he-Cake
" Let us go and get some tie-tie." So they went and
got some, and the Mouse said " Let me come and nibble
a bit more," and the Rest-of-the-Cake said " Nibble a
bit then." Then the Mouse ate up the Cake, and he
took the firewood, and heaped it together, and tied it
up, and went and put it down by his Mother's hut.
Now the Cake's Mother asked him where was her
Offspring, and he said " The Cake is down by the river,
bathing." But even when sunset came she had not seen
the Cake, and she caught the Mouse, and pounded him
up in the -wooden mortar, and roasted him, and put him
into the soup. Then she took one of the Mouse's legs,
and put it on top of the dish of the Mouse's Mother (2).
When the latter had been and had eaten her food, she
came and said to the Cake's Mother " Where is my Off-
spring*? " And the Other replied " What have you just
eaten in your soup ? " Then they rushed at each other,
and wrestled, and got nearer and nearer to the river.
DODO'S WIFE 359
Now the Spider saw them, and lit his fire, and no
sooner had they come, still fighting, than he took one
and put her on his fire, and then he took the other and
put her on also. When they were cooked he ate them.
In F.-L. 21, the Dog starts on a journey with the
Salt and the Cake. He kills the Salt by dissolving it
in a river, but the Cake, by a trick, hands the Dog over
to the Hyaena.
73
How THE BEAUTIFUL GIRL ESCAPED THE DODO.
There was once a certain Girl, and in the whole
city there could not be found her equal in beauty.
Now her Parents would not allow her to go out of the
house, for she was so pretty, and so before they went
out they would give her acha and earth to soak (i),
so that she would have to stay in.
But [one day when they had gone], her Friends
came, and said that they wanted to take her to see the
forest, and she said " I will come.'1 When they had
reached the middle of the forest, they said " Here, You,
get down the well and hand us up water" (2). Yes,
they told this Beautiful Girl to go down the well and
hand them up water to drink — and the well was Dodo's
well ! So she said " Very well," [for she did not know
this, although they did], and she went down the
well, and handed up water to all, and they drank.
Then she said " Now, help me out," but they all ran
away [and left her there, for they were jealous of her] .
Now about noon, Dodo came to drink water, and
36o HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
he put down the bucket, but the Girl caught hold of it.
When Dodo felt her holding the bucket, he called down
44 Whoever it is in the well, let go." Then the Girl
replied " Let me get it for you." And when she had
got it, he pulled the Girl out, and when he saw her, he
said " Here is the water, take it, and carry it home for
me (3), do not spill it." So she took it, and they went
to Dodo's house.
Then Dodo said " Which would you like me
to do, eat you or marry you?" And she said
" Well, I should certainly prefer marriage." So he
married her. And whenever he went to the forest, and
killed a Human Being for his own food, he would kill
for her some Wild Animal. He used to ambush People
on the road, and kill them, and take their goods to her.
Now this went on until the Girl conceived, and she
bore a Child half-Dodo, half-Man. Yes, she gave birth
to this ! And one day, Dodo, before going off to the
forest, tied a bell to his Son's neck (4). When he had
done this and had gone, the Girl mixed up some flour
and water, and she squeezed it tight into the bell so
that it would not sound (5), and she gathered up her be-
longings and ran away, and at last she reached her own
home. Then she killed her Son, and when she had done
this, she destroyed the belongings [which Dodo had
given to her] (6).
In a variant (L.T.H. ii, 82) the Girl is pushed into
the well, and Dodo, who lives at the bottom, seizes her.
She is rescued by her Brother, who plants a gourd to
show him the way, and on Being chased by Dodo, she
throws their Child into the river, and Dodo dives in
after it, allowing her to escape.
THE PRECOCIOUS NEW-BABY 361
74
THE PRECOCIOUS NEW-BABY SETTLES His FATHER'S
DEBTS.
A certain Man went away to borrow some money.
Now his Wife was with Child, and after three days the
Woman gave birth, and when she had been delivered,
the Son was taken, and laid upon a bed(i). Just then
he from whom the Father had obtained a loan came to
ask for repayment, and though he saluted the house
FIG. 81.
FIG. 82.
FIG. 83.
FIG. 81.— Syrinx. L., 17^ in. FIG. 82.— Flute— general use.
L., about 12 in. FIG. 83. — Clarionet. L., 17. in.
he received no reply at first, for Ho one was at home.
But the Little Boy who had just been born answered
at last, and said " Let us go, for my Father is not here.
Let us go to the court. I can recover a loan from
another, and I will then pay you." So the Creditor
took the Baby on his shoulder, and said " Very well,
we will go to the Owners-of-the-Mighty-Mouths (2) that
;,f>2 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
they may do us justice." Now the Baby, when he had
come to where the mouths of the dye-pits were, stopped
(3), and the Creditor said " Get up, and let us go on."
But the Baby replied " You said that we should go to
those whose mouths are mighty : are there any mouths
which are greater than these? "
Then the Creditor said " Very well, let us proceed,
and go to Those-Who-have-Red-Eyes " (4). When the
Baby came to the pepper tree he stopped, and the
Creditor said " Get up, and let us go on." But the Baby
replied " Oh, no, you said that we should go to the Red-
Eyed-Ones : are there any eyes that are more red than
peppers? "
The Creditor said to the Baby " Get up again, and
let us go to Those-Who-have-Large-Ears." Now when
they had come to the givaza plant (5) the Baby stopped,
and the Creditor said " Get up, and let us go on."
But the Baby said " Oh, no, are there any ears which
are larger than the gwaza?"
Then the Creditor said " Let us go to the Elders
that they may decide between us." So they came to
the King, and the King said " Had I someone to shave
me I should decide between you." So the Baby said
" Bring water and I will do it for you," and water was
brought. Now the Baby had five millet-heads, and he
said " See this millet, pull the grain off for me."
When the Baby had taken the razor, he shaved the
King, and then the King said " Baby," and the Baby
replied "Yes." Then the King said " Put back the
hair on to my head that I may judge between you."
" Very well," the Baby replied, " but first put back the
millet for me wrhich you have plucked off, and then I
will put back your hair on to your head." Then the
King exclaimed " Heavens! What a Baby! I cannot
DODO'S DEBT 363
judge him ! Here, Creditor, take him back to his
Father's house, and do not ask him again for your
debt." So the Creditor said " Very well, Baby, let us
return home, I cannot go to law with you."
So they returned, and the Creditor said to the
Father " I will leave you in peace with your gains for
your Son's sake."
75
DODO'S DEBT.
Two women went to a stream to draw water, one
being with Child. When they had drawn the water,
the One-with-Child went into the bush, and the other
threw dust into her pot (i). Then she took her own
pot on her head and went off home, so when the other
returned there was no one to help her (2).
Just then, Dodo came out of the water, and the
Woman-with-Child said " There is no one here, you
must help me to get the load on to my head." So
Dodo came and helped her, and said to her " You are
with Child, if it be a Boy he shall be my Friend, if a
Girl she shall be my Wife," and the Woman agreed.
So she went home, and, about three days afterwards,
she gave birth. Then her Rival Wife went to Dodo,
and said " That Woman whom you helped has given
birth." " What sex is the Child ? " he asked. She re-
plied " It is a Girl." " O, very good," he said.
Now the Girl grew up, and one day a marriage was
arranged, for the Mother had never told Dodo. But on
the day of the wedding, the Rival Wife ran to Dodo,
and said " The Girl is to be taken to her Bridegroom's
house to-day " (3).
3(>4 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
Then Dodo set off on the road, and came to the
wedding ; there was a great crowd there, and when he
had come, he called out "See Kadindi has come."
Then the Girl, who was sitting there, said " O Father,
O Mother," and they replied "Urn." "See, Dodo
has come to demand payment of the debt," she con-
tinued. " Whose is this Horse? " asked the Father,
and she replied " It is mine." Then he said " Seize it,
and give it to Dodo in satisfaction of the debt." So
she seized it, and gave it to Dodo, who took it, and
swallowed it.
But again he said " See Kadindi has come to demand
payment of the debt." Then the Girl said " Do you
hear that, O Father? Do you hear that, O Mother? "
Her Father said "Are not these Cattle yours? Give
them to him to eat." So she gave him them, and he
swallowed them.
But again he said " See Kadindi has come." So
the Father said " Seize all your Guests," and she did
so, and gave them to Dodo [and he swallowed them].
Again he said that he had come to demand payment
of the debt, and her Father said " Give him these
pots of food." She did so, but they were not
enough, so she seized her Father and gave him to Dodo,
but Dodo only said " See Kadindi has come." Then
she cried out " O God, dost Thou hear ? Dodo has come
to demand payment of the debt." And lo ! a knife was
thrown down to her from above, so she gave it to Dodo.
But when he had put it in his mouth to swallow it, the
knife ripped him open, from his mouth right down to
his stomach, and Dodo fell dead.
Then the People came out, and also the Cattle, the
Horses, the Guests, and the Father, all re-appeared.
So the Bride was veiled and taken to her Husband.
THE EAGLE SAVES THE MAN 365
In a variant (L.T.H. ii, 47) the Rival Wife hides
and watches Dodo help the other. She tells Dodo of
the birth of a Son, and he comes to congratulate the
Mother. She hears in time, substitutes a Lizard, and
shows it to him, and he swallows it. Later on, the
Rival tells Dodo of the trick, and he waits for the Boy
and catches him, but on being swallowed for the fourth
time, the Boy emerges from Dodo's heart, and the
Monster dies. The Boy then brings some of the flesh
to the Rival Wife, telling her that it is venison, and she
eats it, and is seized with such a thirst that she drinks
the river dry, and it is only when the Boy pierces her
with his spear that the water runs as before.
The incident of Men and Animals delivered from
the stomach of a Monster by which they had been
swallowed is very common in folk-tales. In Africa it is
widely distributed. It is found among the Berbers in
the north (Basset, Nouveaux Conies Berberes, 96, 106)
and the Bushmen in the south (Bleck, 2nd Rep. con-
cerning Bush Researches, 8; Lloyd, Account of
Bushman Material, 6) and among many intermediate
tribes. Compare the story of Jonah and that of the
rescue of Hesione by Herakles (H.). Perhaps the
idea of Christ rescuing the souls from Hell is somewhat
similar, for in the ancient print before referred to (in
connection with spots, on page 162), the souls are
coming out of Hell's mouth, which is like that of a
monster, and, in fact, that is the usual mediaeval idea.
How THE EAGLE OUTWITTED THE TOWNSPEOPLE.
There was a certain Man amongst the King's
Followers who had seven Bulls (i), and he came to
the People, and said " See my Bulls, he who buys them
[need not pay any money, but] the day that the King's
Mother dies they must be buried together, both the
366 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
Mother and the Purchaser who eats my Bulls." And a
certain Man agreed, saying " Give me the Bulls, on the
day that the King's Mother dies let me also be taken
away."
Well, he accepted the Bulls, and next morning he
slaughtered one, and, taking a piece of the meat he
climbed a tree, and crawled along, and placed it so that
the young Eaglets might eat it. [But when he tried to
sell the remainder in the market], the People refused to
buy it, for they said "It is the meat of Death," and
they would not eat it. So he ate the first Bull himself,
and when it was finished he slaughtered another one,
and chose a piece and took it to the young Eaglets in
the tree. But the Mother-Eagle, when she had returned,
said " He who is bringing this meat evidently wants to
kill my Young Ones." [So she decided to watch, for
she feared some trick] (2).
Well, when the Man had slaughtered another Bull,
he again brought a piece of meat to the Eaglets, but
this time the Mother-Eagle [was waiting, and] said
" Look here, what are you bringing this meat here for ?"
He replied " I bought seven Bulls, the condition being
that when the King's Mother dies we shall be buried
together. Now I have no one to help me eat them, that
is why I am helping you to look after your Young."
Then she said " I see, well go home now, on the day
that the King's Mother dies you come and tell me."
So he went home, [and at last he had slaughtered all
the Bulls] (3).
The very next morning the King's Mother died,
and immediately he went to the Mother-Eagle, and
said "She is dead." And .the Eagle replied "Oh!
well, go back, when they have finished digging
the grave, and are about to bury the King's Mother,
THE SPIDER'S DEBT 367
and they have summoned you, say ' Let me have a
moment more, I am really coming.' Then take some
water in a gourd, and bathe your eyes and your feet,
and stand up facing the East, and call on God three
times, and you will see that God will help you. You
must say ' O God, I am to die, but not because Thou
wishest it, [but because the People are going to kill
me].'"
The grave was dug, and they summoned the Man.
Then he arose, and prayed, saying " God, he is God,"
and he again cried out " God, he is God," and again a
third time. Then the Eagle replied " O " from up in
the sky. " O God," the Man said " I am to die, but not
because Thou wishest it, [but because the People are
going to kill me]." Then the Eagle said " If you die.
neither beer, nor water, nor anything else shall they
obtain to drink." And when the People heard this, they
exclaimed "It is God Who has spoken." And then
they said to the Man " Go, shall the whole city perish
because of one Man ? You are free."
In a variant (L.T.H. ii, 28) an Old Woman sells her
Bull to the Chief Butcher on the condition that he will
be killed at the feast of Salla. He feeds Birds on the
meat, and the Eagle helps him in a way similar to the
above, and the Old Woman is thrown into the ready-
made grave instead. For other variants see F.-L. 4
and 5.
77
THE SPIDER PASSES ON A DEBT.
There was once a certain Woman who had a
Daughter, and, when she was going to give her in
11AUSA SUPERSTITIONS
marriage, the Daughter said that she had no basins, and
no plates (i), [and that she would not be married with-
out them]. So the Mother, who had a Bull, took it to
the Slaughter-men and asked them to buy it, ten basins
and ten plates was the price. But they said that they
could not give that for it.
Now the Spider heard, and he came up, and said
that he would buy the Bull, and that when the marriage
was about to be performed he would bring ten plates
and ten basins. So the Woman handed over the Bull
to the Spider, and he took it home, and killed it.
When he had cooked it, he poured the broth into a
pot, and took it, and placed it in the road, and he
climbed a tree above, and hid there. Now the Goat
[was passing, and he] was very thirsty, so he came up,
and put his nose into the pot, and immediately the pot
caught hold of his nose. Then the Spider slid down
and said " Good." And he continued : —
"The Spider is the Buyer of the Old Woman's Bull
For ten large basins and ten large plates ;
The payment is upon you now, O, He-Goat."
And the He-Goat replied " Very well, I agree."
So he went to the river to drink water, and there a
Crab seized his nose, and then he said—
"The He-Goat is the Drinker of the Spider's broth;
The Spider is the Buyer of the Old Woman's Bull
For ten large basins and ten large plates ;
The payment is upon you, O Crab."
And the Crab replied " Very well, I agree.
Now when the Daughter came to the stream, she
trod upon the Crab, and the Crab said : —
"The Daughter has stepped on the [poor little] Crab (2) ;
The Crab is the Catcher of the He-Goat's beard;
The He-Goat is the Drinker of the Spider's broth;
XXXI.—" DAINTIES." XXXII.— MILK.
The dainties may consist of dried fish, European tinned provisions, condiments, or any kind
of vegetables, raw or prepared.
The milk trade is in the hands of the Filani, and sour milk is much preferred to fresh.
THE SPIDER'S DEBT 369
The Spider is the Buyer of the Old Woman's Bull
For ten large basins and ten large plates ;
The payment is upon you, O Daughter/'
And the Daughter said " Very well, I agree."
So the Daughter took the water which she had come
to get, and was going home, when the Slipperiness
caused her to fall, and she spilt the water. Then she
said —
"Slipperiness made the Daughter fall;
The Daughter is the Stepper on the [poor little] Crab ;
The Crab is the Catcher of the He-Goat's beard;
The He-Goat is the Drinker of the Spider's broth;
FIG. 84.
FIG. 85.
FIGS. 84 and 85. — Brass trumpets. L., 50! in. and 62| in.
The Spider is the Buyer of the Old Woman's Bull
For ten large basins and ten large plates ;
The payment is upon you, O Slipperiness."
And the Slipperiness said " Very well, I agree."
Now the Slipperiness stayed on the ground, and soon
afterwards a White-Ant came, and made a passage (3)
across the wet place. Then the Slipperiness sang —
1 The White-Ant has built on the Slipperiness ;
The Slipperiness made the Daughter fall ;
The Daughter is the Stepper on the [poor little] Crab ;
The Crab is the Catcher of the He-Goat's beard;
The He-Goat is the Drinker of the Spider's broth ;
The Spider is the Buyer of the Old Woman's Bull
24
370 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
For ten large basins and ten large plates ;
The payment is upon you, O White-Ant."
And the White-Ant said " Very well, I agree."
After a little while a certain Bird came and built [a
nest] upon the White-Ant's hill (4), and then the White-
Ant said —
11 The Bird has alighted on the White-Ant's hill;
The White-Ant built on the Slipperiness ;
The Slipperiness made the Daughter fall ;
The Daughter is the Stepper on the [poor little] Crab ;
The Crab is the Catcher of the He-Goat's beard;
The He-Goat is the Drinker of the Spider's broth;
The Spider is the Buyer of the Old Woman's Bull
For ten large basins and ten large plates ;
The payment is upon you, O Bird."
And the Bird said " Very well, I agree."
Now the Bird stayed there, and one day a Boy who
was shooting came along, and when he saw the Bird
sitting on the Ant-hill he shot it. Then the Bird said—
"The Boy is the Shooter of the [poor little] Bird;
The Bird alighted on the White-Ant's hill ;
The White-Ant built on the Slipperiness;
The Slipperiness made the Daughter fall ;
The Daughter is the Stepper on the [poor little] Crab ;
The Crab is the Catcher of the He-Goat's beard;
The He-Goat is the Drinker of the Spider's broth ;
The Spider is the Buyer of the Old Woman's Bull
For ten large basins and ten large plates ;
The payment is upon you, O Boy."
And the Boy said " Very well, I agree."
So the Boy went home, and just as he had opened
his mouth to tell his Mother about it, she covered him
with blows. Then the Boy said —
"The Mother is the Beater of the [poor little] Boy;
THE SPIDER'S DEBT 371
The Boy is the Shooter of the [poor little] Bird;
The Bird alighted on the White-Ant's hill ;
The White-Ant built on the Slipperiness ;
The Slipperiness made the Daughter fall ;
The Daughter is the Stepper on the [poor little] Crab ;
The Crab is the Catcher of the He-Goat's beard;
The He-Goat is the Drinker of the SpiderTs broth ;
The Spider is the Buyer of the Old Woman's Bull
For ten large basins and ten large plates ;
The payment is upon you, O Mother."
And the Mother said " Very well, I agree."
Now it happened soon afterwards that a certain
Blacksmith burned one of the Mother's cloths, and then
she said —
11 The Blacksmith is the Burner of the Mother's cloth;
The Mother is the Beater of the [poor little] Boy;
The Boy is the Shooter of the [poor little] Bird;
The Bird alighted on the White-Ant's hill ;
The White-Ant built on the Slipperiness;
The Slipperiness made the Daughter fall ;
The Daughter is the Stepper on the [poor little] Crab;
The Crab is the Catcher of the He-Goat's beard;
The He-Goat is the Drinker of the Spider's broth ;
The Spider is the Buyer of the Old Woman's Bull
For ten large basins and ten large plates ;
The payment is upon you, O Blacksmith."
Then the Blacksmith said " Very well, I agree."
Immediately all the Blacksmiths started work, and
ten basins and ten plates, and took them to the
oman. The Woman took them, and gave them to
the Boy. The Boy took them, and gave them to the
Bird. The Bird took them, and gave them to the White-
Ant. The White-Ant took them and gave them to the
Slipperiness. The Slipperiness took them, and gave
372 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
them to the Daughter. The Daughter took them, and
gave them to the Crab. The Crab took them, and gave
them to the He-Goat. The He-Goat took them, and
gave them to the Spider. And the Spider took them,
and gave them to the Old Woman.
That is an example of the Spider's cunning. He
himself ate the flesh of the Bull, but he made others
make the payment for him, he gave nothing in return
for what he had got.
In a variant the Spider owes an Old Woman money
as before. He climbs a shea-butter tree but falls down,
so the tree has to take over the debt, and it then passes
on to the Girl who picks the nuts, a root which trips
her, a Goat which eats the leaves, a Slave who beats the
Goat, the King's Wife who beats the Slave, and then
to the King who quarrels with her. But in this case,
the debt does not return to the Old Woman, for the
King pays it.
This story has some resemblance to " The House
that Jack built," and others of our nursery tales, but it
is quite possible that at one time it belonged to the kind
known as " All-around-the-Clock," i.e., that the debt
having been brought back to the Mother, the story
would have ended, and she would have lost her Bull and
still have had to provide the basins and plates. Thus
in a Malayan tale (Skeat, op. cit., page 9) where
the Chevrotain has danced and has stepped on
the Otter's children, he excuses himself to King-
Solomon by saying that the Woodpecker had
sounded the war-gong, and that he, being Chief
Dancer in the war-dance could not keep quiet, and
that he had not noticed where he was stepping.
The Woodpecker said he had sounded his gong
(tapped the tree) because he had seen the Great Lizard
wearing his sword (his long tail) ; this was because the
Tortoise had donned his coat of mail ; this was because
the King-Crab had been trailing his three-edged pike
THE SPIDER PAYS HIS DEBTS 373
(a spike at the end of his tail); this was because the
Crayfish had shouldered his lance (antennae) ; and this
was because the Crayfish had seen the Otter coming
down to devour the Young Crayfish. So the Otter
had no redress.
78
THE SPIDER PAYS HIS DEBTS.
The Spider had contracted a number of debts, he
had borrowed from every Beast of the forest, and he
took counsel with himself as to what he should do, for
he had no money with which to pay. So he gave out
that, on the Friday, all the Creditors should come and
receive payment.
When Friday had come, [while it was still] early in
the morning, the Hen arrived to collect her debt. And,
when she had come, the Spider said " Good, I will
pay you at once, but wait a minute or two while I pre-
pare you some food." So the Hen was waiting inside
the hut, and soon the Wild-Cat came. Then the Spider
said "Good, the repayment (i) is in the hut, go and
take it." So the Wild-Cat went and entered the hut,
and seized the Hen, and twisted her neck.
Just as he was about to go off, the Dog arrived, and
the Spider said " Good, the re-payment is in the hut,
go and take it." So the Dog went and seized the Wild-
Cat, and bit him, and killed him. Just as he was about
to go, the Hyaena arrived, and the Spider said " Good,
the re-payment is in the hut, go and take it." So the
Hyaena ran and seized the Dog, and ate him up. Just
as she was about to leave, lo ! the Leopard appeared,
and the Spider said " Good, the re-payment is in the
hut, go and take it." So the Leopard sprang upon the
374 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
Hyaena, and killed her. Just as she was about to leave
who should arrive but the Lion, and he came upon the
Leopard.
So they began to fight, and while they were fighting,
and fighting, the Spider took some pepper, and poured
it into their eyes. When he had done this, he took up
a big stick, and began to beat them, and he beat them
until they were dead, both of them. Then the Spider
collected the meat in his house, and said that he had
extinguished his debts.
For an English parallel, see " The Crocodiles'
Dinner Party."
79
THE YOUNGEST SON AND THE WISE EWE.
A certain Man was very rich, and amongst his
possessions was one old Ewe. He had three Sons also,
two he loved, the third he did not love. Now he was
about to die, so he summoned his Eldest Son to the
door of his hut, and said " When I am dead, say that
you do not want any of my possessions except the old
Ewe." But the Son replied " What, there are great
riches here, what should I do with the old Ewe ?" Then
the Father said " Very well," and he summoned the
Second, and said " When I am dead, say that you do
not want any of my riches, but simply take this old
Ewe." But he answered '* I see that you are very
rich, why should I be content with the old Ewe?"
So the Father said " Very well," and he sum-
moned his Youngest Son, Auta, whom he did not
love, and said to him " Now, listen, when I am
THE WISE EWE 375
dead, say that you do not want any of my pos-
sessions except this old Ewe." And Auta replied
" Father, even now when you are alive, riches
are of no account to me, they will matter even less when
you are no more," and he continued "The Ewe will
be enough for me." So the Father said " Good, and
remember that of whatever you have to eat, give some
to the Ewe first, then you may eat of it also." And
Auta replied " I will remember."
Now when the Father had ceased speaking, and had
re-entered his hut, he died, and there was wailing, and
wailing, and wailing. Then Auta took the Ewe, and
left the house, and the People said " Opp, there is one
who made a foolish promise, there are great riches, yet
he has given up his claims to them, and has taken only
the old Ewe."
So Auta travelled on, and on, and on with the Ewe,
and when he got water he gave her to drink before he
himself drank. At last they came to the hut of a
Weaver who was very poor, for he had nothing to
eat. When Auta had saluted the house, the Weaver said
" O Stranger, do you wish to rest here? " And Auta
said " Yes." " Very well," said the other, " but I have
no food for myself, much less any to give you." Now
the Weaver had a Wife whom he loved, the House-
Mother (i), and she had a Daughter. There was also
a Second Wife whom he did not love, and she also
had a Daughter. And the Weaver said to his Beloved
Wife " O House-Mother, draw some water for the
Stranger to drink." But she replied " Poof, I have no
water in my hut, I have nothing to give the Stranger."
Then the Weaver said to his Unbeloved Wife " Hey,
you, draw some water for the Stranger to drink." The
Unbeloved Wife had a little guinea-corn in her binn,
376 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
about a handful, and she ground it, and put it into the
water, and took it to Auta. He gave it to the Ewe first,
and they said " What ! drink it yourself indeed (2), the
Ewe will get her food separately." But Auta said
11 No, no, this will do for both of us." So he gave it
first to the Ewe, and she drank some of it, and then he
drank also.
In the evening, when the sun had set, the House-
Mother said " Good gracious, is this Stranger going to
sleep here ? " And the Husband said " Yes," and then
continued " Have you any more guinea-corn with which
to make gruel for him?" And she replied "I?
All the corn I have left is one handful, and I
am going to make gruel for my Daughter, I shall not
give it to the Stranger." Then he said to his Unbeloved
Wife " Is there a little guinea-corn in your hut enough
to make gruel for the Stranger? " And she said " All
I have is one handful, but I will make gruel, and give
it to him." So she made gruel of the handful of corn,
and gave it to the Stranger, and when he had taken it,
he gave it to the Ewe to drink first, and then he drank
also. And they rested until daybreak.
Now, that day the Ewe was going to talk to Auta,
so she said " Arise and let us go, accompany me as far
as the edge of the forest." So they started off, and
the Host asked "Are you going to leave us?" But
they replied " Oh no, we are going only to the edge
of the forest, and will return." Now when they had
reached the edge of the forest, the Ewe said " Stay
here." But she went to and fro in the grass, and then
returned to the Boy, and said " Go, wherever you see
that I have been, you follow." When he went, he came
upon about two hundred Horses, with their saddles and
bridles, and royal caparisons, and he returned to the
THE WISE EWE 377
Ewe, and said " I have seen about two hundred Horses,
with their saddles, and bridles, and royal caparisons."
Then she said " Good, stay here/' and again she went
to and fro in the grass, and returned to the Boy, and
said " Go, wherever you see that I have been, you
follow." When he went he saw about two hundred
Grooms, each one with a rug upon his arm, and when
he had returned, and had told her, she said " Good,
go, let each Groom hold a Horse." And when they
had done this, she said " Now, let us return to the
house at which we lodged."
When they arrived, the Weaver stared at the Horses
surrounding his house, and said " Certainly that
Stranger has not gone for good, his Horsemen have
come." And, as he stared, he saw the Ewe in front,
and she said " Yes, it is we, we have not left you."
And then she continued " Take all these Horses (3) to
the Unbeloved Wife."
When the Horses had been handed over, the Ewe
said " Come, let us return to the edge of the forest,"
and, when they had reached it, she stopped, and said to
Auta " Look in front." Then he looked, and saw
Slaves and Concubines to the number of about three
hundred, each carrying a sheaf of corn. Then again
she said " Now let us return to the house at which we
lodged," and she continued " Let all these Slaves, and
Concubines, and sheaves of corn be. taken to the house
of the Unbeloved Wife."
Now when they had been handed over, the House-
Wife said that Auta should marry her Daughter, but
the Ewe said no, no, that Auta was to marry the
Daughter of the Unbeloved Wife. So thus it was, she
was given to him, and they were married, and her
Father, the Weaver, and her Mother who was un-
beloved, both had a share in the riches.
378 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
Well, they had been living there for some time —
the Ewe had had a house built for her — and Auta used
to mount a Horse covered with trappings, and his
Slaves used to follow him. But one day he said to
the Ewe that he wanted a Second Wife, and she replied
" Very well, but if you must marry, do not take a Bad
Woman,'* and he said " I will not." But one day he
had mounted a Horse, and was going for a ride, when
he saw a certain Bad Woman, so beautiful that there
was no one like her. Then he came and told the Ewe
that he had found a Woman to marry, and the Ewe
replied " Oh, very well, I have nothing more to say,"
she did not remind him [of her warning]. So he
married her, the Bad Woman, and brought her to his
house.
He lived there with the Bad Woman, and one day
he mounted his Horse to go for a ride, and when he
went, he left the Bad Woman at home with some of his
Runners (4). Then the Bad Woman said "Oh dear,
we have no meat to eat to-day, we must kill this old
Ewe." But one of the Runners said " No, no, the Ewe
was here before I came [and is not meant to be
killed] " (5). Then she said " If you do not kill that
Ewe I will have you sold." So he said " Very well,"
and he seized the Ewe, and cut its throat.
Now the Ewe was being skinned when the Boy
returned from his ride, and he asked " Where did you
get that meat? " (6). Silence ! ! Then he said " Ah I
I have asked you a question, are you not going to tell
me?" Then the Bad Woman said " Oh, it was I,
I had no meat, so I had the Ewe killed." Then he
said " I see," and he collected all the flesh, and wrapped
it in the fleece, and tied it up. Then he addressed him-
self to his first Wife, the [one whom he had taken as a]
THE WISE EWE
379
Virgin, the Daughter of the Unbeloved Wife, and said
11 Give me a pair of white trousers, a white tobe, a white
turban, and a knife.*' So he put on his white trousers,
his white tobe, and his white turban (7), and he took the
FIG. 86.
FIG. 87.
FIG. 86. — Iron rattle, tied to ankle when dancing. L. of body, 8 in.
FIG. 87. — Drum. The usual form is not so irregular as this. May be more
than 12 in. in diameter.
Ewe's flesh, and went off to the forest. There he
cleared a space, and placed the flesh of the Ewe in
front of him, and he took the knife and said " Since the
Ewe has died through my fault (8), I will stab myself,
38o HAUSA SUPERSTIT10.\S
and die also." Now as he took the knife to stab him-
self, the Flesh said "Stop," but, as he saw that the
Flesh did not arise, he said '* No, no, I shall not stop,
I will stab myself," and again he took the knife to stab
himself. Then the Ewe arose, alive, and said " Verily,
I told you not to marry a Bad Woman."
Then he said to the Ewe " It is so, let us go home,"
and when he arrived he drove away the Bad Woman
(9), and said " One Wife is enough for me."
Another version of the death of the Father, and the
Youngest Son's promise, is found in T.H.H. 6, where
Salifu takes the Old Mare, and the Mare brings him
wealth, though in a different way.
Another Ewe story makes the Animal give the Boy
everything he wants on condition that he will give her
and her family water daily. The condition is kept for
a while, but one day the Boy refuses to get water, and
his riches are taken away from him again. This is a
variant of the Dove story, F.-L. 39.
The father who leaves apparently worthless objects,
which turn out to be magical, to his children is found
in Sicilian tales. Vide Gouzurbach ; Siciliansche
Mdrchen (Leipzig, 1870), 192; Pitre, iv, Biblioteca, 252.
Compare a Balearic tale, Archduke Ludwig Salvator,
Mdrchenans Mallorea (Urirzburg, 1896), 50. (H.)
80
THE LUCKY YOUNGEST SON.
There was once a certain lucky Person, Ahmadu the
Rich Man, who had three Children, and three Wives,
each one having exactly one Son. At last he fell ill,
THE LUCKY YOUNGEST SON 381
and knew that he was about to die, so he summoned
his Eldest Son, and said " When I am dead, of all my
riches do not take anything except my stick and my
boot." But the Eldest Son replied " Father, is that
the kind of Man you are? Of all your goods I am
not to take anything except the stick and boot ? Well,
I shall not take only the stick and boot." Then the
Father said " Very well, go and stay with your Mother."
So he summoned the second of them, and said " Listen,
Mohamma, when I am dead, do not take anything
except the prayer-jug " (i). But Mohamma replied " Is
that the sort my Father is ? I shall not take the prayer-
jug." Then Ahmadu summoned Auta also, and said
" When I am dead, do not take anything except the
stick and boot." And Auta replied " Father, I love
you better than anything," and he continued "what-
ever you tell me to take, I will take only it." So
Ahmadu said " Very well, take only the boot and the
stick."
Now when Auta had taken them, and had left the
hut, his Father died, and the Women of the house
mourned. When they had ceased, they applied to the
King for the division of the heritage, and when it had
been divided up, the Eldest Son was given his share,
and the Second was given his, but when Auta was given
some of the property, he refused it, and said that the
boot and stick would content him. Then his Mother
came up, and began to abuse Auta, but when she had
finished abusing him, he still said that he would not
take anything, and when he had got tired of being
abused he went off into the forest.
When he had reached the main road, he met with a
certain Person who had collected some wood, and had
lit it, and he said " O Youth, where are you going? "
382 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
" What has that to do with you ? " asked Auta, and he
passed on. Soon he came upon a Hunter, who said
11 O Youth, will you not give me your stick?" And
Auta took the stick, and gave it to him. Then the
Hunter saw a Bird in a tree, and he threw up the
stick at it, and the stick stuck in the branches. So he
took the Bird, and gave it to the Boy.
Then Auta went on, and came upon a certain Person
who had lit a fire, but had nothing to cook, and he said
" O Youth, will you not give me the Bird that I may
cook it? " When Auta had given it to him, he cooked
and ate it, and then he took some ashes, [and gave
them to Auta], and Auta wrapped them in his coat.
So he went on, and came upon a certain Woman,
who was making porridge, but had no ash to put in
it (2). So she said " O Youth, will you not give me the
ash ? " And he gave it to her. Then she took a broken
piece of calabash [with some food in it] and gave it to
the Boy, and he went on.
Next he came upon some People digging on a
farm, and they said " O Youth, will you not give us
your porridge that we may eat ? " And he took it, and
gave it to them, and they ate it, and then they took a
hoe and gave it to him.
So he went on, and came upon a Blacksmith who
had made a great fire with his bellows, but had no iron
for forging. So he said " O Youth, will you not give
me the hoe that I may make knives with it ? " (3). And
Auta took it, and gave it to him, and the Blacksmith
made knives with it, and when he had made them, he
gave Auta one.
When the Boy had taken it, he started travelling
on again in the forest, and he went on, and came upon
a Weaver, who had made a white cloth. Then the
THE LUCKY YOUNGEST SON 383
Weaver said " O Youth, will you not give me your
knife that I may cut this white cloth?'1 (4) When
Auta had given it to him, he cut the white cloth, and
then Auta said " Right, now pay me for my knife."
So the Weaver took all the white cloth and gave it to
the Boy.
Auta went on, and came to a place where a
Maiden had died. As for her People, they had no white
cloth in which to take her to the grave, and they said
" O Boy, will you not give us this white cloth in
which to take the corpse to the grave? " So he took
it, and gave it to them, and they cut it up, and sewed
the strips together, and wrapped it around the Girl.
But when they were about to take her to the grave, the
Boy caught hold of the Corpse, and said " Pay me for
my white cloth." So they took the Corpse, and gave
it to him, and he lifted it on to his head (5).
He went on, and at last he emerged from the forest,
and went on, and came near to a large city. Now there
was a river at the gate of the city, and each day the
King's Wives would come there to get water. And
when he had come with the dead Girl, he dug two
holes, and put her feet in them, and stretched the body
upright, so that she stood up. Then he took the white
cloth, and wrapped it around her, right down to the
ground, and after that he went back in the shade, and
waited. When the King's Wives came to get water at
the place, he said " For God's sake will you not give
my Wife some water that she may drink ? I gave her
some, but she refused to drink because of her pride " (6).
Then one, the Chief Wife of the King, got some water
in her calabash, and came and said " Here you are " —
Silence, she did not accept it. Then another of the
King's Wives bounded forward, and seized the cala-
;VS4 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
bash, and came, and said "Here!" Silence.
Then she hit the Corpse on the forehead, and the Corpse
fell down. Immediately the Boy ran out from the
shade, and began to cry, and he said that the King's
Wives had killed his Wife at the stream. The alarm
reached even to the King's palace, but the King said
that it was a lie, for his Wives "would not quarrel.
However, he said " Go and see.'*
When the Messengers had come, they found the
Corpse lying down, so they went back, and said to the
King " Ah, it is true, your Wives have done murder."
Then he said " Very well, bring the Corpse here."
And, when it had been lifted up and brought to the
King, he said ** Here, Boy, whence have you come
with this Woman ? " But he said to the King " What
has that to do with you ? " Then the Judge said " This
Boy may do mischief, settle with him, and let him go."
So the King brought two Wives of his own, and gave
them to him (7), and the Boy went out of the city
and entered the forest, and he went and lived in the
forest, and built a house there. But when he had
built the house, he drove away the two Wives whom
the King had given him, and said that he would live
alone.
One day a Frog said " Auta, may I come to your
house and live? " and he replied " Remain certainly."
Then a Monkey said " Auta, may I come to your house
and live? " and he replied " Remain certainly." Then
a Horse said " Auta, may I come to your house and
live? " and he replied " Remain certainly." A Camel
a Donkey, Stinging-Ants, Ordinary Ants, Large
Stinging-Travelling-Ants, a Mule, a Large Snake, a
Crown-Bird, and a White-Breasted Crow, all came and
lived with him.
THE LUCKY YOUNGEST SON 385
Soon all conceived, at the same time, and a Bull
came, and said that every one of them was to build
a storehouse in the compound, there being thirty
altogether. The Bull came, and built thirty receptacles
inside the houses, and again he came and made thirty
deep holes in the compound. Then the Bull filled all
the storehouses with gold, that is what he gave birth to.
The Mule came and brought forth silver, he filled all the
thirty holes. The Camel filled the receptacles with
cowries. The rest of the Family, the Small Ones,
brought forth Slaves, they filled the house with Slaves.
Now, one day, the Spider came to the house to beg,
and Auta took guinea-corn and gave it to him, and the
Spider went to the King, and said " What will you
give me for my news? " The King replied " A kola-
nut." " How many ears have you ? " asked the Spider.
The King replied that he had two ears. " Add two
more," said the Spider, "and you will hear news."
And the King said that he had added them. So the
Spider said " The Boy here in the forest, in the whole
world there is not one who is so rich." " It is a lie,"
exclaimed the King. Then the Spider said " Very well,
send me and the Councillors to go and see." So the
King sent him and the Councillors, and they went off,
and when they had been and had seen the wealth, they
knew that the riches were greater than those of the
King himself. So they returned and said " This Boy
is very rich."
Now the King had a White Leper in his palace, and
the advice of the White Leper was what the King
listened to, so he said " Now White Leper, what shall
we do that we may take this property? " The White
Leper replied " Take some soup, and put it in a bag (8),
and take grains of guinea-corn, and put them in the
25
386 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
bag." Now a great number were put inside the bag;
and then black-ac/ia grains were taken and put in the
bag; elusine was taken and put in the bag; millet was
taken and put in the bag; acha was taken and put in
the bag; rice and beans were taken and put in the
bag. When the bag had been filled and tied up, it was
taken to the Boy's house, and he was told that by
daylight he must have sorted out the grains separately.
The Boy saw that he could not do this, and began to cry,
he cried hard ; but the Ant came, and the Stinging-Ant
came, and they told him to be patient. So he took all
his calabashes, and gave them to them, and one took
a grain and put it here, one took a grain and put it
there, and so by the time that day had broken, they
had sorted them out separately, and when the Coun-
cillors came to take them, he lifted them up, and gave
them to them. Then the King again called the White
Leper, and said " Well, how shall we kill that Boy? "
Now there was a certain big lake which no one
would enter, and there was a fan-palm (9) in the
middle of the lake, so the White Leper said to
the King "Tell the Boy to fetch two fruits of
the palm-tree." So Auta was told to do so, and
when he saw that he was unable to enter the
water, he cried hard. But the Monkey and the Frog
came to the Boy, and said " Dry your tears, because
of such things we asked you of old if we could come
to your house and live." Then the Monkey arose,
and hopped to the edge of the lake, and from there
he jumped, and alighted upon the fan-palm. But the
Frog dived, and did not come up until he had reached
the fan-palm, and he also climbed the tree (10). When
the Monkey had plucked one, he jumped straight
out [on to the bank], and the Frog pulled off his, and
THE LUCKY YOUNGEST SON 387
fell into the river, and did not rise until he was at the
bank. So they brought the two fruits of the fan-palm,
and the Boy went and put them aside, and when the
Councillors came next morning to take the fruits, he
took them, and gave them to them, and they brought
them to the King.
Soon afterwards, the King said " Well, White
Leper, what shall we do to get this Boy's riches?"
He replied " It is now the dry season, there is no water,
so you tell him to bring a leaf of the millet about
daybreak." Then the King said "Very well" [and
sent to Auta to tell him]. Then the Boy cried hard,
until the White-Breasted Crow and the Crown-Bird
came, and said " O Boy, what are you crying for?"
" The King has said that I must bring him a millet leaf
now, in the dry season," he replied. But they said
" Come, dry your tears, and be easy." Then the
Crow went north, the Crown-Bird went south, and they
flew along, saying " Da da da " (i i), [at least] the Crow
did. She went on to a country where she found that
the millet was high, the Crown-Bird came to a country
where the millet had begun to put out eyes (12). The
Crow found a country where the millet was ready to be
threshed, so she arrested her flight and took a bundle.
As for the Crown-Bird, she found a place where the
leaves were peeling off, so she also tied up a bundle.
The Crow carried hers, the Crown-Bird carried hers,
and they brought them to the Boy, so when day broke
he took them to the King.
Now the Snake saw that the Boy had been very near
losing his life, and said " O Youth," and Auta replied
" Urn." The Snake said " The King has a Daughter
of whom he is very fond." And it continued " Let me
enter into her stomach, and even if all the Magicians
388 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
in the world be assembled to attend to the Girl she
will not get well. But you, when you go, you will heal
her. I it is who will give you medicine with which to
heal her." " When you go to the King," it continued,
" you must say that your medicine is difficult to obtain,
and the King will say * What can be difficult to me ? '
You must say * It will certainly be hard for you,' but
he will reply ' O Youth, whatever the difficulty, I will
get it.' Then you must say ' Very well, I want a
White Leper's liver brought me immediately.' ' The
Snake went on " When you have been brought the
White Leper's liver, put it with some water in a pot,
and give it to this Girl that she may drink, and she will
be healed at once." So the Boy said " Very well."
Now the Girl was playing with the other Girls of
the city, her Fellows, when the Snake reached her, and
it crawled inside her stomach. Then the Girl said to her
Playmates that she had a stomach-ache, and that she was
going home, so the other Girls said " Let us go, the
King's Daughter is not well." When she had reached
her home, she lay down, and her stomach began swell-
ing, and swelling, until it was as big as a storehouse.
Then the King arose, and began crying, and crying,
and crying, and falling down, and doing all kinds of
things. The White Leper of whom the King was fond
came, and gave his advice, all the Magicians in the
city were summoned, every one gave her medicine. But
it was no good, the Girl did not get better. They went
to Faki Fatatika (13) and summoned the Magicians
of the town, and they came and worked their spells, but
the Girl got no better (14).
At last the Rich Boy came with one old rag on, he
did not wear a good tobe, and he came to the King
and said " May your life be prolonged." Then the
THE LUCKY YOUNGEST SON 389
White Leper arose, and hit him, and said " The King's
Daughter is ill, have you, a Wearer-of-Rags come to
bother him ?" (15). "I have come to give her medicine/'
he replied. Then the White Leper said "The Magi-
cians have not been able to cure her, can you, a Wearer-
of-Rags, know what medicine to prescribe? " Then the
King heard, and said " No no, leave him alone,
everyone has the gifts that God has given him." And
he continued " Go with the White Leper to where the
FIG. 88. — Drum. The note can be altered by pressing the string with
the arm. L., i8£ in.
Girl is." When he had gone, and had returned to the
King, Auta said " Now, O King, I know an antidote,
but my antidote is hard to obtain." " Tell me what
it is," replied the King; " however difficult it may be,
the medicine will be obtained and brought." Then Auta
said " I wish you to get me the liver of a White Leper
at once. Now here is a White Leper with you, will
one go searching in the city to look for one? " And
immediately the Councillors rained blows upon the
White Leper there, in the hall, until they had killed
390 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
him. Then his body was seized, and torn open, and
the liver was pulled out, and given to the Boy,
who told them to get some water for him and to
put it in a pot. When water had been poured into a
new pot, it was brought to him, and he put the liver
in it, and shook it up, and then he said " Give it to the
Girl to drink." Now when it had been given to the Girl,
and she had drunk, she became violently ill,* and the
Snake came out, and went away* (16); no one saw it.
Then the Girl arose, and asked to 'be given porridge
to eat, she said to give her flour and water to drink,
and she was given some, she was also given kola-
nuts, and she ate them. Immediately the King took
the Boy aside, he brought five Horses and gave
them to him, he brought five tobes and gave them
to him, he brought twenty pairs of trousers, and dark
blue tobes and gave them to him. Then he separated
off one-half of the city and offered it to him, but Auta
said " No, as far as I am concerned, I do not wish to
live in the city, I am going home."
So he took his Horses and the other presents
which the King had given to him, and he went
to the forest, and he overtook the Snake, as he
was going home. The Snake said " O Boy, the
treachery is done with, there remains only mine
to you " (17), and it continued " Now, look here,
I am going to live in an Ant-hill." Then Auta
said " If you live in an Ant-hill, how can I repay
you? " The Snake replied " Every Sunday you must
give me a piece of meat/' And the Boy said " Agreed,
I understand." So when Sunday came, the Boy arose
from his bed, and went out, and got a piece of meat
in the house, and he took it, and carried it to the Ant-
hill, and then he returned home.
THE LUCKY YOUNGEST SON 391
Every Sunday Auta did this for him, until one day
he went out of his hut in the morning, but did not see
the piece of meat in the house, for as it happened,
the Frog had come, and had taken it in the early
morning. Now as he had not obtained a piece of
meat, the Snake arose, and came to Auta, and said
to the Boy " To-day is Sunday, but I have not seen my
piece of meat." " I am now looking for it," he replied;
" must you come and ask me for it? " And he con-
tinued " Formerly I had a store of them in the
house, but to-day when I got up I did not see
any, there are no more pieces." Then the Snake
said " Indeed! Is there disloyalty in your own
house?" And Auta replied that he did not know.
" Will you give the Thieves over to me that I may
come and seize them?" asked the Snake. And the
Boy said " Very well," for he thought that all
were acting fairly towards him. " Very well," he
said, " but who is the one to be punished amongst
them ? " The Snake replied " Right, I am going home,
I shall know the Thief when he comes." But when
the Snake had gone a little way, it returned and hi'd
behind the door of Auta's house.
Now the Rich Boy could not rest without going
and reasoning with the Snake, so he went out of the
door of the house, and the Snake (which was by the door
of the house) bit him, and when the Snake had bitten
him, Auta went back into the house, and lay down, for
his leg was painful. Then the Frog came up, and said
" What has befallen you, O Rich One? " And Auta
replied " Something bit me by the door of the house."
Then the Frog said " Whatever it be, I will go and
see." So he went out, hopping, and came to the door
of the house, and the Snake bit him, so he also went and
392 HAL'S A SUPERSTITIONS
lay down. The Frog died, he also, the Rich Boy,
died.
That is the end of this. The Frog brought this
upon Auta. Because he took the meat, he brought
disaster upon him.
In a variant (L.T.H. 129) the story goes on the
same lines as far as the trick with the Corpse, but the
Youth takes a Girl offered him and marries her. He
has a Daughter by her, and sings to the Baby, telling it
that he had obtained the Mother by the means of a
Corpse. The ending is the same as that of F.-L. 12.
With the White-Leper incident in this story may be
compared one from the Malay Peninsula (Fables and
Folk-Tales from an Eastern Forest, W. Skeat, page 3).
The Great King of all the Tigers was sick, and the
Tiger-Crown-Prince suggested that he should eat the
flesh of every Beast until he got the right one. All the
Beasts were summoned, and all came except the Chevro-
tain, and the Tiger-King ate of them. Last of all came
the Chevrotain, whose excuse wras that he had had a
dream in which the proper medicine had been indicated.
When the Tiger-King had asked what it wras, the
Chevrotain replied that he must devour that which was
nearest to him. Immediately the Tiger-Crown-Prince
was seized and eaten, the King-Tiger got well, and the
Chevrotain became Crown-Prince.
A Sierra Leone story (Cunnie Rabbit, page 249)
bears a greater resemblance to the Hausa one. Here
the King is envious of the Boy's riches, and, acting on
the advice of a Messenger, sets the Boy to pick fruit
from a tree covered with Poisonous Ants, but the White-
Ants do it for him. Next the Boy is ordered to pick
out a certain Cow from a herd, and the Butterfly shows
him which is the right one by settling upon her head.
The third test is to make the Boy sit on a chair on a
mat which hides the mouth of a hole filled with knives
and broken bottles, but he pokes the mat before sitting
down, and the plot is exposed. Lastly the King is
THE DIVISION OF THE INHERITANCE 393
going to throw him into the river, but by a trick the
Messenger is drowned instead, and so the Boy is
molested no further.
The contract with a Snake appears in an Indian tale,
and Snakes are supposed to live in ant-hills (Crooke,
op. cit., pp. 135 and 276).
The youth, who, starting with the capital of an
article of negligible value, by repeated commercial
transactions like those of the youth in this story,
arrives at riches, or brings himself into collision with a
wealthy and powerful man and is condemned to be
drowned, but extricates himself, contrives to substitute
his opponent as victim and succeeds to his possessions,
is a favourite in European and African folk-tales.
Among the variants recorded in Africa are tales current
among the Kabyles (Riviere, Contes Pop. Kabyles,
Paris, 1882, 79, 95), Ewhe (i, Rev. d'Ethnographie
et Sociologie, Paris, 1910, 71, where other references
are given), Anyanja (iii, Folk-lore, 92 ; xv, 344),
Herrero (Bleek, Reynard the Fox, 90) and Zulus (Cal-
loway, Nursery Tales, London, 1868, 37). Variants
are even found as far to the east as among the Katchins
of Burma (iv, Anthropos, 121, 135). The corpse often
figures in the story. (H.)
81
THE DIVISION OF THE INHERITANCE.
There was a certain Man who had three Children,
two Daughters and a Son ; the name of the Son was
Karrambanna, one of the Daughters was called Kum-
bu(r)rin Dammo, and the other Maihakuri (i).
Now their Father died, and left twenty thousand
cowries and one cowry, and, when the property was
about to be divided, the King (2) said " What can be
394 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
done with one cowry ? Let it be given to Karrambanna
as he is the eldest." But Kumbu(r)rin Dammo said
that she would not agree, she said " Let it be divided
into three so that no one can get the better of the
others." So the King said " Very well, but who can
divide a cowry into three equal parts?"
Then a certain Old Man said " There is one who
can divide the inheritance equally, his name is Atteyu,
his whole body is nothing but liver." So they went and
summoned Atteyu, and the King said to him " Here are
twenty thousand cowries and one cowry, there is no one
who can divide them equally, that is what caused us to
summon you." " Opp," he replied, " that is easy,"
and he asked How many Children had he?" And
they said " Three." Then he said " Give them 5,000
each," and of the 20,001 cowries there remained 5,001.
He said " Give them 1,000 each " — so there were 2,001
left. " Of the 2,001 give them 500 each," he continued
— and there remained 501. Then he said " Give them
loo each " — and 201 were left. " Of the 201," he
continued, " give them 50 each "—and there were still
51. Then he said " Of the 51 give them 10 each "
so 21 remained. "Of the 21," he continued, "give
them 5 each "—and 6 were left. " Now of the 6 re-
maining give them 2 each, and so no one will get the
better of the others." Then he said " I have divided
the inheritance for you."
82
THE CITY OF WOMEN.
There was once a Bachelor, who had no Wife, and
he went and worked on his farm, but after he had gone
THE CITY OF WOMEN 395
home, a Tortoise came, and said " O Farm of the
Bachelor, rise up in disorder," [and the farm became
as if it had never been worked].
Now when the Bachelor returned, and saw this, he
said " Oh dear ! Who has done this to me ? " And he
continued " Well, I will wait in hiding, and see who
is spoiling my farm.'* So when he had finished work,
he hid himself at the edge of the bush, and waited.
When the Tortoise arrived, he said " O Farm of the
Bachelor, rise up in disorder," and the farm became
as it was before. Then the Bachelor came up, and took
a hoe, and beat the Tortoise on the back until he cried
out " O Bachelor, let me off, let me off, and I will
give you a Wife." [And when the Bachelor had
desisted], the Tortoise said " Now, go, Bachelor, and
make a bundle of stalks " (i), and, when this had been
done, the Bachelor said " Here it is, I have made it."
Then the Tortoise said " Good, now get inside, and I
will carry you," and the Bachelor said " Very well."
So the Tortoise carried him to a certain city where
there were only Women, there was not even one Man,
and when he had brought him to this city where there
were no Men, he said " Listen to the weeping " (2),
and he undid the bundle. Now when the Lower-Class
Women saw the Bachelor, they said " Oh, this One is
too good for us, let us take him to the Queen." And
when the Queen saw him, she gave him a tobe, a pair of
trousers, and a turban, and she bought him a Horse,
all the good things suitable for a King she gave
him, [and she married him].
One day she said " I am going off to the war,"
and she continued " See this little basket with a lid, you
must not open it. Everything in this palace is yours
except this little basket, and if you open it you will have
396 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
a great shock " (3). So she started off, and went to the
war, leaving him at home. Now when she had gone, he
said " Well, everything in this palace is mine, so I \\ill
open this little basket." But no sooner had he done so,
than he found himself back in the middle of his farm,
with nothing but a leather loin-covering, and a hoe, he
could see the palace no longer. Then he began to cry,
and he said " Where shall I get another Tortoise to
take me back?"
So he went to the edge of the bush, and found a
young Tortoise, and he took him up, and said " Now,
when I have farmed, you must say ' O Farm of the
Bachelor, rise up in disorder,' when I come to pick up
the hoe to beat you, you must say ' Let me off, let
me off, and I will take you to the city of Women.' '
When they had done this, the Bachelor said " Good,
now tell me to make a bundle of stalks," and the Little
Tortoise said '* Do so." When he had made it, he
got inside, and said 4< Little Tortoise, carry me," and
the Tortoise said *' Very well." So when he had got
inside, the Little Tortoise managed to lift him up, but
he began to groan, for he was not strong, and he said
"Alas! Alas!"
Soon he met a Hyaena, and the Hyaena said " O
Little Tortoise, what are you carrying? " and the Little
Tortoise replied " Oh, the Bachelor said that I must
carry him." Then the Hysena said " Throw down the
Base-born One of his Parents,* and let me eat him."
So the Little Tortoise threw down the bundle, and the
Hyaena came up and tore it open, and took out the
Bachelor, and ate him.
An Annamite story (S.F.T. 200) relates how a
Daughter of a Jinn was married to a Mandarin who
THE SLEEPLESS TOWN 397
had sought her in the abodes of the Immortals. " His
happiness continued until the day when it was his
Lady's turn to be in attendance upon the Queen of the
Immortals. Ere she left him she warned him against
opening the back door of the palace where they dwelt,
otherwise he would be compelled to return home, and
his present abode would be forbidden to him from that
moment. He disobeyed her. On opening the door he
beheld once more the outside world."
The typical tale is that of the Third Kalandar in the
Arabian Nights (Burton's Translation, i, page 139).
The earliest mention of the City (or rather the Isle,
as it is usually represented) of Women is in Pom-
ponius Mela, iii, 9, where an island is mentioned off
the West Coast of Africa, inhabited only by women.
The Hausa, inhabiting an inland district, naturally
speak of a city, not an island.
83
THE TOWN WHERE NONE MIGHT GO TO SLEEP.
A certain Woman had two Daughters, one was
married to a Man who lived in a town where no one
was allowed to go to sleep, the other to one in a
town where no one might spit.*
One day she cooked a dish of sweetmeats to take to
the Daughter who lived in the town where no one was
allowed to go to sleep. As soon as it was ready she
started off, and when she had arrived, all the Household
said to her " Welcome, welcome." Food was prepared
for her, for the Son-in-Law said " See, my Mother-in-
Law has come." But the Daughter said " O Parent,
no one may sleep here, do not eat too much lest
sleepiness should overcome you." But the Mother said
" I knew long before you were born that sleep was not
398 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
permitted here." " Oh, very well then," replied the
Daughter, " I'll say no more." And the Mother ate
every bit of the food that was brought to her.
That night, although she lay down, she managed to
keep awake, and in the morning the Daughter took up
her jar to go to the stream for water (i), and said to
her Mother " See here, I have put the breakfast on to
boil, please keep up the fire while I am away." But
when the Daughter had gone, although her Mother
managed to replenish the fire for a time, drowsiness
overcame her in the end, and she lay down and fell fast
asleep. Just then a Neighbour came to get fire (2), and,
when she saw the sleeping Woman, she exclaimed
" Alas, So and So's Mother-in-Law is dead."
Then the Drummers (3) were sent for, and soon the
whole town had assembled at the house, and a grave
had been dug (4). The drums were saying
11 Birrim, birrim (5), get a corpse-mat (6),
Death's in the Son-in-Law's house."
But the Daughter heard from where she was, and she
cried out .
" Stay, oh, stay, don't get a corpse-mat,
We are accustomed (7) to sleep."
And when she had come, she roused her Mother, and
said "Wake up, wake up." Then the Mother awoke
with a start, and the People were terrified, [but they
soon saw that it was nothing to be afraid of], and the
whole town began to learn how to sleep.
Now the Mother returned to her own home, but
one day she cooked more sweetmeats, and decided to
visit her other Daughter, the one living in the town
where no one might spit.* When she had arrived, the
Household said " Welcome, welcome," and the Son-in-
THE SLEEPLESS TOWN 399
Law said " My Mother-in-Law has come." So he killed
a Fowl, and sent her a dish of rice. But the Daughter
said to her Mother " Do not eat too much, you know
that in this town no one is allowed to spit." The
Mother replied " Thanks for the information ! I knew
that before ever you were born." So the Daughter said
' Very well," and took no more notice; and the Mother
ate until she was full.
Now when night came, she wanted to spit badly,
but she did not know where she could do so [without
being found out]. At last she went to the place where
FIG. 89.— Drum, of uncommon shape, and stick. H., io| in.
the Horses were tied up (8), and she spat, and covered it
up with some of the cut grass there. But the earth was
not used to this, and the part spat on rose up and began
to complain, saying
" Umm, umm, I am not used to this,
Umm umm, I am not used to this."
Soon all the People came, and said " Who has spat
here? " Then they said " Bring out the Magic Gourds,
the small one and the large, and let everyone come
here, and step over them; and the gourds will catch
400 HA USA SUPERSTITIOXS
hold of the one who has spat." So all the People
of the town stepped over them, but no one was seized,
[and they were surprised]. Then someone said " See
here, there is a Stranger amongst us, let her come and
step over the gourds." Immediately she had come,
and had lifted up a leg to step over, the gourds seized
her, and everyone said " It is she who has spat,
it is she who has spat." And the gourds began singing
these words
" The things which clasp and hold on,
The Mother-in-Law has got them."
She could not sit down, for they held on to her body.
Now, the Spider, the interfering Person, met her,
and said " O Mother-in-Law, how lucky you are to
have gourds which sing such a beautiful song, I should
like to have them." So she replied 4< Very well, spit on
the ground, and say that it was not you who did it."
And when he had done so, he said " There, but it is
not I who have done it, if it is I, O You Magic Gourds
seize me." And immediately the gourds loosed the
Woman and seized him. Then they began singing
" The things which clasp and hold on,
The Spider of Spiders has got them,"
and the Spider felt exceedingly pleased, and began to
dance.
But soon he got tired, and said " O Mother-in-Law,
Thou Thing to be avoided (9), come and take your
gourds." But she refused to do so. Then the Spider
climbed a tree, and when he had got high up he threw
himself down on his buttocks, so as to smash the gourds.
But they did not agree to this, and moved to one side,
and so the Spider's back was broken, and he died.
Then the magic gourds returned to where they had come
THE MENDER OF MEN 401
from (10), and all the Townspeople began to spit, for
they saw that there was no harm in it.
In a Banks' Islands myth, Quat, who began the
work of creation, sailed to the foot of the sky to buy
darkness from Night, and Night darkened his eye-
brows, and showed him how People fall asleep of an
evening. On Quat's return, the sun began sinking in
the west, and his People were much afraid, and when
their eyes began to blink they feared that they were
about to die. But he reassured them, and at daybreak
they awoke to find themselves still alive (Frobenius,
op. cit., page 300).
84
THE MENDER OF MEN.
All the Maidens of the town had assembled, and
had gone to the forest to pick certain herbs, and, while
they were doing this, it began to rain, from the east
it came, and they ran, and got inside the hollow of
a Baobab tree (i), and the Devil closed it up. When
the rain had ceased, the Devil said that each must give
him her necklace and cloth before he would release her,
and all gave them to him except one Girl who refused
to do so. So she had to remain, but the others went
off home.
Now the tree had a small hole in the top, and they
went and told the Maiden's Mother, so she started off,
and came to see the place where her Daughter was.
Then she returned home, and prepared food, and she
went back to the tree in the evening, and said
11 Daughter, Daughter, stretch out your hand, and take
this food." So she stretched out her hand through
26
402 HAUSA SUPERST1TIO
the hole, and she got it, and ate it, and then the Mother
went home again.
As it happened, a Hyaena had heard all this, and
later on he (2) returned, and said "Daughter, Daughter,
stretch out your hand, and take this food." But
she replied " That is not my Mother's
[and she would not]. So the Hyaena went to a Black-
smith (3) and said "Alter my voice for me, [so that
it will resemble that of a Human Being]," and the
other said "If I do improve your voice for you, even
before you have arrived at the foot of the tree you will
have eaten whatever you have found," and he con-
tinued " but I'll do it for you," [and he did so]. But
as the Hyaena was returning, he saw a Centipede, and
he said " Does one ignore what he finds in the morn-
ing? "(4). And he took the Centipede, and ate it.
Then he went to the tree, and said " Daughter,
Daughter, stretch out your hand, and take this food."
But she replied " That is not my Mother's voice."
So the Hyaena became angry, and he returned to
the Blacksmith, and was about to eat him, but the
other said "Stop, stop, stop, you must not eat me,"
and he continued "Why do you want to eat me?"
Then the Hyaena replied " Because you did not alter
my voice properly." Then the Smith said " Stop, I
will do it properly." So he altered the Hyaena's voice,
and then the Hyaena returned to where the Maiden was,
and said " Daughter, Daughter, stretch out your hand,
and take this food." This time she stretched out her
hand, and, when she had done so, the Hyaena seized
it, and pulled the Maiden out of the tree, and ate her,
leaving only the bones. Then he went away.
Now the Maiden's Mother brought food in the
evening, and, when she had come, she saw her
THE MENDER OF MEN 403
Daughter's bones, and she burst out crying there. Then
she went home, and got a basket, and she returned,
and collected the bones, and took the road to the city
where Men were mended.
She travelled on and on, and after a time she came
to a place where food was cooking itself, and she said
" O Food, show me the road to the city where Men
are mended." Then the Food said " Stay here and
eat me," but she replied " I have no appetite, I do not
wish to eat you." So the Food said " When you have
gone so far, take the road on the right hand, and leave
that on the left."
After a time she came upon meat which was grilling
itself, and she said " O Meat, show me the road to the
city where Men are mended." Then the Meat said
" Stay here and eat me," but she replied " I have no
appetite, I do not wish to eat you." So the Meat said
"When you have gone so far, take the road on the
right hand, and leave that on the left."
So she started again, and as she was travelling, she
came upon jura which was mixing itself in a pot,
and she said " O Fura, show me the road to the city
where Men are mended." Then the Fura said " Stay
here and eat me," but she replied " I have no appetke,
I do not wish to eat you." So the Fura said " When
you have gone so far, take the road on the right hand,
and leave that on the left."
She travelled on again, and at last there she was
in the city where Men were Mended. Then the People
said " What has brought you here?" And she replied
" The Hyaena has eaten my Child." " Where are the
bones?" they asked. And she put down her basket,
and said " See, here they are.." So they said " Very
well, to-morrow your Daughter will be mended."
When morning broke, they said to her " Go out
4o4 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
and tend the Cattle," so she unloosed the Cattle (5) and
took them off to feed. Now these Cattle had no food
except the fruits of the Adduwa tree (6), and when she
had picked off the fruits above, and had thrown them
down, she picked out the ripe ones, and gave them to
the Cattle, but she herself chose the green ones to eat.
She fed them thus until the evening, and then they
returned home, and as they reached the enclosure (7),
the biggest Bull began bellowing —
" This Woman a good heart has,
Mend her Daughter well."
So the Daughter was mended well, and the Mother
returned to her hut, for the People said to her " Sleep
here, and to-morrow you will go home." So next day
the Daughter was brought and restored to her Mother,
and they went home.
Now the Mother had a Rival Wife, who also had a
Daughter, but a very ugly one, and, when the Mother
had returned home, the Rival said that she too would
kill her Daughter, and go to the city where Men were
mended.
So she took her Daughter, and put her in a mortar,
and began to pound her up. Then the Daughter cried
out " O Mother, are you going to kill me? " But she
went on pounding, and at last she took out the bones,
and she brought a basket, and put the bones into it,
and then she took the road to the city where Men were
mended.
She travelled on and on, and after a time she came
to a place where food was cooking itself, and she said
" O Food, show me the road to the city where Men
are mended." Then the Food said " Stay here and
eat me," but she replied " Opp, do you need to invite
me to eat you? " So she stayed and ate up the food.
THE MENDER OF MEN 405
After a time she came upon meat which was grilling
itself, and she said " O Meat, show me the road to the
city where Men are mended." Then the Meat said
" Stay here and eat me,'* and she replied " Opp, do you
need to invite me to eat you? " So she stayed and ate
up the meat.
She started again, and as she was travelling, she
came upon fura which was mixing itself in a pot, and
she said " O Fura, show me the road to the city where
Men are mended." Then the Fura said '* Stay here
and eat me," and she replied " Opp, do you need to
invite me to eat you? " So she stayed and ate up the
fura.
So on she travelled again, and at last there she was
in the city where Men were mended. Then the People
said " What has brought you here? " And she replied
" The Hyaena has eaten my Child." " Where are the
bones?" they asked. And she put down her basket,
and said " See, here they are." So they said " Very
well, to-morrow your Daughter will be mended."
When morning broke, they said to her " Go out
and tend the Cattle," so she unloosed the Cattle and
took them off to feed. Now when she had picked off
the fruits of the Adduiva tree, and had thrown them
down, she picked out the green ones, and gave them to
the Cattle, she herself chose the ripe ones to eat. She
fed them thus until the evening, and then they returned
home, and as they reached the enclosure, the biggest
Bull began bellowing : —
" This Woman a bad heart has,
Mend her Daughter ill."
So she tied up the Cattle, and went to her hut, for
the People said to her " Sleep here, and to-morrow you
406 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
will go home." In the morning, the Daughter was
created with one leg, one buttock, one hand, the whole
consisted of only one side, half a nose was there, the
other half was missing. And when the Mother came,
and said that she was going home, the Daughter was
brought out to her, and they went off along the road.
When they had emerged from the forest, the Mother
said " I am not your Mother," and she started off at a
run, and went and hid in some grass. But the Daughter
followed the footprints, and went on and on [until she
had found her], and said " Arise, let us go on." Then
the Mother said " Go away, you are not my Child."
But the other said " Ah, it is you who are my Mother."
Soon afterwards, the Mother again started off at a
run, and went and hid behind a tree. But the Daughter
followed the footprints, and went on and on [until she
had found her], and said " Arise, let us go on." Then
the Mother said " Go away, you are not my Child."
But the other said " Ah, it is you who are my Mother."
After a time the Mother again started off at a run,
and went and hid in a cave. But the daughter followed
the footprints, and went on and on [until she had found
her], and said " Arise, let us go on." Then the Mother
said " Go away, you are not my Child." But the other
said " Ah, it is you who are my Mother."
Once more the Mother started off at a run, and
entered their own town, and went into her hut, and shut
the door. But the Daughter came to the door, and
called out " O Mother, I have come." But the other
remained silent. " O Mother, I have come," said the
Daughter again, and she opened the door, and went to
her Mother. So they lived together, and the Rival
Wife had to put up with the fact that the other's
Daughter was beautiful while her own was hideous.
THE PORCUPINE STEP-FATHER 407
In a variant (M.H. 50), the Girls were caused to
fall down from the roof of the hut, and, though their
bones were broken, they were not killed. The second
Girl, however, was not made into a Half-Girl.
Compare the English story of " The Three Little
Pigs " in Jacoby's English Fairy Tales (1890), pages
68 and 233.
85
THE PORCUPINE BECOMES A STEP-FATHER.
There was once a certain Old Woman, and when-
ever she gave a cough, it turned into a Child, so she had
given birth to a whole city, and when she had borne
them all, she died. Now they also, the Children, all
died, and went to the next world (i), and they roused
her, and said " Where is our Father? " Then she said
" Don't you trouble yourselves, I'll find your Father
for you," and she continued " To-morrow your Father
will come." So they slept, and when God's day had
broken (2), they came, and said " O Mother, where is
our Father? " And she replied " Your Father has not
yet come."
It was always thus, until one day the Porcupine
heard the news, and next morning he went and said
to the Old Woman " When these Children come again,
say to them ' See, your Father has come.' ' So next
morning when the Children came, she said " See, your
Father is in the hut," and then the Porcupine came
out, and said " Let each one come and take hold of one
quill each, and if you see that they are the same
number as you, you will know that I am your Father."
So they all came, and each took hold of one quill, and
4o8 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
the quills were exactly the same number as they were.
Then they said " O Father, when you die what in-
heritance are you going to leave us? "(3). And he
replied that there was an inheritance that he would leave
to them. Then he told them that on the day that he
died, they must come and pull out the quills which
they had taken hold of, and that when they had done so,
each must bury his in the grave.
So they lived on there until the Father died, and
then each Child came, and plucked out a quill, but
only half of them buried theirs, the other half put them
in their huts. Now as for those who had buried theirs,
after seven days the quills turned into Cattle, and they
came out of the grave. But as for those who said that
they would not bury theirs, the quills said that they
would not remain without any hiding-place, so each
arose, and stuck itself into a Child's body, and each of
these Children died.
Nor will they ever rise again, for they ignored their
Father's words; but the others were happy.
86
HOW AUTA KILLED DODO.
A certain Dodo came to the town, and began calling
out " In this town who is able to fight with me ? " And
the whole of the People hid, and at night they even
lay in the grain-binns (i).
Now a certain boy called Auta [Little Mite] heard
about this, and he came and stopped at the house of
an Old Woman in the town. And when night came,
and Dodo was calling out " Who is my equal in this
HOW AUTA KILLED DODO 409
town?" Auta said " I am." But the Old Woman
said "Are you mad, Boy? Come into the house
quickly, Dodo is coming." But Auta said " You go
to sleep in peace." Then he picked up seven stones,
and put them in the fire, and Dodo was calling out,
and Auta answering back, until at last Dodo came up
close to the door !
Then Dodo said " Where is he who is equal to
me?" And Auta replied "See me." Then Dodo
stooped down, so that he might enter the porch to seize
Auta, but Auta took one of the stones and threw it
into his mouth, and when Dodo had swallowed it, he
went outside again and stood up.
Then again Dodo said "Who is equal to me?"
And Auta replied " I am equal to you." So Dodo
again tried to enter the porch, but Auta took another
stone, and threw it, and Dodo swallowed it, and went
outside again. And Dodo kept on coming, and Auta
kept on throwing stones until the seven were finished.
Then Dodo went outside again, and stayed until the
dawn, when he died. [But Auta went out during the
night and cut off Dodo's tail, and hid it in the house.]
Now in the morning, the Women came out of their
houses to go to the stream, but, as they were going,
they saw Dodo lying where he had died. Then they
put their hands to their mouths and gave the alarm,
calling out " U, U, U."
Then the King told the Drummers to beat the
assembly, and said to his Soldiers "Go to where Dodo
is, and see if he be alive or not, to him who has killed
him I will give ten Slaves." But as each one came
near, his Horse saw Dodo, and at once bolted, until at
last the Sa(r)rikin Karma (2), the Swordsman, came, and
when he had examined Dodo, he saw that he was life-
410 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
less, so he went and said to the Townsmen " Come,
look, he is dead." So then they all arose, and their
Horses also, and went to where Dodo was.
Then the King sought all over the city, but could
not find his Slayer, until one Man said " I heard a
certain Boy answering Dodo back from the Old
Woman's house." So the King said "Is that so?
Go to the house, and see, and if the Boy is there bring
him." So they went and brought Auta, and he brought
Dodo's tail, and showed it to the King. Then the
King chose ten Slaves and gave them to him, he
brought his Daughter and married her to him, and
he chose a house and gave it to him.
That is all.
A variant of this is the more common, perhaps. It
states that there was once a certain Rich Man who had
a Daughter named Barra, and a Son named Auta. The
Father died, and the Mother also died. But as they
were about to die, they said " See here, Barra, you
must not let him be unhappy, whatever he wants you
to do, do it."
The Brother and Sister lived there, and one day
Auta began crying " Kuhum," and she said "What
is it, Auta? " He replied that he wanted to assemble
all the Slaves, and to sell some, give others away, and
kill the rest. Then she said " Auta, what you want
to do is not right." But he replied " Mother and
Father said that you must not make me unhappy."
So she said " Very well, do it." So he assembled all
the Slaves, he sold some, he gave others away, and he
killed the rest, so that of all the Slaves there were none
left, and there had been a hundred !
Then again he cried " Kuhum," and she said
"What is it, Auta, the Brother of Barra?" He re-
plied " I want to collect all our possessions, and burn
them, the clothes, the cowries, the salt, the pounding
implements, and the corn." Then she said " Auta,
Brother of Barra, what you want to do is not right."
HOW AUTA KILLED DODO 411
But he replied " Mother and Father said that you must
not make me unhappy." So she said " Very well, do
it." So he burned up all their possessions, and the
house, so they had nothing to eat.
Then she said " Well, as far as I, Barra, am con-
cerned, I had better take you up and go to another
city lest you bring some other misfortune upon us, and
kill us both." So she took him, and put him on her
back, and went to another city, to the King's palace.
Now the harvest was ripe, the corn was being brought
FIG. 90. — Bridle of leather, cloth, and brass.
from the farm, and the whole city assembled to go to
the King's farm to get the corn (3). The King had
two little Sons, and Barra said " Now, Auta, you wait
here and play with the King's Sons, for I am going
to where the corn is being collected" [and she went
off].
After tHey had been together for a time, Auta said
to the King's Sons "Come and let us play Kirribi,
kirribi, rup karupki " (4), and, he continued, " I'll lift
up one of you, and throw him down on the ground,
and then he can lift me up and throw me down also."
412 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
So he lifted up one of them, and dashed him on the
ground, and he died, and Auta threw him by the door
of his Mother's hut. Then he lifted up the other, and
dashed him on the ground, and he died too, and Auta
threw him by the door of his Mother's hut.
Now, as it happened, Barra was saying to herself
" Let me make haste and outstrip the Harvesters, and
get in front of them all, perhaps Auta has done me
another evil turn." So she outstripped them, and
came, and found that Auta had killed both of the
King's Sons, and was sitting down and playing in the
dirt. No sooner had she arrived, than she snatched
him up, put him on her back, and ran. As she was
running away, the King returned and found that his
two Sons had been killed, so everyone mounted his
Horse, and said " Pursue Barra, her Brother has killed
the King's Sons." They would have been captured
had not a White-Breasted Crow caught them up and
flown off with them, and Auta repaid her kindness by
wounding her with a sharp stick.
The tale is then practically the same as the one
above, but in addition to taking Dodo's tail, Auta
placed his boots on the body. Next day the boots were
taken to the King, who said that he whom the boots
fitted had done the deed. So the whole city came and
tried on the boots, but they did not fit. Then a certain
Man said " Ah ! there is a Boy at the Old Woman's
house." Then another said " If all the Strong Men
have failed to kill Dodo, could a Boy have done it? "
But the King said " Summon him, however, one never
knows." And when the Boy had come he put on the
boots, and they fitted exactly (5), and then he produced
Dodo's tail.
87
How THE ZANKALLALA KILLED DODO.
This is a story of the Zankallala (i), and Dodo, the
Swallower-of-Men. Now one day, Dodo was chasing
a certain Boy on the bank of the river, and the Boy
was running away, until at last he came upon the
HOW, ZANKALLALA KILLED DODO 413
Zankallala, and the Zankallala said " Where are you
going?" He replied " I am running away from
Dodo." The other said " Stay here, Dodo will not do
anything to you."
All of a sudden, a silk-cotton tree grew up above
the Zankallala, and the Birds in the tree began singing
his praises, saying : —
" The Lion is afraid of the Zankallala,
The Hyasna is afraid of the Zankallala,
Dodo is afraid of the Zankallala."
And as they were singing and saying this, Dodo
came up, and heard, and said to the Zankallala " Where
is my property?" " What property have you given
me? " asked the Zankallala. Then Dodo replied "Very
well, if you will not give me my prey, you yourself
shall furnish my meal." So he seized the Zankallala,
and swallowed him, but the Zankallala emerged from
his stomach, and jumped up, and told the Birds to sing
his praises. Then Dodo again seized him, and swal-
lowed him, but he emerged from the middle of his back,
and told the Birds to sing his praises. Then once more
Dodo swallowed him, but he emerged from his head,
and Dodo fell down, and died.
Then the Zankallala said to the Boy " Now you can
go in safety, you have seen that one is more powerful
than another, you have escaped because you met me."
Two variants of this story have been published
already (F.-L. 44 and Man 5), the Girl or Boy being
promised help by Warriors and others against the
Snake or Witch before they are saved finally by the
Centipede or the Hedgehog, as the case may be — or,
as in this story, by the Zankallala.
A tale from Altair, on the other side of the world,
is given by Dr. Haddon (op. cit., page 166) : "Once
414 11AUSA SUPERSTITIONS
upon a time a man named Nadai, living on the Island
of Boigu, went into the bush to collect the eggs of the
Mound-Bird. . . . He found a large mound, and dug
into it until he came to what he thought was an egg.
He tried to pull it up, but it stuck fast ; then he tried
to get another, but neither would that come away. It
so happened that a Dorgai [Bogey] named Metakorab
was sleeping under the mound, and she was wearing
several large white cowry shells, and it was these that
Xadai was pulling at, mistaking them for eggs. Nadai
at last caught hold of the shell, which was tied on to
the Dorgai's chin, and giving a tremendous pull he
dragged the Dorgai out of the ground. He was so
terrified at her appearance, that he fled back to the
village and called out to the inhabitants to arm them-
selves and kill the Dorgai, who was sure to follow after
him.
" By-and-by a fly came, and behind it came the
Dorgai ; but the men no sooner saw her terrible face
than they threw down their weapons and ran away in
a fright. Then Nadai went on to the next village, but
the same thing happened again. So he went on all
round the island, but it always happened as before.
At last Nadai came to a village called Kerpai, on the
north side of the island, and he begged the people to
stand firm and attack the Dorgai. They armed them-
selves, but when the fly came, and after it the Dorgai,
they all took to their heels as the others had done
before, with the exception of one man named Bu. He
remained in the bachelor's quarters, and armed him-
self with a bow, and with arrows that are used for
shooting wild pigs. When the Dorgai arrived, Bu
shot her and killed her.
" Both are now in the sky [forming the constellation
of Dorgai] ; the Dorgai going first, being continually
followed by Bu."
88
THE WRESTLERS AND THE DEVIL.
There lived once a Youth, Awudu, who was nick-
named the Strong One. His Father had 150 head of
THE WRESTLERS AND THE DEVIL 415
Cattle, and he slaughtered them all, and made bags of
the hides, and then he went off on a trading trip to sell
them, and Awudu went out into the world to try his
strength.
As he was travelling along, he met another Youth,
called Hambari (i), and he also was noted for his
strength ; he had just arrived at a well, and had opened
his mouth and had drunk the water, when Awudu came
upon him, and they travelled on together. Now they
went on, and came to a running river, and Hambari
beat the water with his hand, and the water divided
into two. Then Awudu said " Hullo, Hambari, you
certainly are strong."
As they were travelling they met Dashira (2) who
also was a powerful Man. And he said to them " Are
you going out to try your strength?" And they said
" Yes." He said that he would go also, and so there
were now three of them.
As they were travelling, they met Tankoko (3) who
also was a powerful Man. And he said to them
"Where are you going?" They replied "We are
going out into the world to try our strength." And he
said that he would accompany them, so there were now
four of them.
Well, they went into the forest, and slept that night
at the foot of a Monkey-bread tree, all four of them.
Next morning they said " Ah ! the day has broken, let
us go hunting, but let us leave Hambari to keep guard
over our possessions." So they went off, the other
three, to hunt.
Now, as it happened, there was a Devil in* the foot
of the tree (4), and the Devil came out, and said " Hullo
Hambari, it is reported that you are strong, get up and
wrestle with me." So they got up and started wrestling,
416 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
the Devil and Hambari, and the Devil threw Ilambari
on the ground, and bound him, [and then he went
back]. So when the others returned, Awudu said
"Opp, what has happened to you Hambari?" And
he replied " I wrestled with the Devil, and he threw
me, and bound me." So they [unbound him and] said
11 Oh, well, to-morrow let us leave Dashira on guard."
Next morning the others went off hunting, Awudu
and Tankoko, and the Devil came out again, and said
" Hullo Dashira, it is reported that you are strong,
get up and wrestle with me." And when they had
wrestled for a time, the Devil threw him, and bound
him, [and then he went back again]. So when Awudu
and Tankoko returned, Awudu said " Opp, Dashira,
what has happened to you?" And he replied "I
wrestled with the Devil, and he threw me, and bound
me." Then Awudu said " Very well, Tankoko, to-
morrow it will be your turn to look after the place."
So next morning Awudu went off alone to hunt,
and, when he had gone, the Devil appeared, and said
" Hullo Tankoko, it is reported that you are strong,
get up and wrestle with me." And when they had
wrestled for a time, the Devil threw him, and bound
him, [and then he went back again]. So when Awudu
returned, he said " Opp, Tankoko, what has happened
to you ? " And he replied " I wrestled with the Devil,
and he threw me, and bound me." Then Awudu said
" Very well, to-morrow I shall not go hunting, let the
Devil come and meet me."
So next morning the Devil appeared, and said
"Hullo Awudu," and the other answered " Urn."
Then the Devil said " You have come out in the
world to try your strength, you four, yet I alone am
equal to you all." And he continued " You see I have
XXXIII.— THE CHALLENGE. XXXIV.— THE ASSEMBLY.
This is a war dance. It may be performed by men only, who hit each other's sticks as they pass
round in opposite concentric circles, or by both sexes, the women clapping hands instead of using
-sticks.
THE TWO GIRLS AND THE DEMONS 417
already beaten three, you are the only one left." Then
Awudu arose, and they started to wrestle, Awudu and
the Devil began wrestling. And they wrestled, and
wrestled, neither one being able to beat the other,
and they rose up to the sky, grunting all the time.
Then Hambari, Dashira and Tankoko ran away. But
Awudu and the Devil kept on grunting, and they have
never stopped even unto this day, that is the reason
of the rumbling of the thunder (5).
In a variant (L.T.H. 17) the food of the three Hun-
ters was stolen by a Dog, and when they beat it, " The-
One-inside-the-Tree " came out and wrestled with them
in turn. The third Hunter threw his Adversary, and
then he and the other two killed him.
In another (L.T.H. ii, 32) Dodo takes the place of
Iblis, and eats the Hunter's food, until he is killed by
the youngest (6).
89
THE Two GIRLS AND THE DEMONS.
This is about a Beloved Daughter and one who was
not loved. The Parents* farm was far away in the
forest, and they called the Unbeloved One and took her
to the farm, and said " You are never to come home
again,'* they told her that she was to stay there, and
keep the Monkeys away (i). So she lived there, and
watched for the Monkeys, and at night she would enter
her hut alone and sleep.
One day some Demons (2) came, and assembled at
the door of the hut, and when they got up next morning
to go, they brought her presents, and left them at the
door of the hut, and went off. These she sent to her
27
HAUSA SUPERSTITIO.\S
Father at home, and said that her Father must come and
take the presents from her hut. So the Father came,
and took the presents, and they all went to the town,
and she returned to live at home (3).
Now when the Mother (4) of the Beloved Daughter
saw the presents she said " Where did she get them ? "
So they said " She got them at the farm." And then
she said that the Beloved Daughter should go also.
By the time that the Beloved Daughter had arrived,
it was night, and she entered her hut, and, while she
was lying down, the Demons arrived. Then she went
outside the hut, and mixed with them, and immediately
they pulled off the flesh from her body, and ate it, and
disappeared (5).
She died.
90
THE THREE YOUTHS AND THE THREE DEMONS.
Three Youths used to go to a certain town to get
Women to bring back to their own town to sleep, they
were always doing this. Now, as it happened, there
were Devils on the road, and three of the Female-
Demons said " Let us take counsel that we may kill
these Youths."
So they adorned themselves, and when the three
Youths set out from their own town to bring Women,
lo ! they met the three Female-Demons, and said " Well,
look here ! We came to look for Women, and see we
have got them." Then the Women said " Let us sit
here awhile, and talk, and after that we will return with
you." So they sat down, and were talking, and were
leaning against the Women's thighs, when the eldest
THE THREE DEMONS 419
of the Youths stretched out his leg, and touched a foot
of one of the Women — and lo ! it was a hoof, like
that of a Horse I
Then he felt afraid, his body trembled, and his
heart sank, and he called the youngest of the three,
and said let him send him home, for he had forgotten
something. But when they had gone aside, he said to
him " When you have gone home, do not return, these
Women are Devils." So when the youngest of them
had gone, he stayed at home. Then the eldest Youth
called the next, and said " I sent Auta to bring me
something, and he has not returned, go quickly, and
call him." But when they had gone aside, he said
' When you have gone home, do not return, these
Women are Devils." So he followed Auta. And then,
except for the eldest himself, there was no one left but
the three Female-Demons.
Soon he said that he was perspiring too much, and
he pulled off his tobe, and rolled it up tightly. Then
again, he said that the perspiration was bothering him,
and he pulled off his trousers, and rolled them up
tightly, and took the tobe, and put it inside his trousers,
and put them on the ground close to him (i). Suddenly
he jumped up, snatched up the bundle, and hung it on
his shoulder, and bounded off at a run. And the
Female-Devils followed him.
When he had reached the fence of his house, he
jumped, intending to fall inside, but they caught his
foot, and so his head was swinging to and fro in the
compound, for they kept hold of his foot. Then he
said " Opp, it is not my foot that you have seized, but a
post" (2). And they let it go, and he fell, and ran
inside the house.
So the Female-Demons went away.
420 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
This story is to some extent a variant of No. 10,
but the ending resembles that of a variant of No. 23 in
which the Hyaena sends her cubs away one by one to
get water for the Goat, who has frightened her, telling
them secretly not to return. When all have gone, she
goes also " to see what has become of them."
THE UNGRATEFUL MEN.
Once there was a certain Woman who went to
where a Witch was getting herbs for her broth. Now
this Woman had nine mouths, [but no one knew], and
she went and got leaves of the locust tree and boiled
them, and when she had made the broth she took it
to her Husband, and after that, she took some to her
Husband's Father, and to his Mother, and to her Rival
Wife.
Now the Husband uncovered the food, but no sooner
had he done so, than the food cried out " Cover me,
cover me, if you do not cover me up at once you will
die." Then the Husband's Father uncovered his food,
to eat, but it also called out " Cover me, cover me, if
you do not cover me up at once you will die," so he
covered it up. Then the Husband went and got his
Mother's calabash of food (i), and he heaped that of
his Mother and his Father with his own, and he went
and threw it upon his Wife's head, and immediately her
nine mouths could be seen. Then she rushed upon the
People, and became an out-and-out Witch ; before that
she had not been a real one.
Well, the whole town was depopulated, everyone
ran away but a Blind-man and a Lame-man (2). The
Blind-man said to the Lame-man " Ahem, that Woman
THE UNGRATEFUL MEN 421
is a Brute, her Husband told her not to get the leaves
of the locust tree but she did so." And, as it happened,
the Woman was standing close to them. Then the
Lame-man said " Hey, Blind-man, I have no feet,
you carry me, for I have eyes, and if I see her I will
tell you, and we can run away." So the Blind-man said
" Agreed," and he took the Lame-man on his back.
FIG. 91. — Bit and reins used with fig. 90.
But as he did so, he saw the Witch, and she came up
to them, and said " O Blind-man, touch my mouth, and
feel it." Then the Lame-man said " It is she," but the
Blind-man said " Let me feel," and he put out his
hand, and immediately she pulled it off. Then the
Blind-man shook off the Lame-man, and went away at a
run, and he went and hid in a thorn-bush (3). And
422 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
the Lame-man crawled off, and he got inside a hollow
Monkey-bread tree.
Now after a time the Lame-man found that he had
got feet again, and his legs were lengthened, and he
could walk a little. And he called out " O Blind-man,
I can walk." Then the Blind-man said " O Lame-man,
I have got back my eyes," for he could see a little.
Then the Blind-man emerged from the thorn-bush,
and the Lame-man came out of the hollow Monkey-
bread tree, and when they met, they said let each return
so that he could be quite healed. So the Blind-man
returned to the thorn-bush, and the Lame-man again
got inside the hollow Monkey-bread tree. But when
they had done so, the Lame-man's legs became crooked
again, and the Blind-man's eyes once more grew dim,
so the Lame-man died in the hollow Monkey-bread tree,
and the Blind-man died in the thorn-bush.
God had given them some alleviation of their
distress, but they were not thankful, they only said that
they would not be content until they were quite
cured (4).
Compare Grimm's story of the Goldsmith who, not
being satisfied with the present which the Pixies had
given him, even though they had also removed a hump
which he had had on his back, tried to get more, and
found that his present had become worthless, and that
his hump had reappeared.
92
THE MAN AND HIS WIVES WHO WERE WITCHES.
There was a certain Man who had married three
Wives, and all of them had the art of magic. One's
THE WIVES WHO WERE WITCHES 423
magic was not that of eating Men, but that of the other
two was of that kind.
Now they used to go to the forest, and have magic
dances with their Drummer, and as they danced he
would sing, and say " O House-Mother, can you not
do the witchcraft dance? " And she would reply that
the witchcraft dance was too hard, wait until she had
given her Husband as an offering. Then the Drummer
would say " O Second Wife, can you not do the witch-
craft dance?" And she also would reply that the
witchcraft dance was too hard, wait until she had
given her Husband as an offering. Then the Drummer
would say " O Youngest Wife, can you not do the
witchcraft dance?" But she would reply that the
witchcraft dance was too hard, wait until she had
given her cloth as an offering.
Now the Drummer went and called the Husband,
and said that he was going to roll him up in a mat (i),
and that he must stay quiet, and hear what his Wives
would say. So the Husband remained in the mat,
and the Drummer came, and took up his drum, and
began drumming, the beat of the witchcraft dance.
When the two Wives said that they would seize their
Husband to give him as an offering to the witchcraft
dance, the Husband jumped up and ran towards them.
And as he ran, he seized one Wife and killed her, and
he came and seized the second, and took her to the top
of a tree, and tied her there, but he left the other, the
one who said that she would give her cloth to the
dance.
They lived together, for the black magic was gone.
In a variant (L.T.H. ii, 97) the Good Wife warns
the Husband, and he pretends to go off on a journey,
424 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
but really stays with his Friend, the Drummer. He is
rolled up in a mat, and hears one Wife say that if God
will give her money, she will give it to the Drummer,
but the others say that they will give him the liver or
heart of a Man. The Husband returns to his house
after seven days, and drives out the two Witches, and
lives with the other Wife (2).
93
How THE ILL-TREATED MAIDEN BECAME RICH.
A certain Man had two Wives, and each gave birth,
and brought forth a Daughter. But the Mother of
one of them died, so the Father said to the other Wife
"See now, this One's Mother is dead," and he
continued " You must look after both your own and
her's." " Very well," she replied, " I will do so."
They lived on, and the Maiden grew up, and the
Wife was always beating her Step-Daughter. One
day the Father scolded her for it, and she said '* Oh !
so you would quarrel with me because of her? I will
take her to a place where she will be eaten " (i).
Now there was a certain river called the River
Bagajun, and whosoever went there was eaten by a
Witch (2), and one day the Step-Mother declared that
the Maiden had soiled* a skin [used as a mat for the
floor], and that she must go to the River Bagajun to
wash it. So the Maiden started off, and was travelling
along in the forest, when she saw a river of sour milk
flowing along, and the river said " Here, Maiden,
come and take some of me to drink." But she replied
11 No, no, what is the use?" and she passed on. Then
she came to a river of honey flowing along, and the
THE POOR MAID BECOMES RICH 425
river said " Here, Maiden, come and take some of
me to drink." But she replied " No, no, what is the
use? " and she passed on. Next she came upon some
Fowls which were cooking themselves, and, as she
came up, they said " Here, Maiden, look here, we are
cooking ourselves; you must come and take one to
eat." But she replied " No, no, what is the use? " and
she passed on.
Soon afterwards she came to the River Bagajun,
and she stood close up against a tree, and watched a
certain Woman who was washing herself in the river.
All over her body were mouths, and the mouths were
saying: —
" Here you have given me,
Here you have not given me."
After a little while the Maiden emerged into the open
space on the bank (3), and immediately the Woman [who
was the Witch] beat her body with both hands, and the
mouths became one like that of an ordinary Person.
Then she said " Welcome, Maiden," and she continued
"What has brought you to the River Bagajun
to-day?" "Because I soiled this skin, and I was
told to come and wash it," replied the Maiden. Then
the Witch said " Indeed! Then come here and rub
me." So the Maiden went to her, and while she was
rubbing her back, lo ! the back opened — but the Maiden
remained silent. Then the Witch asked " What is it ? "
And the Maiden replied " Your back has opened."
"What do you see inside?" demanded the Witch.
" A little basket with a lid," was the reply. Then the
Witch said " Take it, you may go home, I give it to
you." And she continued " After you have gone, if,
when you say * Shall it be broken here ? ' you hear
426 HAUSA SUPERSTITIOXS
[a voice saying] * Break, let us divide,' do not break
it [but go on]."
So the Maiden departed, and, while she was
travelling, she said "Shall I break it here?" And
she heard " Break, let us divide," so she passed on.
After she had walked on a good distance, she again
said "Shall I break it here ? "—silence ! "Shall I
break it here?" — silence. So she broke it; and
immediately all kinds of riches appeared, Cattle, Slaves,
Camels, Goats, and Horses, and she sent on word to
her Father saying that he was not to be afraid, and
run away, it was only she who was returning from
the River Bagajun (4).
When she had arrived, and her Mother's Rival
Wife had seen the possessions, she was seized with
anger, and she said to her own Daughter " You also
soil a skin, and go to the River Bagajun." [So she
did so, and started off, and] she went on, and on, until
she came to the river of sour milk, and the river said
" Here, Maiden, take some to drink." Then the
Maiden replied " You are full of impudence, must I
wait for you to ask me to take some? " So she took
some, and drank until she had rilled her stomach, and
then she passed on. Then she came to the river of
honey, and the river said " Here, Maiden, come and
take some of me to drink." Then the Maiden replied
" You are full of impudence, must I wait for you to ask
me to take some?" So she took some, and drank
until she had filled her stomach, and then she passed
on. Next she came upon the Fowls which were cooking
themselves, and as she came up, they said " Here,
Maiden, come and take one and eat it? " So she took
one and passed on.
Soon afterwards she arrived at the River Bagajun,
THE POOR MAID BECOMES RICH 427
and saw the Old Woman in it, washing, her mouths
were saying : —
" Here you have given me,
Here you have not given me."
Suddenly the Girl jumped out with a boop, [and
ran into the open], and the Old Woman hit her body,
and the mouths became one again. " Did you see
me?" she asked. And the Maiden replied "Great
Scot ! I should think I did see you, with about a
thousand mouths." " What has brought you to the
River Bagajun ? " asked the Witch. " Oh ! I came
to wash a skin," was the reply. " Come here and rub
me," said the Witch. But the Maiden replied " Non-
sense, I have come to wash a skin." " Come neverthe-
less," said the Witch. So the Maiden said "Very
well," and when she had come, and had rubbed, the
back burst open. " There, it is through your own
silliness," exclaimed the Maiden, " I said I should not
rub you." "What do you see?" asked the Witch.
"What could I see except a little basket?" was the
reply. Then the Witch said " Take it, I give it to
you," and she continued " After you have departed,
and are going along, if, when you say ' Shall I break ? '
you hear ' Break, let us divide,' pass on." But the
Maiden replied " Nonsense, If I hear ' Break, let us
divide,' I will break it."
As soon as she had departed, she said " Shall I
break?" And she heard "Break, let us divide," so
she broke the basket. Immediately Lepers appeared
to the number of about a thousand, and Lame-men
about a thousand, and Cripples and Blind-men ; and
she sent them on in front to go to the town. But her
Father heard the news, and he said that she was not
428 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
to come into the town, but that she must live out in
the forest with her unclean Family.
In a variant (M.H. 19) the Maidens eat food with
the Old Woman, and stay with her for several days.
She is evidently a Witch, for she performs wonders
with her provisions, dry bones turning into meat, and
so on. It corresponds in many respects to Grimm's
tale of the two daughters visiting Madam Holle.
In a Sierra Leone story (Cunnie Rabbit, page 265),
the Step-daughter dirties a rice-stick, and is sent to
the Devil's river to wash it. The Devil knows, and,
changing himself into first a hoe, and then a Man — a
44 pusson (who) get one yi' middle heen head " — meets
her on the way, and, although the Girl is surprised, she
is polite, and does not show her astonishment. At last
she arrives at the place, and finds the Devil, who has
taken human form and invites her to pull the lice out
of his bald head (5). This Devil had so many eyes
that he could see if she played any trick, but she did
not, and so the Devil washed the rice-stick for her, and
told her to choose four eggs from a heap. She took
four small ones, and was told to break them one by one
en route to her home. She did so, and, of course, got
all she wanted. But her Step-Sister, who came after-
wards, was rude to the Devil, chose four large eggs,
and, on breaking them, was stung by Bees, crushed by
Snakes, flogged by Men, and lastly burnt up with her
Mother. The good Girl, however, managed to raise her
own Mother from the grave. Here we see that the
Devil was able to have eyes all over his body, or only
one in the middle of his head, as he pleased.
94,
DAN-KUCHINGAYA AND THE WITCH.
Once there were certain Boys, three of them, one
named Dan-Kuchingaya (i), and his two Brothers, and
DAN-KUCHINGAYA AND THE WITCH 429
they were courting Maidens. Now, these Maidens were
the Daughters of a Witch, but the Boys did not know
this (2), and they went to the Maidens* house.
When they had arrived, food was prepared for
them, and they went outside to walk about [while it was
being cooked]. Now it happened that they came upon
the Witch, combing the plaits of one of her Daughters,
FIG. 92.
AAA
FIG. 93.
FIG. 92.— Saddle in general use, of wood, iron and leather, covered
with skins. FIG. 93. — Stirrup and leather.
and looking for lice (3), and the Boys came up and
said " Peace be upon you." Then the Mother loosed
her Daughter's head, and when she had done so, the
Boys came and sat down. And when evening came,
food was brought to the Boys, and they ate it.
Now that night, the Witch was unable to sleep, and
430
HAUSA SUPERST1TIO
she took a knife and began sharpening it. But Dan-
Kuchingaya [heard her, and] pulled off her Daughters'
breasts, and put them on to his Brothers [and himself]
while the Witch was sharpening the knife. When she
had sharpened it, she came to cut the Boys' throats,
but Dan-Kuchingaya coughed, and said " Urn."
Then she exclaimed " Oh ! Boy, what do you want ? "
He replied " I want an egg, to do something with it "
(4). So the Witch went and brought it to him, and then
went and lay down. Then Dan-Kuchingaya went and
pulled off the under-cloths of the Witch's Daughters,
and put them on his Brothers [and himself] ; and he
pulled off his Brothers' loin-cloths and his own, and
tied them on to the Witch's Daughters (5).
No sooner had he done this, and lain down again,
than the Witch came, and began feeling about [in the
dark], and when she found a loin-cloth she killed the
wearer. So she killed all her Daughters [without
knowing it], and, after she had done so, she returned,
and lay down by herself. Then Dan-Kuchingaya dug
a hole in the floor of the hut, and made a tunnel right
to his town, and he roused his Brothers, and they went
off, only he alone, Dan-Kuchingaya, stayed in the
Witch's house.
When morning broke, the Witch came, and said
" Get up, you Children, day has broken." Then
Dan-Kuchingaya emerged, and said "I am Dan-
Kuchingaya, I will show you what I have done." So
she wrent and found her Daughters, and saw that she
had killed them all, and she said " Mark me, I will
be avenged on you for what you have done to me."
Then the Boy went home and told his Brothers, and
said " If you see a Woman come soliciting, do not
go with her."
DAN-KUCHINGAYA AND THE WITCH 431
Now the Witch arose, and became a Bad Woman,
and came to the Boys' town on market-day, and it
happened that Dan-Kuchingaya's Elder Brother saw
her — she had put forty needles in her hand [but he
did not know this] — and when he saw her, he wanted
to go with her, and she said " Very well." But Dan-
Kuchingaya came up, and saw her, and he called his
Elder Brother aside, and said " Do not go with that
Woman." But the Elder Brother abused the Boy, so
he said " Oh, very well, go." So the Elder Brother
called the Woman aside, and they began to talk
together, when, all of a sudden, she plucked out his
eyes, and disappeared. Then Dan-Kuchingaya said
"Ah! I told you not to go with her," and he
continued " Now I must go and get back your eyes for
you." And the Elder Brother said " Good."
So Dan-Kuchingaya transformed himself, and
became a beautiful Filani Maid, and he carried some
milk for sale, but he did not begin to offer it until he
had reached the door of the Witch's house (6). And,
as it happened, the Witch said " Bring it here." So he
took it to her, and she bought it. Then he asked her,
saying " Do you know of a charm to recover eyes? "
And he continued " Dan-Kuchingaya, a Wicked Boy,
has been and has plucked out the eyes of my Cattle."
"Is that so?" the Witch replied, "Well, go, and
get the eyes of a Black Goat (7), and when you have
procured them, I will give you a certain ointment to
put with the eyes, and you will see that the eyes of
your Cattle will be restored." So he said " Good [but
give me the ointment now." And she gave it to
him] (8).
So Dan-Kuchingaya left her, and when he had got
a good distance away, he changed himself into a Youth
432
HAL'S A SUPERSTITIONS
again, and said ' I am Dan-Kuchingaya, it is on
account of the eyes of my Elder Brother which you
plucked out, that I came and questioned you." Then
she said " Go and get some pepper, and put it in."
But he replied " Oh ! I know all about that " and
he went off. So they bought a Black Goat, and
killed it, and Dan-Kuchingaya put the eyes into his
Elder Brother's sockets, and it came to pass that his
eyes were restored.
A variant (L.T.H. ii, 38) makes Dan Kuchin-da-
Gayya a Younger Sister, and the story proceeds upon
the same lines as The Girl who Married a Snake (F.-L.
44), except that the Snakes are Dodos. The escape,
however, is like the one here — by changing the clothes
— as in the story of Hop-o'-my-Thumb.
Compare the Breton story of La Perle, S^billot, i,
Conies Pop. de la Haute Bretagne, 131. It is also told
among the Shuswap of North America, ii, Jesup North
Pacific Expedition (Mem. American Museum of
Nat. History, Leiden and New York, 1900-1908),
757. French trappers have perhaps been the medium
of transmission. (H.)
95
THE BOY, THE WITCH, AND THE WONDERFUL HORSE.
There was once a certain Hunter, he was always
hunting; and he had a Son who was also a Hunter.
Now, one day, the Son went into the depths of the
forest, and there he saw a shed, and said to himself
" I am going to see who lives in that shed," so he
climbed up into a tree. And when he had climbed up,
and was sitting there, suddenly a Woman came out of
TAKAL XXXV.— THE BATTLE IN PROGRESS. XXXVI.— THE FINAL MELEE.
All the dancers become greatly excited, and the mimic fight sometimes becomes so realistic that
they have to be restrained. Vide Illustrations XXXIII. and XXXIV.
THE WONDERFUL HORSE 433
the shed, and, when she had come out, she got a great
jar, and put it on to boil, and, when it began boiling,
she brought a sackful of acha [and poured it in], and
began stirring, and stirring it. Then she took it off the
fire, and beat her body, and suddenly over the whole
of her body appeared mouths, and she took the food,
and began feeding the mouths, and they ate. Each
mouth would say " O Mother, are you not going to
give me any? " Soon all the food was finished, even
the dregs, and she beat her body again, and her mouths
once more became only one. Then she took the jar,
and carried it into the shed, and soon afterwards she
came out again with a mat, which she spread at the
foot of the very tree in which the Boy was, and she
lay down.
Now the Boy was sitting up above her, and he broke
off a branch, and threw it down on her, and she said
" O God, ever since that tree has been here its branches
have never fallen, whatever has happened to them?"
Then she cast up her eyes, and saw the Boy, and said
to him "Descend," so he did so, and then she said
11 O Boy, did you see me? " And he replied " I did
not see you, Mother," and he started to go off. But
she said " Come back," and, when he had done so, she
said "O Boy, you saw me." But he said "No, I
did not see you, O Mother," and then she said " You
may go." When the Boy got to the gate of the city,
he blew horns and trumpets, and said " To-day I saw
a Woman with many mouths, one would say ' You
have given me some,' another would say * You have
not given me any.' "
Now the Woman heard from where she was, and
when she had heard, she bit her fingers [hands], and
said that the Boy had put her to shame in the city.
28
HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
So she made preparations where she was, and turned
herself into a Woman beautiful in all truth. And when
she had done this, she came to the door of the King's
palace. The King said that he wanted to marry her,
but she took a little basket with a lid, and placed it by
the King's door, and said that whoever hit and opened
it, he would be her Husband. Then the King threw
at the basket and hit it, but it did not open, so he
made room for the Heir to try, and the Heir hit it, but
it did not open. So the Councillors were given the
chance to try, and they hit it, but it did not open.
Nmv the Boy, the Hunter, was away in the forest,
and a Friend left [the spot where the throwing was
taking place] to go home, and, as he was going, he
met the Boy, who had returned from the forest, so he
said " Come and let us throw at the basket." The Boy
said " Whose? " And the other replied " It belongs to
a certain Woman, a most beautiful one." Then he
asked " Has the King not thrown ?" and the other said
11 He has." " When he threw did he not win her? "
asked the Boy. [Then the other replied " No "], and
the Boy said that if the King had tried, and had not
succeeded, how was he going to do so ? ' But the
Friend said " Let us go, how do you know that you
cannot? "
So they went, and when they had come to the place
the Boy took a tiny stone, and threw it, and, when he
had done so, the basket opened ! Then she said that
now she had got a Husband. So they were married, and
they left the place, and went to the Boy's house. He
left the hut in which formerly he used to sleep, and he
lived with the Woman. He refused to go near his
First Wife, he preferred the new one. But his Father
told the first one to say nothing, and so they lived thus.
THE WONDERFUL HORSE 435
Now, one day, the New Wife said that she must go
to her own city, and at night they began talking. At
last she said "Do you go hunting with charms?"
And he said " Um," and he began telling her [what
they were]. But his Father swore at him, and then he
kept silence. So in the morning he arose, and was going
to girth the saddle on his Horse, but the Woman said
" Are you going to ride, and kill me in the forest
with the Horse? " So he left the Horse, but he took
up his sword. Then she said " Are you going so that
you can cut me down in the forest?'* So the Boy
returned, and left his sword, but he took up his water-
gourds. Then she said " Are you going to make some
charm against me in the forest?" So he left all his
weapons in the hut, and was going off thus, when his
Father scolded him, and said " Get all your things
from your hut, and take them," so he got them. Then
his Father said " Your Horse says that he is going
to follow you in the forest," so he said " Very well, I
will saddle him." So he put on the saddle, and
mounted, and he sent her in front of him, and they
started off.
After a time, she said to the Boy " Do you know
this part? " and he replied " Certainly I do know it,
for we hunt in all directions." At last they reached her
shed, and she said " Do you know that shed? " And
he said that he knew it. Then she asked "What did
you see in it?" And he replied that he had seen a
Woman, a Many-mouthed one. Then she exclaimed
"Oh hoh! " So they went on, and on, and on, for
six days they travelled, and then she asked " Do you
know this part? " And he said that he did not. On
and on again they went, until they had been going for
ten days, and then they arrived at the city.
436 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
When they had got to the house, she prepared her
magic, she got food, and took it to the Boy, and he
ate it. And in the night she sharpened her teeth, for
she was going to enter the Boy's hut, and eat him. But
the Horse spoke, and the Boy asked " Who is there? "
And she replied " It is only I." Then he said " What
has brought you?" and she answered " I was won-
dering if the fire was out." Then the Boy said " Oh
no, go away." So she went out, and re-entered her
own hut (i).
For three days the Boy was in the city, and there
was nobody else there but them. Then the Boy said
to his Horse " To-morrow morning do not eat any
grass." So when morning came, the Horse did not
eat any. Then the Woman asked " What is the matter
with your Horse?" And he replied "He has pains
in his inside." Then she asked " What is the cure for
that?" And he replied " Here is a basket in which
water can be drawn (2), if he has water from it he will
be cured." So she took the basket and went off to the
river, and when she had gone, the Boy put the saddle
on his Horse, and mounted, and started galloping
away.
Now the Woman tried, and tried, but whenever she
took it out, the water would not remain in the basket,
until at last she made a charm, and the water remained
there. Then she returned to the house, but she did not
see the Boy, so she threw down the water (3), and took
to the road, and followed the Boy. Soon she saw him
afar off, and she called out " Alii, (4) you Youth
possessed by fear, you have left your loin-cloth, you
have left your turban " (5). Then the Boy turned his
head, and said " I have left them as a present." But
she replied "That present is given because of fear."
THE WONDERFUL HORSE 437
So she ran on [and overtook the Boy], and was about
to seize one of the hoofs of the Horse, when lo ! the
Horse's tail became a razor, and cut her hand. Then
she stopped and began licking the blood.
But soon she started off again, and followed, and
called out " Alii, you Youth possessed by fear, you
have left your loin-cloth, you have left your turban."
Then again the Boy turned his head, and said " I
have left them as a present." But she replied "That
present is given because of fear." So she ran on [and
overtook them], and wounded one of the Horse's legs.
Then the Boy was very much frightened, and said " O
Horse, would you fail me ? Take me home, it is not
close." And the Horse replied " Even had I only
one leg I would take you home safely," and he con-
tinued that he would carry him for the Boy's own sake,
not his. Soon the Woman came on again, and fol-
lowed, and followed, and called out " Alii, you Youth
possessed by fear, you have left your loin-cloth, you
have left your turban." Then again the Boy turned
his head, and said " I have left them as a present."
But she replied " That present is given because of
fear." So she ran on [and overtook them], and
wounded another of the Horse's legs. Then the Boy
said "O Horse, O Loved One, would you fail me?
Take me home, it is not close." And the Horse re-
plied " Even had I only one leg I would take you home
safely," and he continued that he would carry him
for the Boy's own sake, not his.
At last they arrived at the gate of their city, and
just then the Woman managed to wound another of
the Horse's legs and he fell down dead. Now the
Father knew what was going on, and he opened the
hut where the Dogs were kept, and they followed
433 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
behind him, and they chased the Woman, she got away
only just in time. Then the Father said "That is
enough for now, there will be more to do to-morrow."
So the Boy dismounted from his Horse, and took the
path to his home, and he bought white cloth, and the
Horse was wrapped in it, and buried.
After about two days, the Woman turned herself
into a mass of flowers, and the Women of the town
went and began picking them. Then the Boy's Friend
came to him [and asked him to go also], but he replied
11 It is that Woman." Then the Friend said " Poof,
are you afraid of her?" So the Boy said " All right,
let us go." So they went, but the Boy would not go
to the place where the flowers were, and when he had
returned home he said " I tell you that it is that
Woman." And in the morning, when the People had
gone to look for the flowers there were none. Then
the Boy said to his Friend " You see, I told you so."
About two days later, she transformed herself into
a Horse, and said that she would kill the Boy, [so she
wandered about loose in the streets of the town]. Now
the Youths of the town went and caught the Horse (6),
and mounted it, and made it gallop, and the Boy's
Friend came to him, and suggested that they also
should go and catch the Horse, and ride it. But the
Boy refused, saying " It is that Woman." Then the
Friend said " Poof, are you frightened of your own
Wife? " So the Boy replied " Very well, let us go."
So they went to where the Horse was, and the Friend
caught it, and rode it, he galloped, he rode away,
and then returned. So then the Boy also mounted
it, and, when he had done so, and was gallop-
ing, she turned herself into a Wind, and was going
to carry the Boy up in the air, but he caught hold
TEE WONDERFUL HORSE
439
of a branch of a tree, and, when she saw that he had
done so, she went off. Then the Boy descended from
the tree, and went to his Friend, and said to him " You
see, I told you that it was that Woman," and the other
said " Yes, it was so," and they went home.
FIG. 94.
FIG. 95-
FIG. 94.— Brass stirrup. L., iof in. FIG. 95.— Head ornaments
(for horse) of leather, coloured flannel, and cotton.
Again the Woman came, and changed herself into
a Sword [and went to the market], there was no other
like it in the whole city, and the Youths came and
440 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
tried it. Then the Boy's Friend came to him, and
suggested that they also should go, and see the Sword.
But the Boy said " It is that Woman." Then the
Friend said " Poof, are you afraid of your own Wife ?"
So the Boy replied 4< Very well, let us go." They
started off, but, as they went, he called his Dogs, and
no sooner had he arrived than he cut at the Sword with
his own, saying let him test its edge with that of his
own. So he cut it in two, and lo ! the Woman
appeared, and the Dogs chased her, and ate her
flesh (7). Wherever even a single drop of blood
dropped on the grass he told the Dogs to take it, and
so all the Dogs followed, and licked up the blood.
In a variant (M.H. 20) the Youth buys a Horse with
the breasts of his own Mother which he has cut off,
and he sets out to see where the world ends, the Spider
accompanying him, riding on a leaf. At last the
Travellers arrive at the end of the world, where " there
is no land, not a tree, nothing but wind, water, and
darkness." The Youth will not touch the food at first,
but the Spider says that there is no harm in it, so he
eats it. In the night the Cock warns them three times
that the Witch is coming, and so she has to desist. In
the morning she asks her Visitors if they have seen her
do anything which was not quite the thing, and they
reply in the affirmative. She manages to capture the
Cock and kill it (though at first it contrives to escape
and to hide in the grass), and she gives it to them to
eat. Three times she comes in the next night also, and
the Spider, who is watching by the door, beats her on
the head with an iron club on each occasion, breaking
her head, so she retires to lick the blood which is flow-
ing on to her body. Next morning, they say " Good-
bye," and go off. She follows, and catches the Horse's
tail, but her hands are cut by razors which have been
tied there, "again she comes like the wind," and
catches them at a river of hot water, but again her
THE BOY WHO CHEATED DEATH 441
hands are cut. They pass through rivers of fire and of
cold water with a similar result, and at last they reach
terra firma, the Witch turns back* and they arrive home
in safety.
In a Sierra Leone story (Cunnie Rabbit, page 184)
a Girl is wooed by a Half-Devil and is taken to his
home, her Young Brother following them against the
Half-Devil's wish. In the night the Devil sharpens his
knife, and creeps up to kill the Girl, but the Brother
speaks, and asks for more clothes ; next time he coughs,
and asks the Devil to get him some water in a fishing-
net, and the Devil goes off to do this " Because he wan*
hurry yeat de ooman, he stupid; he no wait t'ink he
no able get wattah wid fis'-net." While the Devil is
away, the Brother and Sister go off, of course, and
escape.
96
THE BOY WHO CHEATED DEATH.
There was once a very Rich Man, there was no
other in the whole city so rich, and he had a Son.
The King of the city also had a Son, and the latter
said that he wanted the Rich Man's Son to be his
Friend. But as for any real friendship [there was none,
for] the King's Son did not really like the Rich Man's
Son very much, and he, the Rich Man's Son, did not
really like the King's Son very much. The King's
Son was friendly to him on account of his Father's
riches; and the Rich Man's Son was friendly to the
other because he was the Son of the King of the city.
Now there was a certain town where Death lived,
with her Children, and whosoever went there never
returned. And one day the King's Son said to the
44-: HAUSA SUPERST1TIOXS
Rich Man's Sun " Look here, you are very proud of
yourself because your Father is rich." And he con-
tinued *' [If you are as fine a Man as you think), go
to Death's house, eat her food, and bring me the
remains."
Then the Rich Man's Son told his Father, and said
" Listen to what the King's Son said to me when we
were at the games (i), in front of the Women, before
all the People (2). He said that my Father is rich, let
me go and eat Death's food, and bring him the re-
mains." Then the Father said " Well, look here, I will
give you twelve Slaves to take with you, and while
she is killing them, you can get away, and escape."
But the Son replied " No, no, I am not afraid, let
my Horse be saddled, and I will go." So his Horse
was saddled, and off he started.
He went on, and on, and on, and after a time he
came upon a certain Man who was carving out
stools (3), and the latter said " O Rich Man's Son,
where are you going?" "I am going to Death's
house," he replied. " Then let me give you a stool,"
the Man said, " it will be useful to you." So he took
it, and started again.
He travelled on, and on, and on, until he came
upon a Blacksmith, who said " O Rich Man's Son,
where are you going?" "I am going to Death's
house," was the reply. "Then let me give you this
hammer," the Blacksmith said, " It will be useful to
you." So he took it, and started again.
He travelled on, and on, and on, until he came
upon a Woman who was collecting firewood, and she
said " O Rich Man's Son, where are you going?"
" I am going to Death's house," was the reply. " Then
let me give you a bundle of wood," she said, " it will
THE BOY WHO CHEATED DEATH 443
be useful to you." So he took it, and he put all of
them behind him on his Horse.
Soon afterwards he arrived, and came upon the
Children of Death, who were farming, and they said
"O Rich Man's Son, welcome, welcome." "Where
is Death ? " he asked. " She is at home," they replied,
so he came up, and saluted. Then Death came out,
and said " Ah ! Rich Man's Son, welcome," and she
said to her Children " Cook rice for the Rich Man's
Son, prepare a meal for him." When they had cooked
it, and had got it quite ready, she said " Good, give it
to him to eat, I am going to the stream to find my
Husband."
Now when the Children had given the Rich Man's
Son the food, and he had eaten, and was filled,
he threw the remains into his haversack, and then he
[remounted his Horse, and] spurred it, and galloped
off. And when Death returned, and asked the Children
where the Rich Man's Son was, they said "Oh! he
has gone." But she exclaimed "It cannot be true!
Does he who comes to my house ever return?"
Then she pursued him, she ran on, and on, but
just as she had come up close, and was about to seize
the Horse's tail, he let the stool fall, and immediately
it became a great tree, and it closed the road. So she
returned to her house, and got an axe, and came again,
and started chopping. She chopped, and chopped,
and, while she was doing so, the Rich Man's Son was
getting further away.
When she. had chopped through the tree, she threw
down the axe, and ran on, following the Rich Man's
Son, but just as she had come up close, and was about
to seize the Horse's tail, he let the hammer fall, and
closed the road. Then Death said " Bother it, I must
444 HAUSA SUPERST1TIO
go and get the hoe, and dig under the hammer, and
loosen it and throw it aside."
By the time that Death had loosened it, the Rich
Man's Son was a long way ahead, so she ran after
him again, but just as she was about to seize the
Horse's tail, the Rich Man's Son let the bundle of
wi>od fall, and it closed the road. Then Death ex-
claimed " Bother it, I must return to the place where
I left the axe."
By the time she had chopped it through (4), the
Rich Man's Son had reached the gate of his own city,
but she ran on, and almost caught him. Then [when
he had escaped] she stopped, and called out 4t O Rich
Man's Son, you are very lucky; you will not die until
God Himself kills you, for you have come to my house,
and have returned alive."
When the Rich Man's Son had entered the city,
he went to the King's Son, and said '* Here is Death's
food which I have saved for you." But the King's
Son replied " That is a lie ! You must have played a
trick upon her; if you are not afraid, go to the house
of the Rago "(5). At the Rago's house, for him who
arrived one day would be killed the Guest who had
come the day before, and the New Arrival would be
slaughtered for the morrow's Visitor.
So the Rich Man's Son went and told his Father,
and said " Listen to what the King's Son said to me.
He dared me to go to the house of the Rago." Then
the Father said " Well, look here, I will give you
twelve Slaves to take with you, and while the Rago
is eating them, you can get away, and escape." But
the Son replied " No, no, I am not afraid, let my
Horse be saddled, and I will go."
When he had arrived at the Rago's house, he
THE BOY WHO CHEATED DEATH 445
saluted, and the Rago said "Ah! Rich Man's Son,
welcome." So the Rich Man's Son dismounted, and
there was killed for him the Stranger who had come
the previous day, and by the time he had been killed,
and soup had been made, the Rich Man's Son and
his Horse had gone inside the Rago's house. Now
when the meal had been served and eaten, the Rago's
Wife opened the door at the back of the house, and
the Rich Man's Son galloped off, but the Rago was
in the entrance-hall (6), and did not know that they
had escaped.
Just then another Stranger arrived, and saluted, and
when he had done so, the Rago said " Welcome, wel-
come," and, when he had welcomed the New-Comer,
he entered the house, and said " Where is the Rich
Man's Son ?" He wanted to kill him for the Stranger.
Then the Wives said " Oh, none of us have seen him,
he must have run away." But the Rago exclaimed
" It cannot be true. I shall follow him," and he ran
after him, calling out " O Rich Man's Son stop."
Then the Rich Man's Son replied " Oh ! no, I will not
stop ; why do you not run and catch me if you can ? "
So the Rago followed him, and ran on, and on, and on,
but the Rich Man's Son escaped. When he had got
right away, and had reached the door of his house,
the Rago said " O Rich Man's Son, you are indeed
lucky, you will not die until God kills you."
Now when the Rich Man's Son had returned, he
went to the King's Son, and said " I have been to
the house of the Rago." But the King's Son replied
"It is a lie, to-morrow you must mount your favourite
Horse, I also shall mount my favourite Horse, and we
will gallop before the door of the council chamber,
my Father's door (7).
446 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
So next morning, the Rich Man's Son said to his
Father " Listen to what the King's Son said to me,
he said that I must mount my favourite Horse, and
that he would mount his favourite Horse, and that we
must gallop before the door of the council chamber,
his Father's door." So the King's Son rode a Horse
worth ten Slaves, the Rich Man's Son rode one worth
twenty, and when they had come to the open space
at the entrance of the council chamber (8), the King's
Son said " O Rich Man's Son, you gallop first." But
the Rich Man's Son replied " No, no, you must go
first, this is your Father's door " (9). So the King's
Son galloped off, and when he had come back, he said
" There you are, now you go." Then the Rich Man's
Son said that he would, but as he was returning to
where the King's Son was waiting, his Horse neighed,
and, when it had finished neighing, the King's Son
and his Horse had disappeared, the neighing had
carried them off, there was no one who knew where
they had gone, he and his Horse.
Then the Rich Man's Son went to his Father, and
said " See, I galloped with the King's Son, but he
has disappeared, I have not seen him since."
So the King mourned the loss of his Son.
In a Sierra Leone story (Cronise and Ward, page
292) a Girl and her Dog go with the Ghosts to their
country — which was far away on the other side of a big,
big valley — and the Ghosts disappear one by one, until
she is left alone with the one whom she has followed,
and his house is furthest away. The Ghosts come and
try to kill her, but she is saved by her Dog — which can
see " dem die pusson " — on condition that she never
calls him " Dog " again. All goes well for a time after
their return, but one day she uses the word in a fit of
anger, and falls dead.
THE CANNIBAL KING
447
97
THE KING WITH THE CANNIBAL TASTES.
There was once a certain King, and, while his
evening meal was being prepared, a Hawk, which was
FIG. 96.
FIG. 98.
FIG. 97.
FIGS. 96, 97.— Spurs. FIG. 98.— Iron bell tied to horse's mane.
H., i£in.
carrying a piece of human flesh, flew over the palace,
and, while she was flying, the flesh slipped from her
grasp, and fell into the soup, and no one saw it. So
when the food had been cooked, it was taken off the
448 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
fire, and brought to the King, and the soup also was
brought. So the piece of human flesh was put before
him, and he ate it.
Now when he had eaten the food, he thought that
he had never tasted anything so nice before — it was
the piece of human flesh which he thought so good, but
he did not know — and he asked for more. So he had
a Goat killed, but he did not get a flavour like that
of the other, then he had a Bull killed, but again he
missed the delicious taste of the flesh. And though
he sent and had brought to him meat of every Beast
of the forest, when he ate it, he did not get the flavour
he wanted.
At last he had a Slave seized, and he killed him,
and ate him, and then he recognized the taste, so he
kept on seizing the People of his household, and killing
them, until they were all finished (i). And then the
other People in the city ran away, and left him alone,
and so, when the longing overcame him, he would pick
off a piece from his own body, and eat it. At last he
was nothing but bones, and when he ran, you could
hear the bones rattling, and making a sound like
gwarrang, gwarrang.
One day he went along the road to the resting-
place of the Traders, and he lay in wait to rush upon
them, and on their arrival he [let them pass, and then]
followed one at a run to catch him, and bring him
back to eat. So he went and killed him, but when he
wished to carry back the corpse, he fell down, he was
too weak to carry it, and he died.
That is all.
In a variant (L.T.H. ii, 49) the King discovers what
the flesh was by seizing the Slave who comes to light
THE MANY-HEADED CANNIBALS 449
his fire, and, as this happens always, the Wives find
it out and run away. His Married Daughter comes to
visit him, and nearly loses her life, but manages to
escape in time.
In a Malayan tale (Skeat, op. cit., 59), an Attendant
takes the carcase of a Goat to the river to wash it before
roasting for the Prince. A Vulture flies down and
carries off the heart, and as the Attendant is afraid to
take the flesh back thus, he kills a Boy who is passing,
and substitutes his heart for that of the Goat. The
Prince so much enjoys the new meat that, when he has
found out what it is, he has a Boy killed daily, and he
gradually grows tusks.
98
THE MANY-HEADED CANNIBALS.
This is a story about the Girringas, the Many-
headed Cannibals. There was one Girringa who had
two heads, and he went to a far city to get a Wife,
and while they were returning, he and his Wife, they
met with another Girringa who had three heads, and
when he saw them he sang : —
44 Welcome Girringa. "
And the other replied, also singing,
44 Urn, hum, Girringa."
And then they sang again,
44 Welcome Girringa."
44 Urn, hum, Girringa."
44 Where have you come from ? " asked the one with
three heads.
44 I come from Kano," sang the other.
44 What did you go for? " asked the new-comer.
44 To find a Wife," replied the other.
29
450 HA USA SUPERSTITIONS
" Where is the Woman ? " asked the Three-headed
One.
" See her behind me," was the reply.
" What is she crying for? " asked the other.
" She is crying at the sight of your heads/' said
the Husband.
" Wait until she sees the King," replied the other.
So they parted, and [the Wife and her Two-headed
Husband] went on towards the city, and lo ! they met
with a Four-headed Being, who sang : —
" Welcome Girringa."
And the other replied, also singing,
" Um, hum, Girringa."
And then they sang again,
"Welcome Girringa."
" Um, hum, Girringa."
" Where have you come from ? " asked the one with
four heads.
" I come from Kano," sang the other.
" What did you go for? " asked the new-comer.
" To find a Wife," replied the other.
"Where is the Woman?" asked the Four-headed
One.
" See her behind me," was the reply.
" What is she crying for? " asked the other.
" She is crying at the sight of your heads," said
the Husband.
"Wait until she sees the King," replied the other.
So they parted, and [the Wife and her Two-headed
Husband] went on towards the city, and lo ! they met
with a Five-headed Being, who sang : —
" Welcome Girringa."
And the other replied, also singing,
" Um, hum, Girringa."
THE MANY-HEADED CANNIBALS 451
And then they sang again,
" Welcome Girringa."
" Um, hum, Girringa."
* Where have you come from ? " asked the one with
five heads.
" I come from Kano," sang the other.
" What did you go for ? " asked the new-comer.
" To find a Wife," replied the other.
"Where is the Woman?" asked the Five-headed
One.
" See her behind me," was the reply.
" What is she crying for? " asked the other.
" She is crying at the sight of your heads," said
the Husband.
" Wait until she sees the King/' replied the other.
So they parted, and at last [the Wife and her Two-
headed Husband] arrived at the city, and they went
to the palace, and then she saw the King of the
Girringas who had ten heads ! And the King sang : —
11 Welcome Girringa."
And the other replied, also singing,
" Um, hum, Girringa."
And then they sang again,
" Welcome Girringa."
" Um, hum, Girringa."
41 Where have you come from?" asked the King.
' I come from Kano," sang the other.
"What did you go for?" asked the King.
" To find a Wife," replied the other.
" Where is the Woman? " asked the King.
" See her behind me," was the reply.
" What is she crying for? " asked the other.
"She is crying at the sight of your heads," said
the Husband.
452 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
Then she was taken to her Husband's house, but
she refused to go in, and cried, and cried. Then
they argued, and argued, with her, and at last she
entered the house. Goats were killed in her honour,
three of them, and she hid some of the flesh to eat,
and she ate her fill (i).
Well, she lived there for some time, and they fed
her up until she had got very fat (2). And on the very
day that they meant to kill and eat her, they gave her
a pot to get water with which they were going to wash
her [although she did not know what it was for] (3). So
she went off to the river, but when she had got there,
she began to feel afraid, for they had never before
allowed her to go outside the house. So she [deter-
mined to escape, and] turned herself into a tree-stump.
Now as she delayed, and did not return, one of
the Girringas went and followed her tracks, but he
could not find her, so he returned and told them that
she had run away. Then they said " Oh well, we
must put up with it," and so they went about their
business. But at night she became a Woman again,
and she ran away to her own city.
This is possibly a variant of F.-L. 45 (and see 94),
one of the Men being sent out to marry a Girl with
the intention of bringing her back for the Family to
devour.
99
WHY THE YOUNG GIANT LOST HIS STRENGTH.
There was a certain Youth, a Giant, as high as
from Jemaan Daroro to Kano, or to Bauchi(i);
amongst all the others there was not his like. Now
THE YOUNG GIANT 453
a Magician had given him a charm, and had said that
he must never know a Woman. [And while he re-
mained single] if a Giant came, no matter whence,
when he arrived, then the Youth killed him when they
boxed.
Now there was a certain Girl, a Virgin, who was
as tall as Sokoto is distant from here (2); Men used
to leave places *like Damarghera and go to see the Girl
because of her beauty. Supposing the King of Damar-
ghera (3) said that he wanted her, she would say that she
did not like him. Supposing the King of Zungo (4)
(Malam Yerro) came to her, she would say that she did
not like him.
But one day she heard the news of this Young
Giant, and she said that she would go to him. So she
started off, and commenced the journey, and after two
months' travelling, she came to the Youth. When he
saw her, he said that he wanted to marry her, so he
took her, and led her to his house, and married her.
Now for the next day a great tournament had been
arranged, so the Youth went out, and showed off. And
another Giant came from somewhere else, and he also
showed off. Then they approached each other, and got
to close quarters, and the Stranger caught the Youth's
hand, and he watched his armpit (5), and when he
punched him, he killed him (6).
Now, when the Young Giant's People saw this,
they came and said " Girl, see, him to whom you came
has been killed in the tournament." Then the Girl
said "What is the remedy for this?" They replied
that there was a remedy, and when a grave had been
dug, they said that if the Girl came and entered this
grave, and was buried inside, the Youth would arise
again. So she agreed, and was buried in the grave,
454 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
and the Young Giant arose, and the Girl who had been
buried in the grave arose with him. Immediately the
grave became a great palace, and inside this palace
of the things in all the world there was not anything
wanting, so they settled down, and were married (7).
100
THE BOY AND THE ONE-SIDED GIANTESS.
There was once a certain Boy, a King's Son, who
said that he was going out into the world. So he
started off, and travelled on, and on, in the forest.
Soon he came to a big lake, and he went round, and
round the brink, but he could not see any footprints.
Then he took out a handful of water, and drank it(i), and
he took another handful, and gave it to his Dog. Then
he said that he would see that very day what kind of
Animal used to drink water there (2), so he climbed a
tree, and his Dog lay down at its foot. The width of
the water was like from here to the barracks (3).
After a time, in the afternoon, he saw a certain
Woman, a Giantess, with one arm, one leg, and one
eye, coming to the shore of the lake, and she drank up
the water pap, and it was finished. Then she began
crying, saying that her thirst was not quenched. The
water was finished really because the Boy had taken
a handful for himself and had given his Dog one !
But she calmed herself, and walked towards the
house (4), and she went and brought out a whole barn-
ful of corn, about two hundred bundles, and she
pounded them up, and made a porridge of the corn.
Then she went and caught two big Bulls, and came
and slaughtered them, and made soup with them.
THE ONE-SIDED GIANTESS 455
Now the Boy arose from where he was, and came
to her house, and when he arrived, he saw a tree close
to the door, so he climbed it, and left his Dog at the
foot. Just then the Woman brought out her soup,
and she went and brought out her porridge, and then
she entered her hut again to get her proper cloth to
wear when eating food (5). While she was there, the
Boy pushed his spear into the porridge, and drew it
back, and picked off [a little piece of food that had
stuck to it]. This he divided into two, one piece he
put into his mouth, the other he threw down to his
Dog on the ground.
Just then the Woman emerged again from her hut,
and came and sat down to eat the food, and she began
to eat the porridge first. When she had finished, she
began to cry, and to say that Something had stolen her
porridge from her that day (6). Even until midnight
she was crying, but then she calmed herself, and went
inside.
Then the Boy climbed down, and called his Dog,
and escaped at a run, he did not pause until he had
reached his own town. And when he had arrived, he
said " O my Father, I have seen what is in the world."
In a variant (L.T.H. ii, 7) a Hunter comes upon the
houses of two Witches. He creeps up, and takes a
little food from the pot of one of the Witches, and
gives it to his three Dogs, and the Witch, called
Pando Pando, complains to the other, Kumbo Kumbo,
that she has not had enough. Kumbo Kumbo suggests
that there must be a Man in the house, but they can
find none, and later on, he and his Dogs escape.
Pando Pando resolves to be avenged, however, and the
story then continues as does number 48. She takes him
to the forest, and tries to kill him, but he gets up a tree,
and calls his Dogs, and they kill both of the Witches.
456
HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
There are some drops of blood left, and he calls out
" May I descend ? " The drops of blood reply " If you
do we will kill you." So he waits until the Dogs have
eaten every bit, and have licked up all the blood.
In European tales also, drops of blood can speak,
vide page 18, where reference is made to one of Grimm's
stories.
FIG. 99. — \Vhip of hippopotamus hide. L., extended, 48 in.
FIG. 100.
FIG. 101.
FIGS. loo, 101. — Dane -guns or bunduks, imported from England.
Patterns in cowries (embedded in rubber) on butts as charms. The barrel
and stock of the lower one are bound with grass, rubber and leather
L., 5 ft. 7 in.
PART III.
1 Notes.
I. — ON THE TALES.
N.B. — There is no note for *, it simply means that
a word has been purposely mistranslated.
I.
[i] Literally drunk water.
[2] On a charge of theft, but the punishment for
serious forms of this crime was the cutting off of a hand
or foot (left hand first), not impalement, this (or cutting
off the parts) being more usual in sexual offences. In
the case of an ordinary theft, where the thief was equal
in status to the person robbed, the punishment might
be that of tying a long piece of wood to one side of
the thief's head so that it projected before or behind.
Mutilation and other barbarous punishments have been
abolished in the districts under British control, but in
458 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
some of the large capitals, specially appointed natr
courts have the power of passing sentence of death,
and of carrying it out after the sanction of the Resident
has been obtained.
There was no fixed scale of punishments, a power-
ful chief could order what he liked, but usually tl
lex talionis prevailed except when the chief himseli
had been injured. Sometimes the offending slave
animal would be handed over. In one story (L.T.H.,
ii, 86) a man gives up his wife so that she may be put
to death, because he himself has killed a woman. Bi
this is probably not a Hausa rule, it seems to
been borrowed from the Berbers, though there is a
trace of it in Story 80, see LXXX, 7. In Hausaland,
as elsewhere, the early court helped the successful party
to enforce the judgment (62).
In one story, an old woman who was called in to
wash the dead body of a young virgin, touched a
certain part of the corpse and made an untruthful re-
mark about the virtue of the deceased. Immediately
the old woman's hand stuck fast, and it was not until
she had been flogged with the proper number of lashes
for slander that her hand was released. This seems
somewhat analogous to the touching of the body of
a dead man by persons suspected of having killed him.
II.
[i] Not Sunday, but our Saturday, the Seventh
Day (Ran Assabat). I am not sure if all the pagan
Hausas had a holy day, but it is quite possible, for
members of one community do not work on Sunday,
but sacrifice to their Gods on that day (Man, 1910, art.
40), and in the Gold Coast " no fishing ever takes
place on a Tuesday, the day being sacred to the fetish
NOTES ON THE TALES 459
of the sea, and devoted to the repairing of nets'*
.(N.W.S. 15). If the holy day had been a Moham-
medan innovation, it would have been Friday, and
not Saturday, as is shown in the other tales.
III.
[i] The daughter of a rival wife, who was evidently
dead, as we hear nothing of her, and the step-mother
is in charge of the girl.
[2] There is no indication as to what kind of fish
it was. Perhaps the manatee is meant, for it is
found in the Niger. But talking fish are common in
folk-lore, and a dead fish laughs in Somadeva, Katha-
Sarit Sagara (Ed. Tawney, i, 24 (C) ).
[3] In some places the masculine pronouns are
used, in others the feminine, and to avoid confusion
I have called the fish " it,*' but there is no neuter in
Hausa.
[4] The Salla, at the end of Ramadan. Horse-races
and dances are held at these times and people dress up
in new clothes and all their finery, see illustration,
page 1 6. Two of the dances are described in T.H.H.
pages 262-264.
[5] There were proper preliminaries to be arranged
first, and the chief would have to approach her father
at home, in the usual way. There is a saying that a
bride should never be chosen on a feast day, because
she will be excited and painted, and over-dressed, so
it will be impossible to tell what she is really like.
[6] Really they must have found him at the dances,
for the wife was still there, and she heard them talking.
[7] The new one, the bride.
[8] They did not wish to be seen. Perhaps it would
have been dangerous for any person who saw them.
46o HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
[9] It is possible that there was some tabu on her
doing household work, such as that on speaking which
we find in European tales. Compare Story 30.
[10] Rather a mild punishment for such mutila-
tion. In most of the stories the rival wives are killed
for much less than this.
IV.
[i] A strange expression, corresponding in some
respects, perhaps, to our " Lend me your ears." A
more usual reply is " Increase the number of your ears
and you will hear some news," implying that two are
not enough for the wonders to be described. This is
more intelligible, and is something like our " He
listened with all his ears."
[2] As long as the bull pulled against it, the rope
could not be undone. The narrator gives no reason
why the peg itself was not pulled out, by far the more
simple proceeding.
[3] Wives, concubines, and others would all be
jealous of the new arrival, especially as she was con-
sidered too much above them and too delicate to help
in the ordinary wrork (grinding and pounding corn,
fetching water, cooking food &c., evidently the latter
in this case). The idea of protecting one's wife from
work seems more in accordance with the European than
with the native temperament; the true solution is
probably to be found in tabu, to which a Kaffir tale
seems to give a clue. The variant suggests a different
reason, however.
[4] In North-west Uganda, if " your enemy is
already afflicted with loathsome specific disease, you
may take a branch of the castor-oil tree, and with it
beat the place where he has been sitting ; the result will
NOTES ON THE TALES 461
be that the disease will become chronic and refuse to
get well." (Kitching, On the Backwaters of the Nile,
page 238.)
V.
[i] Evidently a tabu. Mr. Crooke tells me that in
India a man often refuses to live in the town where his
wife's family resides, and thinks that this may be a sur-
vival of marriage by capture. Dr. Seligmann tells
me that he has noticed the same thing amongst the
Beja of the Red Sea Province of Kordofan. It has
been observed amongst the Matse, an Ewhe tribe in
German territory on the Slave Coast. Here, when a
woman lives in her husband's house, he may not eat in
the house of her parents, and they may not eat in his.
A breach of this rule is shameful ; many people say
that it would prevent the wife from bearing children.
(Frazer, op. cit., vol. ii, page 581. See also XXIV (6).)
[2] So that he could feel his way back in the dark.
[3] I do not know why it should be a mare, unless
she would be more likely to sympathize with the wife's
parents ! ! Mares are kept for breeding purposes, and
are dangerous to ride because the horses are entire.
VI.
[i] The cakes are made of flour soaked in honey,
water and pepper.
VII.
[i] There is usually some hiding place for non-
combatants where food is stored and other preparations
are made for the outbreak of war. All over the coun-
try in the old days of the slave-raiders (and even now
in the districts of the unsubdued tribes) no town knew
when it might have to fight for its very existence.
462
HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
[2] The Commander-in-Chief, usually called the
4 War-Father,'* a man is meant. I am told that the
Uban Ya(i)ki in each district is always chosen from
among the members of a certain family unless they
happen to be incompetent or in disfavour with the chief.
The office, therefore, is to a certain extent hereditary.
[3] Apparently quantity and not quality is the
native's idea of happiness, as in the case of Job.
[4] The word surukuta means "shame," "avoid-
ance," or " relationship of mother-in-law and son-in-
law."
[5] I saw very little leprosy amongst the Hausas,
and I did not question them on the subject, but it is
often attributed to the bite of certain species of lizards.
The Kagoro say that it has nothing to do with a fish
diet, but Canon Robinson (Hausaland, page 150)
found that there was such an idea in Kano, and he
ascribes the disease to the rotten fish eaten in the
inland districts, for there was less leprosy nearer the
coast, although there was a more plentiful supply of
fish, because the fish was fresh. The Hausas will eat
fish so rotten that no European could come near them
during a meal, and it would not be surprising if such
food were the cause of many diseases.
VIII.
[i] Locusts are caught in nets, and when fried are
considered a great delicacy; or they may be boiled in
oil and well salted, and they then taste rather like an
insipid prawn. They cause great damage in Hausa-
land. It is related that Mohammed once read these
words upon the wings of one of these insects: "We
are the army of God; we lay 99 eggs, and if we laid
NOTES ON THE TALES 463
100 we should devour the whole earth." The Prophet
was aghast, and prayed to God to destroy the locusts,
and an angel appeared, telling him that a part of his
prayer had been granted. The best charm even now
is said to be a piece of paper on which is written this
prayer, stuck on a stick in the plantation threatened.
[2] This does not mean that she did so at once.
The child would probably not be carried on the back
for some time after birth, but in a calabash on the head.
See T.H.H., page 306.
[3] Meaning that some were killed and the others
ran away. I have left it thus just to show the apparent
contradictions which increase the difficulty of translation.
[4] Chronological order wrong, the lion said it
before he went, of course.
[5] Apparently there was nothing in the wife using
the lion's name to make him commit suicide, it was
simply the fact that he had been discovered, so he
evidently had the same objection to being seen as have
witches. The ending of the first variant shows that
this story was invented to account for the lion's living
apart from man.
[6] See remarks on Alkaivali in Chapter IV. The
lioness was killed to atone for the death of the boy's
mother, and now the youth has to commit suicide to
make things even again.
[7] Iddah, or better Idda, is on the Niger River,
almost opposite Egori, the first town in Northern
Nigeria.
IX.
[i] A form of address.
[2] Probably no crime on the poor man's part, and
so preferable to suicide.
464
HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
X.
[i] Owing to tornadoes, a shallow stream with
banks may become a river in an hour or so, and when
the bed is of sand, the channels may be altered alm<
as quickly.
XI.
[i] These titles do not refer to the powers of good
and evil, much less to God and Satan. King or chi<
is merely a title (see introduction), and correspond
somewhat to our captain.
[2] So as to keep the father in.
XII.
[i] No reference to the powers of good and evil,
See Note XI [i].
[2] Instead of the speech continuing after the
interruption, it goes off in a new direction.
[3] But he still remained the King of Good, of
course !
XIII.
[i] Really no worse than the belief of the ol<
slavers that God would give them good store of slaves.
See N.W.S., page 6.
[2] Apparently it was too dark by then for her to
distinguish the ram.
XIV.
[i] See LVI (i).
[2] She pretended to be insulted because Dodo
could tell that the smell of human flesh was stronger
than usual.
[3] The creation of beings by means of spittle or
excrement to answer for an escaping hero is not un-
XXXVII. and XXX VIII.— BOXING, OR DAMRE.
Blows may be dealt either with the bandaged left fist, or with either foot. The drum is often
necessary in order to encourage the boxers to serious efforts.
NOTES ON THE TALES 465
common in folk-tales, vide Hartland, The Legend of
Perseus, ii, 60.
[4] Zirka is perhaps a corruption of zikri " to pray,'*
or may be from dirka, " a post." The word bude
means " open." I have kept the Hausa form as it is
usual in such cases. Gumgum is a corrupted word and
FIG. 102. FIG. 103. FIG. 104.
FIG. 102.— Arm-knife. L., 12^ in. FIG. 103.— Knife or Dagger.
Red sheath has strips of green and yellow leather. L., 14! m. f IG. 104.—
Naked Iron Knife (? of Munshi manufacture). L., u in.
means " shut." Zarga, in the variant, probably means
" move."
XV.
[i] Ground-nuts are grown mainly in the north of
the country, and some kinds are valuable to Europeans
commercially because of their oil, while most make a
30
466 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
very good soup. There are several varieties, e.g.,
aya which gives the oil for watches, gedda which gives
oil for lamps, and gujia, used mainly for food. The
plants grow low on the ground, and have yellow
flowers.
[2] Apparently he took other nuts with him to sow
—or else Mrs. Spider must have been rather easy to
deceive.
[3] Possibly if the wife had worked the farm she
would have had a right to sell a part of the produce
and to keep the proceeds for herself.
[4] Rubber (principally landolphia) is found in
many parts of Northern Nigeria, but the natives are
gradually killing off the supply by digging up the
roots. What they sell is often so much adulterated
that it is almost worthless.
[5] A long neck is supposed to be a sign of great
beauty, the breasts indicate the age to some extent.
The Hausa seldom pays much attention to the face of
his beloved, it is her body which attracts him. To call
more attention to her charms the narrator here says
" See her neck, see her breasts!" Compare F.-L. 9.
[6] The Spider had evidently taken the shape of
a man.
[7] Grease is rubbed into the bulala, the cat of hide,
to make it soft and pliant, but it is not necessary to do
this in the case of a switch.
XVI.
[i] The Arabic salutation, in great favour in
Hausaland.
XVII.
[i] It is hard to render this in English, we might
say " a bean or two," although meaning a sufficient
NOTES ON THE TALES 467
quantity, but the Hausas often use the singular for the
plural, so "cook a bean " means "cook a dish of
beans."
[2] Really the water-tank (earthenware) of the
house, too big to be carried to the river.
[3] Only one is mentioned in the Hausa text,
though it is obvious that all must be meant. The 'fact
that the bodies of the Gazelles could not go into one
bag would not trouble the narrator, but there is more
than one bag, for there are several donkeys. This is
another instance of the plural being included in the
singular.
XVIII.
[i] Uivarmu (" our mother ") is the name given to
any woman who provides food, or otherwise takes care
of or protects others, who become her "children."
Compare the uivar tuo in the remarks on Bori, and see
Story 45, where the poor boy becomes his rival's ruler
and "father." It is usually, though not necessarily,
a title of respect (cf. the Scotch " wifie ").
[2] This shows that the variant making the hare
the hero is the true version.
[3] A very favourite ending to a story, but showing
the attention to certain details.
XIX.
[i] The native carries hoes, axes, &c., thus, nothing
is carried in the hand but a weapon in ordinary
circumstances.
[2] The slave did not hear this, of course.
[3] The best.
[4] Not rifle-men, the guns being long muzzle-
loading weapons of modern make, from Birmingham,
HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
which are usually known as " Dane-guns." See figs.
ioo and 101.
[5] Unnecessarily elaborate means, see Chapter II.
[6] The native beer (usually called pito by us,
Hausa name gia) is very heady if drunk while out in
the sun. It is often called " water " in fun (cf., our
" Adam's ale "), but probably here the slave was pre-
tending to think that both gourds really did contain
water.
[7] Mr. Hartland sends me the following note :—
The principal incident of this tale is to be distin-
guished from that of The Letter of Death, whether it
accomplishes its object as in the case of Uriah the
Hittite, or is superseded by a forged letter as in the
case of Hamlet the Dane. The incident above is found
in many European tales, having an edifying purpose,
in which the hero escapes from having turned aside to
attend a religious service (see De Puymaigre, Vicux
Auteurs Castillans, ii, 84; Schischmanoff, Legendes
Relig. Bulgares, 97 ; Be*renger-Fe*raud, Superstitions et
Survivances, ii, 264, apparently from the Roman
Martyrology; the Fables of Cattwg the Wise in lolo
MSS., 1 66 sqq.). Among the Siamese, potters are said
to be excluded from bearing witness in a Court of Jus-
tice on account of a similar story (Journ. of the Indian
Archipelago, i, 407). In the Hausa tale, the macfic
contest which follows seems to have no real connection
with the former. It is a common incident in folk-tales,
of which the best-known example is found in the story
of the Second Calendar in the Arabian Nights.
XX.
[i] The meaning is that the wild-cat intended to
accompany the cock and kill the other fowls (and so
NOTES ON THE TALES 469
cause two deaths), but when he heard that the cock was
living with the dog, he knew that he himself would
be killed if he attempted it — that would be the third
death.
[2] According to Major Edgar, the cock (in the
variant) missed entirely the sarcasm of the wild-cat's
remark, and, being without any sense of humour, took
it quite literally to mean that the cat was coming with
him to the funeral, and so would have the pleasure of
meeting his friend, the dog.
XXI.
[i] I do not think that this has any reference to the
preparation of a charm, it is simply to save the wild-cat
the trouble of flavouring his victim. An infusion of
the root of the bazere is often drunk as a charm.
XXII.
[i] The house is a compound containing a number
of huts, each wife would have a separate one. This is
a deadly insult, signifying that the occupier is worth-
less.
[2] But the rooster still remained the principal
person (cf. the relationship of a Governor and the
G.O.C. troops in a colony) because the original quarrel
was on his account.
[3] See description in XLV [4].
[4] In this case the word goro (kola-nut) is used, it
is much the same as alkaivali in this sense. See
Chapter II.
XXIII.
[i] A male guest would not be expected to do the
ordinary work of the house, for the Hausas are very
470 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
hospitable, but the women might help in the preparation
of food.
[2] This is generally done where there are two
performers. The conjurer at Jemaan Daroro (T.H.H.,
page 207) would sing a line (impromptu), and the
youth would reply " It is true, God knows it," or
something to that effect. Where the performer is
only one of a number the whole company may take up
the chorus.
[3] The kid was sharp enough to see its mother's
plan, and acted accordingly.
[4] As it was intended that she should.
[5] Possibly the variant explains why the hyagna
lives in the forest, while these two animals are domes-
ticated.
XXIV.
[i] Probably a gourd from which spoons are made.
SeeLVI[i].
[2] But this is really affectation on the Spider's
part, for most of the people use the four fingers of the
right hand, the fingers being held stiff. They remind
one of European babies eating bread and butter.
[3] Evidently a kind of alkawali.
[4] Perhaps the following story accounts for the
guinea-fowl's stupidity. It is said (M.H. 40) that
when things were first made to fly " all the birds said
' If God wills, we shall rise.' But the guinea-fowl said
* Whether God wills or not I will fly/ and she rose in
the air, but fell down. Then God said to her ' I
retract my blessing from you, O guinea-fowl, you will
travel on your legs.* " The bird can fly, of course,
but most often it seeks safety by running if there is
cover available.
NOTES ON THE TALES 471
[5] And that he was to be pursued for having killed
one of their number. Drums are always used to give
the alarm. The francolin is called "bush-fowl" in
British West Africa.
[6] In this story the Spider seems to have no hesi-
tation in eating in the house of his Parents-in-Law, in
the variant he does not go there. In a Kagoro tale
(R.A.I. Journal, 1912, vol. xlii, page 190) probably bor-
rowed from the Hausa, the Hare seems to object to
eating even in the town of his Parents-in-Law.
XXV.
[i] The lot is drawn by holding out pieces of grass
of unequal lengths as with us. In a variant (M.H. 77)
where the hare is the hero, cowrie shells are used as
dice for the purpose — they are loaded sometimes.
XXVI.
[i] A large tree with many branches, bearing a
sweet edible fruit.
[2] Although the monkey was still in the tree,
apparently ! But a little difficulty like this is not worth
the consideration of the narrator.
[3] An aperient is made from the fruit of the
Kimba, so the monkey's speech was hardly polite !
[4] He is the Malamin daji, see Chapter II.
[5] This would seem to indicate that in the ancient
native trials (as in ours to-day) the prisoner appeared to
be free so that no prejudice would be raised against him.
But such, I believe, was not the case.
XXVII.
[i] See XXXI [i].
[2] Potash is often smoked with tobacco, and
472 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
ground-nut oil, cow-butter, or shea-butter may be
added in order to produce more smoke. After all, soda
was once drunk with tea !
[3] The youths go out with the cattle, the girls
sell the milk, the women stay at home in the camp and
look after the calves, and the older men visit their
neighbours, or help to guard the cattle if required.
[4] Not much sense of proportion in this.
[5] He is nearly always the chief of the market also.
XXVIII.
[i] The correct reply, the intonation making it a
sound of pleasure, and not merely a rude grunt.
[2] A woman always kneels when handing food to a
man.
[3] This can be used like whitewash, and the cala-
bashes are coated outside, a decoration particularly
appropriate at wedding feasts I believe. Here a mark
of favour. The white powder is sometimes obtained
from the bones of cattle, burnt and ground. Several
of the calabashes in the illustration, page 368, are
whitewashed in part.
[4] Little round grass mats which act as covers
or lids, see fig. 69.
[5] The farms are the only clearings in many parts
where the population is not too plentiful.
[6] He was so hungry that he would have been
unable to resist eating the whole, for he thought it con-
tained food.
[7] So that she could take her own away again.
[8] A proverb, meaning that whatever you do for
a man who is fated to be unlucky he will not profit by
it. See an expansion of the proverb in the next story.
NOTES ON THE TALES 473
XXIX.
[i] The Hausa trader is known all over North-
West Africa, both as a traveller and a bargainer.
[2] He got more because of his profit.
[3] The most valuable.
[4] Long soft boots, see fig. 24. The sides fall to-
gether when off the legs, as do the breasts of old
FIG. 105.— Wooden club, bound with leather, in general use. L., 32^ in.
FIG. 106. — Sword in general use. Sling of purple and green cotton.
L., 37iin.
women. Sometimes they are compared to razor-strops.
It is needless to say that the Hausa women's breasts are
very long.
[5] It does not mean that the old woman was
obtained in direct exchange for the three cloths, for
this would have been an excellent result. It means
that at the end of his trip (see Story 27) she was all he
had to show.
[6] Ga jura, ga jura, a very common cry in the
markets during the heat of the day. See XXXI [i],
[7] The man walks behind his wife to be ready to
474 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
help her with her load, and also to guard against her
being surprised and robbed.
[8] A hundred slaves would probably be less valu-
able than 1,000 horses, so the progression is not clear.
Rather a high price for one old woman.
[9] Mafari usually means " origin," but here seems
to bear the meaning ascribed, though perhaps germ or
nucleus would do.
[10] The fact that they could not have overtaken
him when his horse was the faster and he had had a
start does not occur to the narrator.
[n] I do not think that there is any idea of a City
of Refuge in this, it is probably merely because to have
gone further would have meant fighting.
[12] The elder brother is nearly always indebted to
the younger in the stories, and is benefited even though
he does not deserve it.
[13] This points to the conclusion that kindness to
animals precedes a good turn done by them.
[14] The native dogs are scavengers, and wander
about at night.
[15] They build nests in the roof, have white
bellies, and are smaller than the ordinary variety.
They would always be in the house, and would see
what was going on.
[16] Why he should have been awakened the
narrator could not explain, for it was not necessary
since the ring had been secured. This has evidently
been introduced from a variant. See Story 62.
[17] Where anyone wanting it could obtain it him-
self for nothing ; but the lucky man would persuade
him to buy instead.
[18] Another example of the virtue of laziness, the
fourth wife " had never done anything but lie down."
NOTES ON THE TALES 475
XXX.
[i] In many towns strangers are the chief's special
care, and lodgings in special huts are set aside by him
for that purpose. See T.H.H., pages 245, 246.
[2] I could not obtain any explanation of this, the
reason is not apparent. It might possibly have been
meant as a compliment to the girl to persuade her to
talk (such " working-bees " are quite common, see
F.-L. 6), but it is more likely that she was to be put
to shame as in Story 3.
[3] A complimentary form of address. For an
equivalent in England compare the Roman Catholic
priests and superiors of convents.
[4) Accented to resemble the sounds of the pestles
in the wooden mortars. The women were evidently
three to a mortar, and each making one beat in turn,
as there are six sounds which represent two rounds of
beating. Sometimes two women pound together, more
often there is only one. Something like this can be
seen in England in the case of road repairers using
very heavy hammers. Cf. LXXXVI, 4. See fig. 41.
[5] The literal translation of the proverb runs :
" If a boy lives with a bad master he will invent tricks."
Here it means that the girl was not going to allow
any rivals, especially as the elder wives were her
superiors.
[6] At one time dogs were eaten by the pagan
Hausas, and this story seems to be connected with the
dying out of the practice under Islam.
XXXI.
[i] Flour and water, known as jura, is the regular
uncooked meal. Travellers take dry flour in bags and
476 ll.WSA SUPERSTITId
mix it with water en route, and evidently enjoy the paste
thus formed, though it looks very uninviting to a
European. A little sour milk makes the drink a very
dainty beverage. See Story XXYII [i]. It is sold in
the markets, XXIX [6].
[2] Tulu is a large and long earthen vessel kept in
the hut, the ordinary pots taken to the stream are much
smaller and more round. The latter are also used for
cooking.
[3] There does not seem to be much point in this
story, greed is rather rewarded than punished, for few
people would mind being driven out of a town if they
thereby obtained four slaves.
XXXII.
[i] Xot bullock, there is no such mutilation amongst
these people so far as animals are concerned.
[2] Not matches, of course — for these area European
introduction, and not known even yet in some districts —
but a burning ember, or a fire-stick. A flint and steel
(see figs. 71 and 72) are used in many districts.
[3] Generally recognized, I believe, as the perquisite
of the person acting as butcher, if he be part-owner,
in return for his trouble. At any rate the skin always
went to such a one when goats were killed by one of
my caravan.
[4] It can hardly be imagined that the Hausas con-
sider it right to allow flies, &c., to share in the feast,
and yet judging by the crawling masses of stinking
meat in the markets one might be led to think so, but the
story evidently is intended to emphasize hospitality.
XXXIII.
[i] See note (2) on fire in preceding story.
[2] The Hausas talk of the fire " being killed," and
NOTES ON THE TALES 477
of its " dying." There is, at any rate now, no ob-
jection to its going out except that of the trouble ot
lighting it again. See T.H.H., page 193.
[3] Always removable in the case of small round
mud huts, they are made separately. See T.H.H.,
page 140, and the illustrations in this book, page 80.
[4] Should be about 4.30 a.m.
[5] The real words used on such occasions are not
fit for translation, but they reflect on the parents of the
person abused, and so sting more than if applicable
only to the person himself. Unless the Hausas in-
dulged in ancestor-worship, the reason is hard to
imagine, considering the loose morality of the people.
Perhaps it is a case of "The greater the truth the
greater the libel " — or slander rather.
[6] It used to be a good thing to be a chief's son.
Can we wonder that our rule is unpopular with the old
nobility ?
[7] Usually such a thing does not bother the narra-
tor, and in this case it may have been merely that the
Spider was too lazy to carry the Elephant, not that he
could not do so. One can usually carry more than one
can eat at one meal.
XXXIV.
[i] A mark of greater respect, mats being cheaper
in Jemaan Daroro (where this story was told), and not
so soft as skins. A distinguished visitor might have
several mats and a skin on top as well. Another
reason is given by the Spider.
XXXV.
[i] A very handy doctrine for servants and others.
478 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
XXXVI.
[i] The shea-butter tree. The oil obtained from its
seeds is an important article of diet in Africa, but in
Europe it is more useful as an ingredient in candles
and soap.
[2] There being no conveniences in the native
houses (except in a few cases for the chiefs) all must
go out of their huts as soon as they awake. Therefore
dawn is usually synonymous with " The town is astir,"
and this is another name for it.
XXXVII.
[i] The animal evidently belonged to the one who
had killed it, and not necessarily to the one who had
caught it, as is usual in the district (see T.H.H., page
291), though sometimes there might be an agreement
to pool the bag.
[2] Thinking, like Ananias, to make the Some-
thing believe that that was all she had. Kura (hyaena)
is feminine, Zomo (hare) masculine.
XXXVIII.
[i] These insects build little hills, which are dif-
ferent to those of the ordinary white-ant, for they
are much smaller, and not black but red. If they are
knocked over, husks of corn can often be seen in the
little tunnels which run from the hill into the ground.
See story F.-L. 45.
[2] Absolutely the height of bliss to the native
mind, of course. Lizards are always plentiful in the
houses.
[3] What is the moral in this ? That the husband
should do nothing and the wife everything? It would
seem so.
NOTES ON THE TALES 479
XXXIX.
[i] This evidently refers to the facts that the
frog is seldom seen in the heat of the sun, and appa-
rently does nothing towards keeping himself, while
the fowl is always busy with something.
XL.
[i] It is perhaps worth noting — though I do not
say that this story suggests anything of the kind — that
a cure for snake-bite is inoculation with the poison
obtained from another snake, and, according to Canon
Robinson, this treatment is practised not only in
Hausaland, but all along the coast. He says that there
are 343 different kinds of snakes in Hausaland. The
Hausas rub onions on their feet to keep snakes away,
and drink an onion broth if bitten. Onions are used
also against ticks and tsetse-flies.
XLI.
[i] The corn is planted in April, after the rainy
season has commenced. The ground is first cleared of
weeds, &c., and then long more or less parallel hollows
are made with hoes, the earth from these forming
ridges. Probably millet is sown in the furrows, and it
will ripen in three or four months' time, but the guinea-
corn (planted in the ridges) will not be ripe until after
the commencement of the dry season (November). The
latter sometimes reaches a height of nearly twenty feet !
[2] Not at all an uncommon proceeding, and quite
the reverse of our saying to turn our swords into
ploughshares. But if peace and not war is desired,
the hoes are often given as part of the tribute, wedding
gifts, &c., and in this latter case there may be some
notion of symbolism as well as of utility.
480 HAUSA SUPERST1TIO
[3] The animal workmen can delay quite as well as
their human mates.
[4] This is why he has no house now and must
live in a web, I was informed afterwards, but as it was
not the narrator who told me this, but a servant, I
have not inserted it in the story.
XLII.
[i] Moses.
[2] The literal translation is " she was feeling
shame of him," and it may mean that avoidance was
necessary and (also the non-mentioning of the name)
because she regarded Musa as her " spiritual hus-
band."
XLIII.
[i] Soft new sprouts of the diniya tree (which has a
fruit resembling a plum) are squeezed and put into
water with certain seeds; the whole is then dried, fried,
and pounded up with salt, and this is Denkin Deridi.
A very good liqueur can be made with the fruit, re-
sembling sloe-gin in taste.
[2] Robinson's " Hausa Dictionary " gives " sweet
potato " for gwaza, but it is a very bitter root, the
leaves being something like those of the water-lily in
shape, but standing up straight perhaps 3 ft. from the
ground. See LXXIV. It is an article of diet much
despised by the Hausas, and used by them only in the
case of the scarcity of other foods.
[3] A plant with evil-smelling fruit which is dried
and pounded up before being cooked.
[4] Windows are unknown in the ordinary round
huts, so the text simply says " there was no door," but
that would not be sufficient for a translation.
NOTES ON THE TALES 481
[5] Sometimes the women squat in the water and
get others to rub their backs with some native substitute
for soap. Possibly the old woman was a witch, for
such beings like to be rubbed. See Story 93.
[6] See note on nicknames in Chapter VII, i, and
[12] below.
[7] The Hausa is Dan Yaro, the literal translation
of which may be little boy, or son of a boy, but
either would sound contemptuous in English though
not so in Hausa.
[8] When fried in butter with plenty of pepper and
salt, these roots remind one of stale and rather tasteless
asparagus, but they are a welcome change.
[9] The Hausa method of cooking it is this, accord-
ing to the narrator. A pot of water is placed on the
three stones, and above this (forming a lid) is a cala-
bash full of bread-fruit, the steam entering through a
small hole in the bottom of the calabash.
[10] She, naturally, would not call it by the name
that the others had used.
[11] SeeLIX[i3].
[12] Does this mean that dadawam basso is the
best of all dishes ? It is possible, for judging by what
they eat, one would think that the more evil the smell
the greater the delicacy of the food !
XL1V.
[i] Agaddez is the southern capital of Air or Asben.
There is a curious legend regarding the origin of these
people which may account for the magic powers of the
hero of this story. It is said that a certain demon or
jinn stole King (Prophet) Solomon's ring, and by its
means managed to get into the women's apartments.
Solomon had a thousand wives, and the demon man-
4-S2 II A i SA SI PERST1TIONS
aged to make one hundred of them conceive before he
But the King heard < .f it, and dro .
women out of his palace into the wilderness, and there
they brought forth their children, the Asbenawa.
[2] Buy is the literal translation, but probably the
cowries were a phallic emblem, and sending them con-
veyed an invitation ; it would certainly seem to be so
from what follov rhaps this was a preliminary to
marriage, the girls of certain Arab tribes were required
• tain a dowry by prostitution before being wedded,
and there may have been something similar in the
of the Hausas.
[3] I could hear of no reason why he or she should
been beaten, perhaps the explanation is to be
found in [i]. Possibly, however, the father beat his
daughter simply in revenge, for the youth was evi-
dently the son of the King of the city, and did not
belong to Asben. It has been suggested that the
beating here and in Story 42 was intended to act as an
a ph rod is
[4] Pairs of trousers are a form of currency, as are
the other articles.
[5"] \Ve our;ht not to be very much surprised at
this, for "the art of medicine," says I,ord Redesdale
in Tales of Old Japan (page 219), "would appear to
be at the present time in China much in the state in
which it existed in Europe in the sixteenth century,
when the excretions and secretions of all manner of
animals, saurians, and venomous snakes and insects,
and even live bugs, were administered to patients.
'Some patients,' says Matthiolus [in 1574], 'use the
ashes of scorpions, burnt alive, for retention caused by
either renal or vesical calculi. But I have myself
thoroughly experienced the utility of an oil I make
NOTES ON THE TALES
483
myself, whereof scorpions form a very large portion of
the ingredients. If only the region of the heart and
all the pulses of the body be anointed with it, it will
free the patients from the effects of all kinds of poisons
taken by the mouth, corrosive ones excepted.' Decoc-
tions of Egyptian mummies were much commended,
and often prescribed with due academical solemnity;
FIG. 107.
FIG. 108.
FIG. 109.
FIG. no.
FIGS. 107-109.— Bone Hairpins. Design in red and black. L., about
6^ in. FIG. I io.— Brass Hairpin. Engraved design. L.,7f|m.
and the bones of the human skull pulverized and
administered with oil, were used as a specific in cases
of renal calculus. "
[6] All Malams and students beg, and usually to
some purpose. They are hard to get rid of, and their
voices are loud and harsh, so they are particularly
unpleasant visitors to an invalid.
484 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
XLV.
[i] The same contempt for the " suburban person "
is felt by the city dweller in Hausaland as elsewhere.
Compare the well-known proverb ' Shi ke nan birni,'
en ji Bakauyi. " This is the city, so says the villager."
A kauyi may consist of only one compound, or of
several.
[2] The tsaiwa is a blind of coloured string, hung
in a doorway, like our " Japanese blinds " of reeds and
beads. It is usually made of a grass called rumewa,
so this was a very special one. Another kind of blind
made of reeds or canes tied loosely together, one above
the other, is called munafiki (treachery) because those
inside the hut can see what is going on outside (e.g.,
watch the master of the house) while they themselves
are hidden.
[3] The doorways of the inner huts are often too
low to allow an adult to pass in with a bowl of water
on her head, for she would have to keep erect, and
this is evidently the case here.
[4] This may be an exaggerated description of the
size of the nuts, or the narrator may be comparing them
to a certain shrub of that name.
[5] Were they all bewitched? Potash is smoked
with tobacco in many parts, but not by itself.
[6] The house (gidda) consists of several huts
(da(i)ki) surrounded by one or more mud walls
(bango)y hedges (shinge), or fences (dampammi),
arranged in circles, and having only one outlet for
each, the exit being a hut or enclosure-hall (zaure) with
two doors opposite one another. The outside hut is
generally used for horses, or for strangers, but there
might be slaves there also, and if the horses were valu-
NOTES ON THE TALES 485
able they would probably not be in the outside zaure,
but in an inner one. The dogs usually sleep in their
respective owners' huts, or wander about the town
making night hideous. For an account of Hausa
house-building see T.H.H., pages 138 to 143.
[7] Here the story-teller got mixed, for he altered
the arrangement, but I have left it as he told it me.
It helps to illustrate the difficulty one experiences in
obtaining the correct rendering of a tale.
[8] See page 104.
XLVI.
[i] This probably means that a woman who marries
out of her tribe may bring ruin on her own people (like
the native mistress of Cortez in Mexico).
XLVII.
[i] It is possible that the variant shows Moham-
medan influence.
XLVIII.
[i] These pits are valuable and are usually if not
always in the centre of the town (in Jemaan Daroro in
the market) so that they can be guarded. The smell
is sometimes offensive. The owners of the dye-pits pay
a special tax, the Kurdin Korofi. The chief dye is
obtained from the baba, or indigo tree, by the fer-
mentation of its leaves in water.
[2] No slight reward in a country where wives are
practically property, and must be paid for in the
ordinary way.
[3] A variant makes the task the opening of the
basket instead of knocking it over as above, and the
narrator has evidently mixed up the two. So as to keep
HAVSA SUPERSTITIONS
the continuity, and yet not disturb the story, I have
introduced the words " knock it over and." This shows
one of the difficulties of story-collecting.
XLIX.
[i] Worn only by men, women have a short
petticoat instead. Both are tied by a string, part of
which may hang down behind, and is called the
icutsia (tail).
[2] Thought more of than a daughter. Charms for
child-birth are in great request. In India, says Mr.
Crooke, Mohammedan women who long for children
often wear their husband's "trousers as a magical means
of getting them.
[3] The natives have a good idea of rhythm, and
drums are generally used to spur them on and make
them keep time. Very often the foreman will sine: a
few words, and the others will repeat it as a chorus.
[4] Being tied very tightly between the legs, it
would be much more uncomfortable than the garment
which she was accustomed to wear.
[5] This must be an original Hausa story, for it is
not thought fitting to make a wife hoe. " Farm-work
is not becoming for a wife, you know ; she is free, you
may not put her to hoe grass " (Specimens of Hausa
Literature, page 6). Still, the rule is honoured as
often in the breach as in the performance, as also are
the directions which follow.
L.
[i] See remarks on chronological order in Chap-
ter II.
[2] These beds are made of mud, and have fire-
NOTES ON THE TALES 487
places, tsaria, underneath to keep the sleeper warm in
the Harmattan season, and it was in one of these
that she hid.
[3] This does not mean that the chief wife must
share her possessions with her rival, for she, at any
rate, keeps all that has been given to her, but that the
rival was already rich, and so had no need for more.
The chief wife had been the poor one.
[4] Hyaenas will seize sleeping adults, though
usually afraid of them when awake. They have been
known to enter grass huts at night and carry off infants.
LI.
[i] Probably made from a guinea-corn stalk, very
common in harvest time. Vide T.H.H., page 250.
[2] A wife must not mention her husband's name
even to a co-wife.
LII.
[i] There are no elaborate ceremonies with a widow
as with a maid.
[2] This is wrong, as each wife is entitled to her
turn.
[3] " Had I known " means remorse.
LID.
[i] The form of address is Ya Kura, Kure bangaya.
The last word may come from banga, "a procession,"
or bangara, a drum, but " dancer " is probably correct.
LIV.
[i] Higher than King. Solomon is said to have
known the bird-language. Vide Koran, xxvii, 40.
//.-if SA SI PERST1T1ONS
[2] The women always beat the floor, either
stamping it down with their feet, or hammering it with
smooth pieces of wood. There are certain songs sung
during the performance to ensure that the women
time, and to cheer them on to more exertion.
[3] To shield him from the sun, apparently.
[4] Meaning " I am impatient for the morr*
[5] Usually the point of the story would come in a
third question and answer since three subjects are
mentioned. The second is missing here, for the nar-
rator had forgotten it, but Mr. Evatt sends me the
following : The Kini: of the Birds asked Solomon
which men preferred, (a) riches, (b) children, or (c) a
wise and contented disposition — and the form of the
tale which he heard is evidently somewhat different to
mine, for to fit into Story 44 it would be the bird's
answer which is related. Solomon said " Once upon
a time three men were asked which they would rather
have, and the first man said ' I will have riches,* and
they were given unto him. And the second man said
* I will have children,* and they were given unto him.
And the third man said ' I will have a wise and con-
tented mind,* and it was given unto him.
" Now the men who had been given riches and
children found a house, and lived together, but the
contented man went far away, and lived alone. And
one day, the child of the man who desired children
entered into the rich man's store and scattered his
money about, so that much of it was lost. And the
rich man came home, and found his money gone, and
he beat the child, who ran away.
"Then the rich man went to the man who had
children, and said to him ' Your child has scattered
my money, you have your children [which are, in a
NOTES ON THE TALES 489
sense, property] but I have no children, my possessions
are my children.' And the man who had children
replied * Go and live far away so that you cannot beat
my children, who, being children, will be continually
scattering your money.' And the contented man con-
tinued to live far away, owning nothing.
" Now the story of these three men was told to
Mohammed, the Messenger of God [who, in that case
would have lived before Solomon's time], and
Mohammed said ' I would fain see this man who wishes
for nothing but a wise and contented mind,' and he
was brought to him. And Mohammed asked ' Do
you want nought but contentment ? ' and he replied
* Nothing.' Then Mohammed said * You surpass those
men who wanted riches and children, and I will make
you a present. I will give you riches, and children,
and slaves, and kingship in addition to the wise and
contented mind which you have already received.'
" And it was done."
[6] It must have been somewhat infra dig. for the
once-wise Solomon to have been lectured by a bird !
The idea of the great king living in a mud hut and
being concerned about the colour of the floor of that
of his wife is rather amusing. But it is also instructive
as an instance of people being unable to imagine any
condition better than a glorified edition of their own.
LV.
[i] Men may wear a lock of hair (a scalp lock) but
usually they are close shaved. In some cases, the lock
shows that the wearer is a hunter.
[2] One of the high ranks, generally held by a
prince. Possibly duke would be an equivalent, but the
title is not hereditary.
490 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
[3] A mode of execution. See T.H.H., page 66.
[4] He and the tree were evidently connected
together, for he could not move from the spot.
[5] The Cow-Filani live in grass shelters in the
bush with their cattle. They do not build proper huts,
their shelters resemble the mia-mias of the Australian
aborigines, or the bell-tents of our army. A temporary
camp is called ruga.
[6] Which was in a calabash on her head, of course.
[7] The Hausa says only " Um hum," but th<-
intonation is everything.
LVI.
[i] White people with very long hair.
[2] The Hausa says "at the back," of course.
[3] The du(m)ma is a creeping and climbing plant
which bears a fruit (gora) which can be cut and used
as calabashes. A smaller sized gourd is used as a
water-bottle (fig. 49). If a long neck be present it is cut
in two lengthwise, thus making a pair of spoons, or
ladles (fig. 63). If not cut in two, this gourd has a hole
pierced at each end, and is then used as an enema, the
operator blowing down the hole in the large end, the
patient lying on his stomach.
[4] As being more holy and fertile; evidently a
Mohammedan touch.
[5] This is larger than a tsaria, a space under
the earthen beds. See L [2].
[6] A mark of respect as with us. See T.H.H.,
page 51.
[7] Only very high ladies in Hausaland have such
an honour, in most cases the husband rides while the
wife carries his baggage on her head.
[8] Otherwise he would have thought that it was a
NOTES ON THE TALES 491
hostile army coming to destroy the city, and so he
would have fled, for strangers who come in force are
prima facie hostile.
[9] Seems quite superfluous in this story as nothing
happens. Possibly a part is missing, though I think
not, as there is the usual ending here, except that the
father ought to have ordered the bad daughter to stay
in the bush.
[10] Lest I win him from you — a tabu.
[u] He did not like such behaviour in a stranger.
LVII.
[i] The opening is at the top, see note on house.
[2] See remarks on marriage in Chapter V.
LVIII.
[i] Very small yellow or red tomatoes, not much
bigger than large grapes.
[2] See LXXXIX, i.
[3] Only the under petticoat is tied on, nothing is
pinned or buttoned, the cloths are simply wound on
and folded over, and there they stop. A woman
carries the baby on her back simply by folding her
body-cloth around it and herself !
[4] Possibly totemism is indicated here, vide
Chapter VI.
LIX.
[i] A survival of matrilineal descent, the parents
of the wives formerly taking the children. The same
thing happens in the case of some of the Beja tribes, so
Dr. Seligmann tells me.
[2] This was often the case with natives taken when
children from their towns by slave-raiders.
492 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
[3] The word in the Hausa is not " head," but
another part of the anatomy. Considering the con-
text, it is just possible that there is some phallic
significance, but this is so very doubtful that I think
no harm will be done by the translation given here.
[4] See remarks on charms in Chapter VII.
[5] The midwives; there is no male accoucheur, I
believe.
[6] Often, if not always, done outside in a sheltered
spot, the newly-made mother being helped usually by
other women. I heard one being washed, and the
operation was evidently a painful one. It is possible
that the after-birth is then brought away, but I do not
know for certain, I did not see what was happening,
and I am told that the washing is not done until after-
wards.
[7] See XVIII, i.
[8] Maria Theresa dollars are greatly prized, espe-
cially in Bornu, and it is not uncommon to see them
elsewhere used as ornaments. Value from is. 6d. to
35. See N.W.S., page 29.
[9] Evidently the stream near which the town was
built, they would naturally wish to look their best on
their return.
[10] It is needless to say that this is where they are
carried except when newly-born — then in a calabash
on the head if the woman be travelling.
[n] Probably to hunt, or to take part in other
manly exercises. Possibly he used to farm, as the
" farming age " is as much a recognized stage in de-
velopment as is the " house age,*' or fitness for mar-
riage.
[12] Each had a separate hut, of course, for herself
and her children.
NOTES ON THE TALES 493
[13] A cooking-place is made of three stones. See
T.H.H., page 316.
[14] These last two sentences are rendered graphic-
ally in Hausa by six words only : He said " Agreed."
Severed. She remained.
LX.
[i] One of the things expected of well-born youths
is that they should ride, so this one naturally felt some
disgrace.
FIG. in. FIG. 112.
FIG. in. — Green glass bracelet, made from European bottle.
FIG. 112. — Wristlet of horsehair, with leather knobs. L. (open), io£ in.
[2] She bore all the expense which ought to have
been met by the real parent.
[3] This means that he was pretending that they
had come from the city.
[4] Sa(r)rikin Rafi is king of the stream, a spirit.
Sa(r)rikin Rua is king of the water, an official in charge
of the ford or ferry. Evidently the former is meant here,
because the canoes appear from nowhere, and in the
other version the girl throws a stone and divides the
waters.
494 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
[5] It is just possible that this story may have some
connection with the fact that it was a custom of the
Sudan for the conquering chief to demand a girl from
the royal family of the conquered tribe as a wife, a
gentle means of cementing the union of the peoples.
[6] The literal translation.
LXI.
[i] Every town is built near a stream or lake of
some kind. This is magic, of course.
[2] The ordinary beast or man trap is a hole, the
mouth of which is covered with sticks and grass, but
there may be sharp stakes or ropes inside it. For other
kinds, see T.H.H., pages 58, 124, and 292.
LXII.
[i] Meaning that a bridegroom rich enough to
satisfy the demands of the parents would be able to keep
her in much greater luxury than he, the youth, could
afford.
[2] A sheath-knife like a dagger, hung usually by
a sling, but often furnished with a leather armlet, to
enable it to be worn on the arm. See figs. 102-104.
[3] Even the Hausas know how to " forge " real
evidence, for the bloody knife would have told against
the youth himself of course. Or it may have been that
the owner of the knife would be held responsible in
any case, for in other parts, I am told, if a native
injures himself with a borrowed weapon, the real
owner is held liable.
[4] A small gourd with a neck, and in shape like a
carafe, slung over the shoulder by a string (fig. 49).
[5] The only mode of progression. If the legs are
NOTES ON THE TALES 495
not sore and the irons not too heavy, the prisoner can
travel at a fair rate.
[6] Hung up at hand in every house in unsettled
districts, in fact in most houses all over Nigeria.
LXIII.
[i] No previous mention of any difference, but in
these Hausa tales one mother is usually rich, the other
poor and so jealous. This is a curious way of saying
" the richer wife died." It is not explained either, how
the mothers became able to distinguish their sons, but
such details are often omitted.
[2] The real mother would have had a share in the
property which the father left to the son, but evidently
she had had private property of her own also, else both
wives would have been equally well off. Probably in
the case of the death of the orphaned son, his property
would have passed to his half-brother — in which case
the women would have taken a share as mother of the
successor — or else the step-mother would have been en-
titled as such to a share.
[3] I do not think that the tree had any magical
part in the performance, it seems that the boy was told
to climb simply -because he would then be in the most
suitable position for the operation.
[4] The town would be called Giddan Mutum Biyu
(House of Two Men) at first, in all probability. See
remarks on " Development " in Chapter V.
LXIV.
[i] The order of precedence of the officials varies
in different towns. See Robinson's Dictionary. Heiress,
mentioned later, is only a title.
496 IIAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
[2] Evidently to protect him, the male usually walks
behind.
[3] The Hausa expression is " he reached house,"
i.f., marriageable age, probably about 16 years.
[4] Marriage is, of course, but a modified form of
purchase. See remarks in Chapter III.
[5] Means something like Young Master. Possibly
she was not allowed to mention his name, for he had
become her eldest son by adoption.
[6] By adoption, but anyone who supplies food may
be called by this name.
[7] The Fita furra, see Chapter V. It may be
noted that the erection of the gausami (page 77) re-
sembles to some extent the pole-rite of some of the
wild tribes of India (Hopkins, The Religions of India,
pages 378 and 534). Hopkins believes that the phallic
practices of the Hindus were borrowed from the Greeks
(op. cit., 471), and if so, could not the Hausas have
obtained theirs from the same source via Egypt?
[8] In -which they were soaked. The walls would
appear as if kola-nut chewings had been spat upon
them.
[9] He must have felt in sore straits to have done
this, for the opposite is usually the case. He was even
more humble to the next.
[10] He married five girls, but he had only four
wives at the end, apparently, so this may be a pagan
tale influenced by Islam.
[n] Evidently an act of magic, the pagans beinp
thrown down as was the perspiration.
[12] The Sa(r)rikin Agaddez seems to have retired
or died (as kings conveniently do in tales), and to have
made room for the boy and his bride to inherit the land,
for the narrator told me that the fight took place at
XXXIX. AND XL. — WRESTLING, OR KUKUA.
The wrestler gets his head as low as possible, and spars or a chance to catch hold of the
other's body, often pulling his opponent's arm as a feint or to upset his balance.
NOTES ON THE TALES 497
Agaddez. It is possible, however, that the youth had
returned to his own (the leper's) town with his bride;
certainly the other wives had gone there.
[13] This accounts for the white breast.
[14] "O Son! O Son! O Son ! "
LXV.
[i] Sometimes magic rites cannot be performed by
females.
LXVI.
[i] I do not know if this is intentional; the narrator
said it was as he had heard it, so Europeans are not the
only ones who confuse these animals.
[2] Jagindi, a town twelve miles west of Jemaan-
Daroro. The name means " Red Behind," probably a
nickname of the founder.
[3] Keffi is the chief town of the Nassarawa pro-
vince, about 70 miles north of the Benue, and 50 miles
south-west of Jemaan Daroro. Keffi (or more correctly
Kaffi) means " stockade."
[4] Literally " War is taking me away," and this
usually means enslaving, but here the obvious meaning
is as given.
[5] Towards the end of the Filani rule, the chiefs
became so corrupt and avaricious that they would sell
even their own people into slavery, and risk the lives
of any number for the sake of a small personal gain.
It would be too dangerous to say that this story was
intended as a skit upon this state of things, though it
certainly does for one.
LXVII.
[i] Or Absen, or Asben, it is all the same to the
Hausa. See XLIV, i.
32
4<>H HA I SA .S I TERST1TIOSS
[2] < >nr of thr native tortures is to till the victim's
mouth and othrr parts \\jth honey, \< ., and lay a trail
to an ani-hr.-ip. This. hour\<-r. *ouM n«»t appear to be
thr ras<- hrrr (nor ha\r I h««ard of th<* Hausas using
thi^ parti* ,jlar !"rm of < rurltvi. for ants naturally crawl
upon an\;!i:n^ « -n :hr ground.
<s-'-<- r«-n !«-p!ion 1:1 (')iaptrr V, and on
sa< r ;ti« «• ;n ( '!.a;>'« r \ 1 .
[4 h .« \ » nijr.t n« •• .
I X\ III.
i I h« < . >n\ • -rs.it:. -n .-..is r-\n!rnti\ in private, the
thriT wf* ;n tn ha\»- ^-i»n«' a'A.iy f:»;n thr f«vist. In fact
all th;s is v'a'^i in a \.» riant (I.. I.I I. 2(t). As the
s«>n ki!'.«-d ! - f. i •!)«•:. :h«- i <;«•. •;>'«• ;',d th;nk that
thr latter had 1*-«-n nc. a:-.d * thr kind stranger's
I XIX
\- . an'.iar ra <>r /.;/«;>«;rf j is a
pikjr«'!i; 1 k: ».'.r:.i. hu? /\"»;F»J beri is a
man - ! Ifa-j^.i pa it.i^'f h'-'injn* up m an
.il:rn s:atr. - ;«!»-. i v. hat thr meaning
u.is. n»r h.ni an\«»nr cN«- \\h--:n 1 tjurs • ;• .n«'<!, thr only
thine 1 <an su^^i-s1 is that '!:»• U'-r<is have Ixvome
t hancril in lh«- ^«>nt; and that thr translation should be.
" Shr ol)ta:nrd ( 7\; t*'-l ht ;,:.<*., t« >u( hrdt a I la usa Son "
(Kiimbcr:), !r,i: I ha\<- om:ttrd *h;s par;.
fj] C'hildh'ss. If a \\oman has « . hildrrn she is said
to dir "in thr oprn." Thr rxprrsNjon "to sleep in
the a^hr> " app!jr> to a \\oman \\h»». having had a child
or (hildrrn. >o iiltrrats thrm as to make them leave her
\\hen old enouph. The neighbours' children mock
NOTES ON THE TALES 499
her, and after death she is taken far into the bush, and
buried in a grave so shallow that the hyaenas can find
her.
LXX.
[i] The insect, not the shell-fish.
With regard to this story and the next one, Mr.
Hartland remarks that the literal fulfilment of a wish is
a frequent subject of tale and superstition. Among
mdrchen of Supernatural Birth it is often the incident
on which the tale is founded, and the child that is born
is often enclosed in a husk or envelope. Thus in a
story from the Greek Archipelago a poor woman wishes
for a Son, even though he were a Donkey ; and a Son
is born in the form of a Donkey. He afterwards casts
his skin and remains human (W. R. Paton, Folk-Lore
xii, 320). In a Gipsy tale from Southern Hungary a
childless Woman wishes for offspring, even though it
were only a Hazel-nut. She gives birth to a Hazel-nut
and a Worm, and throws them away. The nut takes
root and grows into a bush, from which a Maiden
appears, and is caught and wedded by a King (von
Volislocki, Volkssichtungen der Siebenburge und
Sudungar-zigeuner, 343). The Husk, however, often
exists independently of the Wish incident. In a Chain
tale from Annam a Girl having drunk of a magical
spring gives birth to a Son round as a cocoa-nut and
covered with a cocoa-nut envelope (A. Landes, Conies
T james, 9). In another story from the Greek Islands
a poor Woman gives birth to a pumpkin, out of which
eventually a Boy comes (Paton, Folk-Lore x, 500).
[2] The son was still on her back, else she need
not have returned to him ; or, at any rate, she need not
have taken him on her back again. In a variant it is
500 HALS A SUPERSTITH*
explained that the mother and the magician arranged
all this without the boy understanding, by " making
words with their hands," vide Chapter IV.
[3] From a small tree, at the junction of several
branches, which when prepared has something of the
shape of an umbrella frame. It is then turned upside
down, and tie-tie is attached to it to suspend it. See
T.H.H., page 135.
LXXI.
[i] The literal translation is "gave her stomach."
There is apparently something miraculous in the con-
ception since the child was no ordinary one.
[2] The verb used here, shafa, usually applies more
to ceremonial washings, but it would hardly be safe
to say definitely that anything of the kind was meant
here, though it is quite probable.
[3] Evidently some mixture of animals here.
[4] By clearing the ground and levelling it, &c.
LXXI I.
[ij Chiwo. A ciimbing tree or shrub, very tough
at the fork, with soft fruit. A native rope is made from
it. There is a proverb " O Chiwo, you are hard at the
(nose) fork, you ripen, but do not fall," i.e., a stingy
man does not give readily. This is a kirari.
[2] The meat is placed in a little heap, on top of
the porridge.
LXXIII.
[i] Acha (Pennisetum typhoideum) is a very small
" dirty white " grain, and would be very hard to dis-
tinguish from earth. Probably the grain would float,
though, and thus be separated. It grows to a height
NOTES ON THE TALES 501
of about 1 8 inches, and gives two or three crops per
annum.
[2] Apparently the water was very low, and the girl,
standing up in the well, could reach the outstretched
arms of those above. There is often a rope and a bucket,
but evidently there was neither in this case until Dodo
had brought them. The bucket would be a calabash
or a skin unless the owner had bought a foreign article.
Sometimes a long pole is erected and weighted at the
FIG. 113. FIG- "4-
FIG. 113.— Bracelet of tin or silver. FIG. 114.— Ring of the same metal.
short end, while to the long arm is attached a bucket
for purposes of irrigation.
[3] Carrying water is, of course, " women's work,"
and no self-respecting male, whether man or Dodo,
would do it when there was a member of the weaker
sex available.
[4] So that Dodo could always know where his son
was. Bells are tied to horses and cattle as well as to
sheep. Vide fig. 98.
[5] The narrator did not know why she could not
have simply taken the bell off instead of having to stuff
502 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
it up. Perhaps it would have sounded of itself if so
treated — like the giant's harp in our tales.
[6] See remarks on Infanticide, in Chapter V.
Why should Dodo's gifts have been taken away only
to be destroyed? Their weight would make her less
able to run. It is possible that there is some idea of
sympathetic magic in this, and that he could have
exerted some influence over her by their means had she
left them behind.
LXXIV.
[i] And the mother apparently went away, and
left him.
[2] Means those whose utterances have weight.
This story is a play upon words, as ba(i)ki, " mouth,"
is used (as with us) in both senses, ku(n)ne means
" ear " or " leaf," and ido has many equivalents be-
sides that of "eye."
[3] The baby could hardly stop when the creditor
was carrying him. It evidently means that the baby
made him stop, and then got down.
[4] Probably directly through much reading, or
else indirectly by over study and insufficient nourish-
ment, and so means learned men.
[5] It has very large flat leaves like a water-lily.
See XLIII, 2.
LXXV.
[i] So that she should be scolded for bringing back
Jiriy water, or at any rate have to drink it herself since
the wives would be in different huts.
[2] It is almost impossible for a person to get a
heavy load up on to his head without assistance, even
though he may be able to carry it easily when once
NOTES ON THE TALES 503
there. One way is to get it up gradually into the fork
of a tree, and then to place oneself underneath, but a
pot of water could hardly be treated in this way. Some-
times when a trader makes a temporary halt he backs
himself against a tree, catching one end of the load in
a fork, and steadying the other end with a long staff.
See illustration, page 256. Often there are recognized
places where this is done.
[3] See remarks on marriage, in Chapter V.
LXXVI.
[i] Only Bulls are brought to a town. The cows
are kept in the rugas by the Cow-Filani. Even in the
districts where the natives do not milk the cows, they
keep them to bear calves, and so they do not come to
the meat-market.
[2] Mikia here, and in Story 62, I have translated
as eagle, as it is thus called in the dictionary. Canon
Robinson also gives it as "a species of buzzard with
white breast = Neophron percnopterus (?)." Another
writer gives meke (another form of the same word, pro-
bably) as " the black and white fishing vulture (Gypo-
hierax angolensis)."
[3] Where cattle are used to draw carts or for
riding, there would not be the same anxiety to sell
them, but such transport is restricted to certain dis-
tricts, and is not used (except by us) in the greater
part of Hausaland. Thus to keep them alive would
mean a loss of time and of money spent in their up-
keep.
LXXVI I.
[i] Becoming very common in Hausaland, and fit
and proper articles of the trousseau. Sometimes plates
are let into the mud walls as decorations.
504 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
[2] I have inserted the words to better resemble the
rhythm. The words are sung in Hausa, the syllables
being drawn out to the length required.
[3] The white-ants build up covered passages (above
the ground level) to protect themselves when travelling
to and fro or up trees. They are really termites, and
are a prey to all kinds of ants and of birds, hence the
necessity for this protection. One species (? a soldier)
can give a very painful sting.
[4] They are often to be seen sitting upon these
hills, but I have never seen a nest there. Possibly the
narrator was wrong in using the word " build " (ginni),
especially as he alters it to " alight " in the song.
LXXVIII.
[i] Repayment in kind is quite usual, of course.
LXXIX.
[i] Or chief wife, the first one. She has authority
over the others.
[2] One can imagine the disgust and anger of the
starving people at seeing a sheep fed with food which
they could ill spare, and which was too good for an
animal. But it is a frequent occurrence in Folk-lore.
[3] Horses are one form of currency, also their
saddles, &c.
[4] Slaves who run alongside the chief's horse,
grooms, and others.
[5] It seems that no one knew of the ewe's wonder-
ful powers except Auta, the weaver, and perhaps the
first wife. But it may have been that the second wife
knew of the ewe's warning, and for that reason had a
spite against her.
[6] It may seem strange that even a chief — as Auta
NOTES ON THE TALES 505
(still called " the Boy ") now was — could not get meat
whenever he liked, but out of the cattle districts even
Europeans to-day cannot obtain fresh meat from the
natives, they must depend on fowls, and perhaps fish
also in some places.
[7] Possibly these clothes took the place of the
white shroud used for a corpse — for Auta was going to
commit suicide. Or they may have been merely the
signs of mourning for the ewe.
[8] The literal translation is " without my know-
ledge," but, as in Story 76, sa(ri)ni means more than
this, it has something of the Biblical sense of permis-
sion— " And one of them [the sparrows] shall not fall
on the ground without your Father."
[9] A very mild punishment. It may be that Auta
remembered that he himself was the cause of his trouble,
but I doubt if many native chiefs would be willing to
make allowances on that account !
LXXX.
[i] A small earthenware jug taken by a man going
to the Mosque, which holds water to wash with, see
fig. 43. It is not clear why this has been substituted
for the stick and the boot; probably the person who
told the narrator the story was careless, and mixed up
a variant, so the mistake became crystallized.
[2] Many natives use ash (of guinea-corn or acha)
instead of salt when the latter is unobtainable.
[3] The same piece of iron ore may take many
shapes during its life-history (cf. Story 41).
[4] Made in long strips about 4 inches in width.
[5] The proper way to carry it.
[6] A woman usually gets water for a man, not
vice versa.
506 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
[7] And, apparently, there was then no need to
punish the wives who had been declared guilty of the
murder. Auta's property (the girl) had been damaged,
but the injury had been more than made good to him,
so he could not complain, and it was not likely that the
king was going to lose more wives than he could help.
See I, 2.
[8] Bolster-shaped with a slit in centre, and slunj
on donkeys so that the slit is above the middle of tl
back.
[9] Giginnia, the dileb palm. The fruit is much
prized, resembling to a slight extent a very large
apricot in colour and shape. The leaves are used for
making hats, mats, and baskets. There is a proverb
" Only at a distance (from the trunk) can the shade of
the fan-palm be enjoyed," because there are no
branches except at the top, and this is applied to a
man who neglects his own family but helps outsiders.
[10] In a variant (T.H.H. 6), he waits at the bottom
of the tree, and a crow throws down the fruits, or rather
kola-nuts.
[11] See Story 64, end.
[12] " Eyes " (ido) where we should say " ears."
[13] A town between Zaria and Kano.
[14] Or else it was that the learned men were sum-
moned, and gave her medicine ; the words are the same
in Hausa. The belief in sickness caused by a snake or
other animal swallowed by or generated in the patient is
world-wide, says Mr. Hartland. The commonest alter-
native to a snake is perhaps a newt (cf. Douglas Hyde,
Beside the Fire, 47; Folk-lore, X, 251 ; XV, 460) or a
lizard (Hill-Tout, J.A.L, xxxv, 156). The usual remedy
is to cause the parasite intolerable thirst and to entice
it to crawl out of the patient's mouth in order to obtain
NOTES ON THE TALES 507
drink. The process is graphically described in Dr.
Hyde's Irish tale.
[15] The word of a poor man has not much weight
in Hausaland.
[16] This seems very much like a tapeworm.
[17] The narrator could not tell me why this phrase
was inserted. It may have been to account for the fact
that snakes bite men ; or else it signifies that Auta owed
a debt of gratitude to the snake.
LXXXI.
[i] The usual meanings of these words are Impu-
dence, Proud (or Swollen) Lizard, and The Patient
One, but as there may be some other meaning implied
in the second one, the Hausa names are given instead
of the translations.
[2] Probably the King, as he would get something
for his trouble. Now a Malam usually does it, and
takes a fixed percentage as a fee.
LXXXI I.
[i] Used for carrying soft articles, might also be
wrapped around a corpse and bound tightly.
[2] Because of the lack of men, so the narrator told
me.
[3] A " little basket (with a lid) " is always the
" magic bottle " of the Hausa. See figs. 68 and 70.
LXXXIII.
[i] It must be hardly necessary to state that there
are no water pipes in this country, and that the women
have to go to the streams and wells for water.
[2] See XXXII, 2.
[3] As much noise as possible is necessary in funeral
508 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
rites, and the drums are also used as signalling instru-
ments to call the mourners.
[4] No time can be lost in hot countries. See re-
marks in Chapter V, and T.H.H., Chapter XIV.
[5] The birrim corresponds to our boom, but the
sound is a double one ; another rendering is Birrip. The
sentence should be accented to resemble the beats of a
drum.
[6] Corpses are wrapped in mats. See " Death and
Burial " in Chapter V.
[7] The literal translation would be " sleep is our
inheritance" and the meaning would be, perhaps,
"entitled to sleep,*' but the above probably conveys
the idea sufficiently well.
[8] Sometimes the horses are kept in the entrance-
halls, sometimes in special huts inside the compound,
but they are often simply tied by one leg to a peg in
the ground. If there is plenty of room, the horse is
tied by a hind leg, if but little then by a fore leg.
See XLV, 6.
[9] The literal translation is " thing of shame," but
there is no shame in the fact of her being a mother-in-
law, the words merely refer to the avoidance by her
daughter's husband. See remarks in Chapter V, and
T.H.H., pages 197 and 233.
[10] " Returned home " is the translation, and
evidently this means that they left the town, otherwise
the danger would still have been present.
LXXXIV.
[i] Kuka, also called the Monkey-bread tree, sup-
posed to be inhabited by spirits. See remarks on Bori,
and Story 88.
NOTES ON THE TALES 509
[2] The hya-na is masculine in this story, I do not
know why.
[3] The blacksmith is regarded by some of the
tribes around Jemaan Daroro as having greater powers
than the ordinary individual (T.H.H. 136), but the
Hausa has no such belief now, I think, though this
seems to point to such a superstition in their case,
also at one time.
FIG. 115. FIG. 116.
FIG. 115. — Wooden armlet, inset pattern of brass. !D., 4^ in.
FIG. 116. — Wooden comb. H., 7^ in.
[4] Possibly this also indicates some superstition —
the Hindu, I am told, will never let his first customer
in the morning go away without anything, and a
similar fancy has been met with in England. In Keta,
on the Gold Coast, the early morning is the best time
to ask or to give a thing, vide Alone in West Africa,
page 287.
[5] Tied by the leg during the night.
[6] Thorny tree from which gum can be obtained.
Robinson gives the name as Balanites JEgyptiaca
510 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
[7] A zareba is formed of branches of thorn and
other trees to keep off the hyaenas and other animals,
and also to keep the cattle from being lost or stolen.
LXXXV.
[i] The word used here is the Arabic kiama which
really means " resurrection."
[2] Literally, the city of God was astir. See
XXXVI, i.
[3] Apparently they -would have preferred a father
of the usual kind. See remarks on "The Next World*'
in Chapter VI, and on " Inheritance " in Chapter V.
LXXXVI.
[i] Some consist of separate huts, built in the com-
pound, with removable grass roofs. Others are much
smaller vessels, placed in the dwelling huts. It is the
latter kind which is referred to here.
[2] Sa(r)rikin Karma, one of the chief's principal
slaves, many of whom used to hold high office.
[3] The whole adult population would help in this
Hausa Harvest Home.
[4] This represents the sound of the pestles in the
mortars (c/. XXX, 4), a possible translation is " Pound,
pound, bang the pestles."
[5] Judging by the Hausa idea of a fit, the account
of the trying on of the boots must have been borrowed
from foreign sources. See figs. 24 and 25. It is
worth noting that in a Boloki story given by Weeks
(Among Congo Cannibals, page 203), Libanza, the
hero (who went forth with his sister into the world)
turned blacksmith, and killed " The Swallower of
People " by throwing molten iron into his mouth.
NOTES ON THE TALES 511
Possibly Auta was the first blacksmith to arrive
amongst the pagan Hausas !
LXXXVII.
[i] The narrator told me that the zankallala was a
kind of locust, but the description given on page 130
is the more satisfactory, perhaps.
LXXXVIII.
[i] Hambari means " kicker," the narrator informed
me. I do not know the word.
[2] A name of the Magazawa, or pagan Hausawa.
[3] Probably a wrestler, from " tankwaria," bend-
ing.
[4] This tree is supposed to be inhabited by spirits.
The Bori dancers have a particular veneration for it, as
already noted. The word used here is the Arabic Iblis.
[5] But not of the sharp claps.
[6] Wrestling is regarded as being important. In
one Magazawa community a gausami (pole) is set up
in the village, and wrestling contests are held in the
vicinity. As long as the pole stands, so long will the
youths of the village be strong; if it falls down it is
not erected until the next generation is ready to wrestle
(vide Man, 1910, Art. 40). This pole is symbolical of
the virility of the clan or village, in all probability,
vide LXIV, 7.
LXXXIX.
[i] Always a nuisance; the watcher has to keep
calling most of the day, and when the dog-faced
Baboons come in numbers the watcher may lose his
life if he tries to drive them away. He sits upon a
platform raised (on poles) sufficiently high for him to
512 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
see over the fields. For birds, strings are tied on sticks
above the corn, and the watchers (usually boys) pull
these to and fro and call.
[2] Aljannu means " jinns," "demons." Here
they are apparently good spirits rather than evil.
[3] For, having made a profit out of her, the father
was now graciously pleased to take her into favour.
[4] Always different mothers in the tales, the chief
wife and the rival wife, and they are always at daggers
drawn.
[5] The demons were incensed at her coming
amongst them uninvited. See remarks on " Tabu " in
Chapter VI.
XC.
[i] The long tobe and the loose trousers (like those
of the Arabs, see illustration, page 32) would have
impeded him very much.
[2] The fence (danga) is made of grass-mats, twigs,
or canes, supported by posts which usually stick out at
the top. See illustration, page 112.
XCI.
[ij She would not be eating outside with the men,
of course, but inside the hut. The food when cooked
would be placed in calabashes, and covered with a
round mat (see illustration, page 368).
[2] Blindness is very common in Hausaland, so is
lameness, the feet often being eaten away by leprosy,
or through the destruction of the toes by the " jiggers."
[3] The juice of the euphorbia is one of the
causes of blindness, so why a thorn-bush should heal
the complaint is not quite apparent, for all prickly trees
would be dangerous. Possibly the idea is much the
NOTES ON THE TALES 513
same as that of the Kagoro, who imagine that the
water in which a spear has been dipped will cure a
wound inflicted by that spear (see T.H.H., page 194).
Or it is a case of " the hair of the dog that bit you."
[4] One of the few stories which has a moral.
XCII.
[i] Like a load, see illustration, page 288.
[2] Merely driving a witch out of the house does
not appear to us to be a very severe punishment, but
it may be considered adequate by the Hausa husband.
XCIII.
[i] Presumably she said the last sentence to herself.
[2] This does not agree at all with the description
following, for even the rude girl was well treated.
[3] There would be an artificial clearing, if no
natural one existed, where the washing was done, and
the drinking-water was drawn. A flat sandy open space
would be chosen when possible.
[4] See LVI, 8. The father was evidently the king
of the city.
[5] The authors (Cronise and Ward) remark "A
common sight among the natives is a little child busily
engaged in picking the lice from the woolly head of
some older person. Sometimes the child's place is
taken by the pet monkey. If the monkey fails to find
the object of his search, he loses his temper, and ex-
presses his feelings in strong language, and in boxing
the person's head." See also page 176. Monkeys are
very useful in keeping dogs free from ticks and fleas.
XCIV.
[i] Ku chi gaya=" You will have revenge."
33
514 HAUSA SI
[2] The two brothers did not, but Dan-!-,
knew it.
[3] See remarks in T.H.H., page 243, and the
parallel to the last story.
[4] In order to gain time. The great object of the
intended victim is to delay the operations of the witch
or devil (see parallel to next story) so as to allow him
>cape about daybreak.
[5] The native certainly can sleep very soundly, bu:
this is flattering his powers in that way to some e
The differences Ix-tv. een the men's and women's gar-
ments are explained in XL1X, i.
[6] Lest he should be sold out before he saw her.
In the usual course the wares are "cried" by tin-
sellers as they go along.
[7] A black goat has magic properties. See re-
marks on Bori, in Chapter VI.
[8] This is evident from the context. There se<
to be an idea that the wound could be healed only by
the one who caused it.
xcv.
[i] Why was she not sleeping with him, she was
his wife? For explanation, see page 112.
[2] Some baskets are lined with cow-dung, clay,
&c., and will hold honey and even water (see T.H.H.,
page 287), but this was evidently not one of that kind.
[3] Meaning that she did not wait to let it down
carefully so as to save the water. This would have
taken time as there was no one to help her.
[4] The first time his name is mentioned — can a
witch do this without fear ? It would seem so, but I
am informed that this is not the case.
NOTES ON THE TALES 515
[5] Apparently referring to the haste in which he
had departed.
[6] For there was no owner to claim it.
[7] The woman appeared in two halves and was
bleeding. The dogs ate the flesh, but apparently even
a single drop of the blood would have been dangerous,
and might perhaps have developed into a witch.
XCVI.
[i] Probably in the market square, or in some place
where dancing, &c., is indulged in.
[2] So that if he refused to go he would be branded
as a coward.
[3] Made from a solid block. The Hausa stools
are round with short legs, very small ones being
carried by women on their waists. See fig. 42, p. 159.
[4] About the last thing a native would think of
would be to remove the obstacle, he would go round
it, and this is the reason why most of the West African
roads wind in and out. Death clears the way perhaps
to show that she is no ordinary mortal, but probably
it is merely to suit the story.
[5] Rago means " ram," and also " Terrible One."
A mixture of both is intended here, for this rago is
Kuri, the god with the ram's (or he-goat's) head.
[6] This should have been the only entrance or exit
at night.
[7] The council meetings are usually held in the
entrance-hall of the chief's house. . This seems a very
mild test after the two dangerous ones.
[8] There would be a clear space in which courtiers,
visitors, &c., could congregate while waiting for an
audience, and where processions could be formed up.
516 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
[9] Probably there is some etiquette in this apart
from the fact that the king's son was of higher rank.
XCVI1.
[i] If cannibalism really existed in the district in
\vhich this story originated, it was due, apparently, to
no religious reasons, but simply to a taste for the flesh.
See T.H.H., pages 180-184.
XCVIII.
[i] Perhaps at one time the wife could not share in
the feast at all, even now she must keep apart, inside
the house.
[2] This story also shows that cannibalism is
attributed to a taste for the flesh.
[3] Some South American tribes actually bred from
captive women so as to secure constant supplies of
flesh. They were permitted to eat such offspring, be-
cause, as kinship went by the female side, the father
was not akin to his child by the alien woman. (A.
Lang, op. cit., page 70.)
XCIX.
[i] Kano is about 180 miles away, in a straight
line, and Bauchi 100, but a few miles more or less
makes no difference in a story of course.
[2] Perhaps 350 miles.
[3] In what is now French territory to the north,
once tributary to Asben.
[4] Near Daura on the northern boundary of the
Kano province.
[5] See the attitude in illustration, page 496.
[6] Absolute continence is frequently found to be a
XOTES ON THE TALES 517
condition of the continuance of wonderful powers. The
importance of it in magic rites is found in many parts.
[7] This is merely carelessness on the part of the
narrator, it does not mean that a second marriage was
necessary.
C.
[i] The two hands are generally used, held tightly
together, but one of my servants used to throw the
water into his mouth with each hand alternately.
The distinct methods of drinking remind one of the
story of Gideon.
[2] The water is said to be a stream, but he has
encircled it, and the woman drinks it all up, so I have
rendered rafi by " lake." Had it been a stream, he
might have searched for human footprints so as to
know where there was a ford. A lake is so rare that he
would be certain to search there for the spoor of
animals.
[3] About a mile, with a river between, when I was
there, but since 1909 the Resident's quarters have been
moved to the other side, and the distance is how not
more than a couple of hundred yards, I am told.
[4] No previous mention of this, but such sudden
introductions are typical, as is also the dropping out
of one or more of the characters.
[5] The narrator said that women always loosen
their body cloths, and remove the outer one. There
does not seem to be any reason for this except the wish
that it may not be soiled. Another man says that the
women merely loosen their cloths so as to give them-
selves greater comfort. I have not seen a woman
eating.
[6] The narrator offered no explanation of the
518 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
why she could not see the youth, nor even tli
dog which was close beside her.
FfC. 1 17. —Cat theO firdU, worn bj women.
II. ()\ TRIBAL MARI.
No. 2. An arrow on each side of the neck is '-
common.
No. 3. The first figure was outside of each eye,
and the second (a conventionalized lizard) on each side
of the neck. The latter is said to be a charm to attract
prostitutes, and is called kvanche da masoye (sleeping
with the one desired). There was also a lizard on
each upper arm and rows of small cuts, kaffo, on the
back. Both of his parents came from Girku (Zaria)
according to him.
No. 4. (Abdominal pattern only.) Parents from
Zamfara and Zaria respectively.
* For a fuller account and measurements of head, &c^ see
A\ A. L Journal* Jan.-June, 191 1. I ought, perhaps, to apologize for
the drawings of the heads and bodies, but, on a previous occasion,
when I had them drawn by an artist, the result was that many of the
designs were incorrectly rendered, so I have done them myself this
time. After all, the outlines are not important.
NOTES OX TRIBAL MARKS 5'9
1
520 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
No. 5. The lines yam ba(i)ki* on each side of the
mouth are common, though the number is more often
three or nine, but the catherine-wheel (dan taki, " cow-
pot," said to denote ownership of cattle) on each cheek
is very unusual. The abdominal patterns are called
yan chikki (young ones of the stomach). Parents from
Kano.
No. 6. Both parents from Kano.
No. 7. The long line down the forehead seems
to indicate Filani blood somewhere, though the bearer
denied it. The mark is not so deeply cut as with the
I jo in Southern Nigeria, and is, I was told, optional.
Parents from Bauchi and Kano respectively.
No. 9. These patterns, kalango, were outside the
eyes; the one above (right side of head) was done
early — and badly — the other shows the true form. Both
parents from Kano. The wearer was a slave in all
probability, as a free man would have subbe.
No. 10. Mayiro (a corruption of Miriamu), a
woman, had this pattern behind each eye. It is
common and is called akanza. Parents from Zaria and
Bauchi respectively.
No. u. Kumatu, a woman, had what were said
to be abwiya (friendship) marks, and may have been a
charm to preserve friendship. Parents from Zaria and
Gobir respectively.
Nos. 12 and 13 are somewhat unusual abdominal
patterns. Parents from Kano and Zaria respectively.
No. 14. These yan chikki show the commonest
pattern, except that four lines instead of three are used
once on each side. Both parents from Kano.
* Van or Yam (n changes to m before 6) the plural of da and dia
means " children of," " young ones of," &c., hence " children of the
mouth."
XOTES ON TRIBAL MARKS 521
522 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
No. 15. Fourteen lines on each cheek and eight on
forehead. Said to be marks of Zanfara. Both pan nts
from Bakura.
• . 27 shows a \<-r\ elaborate pattern of yam ba(i)ki.
Both parents from Uti (Kano).
No. 29. The six small squares underneath and out-
side each eye are known as tsuguna ka chi <
(" squat and eat yams "), and — as their name implies—
are a charm to obtain plenty of food. Both parents
from towns in Kano.
No. 30. These two lines are farther back from the
mouth, and much broader than the usual yam ba(i)ki.
Both parents from Daura.
No. 31. There was also a short cut down the fore-
head, which, the wearer said; was to prevent headache.
The eye marks he called daure, and said that they had
been done on reaching puberty. Both parents from
Dutsi (Kano).
No. 32. Both parents from Girku (Zaria).
No. 40. An unusual pattern. Parents from Tofa
and Yelwa (Kano) respectively.
No. 41. There once were similar marks also on the
right side of the body in all probability, but they were
too faint to be distinguished. Abdu said that the marks
on the face were those of Gobir, but that his parents
came from Katsina and Sokoto respectively.
No. 43. Both parents from Zaria.
No. 44 had what he called babba goro on the left
side of the body below the waist, but no marks on his
face. These, he said, were to relieve stomachache.
Both parents from Zakua (Kano).
No. 45 had no tribal marks, but nine cuts under the
left nipple to relieve pain because it swelled. Both
parents from Zaria — probably Gobir.
NOTES ON TRIBAL MARKS 523
524 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
No. 46. Both parents from Kano.
No. 47 had faint yam ba(i)ki and two plainer marks
like No. 30 on each side of mouth, and there was a
strange pattern around the navel also, and I think that
the bearer had tried to obliterate his old marks by add-
ing those of another clan. Parents from Kano and
Zaria respectively.
No. 48. Both parents from Kano.
The wearer said that both his parents were
Hausas from Kora (Kano), but that he had been caught
and enslaved by Ningi people, and that they had made
these marks, obliterating his own.
No. 53. Both parents from Bauchi.
No. 55. There were no marks on the face except a
dan taki on each cheek like No. 5. The four ro
cuts on his abdomen were to prevent internal bleeding,
so he said. Both parents from Bauchi.
No. 56 had a pattern of yam ba(i)ki which he called
Icmu.
No. 57. Both parents from Kano.
No. 58. These the wearer said were Buzu ( ? As
marks, his grandfather being of that tribe. Both
parents from Geso (Kano).
No. 62. Both parents from Kura (Kano).
No. 64. Gude (wife of No. 65), had a very orna-
mental mouth, with even more cuts than No. 27, and
there were lines beneath the lower lip, a bille and six
rows of four above the nose. The chest and abdomen
were also decorated, the pattern here showing as far
as the clothes would permit. Both parents from
Anchari (Kano).
No. 65. Both parents from Zaria.
Nos. 66 and 67. Both parents from Bella (Bauchi)
in the first case, from Gaya (Kano) in the second.
NOTES ON TRIBAL MARKS 525
s-o II A US A SUPERSTITIONS
\». 69. The four lines on each side resemble the
kumbu of No. 53, but are slightly lower than the
mouth. Both parents from Bauchi.
No. 70. Both parents from Kano.
No. 72. The pattern on the abdomen was sur-
mounted by cuts to give relief from (?) stomachache.
Both parents from Igabi (Zaria).
No. 74 had \vhat he called haka(r)rika(r)rin kifi,
('* ribs of fish ") in place of a bille to the right
of the nose for the purpose of attracting women. There
was also a tsuguna ka chi doiya like No. 29. Both
parents from Ringi (Kano).
No. 75. Parents from Tofa and Rimin Gado
(Kano) respectively.
No. 76. A double kalango on each side (see dif-
ferent pattern in No. 9 and a single one in No. 46).
Both parents from Zaria.
No. 77. The chest and abdomen showed a pattern
which is partly a conventionalized lizard, apparently,
and is called sanen bangaro ( ? the marks of a butcher).
The cut above the left ear is very unusual. Both
parents from Kano.
No. 78. Parents from Kano and Kantamma
(Kano) respectively.
No. 80. The wearer said that these were the marks
of the Wangarawa. Both parents from Goram
(Bauchi).
\o. 81. Both parents from Kano.
Xo. 84. Both parents from Kano.
No. 85 had a cut down the nose, made, so he said,
by Nigawa, who caught and enslaved him. Also a
double bille on the left side, and an dkanza (see another
shape in No. 10) outside each eye. Parents from
Takai and Falale respectively.
NOTES ON TRIBAL MARKS 527
•' 75
528 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
No. 86. Both parents from Bauchi.
No. 89 had a conventionalized lizard's head above
his nose, and a double bille on the left side. Both
parents from Kano.
No. 90. These were said to be the marks of the
Kutumbawa. Both parents from Kano.
No. 91. Both parents from Kano.
No. 92. Both parents from Kano.
>. 93. Both parents from Kano.
No. 97. Auta (woman), had yar giro, (eyebro
above each eye, which, she said, were for ornament.
Both parents from Gani (Kano).
No. 98. Hassana (woman), had yam ba(i)ki like
No. 56, but in threes (one four) instead of in fours.
Both parents from Kano.
No. 99. The irregular cuts between nipples were
either badly done tribal marks or, as he said, to prevent
pain. Both parents from Bebeji.
No. 100. Parents from Kano and Gwalchi (Bauchi)
respectively.
NO. 101. Both parents from Kano.
No. 102. Both parents from Kano.
No. 107. Pupils of eyes bluish, and irritating from
amoderre (? a kind of blight). In another case the
eyes were light blue, said to be due to cactus (Kerenna)
juice, which causes blindness. Both parents from
Kano.
No. 109. Had a long cut down the nose like
No. 7, and the square pattern probably represents a
book. Both parents from Kano.
No. no had another kind of haka(r)rika(r)rin kifi
(see No. 74). Both parents from Bauchi.
No. 112. The three inside lines were made, he said,
to cure sore eyes. Parents from Kano.
NOTES ON TRIBAL MARKS 529
89
34
530 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
No. 113. Both parents from Kano.
No. 114 had a very badly executed pattern on his
cheeks. Both parents from Kura (Kano).
No. 156. Both parents from Kano.
No. 158. Both parents from Zaria. The lower,
central figure is probably a simplification of the lizard
in No. 3.
The final nine figures have been taken from Dr.
Kumm's From Hausaland to Egypt. He says that
they represent the marks of the people of Kano (i, 2, 3,
cf. 48, 84 and 107, above), Sokoto and elsewhere (4),
Daura (5, cf. 30, above), Zaria (4 and 6), Rago (7),
Katsina (5, cf. 155, above), and Gobir (9, cf. 41, ah
III.— ON BORI.
I HAVE been trying during the last two years to get
someone to take a photograph of this " dance " for me,
but to no purpose, as the performance is absolutely for-
bidden now. I had, therefore, to be content with the
snapshots forming the frontispiece, and since it is quite
possible that bori may never be seen again in Northern
Nigeria, I give this extra note even at the risk of repeat-
ing myself in part.
The master of ceremonies is called the Uban Mufane ;
he takes charge of the offerings of the spectators, but
they are afterwards divided amongst the musicians (a
violinist, and a man who drums on an overturned
calabash), and the dancers. A mat is usually spread in
front of him, so that those onlookers who wish to give
money will know where to throw it — though it is not
refused should it fall elsewhere. Often a particular
dancer will have kola-nuts poured into his or her
NOTES ON BORI
91
10)
98
109
53* HA US A SUPERSTITIONS
mouth, as is shown in the frontispiece. Soon after the
musicians have commenced, some of the dancers begin
to go round and round in a circle with shuffling steps,
the hips swaying from side to side, and in a few
minutes the strains of the violin and the scents used by
the dancers take effect. The eyes become fixed and
staring, the dancer becomes hysterical, grunts or
squeals, makes convulsive movements and sudden
rushes, crawls about, or mimics the actions of the
person or animal whose part he is playing, and then
jumps into the air, and comes down flat on the buttocks,
with the legs stretched out in front horizontally, or with
one crossed over the other. The dancer may remain
rigid in that position for some time, often until each
arm has been lifted up, and pressed back three times
by one of the other performers.
This may be the end of that particular dancer's part,
but often he will continue to act up to his name, his
words and actions being supposed to be due to the spirit
by which he is possessed, and if it is not clear which
spirit it is, the chief mai-bori present will explain, or
the performer himself may do so. Finally, in most
cases, the dancer will sneeze, this evidently being for
the purpose of expelling the spirit. Sometimes, not
content with the dashing on the ground, the dancers will
claw their chests, tear their hair, or beat various parts
of their bodies, and even climb trees and throw them-
selves down, but all deny that they feel any pain while
possessed, whatever they do. Sneezing expels the
spirit, as has been said, but it is some days before the
effect of the seizure wears off, even if no serious injury
has been done, the appropriate diet meantime being
kola-nuts and water.
Owing to the inquiries of Mr. Evatt, and the author
NOTES ON BORI
533
534 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
of Hausa Sayings, I am enabled to make the caste of
characters much longer than the one I gave before*, and
it is possible that this is exhaustive, but it seems likely
to me that every trade and profession is represented,
and there may be no limit to the length of the list.
(1) Ba-Absioi— Person from Asben, despised by the Hausas,
vide Xote xliv, i. Played by both sexes. The dancer hops on
each foot alternately, at the same time raising and dropping his
spear. He wears a black tobe, trousers, and turban.
(2) Alfanda— Lion. The tsere is a black fowl which has a
heavy plume— representing the mane.
(3) MaUm Albaji — Learned man and pilgrim. Pretends to
be old and shaky, and to be counting beads with his right hand
while reading a book in his left. He walks bent double, and
with a crutch, coughing weakly all the time. He is present at
all the marriages within the Bori sect. His tsere is anything
white — the malam's proper dress being of that colour.
(4) Almijiri— Disciple. He copies a malam to some extent.
His tsere is a small iron bow.
(5) Aoakwaache— Lying down. The person may pretend to
be helpless. His tsere is two brown chickens.
(6) And! — ? His tsere is a monkey-skin.
(7) A radii — Thunder. The person is possessed during a
storm, and either imagines himself to be the cause of it, or else
that the spirit of the storm has entered into him.
(8) Nana Ayetha— The wife of the Sa(r)rikin Rafi. The
dancer rushes about waving a sheet over her (or his) head, and,
when tired, bends down and rubs or scratches her legs. The
tsere is a blue cloth.
(9) Sa(r)rikin Bakka— Chief of the Bow, i.e., Principal
Huntsman. He moves about as if stalking game.
(10) Sa(r)rikln Barde— Prince, leader of cavalry. He (or
she) is always in front of the other dancers. He moves round
in a circle, stamping the outer foot, and resting a staff first upon
his right thigh, and as the pace quickens, trailing it on the
ground. Suddenly he sits down with a bump, covers up his
head, and pretends to sneeze. The dancer, even if he be a
male, wears a woman's cloth, tucked under the arms in the
ordinary way. The tsere is a red cloth or cock, red being the
royal colour.
* The Tailed Head-hunters of Nigeria, pages 254-257.
NOTES ON BORI
535
rf)
.
I!''
«' *
6
8
9
536 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
(n) Son Bawa— The Desirer of a Slave. He or she walks
about weeping and saying " I am looking for a slave," and call-
ing upon other Bori spirits to help in the quest.
(12) Bete Deaf Mute. He or she sits alone, with tears
streaming down the cheeks, or runs around, mouthing, in either
case making no sound.
(13) Blrri — Monkey. The player climbs trees and apes this
animal generally.
(14) Buwaye— Strong one. The same as Dan Galladima,
q.v.
(15) Mai Jan Chlkkl— The drawer along of the stomach. He
crawls with his belly on the ground, and imitates the movements
of a snake.
(16) Dogon Dajl— Tall one of the forest, i.e., guinea-corn,
and so gia (guinea-corn beer) and drunkenness. The tsere is
gia.
(17) Kworro na Daji— Insect of the forest. The tsert is a
small chicken.
(18) Ba-Dakia— ? Also said to be a wife of Sa(r)rikin Raft.
The tsere is a speckled hen.
(IQ) Dandn — David, or Dan Sa, Son of a Bull. Said to be
the same as Dan Galladima.
(20) Mai Ga(r)rin Danra— ?
(21) Dogna— A double spirit (see page 118). The wife of
Malam Alkaji, but acted by both sexes. Indoors, it is known as
the wearer of the white cloth, and for this character the dancer
lies at full length on his side (either one), and rocks himself
backwards and forwards, while one person behind and another
in front flap a cloth which is laid over him. The outside part
of the spirit is known as the wearer of the black cloth, and for
this the dancer lies on his face, a man sitting on his head and
stretching out his legs so that they grip the dancer's sides, and
the latter puts his arms around the body of the man sitting
upon him. Another man then sits by the dancer's feet, and he
and the one at the head flap the cloth.
(22) Sa(r)rikin Filani — Filani Chief. He goes around with
a staff, counting imaginary herds of cattle, and then presents
himself to the Dan Galladima. His tsere is a string of small
cowries, the shells being a favourite ornament of these people.
(23) Sa(r)rikin Fushi— King of Wrath, i.e., a bee. He is
said to be a younger brother of Babban Mazza. The tsere is
honey.
(24) Dan Galladima — Son of a Prince. The dancer puts on
NOTES ON BORI 537
a large cloth, which comes over his head. He walks along
slowly, head bent, and then, crossing his feet, he sits down.
He is then approached and saluted by everyone. He is the
highest judge of the sect, appeals being brought to him from
the court of the Wanzami. If he agrees with the decision of
the latter, he remains seated, if not, he jumps up and falls down
three times, and then he gives his decision. The tsere consists
of the full attire of a prince, vis., a blue tobe and trousers, white
turban, shoes, -and scent.
(25) Zeggin Dan Galladima — Equerry of the Dan Galladima.
He or she precedes him, helps him to sit down, and then fans
him.
(26) Garaje— ? The same as Mai Gworje? The dancer
stamps about, taking four steps forward at a time in any direc-
tion. He (or she) holds his head high, but eventually crosses
his feet and falls backwards.
(27) Dogon Gidda — ? Tall one of the house? The tsere is
fresh milk.
(28) Ba-Gobiri — Man of Gobir. The tsere is a weapon, the
Gobirawa being renowned warriors.
(29) Mayannen Gobir — He with the comrades from Gobir.
The tsere is a pair of irons.
(30) Ba Gu(d)du — Not running, i.e., brave man. The tsere
is a white kola-nut and a woman's white headkerchief, white
being the colour of death, which this spirit does not fear.
(31) Gwari — A Gwari (pagan). The dancer wanders about,
stooping and leaning on a staff, and carrying a load of rubbish
in a bag or bowl on his back, after the manner of the members
of the Gwari tribe.
(32) Mai Gworje— He with the bell. The tsere is a small
stick.
(33) Ibrahima— Abraham. The tsere is a white-bellied kid.
(34) Inna— Stuttering. The actor pretends that he is afflicted
with an impediment in his speech.
(35) Janjare or Janzirri — ? From Khanziri, a hog. The
same as Nakada. Sometimes, if not forcibly prevented, the
person possessed, naked, except for a monkey-skin, will rush
about devouring or rubbing his body with all kinds of filth, and
pushing an onion or tomato into the mouth is the only cure,
other occasions he hops round a few times, then puts a stick
between his legs for a hobby-horse, and prances. Finally, b
simulates copulation, falls to the ground, and pretends to sneeze.
The tsere is a monkey-skin and a bell, the latter to rouse it.
538 HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
(36) Kaikai — Itch. The actor is continually scratching
body.
(37) Kind!-? A female spirit which is said to be respon-
sible for the raising of the magic hoe (see page 167). The tsere
is a small hoe.
(38) Kavra — See page 112. The dancer moves around about
ten times, stamping the right foot, and then falls backwards.
The tsfre is a yellow cloth or a sheep with dark markings round
the eyes.
(39) Rare — Hyaena — or ? god (see page in). The dancer
(either sex) goes on all fours, growling and champing his jaws,
and pretending to be looking for goats. Sometimes a man holds
a girdle tied around the dancer's waist, and the latter pretends
to try to escape. The t*?re is a piece of meat.
(40) K«n«u— Deafness. The actor pretends that he cannot
hear.
(41) Kitira— Leper. The actor either sits like a leprous
beggar, and, hiding his legs, pretends that they have been
amputated at the knee-joint, or he walks as if his limbs were
distorted, making faces and noises. He contracts his fingers,
and, holding a cap in them, begs for money, and drives away
flies from his imaginary sores.
(42) Kyeinbo— ? The tsrrc is a large bead.
(43) Lambu— ? Possibly the same as Sa(r)rikin Bakka. The
dancer, carrying a miniature bow and arrows, and sometimes
wearing the skin of a Burutu bird as a head-dress, goes through
the movements of sighting, stalking, and killing game.
(44) Madambacbe— The boxer. He pretends to box. The
tsere consists of a boxer's equipment, as is shown in illustration
No. 38.
(45) Be Magnje — See page in. The dancer wears a loin-
cloth, a quiver, and a bag in which are tobacco and a flint and
steel. He carries an axe on his shoulder, a bow in his hand,
and smokes a long pipe. He walks along, mimicking a pagan,
and presently lights his pipe with a spark from the flint (the
Hausas now use imported matches). He then calls out " Che-
waki, Tororo (two common pagan names) bring beer," and on a
person bringing him some, he drinks greedily, letting the beer
run down his chin. He then gives back the calabash of beer,
relights his pipe, and moves off.
(46) Masakl— Weaver. The dancer (either sex) wears a
woman's cloth folded tightly under the arm-pits. He passes a
wisp of grass from one hand to the other (as if throwing the
shuttle), and rubs it along his thigh (like a strand of cotton).
Finally, he covers up his head and sneezes.
NOTES ON BORI 539
(47) Bakka Mashi— Black spear. The tsere is a black stick.
(48) Maye — ? A wizard.
(49) Babban Mazza — Great one amongst men. The tsere is a
cock, preferably one with red feathers.
(50) Dan Mayiro— Child of Merarnu.
(51) Meramu — Miriam. The tsere is a string of scented cow-
ries and a small red cloth.
(52) Dan Musa— Son of Moses. Possibly the same as Mai Jan
Chikki. The dancer, covered with a black cloth, imitates the
movements of the samami, a large snake with a red neck. Has
this any reference to the contest before Pharaoh ? The magicians
are supposed by some to have come from West Africa (N.W.S.,
page 16).
(53) Nakada — Nodder. The same as Janjare, q.v.
(54) Dan Nana— Child of Ayesha. The dancer pretends to
be a small boy suffering from stomach-ache, and he groans, sits
down, and holds and rubs his body.
(55) Sa(r)rikin Paggam_?
(56) Sa(r)rikin Rafi— Chief of the river, i.e., of the fishermen,
canoe-men, &c. He pretends to be spearing fish all the time, or
he stares, beats his breast, and walks round in a circle, bringing
one foot up to the other, and leading off again with the same
foot. The tsere is a hanurua nut (species of kola) and a small
chicken.
(57) Mai Bakkin Rai— -He with the black soul. The tsere is
anything black.
(58) Mai Jan Rua — He who has red water. He behaves as if
he had fever, and is covered with a black cloth which is flapped
to and fro to fan him. Under this treatment his stomach
gradually swells, and eventually he vomits, and then recovers.
(59) Na Rua Rua — ? Possibly a modification of the preceding
one. The dancer at first stands, then kneels, nodding his head
all the time. Finally he bends over until his head touches the
ground, and he turns it to and fro, groaning as if suffering from
stomach-ache.
(60) Sambo — ?
(61) Dan Sa(r)riki — Son of a Chief. He is the principal actor,
but he does not dance, but seats himself and cries because his
father has not given him a present. The other masu-bori salute
him, stand when he stands, and generally pay him the marks of
respect due to a prince.
(62) Tsuguna — Squatting. The actor sits like a dog.
(63) Wanzami — Barber. The judge of the Bori sect, the mem-
bers of which obey his sentences. He puts four to six razors
into his mouth and turns them round, and then strops them on
MO
HAUSA SUPERSTITIONS
his fore-arm. Finally he places the razors on the ground, and
cleans his teeth with sand and tobacco flowers. The tstrt is a
razor.
(64) Za(l)ki — Lion. The dancer runs around with a bone in
his mouth, and calls out " God is to be feared, man is to be
feared " (see page 28). Another man holds a girdle made fast
to the dancer's waist. The tserc is a bone or a piece of meat.
(65) Z«b« — ? The dancer moves around in figures of 8 until
he drops.
Those are all that I have been able to collect so far,
but I have no doubt that there are many others, and it
is to be hoped that a record will be made of them \\hile
particulars are still to be obtained.
,
XLL— THE BORI JUMP.
L'Envoi.
AND now I must say Au Revoir. The Hausa is a
very interesting person, good-natured, honest, brave,
and in many respects admirable. He has his faults, of
course, and his ideas of morality are not ours, but, on
the whole, his good qualities easily outweigh the bad
ones. My aim has been to give a true picture of him,
hiding nothing, and exaggerating nothing. I believe
that my opinion of him is accurate, but can a European
living for most of his time in a European country ever
be absolutely certain that he has got thoroughly to
the back of the black man's mind? I have had to
leave the solution of other problems to the spider
(page 96), and perhaps the safest course is to refer this
question also to
THE KING OF CUNNING AND OF FOLK-LORE.
Index to Parts I. and III.
ABNORMALITIES, 93, 94, 126
Address, Forms of, 6, 43, 174-
178, 464, 467, 475, 487
Adoption, 06, 137, 138
Adultery, 52, 78, 79
After-life, 118
Agaddez, 481
Age for marriage, The, 76
Agriculture, 97, 471, 478-480, 501,
507, 510
Ajcnge (Head of Bon)t The, 149-
151
Albino, The, 93, 138
Aljan (demon), The, 18, 109, no,
148, 150, 152, 154, 164, 170
Alkali (native judge), The, 7, 64,
68
Alkawali (obligation), The, 51,
142, 463, 469* 470
Ancestors, The worship of, 96, 97,
477
Angels, 158, 159
Animal community, The, 30, 42
Animals, Domestic, 39
- Habits of, 40
Names of, 30, 179, 181
Marriage of, with human
beings, 43, 79
Powers of, 32-39
Sacrifice of, 135-138
Substitution of, 138
Transformation into, 132-135
Transmigration into, 118
Wonderful, 130, 131
Ants, 19, 25, 41, 497
Aphrodisiacs, 31, 77, 482
Appearances, Magical, 160
Aragga tribe, The, 106
Asben (or Air), 49, 5<>, 497, 534
Ash, as salt, 505
Association, The British, 10, 109
Aunt, The, 76, 99
Authorities, 8-10
Avoidance of parents-in-law, 88,
89,461, 471. 508
the wife's sister, 88
Ayu (A spirit), in
BABOONS, 34, 43, 67, 1 1 1
Baby, The Tar, stories, 20-23
Bachelor, The, 89, 176
Ba-Maguje, The, 26. 34, ' n , no
<llfu> x
Basket, The magic, 75, 485, 507
Baskets, 514
Bat, The. 40
Beauty, A woman's, 52
Bees, 130, 536
Beings, Half-, 15, 75, 123,
>54
Mythical, 122-128
Best-man, The, 82, 86
Betrothal. 76
Biblical Stories, 17, 26
Birds, 19,39,62,63, 119, 125,
165, 470, 487
Births, Miraculous, 90-92, 94, i;
499
Bitch, The, 14, 34, 115, "6
Blacksmiths, 156, 509-511 (Illus.
Blessing, The. 140, 141
Blind man, The, 46, 48, 58, 60,
98, 178, 512
Blood, 18, 62, 63, 157, 515
Bon, 109, 145-152, 530-540 (Fron-
tispiece and XLI)
Boxing, 57, 538 (Illus. XXXVII
and XXXVIII)
Bravery, 46, 47, 537
Bride, The, Dress of, 87
First right to. 83
giving way of, 76
Parents of, 82
Reluctance of, 82, 86-88
Signs of virgin, 83, 88
INDEX TO PARTS I AND III
543
Bridegroom, The, 82, 83, 86
Bridesmaids, The, 82, 86
Bride-price, The, 76, 78, 81, 82,
BRITISH ASSOCIATION, THE, 10,
IOQ
Brother, The, 18, 75, A 79, 81,
Buffalo, The, 133, 154, 166, 167,
171, 172
Building, Methods of, 106
Bull, The, 476, 503, 536
Burial, 71, 72, 105-107, 136
- Death and, 71, 72, 103-107,
151, 458, 507, 508
Butchers, 476 (Illus. XXI)
Butterfly, The, 134, 175
CALABASH, THE, 24
Camel, The, 38, 75
Cannibals, 18, 123
Cannibalism, 516
Capitals, The use of, 43
Capture, Marriage by, 83, 86, 87
Cat, The, 14, 21, 27, 44, 133
- The wild, 26, 28, 38, 41, 468
Cattle, 44, 48, 49, 59, 92, 94, 102,
in, 132, 148, 164, 503
Centipede, The, 39
Ceremonies of marriage, 80-88
Charms and potions, 23, 24, 31,
33, 101, 125, 135, 147, M9, 153,
156, 168-172, 469, 482, 483, 486,
_5i8, 520, 522, 526
Chief, The, 98, 103
Election of, 104, 105, 132
— Rivalry between, 96
Child-birth, 92, 100, 101, 170, 177,
463, 486, 491, 492, 498, 499
Child, The, Means to prevent
death of, 179, 180
Children, Rivalry between, 18
Choice, A woman's, 75
Cinderella, 14, 40, 127
Circumcision, 93
City, The growth of, 103
Clothing, 58, 114, 144, 149, 150,
486, 491, 510, 512, 517
C Dck, The, 21, 28, 39, 113, 129,
130, 140, 469
Coffin, The, 106
Collecting, Difficulties of, 6-8,
485, 498
Colour, 144, 150, 161, 164, 534
Commencement and ending of
tales, 10-12, 467
Conjuring, 167, 168, 470 '.
Consent of parents, 76, 84 .
Contempt, 54
Cooking, 481, 493
Corpse, The, 18, 52
- Treatment of, 103, 107, 118
Coughing, 92
Counting games, 68-70
Courtship, 42, 48, 74-78, 81, 82,
142
Covenant, The, 140
Cowries, 77, 82, 83, 85, 86
Creation, Magical, 165, 464, 465
Crocodile, The, 124, 174
Crow, The, 19, 39, 41, 133, 165,
'75
Culture, 4, 14
Curiosity, 142, 145, 154, 155
Curse, The, 140-141
Custom, The force of, 3
Customer, The first, 509
DANCING, 35, 42, 57, 84, 145
Dan Zanzanna (small-pox), 118
Darra (like Backgammon), The
game of, 57, 59
Daura, Legends of, 103, no, 124,
125, 140, 141
Days, Lucky and unlucky, 150,
163, 164, 458, 459
Dead, The, 34
Deaf-mute, The, 49, 536
Death, 46, 157
and burial, 103-107, 151, 163,
458, 507, 508
Life after, 118
— Second, 118
Debts and debtors, 42, 49, 136
Deceit, 48
Degrees of relationship, 77, 79
Demons, 18, 109, no, 481
Descent. 99, 100
Development, 103, 492, 495
Diseases, 118, 119, 462
Divination, 66
Divorce, 78
Dodo (monster), 14, 25, 34, 75,
109, 114, 124-128, 135, 156, 157,
163, 176, 464, 5oi, 502
Offspring of, 126
Wife of, 126
Dodoniya (female), 133, 154
Dog, The, 17, 19, 20, 26, 28, 29,
33, 34, 35, 36, 40, 41, 44* 59, 126,
474, 475, 485, 540
Maiden, The, 16, 120, 131
Dogua (evil spirit), 18, 119, 536
Donkey, The, 35, 37, 38, 41, 499
Maiden, The, 16, 119, 131
Door, The magic, 15
Dove, The, 16, 17, 19, 39, 42, 132
Dreams, 167
Drums, 117
544
INDEX TO PARTS 1 AXD III
Drunkenness, 54
Dwarf, The, 66, 123
Dyeing, op, »4<>, 141, 4»5
EAGLE, THE, 39, 133, »75, 503
Ears, 59, 460
Earth, daubed on body, 142
Properties of, 163, 460
taken by emigrants, 142
The eating of, 142
Eating, Customs regarding, 54,
55, 144, 472
Echo, The, 112
Eclipse, The, 116
Economy, 55
Eggs, 15, 39, 59, 62, 68, 130
Elephant, The, 31, 32, 38, 43, "9,
125, M3
Ending and commencement of
tales, The, 10-12
Escapes, Easy, 25
Evil eye, The, 144, 161-163
Evil wishing, 163
Ewe, The, 25, 44
Fables and Fairy Tales, 20
Family, The Hausa, 74, 78, 80,
88, 90, 95, 96, 99, 103, 107, 108
Fatalua (evil spirit), 112
Fear, 54
Feasts, 459 .
at marriage, 84-86, 89
at naming, 92
Filani, The, 58, 72, 80. 148, 151,
472, 490, 497, 520, 530
Fire, 30, 58, 61, 62, 126, 139, 141,
Fish/ 40, '119, 539
Fita Furra (intimacy previous to
marriage), 77, 78, 496
Folk-lore and Folk-law, 23
Value of, 2-5
Food and drink, 471, 475, 478-
484, 500, 505, 512 (Illus.
XXIX-XXXII)
- Supernatural, 157
Forgiveness, 51-53
Form of a story, The, 8, 25-29,
95, 463, 464, 467, 468, 475, 485,
493, 504, 5.17
Fortune-telling, 147, 106, 167
Fowl, The, 39, 4i, 60, 62, 84, 85,
149, i5i, 536
Fox, The, 19
Francolin (or partridge), The, 22,
41
Friends, Valuable, 66
Frog, The, 15, 41, 66, 67, 119,
133, 479
Fufunda ( ? the phoenix), 112, 113,
128-130
Gajjimare (God, rainbow), 112
Gambling, 46, 58
Games, 57, 58
Counting, 68-70
Gausami (sacred pole), 77, 78,
496, 511
Gazelle, The, 22, 132, 133
Gestures, 54-57
Giant, The, 14, 32, 122, 123, 126
Gifts, Magic, 172
Giraffe, The, 31
Goats, 32, 35, 36, 40, 149, 1 5 it
164, 1 66, 470
God, 28, 36, 3?, 50, 61, 66
Gods and spirits. 34, 78, 110-112,
493, 5H, 532
(characters in Bon), 534,
536-540
Gourds, 12, 48, 60, 139, 167, 490,
501
Gratitude, 40, 44, 5<>, 52
Graves. 71, 106, 107, 136
Ground-nuts, 465
Guest, The, 54. 469
Guinea-fowl, The, 63,
470
HAIR, 92, 126, 128, 176, 489
dressing. 46
Half-being, The, 15, 75, 123, 124,
»55
Hallucinations, 146, 151
Hare, The, 20, 22, 30, 31, 4O, 66,
114
Haruspication, 166
Hatred, 54
Hausas, The habitat of, i, 2
- Language of, 4, 5, 7, 9- 12,
28
Origin of, 2, 123
as soldiers, 47
as traders, i, 38, 40, 97, 102-
108, 473, 503 (Illus. A IX,
XXIII-XXVI)
Hawk, The, 41, 132, 133
Head-hunting, 138
Healing powers of leaves, 19
bird's droppings, 128
Hedge-hog, The, 38
Henna, Staining with, 82, 85, 87,
88, 121
Hero, The Hausa, 47
Hiccoughing, 141
Hippopotamus, The, 32, 38
Hoe-shovel, The magic, 167, 537
Honesty, 47
INDEX TO PARTS I AND III
545
Horse, The, 18, 37, 42, 62, 83, 87,
113, 130, 133, 134, 138, 148, 156,
157, 168, 174, 459, 46i, 508
— Neighing of, 92
Hospitality, 54, 469, 4?o, 476
Houses, 42, 106, 469, 475, 477,
478, 480, 484, 485, 487, 488, 490,
508, 510, 512, 515 (Illus. IX-
XIV)
Hunting, 34, 534, 537
Husband, The choice of a, 75
— The duty of a, 53, 80
Hyaena, The, 14, 24, 26, 28, 29,
30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 40, 41, 5i,
61, in, 115, n6, 166, !72, 174,
487, 498, 538
Hypnotism, 24, 145, 167
I bits (devil), 109, 112
Iguana, The, 119
Imitation, 28, 29
Inanimate objects, 15, 19, 43, 122,
J34
Indolence, 50, 474, 478
Infanticide, 93, 116
Inheritance, 107, 108, 487, 495,
Ink, 70, 169, 170
Insanity, 146
Invisibility, 171
Iron, 139, 144, 156
JACKAL, THE, 19, 26, 32, 33, 35,
49, 1 66
Jansirn, 537
Jemaan Dororo (or Jemaa), 5, 7,
34
Jerboa, The, 20, 33, 35, 49, 50, 130
Jt-ptllima (magical bird), The, 128
Justice, 33, 457, 458, 463, 47i,
494, 505, 506
Kama (disreputable persons), 146
Kaura (evil spirit), 112, 538
Kid, The, 26, 27
Kindness to animals, 19, 44
King-killing, 103-105, 132
Kirari (form of address), The, 33,
72, 174-178, 487
Kishia (" jealous wife "), The, 12,
78,95
Kola-nuts, 77, 83, 92, 142, 160,
496
Kurt (a god), 78, in, 515
Kurua (shadow), The, 112
Kwiyafa (magic animal). The,
130
35
LAMB, THE, 32
Language, 98
- Sign, The, 49, 55, 57, 500
Laziness, 50
Leaves, The healing properties
of, 19
Leopard, The, 15, 22, 23, 31, 33,
34, 116, 172
Leper, The, 78, 128, 538
Leprosy, The causes of, 462
Lice, 176, 513
Lion, The, 14, 28, 29, 31, 33, 36,
43, 49, 5i, 52, 128, 133, 174,
463, 534, 540
Literature, 70-73 (Illus. VII and
VIII)
Liver, The virtues of the, 165,
1 66
Lizard, The, 35, 39, 478, 518, 526,
528, 530
Locust, The, 38, 61, 62, 175, 462,
T 463
Love, 58
MAGIC APPEARANCES, 160, 167
Animals, 130, 131
Basket, The, 75, 485, 507
Birds, 128-130, 165
— Creation, 165, 464, 465
Door, The, 15
- Eye, 161-163
— Gifts, 172
- Gourds, 139, 167
— Handkerchief, The, 19
Names, 178-180
Ointment, The, 130, 131, 514
Rites, 164-167, 496, 502, 505,
511, 513, 517
Spells, 67
Tree, The, 172
- Words, 139, 131, 465
Magiro (evil spirit), 112
Mai-bori (member of the sect, pi.
Masu-bori], 146-151
Malam (priest, magician, " doc-
tor"), 31, 87, 90, 92, 94, 148,
166, 168, 172, 483, 534 (Illus.
Mare, The, 26, 461
Marks, Tribal, 100-103, 119, 161,
170, 171, 518-531, 533, 535
Indicate calling, 101
Marriage, 34, 42, 43, 78-89, 459,
482, 485, 494
with animals, 43, 79
by capture, 83, 86, 87
ceremonies, 80, 142
dress, 85
feast, 84, 85, 86, 87
546
l.\I)EX TO I'ARTS I AM) III
Marriage, Intimacy previous to,
77, 78, 496
reluctance of bride, 82, 86,
87, 88
Test of fitness for, 74, 75
to a tree, 120-122
of a virgin, 85
Mats and blinds, 484 (Illus. XX)
ider of men, The, 45
Milk, 151 (Illus. XXXII)
Miraculous births, 00-92, 94.
Mirage, The, 151, 152
Monkey, The, 22, 26, 34, 38, 43,
51, 471, 511, 5'3, 536
woman, The, 120
Monsters. 113, 114, 123, 172
Moon, Tne, 59, 116, 117
Morals, 50, 52
Mosques, 148
Motherhood, The desire for, 90
Mother sacrificed with her
dren. The, 136
Mourning, 106
Mouse, The, 14, 41, 63, 122, 133
Mouths, The numerous, of
witches, 154
Mud-fish, The, 175
Mutilation. 457, 460, 476, 532
Mythical beings, 122, 128, 144,
M5
Myths, Nature, 112-118
- of the sun, 25 (Note), 112-
118, 129, 130
of the wind, 117, 118
NAME-FEASTS, 92
Names, 16, 74, 92, 120, 143, 170,
178-182, 487, 496, 507
Narrators, The, 35
Nature myths, 112-118
Niger and the West Sudan, The,
2, 10
Nursing children, The period of,
93, 159
OATHS, 139
Objects, Inanimate, 15, 19, 43,
!22, 134
Oil, 466, 478
Ointment, The magic, 104, 131,
132
Ordeals, 139, 140, 166
Organization, 97-99
Origin of the Hausas, The, i, 2
Ostrich, The, 35
PAINTING, 102
Parables, 17, 26
Parentage, 90
Parents, Consent of, 76, 84
- -in-law,
Partridge (or francolin), The, 22,
4i, 47i
Pens, 70
Pigeon, The, 25, 33, 39, 4.
58, 119, 183
Poetry, 7073
Poison, 31, i
Politeness, 66
Porcupine, The, 38, 79
Potions and charms, 135, 147,
U9, »53, 156, 168-172, 482, 483,
486
Pottery, 173 (Illus. XY-XVIII)
Poverty, Contempt for, 99, 507
Proverbs, 60-66, 500, 506
Punishment, 457, 458, 460
Puns, 66
RABBIT, THE, 20, 21
Rago (Kuri a spirit), in, 515
Rainbow (Gajjimare), The, 112
Ram, The, 25, 79, 92, 132, 140,
464, 497
Relations of husband and wife,
80
of parent and child, 95
Remus, Uncle, 19, 20
Resurrection, The, 164
Riddles, 58, 59
Ridicule of witches is dangerous,
155
Ring, The magic, 133, 134
Rites, Magic, 164-167, 172
Rolling on the ground, 134
Rubber, 466
SACRIFICE, 106, in, 134, 135-138
Salt, 84, 153, 154, 505
Salutations, 55, 177, 466
Sandals, 144
Sa(r)riki (chief), 98, 103
- Election of the, 104, 105
Sa(r}rikin Rafi ( ? Dodo), 111, 151
Scarification, 100-102, 170
Scorpion, The, 35, 38, 41, 58, 94,
130, 133, 482
Seduction of the chief's wife, 104,
132
Shame, 88, 143
Sheep, The, 36, 504, 505
Shivering, 36, 37, 139
Sieve, The, 18
Sign-language, The, 49, 55-57
Similarities, 14-23, 27, 2&
Sister, The, 18, 75, 76, 79, 81,
INDEX TO PARTS I AND III
547
Slave, The, 25, 66, 67, 102, 136,
141, 181, 497, 536
Sleep, 508, 514, 534
Slipperiness, 25
Snake, The, 32, 38, 41, 45, 75, 98,
99, 119, 131, 133, 479, 482, 506,
539.
Sneezing, 141, 532
Solomon, Prophet, (King), 39, 48,
80, 481, 487-489
Song, A war-, 72, 73
Songhay, 47, no
Soul, The, 144
— External, 132, 474
Sparrow, The, 175
Spell, The magic, 167
Spider, The, 10-14, 22, 30, 31, 32,
33, 38, 41, 49, 75, 79, 96, 113,
n6, 133, 157, 174, 175, 466, 470,
480, 541
Spinning, 42
Spitting, 54
Spots, 101, 162
Stars, The, 59, 114, "6
Stepmother, The, 95
Sterility, 96
Story, The form of the, 8
Substitution, 134, 138
Succession to chieftainship, The,
104-5
Sung-parts in stories, 6, 28
Sun-myths, 25 (Note), 112-118
Supernatural beings, 18
Swallow, The, 21, 175
Swallowing, 114, 117, 126
Tabu, 16, 88, 89, 104, 142, 145,
1 80, 181, 460, 461, 487, 49i,
406, 407, ?o8
Tailed Head-hunters of Nigeria,
The, 5, 10
Tail-wearers, 43, 126, 127
Takai (war - dance) (Illus.
XXXIII-XXXVI)
Tar-baby stories, 20, 23, 466
Thieving, 23, 48, 171, 457
Time, The lapse of, 157-160
Tobacco, 471, 472, 484, 538
Tongue, A woman's, 46, 52
Tortoise, The, 32, 38
Totemism, 17, 52, 80, 119, 122,
143, 179
— Conceptional, 120-122
Traders, Hausa, i, 38, 40, 52, 97,
102, 103, 473, 503 (Illus. XIX,
XXIII-XXVI)
Transformation, 43, 126, 132-135,
154, 158, 159
Transmigration, 118
Traps, 24, 25, 494
Tree-marriage, 120-122
— The fortunate, 172
Tribal marks, 100-103, 119, 161,
170, 171, 518-531, 533, 535
Turkey, The, 175
Twins, 93, 94
UNCLE, THE, 76, 81, 99
Remus, 19, 20
Unnatural parents and children,
95
Uivardawa (" corn-mother "), in
Uwardowa ("forest-mother"), in
Uwargona (" farm-mother," a
spirit), 78, in
uwaryara (evil spirit), in
VALUE OF FOLK-LORE, 2-5
Village, Origin of the Hausa, 103
Violin, The, 84
Violinist, The, 149, 530
Virginity, Signs of, in bride, 83,
88
Virgin-marriage, 85, 88
Virtues, 46-52, 54, 60-63, 66, 70-
72
Vulgarities, 4
WAR-SONG, A, 72, 73
Washing, 158-160, 164, 171
Water, 125-128
Wealth, Nature of, 53, 99
Weaning, 90, 93, 159
Weaving, 538
White-Ant, The, 14, 5i» 62, 478,
504
Widows, The re-marriage of, 88
Wife, The human, of Dodo, 126
— and her husband's name,
180, 181
The Kirari of a, 176, 177
and the Kishia, The, 12, 78,
512
Power over, 458, 485, 49O
A right through the, 104
Sacrificed with her husband,
The, 136
The sister of the, 143
The youngest, The
triumph of, 78, 460
Wild-cat, The, 26, 28, 38, 41, 468
Wind-myth, A, 117-118
Witchcraft, 2, 93
Witches, 13, 18, 34, 35, 38, 75,
109, 113, 126, 133, 135, M5, I53-
157, 48i
INDEX TO PARTS I AND 111
Wolf, The, 19
Woman, The ideal, $2, 466
Old, 32, 153, »76
The character of, 48, 52, 53,
80
Word-game, A, 66-70
— Sequence, A, 68
Words, Magic, 130, 131
Plays upon, 67, 502
Special, in Bori, iji
Work, Dislike for hard, 40, 5O,
98
World, The next, 42, "8, 136,
157, 164
The people of, 160
Wrestling, 42, 57, 5"
XXXIX and XL)
YAWNING, 141
Younger brother or sister, The,
18, 75, 81, 143
Youngest wife, The triumph of
the, 78
Zankallala, The, 130, 511
JOHN BALE, SONS & DANIBI.SSON. LTD., 83-91, Great Titchfield Street, London, W,
BY THE SAME AUTHOR.
The Tailed Head-Hunters of Nigeria.
An Account of an Official's seven years' experiences in the Northern
Nigerian Pagan Belt, and a description of the manners, habits, and
customs of some of its Native Tribes.
[LONDON: SEELEY, SERVICE & Co., LTD., 1912. Price 16s.net.]
The Times.—" The work of a writer well qualified for his task."
The Standard. — " A brilliant contribution to anthropology, written
by a scholar who knows how to handle a magic pen. Nothing like it
has hitherto appeared, and, unless we are greatly mistaken, its welcome
on the broad scale is assured. Major Tremearne not only knows the
savages of Northern Nigeria at close quarters, in the actual manner of
their life, but how to make them real to English readers."
The Morning Post. — " We are grateful to Major Tremearne for
some really valuable matter."
The Pall Mall Gazette. — " His account of native customs and
beliefs, given with sympathetic insight into the negro's mind, deserves
close study. . . . The book is a noteworthy addition to our ' Empire '
book-shelves."
The Birmingham Gazette. — "A most fascinating study . . . The
whole book is full of the glamour of mysterious Africa ... It is not
easy to explain the fascination, but the book is alive with it."
The Graphic. — " . . . fascinating book. . . . His experiences . . .
make the most exciting reading, and are amusing too, their narrator
having a remarkable gift of unforced humour."
United Empire (R.C.I.).— " Whilst nearly every chapter contains
valuable information as to the manners and customs of the Northern
Nigerian tribes, that on music and dancing is especially valuable."
The Glasgow Evening Citizen*— -"The spirit of ad venture permeates
the pages. If you are young in heart you will read these books as you
used to read Henty's novels. The narratives are engrossing . . .
splendidly illustrated,"
The Niger and the West Sudan ; The
West African's Note-Book.
A Vade-mecum containing Hints and Suggestions as to what is required
by Britons in West Africa,
together with Historical and Anthropological Notes*
[LONDON: HODDER & STOUGHTON, 1910. Price 6«. net]
The Journal of the Royal Geographical Society.—" Captain
Tremearne's useful manual . . . bears strong testimony to the author's
industry. . . . The views of an officer who has had much experience of
natives and is conversant with their modes of thought deserve careful
consideration. ... His hints are very much to the point ... the
author's advice is eminently sensible. . . . Probably the kits of most men
who hereafter go to the West Coast will include a copy of this book."
Man (Royal Anthropological Institute).— "Very useful little book. . .
The compilations which form the ethnographical part are the work of an
industrious and careful student, and are well suited to help those who
intend to push inquiry forward. . . . Captain Tremearne deserves the
gratitude of the West Coast natives for advocating the wise development
of their own civilization instead of the systematic application of European
codes of honour, morals, and education all equally unsuited to them. . . .
This chapter ought to be read by all colonial administrators.*
The British Medical Journal.— " Captain Tremearne's book is really
remarkable in its way ; the amount of information respecting The Niger
and the West Sudan that he has contrived to pack into a thin volume of
moderate size is quite extraordinary. . . . The author's instructions and
hints as to health, medicines and food seem generally very good. . . .
For those who serve in West Africa, whether in a medical, civilian, or
military capacity, one can hardly conceive of a better 'guide, philosopher
and friend ' than this little book of Captain Tremearne's."
The Broad Arrov,.—" There is little about West Africa that cannot
be found inside the . . . covers of this admirable little book. . . . [It] is
certainly the most comprehensive work on a small scale we have yet
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Travel and Exploration. — " It is practical, reliable, and thoroughly
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sphere to his description.
Fables and Fairy Tales for Little Folk ;
or, Uncle Remus in Hausaland.
BY MARY AND NEWMAN TREMEARNE.
[CAMBRIDGE: HEFFER & SONS, LTD., 1910. Price 2s. 6d. net.]
The Colonial Office Journal. — "The inexhaustible charm of the fairy
tale, and especially of that form of the fairy tale which makes animals act
and reason like human beings, attaches scarcely less closely to the folk
stories of West Africa than it does to those of Europe. . . . The stories
are told with a simplicity and absence of affectation which are welcome."
Journal of the African Society.—" Major Tremearne has collected
a large quantity of valuable folk-lore material during his residence in
Northern Nigeria. . . . The present volume contains twelve stories retold
in an attractive style for children, and illustrated with some very spirited
and characteristic drawings."
Nature. — " A popularized version of a series of folk tales collected by
Captain A. J. N. Tremearne, and published, with much useful information
on the ethnology and customs of the Hausas, in the Proceedings of
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will doubtless be fully appreciated in the nursery."
The African Mail. — " Mrs. Tremearne has put them into simple
clear English so that the little folk may read and understand them. She
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The Child.—" New ground has been broken for the student of child
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Morning Post. — " To those who are on the look-out for a new type of
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experiment worth trying if teachers told stories of this class to older boys
and girls as a part of school instruction. ... Or the child may just be
left alone to enjoy the tales, and give rein to wonder and imagination."
The Dundee Advertiser.— " The dainty and excellently illustrated
volume , . . The tales absorb attention and carry the reader forward
unresistingly. No child will fail to be charmed ... or to delight in the
extravagance."
IN PREPARATION.
Hausa Superstitions and I
Customs I
VOL. II.,
Containing the Hausa text of the tales translated in Vol. 1., and
in Man (R.A.I.) 1910. and Folklore 1910— 1911, together with
full Grammatical Notes.
READY AT EASTER.
Some Austral African Notes
and Anecdotes
Containing Chapters on the first Australian Contingents to South
Africa, West African Journalism, Music, Bush Warfare, and
Missionaries and Officials.
Fables and Fairy Tales for Little Folk
or, Uncle Remus in Hausaland.
BY MARY AND NEWMAN TREMEARNE.
[CAMBRIDGE: HEFFER & SONS, LTD., 1910. Price 2s. 6d. net]
The Colonial Office Journal.— "The inexhaustible charm of the fairy
tale, and especially of that form of the fairy tale which makes animals act
and reason like human beings, attaches scarcely less closely to the folk
stories of West Africa than it does to those of Europe. . . . The stories
are told with a simplicity and absence of affectation which are welcome."
Journal of the African Society.—" Major Tremearne has collected
a large quantity of valuable folk-lore material during his residence in
Northern Nigeria. . . . The present volume contains twelve stories retold
in an attractive style for children, and illustrated with some very spirited
and characteristic drawings."
Nature. — " A popularized version of a series of folk tales collected by
Captain A. J. N. Tremearne, and published, with much useful information
on the ethnology and customs of the Hausas, in the Proceedings of
various societies. ... Its quaint and humorous incidents of animal life
will doubtless be fully appreciated in the nursery."
The African Mail. — " Mrs. Tremearne has put them into simple
clear English so that the little folk may read and understand them. She
has performed this task admirably . . . [she] has the art of telling an
interesting story at her command."
The Child. — " New ground has been broken for the student of child
life and folk-lore. The tales ... are full of human interest, and their
description of the adventures of animals will fascinate children of all
ages. . . . The whole of this volume manifests great skill and exceptional
understanding on the part of those responsible for its production."
Morning Post.—11 To those who are on the look-out for a new type of
book to give to children we can recommend the Hausa tales. . . . Not
only will the little ones find them amusing, but ... it would be an
experiment worth trying if teachers told stories of this class to older boys
and girls as a part of school instruction. ... Or the child may just be
left alone to enjoy the tales, and give rein to wonder and imagination."
The Dundee Advertiser.— -"The dainty and excellently illustrated
volume . . . The tales absorb attention and carry the reader forward
unresistingly. No child will fail to be charmed ... or to delight in the
extravagance."
Some Austral-African Notes and Anecdotes.
[LONDON : BALE, SONS & DANIELSSON, LTD., 1913. Price 7s. 6d. net.]
The Tim**.—" Major Tremearne's books . . . make one greet him
warmly, both as writer and observer, when he appears as author once
more. He gives us varied fare. First, some delightfully fresh chapters
on an overwritten subject — the Boer War . . . and then more matter
equally fresh, though he has himself written so much on the subject,
about West Africa. . . . Very amusing. . . . His literary geniality
has devised a rhetorical artifice which is new to us. ... [The book]
undoubtedly has fas — come ! out with it— cination."
The Scotsman.—" In one chapter will be found a description of native
warfare ; in another an account of a punitive expedition against the
Ayashi, * the invisible cannibals ' ; in others a temperate and very sensible
discussion of the relations between the officials and the missionaries.
Some of the most entertaining sections of the book deal with * Coast
English and the Native Correspondent' and * West African Journalism,'
and give amusing samples of the educated native's literary style."
The Dundee Advertiser.—" The writer . . . has already won an
established reputation as an authority on all matters dealing with
Africa . . . We warmly commend [this] volume to the careful attention
of all readers interested in the outlying parts of the Empire."
The Western Press.— "This book, like its predecessors, cannot fail
to give a large amount of pleasure to readers. . . . What he saw,
what he learned, native customs, personal experiences, and, more important
still, his own adventures and deductions, are all written in an engrossing
style; his diverse information, given in a cheerful and stimulating
manner, throwing much Might' upon these little-known places.'1
The Eastern Daily Press.— " A ready, but a very well-equipped
writer, having, moreover, that cheerful optimism which transmutes what
to some would be a catastrophe into a mere adventure. The vivid, and
often very quaint, illustrations . . . largely help to explain the fascina-
tion and mystery, which in some degree seem to enthral all visitors to
Africa. . . . He conveys to his readers some of the sense of wonder
inspired by the West African forest . . . The anecdotes in this very
live book bejewel many pages . . . All lovers of travel and adventures
— which we hope includes the bulk of us — will delight in this literary
variety entertainment."
The Western Mercury. — " There are amusing chapters which treat of
* Coast English ' and ' West African Journalism ' . . . with character-
istic fairness, he admits that many of the coast journals are * quite worthy
of local support' . . some of the extracts are droll enough. . . .
The same earnest striving to be fair characterises the chapters on
* Missionaries and Officials in West Africa.' "
The Yorkshire Observer. — " Looking at all with a mind which is
singularly free from prejudice, his observations carry a good deal of
weight. . . . He gives many amusing specimens of negro English, very
grandiloquent and often very effective. . . . The book is exceedingly
well illustrated."
Extracts from Reviews of the First Edition.
The Times. — " No one who has not undergone the exhausting labour
of taking down stories in the vernacular from illiterate natives can
appreciate the patience and industry which Major Tremearne has
shown ... the utmost pains have been taken to guard against any
temptation to edit the stories. Folk-tales so collected are a valuable
* control ' upon our knowledge of the customary law, the moral code, and
the religious belief of a primitive race. ... It is not surprising to find
in these tales suggestions of the Uncle Remus stories, for Northern
Nigeria may well have been their birthplace."
The Athenaum. — *' That indefatigable anthropologist . . . being
faced by a difficult problem of method, has tackled it courageously in
the only possible way . . . [he] is perfectly justified in making it his
prime object to sketch the life of Hausaland under certain of its more
general aspects, noting as he goes how in this respect or that the stories
bear out his facts and interpretations. . . . The student . . will be ready
to acknowledge a debt to Major Tremearne for a most sincere and
searching piece of work." — M.
The Geographical Journal (R.G.S.).— " The student of folk-lore will
at once recognize the great value of Major Tremearne's work ... a
very thorough and trustworthy piece of work. . . . It is of peculiar
interest to find among the Hausa folk-tales parallels to many English
and other nursery tales and to Biblical stories. . . . The figures in
the text, illustrative chiefly of Hausa industries, are a valuable feature of
the book."— F. R. C.
The Morning Post. — " Major Tremearne adopts the good practice
of telling us the methods he employed in collecting and writing the tales,
and this gives the reader a confidence which is not misplaced. . . . The
numerous illustrations of scenes, implements, utensils, and tribal marks
further increase the interest and value of the book." — A. C. H.
The Pall Mall Gazette.—" Major Tremearne has evidently brought
to bear upon his subject knowledge of native character, enthusiasm, and
a logical and scholarly intellect. We can congratulate him upon the
result of his labours."— H. A. W.
The Globe—" The tales are often extraordinarily interesting. . . His
book is not only of great interest to all who care for 'fairy tales,' but of
real scientific value. It is likely to be the classical work on African
folk-lore."
The Graphic.—" No 'prentice hand in the sifting of savage and
barbaric lore, Major Tremearne adds to the services already liberally
given in that department of anthropology by the volume under review."-
Edward Clodd.
The Field.—" Major Tremearne has placed students of native
manners and customs in West Africa under a fresh debt of gratitude to
him. ... A very good piece of work. . . . Among the illustrations,
the numerous drawings by Miss E. M. Clarke, illustrative of Hausa arts
and crafts, deserve a special word of praise."
The Scotsman. — ** Major Tremearne's book gives him a good claim
to be considered the Grimm to their goblins . . . invaluable to serious
students of folk-lore. . . . A noteworthy contribution to the literature
that instructs Europeans in African anthropology."
The Dundee Advertiser.—" ' Hausa Superstitions and Customs ' will
add materially to the growing reputation of a writer who promises to be
one of our most brilliant students of anthropology. This book, moreover,
besides being replete with scholarly observation and written with
authoritative knowledge, is one which the general reader will keenly
appreciate."
The Western ^fercury. — " No more interesting glimpse into the
inner life of a people has been afforded us than we obtain in this
important work, for which all anthropologists and students of folk-lore
owe Major Tremearne their heartiest thanks. These 'African Nights
Entertainments,' as one may call them, continually remind of such dear
old friends as the yarns of Uncle Remus, the stories of the brothers
Grimm, and even such native favourites of the British nursery as ' Little
Red Riding Hood,' 'Jack the Giant Killer,' and 'Hop o' my Thumb,'
. . [which] make delightful reading. ... It is difficult to overestimate
the value of such a work."
The Yorkshire Post.—" A particularly valuable feature of this book
is that the stories are treated comparatively. . . . But much of Major
Tremearne's collection is surely unique . . . this delightful book in
which the general reader will find much amusement and the student
much profit."
The Glasgow Herald.—" Major Tremearne knows the tribes of
the West Coast of Africa as few men do. . . . The tales reach a high
level . . . their scientific interest is undoubted. . . . This book will
certainly add to the reputation of the brilliant and unselfish scholar."
The Publisher's Circular.— " A striking example of sympathetic
study. . . . The legends, customs, &c., abundantly illustrated as they
are, are not only of extreme value to the student of anthropology and
folk-lore, but may be read with pleasure by the mere ' joy reader.' "
La Dtyeche Tunisienne.—" M. le major Tremearne a pu obtenir ici et
en Nigeria, sur les mceurs, les croyances, et le folk-lore de ces peuplades
mysterieuses, de precieuses informations qui lui ont fourni ddja la
matiere de plusieurs ouvrages remarquables."
My Life Among the Wild Birds
in Spain.
By COL. WILLOUGHBY VERNER. About 500 pp.
letterpress. Size 9 by 7. 25 Plates and over 150 illustrations
r — „ ^ Vj /B «-3 .«. *«*iK.a emu uvci xso illustrations
from Photographs and Pen and Ink Sketches by the
Author. Price 21s. net.
A Supplement to the "Birds of
New Zealand."
By SIR WALTER L. BULLER, K.C.M.G., F.R.S.
Two volumes, £6 6s. net.
Studies of Birdlife in Uganda.
By R. A. L. VAN SOMEREN, M.D.,'D.P.H, M.B.O.U.,
Uganda Medical Staff; and V. G. L. VAN SOMEREN,
L.D.S.R.C.S.Ed. _ This work is issued in separate plates,
each 16 in. by 12 in., accompanied by brief descriptive
letterpress, the whole contained in a handsome portfolio.
Price net 31s. 6d. or Rs. 25.
History of the Rifle Brigade.
By COL. WILLOUGHBY VERNER. In Four Parts.
Demy 410. Plain edition, with maps, only £2 2s.;
illustrated edition, £4 4s. Part I. only, plain edition,
12s. 6d. ; illustrated edition, £1 5s.
Adventures in Search of a Living
in Spanish America.
By "VAQUERO." Royal 8vo, pp. viii. + 304, about
70 illustrations. Price 8s. 6d. net ; postage, inland, 6d. ;
foreign, is.
Lectures on Biology.
By DR. C. THESING. Translated from the Second
Edition by W. R. BOELTKR. Medium 8vo, 334+viii. pp.,
with the original coloured and other illustrations, cloth
lettered, price 10s. 6d. net.
The African Rubber Industry and
Funtumia Elastic* ("KICKXIA")
By CUTHBERT CHRISTY, M.B., CM.(Edinb.) Fellow
of the Royal Geographical Society ; the Zoological Society ;
the Royal Society of Arts ; Member of the African Society,
&c. Profusely illustrated. 250 pages. Demy 8vo, cloth,
12s. 6d. net ; postage extra (United Kingdom, 4d. ;
abroad, is.).
JOHN BALE, SONS & DANIELSSON, LTD.,
83-91, Gt. Titchfield Street, Oxford Street, London, W.
JglNDING SECT. SEP 2 9
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