Ushaat Murum

(Picture via wikipedia)

Here is a tale which is a bit similar to one I posted on this blog four years ago. Again, a woman is kidnapped by the water-spirits and rescued by a toad. The tale was told by Mr. Ɗanladi Malan Kating from Daffo in 1992 and recorded and transcribed by Mr. Mafulul Lek, who is also from Daffo.

How Death came into the world

In cultures all around the world one can find mythical stories about the origin of death. According to many such stories in Africa,

“The supreme god meant for humans to be immortal, but through an unlucky mistake, they received death instead of eternal life. Some stories relate that the god told a cautious chameleon to carry the news of eternal life to earth, but a faster lizard with news of death arrived first. The Mende people of Sierra Leone say that a toad with the message “Death has come” overtakes a dog with the message “Life has come” because the dog stops to eat along the way. (African Mythology)

Here is a similar story in the Daffo dialect of Ron, told by Mr. Mafulul Lek.

Waatan ti Ushuwar

Today is international women’s day. In order to honour all the hard-working women in Africa, I present a fairy tale about three women, again in the Daffo dialect of Ron. It was told by our friend, Mrs. Utawal Magwa (seen here on a picture) , in 1991. I recorded it and later transcribed it with the help of Mr. Mafulul Lek.

The Hare and the Crownbird

Here is another hare tale in the Daffo dialect of Ron. It was written down and recorded in 1992 by Mr. Mafulul Lek from Daffo. This time, the hare and the crownbird (Hausa: gauraka) are courting a girl. The hare tries to get rid of his rival by cheating. But his trick fails: the girl prefers to marry the crownbird.

The Hare and the two Boys

The following story in the Daffo dialect of the Ron language was told by my late friend, Mr. Benjamin Macif Malau from Daffo (seen here on the right of the picture). I recorded it in Daffo in 1990 and transcribed it with the help of Mr. Mafulul Lek.