Most tales
featuring animal characters are used to express people's
anxieties, describe difficult political conditions, and even
gently satirize their circumstances. The Digo tale of Bull
and Lion epitomizes the genre. The chief characters are
animals. This is not a device for childish amusement. It
allows for a relevant political message to be disguised and
conveyed without causing unwanted offense.
Animal folktales also contain a great deal of
educational information about animal husbandry and bush
lore. Indeed, biologists have found that many things
Africans said about wild animals have proven true. For
instance, for years zoologists described the hyena as a
daylight carrion eater. Careful study eventually revealed
that the animal was in fact a nighttime hunter, as
storytellers had portrayed it.
 |
|
Owl the king. |
The hornbill
is also correctly described. The story demonstrates that an
attentive listener can conclude from the singing of certain
birds what the season will bring and whether the weather
will change. A moral tale is woven into this practical
observation about natural phenomena.
The purpose of these stories is to teach valuable
life lessons. Consider the tale of Owl. One day, all the
birds came together to elect a king. After long discussions
and deliberations, their choice fell on Owl. He was chosen
because he never did any harm to other birds. Owl caught a
mouse every night, but in daytime he just sat and blinked.
So, Owl became king of the birds.
Later a sparrow hawk arrived. He started catching and
eating sparrows and other songbirds. The birds appealed to
Owl to stop the hawk, but Owl just sat there and blinked.
The lesson of this tale is that a people must elect a
forceful ruler. A nonthreatening leader will be totally
ineffective against the enemies of the people. Even in a
democracy, we need a strong leader to defend us against
criminals.
Numerous tales in all parts of Africa reflect the
problematic relations between ordinary, hardworking village
people and various authorities who affect their lives. Only
after many years of studying African folklore and
storytelling did I see through the animal clothes, as it
were, of the chief characters. I perceived that all the
tales of Africa contained lessons, not necessarily "moral"
lessons in the Christian sense but rather practical ones.
These include the first steps in political science: how to
make friends, avoid making enemies, and save yourself in a
dangerous situation. In these tales, survival is a virtue
and pragmatism triumphs over abstraction.
Jan
Knappert is a folklorist living in the Netherlands. |
