Reading Notes: Nigerian Folk Stories, Part A

I really love stories about animals that give an explanation for why they are the way they are. They have always fascinated me, and these did not disappoint. These stories make the explanation seem so straightforward and simple. The earthworm story, for example, was very short, which I think helped add to the appeal. Since the world is so complex, it is refreshing to have a simple explanation for why something is the way it is. One of the only things that I did not like about these explanation stories was that they were somewhat negative. Looking at the earthworms again, for example, they were forced to live underground and be blind, but the stories behind these things are not due to the earthworm's choice, which is what does not settle with me. If I were to write an explanation story, I would let the animals have some say in why they are the way they are. After all, they are just stories. Why not make them a little more positive? I was not a fan pf the story of why the hawk eats the chicken either. It was so morbid that the king made the decision to let the hawk eat the chicken children since they could not repay the dowry. I did like how the story was very straightforward again. Its short length and simplicity were still appealing, but I can't get passed the negativity. I did think that the story about the sun and moon was very cute. It was interesting because if I were to give those two things genders, I would have seen the sun as a female and the moon as a male, so it was cool to see the opposite. Although, the sun and moon were driven out of their home to the sky, they got to remain together, and there was something sort of romantic about it.

Sun and Moon, online source

Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa by Elphinstone Dayrell, link to online source