Su Boom Boom Su Boom Ka: West African Tales and Legends

Su Boom Boom Su Boom Ka

When I was an elementary school teacher in the Ivory Coast, I set aside some special time. I called that special time "Stories Time." I first initiate some tales and then end up with some discussions to see whether my young students can grasp the meaning of my tale. On many occasions, I invite them to tell to the class their Hamlet's story to enrich the class with the wisdom of each individual legend or stories. Our stories personify daily people in their actions.

In the Hare's accounts, this is a cunning creature with fertile imagination and is capable of getting around the most difficult situation. On the other hand of the spectrum, we have Hyena, a gluttonous and too stupid, imbecile, arrogant, and pretentious animal who misapplies the teachings of Hare, resulting to him being punished.

The discovery of things in Mother Nature is illustrated by the story of Nekpo and Vili. After serious blowbacks by Vili the porcupine, the hunter came about the ideas of using the porcupine's deadly spines to conceive an arrow.

A mother whose son had not grasped the meaning of the logic yet, and therefore not being able to measure the consequences of his own actions, was left to manage his mother's food preparation while out in the field. In complicity with his baby brother, Saki ate all the meat and leaves a few. As a result, when mother came back, she severely punished them.

It is not because that somebody is physically impaired that she must be mocked. That debilitated person can save lives. Akissi, who initially is uninvited to join the group of young women of her age, saves lives of her sisters from a powerful witchcraft. Human beings seldom recognize the goodness of hearts of those who get them out of dire situations.

Or what goes around must come down and what goes up obviously comes down. One can't spit in air and not expect to receive some droplets of saliva in one's face. That is exactly what happened in the story of Tiger that dug a pit and threw himself in. Monkey, heartbroken because of his distress, came to his rescue and then Tiger wants to make him prey. Then, an arbitrary came and saw his tricks and set Monkey free.