D is for the Digestive System (Body Folktales)

This year, my A to Z Challenge theme is Body Folktales. Enjoy!

For today's topic, I researched folktales that feature the stomach, intestines, and the digestive system in general. Things, as expected, did get delightfully weird.

CW: intestines and bowels and whatnot

Hair's Revenge (Nigeria)

Back in the beginning of time, Hair and Stomach lived in the same town. However, while Hair went on a business trip, Stomach slept with all of his wives. When Hair found out, he started chasing Stomach, who begged a traveler on the road to shelter him inside his body. When Hair caught up, and heard Stomach shivering inside the man, he decided to guard the man's orifices so Stomach could never come out again. Ever since then humans have had hair around all their... exits. And ever since then, swallowing a hair makes our stomach revolt.

Kenkebe and the ant (South Africa)

A man named Kenkebe has an unfortunate habit of exchanging his body parts with animals. Once he exchanges his stomach for the stomach of an ant - which his wife discovers because he spills most of his dinner under the table since the ant stomach can't hold it. The wife orders Kenkebe to get his own body parts back.

A man's stomach (Lithuania)

This is a folktale type marked as 716 in the Lithuanian tale type index. It's about three men who go out into the woods and complain about always being hungry, and having to spend money on food. An old man shows up and offers to take their stomach out, hanging them in a tree. The men go home happily, with their problem solved - but they soon discover that life is no fun at all without eating, and return to the woods. They find their stomachs shriveled up, but the old man helps them undo the damage so they can eat again.

The Taoist in the otherworld (China)

There is an old Chinese legend about a Taoist who travels into the Otherworld and participates in a delicious feast. The fairies living in that world remove all his digestive organs, and that grants him eternal youth - so when he returns into the world of mortals, he finds himself younger than his grandchildren.

The kings of Madur Maskut (Khasi people)

The small but fierce kingdom of Madur Maskut constantly threatens its neighbors with invasion. Its greatest warrior is U Niang Raja, who goes around without bodyguards and is rumored to be impossible to kill. He is attacked and chopped up multiple times, but always returns. Finally, a neighboring king hires a beautiful woman to seduce the raja and find out his secret. It turns out that the prince keeps his soul in his intestines; when he bathes in the river, he takes the intestines out and washes them, then dries them on a rock. She betrays his secret, and the next time he goes swimming, assassins burn his intestines, killing him.

Which story is the weirdest? Did any of them sound familiar?

Don't forget to leave your links in the comments so I can visit back! :)