Monday, March 18, 2019

Jackals, hyenas, dogs (Following folktales around the world 103. - Chad)

Today I continue the blog series titled Following folktales around the world! If you would like to know what the series is all about, you can find the introduction post here. You can find all posts here, or you can follow the series on Facebook!

Chad is another one of those countries where I could not find a folktale collection (or rather, I did, but in French). So, I gathered what I found on the Internet (more specifically, here).

The sheep, the goat, and the dog
I have heard this story before from a Peruvian storyteller, but with a llama instead of a goat. The three animals go hitchhiking. The sheep pays the exact amount of money for the ride, the dog pays more, and the goat doesn't pay at all.When they arrive, the goat runs away, and the driver keeps the dog's change in revenge. This is why dogs chase cars, goats run away from them, and sheep do nothing.

The hyena, the goat, and the peace
Wild and domesticated animals decide to sign a peace treaty so that no one can hunt and kill the other anymore. They all gather for the signing, and to celebrate, they have a party. The party gets wild, and eventually the hyena attacks the goat. Peace is broken, party turns into a free-for all. The story ends with a moral: You can't create peace with words and paper, only with action.

The jackal and the dog
Jackal and dog used to be friends, living together in the bush. One night, dog decided to get fire from the humans, to warm themselves. Humans were friendly to him, and threw him bones, so the dog never returned to his friend. This is why jackals howl at night, and dogs bark back.

Hyena, monkey, and hare
A classic tale, where monkey rescues hyena from a well, and it wants to eat him in return. They go to the hare for justice, and he suggests they should recreate the scene - and they leave the hyena in the well.

Orphan Nidjema
Interesting half-story. The orphan girl is abused by everyone, and she has to work day and night. She runs away into the wilderness to end her life. She asks a series of monsters to kill her, but they all refuse. Eventually she meets Death, who tells her it is not her time yet, and she should go home and endure, waiting for her life to turn for the better. That's it.

Where to next?
Niger!

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