I chose to read Folk Stories From Southern Nigeria by
Elphinstone Dayrell, for this weeks storytelling assignment. The first story in
this reading was called Of the Pretty
Stranger Who Killed the King. I was surprised that king Mbotu married the
beautiful stranger (aka the witch) so quickly. It just shows how shallow the
man was because he only wanted a wife that was good looking. It could be
interesting to write a story based on what happened after the city of Calabar
was taken over by the Itu king and soldiers. I wonder if the people will ever
figure out that it was Mbotu’s wife who beheaded him. I also really enjoyed
reading The Disobedient Daughter Who
Married a Skull. This story was so out there compared to anything else I’ve
read this semester! I liked imagining the skull collecting all of the best body
parts to resemble an attractive suitor for Afiong. It keeps with theme of
people being shallow and only going for someone based on their looks. Afiong
soon learns her lesson when she finds out that her new husband is actually from
the spirit world and only a mere skull. I thought it was creative that the
skulls mother helped Afiong get back to the human world by calling the wind to
help send her back! I would really like to use this story… I just need to come
up with a cool idea to run with! I thought the story called The Elephant and the Tortoise was a
creative way to explain why elephants have such small eyes in comparison to
their bodies. I can’t believe the elephant fell for the tortoise’s trick and
let him cut out his eyes to eat! I wonder what would have happened if the worm
had never allowed the elephant to borrow it’s eyes… would they still be blind
to this day? Why the Sun and the Moon
Live in the Sky was a cool way to explain why the world is the way that it
is. It would make sense if I wanted to do my assignment on this story in the
form of a bedtime story. Children are very curious and always want answers
about the world around them. Why the Cat
Kills Rats is another story that explains the relationship between these
two animals. Instead of having the cat and the rat as enemies I could change
the story to have them work together as a team!
(Photograph from The Elephant and the Tortoise
Source: UnTextbook)
No comments:
Post a Comment