Excerpt from The River's Fables: Traditional Stories of The Gambia

To be published: Fall 2007
Ohio State University Press
Copyright MMVII

Preface

From the summer of 1971 to the summer of 1974 I served as director of UNESCO in The Gambia, West Africa. At the time I was observing a nation building itself out of post-colonial rule. I was director of the physical construction and development of curriculum for the very first institutes of higher education in the country. Now, some 25 years later, I returned to The Gambia and was able to see the fruit of that labour. What I found in The Gambian schools of today was a generation waiting to burst out onto the international scene. The current students were bright and creative, scratching for the opportunity to share their talent in the global community. However, I also saw an increasing lifestyle defined by modern media that was threatening to disconnect this generation from the cultural stories of the past.

This volume is intended in a small way to help preserve and share the traditional stories of The Gambia. The stories have been taken from a wide variety of ethnic groups, and where appropriate similar stories from different ethnic groups have been blended together into one. In my translations I have opted for the use of modern English hoping that it will enable a wide audience to share in the enjoyment of these stories. Due to the lack of a written lexicon in the native languages, we are unfortunately unable to preserve the original stories on paper. In the effort to preserve their original state, we have spent many hours digitally recording and storing these stories, preserving them in their native languages.

I hope you enjoy this glimpse into the myths, thought, and tradition of the people of The Gambia. Happy reading.

~David Kearns
January 2007

Why the hen digs
Before the time of man, the hen and the elephant lived peacefully in the bush. Both were farmers and relied on the yearly crop for their own survival.

There came a time of plentiful harvests and both found that they had much more food than they normally consumed. Elephant had no control of his hunger and his desire for food made him eat every last bit of the year's plentiful crop.

The hen saw the elephant eating all the food, and realized that it would be better to save some food from this year in case next year the harvest was not as plentiful. Hen thought of a simple way to store his food, and simply used his feet to dig some holes in the ground. He then put the food in the holes, covered them, and the food was buried underground.

The next year the harvest was not only smaller than the year before, but also because of poor rainfall the crop was next to nothing! Elephant worried this crop would only be enough to feed him for a couple of months, and began to cry in his sorrow. Hen, smiling, knew despite the difficult harvest this year, he could combine his crops from this year and last and would then have enough food to eat. Hen then began scratching the ground looking for his buried food.

This is why whenever you see a hen pecking for food, his feet are also scratching at the ground, digging to find his buried supply.

Be never too big
A long time ago deep in the bush, elephant and bird were close friends.

One day while walking through the bush, bird said to elephant, "You are my best friend. I promise to help you in case you are ever in danger."

Elephant was a bit selfish and thought; bird just wants me to promise the same thing to him. I am large and powerful and could easily help bird whenever he is in trouble, but how will bird ever help me? Elephant therefore did not return the promise to bird. In silence, the two went on their way through the bush.

The next day elephant was relaxing under a big tree while bird rested on a high branch.

At this time a hunter was also making his way towards the elephant. The hunter knew the fame and riches that could be had if he killed the elephant, and decided this was his chance to do it. The hunter slowly made his way towards the elephant hiding in bushes to avoid detection.

Since bird was high up in the tree, as the hunter crept closer and closer to elephant bird was able to spot him. However, bird kept quiet. Bird watched as the hunter took out his gun and shot the elephant, mortally wounding him.

Bird then flew down to elephant and asked, "My dear friend what is the problem?"

Elephant in pain replied, "I have been shot. I think I am going to die."

Bird looked up at his friend and said, "Elephant, I must let you know. I saw the hunter coming. I could have told you to move, saving your life. But yesterday when I told you that I would help you if you were ever in danger, you felt too good to do the same for me. I wanted to be true to you, but you were not willing to be true to me. I am sorry."

To this day, friends always should remember elephant and bird. You should never feel too big to help another. The person you might help today, is the same person who might help you tomorrow.

The three sons
A long time ago in a small village lived three unhappy fathers and each of their three sons. All three fathers were terribly unhappy because each of their sons was known as the town fool. Each proved their foolishness every day, yet each had one story that would define their foolishness for the rest of their lives.

The first son was sent by his father to retrieve some baobab fruit from a nearby forest. After walking through the forest the son found a large baobab tree and began throwing sticks at the fruit trying to knock them down. His aim was poor and he was unable to hit down any of the fruit, so he realized he would have to climb up the tree to retrieve the fruit. He climbed up the twisting branches and came to a bundle of five delicious looking fruit and said, "Ah, these are the fruit that I want. These will make father happy."

The son made special note of which fruit they were, and where they were in the tree. He then climbed back down to the ground. Once more he picked up his stick, looked for the spot on the tree where the five fruits were, and began throwing his stick in the direction of the fruit. The son spent all day throwing and throwing, but his aim was still poor, and by sundown came home empty handed.

The second son was sent by his father to get bark from a tree so that it could be stripped and made into rope. The son went out into the bush and without too much difficultly found the right type of tree. He then began peeling away at the bark, and once he had enough bark he began to strip it into pieces and tie it into rope. Nearing the end of the day, he sat on his giant pile of rope proud of a hard day's work. He then realized he had little time to get back home before dark. As he looked down at his rope he thought a horrible thought and shouted, "Oh no! I'll never make it home trying to carry this big pile of rope. I need some way to put it into a large bundle, but how am I ever going to tie up all this rope into a bundle?"

The third son was sent by his father to find a large branch in the forest. The father wanted to make a small shelter and needed some wood in a Y shape for the frame. He sent the son out to find some wood with a strong straight base, but a split in the branches matching the Y shape he needed. Along the road to the forest the son became tired and looked down at the road, which at this point split in two directions. He thought to himself, "I know, I'll just cut a Y shape out of this road and bring it back to father. That will make him happy!"

The son went to work cutting and cutting with his axe, but at the end of the day came back with only a blunt axe to show for his effort.

Now each of these three sons was foolish, but within the village it is often asked, which one is the biggest fool?

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New Year's was a quiet affair and I was in bed by 9:30. Lots to improve upon, goals to achieve, and service to complete. The time is now. Here's to 2007.