Tale of Two Huts

There was a young man who never seemed to catch a break.  Trouble followed the boy all of this life.  Finally he set out to gain wisdom so his future would be bright.  He asked the old sage who lived near his village what road should he take to gain wisdom and become wealthy.  The old man told the youth, " Follow this road for a three day journey.  It will lead you to the village of "Hakilobalia "(Want of Wisdom).  In the village square there will be two huts very close together. In one of the huts is the wisdom and the wealth of the ancient kings of Segu.  In the other door, death waits for those who enter. In front of the huts are two men.   You may ask only one question to only one man. Beware, one man always speaks truth, the other always speaks lies.  If you ask the right question your journey will end with a great reward."  The youth thanked the sage and left.  A week later the youth returned with a large caravan.  He stopped to pay tribute to the sage for helping him find wisdom and wealth.  He smiled and told the sage, "I asked the right question!" Question: What question did he ask?

Abdim's Stork

A down on his luck fisherman on the Niger river found an Abdim's Stork trapped in a net, and set it free.  Soon after his luck seemed to change.  Days later be met a beautiful woman who became his wife.  As a wedding gift she offered her husband "a piece of herself".  Her gift was a new fishing net, she had crafted herself.  The net was like nothing he had ever seen.  The fish seemed drawn to the net.  Soon he was known as the best fisherman on the river.  He asked his wife to make him another net. Reluctantly she agreed, locking herself up in a straw hut.  She warned him not to enter until she finished or his good fortune would end.  He bought a second pirogue (boat) hired another man to fish the with the net. Soon his wealth doubled. Greedy for more, he asked his wife to make another net. She declined, he told her he could not love her if she did not make the net.  She agreed and reminded him he was not to enter the straw hut while she worked. His wife worked in a small straw hut like the one her husband used when he was gone on fishing trips.  Her husband grew inpatient and  looked into the hut.  There he found the bird he had saved weaving her own breast feathers into a fishing net.  Seeing him the bird flew away.  The fisherman never saw the bird or his wife ever again.  Moral: The husband may be the head of a home, but the wife is the heart of a home.

Go Back And Get It

There was a mother who had two sons.  The eldest was evil and never learned the ways of his people. The youngest son learned the wisdom passed down from the ancestors.  The youngest son spent many hours walking in the woods, learning lessons from the animals. One day as the sun was falling behind the mountains he saw a glowing light.  He followed the light until he came to a small hut. Over the doorpost was a carving of a bird looking backward with an egg in its mouth. The boy knew it was the Adinkra symbol "Sankofa". He knocked and an old man with a long white beard opened the door. The beard seemed to shimmer against the old man's dark wrinkled skin.  The old man invited him inside.  "I have very liittle to eat" said the man.  But he offered the boy a few roots to make a soup.  The boy boiled the roots and thickened it with some bread he had  in his robe.  When the stew was ready, the old man said that he was hungry. The boy knew it was wise to honor his elders and shared his food.  He even gave the old man the larger portion.  The old man offered his straw filled mat to the boy to sleep on for the night.  The boy refused, saying he could sleep on the floor, and the man should have the mat because he was older.  In the morning the boy awoke up to find himself alone in the hut.  By the door was a bag of money with a note on top. The note said the old man was named "Sankofa" a messenger from God.  "Because of your patience and tolerance, I will reward you with gold and a new name."  On the back of the note was a the symbol of "Akoma"  the heart. Akoma quickly rushed home and told his family what happened. The older brother saw the gold he became jealous.  The next day, he set out to find the old man. Just before dark he found the hut. Just like before, the old man offered the boy roots to boil for soup. The boy also made a thick stew. When the old man said he was hungry, the evil boy gave him the scraps after he had eaten.  The older brother took the old man's mat and let him sleep on the floor.  In the morning the boy searched for his bag of money. The note on top of the bag had the symbol of a yellow flowered plant. The note  from Sankofa said, "Your name would now be "FoFo" because your heart is filled with envy and jealousy." He saw the bag by the door, and stuck his head in the bag looking for money.  But inside the bag was a Sankofa, the mythical bird just like the one over the doorpost.  The bird grabbed the boy's nose and turned his head until it faced backward.  The evil brother came home with his feet facing forward and his neck facing backward just like the Sankofa.  Many people laughed at Fofo. It was only Akoma who showed compassion and taught his brother the wisdom of the ancestors.  Once the older brother learned the lessons he missed growing up, his head magically turned around straight. Moral; It is not wrong to go back after what is forgotten.

The Lion's Whisker

A young wife was upset because her husband no longer showed her the same affection as he did when they were first married.  She asked the Marabout for a potion or amulet that would restore his love.  He told her needed one ingredent that he didn't have, "the whisker given freely from a live lion." If she could get it, he would make her amulet.  She left determined to get the whisker. Each morning she brought food to the lion. At first she set it at a far distance from his cave. But each day she moved a step closer. Over time she gained the lion's trust and he would come out and meet her at the mouth of the cave. The next day she asked the lion for a whisker.  He laid his head on her lap as she cut one whisker with a pair of sissors. She thanked the lion and headed to she the Marabout. She have him the whisker and told the story of how she got the whisker.  The Marabout took the whisker and placed it in the fire. He then turned to her and and said, "You do not need an amulet. Do for your husband as you did for the lion."  She did and over time her husband's love returned.

The Fairy Frog

In a land far away, at a time before time was measured, lived a beautiful maiden. She was taller and more beautiful than all of the king's daughters. Her sisters feared that they would never get noticed as long as Tombi-Ende (Tall Maiden) was alive.  The sisters took her to a great pit and buried her alive.  They told the king that she fell into a pit and suffocated and died.  Each girl told a different story of Tombi-Ende's death, so the king did not believe them. But Tombi-Ende was not dead.  The cracks in the ground provided her with enough air to breathe sing out.  As darkness fell a giant frog came to her rescue. He dug her out and swallowed her, and jumped out of the pit.  The frog agreed to carry the princess to her grandmothers village, because it would be safer than her own.  The journey was long and dangerous, but neither human or animal bothered the great frog and the princess inside him.  When the frog returned Tombi-Ende to her grandmother they prepared a feast.  Before the end of the feast the frog had disappeared.  The King sent his son to bring Tombi-Ende home safely.  But the three day journey was made even more difficult because the springs were drying up.  As the two searched for water a giant appeared, offering to help them find water in exchange for the princess.  Out of options they agreed.  The giant took them to a tree and stuck his spear into the ground, and out came a fountain of water.  The two drank there fill. They looked as the giant took his true form as an ogre. As Tombi-Ende cried out in fear, the giant frog leaped out of the fountain.  He opened his mouth and swallowed the ogre and drowned him in the fountain.  The frog accompanied Tombi-Ende and her brother to their father's home.  The king wanted to kill the frog, but Tombi-Ende told him how he saved her life twice.  As she looked on him with compassion, the frog turned in to a handsome prince even taller than Tombi-Ende.  The frog was the son of a great chief, and had been turned into a frog the the ogre until he could win the heart of a beautiful maiden.  Within days the two were married and lived with joy until the end of there story.

PUSH

A skinny 95 lb man is tired of being picked on and seeks heavenly advice to solve his problem.  A voice speaks to the man. "Go and push the rock at the bottom of the hill."  Certain the voice was from God, the man finds the boulder and begins trying to push it up the hill.  The man pushes all day but the boulder does not move. The next morning the voice speaks to him again, "Go an push the rock at the bottom of the hill.  Again the man pushes the boulder but it does not move.  Day after day, week after week, month after month the man pushes the rock.  After a year of pushing that boulder, the man once again seeks heavenly advice. "I asked you to help me with by problem and you sent me to push a rock, I have done it without question. But I don't see why you keep telling me to push a rock that will not budge."  The voice spoke to the man again. "Look in the mirror."  In the mirror was a strong man with ripped muscles. in a year pushing that rock caused a transformation in his body.  The voice spoke again and said, "I had you push the rock not because I wanted the  rock to be changed, but that you could be changed!" Moral: Many obstacles in your life are there to transform your life, not for you to transform them.

Dreaming Under The Baobab Tree

Two friends who lived in poverty decided a change in location may bring a change in their fortune as well.  The two men began their journey looking for a better future.  They traveled for many days and nights, up and down hills and valleys.  There came a time that one friend could travel no further. He stopped in a small village and decided to stay.  The other friend kept going.  That night he found shelter under the Baobab tree. As he slept the tree spoke to him in a dream.  "The King's daughter in the next village is very sick.  Take a leaf from my branches and make her a tea, when she drinks she will be healed."  The next morning the man took the leaf and traveled to the house of the King.  He told the King he was here to heal his daughter.  After many questions the King let the man enter.  He prepared a tea from the leaf of the Baobab tea, and spoon fed her until she was well.  The King rewarded the man with great wealth and also the hand of his daughter in marriage.  One day he was thinking about his traveling companion, so he paid him a visit.  His friend's fortune had not changed, he was still very poor. The rich friend told the story of the dream under the Baobab tree.  Upon leaving he gave his friend a bag of gold sharing his good fortune.  The bag of gold  was not enough for the friend.  That night he found the Baobab tree and slept under the tree hoping for a special dream.  During the night the tree spoke "Leave this place".  But the man refused.  Again the tree spoke "Leave this place!" Again, the man refused.  A third time the tree spoke "Leave this place now!  The man refused a third time. The man refused to listen to the dream that would change his fortune.  In the morning the man was found dead, killed in the night by wild animals.  Moral: Follow your Dreams!