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The Tortoise And The Snake - A Yoruuba Folk Tale [contrast To America's Tale] - Culture - Nairaland

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The Tortoise And The Snake - A Yoruuba Folk Tale [contrast To America's Tale] by Nobody: 11:06pm On Jan 09, 2011
Ijapa the tortoise went on a long walk. He walked very far and got very tired. Ijapa was very hungry too.

Ijapa came to the village where Ojola, the boa snake, lived. Ijapa thought, "I am so hungry, I will stop here. Ojola will surely give me food to eat."

Ijapa went to Ojola's house and Ojola welcomed him. They sat in the cool house and talked. Ijapa smelled food cooking in the other part of the house. Ojola said, "Come, let us get ready to eat together."

Ijapa went outside to prepare for the meal. When he came back, the food was placed in the center of the house and Ijapa smelled the aroma. But the tortoise could not reach the food. The snake was coiled all around it. Ijapa got more and more hungry.

Ojola the snake said, "Come sit with me and eat."

Ijapa said, "I would be very happy to sit and eat. But Ojola, why are you surrounding the meal?"

Ojola replied, "This is the way of the snakes. When we eat, we sit around the food like this." Ojola ate and ate of the food, but Ijapa could not get it at all. Ojola finished eating at last. He said to Ijapa, "How good it is to eat with a friend."

Ijapa was even hungrier after the meal than when he came to Ojola's house. He felt much in his heart about what happened.

Ijapa decided to invite Ojola to his house for a meal on a feast day. Ijapa's wife prepared all the foods and Ijapa went out to weave a long tail for himself out of grass. He stuck it on with tree gum.

Ojola arrived to share the feast. The tortoise welcomed him and said, "You have come a long way and you are hungry." Ojola went to wash at a spring and when he returned to Ijapa's house, he saw Ijapa was already eating. Ijapa had coiled his long grass tail all around the food. Ojola could not get near enough to eat. Ijapa heartily ate the food.

Around and around Ojola went. He could not get to the food. "Ijapa," the snake said, "how is it that you used to be so short and now you are so very long?"

"One person learns from another," Ijapa said.






Read more: http://www.beliefnet.com/Love-Family/2000/10/Teaching-Tales-The-Tortoise-And-The-Snake.aspx#ixzz1AZtqVzoh

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Re: The Tortoise And The Snake - A Yoruuba Folk Tale [contrast To America's Tale] by Phoenix6278(m): 9:36am On Jan 10, 2011
9ce one, noted
Re: The Tortoise And The Snake - A Yoruuba Folk Tale [contrast To America's Tale] by oludashmi(f): 10:47am On Jan 10, 2011
Very nice one
Lesson learnt too
The tortoise and its usual cunning attitude
Re: The Tortoise And The Snake - A Yoruuba Folk Tale [contrast To America's Tale] by tunnytox(m): 8:49pm On Jan 10, 2011
nice one! another set of ijapa stories for me to tell my children. there is one that lead's to a proverb that goes this way: ebu alo ni t'ahun t'abo ti ana e Its a story between the Snail and the tortoise. I'll try to post the story later
Re: The Tortoise And The Snake - A Yoruuba Folk Tale [contrast To America's Tale] by Nobody: 7:20pm On Jan 11, 2011
tunnytox:

nice one! another set of ijapa stories for me to tell my children. there is one that lead's to a proverb that goes this way: ebu alo ni t'ahun t'abo ti ana e Its a story between the Snail and the tortoise. I'll try to post the story later

I will be waiting for it
Re: The Tortoise And The Snake - A Yoruuba Folk Tale [contrast To America's Tale] by Nobody: 7:21pm On Jan 11, 2011
oludashmi:

Very nice one
Lesson learnt too
The tortoise and its usual cunning attitude


Did you read about Ijapa and his soup. . . .when he ate his wife's soup? Or the Ijapa ati erin?


Does anyone know where I can buy some books containing Yoruba folktales? Thanks in advance!
Re: The Tortoise And The Snake - A Yoruuba Folk Tale [contrast To America's Tale] by tunnytox(m): 8:23pm On Jan 12, 2011
Yeah! the story goes like this:

Long time ago, the Tortoise and the snail were very good friends. Snail was a very successful farmer but the Tortoise was a layabout but because of their friendship snail allowed his daughter to marry the Tortoise. Very soon after the wedding the Tortoise felt the need to feed his wife and since he doesn't have any reasonable job he taught the best option for him was to steal from snail's farm, soon afterwards snail started to notice that many of his farm produce often went missing. Snail reported this incident to the king several times but the supposed thief was still elusive.

One day the snail taught of what to do in order to catch the thief, so he set a trap for the thief and hide to see who this strage thief was. The tortoise came as usuall to steal from the snail's farm but this time his luck ran out, he was caught by the trap and the snail bound him with rope. The tortoise started to beg snail, reminding him of the fact that he is his in-law but the snail was adamant and determined to make an example of the tortoise.

The snail took the tortoise to the road that lead to the village market and tied him to a tree, he placed beside him all the farm produce that the tortoise has stolen and forced the tortoise to confess. Many of the early morning traders going to the market were raining abuses on tortoise, the tortoise was so ashamed of himself but he accepted the punishment for his crime. However, after all the traders have left for the market, the tortoise pleaded with the snail to release him and at least save him from further abuse that may come his way while the traders are returning back home in the evening. The snail refused to yield to the tortoise pleadings and thought it will be more fun if the traders could rain abuses on tortoise again on their return from the market. However, while many of these traders were returning they were surprised to still meet the tortoise tied up since morning and this time around they believe the punishment was too much so they turn to the snail instead saying "oto to eyi la'na igbin!" which translates: so the snail can treat his in law this way? they started raining abuses on the snail for being too wicked and inconsiderate. The snail was so ashamed of himself, he set the tortoise free then the tortoise said to him "if only you have listened to my pleas earlier you would not have suffered all these backlash".

That's where the proverb came from: Eebu alo ni ta'hun ta'bo ni ta'na e which tranlates: the earlier abuse was for the tortoise but the later was for his in-law (the snail). The story teaches us to forgive whoever wronged us but apologise for their wrong doings

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