The Folktales and Superstitions That Shaped My Childhood #300

I can't fathom the gravity of different tales and superstitious words that I have gotten from my parents, with my mum especially.

"Thank God rain is falling," she would say. She would say that one should not stay at the doorpost or by the window in order not to get the thunder to notice me.

She would say that one should not count while pounding so that one will not go deaf.
She would also say that one should not sit on the mortar in order not to send one's blessings away.

Though she called some of those things superstitions or tradition, but as I have grown up, I see this as a way to prevent a child from doing the wrong things in the olden days.

My dad was like a different person. He told me one day, "Can you see the moon? Don't you see that it looked like a dog?"

I would answer yes.... "That is what Dog has done to its mother."

I would then ask why!

Dad would immediately say, "Let me tell you the story."

He would begin with the phrase "Story, story."

I (and others if they were there) would reply, "Story."
He would say, "Once upon a time," then we would reply, "Time, time."

He would then proceed with the story title and finally tell us the story.

He said that there was a time in the animal kingdom when food was scarce and there was famine in the land.

So the trick master, Tortoise, suggested that everyone should offer their mother as food on a rotational basis. Everyone agreed.

However, Dog loved his own mother and decided to keep her in the moon. He said that in those days the moon was really close and that Dog's mother would have to throw a rope from the moon whenever she heard a song.

Hmm! Dog was a wise person, right? Yes!

He would gather all different kinds of meat from different animals and store it. When it was his own turn to offer his mother, Dog gave out all the meat that he had stored.

However, Tortoise the wise one knew that there was something fishy about the meat. He thought that the taste of that meat looked different and decided to observe Dog and where he went.

So one day he finally found out that Dog sings a song ("Dog mother, dog mother, hi hi o" ×4) and almost immediately his mother in the moon would drop the rope.

Immediately, he reported his discovery to the other animals, also suggesting that they visit his mother whenever Dog wasn't with her.

Hmm! The plan was now in motion.
Different animals began to mimic Dog by singing, "Dog mother, dog mother, hi hi o; dog mother, dog mother, hi hi o...." Dog's mother wasn't sure and was hesitant at first, but she later let down the rope.

Tortoise the wise one decided to climb last.
During the climb, Dog was going back to see his mother. Unexpectedly, he noticed the group of animals halfway to his mother's abode.

"Mum! Cut the rope, cut the rope....

Mum, cut the rope!!!"

Immediately, his mother did so.

All the animals fell to the ground.
Wise Tortoise fell down first and all the other animals came falling on him until his shell broke.

Oh! My dad would always ask about the morals of the story.

I totally believed the story and I am sure many of the Gen Zees know it.

What about the story of Dog and Tortoise going to steal from the farm?

There was no food, so lazy family men Dog and Tortoise went to steal from the farm. Dog stole just one and Tortoise stole a lot. He stole so much that he could not walk. He was screaming, "Dog, wait for me now!" Dog, noticing his greediness, ran for his life. He began to sing a song that most Gen Zees may know: "Aja duro de mi lo na fe re Ku fe bi o ba duro de mi lo no fe re Ku fe. Maa kigbe o lo ko a gbo fe re Ku fe agbo oo a GBE wa lo." Which translates to: "Dog, wait for me. If you don't wait for me, I will scream until the farmer catches us stealing."

Surely the farmer caught him.

Tortoise, who didn't want to receive the punishment alone, said that Dog was also a member of the whole affair.

Immediately the farmer and the villagers went to Dog's house.

However, Dog had told his wife to make concoctions, pretending that he was sick.

When the villagers came, Dog vomited broken eggs and gave the illusion that he was very sick.

Immediately, the villagers intensified Tortoise's punishment, leading to his broken shell.

What about Tortoise's marriage with a beautiful bird where he renamed himself as "All of You"?
What about the one where he went to steal hot porridge and he became bald?

There were a lot of these tales that I used to believe as a child. They taught us morals, but I don't think they were true.

Some of these stories make us understand why it is not good to be greedy, selfish, and many more. I so much believed the moon story because truly one would think that the moon was small and Dog's mother was actually living there because of some inscription on it.
However, this has been proven wrong by scientists.

Also, sitting on the mortar as my mum warned against is to prevent kids from sitting on the mortar because it is used to make food. What about the doorpost? It was so that kids don't play with water dripping by the door during the rainy season.

Thanks for visiting, bye!!!

Image was generaed via chat gtp

Thanks @ecency, and @theinkwell

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