Where Animals Talk: West African Folk Lore Tales

Robert Hamill Nassau (1835 - 1921)

Robert Nassau spent four decades as a medical missionary in Africa, arriving at Corisco Island, now part of Equatorial Guinea, in 1861; he also worked in the regions now known as Gabon and Cameroon. This book contains 61 folktales (some in multiple versions) that Nassau collected during his career in Africa: 16 stories from Mpongwe storytellers in Gabon, 34 stories from Benga storytellers in Equatorial Guinea, and 11 stories from Fang storytellers in Cameroon, all of which Nassau translated into English. For each story there is a list of the cast of animal characters, which provides the Mpongwe, Benga, and Fang names for each animal character. (Summary by Laura Gibbs)

Genre(s): Culture & Heritage Fiction, Nature & Animal Fiction

Language: English

Section Chapter Reader Time
Play 00 Preface laurakgibbs
00:07:00
Play 01 Mpongwe Tale 1. Do Not Trust your Friend laurakgibbs
00:14:04
Play 02 Mpongwe Tale 2. Leopard's Hunting-Camp laurakgibbs
00:18:56
Play 03 Mpongwe Tale 3. Tests of Death (version 1) laurakgibbs
00:03:20
Play 04 Mpongwe Tale 3. Tests of Death (version 2) laurakgibbs
00:08:30
Play 05 Mpongwe Tale 4. Tasks Done for a Wife laurakgibbs
00:17:56
Play 06 Mpongwe Tale 5. A Tug-of-War laurakgibbs
00:10:41
Play 07 Mpongwe Tale 6. Agenda: Rat's Play on a Name laurakgibbs
00:17:21
Play 08 Mpongwe Tale 7. Nuts are Eaten Because of Angangwe laurakgibbs
00:10:18
Play 09 Mpongwe Tale 8. Who Are Crocodile's Relatives? laurakgibbs
00:03:11
Play 10 Mpongwe Tale 9. Who Is King of Birds? laurakgibbs
00:09:05
Play 11 Mpongwe Tale 10. Njiwo Died of Sleep laurakgibbs
00:03:38
Play 12 Mpongwe Tale 11. Which is the Fattest: Manatus, Hog, or Oyster? laurakgibbs
00:05:53
Play 13 Mpongwe Tale 12. Why Mosquitoes Buzz laurakgibbs
00:02:12
Play 14 Mpongwe Tale 13. Unkind Criticism laurakgibbs
00:03:46
Play 15 Mpongwe Tale 14. The Suitors of Princess Gorilla laurakgibbs
00:08:06
Play 16 Mpongwe Tale 15. Leopard of the Fine Skin laurakgibbs
00:21:44
Play 17 Mpongwe Tale 16. Why the Plantain-Stalk Bears But One Bunch laurakgibbs
00:04:44
Play 18 Benga Tale 1. Swine Talking laurakgibbs
00:03:14
Play 19 Benga Tale 2. Crocodile laurakgibbs
00:01:55
Play 20 Benga Tale 3. Origin of the Elephant laurakgibbs
00:04:59
Play 21 Benga Tale 4. Leopard's Marriage Journey laurakgibbs
00:27:19
Play 22 Benga Tale 5. Tortoise in a Race laurakgibbs
00:07:49
Play 23 Benga Tale 6. Goat's Tournament laurakgibbs
00:03:13
Play 24 Benga Tale 7. Why Goats Became Domestic laurakgibbs
00:06:56
Play 25 Benga Tale 8. Iguana's Forked Tongue laurakgibbs
00:08:07
Play 26 Benga Tale 9. What Caused their Deaths? laurakgibbs
00:05:46
Play 27 Benga Tale 10. A Quarrel about Seniority laurakgibbs
00:09:38
Play 28 Benga Tale 11. The Magic Drum laurakgibbs
00:20:21
Play 29 Benga Tale 12. The Lies of Tortoise laurakgibbs
00:13:01
Play 30 Benga Tale 13. Death Begins by Some One Person laurakgibbs
00:05:50
Play 31 Benga Tale 14. Tortoise and the Bojabi Tree laurakgibbs
00:12:12
Play 32 Benga Tale 15. The Suitors of Njambo's Daughter laurakgibbs
00:13:36
Play 33 Benga Tale 16. Tortoise, Dog, Leopard, and the Njabi Fruit laurakgibbs
00:13:05
Play 34 Benga Tale 17. A Journey for Salt laurakgibbs
00:10:20
Play 35 Benga Tale 18. A Plea for Mercy laurakgibbs
00:09:04
Play 36 Benga Tale 19. The Deceptions of Tortoise laurakgibbs
00:14:15
Play 37 Benga Tale 20. Leopard's Hunting Companions laurakgibbs
00:09:39
Play 38 Benga Tale 21. Is the Bat a Bird or a Beast? laurakgibbs
00:05:47
Play 39 Benga Tale 22. Dog and his Human Speech (version 1) laurakgibbs
00:07:36
Play 40 Benga Tale 22. Dog and his Human Speech (version 2) laurakgibbs
00:12:01
Play 41 Benga Tale 23. The Savior of the Animals laurakgibbs
00:08:35
Play 42 Benga Tale 24. Origin of the Ivory Trade (version 1) laurakgibbs
00:17:36
Play 43 Benga Tale 24. Origin of the Ivory Trade (version 2) laurakgibbs
00:12:33
Play 44 Benga Tale 25. Dog and His False Friend Leopard laurakgibbs
00:07:24
Play 45 Benga Tale 26. A Trick for Vengeance laurakgibbs
00:07:21
Play 46 Benga Tale 27. Not My Fault! laurakgibbs
00:01:44
Play 47 Benga Tale 28. Do Not Impose on the Weak laurakgibbs
00:04:59
Play 48 Benga Tale 29. Borrowed Clothes laurakgibbs
00:02:18
Play 49 Benga Tale 30. The Story of a Panic laurakgibbs
00:03:45
Play 50 Benga Tale 31. A Family Quarrel laurakgibbs
00:02:08
Play 51 Benga Tale 32. The Giant Goat laurakgibbs
00:11:56
Play 52 Benga Tale 33. The Fights of Mbuma-Tyetye laurakgibbs
00:44:46
Play 53 Benga Tale 34. A Snake's Skin Looks Like a Snake laurakgibbs
00:09:41
Play 54 Fang Tale 1. Candor laurakgibbs
00:03:45
Play 55 Fang Tale 2. Which is the Better Hunter, an Eagle or a Leopard? laurakgibbs
00:01:21
Play 56 Fang Tale 3. A Lesson in Evolution laurakgibbs
00:01:57
Play 57 Fang Tale 4. Parrot Standing on One Leg laurakgibbs
00:03:30
Play 58 Fang Tale 5. A Question of Right of Inheritance laurakgibbs
00:02:02
Play 59 Fang Tale 6. Tortoise Covers His Ignorance laurakgibbs
00:01:46
Play 60 Fang Tale 7. A Question as to Age laurakgibbs
00:02:46
Play 61 Fang Tale 8. Abundance laurakgibbs
00:02:55
Play 62 Fang Tale 9. An Oath: With a Mental Reservation laurakgibbs
00:03:33
Play 63 Fang Tale 10. The Treachery of Tortoise laurakgibbs
00:03:30
Play 64 Fang Tale 11. A Chain of Circumstances laurakgibbs
00:04:44