Àlọ́: Folktales and Riddles
The evening storytelling tradition, the call-and-response frame that opens it, riddles as a separate discipline, and the Ìjàpá cycle read as a body of ethical and comic literature.
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The evening storytelling tradition, the call-and-response frame that opens it, riddles as a separate discipline, and the Ìjàpá cycle read as a body of ethical and comic literature.
The Yorùbá wey dem quote, the proverbs, oríkì, ẹsẹ Ifá, word list headwords, Odù names and citations dey exactly as the corpus record dem, for every language.
Àlọ́ na the Yoruba word for folktale and riddle, and the tradition divide am into two. Àlọ́ àpamọ̀ na riddles, wey come from pamọ̀, to hide sometin: short statement wey dey confuse person and wey need answer. Àlọ́ àpagbè na the tori dem, wey come from gbè, to join or support: tori wey the audience dey sing the chorus. The way dem divide am depend on wetin the audience dey do. For one, the person wey dey listen must give answer; for the other one, the listener must join voice sing.
Dem dey do the two for evening after work don finish for the day, normally na older person to children, and dem two dey teach lesson as dem dey entertain. Na this particular genre for this section be wetin almost every Yoruba adult experience directly when dem dey small, and na im television and phone don displace pass.
Àlọ́ no dey start without formal call and response, and this exchange dey always be the same every time.
Apàlọ̀: Ààlọ́ o Agbààlọ̀: Ààlọ̀
Teller: A story! Audience: A story!
Translator: Olumide Zaccheus Adegbodu
Yoruba as Adegbodu print am ; the English na the standard way dem dey translate am, wey dem also give as "Here is a story" and the response "Let us have the story".
The two word almost resemble and na tone differentiate dem: the caller own Ààlọ́ and the responder own Ààlọ̀ na forms of the same word wey get different tone, and na why English translation of the exchange dey always look like useless repetition. No be repetition, na tonal call and answer, and na im be the signature of the genre. The words dem use make the roles pair together formally: apàlọ̀ na the person wey dey do the àlọ́ and agbààlọ̀ na the person wey dey receive am, so the audience get title, wey show clear say the audience dey participate, no be say dem just dey look.
The function na to mark boundary. The formula na intro wey dey separate everyday reality from the imaginary world of the tori, and at the end the narrator dey bring the audience back to real life with closing formula, wey one recorded form na Ìdí àlọ́ mi rèé, "this is the base of my story" Person no fit tell anything without the frame, because na the frame dey make wetin follow become tori instead of claim about the world.
This one still be, for the level of the genre system wey dem describe for yoruba-oral-genre-system, an entextualising device according to Barber: the formula dey announce say wetin dey follow na sometin wey dem fit separate and repeat, no be ordinary talk.
Riddles na training discipline. Wetin scholars consistently talk na say dem dey exist to test and develop how young people dey reason, to prepare dem to think fast and find solution to problems wey dem never see before . Dem dey put dem together with proverbs and tongue-twisters as intellectual exercise for traditional Yoruba education, and dem don describe traditional African education say e dey train brain through riddles, wey dey encourage person to observe things and reason logically .
The material for the riddles na the immediate environment. The Yoruba habit of studying things carefully and attentively na wetin produce àlọ́ àpamọ̀, and riddles dey built on how house things, animals, plants, birds, trees, and people dey look or behave .
Notice the shared frame: every riddle wey dey below dey open with the same call and response like tori.
1.
Apàlọ̀: Ààlọ́ o Agbààlọ̀: Ààlọ̀ Apàlọ̀: Onímú ń gbé imú rẹ̀ bọ̀ ọjà tú o. Ìdáhùn: Ọkọ̀
The owner of the nose comes bringing his nose, and the market scatters. Answer: a vehicle.
Translator: Olumide Zaccheus Adegbodu
Yoruba and answer as Adegbodu print am, wey cite Adésuà 1978; the English translation na Adegbodu own .
Notes. The answer depend on personification: the motor get nose, wey be im bonnet, and people dey scatter make way for am. Adegbodu see the riddle as sometin wey still dey teach road safety awareness, and link am to the proverb ààbò ara ẹni ni ààbò ìlú, person own safety na the town safety .
2.
Apàlọ̀: Mo sunmí bàràkàtà, mo fi ewé bàràkàtà bòó. Ìdáhùn: Ilẹ̀ àti ìsánmọ̀
I made a huge dropping and covered it with a huge leaf. Answer: the earth and the sky.
Translator: Olumide Zaccheus Adegbodu
Yoruba and answer as Adegbodu print am, wey cite Adélékè 2008/2009; English translation na Adegbodu own .
Notes. The joke dey work for two ways. On top surface e be like child dirty talk, wey make children dey remember am, and the answer come change that same picture enter cosmology: the earth na the thing wey dey ground and the sky na the leaf wey cover am. Bàràkàtà na ideophone for sometin wey wide well well, wey dem use two times, and na im dey carry the meaning from the rough level reach the cosmic level. Adegbodu still notice the hygiene lesson wey dey inside am too .
3.
Apàlọ̀: Kín ni ń bá ọba mutí? Ìdáhùn: Eṣinṣin
What drinks wine with the king? Answer: the housefly.
Translator: Olumide Zaccheus Adegbodu
Yoruba and answer as Adegbodu print am, wey cite Bamgbose 2017; English na Adegbodu own .
Notes. Riddle about rank. Nobody dey drink with king; na fly dey do am, because fly no dey recognise rank. Adegbodu see am as lesson on top the limit of power and say make person no let position shack am .
4.
Apàlọ̀: Òrúkú tindí tindí, Òrúkú tindì tindì, Òrúkú bí igba ọmọ, Ó sán gbogbo wọn ní tòbí. Ìdáhùn: Ìṣápá
Òrúkú tindí tindí, Òrúkú tindì tindì, Òrúkú bore two hundred children and tied a waist-cloth on every one of them. Answer: the sorrel plant, ìṣápá.
Translator: Olumide Zaccheus Adegbodu
Yoruba and di answer na as Adegbodu print am, wey cite Ọlábímtán 1982; di English na Adegbodu own .
Wetins dey about di translation. Di first two line na tonal pair, tindí tindí against tindì tindì, na di same syllables but with different tone pitch, exactly di style wey di opening formula dey use. English no fit bring am out, and Adegbodu translation just call dem praise names. Igba, two hundred, na di normal Yoruba number wey dey mean plenti-plenti thing instead of exact count. Di answer depend on knowing di plant: sorrel (Hibiscus sabdariffa) get plenti seed pod wey calyx wrap each of dem, and dem see di calyx like tòbí, di cloth wey woman dey tie for waist. Di riddle na oríkì of one plant, wey dem build like di praise poetry inside yoruba-oriki, and dis one show how dis genres dem blend enter each other.
5.
Apàlọ̀: Kín ló ń kọjá lójúde ọba tí kò kí ọba o? Ìdáhùn: Àgbàrá òjò
What passes in front of the palace and does not greet the king? Answer: flood water.
Translator: Olumide Zaccheus Adegbodu
Yoruba and di answer na as Adegbodu print am, wey cite Bámgbósé 2017; di English na Adegbodu own .
Note dem. Greeting na must inside dis culture and make pesin no greet king na something wey pesin no fit even think of, so wetin di riddle base on na impossible thing, wey dem resolve by mentioning something wey no be pesin. Adegbodu still see lesson about drainage inside am too , wey show how di genre fit stretch: riddle dey open for any kind lesson wey di teller want put on top am.
Di name mean call-and-response tori, and e dey call di mechanism . Di person wey dey tell tori dey lead and di audience dey take di chorus, so dat di tellers and di listeners na active participants inside activity wey get singing and dancing, and dis one dey show both di entertainment and di educational value of dis form .
Di way dem dey teach through am na deliberate thing and dem don describe di structure clearly. Di tori teller dey allow di children make dem join body for di storytelling, inside well-arranged atmosphere wey di teller still hold authority over di whole activity, and dem dey achieve di educational purpose through di critical feedback wey di teller dey get from question-and-answer model for di end of each tori . So di shape of an evening na: frame, tori with sung chorus dem, den question dem.
How Bamgbose classify Yoruba folktale themes divide dem into three: moral stories, tortoise stories, and "why" stories, wey di last one be aetiological tori dem wey dey explain how something take happen or how e take be like dat . Di categories dey mix enter each other, since most tortoise tori dem na still moral tori, and plenti of dem na still why-story dem, like di cracked shell of tortoise wey be di standard example.
Dem discuss di song dem wey dey inside di tori for file 09, since dem belong to di wider discussion of orin.
Ìjàpá na by far di most popular character inside Yoruba folktale , and e hold di position wey Anansi di spider hold for Ghana, Sierra Leone and Liberia, and wey Hare hold for East, Central and Southern Africa . Im other name dem na Àhun, Abahun and Aláábahun, with di epithet Ìjàpá Ọlọ́gbọ́n Ẹ̀wẹ́, tortoise di cunning one.
Im character dey constant across di cycle. E dey cunning, lazy, greedy, and proverbially lazy reach level say e no get power to work . E still small and e physically weak, and dis na di whole point about am: na im be di figure wey dey show say sense dey pass power, and at di same time na di figure wey im own wayo dey turn back catch am. Di trickster na mixture of good and bad instead of say e be hero or villain, and Ìjàpá fit help people well well for one moment and come do serious mischief for di next moment.
Small note on wetin e no be. Ìjàpá na secular trickster and e different from Èṣù, wey be deity and wey im own unpredictable nature dey cosmological instead of comic. Popular writing dey always mix dem together. yoruba-esu explain why dat kind joining dey wrong, and e matter here because if pesin take Ìjàpá as avatar of god, e go remove di exact thing wey make di tori work, wey be say e be ordinary greedy person wey no get any status.
Di single tori wey get best documentation for reading di cycle as ethics na Ìjàpá àti Ìgbín, Tortoise and Snail, inside di analysis wey Olugbemi-Gabriel and Ukpi do . Di tori, as dem explain am:
Ìjàpá just marry Yannibo, wey be di daughter of Ìgbín (Snail), and now e get another mouth wey e must feed. Everyday, without any farm or clear source of income, e dey come house like every other farmer with big-big yam, wey Yannibo dey cook for di family. Meanwhile Ìgbín, im father-in-law, dey suffer continuous theft of yam, pepper, tomatoes and vegetables from im farm wey dey confuse am. As e no fit fold hand dey look make im farm scatter, Ìgbín set trap. For early morning di next day, e find Ìjàpá, im beloved son-in-law, wey trap don catch and wey dey inside serious pain, with fresh yam and vegetables wey e just dig beside am.
Ìgbín drag Ìjàpá go one big baobab tree for di junction wey farm road dem meet and tie am there, without any way make e escape. Throughout di day, people dey make rough joke with Ìjàpá, and e receive insult and serious abuse from everybody wey pass, as e come turn object of shame.
Na here di tori change direction. Wen work finish for evening, people wey dey return from farm come see say Ìjàpá still dey tie for di same spot, im body don weak finish and shame plus punishment don wear am out. Na so di table turn against Ìgbín, wey di whole community come regard as aláṣejù, pesin wey do pass wetin normal .
Two proverbs carry di meaning.
Ìwọ̀ntúnwọ̀nsì ló yẹ ọmọlúàbí.
Moderation is what befits a person of good character.
Translator: Olumide Olugbemi-Gabriel and Mbasughun Ukpi
Àlọ ni ti Ìjàpá, àbọ̀ ni ti àna rẹ̀.
Ìjàpá gets the first blame; the second blame is his in-law's.
Translator: Olumide Olugbemi-Gabriel and Mbasughun Ukpi
Di two proverbs as dem print am with dia English translation by Olugbemi-Gabriel and Ukpi; di word-by-word meaning na from di compiler .
Àlọ and àbọ̀, di waka go and di waka return, na di front and back journey, and here dem mark di two halves of di day and di two judgement, di morning own for Ìjàpá and di evening own for Ìgbín. Di published English, "first blame" and "second blame", make di meaning clear but e drop di travel metaphor. Make we also note say àlọ, di waka go, na different word from àlọ́, di tori, based on tone. Aláṣejù form from ṣe, to do, plus jù, to pass: di pesin wey im action pass di boundary, where jù dey point to di limit of wetin pesin suppose do and where individual freedom stop .
Di moral structure wey di authors bring out na double judgement . Dem no dey gree for thief at all, and Ìgbín dey right to punish im son-in-law no matter di family relation. But di same society still expect Ìgbín, as an ọmọlúàbí, make e control imself with ìwọ̀ntúnwọ̀nsì, moderation, as e dey find justice, and di way e break dat expectation make di whole community turn against am. Punishment for Ìjàpá no be wetin only di pesin wey dem offend go decide; na community mata . Di main concepts wey dey play, ọmọlúàbí, ìwọ̀ntúnwọ̀nsì and molẹ́bí (family relation), na dem dem dey take judge whether pesin be proper human being, and wetin stand behind all of dem na ìwà, character, wey Gbadegesin call say na perhaps di most important moral concept, di main ting wey dem dey take judge pesin morally . Concerning Ìjàpá dem dey talk say Ìjàpá ti ṣ'ìwà nù, tortoise don lose character . yoruba-iwa-and-yoruba-ethics treat all dese concepts direct.
Na why dis collection of tori make sense to take serious as real literature. Tori wey look like joke about greedy tortoise actually dey carry two-sided argument about how punishment suppose balance with di offence, wey dem dey tell children, but di final blow come land on di punisher instead of di thief.
Patterns wey dey repeat inside di tortoise tori dem:
Ìjàpá dey get food wey e no work for, through stealing, trick, or to take advantage of friend generosity. Hunger and food na di constant topic for di cycle, wey make sense for farming society wey experience famine.
Di plan go first work, den e go overdo. Dem hard to catch am for di first try. Na wen e repeat di trick, or do am bigger, na im dem dey catch am, and di moral lesson mostly dey talk about doing pass mark rather than di first lie or stealing.
Di body na di evidence. Trap dey catch am, e dey get stuck inside hole, or e no fit pass through door because of wetin e don chop. Di shell wey crack na di permanent record.
Di victim na friend or relative. Snail, Pig, Elephant, Squirrel, Python: na pesin close to am e dey betray, wey make am serious moral issue instead of just common prank.
Community na di judge. How di tori take dey end na say everybody go know wetin happen, and public shame na di punishment, just like di people wey dey pass by di baobab tree.
Di scholarly collection na Oyekan Owomoyela, Yoruba Trickster Tales (University of Nebraska Press, 1997), by di scholar wey still produce di standard Yoruba proverb collections . Ayọ Bamgbose work give di classification . For Yoruba, Adun Amoo's Àkójọpọ̀ Àlọ́ Àpagbè (2010) na compilation of tales inside di language .
Two warnings on wetin dey everywhere:
Retellings no be original transcriptions. Plenti of wetin dey circulate for print and internet as Yoruba folktale na expanded English prose narrative, wey some good well-well, based on tori wey people remember. Na proper literary work but e no be record of live performance. Dis collection no quote from dat kind retellings, and say dem no dey here na deliberate choice, no be oversight.
Tutuola and Fágúnwà na authored literature. Amos Tutuola im The Palm-Wine Drinkard and D. O. Fágúnwà im Yoruba novels borrow well-well from dis storytelling tradition, but dem no be folktale collections. Dis work make dis point clear for sources-primary-oral-texts and repeat am here because people still dey confuse am.
Àlọ́ survive before through one specific setting: evenings without light, extended families, and elders with children audience wey nothing dey distract dem. Dat kind setting don almost disappear for urban Yorubaland. Di genre still survive for inside books, schools, animation and video adaptation, and for podcast and web collections, but all dese don change am from performance wey everybody dey take part inside to product wey dem just dey deliver. Di call-and-response format na di first ting wey loss, since recording no fit hear di audience answer Ààlọ̀. File 14 treat di bigger question.
How Yoruba verbal art is classified into named genres by vocal manner rather than subject, who performs each and on what occasion, and why the European category "oral literature" fits the material imperfectly.
Yoruba song across work, ritual, nursing, children's play and social comment, with texts, and the problem of translating a song so that it can still be sung.
How proverbs behave when they are embedded in chanted and sung genres rather than used in conversation, and why a quoted proverb changes what a performance is doing.
What Yorùbá proverbs do in speech and in law, and a worked collection of more than forty proverbs in original, literal gloss, and idiomatic English.
Character as the whole content of Yoruba ethics, iwa pele and iwa rere, the identity of character with beauty, patience as the source of character, and an ethical system grounded in consequence and community rather than divine command.
A tortoise tale in which Ìjàpá rescues a drowning hunter's son on condition of enslaving him, hides him inside a drum that appears to sing by itself, and loses him when he drinks himself unconscious at a dance.