Five folk tales of the Kimbundu people of Angola, told by their own storytellers and written down by the Swiss linguist Héli Chatelain for his Folk-Tales of Angola (1894) — the first great printed collection of Kimbundu tales, with the Ki-mbundu text and his literal English translations side by side. Our tellings are fresh renderings of his translations. Narrated by Mira.
Disclosure: this performance is narrated by AI-generated voices.
The Lawsuit of Leopard and Antelope — Leopard claims Antelope's goats, and the case goes before Lord Elephant. The little antelope Philantomba pleads the one plea no court can answer: his father, whom he left at home giving birth.
A Bride and Her Brothers-in-Law — A young bride may not serve her husband's four brothers until she can name them. At the mortar, a little bird sings her the names: Tumba Sikundu, Tumba Sikundu Muna, Tumba Kaulu, Tumba Kaulu Muna.
Man and Turtle — The Turtle of Koka sings his song to the hatchet, the stones, the fire and the knives, and begs only one mercy: do not throw him in the water.
Leopard and the Other Animals — Leopard feigns sickness and sends for the medicine-man, but Deer hears the truth at the drum and will not come.
Dog and Jackal — Why the dog lives with people and the jackal in the bush: Dog is sent to fetch fire, finds the pot of mush, and stays.
Notes on the tellings: In the first tale, Lord Elephant's order — "If he will not, kill him!" — is spoken and never carried out; Philantomba is bound, heard, and unbound. In the third and fourth tales every harm stays in talk, and no creature is harmed. In the fifth, the grass-burning for locusts is the errand Dog is sent on; it is never performed in the tale.
Source: Héli Chatelain, Folk-Tales of Angola (Memoirs of the American Folk-Lore Society, Vol. I, 1894) — public domain; fresh in-house renderings.
Narrated by Mira. Music: instrumental bed, "The Friend's Cello."
Chapters:
01:33 The Lawsuit of Leopard and Antelope
07:31 A Bride and Her Brothers-in-Law
12:10 Man and Turtle
14:30 Leopard and the Other Animals
16:22 Dog and Jackal
Angola folk tales · Kimbundu folk tales · African folk tales · Héli Chatelain · trickster tales · animal fables · world folk tales · free audiobook
