Africa at the Internet Archive: Ikom Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria

Yesterday I wrote about Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa by Elphinstone Dayrell, published in 1910, and today I want to follow up with a second book by Dayrell published in 1913: Ikom Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, just a click away at Internet Archive:

The book contains 34 stories; here are links to the specific stories, so each story is just a click away also: How an Inkum Woman Abandoned One of Her Twins in the Forest / The Cunning Hare / The Story of Igiri and Her Husband Inkang / How Elili of Inkum Died, and Was Brought Back to Life Again / Concerning the Human Sacrifices / The Story of the Witch who Tried to Kill Her Husband / How Two Friends Fell Out: The Spider and the Grasshopper / How Ewa Abagi, an Inkum Woman, Was Drowned in the Cross River / The Story of the War between Inkum and Enfitop / How an Inkum Boy Was Drowned by His Companions / How a Father Tried to Kill One of His Sons but Failed / Concerning the Okuni Witches and Cannibalism / Of Chief Amaza, His Wife Achi, and the Tortoise / The Fate of Agbor the Hunter, Who Killed His Wife and Children / What Happened at Okuni When Anyone Was Killed by Accident / How Oghabi Poisoned His Friend Okpa / How Chief Alankor and All His Family Were Killed by a Big Frog / How the River Came into Existence / Why the Mist Rises from the Water / How Ibanang Okpong and Her Mother Were Swallowed by a Man-Eating Drum / Why the Head of the Male Goat Smells So Strong / A Story of the Great Famine / Why Edidor Killed Her Husband and Her Lover / How 'Nyambi Punished Chief Oga / How Two Bendega Young Men Changes Their Skins / Concerning the Ju-Ju against Elephantiasis / How a Cruel Inkum Chief Was Poisoned by His Slaves / How the Frog Beat the Bush Buck in a Race / Why a Python Never Swallows a Tortoise / The Game of Hide-and-Seek / Chief Kekong's Daughter 'Ndere who Married a Python / How Agbor Adam Broke the Hunting Law of Okuni / How Essama Stole Her Father's Goat in the Fatting-House / Quomodo Evenit ut Penis Primum Cum Vagina Coiit.

As you can see, that last story has its title in Latin, and the text is in Latin also.

This reflects a common practice in the 19th century in books published both in England and in the U.S. (I am not sure about other European countries?), and even well into the 20th century, where stories about sex were rendered not in English but in Latin in order to prevent access by women, children, house servants, etc. You can find this in literary translations, and also in anthropological projects like Dayrell's book. The unintended side effect, of course, is that it just makes the sexual stories that much easier to find! Since a reading knowledge of Latin is not as widespread now as it was a hundred years ago, I've translated the story below; it is really charming. (One of the retirement projects I've been contemplating is a big anthology of Latin stories like this taken from all the different kinds of books where these stories can be found.)

Unlike Dayrell's first book, in this book he does provide the names of the storytellers, which is quite intriguing in the case of the "Penis and Vagina" story, we know the storyteller is a woman. Dayrell also includes an introduction to this book where he provides some more information about his method for rendering the stories into English. Unlike Dayrell's first book, this book is not widely known at all, with very few citations in the literature, yet the stories in this book are just as valuable and fascinating, and I hope I can raise more interest in this book by including it here and listing the titles of the stories to pique people's interest. 

The book also has a few photographs as well, like this carved wooden drum:

There is also a portrait of Chief Indoma of Inkum who also figures as a character in two of the stories:

I've chosen a story from this book to include in my "public domain" project for today, so I'll update this post later with the audio for that story: The Great Famine.

Laura Gibbs · The Great Famine

In addition, I hopep you enjoy the story translated from Latin which you will find below. :-)

 Ikom Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria

by Elphinstone Dayrell

The Latin is written in a very nice, simple style; I've included the Latin text transcribed below for anyone who is interested. 

How It Happened that the Penis First Had Intercourse with the Vagina

Once upon a time the Penis lived alone in the countryside, not too far from the Balls, his friends; the Balls were very skilled medicine-men who lived on the farm next door.

The Vagina lived in a little house just beyond Penis's estate. By chance Penis came to Vagina's house, and because he was hungry, he asked her if he could have some of the palm-nuts that she had just gathered in her garden since he had worked in the fields all day and hadn't been able to prepare anything to eat.

Vagina did not refuse his request but explained that she was poor and that Penis had to pay her back eventually.

Penis agreed and took the palm-nuts home for supper.

A little later Vagina was carrying a load of wood on her head and, finding herself not far from Penis's home, she remembered his debt to her. She entered his house and said, "O Penis, I'm hungry; I've been gathering wood all day and wasn't able to prepare anything to eat. Please pay back the palm-nuts you owe me."

Penis, however, refused, and Vagina demanded the nuts again, more insistently. When she finally realized that she wasn't going to get the nuts, she got angry and threw the firewood on the ground and then threw herself on the heap of firewood. One of the pieces of wood, an especially sharp piece, wounded Vagina in the leg, and she felt a terrible pain.

When Penis saw what had happened, he felt terrible. He pulled out the piece of wood, washed the wound with water, and took Vagina home.

But Vagina still did not stop crying as the wound was still very painful. This greatly troubled Penis, who was madly in love with Vagina, even though he had refused to pay back the palm-nuts he owed her. 

So, Penis went back home and ordered one of his servants to hurry to Vagina's house and apply medicine to her wound. The servant did this, but Vagina continued to groan just as loudly as before, demanding that the Penis heal her in her sickness as this was all his fault. The servant went back to Penis and reported what Vagina had said.

Penis thought carefully about what the servant told him and decided to go at once to his friends, the Balls, since they were reputed to be very wise. When the Balls learned about Vagina's wound, they said that Penis could cure Vagina if he did exactly what they told him. Delighted, Penis promised that he would do whatever was required.

In those days, Penis was never stiff, but the Balls said, "We will fill you with a liquid that will make you stiff. Then, go to Vagina and insert yourself into the wound. Then bring yourself almost all the way out, and then plunge into the wound again and again, until you have squirted all the liquid that we filled you with into the wound."

"But what if some enemy of mine attacks me when I've got my sword in the wound like that?" asked Penis. "He could catch me unawares and kill me!"

"Don't worry," said the Balls. "We'll keep watch from the rear so that nothing bad will happen to you."

So Penis hurried to Vagina and did everything the Balls had told him to do. Vagina said that the medicine was very helpful, and she begged Penis to to come to her every night and heal her wound in exactly that way. After a few days, Vagina felt better, but she still had a deep crack in her flesh. 

Since that time, the Balls and Penis have worked together so that the Balls fill Penis with liquid whenever he sees Vagina and he becomes strong. But if Vagina doesn't feel well or if she's in a really bad mood, then Penis doesn't become stiff and can't enter the crack.

(Told by Ennenni, a singing and dancing girl of Okuni; May 18th, 1911.)

Here is Latin. One odd thing about the Latin is that while Testiculi are plural here in the Latin, they are referred to with singular verbs and nouns (hand procul a Testiculis, amico eius); that's awkward in the Latin and it was also very awkward in English, which is why I used plural verbs and nouns in the English translation above.

Quomodo Evenit ut Penis Primum cum Vagina Coiit

Penis autem olim rure solus habitabat, hand procul a Testiculis, amico eius, qui magus erat valde peritus, atque fundum proximum incolebat.

Ultra tamen praedia Penis villam parvam habebat Vagina. Penis forte ad villam Vaginae vagatus, et fame afflictus, illam palmae nuces, quas nuper in horto collegerat, rogavit, scilicet quod ipse totam diem in agro laborasset nec sibi cibum parare potuisset. Nec abnuit Vagina, sed se pauperem esse dicebat, et Penem debitum reddere alio tempore opportere. Quo pacto Penis cum nucibus abiit.

Paulo postea Vagina hand procul ab aedibus Penis ligna capite ferebat, et, debiti memor, domum eius aggressa, "Esurio " inquit " O Penis, cum totam diem haec ligna collegi, nec mihi cibum parare potui. Redde igitur nuces quas debes." 

Penis tamen noluit, et Vagina iterum vehementius nuces postulabat; deinde, cum se nihil profiteri sentiret, ligna in terram irata deiecit, seque insuper prostravit. Unum autem e lignis quod peracutum erat Vaginam inter crura altius vulneravit, gravique dolore afflixit. Quod visum Penis aegre ferebat, atque ligno extracto et vulnere aqua perluto Vaginam domum duxit. 

Haec tamen interdum, magno dolore pressa, lamentari non desinebat, quod maxime Penem pigebat, qui eam penitus amabat, etiamsi nuces debitas reddere noluerat. Itaque Penis domum regressus servum iussit in villam Vaginae properare atque vulneri medicamenta adhibere. 

Quo facto servus, cum Vagina nihilominus inter gemitus vociferabat se vehementer dolentem sanari a Pene opportere qui causa malorum fuisset, ad Penem regressus ea quae dixerat Vagina nuntiavit.

Quae audita Penis diu meditatus statim ire amicum suum, Testiculos, consultum statuit, qui maxime sapiens diceretur. At Testiculi, de Vaginae vulnere certior factus, dixit Penem Vaginam sanare posse si verbis suis obtemperet, et Penis laetus se velle omnia facere quae necesse essent asseverabat.

Eo autem tempore Penis nunquam erectus fiebat. Itaque Testiculi "Liquore" inquit "te implebo ita ut erectus fias; deinde i ad Vaginam teque in vulnus insere; quo facto te paene foras extractum iterum atque iterum in vulnus impelle, dum tandem liquorem quo te implevi in vulnus vomes." 

"At si quidam" inquit Penis "inimicus mihi gladio instabit iam in vulnere condito, inopinantem interficere poterit." 

"Bono animo es" inquit Testiculi; "ego enim a tergo vigilabo pro te ne quid infaustum accidat." 

Itaque Penis ad Vaginam properavit et omnia quae amicus iusserat perfecit. At Vagina medicinam sibi magnopere profuisse dixit, et Penem precata est ut omni quaque nocte veniret eodem modo vulnus sanaturus. Paucis itaque diebus Vagina convaluit, sed rima alta in corpore manebat. Ex eo tempore etiam Testiculi et Penis in uno iuncti sunt, ita ut Testiculi, quoties Penis Vaginam videat, eum liquore implet per quem validus fit. At si quid incommodi Vagina habeat, vel alio sit qui vehementius rixetur, tum Penis erectus non fit, nec rimam intrare potest.