Last week I focused on
Reynard the Fox, Europe's greatest trickster (in my opinion), and this week I'll be focusing on my favorite African trickster: the tortoise! I'll start with two beautiful books by Harold Courlander that are full of tortoise stories from Nigeria. First is
Ijapa the Tortoise, and Other Nigerian Tales by Harold Courlander and Ezekiel Eshugbayi.
Courlander collaborated on this book with a Nigerian author, Ezekiel Eshugbayi. They focus on Yoruba stories but there are also some Hausa and Igbo stories, with a glossary and pronunciation guide in the back along with notes on the stories. Plus you'll find some Ijapa proverbs in the book's introduction.
The illustrations are by Enrico Arno, who illustrated several books by Courlander. Here is Ijapa the Tortoise with Aja the Dog:
In addition to this book, you can find more tortoise stories in
Olode the Hunter and Other Tales from Nigeria, also coauthored by Harold Courlander and Ezekiel Eshugbayi.
The illustrations again are by Enrico Arno; here you can see Ijapa the Tortoise with Ojola the Boa:
Many of the same trickster tales are told about the main African tricksters: Spider, Rabbit (or Hare), and Tortoise. I'm not sure why I like Tortoise best... but I do! I'll be back every day this week with more Tortoise stories to share, and these books with Tortoise stories from Nigeria are a great place to start!
by Harold Courlander and Ezekiel Eshugbayi
by Harold Courlander and Ezekiel Eshugbayi
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