7 African contos commented
Literature from the African continent is very rich and quite diverse, full of references to myths and traditional legends that have been transmitted from geração em geração.
In this content, we select some famous narratives that are part of the universe of stories popular Africans and helps us discover a little more about these cultures, their traditions and symbologies:
- O homem called Namarasotha
- Why a cobra muda de pele
- Everyone depends on the mouth
- You dois laughs of Gondar
- Coração-Sozinho
- Why o Sol e a Lua foram dwell no ceu
- O day I exploded Mabata-bata
1. O homem called Namarasotha
Havia um homem that is called Namarasotha. He was poor and always dressed in rags. One day he was a caça. Ao chegar ao mato, he found a dead impala.
When he was preparing to slaughter the meat of the animal, a passarinho appeared that he said:
- Namarasotha, you must not eat that meat. He continues to tie more than that or that he will be there.
Or homem left to meat and continued to walk. A little further he found a gazela morta. He tentava, novamente, assar to meat when it arose an other passarinho that he said:
- Namarasotha, you must not eat that meat. I will always walk that you will find something melhor do que isso.
He obeyed and continued to walk until I saw a house next to the road. He parou e a woman who was next to the chamou-o house, but he had a way of approaching, pois was very shaggy.
- Chega here, I insisted to mulher.
Namarasotha approached.
- Come in, disse ela.
He didn't want to go in because he was poor. More to mulher insisted and Namarasotha entered, finally.
- You will wash and wear these clothes, say a mulher. E ele lavou-se e dressing as calças novas. Then I declared to Mulher:
- From this moment on, this house is yours. You are or my husband and you pass to be you to command.
E Namarasotha ficou, ceasing to be poor. Um certain day there was a party to which tinham to go. Before leaving for a festa, a mulher disse to Namarasotha:
- Na festa, what are we going to do, when you dance, you shouldn't turn back.
Namarasotha concordou and the foram ye dois. Na festa he drinks a lot of manioc farinha beer and gets drunk. He began to dance to the rhythm of the batuque. At a certain height, the music turned up to be animated that it ended up turning.
At no time when he turned out, he was as he was before he went home to the woman: poor and ragged.
Eduardo Medeiros, Moçambican Popular Contos (1997)
This story has origins in the oral tradition of Moçambique and is based on the costume of the north of the country: it is usual for us to join the feminine family nucleus when we get married. Assim, a history sublinha a importance of marriage Naquela culture and family as synonymous with true wealth.
Or entanglement illustrates the press that exists so that adult homens find a companion and constitute marriage. Namarasotha is a representation of homeless men and women, for their time, symbolizing wisdom two antepassed.
By advising the protagonist during the whole journey, avoid that he is involved in romantic or prohibited romances, here metaphorized dead animais hairs that he finds.
How will you pass away, or homem ends up belittling a wife and a happy life. However, when he refuses to comply with his only request, he ends up losing everything he conquered and returns to the beginning.
2. Why a cobra muda de pele
No beginning to death did not exist. At death he lived with Deus, and Deus did not want him to enter the world at death. But to die so much pediu that Deus ended up agreeing to leave. Ao same tempo fez Deus uma promessa ao homem: despite death I received permission to enter the world, or Homem não morreria. Furthermore, Deus promises to send homemen peles novas, that his family will be able to dress when their corpos envelhecessem.
Pôs Deus as peles novas num basket and asked for a puppy to raise them to or home to your family. I do not walk, or puppy começou to feel fome. Happily, he found other animals that were giving a party. Very satisfied with your good luck, I can also kill fome. After having eaten properly, he went to a shade and 43deitou-se to rest. Então a esperta he charges about it, he says and perguntou or that he had not basket. Or puppy lhe disse or that he had not basket and why or he was lifting for or homem. Minutes of pois or puppy caiu did not sound. Então a cobra, that face per part to espreitá-lo, apanhou or basket of peles novas and fugiu silently to the forest.
Ao wake up, I sell that a charge lhe roubara or basket of pelts, or puppy run or homeme and contou-lhe or what will happen. Or homem went to Deus and contacted him, demanding that he force him to pay back to return him. Deus, porém, responds that he would not take as much as the cobra, and for isso or homem he passed on to a deadly term for the cobra, and always that he sometimes tries to kill her. In charge, by your turn, always avoid or homeme and always live sozinha. And, as he still has a basket of peles supplied by Deus, he can exchange pele velha for another nova.
Margaret Carey, Contos e Lendas da Africa (1981), trans. Antônio de Pádua Danesi
This is a traditional story that emerged in Serra Leoa, West Africa, and seeks trazer explanations for some elements it gives nature.
Either he told a fallacy about a death penalty on the planet and how humans will lose immortality, just as it does not lead to divine life. Second to lenda, as you cobras trocariam de pele because teriam roubado is the power of being human, passing to it is cyclically renewed.
Or natural sun of creatures, so many times associated with hope and with malice, it would be a way to justify the negative feelings that they provoke in some human beings.
3. Everyone depends on the mouth
Certain day, by mouth, eating vaid, perguntou:
- Embora or corpo seja um só, which is the most important organization?
We olhos respond:
- Or the most important organ we are: we observe or what happens and we see things like that.
- We are nós, because we were - disseram os ouvidos.
- They're cheated. We believe that we are more important because we grasp like this, disseram as mine.Mas o coração also took a word:
- Então e eu? What is important to me: everything or body works!
- I drink my food! - He intervened with his belly.
- Olha! Important is to aguentar everything or body like us, as pernas, fazemos.We were ready when a mulher trouxe a massa, chamando-os to eat. Then you olhos viram a massa, or an emotional heart, a belly wait to ficar farta, you ouvidos squtavam, so more could throw bites, the legs will walk... But by mouth he refused to eat. And he continued to recuse.
For isso, all of our bodies come to ficar sem forças... Then by mouth I will ask:
- At the end, which is the most important organization, not the body?
- That's your mouth, everyone will respond in chorus. You are or are not!Aldónio Gomes, Eu conto, tu contas, ele conta... African Estórias (1999)
The popular story of Moçambique tells a story of competition. When the organs of the human body begin to work together to decide which of them is or is the most important, all of them will devalue or role two serious "adversaries" to subjugate or seu.
Not final, a dispute has a great result: everyone will eat and will become more and more fracos. A narrative fails, therefore, about the need to work in a union and collaborate for um bem comum.
Another question that is highlighted here is the value of food. By mouth it ends up winning a discussion, because food is essential to maintain human life. At the end, as we usually say here, "saco vazio não para em pé".
4. You dois laughs of Gondar
It was a day like outrora... e um poor camponês, so poor that he has barely fought over ossos and three galinhas that we had some great of teff that we will find pela terra poeirenta, he was sitting at the entrance of his velha cabana like all fim Afternoon. Suddenly, I saw a caçador mounted acavalo. O caçador approached, dismounted, complimented and disse:
- I got lost in the mountains and I am trying to get to the city of Gondar.
- Gondar? Fica a two days daqui - responder or camponês.
- Or sun já is, it would be more sensible if you passasse a noite here and partisse de manhã cedo.O camponês pegou uma das suas três galinhas, matou-a, cozinhou-a no fogão a lenha and preparou um bom jantar, that he offers to the hunter. We will eat you two together with a lot of failing, or camponês offers your bed ao caçador and foi sleep not next to the fire. No next day I beg, when or caçador acordou, or camponês explained how he would do to get to Gondar:
- You are afraid that it will cool down in the forest and find a river, and you must go through it with your digs very carefully so that you do not pass the most part of the bag. I had to continue on a path to the edge of a precipice, I reached a longer road ...
O caçador, que ouvia com atenção, disse:
- Oh, you will lose me de novo. I don't know this region... Will you accompany me até Gondar? I could ride, don't dig it, na minha garupa.
- It is certain - disse o camponês -, more as a condition. When people check, I would like to know or laugh, I never saw or saw.
- You will go see it, I promise.Or camponês dated to porta da su hut, montou na garupa do caçador e começaram o trajeto. They will spend hours and hours crossing mountains and forests, and most of the time. When I am on the shady roads, or camponês opened its great guard-chuva preto, and you were protected from the sun. E quando by fim viram to the city of Gondar no horizon, or camponês perguntou ao caçador:
- And how is it recognized um rei?
- Don't worry, it's very easy: when everyone faces the same face, or laughs that face another, differently. Observe bem as pessoas à sua volta e você o reconherá.Pouco depois, os dois homens chegaram à cidade e o caçador tomou o caminho do palácio. There was a mountain of people from the door, faking and telling stories, I added that, ao see you dois homens to dig, it is afastaram gives porta and it will be seen in their passage. Or camponês didn't understand anything. All of us were in love, except for the e o caçador, that I am digging.
- Where is he or did he laugh? - perguntou or camponês. - I'm not or I'm selling!
- Agora let's enter no palácio e você or you will see, guarantee!And you two homens will dig into the palace. Or camponês was restless. From longe via a row of people and guards also to dig that awaits you at the entrance. When you pass in front of them, you keep dismounting and subjecting you to continue digging. Or camponês começou to ficar nervous:
- You tell me that when everyone faces the same thing... More where is he or laugh?
- Patience! You já vai reconhecê-lo! He knows that, when everyone faces the same thing, or rei face another.You two homens dismantle the dig and enter a huge room of the palácio. All of you are honored, courteous, and conselheiros reais tiraram or chapéu ao vê-los. All of us were sem chapéu, exceto o caçador and or camponês, which Tampouco understood why it was useful to walk chapéu within a palácio.
O camponês chegou perto do caçador e murmurou:
- I'm not or I'm selling!
- Do not be impatient, you will end up condemning-o! Come sit with me.At two homes, a large sofa will be installed, very comfortable. Everybody ficou em pé à sua volta of him. O camponês was increasingly restless. He observed bem tudo o que via, approached do caçador e perguntou:
- Quem é or rei? Você ou eu?
O caçador começou a rir e disse:
- Eu sou o rei, plus você também é um rei, because he knows how to do something strange!
E o caçador e o camponês ficaram friends for many and many years.
Anna Soler-Pont, O fearful prince and other African contours (2009)
Or I have come from Ethiopia fala on topics such as amizade e parceria, fundamental ingredients for life and human happiness.
With a lot of humor, we assist in the way as a homem do field turns companion to the king of Gondar, we want to perceive or distrust his identity. When he plays it, he continues to understand anything and questions himself or laughs, in the end, he is.
Thanks à sua generosity, or camponês ajudou aquele caçador, sharing his food and traveling for two days just to guide him. Either way, you either found a true friend during the process and decided to reward you.
5. Coração-Sozinho
O Leão e a Leoa tiveram três filhos; um deu a si own o nome de Coração-Sozinho, or another escolheu or Coração-com-a-Mãe e or third or Coração-com-o-Pai.
Coração-Sozinho found a porco and apanhou-o, but he had never burned or helped because or part of him was Coração-Sozinho.
Coração-com-a-Mãe found a pig, apanhou-o and its mãe veio logo to help kill an animal. Comeram-not both.
Coração-com-o-Pai apanhou também um porco. O pai veio logo for o help. Mataram or porco e comeram-you do not give up. Coração-Sozinho found another pig, apanhou-or else he could not kill.
None were foi em seu auxílio. Coração-Sozinho continues with its caçadas, sem ajuda de ninguém. Começou a emagrecer, a emagrecer, I tied that one day morreu.
The others will continue to cheios de saúde por não terem um coração sozinho.
Ricardo Ramos, Contos Moçambicanos (1979)
A traditional Moçambican narrative is a sad story that fails on or on paper from the family and the urgency of thermos someone to take care of us, to protect us and this place on our side.
Coração-Sozinho traçou or your destination logo that you escort or own me. As I know, the little legion has declared that he would not need any, since he would be eternally solitary.
As soon as we received the teachings of the pai e da mãe, evolving as tempo, the stava only did not get caçar. Assim, or leãozinho learns too late that we need two others to survive in this world.
6. Why o Sol e a Lua foram dwell no ceu
Há muito tempo, o sol e a agua were great friends and lived together on Terra. Usually the sun visited the water, but this jamais gave him kindly. Finally, I wanted to know what reason did you disinterest in the water and responded that the house was not big or enough so that nela coubessem all who lived and, appeared for the, would end up clearing it of his own home.
- If you want me to actually visit or visit, you will have to build a house bem higher than what you fear at the moment from ja fique warned that it will be something really very big, pois o meu povo é bem numerous and occupies a lot space.
Or sun will guarantee that she could visit him and be scared, I would try to take all the necessary provisions to return or find it pleasant for her and for all who or accompany him. Chegando at home, or by the sun, you tell him, your wife, you or what he will ask for, and both of them will dedicate themselves with a lot of effort to building a huge house that will include your visit.
When everyone was soon, they would invite water to visit them.
Chegando, a agua ainda foi amável e perguntou:
- Are you sure that we can really enter?
"Sure, water friend," answered the sun.Awater was entering, entering and entering, accompanied by all the peixes and more an absurd and indescribably large quantity, incalculable, the same, of aquatic creatures. In little time to water, we were found joelhos.
- Are you sure that everyone can enter? - I insisted worried.
- Please, water friend - I insisted to lua.During the insistence of his hosts, the water continued to clear his people into the house of the sun. To worry about voltou when you reach the height of a homem.
- Ainda posso enter? - He insisted - Olha who is ficando cheio demais ...
- I'm going in, my friend, I'm going in - or the sun was really very happy with your visit.The water continued to enter and travel in all directions, when deram pela coisa, or sun and lua viram-are forced to climb to or alto do telhado.
- Oh, you're going to stop... —Say to water, apprehensive.
- Or what is it, minha água? - scared or sunny, more than educated, I am hiding a certain concern.He continued to work in the water, flushing his way inside, occupying all the comfortable rooms of the large house, flooding everything, for fim, fazendo as o sol e a lua, sem ter more pra where to go or take refuge, subissem para o céu, where is até browse.
Júlio Emílio Braz, Sukulume e outros contos africanos (2008)
Inspired by an ancient myth, a history born in Nigeria and see to justify there are two non-ceu stars, counting or how they foram to stop the no stop.
O sol was my very friend das Águas, but I could not receive them at home, because of its gigantic size. Thus, they will warn that all of their forms of life will occupy their internal space, but they will continue to insist on a visit.
The same thing is to perceive that the visitor was taking a home account, or he would tend to ignore this fact, out of offense, and end up being held against the universe. A narrative see the readers that we cannot sacrifice ourselves to please others.
7. O day I exploded Mabata-bata
Suddenly, or boi explodiu. Rebentou sem um múúú. Do not capim em volta choveram pieces and fatias, grão e folhas de boi. A meat eram já borboletas vermelhas. Ossos were moedas backs. You chifres ficaram num qualquer bouquet, balouçando to imitate life, not invisible do vento.
Or fright does not fit in Azarias, or little shepherd. There was an instant there was the admirer or big bad boy, called Mabata-bata. Or pastava bug more vague than preguiça. It was the senior of the flock, the ruler of the chifraria, and it was intended as a pledge of the wolf of Uncle Raul, dono da criação. Azarias has been working for him since he fica orfão. Take off before it gives light so that you can eat or cacimbo the first hours.
He olhou a desgraça: o boi poeirado, echo of silence, shadow of nothing. “Deve ser foi um lightning”, he thought. More lightning could not. Or it was smooth, blue with a stain. From where saíra or raio? Ou foi a terra que relampejou?
He questioned or horizon, above trees. Maybe or ndlati, a ave do lightning, ainda rodasse os céus. He apontou os olhos na montanha in front. A dwelling where ndlati was ali, where we all come together to nascerem da mesma vontade da agua. O ndlati lives in its four hidden cores and is only uncovered when the new ones roar in the rouquidão do céu. É então que o ndlati over aos ceus, maddened. At the heights he was dressed in shawls, and launched or burned down on the beings of the earth. Sometimes he atira-se no chão, buracando-o. He fica na cova e a deita a su urina.
Once it was necessary to shake the science of the velho feiticeiro to excavate that child and remove the acid deposits. Perhaps or Mabata-bata will step on a malignant rhetoric of the ndlati. More what could he credit? O man, no. He had to want to see or be deceased, at least to be presented with a disaster. He já conhecia bois relaxed: ficavam burned corpos, cinzas wrinkled to lembrar or corpo. O fogo mastiga, do not engole once, as it happens.
He reparou em volta: os outros bois, frightened, backhands-he killed himself. O medo escorregou two olhos do little shepherd.
- Don't appear sem um boi, Azarias. I only say: é melhor nem appear.
To ameaça do tio soprava-lhe os ouvidos. That anguish ate everything. What could I do? The thoughts run like shadows but we don't find any saida. There was only one solution: it was to run away, to tempt the paths where he knew nothing else. Fugir e morrer from a place and e, like your broken calções, a saco velho a tiracolo, what saudade deixava? Maus tratos, behind two bois. Filhos two outros tinham direito da escola. Ele não, não was filho. Either the service started-or I gave up the bed and returned-or the sono when inside him there was no rest of childhood. Jumping was just as you cheer: swim or river in the boleia do rabo do Mabata-bata, bet on brigas dos mais fortes. At home, or uncle, guess what, or future:
- This, gives way that lives mixed as a breeding has-to marry as a cow.
They all laughed, I wanted to know about his little soul, two serious mistreated dreams. For isso, she olhou felt sorry for the field that I left. She calculated the inside of her bag: a prick, fruits of the djambalau, a sickly crinkled canivet. Tão pouco não pode deixar saudade. He left in the direction of the river. He felt that he was not running away: he was just going to start or walk. When he laughed, he crossed the waterfront. Na outra margem parou à waiting nem knew of what.
Ao fim is late for avó Carolina Esperava Raul porta de casa. When she chegou the shot at affliction:
- Those hours and Azarias ainda não chegou com os bois.
- Or what? Esse malandro vai apanhar muito bem, quando chegar.
- What happened to a thing, Raul? Tenho medo, these bandits ...
- Aconteceu brincadeiras dele, mais nada.Sentaram na esteira e jantaram. Falaram das coisas do lobolo, preparation of marriage. Suddenly, somebody bateu porta. Raul got up-questioning you olhos da avó Carolina. She opened the door: we were soldiers, three.
- Boa noite, do we need something?
- Boa noite. We saw communication or event: rebentou uma mina this afternoon. Foi um boi que pisou. Agora, esse boi daqui belonging.Another Acrescentou Soldier:
- We want to know where he is or where he is.
- O pastor we are waiting - answered Raul. And he yelled:
- Damn sides!
- When we want to check it out, we want to know how it happened. E bom ninguém sair na part da montanha. The bandits will be backing mines on their side.Dismiss. Raul ficou, rolling around with his questions. Esse sacana do Azarias onde foi? And are you other boys walking around there?
- Avó: eu não posso ficar assim. I have to go see where this thug is. It must be maybe you leave a herd fleeing-se. And I need to join the bois enquanto y yield.
- You can't, Raul. Olha you soldiers or that disseram. É perigoso.More ele desouviu e meteu-se pela noite. Mato tem suburb? Tem: onde or Azarias conduzia you animais. Raul, tearing his micaias, oiled at the science of miúdo. No one competed with the knowledge of the land. She calculated that the little shepherd would take refuge - it is not worth it.
He chegou ao laughed and climbed big stones. In a higher voice, he ordered:
- Azarias, volta. Azarias!
Só o rio answered, digging up his voice run. Nothing in all volta. But he will guess the hidden presence of his nephew.
- It appears, you don't have medo. Não vou-te bater, I swear.
He swore lies. He did not have a battery: he was going to kill him, when he had just joined the boys. Not enquanto he escorted to sit, dark statue. You olhos him, accustomed to the shadows will disembark on another margem. Suddenly, he scutou passos no kill. He was alert.
- Azarias?
It was not. Chegou-lhe in Carolina's voice.
- Sou eu. Raul
Damn velha, what vinha ali fazer? Trapalhar only. She still steps on mine, rebentava-se e, pior, estoirava com el também.
- Come home, avó!
- O Azarias vai negar de ouvir quando chamares. A mim, ha-de ouvir.And he applied his trust, chamando or pastor. Through the shadows, a silhouette of your appearance.
- That's you, Azarias. I'll eat it, let's go home.
- I don't want to, you will run away.Or Raul was descending, kitty, ready to jump and grab the goelas do sobrinho.
- Are you going to run away, meu filho?
- Não tenho onde, avó.
- Esse segment vai voltar nem que eu lhe chamboqueie tied to split-se two bites - rushed-se to Raul voice.
- Cala-te, Raul. Na tua vida nem you know gives misery.And turning-he stands o pastor:
- Come on meu filho, just come with me. You are not guilty of what you are doing. Go help or teu uncle join you cheer up.
- Not precise. You guys are here, I'll go with you.Raul ergueu-se, distrustful. Or coração batucava-lhe or peito.
- What? Are you there?
- Sim, this is it.Enroscou-se or silence. O tio was not certain of the true Azarias.
- Sobrinho: celebrate yourself? Did you get together?
A avó sorria thinking not to fim das brigas daqueles os dois. He promised a prize and asked my husband to escolhesse.
- O your uncle is very satisfied. Escolhe. You have to respect your request.
Raul achou melhor agree com tudo, naquele moment. Depois, he would amend the illusions do rapaz and voltariam as obrigações do serviço das pastagens.
- Fala la or your request.
- Uncle: next year do I go to school?Hah guess. Nem think. To authorize the school was to sign a guide for you. More or more moment he asked for pretense and the falou of costs for or thought:
- You go, you go.
- Is it true, man?
- How many mouths do I have, final?
- Posso continue to help us bois. We only attend school in the afternoon.
- It's true. More all isso falamos depois. Come on, daqui.O small saiu shepherd gives shade and correu o areal onde o rio dava passagem. Suddenly, it deflagrou um clarão, it seemed or half-day of the night. O little shepherd engoliu that all vermelho: it was or cry of fire estourando.
Nas migalhas da noite she viu descer o ndlati, a ave do lightning. You wanted to shout:
- Vens pousar quem, ndlati?
But nothing did not falou. It was not a river to add his words to him: it was a fruit of ouvidos, dores and cores. Em volta tudo datedva, same or suicidal river sua water, or embrulhava world or chão nos fumos brancos.
- Come pousar a avó, coiada, tão boa? Ou you prefer not man, at the end of the day you count, sorry and promising as or pai verdadeiro que morreu-me?
And before bird do fogo, Azarias was decided to run and embrace a journey of his girl.
Mia Couto, Dark voices (1987)
Considered one of the two greatest authors of contemporary Moçambican literature, Mia Couto has been responsible for presenting local creations and costumes to readers all over the world.
The protagonist of a boy who lives in a violent atmosphere and is forced to work to help the family, taking two animals. Certain day, or maior boi da flock pisa numa mina, perigoso indication of war naquele território, and explode na hour.
Azarias, innocent, accredits that the explosion was caused "ndlati" hair, a famous mythological figure that arises like a huge pass that throws lightning. Besides establishing this relationship as a fantastic world, the work denounces the harsh living conditions of men, devoid of childhood and prevented from attending school.
Trust us too melhores poems by Mia Couto.
Take the opportunity to find out:
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- Childhood histories of various points of the world
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- Fantastic stories to understand or textual genre
- Contos commented with great teachings for crianças
