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Where Animals Talk: West African Folk Lore Tales

Robert Nassau spent four decades as a medical missionary in Africa, arriving at Corisco Island, now part of Equatorial Guinea, in 1861; he also worked in the regions now known as Gabon and Cameroon. This book contains 61 folktales (some in multiple versions) that Nassau collected during his career in Africa: 16 stories from Mpongwe storytellers in Gabon, 34 stories from Benga storytellers in Equatorial Guinea, and 11 stories from Fang storytellers in Cameroon, all of which Nassau translated into English. For each story there is a list of the cast of animal characters, which provides the Mpongwe, Benga, and Fang names for each animal character. (Summary by Laura Gibbs) (9 hr 22 min)

Chapters

Preface

7:00

Mpongwe Tale 1. Do Not Trust your Friend

14:04

Mpongwe Tale 2. Leopard's Hunting-Camp

18:56

Mpongwe Tale 3. Tests of Death (version 1)

3:20

Mpongwe Tale 3. Tests of Death (version 2)

8:30

Mpongwe Tale 4. Tasks Done for a Wife

17:56

Mpongwe Tale 5. A Tug-of-War

10:41

Mpongwe Tale 6. Agenda: Rat's Play on a Name

17:21

Mpongwe Tale 7. Nuts are Eaten Because of Angangwe

10:18

Mpongwe Tale 8. Who Are Crocodile's Relatives?

3:11

Mpongwe Tale 9. Who Is King of Birds?

9:05

Mpongwe Tale 10. Njiwo Died of Sleep

3:38

Mpongwe Tale 11. Which is the Fattest: Manatus, Hog, or Oyster?

5:53

Mpongwe Tale 12. Why Mosquitoes Buzz

2:12

Mpongwe Tale 13. Unkind Criticism

3:46

Mpongwe Tale 14. The Suitors of Princess Gorilla

8:06

Mpongwe Tale 15. Leopard of the Fine Skin

21:44

Mpongwe Tale 16. Why the Plantain-Stalk Bears But One Bunch

4:44

Benga Tale 1. Swine Talking

3:14

Benga Tale 2. Crocodile

1:55

Benga Tale 3. Origin of the Elephant

4:59

Benga Tale 4. Leopard's Marriage Journey

27:19

Benga Tale 5. Tortoise in a Race

7:49

Benga Tale 6. Goat's Tournament

3:13

Benga Tale 7. Why Goats Became Domestic

6:56

Benga Tale 8. Iguana's Forked Tongue

8:07

Benga Tale 9. What Caused their Deaths?

5:46

Benga Tale 10. A Quarrel about Seniority

9:38

Benga Tale 11. The Magic Drum

20:21

Benga Tale 12. The Lies of Tortoise

13:01

Benga Tale 13. Death Begins by Some One Person

5:50

Benga Tale 14. Tortoise and the Bojabi Tree

12:12

Benga Tale 15. The Suitors of Njambo's Daughter

13:36

Benga Tale 16. Tortoise, Dog, Leopard, and the Njabi Fruit

13:05

Benga Tale 17. A Journey for Salt

10:20

Benga Tale 18. A Plea for Mercy

9:04

Benga Tale 19. The Deceptions of Tortoise

14:15

Benga Tale 20. Leopard's Hunting Companions

9:39

Benga Tale 21. Is the Bat a Bird or a Beast?

5:47

Benga Tale 22. Dog and his Human Speech (version 1)

7:36

Benga Tale 22. Dog and his Human Speech (version 2)

12:01

Benga Tale 23. The Savior of the Animals

8:35

Benga Tale 24. Origin of the Ivory Trade (version 1)

17:36

Benga Tale 24. Origin of the Ivory Trade (version 2)

12:33

Benga Tale 25. Dog and His False Friend Leopard

7:24

Benga Tale 26. A Trick for Vengeance

7:21

Benga Tale 27. Not My Fault!

1:44

Benga Tale 28. Do Not Impose on the Weak

4:59

Benga Tale 29. Borrowed Clothes

2:18

Benga Tale 30. The Story of a Panic

3:45

Benga Tale 31. A Family Quarrel

2:08

Benga Tale 32. The Giant Goat

11:56

Benga Tale 33. The Fights of Mbuma-Tyetye

44:46

Benga Tale 34. A Snake's Skin Looks Like a Snake

9:41

Fang Tale 1. Candor

3:45

Fang Tale 2. Which is the Better Hunter, an Eagle or a Leopard?

1:21

Fang Tale 3. A Lesson in Evolution

1:57

Fang Tale 4. Parrot Standing on One Leg

3:30

Fang Tale 5. A Question of Right of Inheritance

2:02

Fang Tale 6. Tortoise Covers His Ignorance

1:46

Fang Tale 7. A Question as to Age

2:46

Fang Tale 8. Abundance

2:55

Fang Tale 9. An Oath: With a Mental Reservation

3:33

Fang Tale 10. The Treachery of Tortoise

3:30

Fang Tale 11. A Chain of Circumstances

4:44