The tailed head-hunters of Nigeria : an account of an official's seven years' experiences in the Northern Nigerian pagan belt, and a description of the manners, habits, and customs of some of its native tribes / by A.J.N. Tremearne.

  • Tremearne, A. J. N. (Arthur John Newman), 1877-1915.
Date:
1912
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Licence: In copyright

Credit: The tailed head-hunters of Nigeria : an account of an official's seven years' experiences in the Northern Nigerian pagan belt, and a description of the manners, habits, and customs of some of its native tribes / by A.J.N. Tremearne. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    As they went along they came upon the Jackal, the Wise-Man of the Forest, the Learned One, the Scholar, and they asked him to judge between them. Then the Jackal told the Hyena to release the Monkey first, but she said that he would escape if she did so, but after a while she was persuaded and let him go. Then the Jackal rushed into his hole, calling out to the Monkey to climb into the tree above, and so they left the Hyena sitting there alone. Perhaps a part of the cleverness of the donkeys is due to the fact that some of them are really girls, corresponding in some respects to the swan-maidens of other countries. The Donkey-Girl There was once a certain Woman who was very anxious for Children, but she had not had any, and one day, seeing a Donkey, she prayed to God to give her a Child even if it were only a Donkey. On her return home she found that she had conceived, and she afterwards brought forth her Offspring, a Donkey. The Donkey was always tied up near the house until it grew big, and then it was allowed to go into the bush by itself [as is the custom by day, returning to the owner at night]. When it went to the forest it used to throw off the Donkey skin and enter the water and wash, and after that it would put on the skin again and return home, and be tied up as before. One day it went to the forest to feed, and a Hunter saw it throw oft* the skin, and enter the water, as a young Maiden, more beautiful than any he had ever seen. Then the Hunter ran to the King, and said, “ So and So’s Child is not a Donkey at all, but a Human Being.” And the King sent a Messenger to the Girl's Father to ask him for the Donkey in marriage. The Parents said, “ How can the King marry a Donkey ? ” but the King replied that he wanted to do so, and they said, therefore, that they would give him it, and the Donkey was brought to the King’s house and tied up there. Next morning, the King unloosed it, and sent it out to feed, telling the Hunter that if the Girl should enter the water and he