Reading Diary A: Stories from Congo

Stories from Congo:

How the Wives Restored Their Husbands To Life

·      Nenpetro had 3 wives

·      Searched for their food but they kept complaining of hunger until they could eat an Ox

·      Died by an ox when he was searching for an ox and didn’t return

·      The dreamer dreamt that he was killed by an ox

·      The guide showed them where he died

·      The bringer of life brought him back to life and she was the most prized

·      Some say he should have mixed the food from the 3 pots but he chose the life giver instead

[Source]

How Gazelle Got Married

·      Nenpetro had 2 wives

·      Each had a daughter Lunga and Lenga

·      Antelope gave the parents many valuables and wanted to marry the daughters

·      Only marry if they can guess their names

·      Nsassi couldn’t guess it so he tried to find out

·      His dog heard him say his daughters names and told his dad, nsassi

·      He forgot the names then had to go back to find out again

·      He returned and got fed but was so thirsty that once he found water he forgot their names again

·      Returned back to the house of the daughters, got fed food and water

·      The dog told Nsassi the names and they set out to the house of the daughters to tell their father the names

·      On their way, they got thirsty and forgot the names

·      Dog went back to house

·      Straight back to his father and then went to the house

·      Nsassi told the names and he claimed them as his wives

The Vanishing Wife

·      Two brothers Buite and Swarmi

·      Swarmi was married and successful

·      Buite was alone and ate palm-kernals

·      Swarmi was mean to him and woudn’t let him do anything with him

·      Buite left town

·      One night buite dreamt about a beautiful girl

·      A canoe magically appeared so he could fish for the girl and she would cook it

·      His little shed disappeared and a beautiful house with everything in it appeared and servants

·      Each of the servants threw a fit about not cutting off the heads of the fish, he chased after them, and then cut off the heads

·      To the last boy, Parrot, he couldn’t catch up before he reached home to cut off the head

·      When the fish with the head was shown to the women, all the house and servants and everything disappeared

·      His brother saw this and left and left him alone again because he was so disappointed.