Story of the Woman Whose Daughter Made Palm Oil

One day, after the girl had already finished preparing her oil and had straightened out everything at home, she went to the market, where she stayed until it grew dark.

When night arrived, a Fairy [Ararun, espirito] appeared, bought oil and paid with some cowries [shells from the coast]. The girl counted the cowries, found one that was broken, and asked the Fairy to exchange it for a perfect one.

The Fairy answered that she didn’t have any more cowries.

Then the girl began to cry, saying, “I cannot go home with a broken cowrie because my mother will beat me.” The Fairy left, and the girl followed her.

“Go away, girl, since no one can enter the country where I live,” warned the Fairy, when she saw that the girl was following her.

“No,” said the girl, “I will go wherever you go and will only return when I have my cowrie.”

And so they went on. They walked a long while until they got to the banks of a creek. Then the Fairy said, “Oh young seller of palm-oil, now you have to return.”

“I will only return when I get my cowrie.”

“Soon these tracks of blood in the river will disappear, and you will have to return,” explained the Fairy.

“I will not return.”

“Do you see that dark forest?”

“Yes, but I will not return.”

“Do you see that rocky mountain?”

“Yes, but I will not return without getting my cowrie.”

From there they walked on a long road until they arrived at the land of the Eguns (the dead).

The Fairy gave the girl some palm nuts to make oil and said, “Eat the oil and give me the shell.”

When the oil was ready, the girl ate the shell and gave the oil to the Fairy.

The Fairy gave her a banana and said, “You eat the banana and give me the peel.”

The girl ate the peel and gave the banana to the Fairy to eat.

Then the Fairy said, “Get three of those little gourds. Don’t take from among those who ask, but from those who stay quiet. Then go back to your house. When you are on the road, break one of them; at the door to your house break another, and the last when you are inside your house.”

“Very well, it will be done as you wish,” said the girl.

The girl gathered her little gourds as the Fairy had instructed and left for home.

In the middle of the journey she broke the first little gourd, and there appeared many slaves and horses who followed her.

When she was at the door of her house, she broke another, and suddenly there appeared many people, sheep, goats, oxen and birds that followed her.

Arriving inside her house, she broke the last one. Suddenly, the house became filled in every corner with cowries.

Then the mother of the girl, with all of that wealth, decided to send to a neighbor woman (Iyalê) who was the first wife of her husband (conbóca), twenty cloths from the coast, and many other items, including twenty animals of each species.

This woman (Iyalê) had a daughter, and knowing what had happened and how, made palm-oil and gave it to her daughter to sell at the market.

The girl went, and the Fairy appeared buying oil, paying with a certain number of cowries, all perfect. The girl hid one, saying that she had not received all of the cowries.

“What can I do?” asked the Fairy. “I don’t have any more cowries.”

“I will go with you to your house, and there you will pay me.”

“That’s fine,” responded the Fairy.

When they were walking, the Fairy began to say what she had said to the other girl:

“Young seller of palm-wine, now you must return home.”

“I will not return,” said the girl.

“Then, let’s go on,” answered the Fairy.

And they went into the country of the dead. The Fairy gave her palm nuts to make oil and said...