Afro-Cuban Tales

Ñoguma

135 Sokuando! Ñoguma In Mr. Tiger’s house, there’s no cook. Nobody’d look for a job there. Who would be a cook in a tiger’s house? Who would dare? They eat whatever the cook brings them in big pots. And then they eat up the cook! That’s what they’ve always done. It’s their custom. In those days, there was a carpenter named Ñoguma. And people said that he was smarter than even the cockroaches. At both cooking and baking he was a marvel. So he went to the tiger’s house to ask for a job. “Ñoguma, in that big mansion1 all the cooks have been eaten up. Don’t go, Ñoguma. May God keep you from going!” But he wouldn’t listen to anyone, not even to his good friend,2 Ma Theodora. He wasn’t afraid, and he was getting bored doing carpentry work. Now, Mrs. Tiger has a lot of kids. And she hates to cook because it’s such dirty work. “OK, Ñoguma, get lunch ready. And be quick.” “Is entete (game) alright?” “Game? Sure. Excellent!” “How about engombe (beef)?” “Beef? For sure.” “How about enuni (bird)?” “Bird? Yes, of course!” “Susúndamba (owl)?” “ . . . ?” 1. In the text the author used the Afro-Cuban word munansó and translated it in a note as “casa” (house). 2. Comadre is the godmother of your child. She could also be the mother of your girlfriend. 136 Ñoguma “And how about chulá (toad)?” “Oh, no, not any toad! Toad makes you swell up!” So Ñoguma put on his lily-white apron and lit the fire. The fire, in the fireplace, said, “I’m ready!” And a little tiger cub came nosing around. Ñoguma killed and cooked him. The Tigers ate tiger meat and pronounced it excellent. Later another curious tiger cub showed up hungry. Ñoguma killed it, seasoned it up nicely, and the Tigers ate tiger meat, saying, “How delicious!” Every day Ñoguma kills another cub, and the parents smack their lips. “This black fellow sure knows how to cook!” Up until the day Ñoguma killed the last tiger cub. The peacock, from his perch on a branch, had seen everything . “Today’s the day,” said Ñoguma, and the fire shook with laughter. “Today’s the day when Ñoguma must leave and go far away. . . . Mmmm. Tiger is vengeful, and Ñoguma has no intention of playing with his teeth.” (The pots and pans were all there in a row with their fat tummies and their black bottoms. All very serious. And all with their hats on.) And Ñoguma, winking at the knife, walked out. And never came back. Mr. Tiger is out looking for Ñoguma. Because he’s hungry and it’s lunchtime. Mrs. Tiger’s looking for Ñoguma too. And calling her cubs. Not a single one is around. At dinnertime, “Where the hell is Ñoguma?” “Sir?” “My God!” And the Tigers began to wonder, “Might the cubs have gotten lost playing in the woods?” Big Tiger is hungry. 137 Ñoguma He’s really HUNGRY. Ah, ah! Later, it’s bedtime. Not a single star is missing from the sky. Sleep came back, but not Ñoguma or the cubs. The peacock watches from his branch with his hundred eyes. Totally engrossed in watching. Three days went by. “Tu húrria! Tu húrria! Tu húrria!3 The fire is out and the cinders cold. Tiger looks around. And sees the heads. Twelve cooking pots; there are twelve cooking pots, and in them he discovers the heads of his twelve children. And the heads open and close, their eyes glazed over in horror, and they stick out their tongues, already crawling with worms. . . . All the heads are really rotten. And they ask for redress. “Woe to you, Ñoguma!” said the tiger. “How can I get vengeance ?” “If you promise to give me what I ask for, I’ll bring you Ñoguma in handcuffs,” answered the peacock. “I’ll give you anything you ask for.” “All right.What I want is different feet. Pretty silver feet . . .” and he whispered in his ear, “because I’m ashamed of mine.” “I’ll give you pretty new feet. Real high-class feet!” “Very well. I’ll not waste a second. I’m on my way.” “Ñoguma, Titigumá, titirigumá, Ñoguma!” Ñoguma was in his carpenter’s shop planing a honeycolored mahogany board. The plane said: “Sigueñé, sigueñé, sile! 3. The peacock’s call, in black dialect, means “you...