African Tales

44. Yoruba (Nigeria) The King and the Kini-kini Bird

238 44 The King and the Kini-kini Bird 153 Yoruba (Nigeria)154 The Yoruba folk-lore tales are very numerous. The word now commonly used to mean one of these popular fables is alo, which more properly means a riddle, or something invented, literally something twisted, or inverted. A reciter of tales, called an akpalo (kpa-alo) ‘maker of alo,’ is a personage highly esteemed, and in great demand for social gatherings. Some men, indeed, make a profession of story-telling, and wander from place to place reciting tales. Such a man is termed an akpalo kpatita, ‘one who makes a trade of telling fables.’ . . .[T]he professional story-teller very often uses a drum, with the rhythm of which the pauses in the narrative are filled up. When he has gathered an audience around him, he cries out,‘My alo is about so-and-so,’ mentioning the name of the hero or heroine of the tale; or ‘My alo is about a man (or woman) who did so-and-so,’ and, after this preface, proceeds with the recital.155 My alo is about a certain king. One day, the king called all the birds to come and clear a piece of ground. But he forgot to call the kini-kini bird.156 All the birds came. They set to work, and they cleared a large piece of ground. In the middle of the piece of ground was an odan tree. At midday, when the sun was hot and all the birds had left their work for the way, the kinikini bird came and perched on the odan tree and began to sing: “The king sent to invite my companions, kini-kini. He assembled all the children of the folk with wings, kini-kini. Grow grass, sprout bush, kini-kini, Come, let us go to the house, kini-kini, And there we can dance the bata, kini-kini. If the bata will not sound, we will dance the dundun, kini-kini. If the dundun will not sound, we will dance the gangan, kini-kini.”157 Next morning, when the birds came to work, they found the grass they had cleared all grown over with grass and bush. They went and told the king. The king said, “That is nothing. Clear it again.” The birds went to work and cleared it again and at midday went away. The kini-kini bird came back and sang his song again: “The king sent to invite my companions, kini-kini. He assembled all the children of the folk with wings, kini-kini. Grow grass, sprout bush, kini-kini, Come, let us go to the house, kini-kini, And there we can dance the bata, kini-kini. If the bata will not sound, we will dance the dundun, kini-kini. If the dundun will not sound, we will dance the gangan, kini-kini.” And again, the grass and bush sprang up. Next day, the birds, when they saw what had happened, went and informed the king. “No matter,” said the king.” “Clear the ground again.” A third time, the birds cleared the ground and went away, and a third time the kini-kini bird came and sang: “The king sent to invite my companions, kini-kini. He assembled all the children of the folk with wings, kini-kini. Grow grass, sprout bush, kini-kini, Come, let us go to the house, kini-kini, And there we can dance the bata, kini-kini. If the bata will not sound, we will dance the dundun, kini-kini. If the dundun will not sound, we will dance the gangan, kini-kini.” And the grass and bush sprang up. The next day, when the birds found the ground covered with bushes, they went to the king. They asked him to give them authority to seize the person who was playing this trick. The king said, “Very well.” Then all the birds went back to the piece of ground, and they put a great quantity of bird-lime on the odan tree. Then they went home. Next morning, they came and cleared the ground again and at midday went and hid in the bushes close by. The kini-kini bird came and perched on the odan tree. He sang his song: Yoruba (Nigeria) 239 “The king sent to invite my companions, kini-kini. He assembled all the children of the folk with wings, kini-kini. Grow grass...