Ethiopian Folktales

Narrated by Tito Bangey

Long, long ago when the world began, men and dogs used to be friends and they spoke to each other because dogs had the gift of speech. Then one day dogs and men had an argument. So they wanted to go to the holy place where there was a witch doctor and priests so they could confess.

They decided that the best place to go was the sky. So they went up there and they explained their problems and discovered that there was fire in the sky. They found that it was nice and warm.

So, after they had solved their problems, they decided to go, and the dog said, “You run ahead, I’ll catch up.”

So the men left, except a few who said, “Why don’t you come?”

And the dog said, “I’m a fast runner, I’ll catch up with you.”

So when they went running off, the dog picked up some fire with her tail and came running after them, which is how fire came down to earth.

Then, one day, the men and dogs went hunting.

And they saw a lion in the distance and the men said to the dog, “The lion is our enemy, he eats our prey that we hunt.”

They continued into the forest and caught a buffalo and killed it. When they had killed the buffalo, they dismembered it and cut it up. But, before eating, the first thing they must do is give some meat to the spirits who lived very far away. So, because it was very difficult to carry the buffalo, they took a piece of nice, fatty meat and placed it in the dog’s mouth. They told the dog to go and give their offering to the spirits.

So the dog ran and ran and she became tired, and she was panting, but her tongue couldn’t come out so she put the meat down and rested for a while. As she rested she swallowed her saliva and tasted the meat and it was very delicious. So she picked up the meat and continued running, but after some time the temptation to eat overcame her and she ate up the meat. So after she ate the meat she came running back to the men.

They looked her over and said, “Dog, have you taken the meat to the spirits?”

And she curled up her tail and put back her ears and howled. They wondered what was wrong with her, but they took the fire she had brought from the sky and roasted their meat and ate some.

And they said, “Maybe she doesn’t want to eat.”

And they turned again and talked to her, but she couldn’t reply because since she hadn’t taken the meat to the spirits, her speech was taken away from her.