772 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



from being fetichism, is a pure animism, or worship of spirits, 

 differing in no important particular from that of other people on 

 the same plane of civilization. In this paper I propose to dispel 

 another illusion, and show that the negro, like all other races, has 

 his folklore, or popular tales, which are in no wise inferior to those 

 invented by other people. Of course, the Uncle Remus stories 

 of Mr. Joel Chandler Harris are really American-negro versions 

 of West African folklore tales, but in most cases the tales have 

 been so much changed in order to adapt them to the altered con- 

 ditions of life and the new locale that they can now scarcely be 

 called examples of West African folklore. 



It is among the Yoruba tribes of the Slave Coast that we find 

 the folklore instinct most fully developed, and their tales may be 

 numbered probably by hundreds. The itinerant story-teller, akpa- 

 lo kpatita (" one who makes a trade of telling fables "), is a well- 

 known character, who wanders from town to town, reciting tales. 

 He is always well received, and is in great demand for social 

 gatherings. He very frequently carries with him a drum, with 

 the rhythm of which he fills up the pauses in the narrative. He 

 strikes a few taps on the drum, to attract attention, and as soon 

 as an audience is gathered he announces, " My alo * is about so- 

 and-so," and then commences the recital. 



The first and second of the following tales are Yoruba ; the 

 third is from the Ewe tribes, who inhabit the western portion of 

 the Slave Coast, and among whom Dahomi is the one best known 

 to Europeans ; while the fourth is from the Tshi tribes of the 

 Gold Coast, among whom are the Ashantis and Fantis. In each 

 case the exact English equivalent of the native version has been 

 given, and none of the stories have been in the least " touched up." 



I. THE GOBLIN'S GIFT. 



My alo is about a woman whose little girl made palm oil.f 



One day, when she had made palm oil, she took it to the mar- 

 ket to sell. 



She stayed in the market selling her palm oil until it was quite 

 dark. And when it was dark, a goblin J came to her to buy palm 

 oil, and paid her with cowries.* 



When the little girl counted the cowries she found that there 

 was one short. And she asked the goblin for the cowry that was 

 wanting. 



*Alo, a tale, fable. 



( Palm oil, which is made from the nut of the oil palm (Elais guiniensis), is largely used 

 in native cookery, and is one of the chief articles of commerce. 

 J Iwin, goblin, spirit, or ghost. 

 * The cowry shell is the currency of the Slave Coast. 



