Ni igba kan ri, Àmọ̀tékùn ni àwọ̀ dúdú ti ó jọ̀lọ̀, ṣùgbọ́n ni ọjọ́ kan, Àmọ̀tékùn wá oúnjẹ õjọ́ rẹ lọ. Ó dé ahéré kan, ó ṣe akiyesi pe obinrin kan ńwẹ̀, inú rẹ dùn púpọ̀ pé òhún ti ri oúnje. O lúgọ de asiko ti yi o ri àyè pa obinrin yi fún oúnjẹ.
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- Àmọ̀tékùn – Leopard. Courtesy:@theyorubablog
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- Àmọ̀tékùn ri ahére – The Leopard saw a hut. Courtesy: @theyorubablog
Yorùbá ni “Ọ̀pá tó wà lọ́wọ́ ẹni la fi npa ejò”. Nigbati obinrin yi ri Àmọ̀tékùn, pẹ̀lú ìbẹ̀rù, ó fi igbe ta, ó ju kàrìnkàn ti ó fi ńwẹ̀ pẹ̀lú ọṣẹ híhó inú rẹ lù. Àmọ̀tékùn fi eré si ṣùgbọ́n, gbogbo ọṣẹ ti ó wà ninu kànrìnkàn ti ta àbàwọ́n si ara rẹ lati ori dé ẹsẹ̀ rẹ, eleyi ló sọ Àmọ̀tékùn di alámì tó-tò-tó lára titi di ọjọ́ oni. (Ẹ ka itàn àròsọ yi ninu iwé ti M.I. Ogumefu kọ ni èdè Gẹ̀ẹ́si).
Yorùbá ma nlo àwọn àròsọ itàn wọnyi lati kọ́ àwọn ọmọdé ni ẹ̀kọ́. Yorùbá ni “Ẹni ti ó bá dákẹ́, ti ara rẹ á ba dákẹ́”, nitori eyi ẹ̀kọ́ pàtàki ti a ri ninu itàn àròsọ yi ni pé, kò yẹ ki enia fi ìbẹ̀rù dúró lai ṣe nkankan ti ewu bá dojú kọni ṣùgbọ́n ki á lo ohun kóhun ti ó bá wà ni àrọ́wótó lati fi gbèjà ara ẹni.
ENGLISH TRANSLATION
Once upon a time, the Leopard had a very lovely smooth dark skin without spot, but one day, he went about looking for a prey. When he got to a hut, he observed that a woman was taking her bath in the hut, he was very happy to have found food. He lurked around till the right time that he could pounce on his victim.
Yoruba proverb said “One uses the stick in one’s hand to kill a snake”. When the woman saw the Leopard, in her fear, she screamed loudly and threw the soapy sponge she was using to bath at the Leopard. The Leopard fled, but the soap foam in the sponge had already stained him from head to toe, turning him to a spotted wild animal till today. (Read the English version of this folklore in the book titled “Yoruba Legends” by M.I. Ogumefu (1929).
Yoruba people, tell folklores and tales to teach children lessons. According to a Yoruba adage “Whoever is silent, remains silent with his/her worries”. The important lesson learnt from this folklore is, one should not, out of fear stay doing nothing when confronted with danger but use whatever is available as a weapon of defence.
Originally posted 2014-01-31 18:08:54. Republished by Blog Post Promoter