the two friends

the two friends

An African Folktale

Miwili Mapal

ignatius joseph n estroga

Two boys were born on the very same day in an African tribe, and they grew up to be firm friends.

Jinjo was poor. Ndemi was rich.ignatius joseph n estroga

Ndemi Jinjo ignatius joseph n estroga

Ndemi’s life was PLAY…until he got bored…

One day.. Ndemi had a yearning to see something of the world outside.

So he asked his poor friend to go along with him.ignatius joseph n estroga

Malama

In the next village Ndemi saw a beautiful girl.

He immediately asked her to marry her..


Then he said"I would be prepared to give a

hundred cattle for such loveliness."


"My father is Chief of the village,“ Malama replied,

"and it is his wish that I should marry a man capable of doing superhuman things. He sets a

task for my suitors, such a difficult one that I fear I shall grow old without ever being

married."


So Ndemi faced the Chief and said,

"Sir, I wish to marry your daughter, surely the most beautiful woman in the whole of Africa. Tell me what to do and it shall be done. Where others have failed, I shall succeed, because my love for your daughter is boundless."


But the young man became hopeless when the Chief told him what his task would be.


What do you think is his task?


Guarded by an old woman,

Spend 6 days and 6 nights in a hut

NO food NO water

And if he did not succeed, he would be killed. Because of love, he accepted the conditions.


Do you think Ndemi will survive?


Of course, Ndemi had a plan for this.With Jinjo’s help, he made a small hole on the

wall, and through this hole he quietly pushed a hollow reed, dipping its end into the calabash of water.

On the other end, Ndemi was able to drink. Then Jinjo plastered the wall with mud to hide the hole, and quietly stole off into the darkness.


Every night they did this.


Then became suspicious for no suitor lasted more than three days.


On the fifth night, she commanded Ndemi to sleep against the wall while she laid

down on his bed mat.


Later, she heard soft scraping noise and later a hollow poked and water came out.

So she shouted!

‘Cheaterrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! The chief will hear about this in the morning. And the calabash will be my evidence that will end your life.’ignatius joseph n estroga

Jinjo was worried. He heard his friend crying.Suddenly a voice came out squeaking out of

darkness.


What do you think was it?


to the rescue!!

"Look down," squeaked the voice, "I am Davyaga, the rat. Tell me your problem and I

will try to find a solution."

Davyag

a


So Jinjo told his story, then the rat said;"Leave it to me. You sleep well tonight. Your friend is

no longer in danger." And he was gone, rustling through the dry grass. Reaching the old woman's hut, chew a hole through the wall.

He pushed the calabash through the hole where his friends, the white ants, stood waiting, drawn up like soldiers on a parade-ground. Then they started eating the calabash, not even the smallest chip remained.


The sun came up


found that she had no evidence, and as nobody would believe her fantastic story


Ndemi was able to marry Malama and take her back to his village with him.


There his father built a house for them, and a house for the poor Jinjo. To Ndemi and Jinjo, he gave magic knives, made by the giants in the far-off mountains and so alike that nobody could possibly tell the difference between them.

"One day you will need the magic of the knives," said the father.


After some months Jinjo, announced that he had a desire to travel to a faraway village and find a wife for himself so that he could be as radiantly happy as Malama and Ndemi.


So he planted a tree.When the tree had grown and

he was about to set off on his travels, he said to Ndemi,

"See how it flowers, this cotton-seed tree of mine that I planted in a hole cut out by magic knife. If these leaves become withered and dry, it will be a sign that I am either dead or in the most desperate trouble. Good-bye, and may your happiness grow during my absence."


Then he traveled across plains until he could see in the distance a village.

Approaching, he heard the sound of weeping and wailing, a vast sad sound coming from the throats of hundreds of people. And just ahead of him he could see a lonely girl sitting in the dry riverbed


What was that sound?

a. A humming birdb. A hurting chimpanzeec. Jack with no Jilld. Itsy bitsy spidere. The crying ladiesf. All of the above


You lose!


Ooppss..Wrong Photo!!This is

African Folklore

not Australia’s Next Top Model


Translate in Cebuano -

Kalimaignatius joseph n estroga

She was as beautiful as Malama,

and he was in love with her before he even came close.


Then Jinjo asked, ‘why are you here?’


What do you think is the answer of Kalima?

a. “Can’t you see it? Im sunbathing!”b. “im having my footspa. ‘Wanna join?”c. “This is my house!”d. “I want to go under the sea.”e. “wla lang! bet ko lang, may problema ba

pre”f. All of the above


Nah!All your answers are wrong


Then she shared, "The River God is cruel and demanding.

The river flows only when a young girl is sacrificed.

One by one, all the young maidens have been devoured by the River God, and now it is my turn.


I am Kalima, the daughter of the chief. I am the last one left, and my people will die without the water.

So go away and leave me, before the River God comes at sunset to devour me.


But Jinjo refused to go, for what man will leave the woman he loves when she is in danger? All day he sat with her, telling her of his love for her, and how he would take her back to his village as his wife after he dealt with the cruel River God.


As the sun sank, out of the earth came the biggest snake. The young man was filled with fear, but he dashed forward and with a sweep of his magic knife he cut off the monster's

head.


The end?


Not yet?


Kalima and Jinjo married immediately, but because she had - according to tribal law - already been sacrificed to the River God and therefore no longer really living - they had to build their hut some distance from the village.


A few weeks later


A few weeks later there was an astonishing happening.

Every piece of meat in the village - chops, steaks, even sausage sizzling in the pan - suddenly jumped up and ran towards the distant hill.

The young man could not believe his eyes. Never before had he seen meat actually running.


"This happens quite often," Kalima explained to him. "The meat runs to that distant hill. Where the rock swallows all of it and will do the same to anybody who goes near it.


This has never stopped, for all are afraid of that rock and never go close enough to be engulfed."


A few days later Jinjo went hunting with ten young men from the village. Seeing an antelope, they gave chase, and running near rock, then suddenly its mouth opened and swallowed them all.


Meanwhile, Ndemi knew something happened to his friend because the tree withered and the leaves dried up. ignatius joseph n estroga

So he searched for Jinjo.When he arrived at the hut, Kalima thought her husband had returned from the hunt.

So Kalima and the villagers explained to him what happened.

Ndemi set off to rescue his friend.


Ndemi strode up to the rock, and the watchers saw it bending over to swallow him.

But he stabbed at it with his magic knife, and the watchers cheered as the rock broke into two halves, and the ten lost hunters and Jinjo marched out, singing, laughing, happy to be back with their friends in the sunlight again.


"Which one is my husband?" cried Kalima as the two young men, looking exactly alike, stood before her.


"Such likeness!" she cried. "Such friendship and devotion! How truly wonderful it is and how proud I am of both of you."


They went back home with Ndemi, built a

house near Jinjo

and the two young men and Malama and Kalima remained dear friends for the

rest of their long lives.ignatius joseph n estroga

fin


the two friends

Education

upignatius joseph n

village ndemi

ndemi andjinjo

poor jinjo

small hole

hole cutout

afaraway village

poor friend