Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, West AfricaAfrican Traditional ReligionsLegend / Oral TraditionEnglishShareFolk Stories from Southern Nigeria 35Project Gutenberg #34655 - EnglishMoreVersion - 1 availableProject Gutenberg #34655LanguageEnglishEspañol‹Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria 0Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria 1Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria 2Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria 3Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria 4Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria 5Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria 6Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria 7Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria 8Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria 9Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria 10Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria 11Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria 12Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria 13Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria 14Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria 15Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria 16Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria 17Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria 18Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria 19Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria 20Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria 21Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria 22Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria 23Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria 24Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria 25Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria 26Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria 27Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria 28Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria 29Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria 30Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria 31Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria 32Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria 33Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria 34Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria 35Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria 36Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria 37Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria 38Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria 39Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria 40›The King and the 'Nsiat BirdFolk Stories from Southern Nigeria 35ListenPlay this chapter in spoken English.Save chapterListen to chapter1When 'Ndarake was King of Idu, being young and rich, he was very fond of fine girls, and had plenty of slaves. The 'Nsiat bird was then living at Idu, and had a very pretty daughter, whom 'Ndarake wished to marry. When he spoke to the father about the matter, he replied that of course he had no objection personally, as it would be a great honour for his daughter to marry the king, but, unfortunately, when any of his family had children, they always gave birth to twins, which, as the king knew, was not allowed in the country; the native custom being to kill both the children and throw them into the bush, the mother being driven away and allowed to starve. The king, however, being greatly struck with Adit, the bird's daughter, insisted on marrying her, so the 'Nsiat bird had to agree. A large amount of dowry was paid by the king, and a big play and feast was held. One strong slave was told to carry Adit 'Nsiat during the whole play, and she sat on his shoulders with her legs around his neck; this was done to show what a rich and powerful man the king was. 2After the marriage, in due course Adit gave birth to twins, as her mother had done before her. The king immediately became very fond of the two babies, but according to the native custom, which was too strong for any one to resist, he had to give them up to be killed. When the 'Nsiat bird heard this, he went to the king and reminded him that he had warned the king before he married what would happen if he married Adit, and rather than that the twins should be killed, he and the whole of his family would leave the earth and dwell in the air, taking the twins with them. As the king was so fond of Adit and the two children, and did not want them to be killed, he gladly consented, and the 'Nsiat bird took the whole of his family, as well as Adit and her two children, away, and left the earth to live and make their home in the trees; but as they had formerly lived in the town with all the people, they did not like to go into the forest, so they made their nests in the trees which grew in the town, and that is why you always see the 'Nsiat birds living and making their nests only in places where human beings are. The black birds are the cocks, and the golden-coloured ones are the hens. It was the beautiful colour of Adit which first attracted the attention of 'Ndarake and caused him to marry her. ‹Previous chapterFolk Stories from Southern Nigeria 34Next chapterFolk Stories from Southern Nigeria 36›Similar passagesBy tradition and source labelFind similarCompare selectedCompare with similarAsk Deep ThoughtSelect passages to search for parallels.Tap any verse to select it, then compare selected passages or ask Deep Thought. Public domain in the United States via Project Gutenberg