I LIBERIA II
3. Gouro lore and lesson of this tale
* Gouro lore of compensation: The lore of Compensation constitutes an important aspect of the Gouro social Life. When one is, for instance, victimised illegitimately, compensation must be given by the victimiser. This involves too often a process of judgment whereby theft, wrong doing of various kinds, breach of the peace, betrayal of communal security, invasion of another person's privacy are condemned by compensation. This aspect shows evidence in the narrative when the goats must compensate for the killing of a chicken with a goat; or else,when humans must give a beautiful woman in compensation for the one they have killed.
* The Goruo lore of the Funeral: The narrative shows how important a funeral is amongst the Gouro. The Gouro funeral is the last honour that a deceased receives from the living world. Amongst the Gouro,the more cows that are slaughtered at a funeral, the more honourable it is. This explains that, in the narrative, the people abandoned the woman they were taking to the grave to go and slaughter the cow given to them by Fox.
* Lesson of survival: By survival, it is meant the conflicting relations in which the narrative elements are involved.This can be witnessed in physical confrontation between the narrative elements:the stronger kill weaker ones.
Chicken pecks the grain of corn;Goats kill Chicken;Cattle kill Goat; Humans
slaughter Cow, and a Human (in the form of a beautiful woman) is taken to God through Death.
Another form of conflictual relation in this tale is intellectual conflict; that is when Fox, a small animal, outwits the others by using tricks. The intellectual domination of Fox aims at satisfying a divine order, and therefore it is subjected to the will of Ca Zan Bali. The divine order is a higher form of domination over all. It is that divine order that commends the substitution of each element without any objection whenever an element is killed by another element. Bali says, for example: 'His chicken that the goats killed, they must give in compensation a goat. And they gave a goat in compensation'. There is a logic of obedience to Bali.
TALE TWO
The dramatis personae and their characteristics.
Lion: He is the host of all the animals as he calls on them to gather in his compound. He is authoritarian and threatening to his guests.
Gazelle: NaTve and obeying to Lion's orders
Goat: Goat is terrified and very apprehensive of Lion's cruelty.
Fox: He shows no fear, is cool-headed and persuasive.
The other characters involved are all other animals (unidentified).
Lion's bloody feast
An Ie fiin My story
ejie It is past
Golizra Ie.
There was a lion.
Yi IeayuE ba ya do.
And he had only one eye.
Ye e wih nu fafa
And he called upon all the animals
laa ble wo da to come
wo fE nonon ki dran and learn to count
e yuE va.
in his presence.
e ble,
he ordered with authority.
zro, be pehi
'sie.
"You Gazelle, start",
Zro ble Gazelle said
do, fie, yaka,
"one, two, three, ... "
- Men fE man Ie I yan son
on
man Zro?"Why do you insult me?
Man I ble
I shall eat you!", he roared.
Ye e Zro "jE, And he killed Gazelle
ye e 'bE bli.
and he ate her.
- Bii Bohi, be nonon!
"You Goat, count!" he roared.
Bohi ble yonki yan Goat said shaking:
do, fie, yaka
"one,two, three, ..."
e Boli ze ''iE
He killed Goat
ye e 'bE bli.
and ate her too.
Ye eble
And he said without contest:
te de mi Ie 'bE fE nonon ki pehi 'sie
"I shall kill anyone
an yuE ba do yan, who insults my one eye
an 'bE zan ja.
by starting to count at one.
Ca 'ce 'i;dwa ble an yuE ba ya do 101 Don't you realize that I have only one eye?
Men fE man Ie ca fe do?
Why do you say one then?
e wih nu fafa "jEa zoo He thus killed all the animals.
De 'wo Ie
He even killed those who,
wo 'clen two "jE ki lee out of fearof being killed,
ye two a nonon ki pehi 'sia fie ta ooh, e two ja.
started by counting from two,
Ya fe wo IE ble He forced them
wa pehi 'sia e 'sia nan.
to start from the beginning.
e wo fafa ''jE titi.
He killed them all.
e boh ji 'clin kwanen tao Then came the turn of Clever Fox.
eble
He said with a threatening voice.
kwanen, be nonon!
"Fox, count!",
Ji 'clin kwanen apehi 'sia ble:
Clever Fox calmly and slowly started:
a vlin tEtEya "bli fli wi yen,
"The very first is anger provoking,
ye fie, yaka..
then two, three ... "
- I ble men fE?
"What do yousay?" Lion raved.
- Kwanen ble an ble Fox said persuasively:
a vlin tEtE Ie de wa fi
1'1 say the very first that when they say it
ye "blie fli 'bE it provokes anger,
'bEE Ie kico,
here it is,
ye fie, yaka, ...
then,two,three, ..."
- Be dErE pehi 'sia.
Start again! Lion uttered, seduced.
Ji 'clin kwanen golizra eli.
Clever Fox won him over eventually.
yi Ie golizra ble, Then Lion said very calmly,
bii do e bwa fE nonon ki IE.
"You alone know how to count.
Ize fE nonon ki dran kyen?
Tell me where didyou learn to count?"
Ji 'ciin kwanen ble, Clever Fox said,
an ze fE nonon ki dran I yala nonomicoo,
"I learnt to countfrom your beautiful face
I "bli nonomicoowo man.
and from yourgood intention."
A zo Ie e fuu voh golizra "bli man That is how he flattered Lion
ye 'bE daan man ye
e go
who let him go.