Reading Notes: Stories from Congo, Part A

The story jumps right in with a man killing animals and giving them to his three wives to eat. Then, suddenly, an ox killed the man while he was trying to hunt. One of the wives has the power to dream what has happened; another has the power to locate their husband; and the other has the power to bring him back to life. The animals that the characters eat in the story are different than those that people eat nowadays, especially in the United States. They eat monkeys and antelope. The dog is also animated and can speak to his owner. I enjoy reading stories that have talking animals because it can attract people of all ages and with different interests. Even as an adult, I love watching animated movies and the stories that are created to develop the animated characters.
A recurring magical power that characters in this story seem to have is the power to dream something and then it actually coming to life. One of the wives in the first story had this power and so did Buite, a man who left his brother to live alone in a valley. However, when Buite did not follow the exact storyline of his dream, all of it went away. I would like to possibly write about this in this week's storytelling assignment because I could talk about a more modern man who also dreamed about his perfect woman.
A motif that is often seen in these types of stories is when one of the main characters runs away from home to start a new life for themselves. This can be the beginning of a mysterious, unfamiliar place where anything could happen to this character and where they have no one else that they know. I think it is important to reference these motifs when writing your version of the story because it keeps the main ideas similar to the original. It magnifies important themes that were frequently used in not only Africa, but also the majority of myths.


Women and wives of Congo, by Henry M. Stanley.

Richard Edward Dennett's Stories from Congo (1898).