Week Ten: Eskimo Folk Tales

This week, I am reading the unit entitled Eskimo Folk Tales. I have always been fasciated by the life of Eskimos and I am excited to learn more about their culture from this unit

The Coming of Men, A Long, Long While Ago
The story begins with an unknown narrator telling the readers about storytellers and that they do not lie. The narrator goes on to begin the story to tell how men came to earth. Men were said to come forth out of the earth among the willow bushes and that men and women learned to live together. Once there were more men and women, they desired to have dogs and the men found them. The same with children who grew on the earth. There was no sun in this time and men did not know how to die and crowded the earth, so came a mighty flood from the earth and death was known. Now, when men die, they go up into the sky and become brightly shining things there.

Nukungasik, Who Escaped from the Tupilak
This story begins with Nukunguasik who one day rowed to an unvisited, beautiful island. On the island, he came upon a brother who was making a Tupilak. The brother became so frightened that he fell down dead but the Tupilak was still alive. The man rowed home and his brothers were glad to see him. They went out in search of the dead brother and found him in grief. They buried the brother and the Tupilak and the man lived for many more years before dying.

The Woman Who Had a Bear as a Foster-Son
The story begins with an old woman who obtained blubber and meat from those in the town. One day a wife came to the woman's home to ask if she wanted a bear cub. The woman put it in her home to thaw and noticed that it thawed and began to grow. She spoke human speech to it and it began to gain a human mind. People in the town brought her things for the cub and it continued to grow, making children cry. One day hunters nearly killed the bear so the woman made a mark for it to wear to keep it safe and it caught food for the woman. The bear killed a man and the woman threw him out of the house. The woman smeared him with oil and  that tells the world of the bears with the black spot on the side.

Qalaganuase, Who Passed to the Land of Ghosts
Qalaganuase lived near the sea with only his family until they died and he was looked after by strangers. He was without strength and the lower part of his body was dead. He heard a noise in the house and hid, only to see a ghost walk in. He told people but they did not believe him. Many days passed and then suddenly the walls shook and many ghosts of his family were there. He found the ghosts a pleasant thing and they left when they heard the villagers. People still did not believe him. Finally, Qalaganuase went with the ghosts and was turned into one so he would be lame no longer.

Isigaligarssik
Isigaligarssik was a strong man who lived in a house with many brothers. One day a wizard called upon him to see his spirit. A girl asked to have Isigaligarssik and he also wanted her. The wizard told him this would never work and Isigaligarssik went home wifeless. He wanted to kill the wizard and the villagers disagreed. However, Isigaligarssik still stabbed the wizard and ran quickly home to put on his charm dress to keep himself safe. The wizard shot and missed Isigaligarssik and Isigaligarssik won his wife again.

The Insects That Wooed a Wifeless Man
This story begins with a wifeless man, as many stories do. One day, the man went out on his kayak and heard another man yelling and went to help. He saw that the man was a "Noseless One" from beneath the earth. The man saved the noseless one and rowed home. That evening, the wifeless man wanted to rest and woke up the next day to find a wife. During this time, he lost the power to hunt and was all alone.

Makite
Makite could never catch a seal on his kayak. He decided to go up into the hills to live alone. Many brothers went after him but couldn't find him. He found a house and went in as it began to shake. Makite heard the master of the house talking and said that he would kill him. Makite then ate and they both went to sleep. Makite saw that a great black thing was approaching the house and the dwarfs went out to fight it. Makite then built himself a house and lived there until he died.

Atungait, Who Went A-Wandering
This is the story of a man who wanted to go on a sledge trip with a strong woman. He went to visit a tribe who wanted to play football and watched the strongest of the players. He then took some dogs and climbed a cliff. He found some interesting people, as they were all left-handed and all had one shorter leg than the other. He found his wife kissing another man and roughly killed her so that he could make another woman his wife.

The Giant Dog
This story begins with a man who had a giant dog that could swim and haul whale to shore. The man wanted a son but didn't have one so gave the amulet to the dog. One day, the dog killed a man and the man was forced to move to a new place. The dog and man were forced to move many times and the dog grew to become big and fierce and had many enemies. A stranger tried to kill the dog and it could not be killed. The dog would roam the land and that is how island-dwellers got their fear of dogs.

Papik, Who Killed His Wife's Brother
This is the story of Papik who often went hunting with his wife's brother. The brother often brought back more game than Papik. One day, Ailaq did not return at all and Papik was accused of killing him. An old woman died and sought to avenge Ailaq. Much time passed and Papik was out hunting when a monster had come to kill Papik. Many villagers tried to kill the monster that was the old woman who was avenging her son. It is now said that when any man killed his fellow without good cause, a monster would come a strike him dead with fear.

Patussorssuaq, Who Killed His Uncle
This story begins with a man named Patusorssuaq who was fonder of his uncle's wife than his own. Patusorssuaq killed his uncle when he heard that he and his wife were moving away. The wife fled from Patusorssuaq and found her farther. Patusorssuaq then went to kill his wife but she had also fled. He took his uncle's wife and lived with her until she died. One day a fox came to him and it was the soul of the uncle who killed him. This shows that punishment comes to the man who kills.

The Wife Who Lied
The story of the wife who lied begins with a woman who put mittens on her feet rather than boots. She made war against the tribe to which her husband belonged and they set out and crept into a store shed the village. The men of the village found all their women dead and fled away. War then ensued. Among them, an old woman had a strange dream that there were avengers around her. The woman was then murdered by the avengers and died.

The Eagle and the Whale
This story begins with many brothers who had two sisters who would not marry. One wanted an eagle husband and the other a whale. The sisters were carried off by these animals. The brothers then killed the eagle and the whale to get their sisters to come back home.

Atdlarneq, The Great Glutton
Atdlarneq was a strong man who was a great hunter. One day while hunting, he saw a woman who welcomed him into her home with great quantities of food. The master of the home came back and saw that his cheeks were made of Copper. Atdlarneq was forced to eat and drink so much in order that he not be killed but he nearly gorged himself to death.

Angangujuk
This is the story of Angangujuk, a child who lived alone with his family. One day his mother could not find him and her husband said that he would kill her for killing their son. The husband went to some wizards to see if they could help locate the child but no one could help. A spirit came to the husband and then he wandered to the east until he came to many houses and found his child. The child would not respond and the father became angry and put the son under a magic sleep. The father took Angangujuk back home.

Atarssuaq
Atatssuaq had many enemies, yet he could not be killed. He had a son and threw him into the water. The son did not die but became a clever swimmer. One day Atatssuaq swam with his son and the son was a better swimmer. The boy kept going under water for a long time and the father thought he had died. And the boy was increasingly more clever. One day the father Atatssuaq was killed while hunting and the boy swam to the kayaks of his father's enemies. The son drowned all the men who killed his father and went home.

Tungujuluk and Saunikoq
Tungujuluk and Saunikoq were from the same village and both were wizards. Saunikoq did not have any children and soon began to plan evil. One morning, Saunikoq went out to hunt and stole his brother's son to kill. Instead of killing the boy, he killed a seal instead and took it home to see. The brother then moved and to another city and hasn't been seen since.

Kanagssuaq
The last story in the unit begins with a man and woman living in a place where it was so cold that all hunting had to be stopped. They began to die from hunger. Kanagssuaq finally was able to catch a seal and took it home. There was suddenly a lot of food in his home. Kanagssuaq then learned to tie a tow-line and caught many animals.

Week Nine Essay: American Indian Fairy Tales

American Indian Fairy Tales. Suffolksheepni.

This unit was one of my favorites to date. I picked to read this unit simply because I had no idea that American Indians had fairy tales. The description for the unit drew me in and I was happy to find that everything mentioned in the unit description was actually in the unit. 

I really did enjoy the readings this week. I loved that the stories in this unit were all presented with the frame story of Iagoo and the two children, Morning Glory and Eagle Feather. The fact that all the stories were presented within this frame kept me on my toes and made it a very interesting read. I was never bored with any of the stories and I also liked that many stories in the unit were continuations of each other. This made the stories a little longer but there were more details and more progression of the characters, which I really enjoyed. 

My favorites stories were definitely the Child of the Evening Star and the Little Boy and Girl in the Clouds. These stories had lots of details and continuations of each other and I really enjoyed that. There was lots of background information noted in the readings for these stories and I liked the frame that was set with Iagoo and Morning Glory for both. I honestly didn't have any stories this week that I didn't like. Each story was very interesting and it was as if they were separate entities, yet built on each other within the frame story. 

The only information I would have liked to know is that the entire unit is a frame, or lots of stories within one larger story. I found this out on my own, but knowing that up front might help people choose this unit because this unit really is great! The American Indian Fairy Tales unit definitely exceeded my expectations I was able to learn more about the heritage and culture of American Indians, all while enjoying the frame story of Iagoo, Morning Glory, and Eagle Feather.  

Week Nine Storytelling: Child of the Evening Star

Oweenee. Jill Oxton.

Dear Diary,

Today, my last sister was married and moved out of our teepee. Although I am the youngest of the ten, I know that there is something different about me. All my sisters have found suitors that they can love and have married, bringing my father much joy. However, I am left here all alone.

I am so confused because many men come to our door to woo me. They come from far and wide and have many riches, gifts, and are extremely attractive. Yet, I have this strange feeling that I can see something within them that no one else can see. It is as if I can see their true self and see straight into their heart, rather than just what is on the surface.

The talent or curse is causing much grief and heartache in my family, as I am viewed as picky and with much too high of standards. I am not hard to please, as I genuinely want to be married, but these men just did not seem right. Many times, I blame it on their appearance, as I do not know how to express my feelings in words. I tried to tell my father that I have a special gift through which I can see the true souls of men, but he did not listen. Instead, my father views me as a silly and naive girl. I feel forever lost and do not know what to do.



Dear Diary,

Today, the most peculiar thing happened. A man several years older than I came to our home, asking for my hand in marriage. He was many moons older than me, and could have been the ugliest man I had ever seen. With jagged and yellowed teeth, matted hair, and strange eyes, this would be one man my elder sisters would smirk at.

However, there was something different about him. I couldn't place my finger on it, but he was kind and gentle and I knew that he was the one for me. His heart was of pure gold and I knew that he would treat me in the best way and that we would be happily married for the rest of our days. Looking past his appearance and the wagging tongues of my sisters, I accepted his hand in marriage. I knew, deep down, that he needed my love as much as I needed his. Although this decision is one that would confuse many, I am excited for our life together as man and wife.

Author's Note: 
This week, I decided to do my storytelling over the story, Child of the Evening Star. The original story is split into several parts through which a young girl, Oweenee, who was a fair and beautiful girl. All her sisters were married and she was not yet married because she could see into the hearts of men.

She ended up marrying an old beggar who was actually under an enchantment. The old beggar was actually a young, beautiful man and the son of the Evening Star and later in the story, the enchantment is shifted to Oweenee, who becomes old and ugly. This story tells its readers the importance of love for what is on the inside, rather than appearance.

I decided to tell this story as a diary entry from the first story in the series about how Oweenee is feeling to give more insight to her character.


Bibliography
Book Title: American Indian Fairy Tales
Story Title: Child of the Evening Star
Author: W. T. Larned
Year: 1921

Week Nine: American Indian Fairy Tales

This week, I decided to read the unit entitled, American Indian Fairy Tales. This unit stuck out to me because I had no idea that American Indians had fairy tales in their traditional folklore. I am hoping to learn more about the American Indian culture through this unit, as it is a big part of Oklahoma history as well.

Iagoo, the Story-Teller
The story begins with Iagoo, a wise man who knew and understood many things. He knew about fairy tales and wonders told to him by his grandfather and he won over children with his stories. In the winter, Iagoo would tell many stories and he begins with the first story of how Shin-ge-bis fooled the North Wind. This story is a frame for the rest of the stories to come in the unit.

Shin-ge-bis Fools the North Wind 
This two-part story begins with Ka-bib-on-okka, the North Wind. He lived in the land of ice where no man could live, for it was too cold. Ka-bib-on-okka was no match for Sha-won-dasee, the South Wind. The story progresses with a group of fisherman who knew the North Wind was coming so they worked more quickly. A man, Sin-ge-bis, was a diver of fish and had a happy spirit, as he was always laughing. His friends told him they had to leave, however, he wanted to keep fishing so he turned himself into a duck and kept fishing. His friends never expected to see him again.

Shin-ge-bis Fools the North Wind (cont.)
Shin-ge-bis begins this story by preparing for his fire to keep warm. He learned to catch fish through the ice and sang a song about the North Wind. Ka-bib-on-okka found him and asked who dared to linger in the winter. Shin-ge-bis sang his song again and the wind began to blow more heavily. The snow then covered the tent and kept the cold air out. Ka-Bib-on-okka forced himself into the curtain to where Shin-ge-bis was sitting by the fire. The North Wind began to thaw and shrink. Shin-ge-bis left the tent, believing he could overpower Ka-bib-on-okka and they wrestled all night until Ka-bib-on-okka was conquered, showing that cheerfulness and courage could conquer even the North Wind.

The Little Boy and Girl in the Clouds
The story begins with Iagoo again telling a story to the children. A little girl asked if the mountains had always been here and Iagoo told her that he has always wondered the same thing. He noted that the mountains and hills were made when the world was made and he proceeded to tell the story of the Big Rock that carried a little boy and girl up among the clouds. The story began with a little boy and little girl who lived in a beautiful valley with nothing to fear. All the animals and humans lived in harmony around the river than ran through the valley. There was a shallow pool that seemed especially made for the children and they learned to swim there.

The Little Boy and Girl in the Clouds (cont.)
One summer day, the boy and girl climbed on a big rock and fell asleep. All of a sudden, the rock began to rise and grow until it was taller than the tallest of the trees. Their parents searched in vain, trying to find their children and a coyote told the parents that their children were on the rock. None of the animals could help get the children down except the measuring worm. It took the worm a whole month to reach the top of the rock and he guided the children down safely, showing that even the smallest of animals could be mighty.

The Child of the Evening Star 
This story begins with Gitchee Gumee, a hunter who had ten beautiful daughters. Many men came to court the daughters and brought presents with them until all but one was married. Oweenee was the fairest of all the daughters and was shy and modest. She seemed hard to please but it wasn't their appearance, but the fact that she could look into the hearts of men and tell what really mattered. One day, Osseo, a poor and ugly man came and married Oweenee and her sisters were unhappy. Oweenee saw his heart of gold and her family did not.

The Child of the Evening Star (cont.)
Little did anyone know that Osseo was a beautiful youth who had an evil spell cast on him. He was the son of the King of the Evening Star. Osseo had descended from the beautiful star. One evening, on their way to a wedding, Osseo and Oweenee found an old tree and was transformed into his beautiful self. Then Oweenee turned old and ugly as the enchantment had shifted to her. They loved each other no matter their appearance.

The Child of the Evening Star (cont. again)
Oweenee's sisters could not believe their eyes. They looked enviously at Osseo. Osseo had changed. He was no longer the vibrant soul he once was and was often found gazing at the sky. One evening, he heard the voice of the Evening Star and everything around him changed and Oweenee's beauty was restored. The tent moved upward to the sky and was settled gently on the land of the Evening Star. The King welcomed them into his kingdom.

The Child of the Evening Star (end)
Osseo and Oweenee lived in the kingdom until the evil magician, Wabeno, lost his power. The couple had a son who soon became lonely. He wondered what Earth was like and wanted to leave the kingdom. One day, the son opened the cage in which the sisters, who had been turned into birds, were nesting. He shot the bird with an arrow and it turned into a woman. Soon, the tent descended to Earth and they all danced in the light of the Evening Star.

The Boy Who Snared the Sun
This story begins in a cold and silent winter night. Inside the old Iagoo's tepee, it was warm and a little girl, Morning Glory, and her brother, Eagle Feather were visiting. Suddenly, a mouse crept up and Morning Glory caught him. Iagoo proceeded to tell the story of the Dormouse, the biggest of all the beasts. Iagoo begins the story by noting the world was much different than it once was, as animals used to rule the world instead of men.

The Boy Who Snared the Sun (cont.)
Iagoo's story begins with a young boy and girl who often killed many birds. The sister sewed the skins together and made a coat so they would not freeze in the winter. The boy, only three feet tall, walked until he became tired and fell asleep. The sun caused the coat to shrink, causing the boy to become angry. The boy laid for ten days without moving and then he rose to his feet and told his sister of his plan to catch the sun with a noose. He caught the sun in the noose and held it fast.

The Boy Who Snared the Sun (end)
This story begins back in Iagoo's teepee where Morning Glory asked if he had forgotten about the Dormouse. He noted that he had not forgotten and began to tell the story again. The sun did not rise as normal the first day in his story and the animals knew that something strange as happening. The East Wing came and said that the sun was caught in a snare and noted that one animal must cut the cord. The eagle tried but the sun was too hot. The Dormouse cut through the rope and was singed until he was the size of a tiny mouse, proving the story of how the mouse came to be.

How the Summer Came
This story begins with Morning Glory longing for spring. Iagoo told her to be patient and pointed to the sky, asking the girl if she knew the name of the stars. Eagle Feather knew and said it was the Fisher. Iagoo told the children that there could have been a time with no summer on earth and the Fisher brought the summer down from the sky. The story begins with O-jeeg, a mighty hunter who was very skilled. Many believed that he had magical powers, as he could change himself into the Fisher.

How the Summer Came (cont.)
O-jeeg had a wife and a son who would also be a great hunter. O-jeeg would bring his family food even though the snow never melted. There were some wise men that heard summer was above the sky and one day a red squirrel told the son about summer just above the sky. The boy asked his father to do this dangerous task nearly every day and he planned to climb the tallest mountain, as he heard it could almost touch the sky.

How the Summer Came (end)
This story begins with O-jeeg beginning his long journey to the mountain and stopped at an inn with a giant called Manito. Finally, they reached the foot of the mountain and began to climb. The animals jumped and cracked the sky until one of them disappeared. O-jeeg went up to the sky and saw a beautiful land. The sky people pursued him but he turned into the fisher and ran at top speed. He slowed down and realized that he was stuck in the heavens and said that his son will enjoy the summer. He was to stay in the sky and his name was to be praised.

The Fairy Bride
This story begins with Neen-i-zu, a lovely girl and the daughter of an Indian chief. She often roamed off and came back with eyes as if she had seen strange things. She was called a dreamer and often thought of fairies and little men that were suspected to be in existence. One day, she went to the river and sang a song to the fairies.

The Fairy Bride (cont.)
The last story begins with Neen-i-zu's mother bringing her a hunter to marry. The dreamer saw in her mind fairies in the forest and yearned to go after them. Her mother scolded her for not paying more attention to the hunter and notes that her daughter does not know what is best for her. Neen-i-zu looked like a fairy and often sang her songs until her wedding day to the hunter. Neen-i-zu ran away and was not seen again. She left to go to the fairy world in the Spirit Wood and became a fairy bride, after all.

Week Eight Reading Diary Review

After reviewing the reading diary assignment from the beginning of the semester, I found that my reading diary is being used a little differently than originally intended. I realized that the original assignment was intended for students to keep up with their reading experience. I have been using the diary more as a reminder of the actual stories rather than how I felt while reading them.

Within my diary, I have been mainly using the strategy of keeping note of the events that happened in the story and things that stood out to me in the writing. The strategy of using the main events of the story to bring back all the memories of how the story made me feel and the things it reminded me of. I also always try to note any new things I learned or things that stood out to me. I have been using the same strategy every time to keep them consistent with my thought process. Furthermore, my posts are generally all about the same length. If stories are a little longer, the post is typically a little longer as well.

Overall, I think that my diary posts could be a little more detailed on the way the readings made me feel and what I got from them, rather than focusing so much on the actual events of the story. This change could cause the ideal reading diary to be a little bit longer. I normally don't include images in my diary post because many of the units are so diverse that finding one image to encompass the entire unit is definitely a hard thing to do.

I think that I have been doing a decent job at the reading diary. As noted above, I am going to work on focusing on the effects of the story and more of the literary devices used in the story, rather than the actual events of the story. My reading diary is helpful to my long-term memory. Remembering the events of the story helps me remember what happened and then the details come back to me so I think that my diary has been effective thus far.

Week Seven Essay: Stories From the Congo

The Congo. National Geographic.

The unit of Stories from the Congo was definitely an interesting one.  I really did enjoy the readings and accomplished my overall goal, which was to learn more about life in the Congo and life in the area. We can learn so much about a culture and a group of people by their stories and their myths and legends. From this unit, I learned that magic, farming, and nature were a big part of life for the people living in the Congo.

Something I found very interesting from the unit was the amount of talking animals in the stories. For instance, the story of the Antelope and the Leopard revolved solely around two animals and their interactions with each other. Also, the story of How the Spider Won and Lost Nzambi's Daughter was interesting to me. In the story, a spider is married to a human. This fusion of nature and human life was apparent in many of the stories, showing the importance placed on nature and its components on daily life in the Congo.

I enjoyed many stories from this unit, however my favorites were How Kengi Lost her Child, The Jealous Wife, and The Twin Brothers. I liked that these stories told us more about the human experience of those living in the area. It is always interesting for me to read about the lives of those around the world because no matter where you go around the globe, human nature does not change.

The notes of the unit were very helpful, as some of the terminology used in the stories is a little different than our society knows. Having those helpful tips on many of the stories was very helpful and did positively contribute to my reading experience.

Overall, I really did enjoy this unit. I loved that there was a nice mix in stories of normal people and their lives, magic, and talking animals. It was a very diverse reading unit and I really enjoyed it.

Week Seven Storytelling: How Kengi Lost Her Child

African Mother and Child. John Warburton-Lee.

Today was easily the worst day of my young life. The day started out as any other, I woke up, took my daily walk around our hut, and began to cook the first meal of the day for Nenpetro, my husband, and Gunga, the other wife. Gunga and I have been on strange terms since our quarrel in the garden a few weeks ago.

Nenpetro gave us each a plot of land on which to plant maize, beans, and cassava for us to eat. The land that we were allotted was excellent, yielding much food for our family until Gunga took beans from my land. Naturally, I was quite upset with her, as the beans belonged to Nenpetro and I. In order to show that all was good, we decided on a rule that I had no idea would later ruin me.

The rule of our land was that anything born on the farm belonged to the woman who owned that particular farm. I just knew that this rule would help solve my problems with Gunga and could help our relationship flourish from the broken thing it was.

This morning, I awoke with some strange pains in my side. After cooking our first meal for the family, I went outside to the farm when the pain became too much. I asked Gunga for some tobacco to help curb the pain, as I did not have any tobacco in my farm. Gunga told me to sit down in her garden and smoke the pain away.

As I was sitting on Gunga's land, I bore my child. I knew it was coming but it came as more of a surprise to me. I had no thoughts that I was on Gunga's land or that she could take possession of my child, but Gunga was not the woman I thought she was. She took the child as her own and would not give him to me. I was distraught at the fact that she had my child and let a stupid rule get in the way of myself and my child.

We resolved to go to the town of Manilombi tell him our grievances with one another. We told him the sad story, going all the way back to Gunga taking my beans. He agreed with our original rule, nothing that anything born on Gunga's land belonged to Gunga, including my child.

I will never forgive Gunga for taking my child, even within her legal right.


Author's Note:
The story, "How Kengi Lost Her Child," revolves around two women, Gunga and Kengi. Each woman was given land by their husband. One woman took some beans from the other's land and the quarrel resulted in the rule that if anything was made on one's land, whatever was made there would be the property of the one who owned the land. Kengi had her child on Gunga's land and it was decided that the child would belong to Gunga.

I decided to write this story from the eyes of Kengi, the woman who lost her own child due to rules that she worked to put in place. She goes through so much misery after the loss of her child to Gunga and I wanted to explore her side of the story via a diary entry.

Bibliography
Book Title: Notes on the Folklore of the Fjort
Story Title: How Kengi Lost Her Child
Author: Richard Edward Denett
Year: 1898

Week Seven: Stories from the Congo

This week, when looking through the stories, the title of this one really stood out to me. I have always been interested in the Congo region and the stories of that area. This week, I am reading Stories from the Congo unit.

How the Wives Restored Their Husband to Life
This is the story of Nenpetro, who had three wives. He continually brought them food, yet they were still hungry. Nenpetro went to kill a ox for them to eat but was accidentally killed by it. The wives went to find him and each had a dream about him. One dreamt that he was dead, another showed the road where he lay dead, and the last dreamt she brought him back to life. This then happened in reality and the third wife was prized, as she brought him back to life.

How Gazelle Got Married
The story begins with Nenpetro and his two wives. They had two daughters named Lunga and Lenga. Both daughters grew in beauty and the antelope came to Nenpetro asking for their hand in marriage, but the antelope was denied as only the many who could guess their names was to be married. A dog heard the names of the daughters and told Nsassi. Nsassi gained the marriage of the daughters and killed the antelope to eat him.

The Vanishing Wife 
This is the story of two brothers, Swarmi and Buite. Swarmi was married and Buite was alone and sad, so he left their home. One night he dreamed of a beautiful girl and followed her. In the morning, he followed the path of his dream an found a beautiful house. Every day, Buite was to cut the heads off of the fish for his wife else she would disappear. One day, Buite forgot to cut the heads off of the fish and everything disappeared. Swarmi appeared and Buite wept.

Another Vanishing Wife 
The story begins with two sons, Mavungu and Luemba. The latter grew to be a handsome man but the other was not and their mother mistreated Mavungu. Mavungu ran away and fled into the forest. While there, he pulled a leaf which then turned into a beautiful woman, who became his wife. Mavungu turned into a beautiful man and a large house appeared. Mavungu began to tell his mother the tale but remembered he was not supposed to tell. He visited again and told them of the story. Everything he owned disappeared and the townspeople said he was foolish.

The Jealous Wife
This is the story of two wives who each had children and whose husband was leaving for six months to trade. When it was time for the husband to return, they went to fish for their dinner and would take turns staying with the children. The child of the younger wife was much more intelligent and the older wife tried to murder him out of jealousy. She had killed her own child by mistake and ran into the jungle. The husband returned and asked where the elder wife was. They found her in the woods still cradling her dead child and fed her casca to kill her. Her ashes were scattered to the wind.

Ngomba's Balloon 
Ngomba was suffering form sores from head to foot and her friends told her to go away. She was determined to stay and catch fish for her mother and sang a song while catching fish. A murderer was watching her and made her go with him, lest he would kill her. The murderer took her to his home and healed her sores and made her mistress of all his prisoners and goods. One night, the murderer tried to kill his wife but heard music and danced, forgetting to kill her. Ngomba was determined to escape and finally made it back to her mother.

The Wicked Husband
The story begins with a quarrel between a husband and a wife while cutting palm-nuts. The wife does not do as the husband says and he dragged her into the woods and cut her arms and legs off and left her there. A hunter found the woman in terrible shape and told his wife about it. The prince heard of what happened but the woman had just died. They tied up the husband and killed him in a fire.

How Kengi Lost Her Child
Kengi was one of Nenpetro's two wives. One day, the second wife took beans from Kengi's land and this made her angry. Kengi needed tobacco from Gunga's land and while sitting there, had a child. Because it was on her land, Gunga took possession of the child. The court decided that Gunga had rights to the child, as it was born on her land.

The Twin Brothers
The twin brothers were both born with magical powers and wished to travel the world. One brother heard of a young girl who was looking for a husband and was determined to marry her. His magical powers helped him in his journey to find the girl. The girl chose him and they were to be married. While in the city, Mavungu found mirrors and discovered he could see into them, he went to the terrible city, knowing his charm would protect him. An old woman killed him on his travels. His twin was determined to find him. He found his wife and was mistaken for his brother and didn't know what to do. This time, Luemba killed the old woman, rather than being killed by her and put her bones with his brother's bones. Mavungu and the horse came back to life. A quarrel broke out and Mavungu killed Luemba.

The Younger Brother Who Knew More Than the Elder 
This is the story of two brothers, whom the younger thought he knew more than the elder. The younger brother was enraged and left the town with his wife. While on their journey, they came across several huts. After befriending a man, they dug a hole and caught many animals. The brother sent his wife to get wood and she didn't return. He found her in the trap and his elder brother found them in the forest. The elder brother called the younger a fool, as he was to take his wife. The younger brother saw how foolish he was and the two brothers and wife returned to their home.

The Antelope and the Leopard
This is the story of a leopard and an antelope who had a bet that the antelope could not find the leopard. However, he did find the leopard and the leopard was angry. So, the antelope hid himself and the leopard gave up. He went to his home and returned to his four princesses. There was a maiden that showed herself and turned into the antelope as the leopard was dying. This is why the leopard now kills the antelope.

How the Spider Won and Lost Nzambi's Daughter
Nzambi had a beautiful daughter who wore that she would not marry a mortal. The spider agreed to help her with the feat for a reward. Nzambi told many animals what they needed to do and Nzambi gave the spider her daughter for marriage. The animals all thought they should have the girl and Nzambi instead gave them cloth and sent them away.

The Turtle and the Man
In this story, a turtle and a man build themselves a small town. They made a trap so as to catch a large animal to curb their hunger. The turtle caught an antelope but the man did not. An ox came to help them ready the food and the turtle tricked him into leaving. The ox then stormed away, yet fell into the trap and died. The leopard destroyed the trap, rather than being outsmarted by the turtle. He put rope around his heck and laid in the trap. The leopard then bit the turtle's head off.

The Gazelle and the Leopard
This story is of a gazelle and a leopard who were to be cutting down bush so that their women could plant seeds as soon as the rains came. The gazelle went and cut the bush twice alone without the leopard. Then the next day, the gazelle was sick so the leopard when alone. the continued for several days and the leopard set a trap. He caught an antelope who said he was with the gazelle and the gazelle was annoyed when the antelope was slain. The gazelle then set up an army against the leopard and killed him.

The Fetish Sunga
Basa was a wise fisherman who used to smuggle fish into his home. This went on for many years and one day he heard a voice telling him to go into the river. It dried up and all the fish disappeared as soon as he touched it. The voice, Sunga, took him to a town and gave him so much wine he could not speak. Then Sunga deprived him all powers of speech so that he would lie nor more and he could only communicate by sign from that point on.

The Rabbit and the Antelope
There was once a shortage of water, so the rabbit and antelope paired so as to dig a deep well to quench the thirst of everyone. The rabbit left many times, causing the antelope to do all the work. The antelope asked for the leftover food, as he was tired and there was none left. The next day, the same thing happened. The antelope became angry and planned to kill the rabbit. The rabbit stuck to the figure he was trying to kill so the antelope killed him in laughter.

The Fight Between the Two Fetishes
King Jack owned a fetish called Lifuma. Lifuma has rejoiced by the sea but now was retired to the interior and wished to see his people happy again. Lifuma got into an argument with Chimpukela and broke his leg. Lifuma cursed the bird, the tree, the canoes, the saltwater and everything else pertaining to the beach and that is why they no longer belong to that country.

The Fetish of Chilunga
In Chilunga, there is a fetish called Boio. One day a woman was in the forest gathering wood and was tied up by Boio, who took form in the bird. The husband got the woman gave her liberty. There were many other instances like this one through which Boio was mentioned and many went to the place of Boio to praise this fetish. Only two men have ever seen this fetish in his earthly home and they are who brings him food.

The Leopard and the Crocodile
This story begins with a man and his wives who refused to work and the man didn't know how to feed all of those people and himself. He cut down palm-kernels and sought out the leopard to help him. The leopard promised meat and the crocodile promised fish. This continued for many years as the man brought palm-kernels to the animals. The two animals then fought bitterly and the beasts killed each other, causing the town to feast on their meat.

Why the Crocodile Does Not Eat the Hen
This is the story of a hen who would go to river's edge to pick up food. The crocodile came near her and was frightened by her scream, yet was determined to eat the hen. Mbambi told the crocodile that all animals are related and are kin, so the crocodile does not eat the hen.

The Three Brothers
The story begins with three babies born at once to a single mother. She didn't know what to do with them and the river spirit called them to eat the food around them. The three brothers grew and built their homes in a town and soon met their father. He returned to town and told his wife he found their children. They then took are of their mother for the rest of her days.

Week Six Essay: High School and College Writing Experience

Writing. Over Achieving Rapper.

Writing is something that I enjoy very much but it has not always been that way. Growing up, reading was a big part of my life but writing was not. I didn't realize how poorly I wrote until I got to college and had to develop new habits to increase my writing abilities.

I am from a very small town in Oklahoma and likewise, went to a very small high school. Academics were important to me but I didn't realize how bad our curriculum was at my school. I graduated high school and had never written a paper longer than two pages. I had no idea how to formulate a proper essay, how to cite sources, or how to plan writing a paper. However, I didn't know that I would really need these skills until I got to college.

My first week at the University of Oklahoma will always stick in my mind. I was enrolled in a composition class and after looking at the syllabus, I freaked out, knowing that I was not prepared to write all of these papers. My freshman year, I was constantly working twice as hard as everyone else to catch up because I didn't even know how to write a paper.

The composition class I took my freshman year helped me so much in my writing. I learned how to do research, how to set up a paper correctly, and how to cite sources. After my first semester, writing started to become much easier for me, so I decided to take an expository writing class to further my skills. This class was unbelievably difficult but I had a professor who was willing to help me learn and who was a wonderful professor.

Now, writing is still a big part of my life. I keep a personal blog and I am loving all the writing for this class. Furthermore, my major courses require a lot of writing. I am able to do many different kinds of writing in public relations, including press releases, research findings, and some advertising copy work. I am thrilled that writing has become such a big part of my life, as I think it is a great way to express yourself. Writing will always be a part of my career, which is something I am so excited about.

Storytelling Week Six: The Favorite of Fortune and the Child of lll Luck

Fortune. Chinesenames.org. 

I have not had the privilege of living an easy life. For many years, I longed to live as an emperor, praying that one day my fortune would come true. I was not proud of the time I had to beg for my meals, harassing those that chose to walk past me on the street. I was dirty, living in filth and I knew that something had to change. I had always been a man of good fortune, finding the good in all the things I could find.

There was a princess in our city. However, this princess was a child of ill luck. All things in her life were consequence of that ill luck. One day, her father assembled many suitors for her to choose her husband. She threw down a ball of red silk down to none other than me. With all the handsome suitors around, I was so confused as to why she threw the silk to me.

The princess' father was not happy and in a fit of rage, threw her out of the castle. The princess, who was to be my wife, was distraught, but came with me to live in my hut. We cooked roots and herbs but there were many nights that we both went hungry. I grew tired of not being able to provide for us, so I left to seek my fortune.

I was gone for many years. While I was away, I missed my wife very much, longing for her to be by may side. I traveled for many miles, searching from village to village for my fortune. I worked many different jobs, until I finally became became emperor after many long years. However, I knew that something was missing, as I was still missing my wife. I knew that I had found my fortune so I went back for her.

The journey home was longer and much harder than I imagined. I brought many of my servants with me to find my way home. After much searching, I found the place that I had once called home. It was almost just as I remembered it: small, dilapidated, and falling in. I walked through the door, or what was left of the door, and saw my wife. She was sitting on a blanket on the floor, as if she had been waiting for me.

But, she looked at me with confused eyes saying, "Why do you ask me how I am getting along?" I was astonished, as she did not recognize me. I asked her where her husband went and she told me my own tale. She told me of her faithfulness to her husband and I told her I was. It was a beautiful moment and we made the journey back to my palace.

Being reunited with her was amazing. We spent many days together although after only eighteen days in the palace, she fell sick. I could not help but remember that she was a child of ill luck, after all.

Now I am alone in this palace. I should have known that our lives would not end up happy. I will never forget her, but I wish that my fortune could have been enough for her ill fortune.


Authors' Note
This week, I decided to write this story from the perspective of the husband of the child of ill luck. This story is largely about a girl, the daughter of a prince who is an child of ill luck. In the original story, the girl finds a man with whom she gets married. He leaves her to go find his fortune and is gone for many years. He comes back and she doesn't recognize him, as he is now an emperor. She displays loyalty to her husband and he makes her empress. However, her ill luck comes into play and she dies only 18 days later. The point of view of the husband seems like one I would like to know more about.

Link to original story: http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/06/china-favorite-of-fortune-and-child-of.html

Bibliography
Book Title: Chinese Fairy Book
Story Title: The Favorite of Fortune and the Child of Ill Luck
Author: Frederick H. Martens
Year: 1921