Reading Notes: Stories from Congo Part B

These reading notes are from part B of Stories from Congo, from the book Notes on the Folklore of the Fjort by Richard Edward Dennett, 1898.

The Gazelle and the Leopard
I really liked the ending of this story; the gazelle is brutal, tricking the wife of the leopard into eating her deceased husband's head!  This story also has a few immoral themes I could include in my portfolio, including revenge and wrath.  If I were to rewrite this story, I think I would want to make it more simple.  I'd probably write it in the "one syllable" style, or perhaps rework it into a series of haikus.

How The Fetish Sunga Punished My Great-Uncle's Twin Brother, Basa.
The first thing I noticed about this story is its long and descriptive title.  This story was very strange, as the main character would catch a bunch of fish, then lie about it.  He didn't make use of the fish either, he just let them rot in his room.  I found that to be very strange.  He continued to lie about catching the fish though, and was soon punished by the fetish Sunga.  Sunga took away his ability to speak.  I think it would be neat to rewrite this story, but have a cat take away the main character's ability to speak, adding a twist to the common phrase "cat got your tongue?"  This story also would give me an immorality, lying, to work into my portfolio.

This is what I image Sunga would look like.  I'm not too sure about the information regarding this image, as the website I from which I obtained it is in a different language.  Wikimedia Commons by user Sailko

The Fetish Of Chilunga
This story was my favorite from part B of the reading.  I have a few of ideas for reworking it as well.  I was thinking I could make the fetish a real person who ties up those who mock the fetish, instead of it being some magical occurrence, but no one knows who is doing it.  Perhaps they are even wearing an invisible cloak, which keeps the magical element of the story, but still is focused around an actual person instead of a fetish.  (Perhaps a fetish gave this man the cloak, and ends up punishing him in the end?) I'm also considering writing this story in the form of a diary, written by the fetish.  In each entry, the fetish could describe the wrongdoing of a person, and discuss its thought process when deciding how to punish them.  Another good option for this story would be making it into a "choose your own adventure" type story.  You can arrive at the fetish and either provide a sacrifice or not.  If you get tied up, you can choose what to do then, too (call for help, struggle, apologize).  This option may be good for incorporating immoralities as well.