Tigri folk-tales (Digm)
Sudan notes and records
Volume XXVII 1947
By A. C. Beaton
Pages 146-150

Some Nuer and Fur folk stories were published in Sudan Notes and Records,
Vol. XXIII, Part II, I940. The following were told by a Sheikh of the Beni
Amer, a nomadic Hamitic tribe, who graze their cattle, sheep and goats on
the hill mass south of Tokar to the east of Khor Baraka. The bulk of the
tribe lives in Eritrea, but the Sudan Contingent, about a third of the
whole, migrates between Tokar and Kassala and between the Karora and
Eritrean hills. The leaders of the tribe are trilingual in that they speak
Arabic, Beja and Tigri, but of the ordinary people some speak only Beja,
while others, the majority, speak only Tigri-a language they share with
other north Eritrean tribes such as the Habab. Tigri is the tongue of the
Beni Amer cowherds and goat keepers, whose status is one of semi-serfdom in
that they herd, but nevertheless have certain rights over, the animals of
the Nabtab aristocrats. The original Tigri version of the stories is given
because this is the first written record of the narrative of the language in
the Sudan.

1 Hayat wa Karai.wa Hashiil
Hayat wa Karai wa Hashiil tar Ealau. Eindu misil geisou Ealau, adiq wa araab
wa mantale qatlau. Hare la Hayat igil la Karai, " Nisi, illi arei kifalina
minu ? " beila. Karai hita tibe, " Illa kifla kula aamira-inta la adiq wa
ana la araab wa Hashiil la mantale linsa,; La Hayat qatabu ka ibba idu
dabtcia ka motat, Hare Hashiil la'aka ka " Kifal?; beileiu. Hashiil beila, "
La adiq igil tabchkatu wa araab igil diraarkatu wa mantale afoka masis
ibba?. Hayat biduuh itfakkara it illa kifla wa itra'asa, hare Hayat beila, "
Ei wad rigib, man illa kifla atmahareika? Hashiil beila, " Lohi ras-a-.Karai
ataamarci'nita.?

The Lion, the Hyena and the Fox
The Lion, Hyena and Fox were friends. When they went out hunting together,
they killed a donkey, an ariel and a hare. Then the Lion said to the Hyena,
? Come, this kill, divide it among us.? The Hyena said ? I know all about
dividing a kill; you take the donkey, I will take the ariel and the Fox can
have the hare.? The Lion was angry and struck the Hyena so hard with his paw
that she died. Then he called the Fox and said to him, " Divide the kill."
The Fox said, " The donkey will do for your lunch, the ariel for your dinner
and you can wipe your mouth with the hare." The Lion pondered long, was very
pleased and said, " 0 Fox, who taught you this division ? The Fox replied,
" The fate of the Hyena taught me."
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2. Hitaan wa Arqab
Ga hate hitaan ambata qatil Eala ka arqab ra'a ka ambeitat amsaleia ka idu
madda igil linsa. Hare hitu lakfeiu ka hita teilatu, ?Ib ideika wa
t'abat'kani, qital ambita wa adamka minu."

The Boy and the Scorpion
One day a boy was killing locusts and, seeing a scorpion and mistaking it
for a locust, he stretched out his hand to grasp it; but he saw what it was
in time and hit it with a stone. The scorpion said, "If you had seized me
with your hand, you would have soon stopped killing locusts."
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3. Kile Dimmo wa Habai
KilE dimmo jibnat qalaia ka diib Habai geisaia ibba igil likaafi, ka kulot
kifaal wadaia, örutom minna malheiu la'abi ka it meidaamu karaiom ka la'abi
deda, hitu ibba anyaabu qarca minu igil ökil la nu'uush liwdclu. Laakin la
illa nasa mina bidhet ka la nu'uush deda ka kumsil la malheiu wadaia. Hare
la wediit la lahai wadaia wada ösik la jibnat diib mawhai qirbat. La klle
dimmo beilaiahu, " Hena illa kiflat radeina, jibnatna habana." Hitu beila, "
Intin man raida, haq iiy radde," Ka min la kiflat la daidat ita qarrie ösik
kile wahaia. KilE; la dimmo ib qatib wa ib tieis aqbalaia it libla, " Ade
inta la hisika ida rabbi ib mila Eala wa daalimlatu daalimu rakibu."

( not titled in english)
Two cats stole some cheese and took it to a baboon to divide for them. He
divided it into two pieces-one larger than the other-and put them on the
scales. The bigger portion weighed down one scale and he nibbled a bit off
it to make it the same weight as the smaller, but he bit off so much that
the smaller piece became the heavier. Then he repeated his nibbling and
went on alternating his bites until the cheese was nearly finished, The two
cats said, " W agree to that dvision, give us our cheese," He replied " Who
are you to agree? An exact division shall not be wanting,? and proceeded
with his nibbling until both pieces were finished.. The two cats went home
angry and disappointed saying, " Now you have filled the hand of God and the
oppressor will meet with oppression."
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4. Siqir wa Mantale
Siqir igil Mantale, " Nitbadir," tibe. Ka itradia la kiraia bidra ras debir
reyiim karaiahu igil la qadam malhei tibtah hita tinsu. Siqir hita seni
hiilata it magais batkat wa mantale bediir iiy tayasat it magais la qilla wa
la qiida ta'amir Ealat, ka ibba la waqaia it tilhiya abdeitu ösik la siqir
min ad debir qarbat ka sa'eit igil gadam as siqir tibtuh ka iiy Earrata. Wa
siqir bathat eindu min hirara iiy itkarre. Mantale diibha hammaleiha
taeasat wa tassa iiy nafeatta.

The Kite said to the Hare, " Let us run a race." They agreed to put the
prize for the race on the peak of a distant hill and for the one who reached
it first to take it. The Kite put all her energy into walking, but the Hare
did not put forth the least effort, knowing she was the faster she lost time
playing about until the Kite was close to the hill. Then the Hare ran to
reach the hill before the Kite, but could not overtake her. Thus the Kite
arrived first by not slackening in her walk and the Hare was defeated by her
own negligence, which profited her nothing.
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5.Tadbiir Seni
Hitaan wa hitu it qarabiit misil geisou Ealau ka kelib sumuun immirharom
lisee eala wa immirharu sab ib marawi abai igil liqtabu haddau ealau. La
hitaan farha wa la hitu weEeit, la hitaan hitu biduuh fakirtu la shaal
nasa'ka it idiehu qalabu laulaiu wa hitu immirhar eat'aatu abtaraia. La
kelib doul abhasha diibu la idu la lifi madda ilu, hitu ibba anyaabu labaqie
nakasheiu ösik la adaam earrEiom lu ib mirhar la kelib liseau salau ka
dabat'awu amotawu ka la hitaan wa hitu salman wa ibba tadbiir la seni
dahanau.


Presence of Mind
A boy and his sister were walking along a path and behind them a mad

dog was running, pursued by men with big sticks intent on killing it. The boy was
afraid and his sister cried out, but he thought hard and taking his turban,
wrapped it around his hand and thrust his sister behind him. When the dog
attacked him, he thrust out his hand swathed in the turban and the dog
continued to snap at it with his teeth, until the men came up behind it and
beat it to death. Thus the boy and his sister escaped scatheless owing to
his presence of mind.
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6. Inaas wa Karai
Abattihat igil litnaeou fagrau ka karai itisei fagrat ilom, hitom talawa.
Hita diib beit inaas aateit, hitu ib seyif hirout fagra diibom, hitom heye
beilawa, " Wa qabir rabbi, afo la illa nitnaEe kalakana " ; hitu beilom, "
Illa hita tahasabatani." Hitom heye admau minu wa hitu qanhaia ka biduuh
shilhit wa hamrat ra'a ka heliib fagir wa mise aateia ösik hawadat wa
rajeat. AmEel hate hitu it lisakib, wadgat diibu ka dirto sharamat wa damu
sateit. Wad abhu heye beila, " SenEita igil reyiim lawade jadahu illitu."

The Man and the Hyena
Some youths went out hunting, and putting up a hyena pursued her into a
man's house. When he drew his sword on them, they asked, "0 servant of God,
why do you deny us that which we are hunting? " " She has taken refuge with
me," he said, and they left her alone. Then the man looked at the hyena
and, seeing that she was very thin and weak, gave her milk morning and
evening until she grew fat and recovered. One day as the man lay asleep, the
hyena fell on him, ripped open his stomach and lapped up his blood. The
dead man's brother moralized, ?Such is the fate of the man who does a
kindness to strangers."
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7, Walat Beit wa Ancal
AmEeI hate walat beit fagrat diib kadan ka ancai sifriit rakbat ka teilatta,
" Igilrniit illa titgasei? Ka iiy ithaade nabra tithallagi? Qinati misiliE
diib Ead igil nabra seni tilEi," Hita heye diib beit la itta tanabbir Ealat,
taaleita baal la beit heye a amta wa ashbihat wada itto. Walat la beit
lashbihat min raEita, shafgat ka ib anyaaba qaleita ka la baal gab abalaia
diiba ka qatla ; la ancai heye harbat ösik maskabha laqadam ka tibe, ?it
abyaat nabra bidhit wa baddaha min qadr tallia wa dahan misil higlan
tahaayis igilie min tigab mot bi itta?.

The House Rat and the Field Rat
One day a house rat went out into the country, and finding a hungry field
rat said to her, "Why do you remain here" Do you not want to find food "Up
with me to the village and eat good fare." So the field rat followed her to
the house where she was staying. The householder went out and brought back
some fat. When the house rat saw it, she rushed at it and snatched at it
with her teeth, but the man struck her and killed her. Then the field rat
ran back to her home in the fields saying, " In the houses of men there may
be much food, but there is more to it than that; I prefer life with poverty
to death amid plenty."

The teller of these tales was a literate sheikh, and although some of them
e.g., Nos. 1, 2 and 6 sound genuine, the others have a ring of Aesop studied
in Arabic translation and reproduced in Tigri. Further investigation on
that point is required; meantime the tales are recorded for the factual
interest in the first transcription of narrative in the common tongue of the
poorer members of the Beni Amer tribe.