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Reading Notes: Part B South African Tales


Like Part A of the South African Tales, Part B is very animal focused. This is not surprising due to the prominence of animals in African stories typically, and it is story type that I have always found interesting to read. While this is a short story, there is a lot to unpack as well as I could add in a potential story retelling. The three animals, Jackal, Dove, and Heron, all play an integral role in the plot of the story. What I found interesting is the common pattern of using three animals or humans in a story and the title. This was seen when I read the Indian tales about the Brahman, Jackal, and Tiger, as well as my previous South African story of the Lion, Jackal and the Man. Perhaps there is some significance to using three titular characters for the stories across cultures. Reading this story, the main lesson taken away is how the heron's neck becomes bent. Most short stores tend to be significant in that have a meaning or explanation of some real world phenomenon. What I found interesting was how the ending was so unexpected. When the jackal was taking the dove's children to eat, I was expecting the heron to be the hero in the story and the jackal to be punished. While the heron did in fact inform the dove of the jackal's tricks, he was severely punished for doing so. This was a surprising, and I was not expecting the ending to be used to explain the heron's neck. Additionally, the depiction the jackal as a clever and tricky animal is one that I have seen in previous stories with the animal. My previous research had confirmed this portrayal of the jackal as being popular and common. Ultimately, the story, while short, is an interesting read.

Bibliography:  South African Folk-Tales by James Honey (1910).

eBird: The Heron and his now bent neck, courtesy of the Jackal

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