CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF BLACK STORYTELLERS

Sayings and Humor of Peoples of African Descent in America

PROVERBS, POETRY, GAMES AND RIDDLES

Talking about fire, don't boil the pot.
Can't sit on the bucket and draw water at the same time.
Dog don't get mad when you say he's a dog.
Ain't no use asking the cow to pour you a glass of milk.

THANKSGIVING SONG

There's a great big turkey out on grandpa's farm and he thinks he's very gay. He spreads his wings into a great big fan and he strutts all around all day. You should hear him gobble at the boys and girls, he thinks he's singing when he makes that noise, but he'll be singing his song another way upon Thanksgiving Day.

STORIES ABOUT THE SUN AND THE MOON

The Yoruba of Nigeria say the sun was made by Obatala, son of the sky god. It happened like this. There was once a king of the forest who had a lovely Iroko tree, but because he forgot to sacrifice to the gods the tree fell down and would have crushed his house completely if Obatala had not intervened. Before the branches even touched the roof, Obatala had magically turned the tree into the secret precious metal known as gold. Then Obatala summoned the blacksmith of heaven and told him to make a jar and a boat from the precious metal. Once these were made, he ordered his slave, whose name was Youdonthearwhatisay, to take the golden jar and sail in the golden boat up to the top of the sky and then down again on the other side. And so the sun began its first journey.
Oludumare, the sky god, created the moon in the shape of a flintstone with a thin side and a round side. He placed it in the sky and there it slowly spins around, showing us its full round side only for three nights of the month.