The Cause of Thunder: From the Hausa People of West Africa, Part 2 of 2

“[…] He was running. He came across some people sowing; they said, ‘What are you running for?’ He said, ‘Someone (is chasing) me.’ And they said, ‘What kind of a man is it who (is chasing) the like of you?’ He said, ‘His name is A-Man-among-Men.’ They said, ‘Sit here till he comes.’ He sat down. In a short time the wind he made came (and) it lifted them and cast them down. And they said, ‘What kind of wind is that?’ He, the man who was being pursued, said, ‘It is his wind.’ And they said, ‘Pass on.’

They threw away the sowing implements, (and) went into the bush (and) hid, but that one was running on. He came (and) met a certain huge man; he was sitting alone at the foot of a baobab tree. […] His name was ‘The Giant of the Forest.’ Then he questioned him and said, ‘Where are you going in all this haste?’ And he said, ‘A-Man-among-Men (is chasing) me.’ And the Giant of the Forest said, ‘Come here, sit down till he comes.’ He sat down. They waited a little while.

Then a wind made by A-Man-among-Men came, and lifted him, (and) was about to carry him off, when the Giant of the Forest shouted to him to come back. And he said, ‘It is not I myself who am going off, the wind caused by the man is taking me away.’ At that, the Giant of the Forest got in a rage, he got up and caught his hand, and placed it under his thigh. He was sitting until A-Man-among-Men came up and said, ‘You sitting there, are you of the living, or of the dead?’ And the Giant of the Forest said, ‘You are interfering.’ And A-Man-among-Men said, ‘If you want to find health, give up to me what you are keeping there.’ And the Giant of the Forest said, ‘Come and take (him).’

And at that, he flew into a rage and sprang and seized him. They were struggling together. When they had twisted their legs round one another, they leaped up into the Heavens. Till this day, they are wrestling there; when they are tired out, they sit down and rest; and if they rise up to struggle, that is the thunder you are wont to hear in the sky; it is their struggling.

He also, that other one, found himself (escaped), and went home, and told the tale. And his wife said, ‘That is why I was always telling you whatever you do, make little of it. Whether it be you excel in strength, or in power, or riches, or poverty, and are puffed up with pride, it is all the same; someone is better than you. You said, it was a lie. Behold, your own eyes have seen.’ […]”