Why the Termite Destroys Man’s Property

A West African Folktale, retold by Navin

Once upon a time, a horrible drought came to the land, such that food was scarce and worth many times its weight in gold. One day, as Cousin Spider was walking through the woods, he found a large gourd. He knew that any animal he came across would try to steal the food from him, so he came up with a plan.

He wrapped the gourd in a bundle and put it on his head. He then began to walk home weeping loudly, and telling anyone who inquired that he was carrying his dead grandfather’s body. Everyone sympathized and allowed him to pass.

However, Cousin Wolf and Cousin Leopard suspected that this was a trick, and scared Spider such that he dropped his bundle and ran. They opened it up, found the gourd, and brought it home to eat.

Spider was enraged, and planned to get back at the duo. He made a deal with a small lizard, and filed his teeth till they were sharp points. As Spider had instructed, the lizard made his way to Wolf and Leopard’s house, and asked them for fire. When they gave him a small stick with fire, he smiled and thanked them. Wolf and Leopard were amazed to see his teeth, and asked who had sharpened them so finely. When the lizard told them that “Filing Spider” had done it, Wolf and Leopard set off for his house. The disguised Spider told them that he needed to hang them upside down from a tree to file their teeth properly, and they obeyed. As soon as they were hung, however, Spider called his family, and all of them laughed at Wolf and Leopard before going to their house and eating the gourd. The next day, the White Ant (Termite) and his family came across Wolf and Leopard, who promised White Ant’s family a feast if they helped them out of their predicament. White Ant bit through the pair’s ropes, and they invited the Ant family to their hut for a feast the next day. However, Spider had overheard this.

The next day, Spider disguised himself and his family as White Ant’s family and  went to Wolf and Leopard’s house. They enjoyed the feast and left. Later on, White Ant and his family arrived. Believing them to be Spider and his family, Wolf and Leopard poured boiling water on them, and all but White Ant perished.

Furious, White Ant resolved to never again help anyone but himself, and to this day, takes any given opportunity to destroy property.