Ijapa, the Lion, and the Boar

Book excerpt: It is often said among the Yorubas of Nigeria that "charity begins at home." Dr. Aina grew up in a village with his parents and grandparents. He was very close to his grandmother so it is no surprise that his given name depicts her status in their community. Olaiya, which means "the honor, the wealth or the riches of the mother," was a symbol of their closeness. His grandmother and his Dad used to tell stories every night, and especially on moonlit nights. The series of children's stories that he knows best today were mostly told by them. In other words, he grew up with these stories and he is pleased to be able to share one of them with you now, Ijapa, the Lion, and the Boar, the story of a turtle, a lion, and a boar and how they came to be enemies. Once upon a time, Ijapa, the lion, and boar met to talk about how they could make peace between their groups of animals. This was Ijapa's idea because he was fed up with all the village gossip about him. Ijapa, the lion, and the boar decided that they must be friendly to each other first, so they could set an example for the other animals...