Showing posts with label Week 7. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Week 7. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

[[The Beauty of the Tree Woman]]

Before Total Transformation-JoannaRuckman
Branches and bark. Leaves and sap. I have branches for hands and my head..where could my head be? All I know is there are things growing out of it in every direction. It often gives me headaches because it feels like its always growing. Always growing up and away. Often times passerby's will ask me why? Why tree woman,why would you be stuck in this form?
I simply say it starts like this...
She was beautiful, her skin was a creamy dark brown and her lips luscious as they were formed the most dazzling smile.  Beautiful and large brown eyes and a perfect button nose. She was the embodiment 
of beauty, in her tribe. Her name was as pretty as her face, her name was Afi.

"I do not like fish! I do not! I do not!" Faizah spoke like a
Faizah-Redbubble
spoiled woman, which she was.
They were all as poor as they could be, but Faizah was not. Her father was the tribe leader and he was as selfish as her daughter. Faizah, was the exact opposite of Afi, she was not beautiful because her soul was as tarnished as old brass. She was also a jealous girl, she wanted and she took. She dictated and she threw away perfectly good food because it did not taste good to her. Needless, to say she was rotten to her very core. Her biggest problem was that she had an acute fear of fish. Her child servants always made it her mission to cut off the heads of fish before serving it to her, if not she would slap her hand across their little faces.

Thinking that she could rid the tribe of Faizah (whom was worse than her father and was sure to control the tribe as her father past on to the other world). She thought she would send the bravest warrior of the neighboring tribe to woo the tribe princess, maybe softening her heart.
Elimu-Margrit

"You must do this Elimu! That is the only way we could be rid of her future tyranny!"


"I cannot Afi...She is as dark as the wolves that come out at night, to feast of the flesh of our youngest."

"Elimu! Please! Our fate..is dismal.."


Elimu thought about it for days, Afi was right Faizah would starve us all, at least her father would give a scrap here and the there. The daughter would give none. Only two days passed before he came to this decision and he promptly saw Afi at the river washing her cloth and bent down next to her to tell her the news.


"You are right...I must, not just for the sake of us, but for the sake our tribe."



The Fish Faizah Hated-LiamsC9
Afi clapped her hands together happily, then her face fell as quick as it was lit up.

"There are things you must never do Elimu. You must always cut off the heads of the fish, the very fish we try to feed our own families with. If you do not I fear the death of not only you, but me as well. This is because as soon as she sees this fish whole she will know the trick we played on her."

"Do not worry yourself Afi, I will not. You are safe, now finish washing those clothes fore there will be a wedding to attend."

Afi did as she was told.
Faizah accepted without trepidation because Elimu was the greatest warrior and they all thought that he would marry the beautiful Afi, because they were always together. Anything to take away from Afi, Faizah was happy about because she was jealous of her beauty and her
Elimu's Remembrance of Afi-Etsy
ability to connect to other members of the tribe. Something Faizah could never do.
They lived together blissfully, for many years. Even after she was granted leadership of the tribe. Just as Afi predicted she was happy and therefore did not reek havoc. If only Elimu was happy, he had loved Afi since he was a child and wanted her more and more everyday. The years were slow and miserable for him, but everyday he gave Faizah the headless fish. One faithful day Elimu was contemplating his miserable marriage by the river Afi and he would sit by talking. So engrossed into his memories he did not tell the child servants to cut the heads off of the fish. This was the biggest error for Faizah was angered and the truth of her marriage was out. In a furious and jealous rage she condemned Afi to live a life of a tree, watching her loved ones pass on daily. As for Elimu, she had the river witch drown him right were he sat.

Afi as a Full Tree Woman-BidorBuy
That is the story I always tell passerby's, so they will know to be careful of the tribe they are a few miles from, because no longer was it a tribe full of kind people. It was now a tribe full of death, murderers all lead by the evil tribal queen. Even though I'am stuck in this form, I tell them that it is my punishment because I sent the great Elimu to his death.

Author's Note:
I took two stroies from Note of the Folklore of the Fjort and combined them together to make a more epic story. The stories were The Vanishing Wife and the Other Vanishing Wife
In The Vanishing Wife a woman lures a man to her and promises and tells him that he must always cut the heads off the fish he gives her if he does not she will disappear and in the second story
I wanted to give a reason why the first wife did not like fish and thought I could make her a villain even though she originally was not. I thought it would be a good explanation as why the girl in the The Other Vanishing Wife was turned into a tree. The sending of the man was the idea of a Afi and that caused all that happened with the husband. I also wanted to give the characters of an identity because the woman did not have one to began with and I wanted everyone to feel a personal connection to them, therefore I named them. The mans named did change though because the character changed, in the original the man was not a warrior, but a poor man ridiculed and beaten by his brother. I did not want that, I wanted him to be a warrior, a lovesick warrior that does not think his actions through in the end. Another inclusion is the love a woman, the only difference instead of two different man loving two different women, in two different stories. I combined it all together and because I liked the second story just as much as the first I made her be the one that the man truly loves.
Notes on the Folklore of the Fjort by Richard Edward Dennett (1898).

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Reading Notes: [Dennett's Notes on the Folklore of the Fjort, Part B]]

[SOME SPOILERS]
The Child-Pinterest
1. The Jealous Wife: Well, that was horrifying. The idea of a child murdered by the hands of a mother is truly heartbreaking. I would to bring the child back to life. The murder occurred but instead of the murderer running off with the dead child, the youngest wife comes back with a basket full of fish. The young wife sees what the other wife had done and gives the child a fish that the sea witch gave her for "her hearts desire". Having loved the child as her own she gives the child the fish bringing her back to life (the mother that murdered the child is still killed).
African Sea Witch-Pinterest
2. Ngoomba's Balloon: Ngoomba walks into the water to kill oneself and instead the sea heals her body of sores and she rises up beautiful and becomes Mpunia (the murderers) wife. Knowing what the sisters did to Ngoomba and kills them. This act of vengeance makes her lose her newfound beauty (sea witch tells her what is to happen if she does this and that).
Fairy-Tale Version of Girl-Pinterest
3. The Wicked Husband: Oh my god...I don't even know what to say about the beginning of the story I must change the wife's fate! The prince was told about what was happening and sets out to save her. Make it like a demented fairy-tale! The wife has to be sewn back together. Draw inspiration of AHS:Coven I just watched!
4. How Kengi Lost Her Child: No story ideas.
Magical Mirror-Pinterest
5. The Twin Brothers: The mirrors of different locations, describe locations better than in the story, also what caused them to be there. Have Nzambi be keeper of the mirrors (Ooo, good title!). She is the only person that can travel to and from unscathed do to her "charms".
6. The Younger Brother Who Knew More Than the Elders: No story ideas.
((I'm running behind on reading this week..I have plans to finish my reading tomorrow. I already picked the idea I'm going to use)).
Notes on the Folklore of the Fjort by Richard Edward Dennett (1898).

Monday, October 3, 2016

Reading Notes: [Dennett's Notes on the Folklore of the Fjort, Part A]]

[SOME SPOILERS]
Three Wives-WhisperingBooks
1. How The Wives Restored their Husband to Life: The story really doesn't make any sense to me. Did all three wives save Nenpetro in a dream? If they did did that would be an excellent idea for a story! For example, you could go into details of how exactly the wives saved Nenpetro. Songa'nzila could guide Nepetro in the dream caused by Ndoza'ntu to save him in real life. It is through his dream that Fulla Fulla was able to restore his spirit back to his body. The body was slowly dying from an animal attack (research what animals are extremely dangerous in the Congo).
Nsassi's Dog-WildlifeandWildDogs
2. How Gazelle Got Married: Nsassi's dog after showing his faithfulness and determination was granted Lunga and Lenga for marriage. He said, "I will only take one. Please on behalf permit the other to go to the antelope that was brave. Go into detail about this process.
The River-AllArtNews
3. How Gazelle Got Married: Nsassi was poisoned by the river of forgetfulness. The river causes a problem with each suitor trying to marry Lunga and Lenga. 
Fishes-ZenBolic(DeviantArt)
4. The Vanishing Wife: Give reasoning behind why the beautiful girl (look up names popular in the Congo) did not like to see the head of fish.
 Maybe make it to were she was forced to gut a fish by her evil stepmother.
-It was a trick to scare the beautiful girl from a jealous sibling.
-One of her child servants haunts her dreams as a half fish-head half human (love this idea, a little weird, but I think it could work).
Tree Girl-JoannaRuckman

-Connect her to girl in next story (Another Vanishing Wife).
5. Another Vanishing Wife: Dwarves, I want to do a story with dwarves. I'm just not sure how I could connect it to the original. Also, another idea has to do with the tree woman. The simple question of why? Why was she turned into a tree I feel needs to be discovered. Maybe a magic spell (or fetish :) from the lady who didn't like fish. Possibly connecting to stories. Maybe a rivalry between ladies. Possibly the lady who is a tree sent the man to the first vanishing wife..hmmm...

Notes on the Folklore of the Fjort by Richard Edward Dennett (1898).