The road to the Thlatha market was busy with people bringing animals, food and household goods to sell. Among the travellers was a man of the Beni Djennad, leading an ox that he hoped to sell at the market.
He had set out with the simple purpose of making a good sale and returning home.
At the market, he came across an Agaoua who was carrying a dish that he wanted to sell.
The Djennad looked at the dish and decided that he wanted to buy it.
He approached the Agaoua and asked him how much he wanted for it.
The Agaoua answered with a strange expression about red and red, saying that the redder one would be the more expensive.
The Djennad did not seem to understand what the man meant.
Instead of asking for a clearer explanation, he asked the Agaoua to show him how the dish could be carried.
The Agaoua told him to find a stone.
The Djennad obediently searched for one and brought it to him.
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The Agaoua then made a hole in the dish.
He placed the dish on the Djennad’s shoulder and suspended it from a stick.
The Djennad apparently accepted this as the proper way to carry his new purchase.
He began his journey home.
For a while, everything seemed fine.
The Djennad walked along carrying the dish on his shoulder, just as the Agaoua had shown him.
Then he reached a river.
As he crossed near the water, the dish slipped from its position.
It fell into the river.
The current immediately carried it away.
The Djennad watched as the dish moved farther and farther from him.
Instead of accepting that the dish was gone, he began following it along the riverbank.
He called out to it as though it were a living thing.
He expected the dish to come back.
But the river continued carrying it away.
The Djennad followed.
He called again.
Still, the dish did not return.
He continued after it, calling to the dish and waiting for it to respond.
But a dish could not answer him.
The current carried it farther down the river.
Eventually, the Djennad returned home.
His family wanted to know whether he had sold the ox.
He told them that he had.
Then he explained that he had exchanged it with an Agaoua.
According to his explanation, the Agaoua had taken one red thing and he had taken another red thing.
He then described how his own had fallen into the river.
He said that he had called after it, but it had refused to come back.
His family listened to him.
The story sounded so strange that they could hardly understand what had happened.
His wife became particularly concerned.
She went to her neighbour and told her that her husband had gone mad.
What had begun as an ordinary journey to the market had ended with the Djennad chasing a dish along a river and calling after it as though it could hear him.
The tale ends with this absurd misunderstanding.
The Djennad had gone to the market intending to sell an ox.
Instead, through a foolish exchange and a misunderstanding of the Agaoua’s instructions, he returned home with a story that made his family question his sense.
The humour of the tale lies in the man’s complete seriousness.
He does not appear to realise how strange his actions have become.
He follows the dish.
He calls to it.
He expects it to return.
And when he finally tells his family what happened, his explanation only makes the situation more ridiculous.
The story is a simple example of the humorous tales preserved in Joseph Rivière’s collection of Kabyle folklore. It does not depend on a complicated adventure or a supernatural event. Its comedy comes from ordinary people, an unusual exchange at a market and the consequences of taking a confusing instruction literally.
Through its simplicity, the tale also reminds listeners that failing to understand something properly can lead to embarrassing consequences.
Sometimes, the funniest mistakes begin with nothing more than a person being too quick to act instead of asking what was meant.
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Moral Lesson
Do not act on instructions you do not understand. Taking something literally without seeking clarification can turn a simple situation into a foolish mistake.
Knowledge Check
1. Where was the Djennad going at the beginning of the story?
He was going to the Thlatha market to sell an ox.
2. Who did the Djennad meet at the market?
He met an Agaoua who was carrying a dish to sell.
3. What did the Agaoua tell the Djennad to find?
He told him to find a stone.
4. What happened to the dish while the Djennad was near the river?
The dish fell into the river and was carried away by the current.
5. Why did the Djennad follow the dish along the river?
He called after it and seemed to expect it to return to him.
6. Why did the Djennad’s wife become concerned when he returned home?
His strange explanation about exchanging the ox for a red object and then calling after the dish made her believe that he had gone mad.
Source
Adapted from Joseph Rivière, Recueil de contes populaires de la Kabylie du Djurdjura, 1882, Fourth Part, “Sujets divers,” Section I, “Idiotisme,” Tale 2, “Le Djennad et l’Agaoua,” p. 175
