Black Horse

Dea and His Faithful Dogs

In short: Read how the help Dea receives from his dogs becomes a secret in a Dan tale from Liberia.

Dea and His Faithful Dogs · The leaves gathered by the dogs FAIRY TALE ATLAS · № 199 Dea and His Faithful Dogs Read how the help Dea receives from his dogs becomes a secret in a Dan tale from Liberia. Origin A tale from western Dan storytelling in Liberia. The 1967 publication by Fischer and Tame-Tabmen records the account of a storyteller named Sã. Atlas record 1967 First appearance Exact date unknown SIGNATURE MOTIF The leaves gathered by the dogs Reach¹ 1/10 Suggested age² 8+ Member rating No votes yet 1 records · 1 countries or regions blackhorsestories.com

¹ Based on the number of Atlas countries, capped at 10. ² Editorial suggestion for reading this page. Discover Black Horse’s question

Origin and tradition

A tale from western Dan storytelling in Liberia. The 1967 publication by Fischer and Tame-Tabmen records the account of a storyteller named Sã.

When the hunter Dea is stranded in a tree, his dogs gather leaves to cushion his fall. Once safe, he can understand the speech of animals. The dogs tell him to keep this knowledge secret. His reaction to something he hears back in the village changes what keeping that secret will cost him.

Dated records and sources

  1. 1967 · Northeastern Liberia, approximate region of tradition
    Eberhard Fischer / G. W. Tame-Tabmen · Erzählgut der westlichen Dan in Liberia · pp. 720–721 · Published collection

Country pages

Fairy Tale Glossary

Origin
Black Horse. Dea and His Faithful Dogs. https://blackhorsestories.com/en/atlas-tale-dea-faithful-dogs/