Exploring "Why is the Sky So Far Away?" – A Journey Through Nigerian Folklore

Ever wondered why the sky seems so distant, or how a simple folktale can teach us profound lessons about our relationship with nature? Join me, Ishara, as we explore the captivating Nigerian folktale "Why is the Sky So Far Away?" beautifully retold by Mary Joan Garson and brought to life through Carla Golumbi's vibrant illustrations. This episode takes you on an unexpected adventure that starts with a library visit and leads to a world where the sky was once so close, offering its tempting flavors to all. Hear how the mighty King Vaoba and his subjects navigate the abundance of their world, and discover the consequences that unfold when they begin to take nature's gifts for granted.

As we turn each page, themes of gratitude, creativity, and the crucial importance of conservation emerge, painting a vivid picture of a time when the sky warned the land of its growing discontent. The tale, enriched by Golumbi's intricate artwork, isn't just a story but a reflection on the value of respecting the natural world. With every word and illustration, the folktale invites listeners to ponder their own habits and the impact of wastefulness. You can watch this episode on my Youtube channel or grab your headphones and prepare to be enchanted by a narrative that’s more than a tale—it's a reminder of the wisdom passed down through generations.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:05

Hi, welcome to the Ishara's Reading Podcast, and I'm Ishara. Today we're reading why is the Sky so Far Away? A Nigerian Folktale retold by Mary Joan Garson, and pictures by Carla Golumbi. By Carla Golumbi. Well, it looks like for some of us it's actually the halfway mark, but for home solars like me, the school never ends. It keeps following you. It keeps following you around wherever you go. I'm so sorry if I sounded creepy, I just wanted to make it funny. Well, it was quite an adventure to find this book. By the way, this book won the New York Times in its book review, so it was a real adventure to find this book.

Speaker 1: 1:11

Me and my grandmother were hungry for tasty treats, so we tried to find a bakery. We found one bakery, but we couldn't eat the food, wah-wah. Then I noticed there was a library, so I wanted to lighten the mood and go in there. Like I love books, so I really wanted to just look at all the books and read maybe every one inside there. So that's how I got to this point. So then this one caught my eye and decided to read it and I really liked it. I read it about twice. I read it about twice in the library. So that's how I got this book.

Speaker 1: 2:09

When you open up the book you see a beautifully illustrated page by Miss Carla. So the book says in the beginning the sky was very close to the Earth. Actually, scientifically, the moon is actually used to be very close to the Earth, closer than it is now. Fun fact, fun Facts. In that time men and women did not have to sow crops and harvest them. They did not have to prepare soup and cook rice, but children did not have to carry water from the stream or gather sticks for the fire. Anyone who was hungry just reached up and took a piece of the sky what Coconuts it was and ate it. It was delicious too. Sometimes the sky tasted like meat stew. That tastes very nice, well like. Sometimes like roasted corn oh my grandfather would love that and sometimes like ripe pineapple. That's my favorite.

Speaker 1: 3:47

There was very little work to do, so people spent their time weaving beautiful cloth, carving handsome statues and retelling tales of adventures, like we're doing. And there were always festivals to prepare for. The musicians practiced, the mask carvers, the mask makers carved their masks in secret and everywhere the children watched the preparation in wonder, as you can see the page. You can see the page has a lot of the people working. The king of the land was called Vaoba and his court was magnificent. At the royal palace there was a team of servants whose only work was to cut and shape the sky for ceremonies. You could see them cutting and shaping the sky. One looks like a fish, another looks like a carrot and to me that last one looks like the top of a pineapple.

Speaker 1: 5:04

But the sky was growing angry because the people were wasteful. Most often they took more than they could possibly eat and threw the leftovers into garbage heaps. I am tired of seeing myself soured and spoiled on every rubbish bin of the land Brewed the sky. So one morning at sunrise the sky turned very dark and thick black clouds Gathered over for Oba's house and a great voice boomed out from above Oba mighty one, your people have wasted my gifts. I am tired of seeing myself on heaps of garbage. Oba mighty one, your people have wasted my gifts. I am tired of seeing myself on heaps of garbage Everywhere. I warn you do not waste my gifts any longer or they will no longer be yours.

Speaker 1: 6:00

The Oba, in terror, sent messengers carrying the sky's warning to every corner of the land. In every village, people were told about the sky's unhappiness. Children were warned never to take a piece of the sky unless they were truly hungry. You can see the page have opened. It looks very serious, but I can tell he's very scared. The people were very, very, very, very, very careful. I added a couple extra berries cuz I thought might spedazz it up a little. That is for a while. Yeah, you probably should have seen that coming.

Speaker 1: 6:47

Then the time of the greatest festival of the year. It was the festival that celebrated the power of Baobab, the most important palace. Dancers performed all through the night and Vaoba himself, in ceremonial robes, danced for his subjects. Da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da that, with all the dancing and mirroring, the people might forget the sky's warning. So he made sure no one took more sky than he or she, absolutely.

Speaker 1: 7:32

Now there was this woman in this kingdom who was never satisfied. She could barely move when she wore all the weighty coral necklaces. Her husband had bought her but she still carved more necklaces. She had eleven children of her own, I think of her own means genetically related somehow. That's a lot of kids, but she felt her house was empty. What, and most of all, adice loved to eat. Okay, well, I can tell she loves to eat, because it looks like she's talking to the water model Saying you look tasty, oh, I'm going to enjoy you.

Speaker 1: 8:24

On the very last night of celebration, adise and her husband were invited to the Oba's palace. Oh no, there they danced and danced and ate. Well past midnight. Oh no, what an evening it was. Adise fought later standing in her own garden Again. How I wish I could relive tonight the drumming. I heard the riches, I saw the food I ate. She looked up at the sky, hoping to taste again the cocoa lambs and meet Stu, the sky offender. She took a huge piece to eat, but she had only finished one third of it when she could swallow no more. What have I done? Well, daddies, I can't throw this away. Oh no, no, she screamed, calling her husband Come finish this piece of sky for me.

Speaker 1: 9:32

Her husband, exhausted from all the dancing and stuffed with the sky, he had eaten at Boba's house. He could only eat two bites. Where's my children? Bites with my children, screamed daddies. Now the children had spent all night at the masquerade and party. After their dinner, most of them were still too full to even nibble at their mother's piece of sky. Oh no, and the neighbors, neighbors, were called. But Adi still had in her hand a big chunk of sky. What does it matter, she said. Finally, one more piece of sky on the rubbish heap. I think it does matter. And just to make sure it didn't matter, she buried the leftover garbage in the bin back at her house.

Speaker 1: 10:31

Suddenly the ground shook with thunder and lightning creased the sky above the old west palace. But no rain fell. Nope, sometimes that actually can happen. Oba, mighty one, boomed a voice from above. Your people have not treated me with respect. Now I will leave you and move far away. But what will we eat, cried Viola. How will we live? You must learn how to plow the land, gather crops and hunt in forests, answered the sky. Perhaps, through your own labor, you will learn not to waste the gifts of nature. Whoa, that was a little intense. Let's see what happens after that.

Speaker 1: 11:31

No one in the land slept very well that night. The rising sun uncovered the heads of the men and women peering over the rooftops and windows, straining to see if the sky had really left them. It truly had. It sailed upward, far out of their reach. From that day onward, men and women and children had to grow their own food. They tilled the land, planted crops and harvested them, and far above them rested the sky, distant and blue just as it does today. Whoa, this story is at least 500 years old, first told in Bini, in the Bini tribe found in Africa, where they are is now Nigeria. Are is now Nigeria. This story was told to teach the children of many of the Bini tribe to not waste gifts of nature.

Speaker 1: 12:40

Well, wastefulness is a very big problem in today's world. So many reasons why we've just been wasteful on our garbage. But, as told in this book, we could potentially save it. We could save our home. Remember, earth is the only home we know of today, so might as well save it as much as we can, because there's no planet number two. Earth is the one and only that we've found that contains life. While climate change is a big problem in today's world, wastefulness is really the big problem.

Speaker 1: 13:21

When someone gives us a snack to eat and we don't finish it all and just throw it in the trash. Or when we buy food but then we look at the expiration date and then we just throw it in the garbage. Well, or when we don't. Or when we don't eat the food that someone's prepared us, or we don't eat the food that came from some place. Someone had to grow that lettuce, someone had to grow that food or feed that cow that we eat on either a burger or an everyday salad. So remember, do not waste the gifts of nature. Just like how the sky said, do not waste the gifts of nature because nature is wonderful. Because nature is wonderful.

Speaker 1: 14:19

If there is a way for you to recycle things around your house, if there is a way for you to recycle things around your house, do it. Save this planet. There's no planet number two. We have not found one yet, but let's save this one as long as we're on this earth. Nature provides so much of the world we see today. Nature provides the wood to build houses, the food, the air that we breathe, the food that we eat, the water we drink. Nature provides us with almost everything, so make sure to save nature. When you don't care about nature, you hurt the environment. Our environment is the world around us, so save nature, care about it. There's no planet number two, not yet. Thank you for listening to this episode of the Shara's Rating Podcast. Don't forget to like, review and smash that subscribe button Bye-bye.