Do you know that in the past, the lion was not the king of beasts? At least he wasn’t initially. It was Dankélé, a big black buffalo of the savannah, who reigned over the people of beasts.
Dankélé was a tyrant who governed without faith or law. If you were right, you were scared. If you weren’t right, you were right to be afraid of him.
At that time, there was only one river where all the animals came to drink. But no one was allowed to drink there before Dankélé. Dankélé not only quenched his thirst, he bathed in the river, rolled around in it and relieved himself there. It was only after its passage that the other animals could drink in turn, once the water was dirty.
It was unfair, but that was how it was. We had to bear it.
One day when it was very hot, the lioness had come to give her cub a drink, which was dying of thirst. Without waiting for the king, she gave him some water and drank a little herself.
King Dankélé arrived accompanied by members of his court, griots and griots, advisers and advisers who sang his praises:
GRIOTS: “Long live the king, long live the king, long live the king. »
When he was at the edge of the river, Dankélé saw that they had dared to drink before him. He turned to his subjects and, threatening them with his gaze, howled his anger. And his anger made everyone tremble.
DANKELE: “Who? Who dared to drink before me, the king? If you don’t point out the culprit to me, then you all are! »
The animals, terrified, looked at each other. Everyone had seen the lioness giving her cub a drink. But who, who would dare to denounce her to this brute of a king?
The hyena did:
THE HYENA: “Me, I’m not going to pay for a fault that I didn’t commit. Majesty, it was the lioness who drank before you. There, I said it. »
Immediately, King Dankélé leapt on the lioness and crushed her under his furious hooves.
The lion cub was not dead, he had run away with all his paws and gone into hiding.
He awaited the hour of his revenge. He waited, waited, waited…until he grew up.
When he had become a big and strong lion whose roar resounded through all the savannah, he finally came out of his hiding place.
He went to see King Dankélé and said to him:
THE LION: “Ox, where did my mother go? »
The buffalo, intimidated by the strength of the young lion, stammered:
DANKÉLÉ: “Uh… your… your… your mother? The lioness ? »
A COUNSELOR whispered in his ear: “Majesty, this is the lioness you killed a few years ago because she dared to drink before you. »
DANKÉLÉ: “Ah yes, it’s true” said the buffalo, turning to the lion. “It’s the law, it’s not me. The law is the law. Your mother dared to drink before me, so the law was enforced. The law is the law, the law is not me. »
The lion replied:
THE LION: “A law that applies only to the weakest is an unjust law. »
And the lion threw himself on the buffalo, knocked it down, tore it to pieces and freed the people from the tyrant Dankélé.
The delighted people cried out, “Long live the king, the lion king, long live the king, the lion king”
It is since that day that the lion became the king of animals. Unlike the buffalo, and despite its strength, it strives to be fairer and more upright towards the weakest.
Performers: Koami Vignon, Yacouba Karamoko, Reine Azi, Charles Kohoury, Hugue-Edouard Kouakou
Music : Ange Bouely, Boussou Roland, Souleymane Diabaté, Daniel Opoh and Jean Sempé Ake Olloé.
Africa in story is a series created by the NGO Des Livres Pour Tous – Côte d’Ivoire and the collective Making Waves, in partnership with RFI. This project has received support from the “Access Culture” scheme of the French Institute in Paris and the French Development Agency (AFD), the “ACP-EU Culture for West Africa – Awa” program from the French Institute and the Kôrè Cultural Centre, the “Agir” system of the Department of Seine-Saint-Denis and the Île-de-France Region.
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