Kwesi

Role: youngest son; cutter of the princess elephant’s tail · First appears: Tale 22 · The Tail of the Princess Elephant

In Tale 22 · The Tail of the Princess Elephant, Kwesi, the youngest of the woman’s three sons, promised to put the princess elephant’s tail in his mother’s coffin. Soon after his mother died, he set out to find it. The old woman hid him in a pile of wood, and in the middle of the night he cut off the princess’s tail and escaped with it.

Kwesi married the princess, but the night following their marriage she turned into an elephant and prepared to kill him. He awoke in time, and Depor changed him into a grass mat so she could not find him; the next night, Depor changed him into a needle. As soon as Kwesi was asleep, the princess took Depor from his hair and threw it into a fire. As Depor burned, he turned Kwesi into a hawk.

Relationship record

Life events

• The youngest promised to put the princess elephant’s tail in his mother’s coffin.(Tale 22 · The Tail of the Princess Elephant)
  • With: the woman (Tale 22)
  • “The youngest said, ‘I will go and get the tail of the princess elephant and put it in the coffin with her.’”
• The woman died.(Tale 22 · The Tail of the Princess Elephant)
  • With: the woman (Tale 22) the eldest (Tale 22) the second (Tale 22)
  • “Soon after this their mother died.”
• The youngest set out to search for the princess elephant’s tail.(Tale 22 · The Tail of the Princess Elephant)
  • “The youngest son immediately set out on his search, not knowing in the least where he would be likely to find the tail.”
• The old woman hid the youngest in a pile of wood.(Tale 22 · The Tail of the Princess Elephant)
  • With: the old woman (Tale 22)
  • “The young man begged her to hide him—which she did, in a great pile of wood.”
• The youngest cut off the princess’s tail and escaped with it.(Tale 22 · The Tail of the Princess Elephant)
  • With: the princess (Tale 22)
  • “He cut off the tail and returned as he had come.”
• The princess turned into an elephant and prepared to kill the youngest.(Tale 22 · The Tail of the Princess Elephant)
  • With: the princess (Tale 22)
  • “The night following their marriage she turned into an elephant, while Kwesi was asleep. She then prepared to kill him, but Kwesi awoke in time.”
• The princess and the youngest were married.(Tale 22 · The Tail of the Princess Elephant)
  • With: the princess (Tale 22)
  • “The damsel and he were accordingly married.”
• Depor turned the youngest into a grass mat to hide him from the princess.(Tale 22 · The Tail of the Princess Elephant)
  • With: the princess (Tale 22) Depor
  • “The juju turned him into a grass mat lying on the bed and the princess could not find him.”
• Depor changed the youngest into a needle to hide him from the princess.(Tale 22 · The Tail of the Princess Elephant)
  • With: the princess (Tale 22) Depor
  • “This time the juju changed him into a needle and his wife could not find him.”
• The princess stole Depor from the youngest’s hair and threw it into a fire.(Tale 22 · The Tail of the Princess Elephant)
  • With: the princess (Tale 22) Depor
  • “As soon as he was asleep she took the juju out of his hair and threw it into a great fire which she had prepared.”
• Depor turned the youngest into a hawk as it burned.(Tale 22 · The Tail of the Princess Elephant)
  • With: Depor
  • “He did so and turned into a hawk.”

Tale 22 · The Tail of the Princess Elephant

• parent: the woman (Tale 22) “There once lived a woman who had three sons.”
• benefactor: the old woman (Tale 22) “The young man begged her to hide him—which she did, in a great pile of wood.”
• benefactor: Depor “The juju turned him into a grass mat lying on the bed and the princess could not find him.”
• married with the princess (Tale 22) “The damsel and he were accordingly married.”
• enemies with the princess (Tale 22) “As soon as he was asleep she took the juju out of his hair and threw it into a great fire which she had prepared.”
• siblings with the eldest (Tale 22) “These sons were very much attached to their mother and always tried to please her.”
• siblings with the second (Tale 22) “These sons were very much attached to their mother and always tried to please her.”

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Extracted from the original text of West African Folk-Tales. Made with Rho MD.