Cats and Women (Africa)

The type of African story I will be talking about today is "why cats live with women." The key feature of this story is a chain tale progression where the cat leaves one companion after another, always seeking someone stronger until finally the cat discovers that the woman is strongest of all. If you use ATU indexes, ATU 2031 is a "stronger and strongest" type of pattern, but this story is surely not the same type; instead, it is using the same type of chain device to tell a different story.

At the bottom of this blog post you will find a public domain version of this story: Paka the Cat, in Black Tales for White Children by C.H. Stigand and Nancy Stigand (1914). Online at the Internet Archive. This version is from a Swahili storyteller; Paka is the name for Cat in Swahili.

Other versions: So far, I have found one other published version of this tale type.
Why Cats Live with Women, in When the Stones Were Soft; East African Fireside Tales by Eleanor Heady (1968). Online at the Internet Archive (pending court injunction).This version starts with Paka the cat; he befriends Sungura the rabbit (hare), and then Mbweha the jackal, then Fisi the hyena, then Duma the cheetah, then Man, and then Woman. In this story, there are not two wives; instead, the woman is angry at the man because he came home late and the dinner she was cooking was ruined because he was late.

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Paka the Cat
(a Swahili story from eastern Africa)

illustration by John Hargrave

This is the story of Paka the cat. 

If there are three or four men walking along and only one woman, the cat will turn aside from the men and follow the woman. Now the reason for this is the story I am telling you. 

In the beginning Paka one day sat in the bush until she felt the pain of hunger. So she came down to the shore, and there she met a serval, who was hunting the crabs of the shore. So Paka went up to the serval and said, "Good morning." 

And the serval said, "Who are you?" 

"It is I— Paka." 

"What do you want?" 

"I want to follow you about and so get food." 

So the serval said, "Very good then. Here, eat these crabs." 

So Paka ate of the crabs, and she followed the serval many days. Till one day there came a leopard and fought with the serval and killed him.

illustration by John Hargrave

So Paka thought in her heart, "Now, this one was not a manly one; he who is the man is the leopard." 

So Paka went up to the leopard and saluted him, "Good morning." 

So the leopard said, "And who are you?" 

"It is I— Paka." 

"What do you want?" 

"I want to follow you about and get food." 

So the leopard said, "Very good. Here, eat of this serval." 

So Paka followed the leopard many days and many weeks. Till one day came a lion, and he fell on the leopard and killed him.

So Paka thought in her heart, "Now, this one also was not a manly one: he who is the man is the lion." 

So she went to the lion and said, "Good morning." 

And the lion said, "Who are you?" 

"It is I— Paka." 

"What do you want?" 

So Paka said, "I want to follow you about that you may give me food." 

So the lion said, "Then eat of this leopard." 

So Paka ate of the leopard, and she followed the lion for many weeks and many months, till one day there came an elephant. And the elephant came and struck the lion with his trunk, and the lion died. 

So Paka said in her heart, "Now, this one, too, was not a manly one: he who is the man is the elephant." 

So Paka went and greeted the elephant, "Good morning." 

The elephant said, "And who are you?" '

'It is I— Paka!" 

"What do you want?" 

"I want to follow you about, that you may give me food."

So the elephant said, "Then eat of this lion." 

So Paka ate of the lion, and she followed the elephant for many months and many days. Till one day came a man, and that son of Adam came and he took his matchlock and fired. And he hit the elephant, and the elephant ran away. After running a long way he fell down, and that son of Adam came and he fired again and again, until the elephant was finished and he died. 

Now Paka said, "Behold, he also was not a manly one: he who is the man is the son of Adam." 

So Paka went up and saluted him, saying, "Good morning." 

And the man said, "Who are you?" 

"It is I— Paka." 

"What do you want?" 

"I want to follow you about, that you may give me food."

So the man said, "Then eat of the elephant." 

So Paka stayed with the man and ate of the elephant, while he was cutting out the tusks. When the man had finished cutting out the tusks, he wended his way home and came to his village. 

Now that man had two wives, and the one he loved and the other he loved not. So he came first to the house of her whom he loved not, that he might stay a short time and go to the house of her whom he loved. So he came there and greeted the wife whom he loved not, and straightway went on to the house of her whom he loved. 

When he had come there he said to her, "Oh, my wife whom I love, I have done this on purpose. I came first to the house of the other one, that I might come straightway to you whom I love, and remain with you a long time."

Now the woman was angry, in that he had gone first to the house of the other, and she said to him, "What you say is false!" 

So she came up to him and struck him — pah! 

That man did not do anything; he turned round and left the hut. 

Then thought Paka, "Now, even this one is not the manly one. Why does he go away? He who is the man is the woman." 

So she went up to the woman and said to her, "Good morning." 

The woman said, "And who are you?" 

"It is I— Paka." 

"What do you want?" 

"I want to follow you about, that you may give me food." 

So the woman said to her, "Very good. Sit here in my house." 

Now this is the story of Paka the cat, which comes from long ago, and this is the reason why a cat will leave a man and follow a woman.