Why the Worms live Underneath the Ground

Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria is a book by Elphinstone Dayrell, introduction by Andrew Lang, published in 1910.

One of the most important collections of African folklore ever published contains forty folk stories and fairy tales from Southern Nigeria which were collected by Elphinstone Dayrell, then the District Commissioner of the region. The stories are full of mentions of strange institutions, as well as of rare adventures. The most striking point in the tales is the combination of good humour and good feeling with horrible cruelties, and the reign of terror of the Egbos and lesser societies. Many of the themes of these stories are consistent throughout the region. The stories transcend the current borders, because the borders have not been around as long as the tales…