Note 312 — VI
Philip Askell Benton translation
[For a very full native account of the snakes of Bornu, vid. Koelle, African Native Literature, p. 189. They are enumerated there as follows:
(1) ‘Kulutshi’, a python, speckled, 12 ft. long, and as thick as two men.
(2) ‘Abr’, spotted, 9 ft. long, poisonous.
(3) ‘Gangu’, spotted, 6 ft. long, harmless.
(4) ‘Komontugu’, yellow, 6 ft. long, harmless.
(5) ‘Tshibato’ [jibado], black, 9 ft. long, said to spit poison and blind its victims; venom used for arrow poison; nicknamed ‘Koana lage̥te̥’ = the villainous felon. Rears itself erect and distends its head. [Adder or cobra?]
(6) ‘Rokodimi’, square red spots on the skin, 1 ft. long, has four legs, very poisonous, venom used for arrow poison.
(7) ‘Shargo’, striped black and white, 3 ft. long, nicknamed ‘Kadi mallam’ = the priest snake, harmless, much admired for its beauty, and sometimes domesticated.
(8) ‘Kadi ke̥li’ = green snake, 3 ft. long, poisonous.
(9) ‘Kadi tse̥lim’ = black snake, small, lives in wells, poisonous.
To these may be added from personal information:
(10) ‘Wofe’, light yellow, poisonous but not aggressive. Lives inside houses. About 3 ft. long.
(11) ‘Fushi’, striped, poisonous and aggressive. Lives in holes in the ground in dry weather, but in the grass in wet weather. About 18 inches long.
(12) ‘Gergeshi’, speckled, poisonous and aggressive. Lives at the bottom of trees. About 2 ft. long.
(13) ‘Karua’, dull green, poisonous and aggressive. Lives in the water in Chad. About 9 inches long.
(14) ‘Kadi suni uguwa’ = snake of the five shepherds. Green. Lives in hollows of trees. Very poisonous. It will kill five or more men if they put their hands into the hollow. About 18 inches long.
(15) ‘Silla’, black, harmless, lives in houses. About 6 inches long.
(16) ‘Kadi digalbu’ = the bed-snake. Striped. Lives at bottom of native beds. Poisonous but not aggressive. About 18 inches long.
In spite of the number of snakes found in Bornu, one seldom hears of a death from snake-bite. Can the explanation be the same as given in the old Greek epigram?
‘A snake once on a Cappadocian
Its deadliest venom tried.
Was the man killed? Dismiss the notion;
The snake it was that died.’
(Memoir of Herbert Kynaston, by E. D. Stone).]