The Dog With the Spark and No Bark: A Nyanga Myth

Lions and Legends

Host Rebecca Shear and a character named Curiosity introduce a Nyanga myth from the Republic of Congo that explains why Basenji dogs do not bark.

Key takeaways

Host Rebecca Shear frames the episode around curiosity, introducing a Nyanga myth from Central Africa.
The dog Rukuba is strictly ordered by the god Nyamuriri to guard his fire and keep it away from humans.

Main topics

Nyanga mythology and folklore
The origin of the Basenji dog breed

Notable quotes

"Curiosity killed the cat. As you can imagine, we lions have never liked that one."

Conclusion

Listeners receive a culturally rich origin story that blends myth with biological

Transcript preview

Speaker 4 (0:00) you Speaker 1 (0:03) I'm Rebecca Shear, and welcome to Lions and Legends. That is our League of Lions, the nine furry felines helping me bring you fun, fantastical retellings of myths, legends, folktales, and fables from around the world, and the valuable lessons they teach. Today, we're joined by League member, Curiosity. Speaker 6 (0:24) How have you been, Rebecca Shear? I love what you've done with the podcast studio. Is that new acoustic soundproofing treatment? And the microphone! Is it a Shure SM7B or a Neumann TLM102? Speaker 1 (0:44) Neither. It's a Sennheiser MKH416. And yes, Eric Shemelonis installed new soundproofing. You sure are curious. Speaker 6 (0:53) Well, curiosity is my middle name. Wait, that's not right. Curiosity is my only name. Speaker 1 (1:02) I have to say, I'm happy you're here, Curiosity. Because today's Lions and Legends story, a myth from the Nyong'o people of the Republic of the Congo in Central Africa, it has a lot to do with Curiosity. Speaker 6 (1:13) It does? Is the main character curious, or is it a different character? And is their curiosity a good thing, or does it get them in trouble? You do know the old saying, Curiosity killed the cat. As you can imagine, we lions have never liked that one. So Speaker 1 (1:32) many good questions! And I don't want to be a party pooper, but I also don't want to be a spoiler spiller. So instead of answering now, let's go roaring, shall we? Into the Nyong'o myth that we're calling the dog with the spark and no bark. Speaker 1 (1:54) If you've spent time with a dog, then you know they make all sorts of sounds. They howl. Speaker 1 (2:04) They growl. They whimper. Speaker 1 (2:09) And they bark. Actually, scratch that, not all dogs bark. The curly-tailed, perky-eared hound, known as the Basenji, does not bark. Why? Well, according to science, Basenjis don't bark because they can't. The distinctive shape of their larynx, or voice box, makes them physically unable to do so. But according to mythology... Basenjis don't bark because they choose not to. And it all goes back to ancient times, with the world's first Basenji, a friendly, devoted dog named Rukuba. Rukuba belonged to a powerful god named Nyamuriri. And unlike other dogs at the time, Speaker 3 (2:55) Nyamuriri! Rukuba spoke. The fire is dying down, Nyamuriri. Shall I toss in more wood? Speaker 4 (3:04) Of course you should, Rukuba. After all, I did task you with taking care of the fire at all hours of the day and night. Or rather, I tasked you with taking care of my fire. Speaker 3 (3:22) I'm meaning to ask about that, Nyamuriri. Are you sure you don't want to share the fire with anyone? Not even the people? I've seen how those poor humans shiver at night and how they eat their food raw. If you gave them just a little... Fire. It would be a total game changer. Enough. Speaker 4 (3:45) Remind me, Rukuba. What am I the god of again? Speaker 3 (3:51) You're the god of earthquakes. Speaker 4 (3:54) And? Speaker 3 (3:57) Volcanoes. And? Speaker 4 (4:00) Fire. That's right. Therefore, the fire is mine. And your job is to make sure the fire never goes out. And that nobody else gets any. Speaker 1 (4:18) Rukuba was very good at her job. She kept constant watch over the fire, pausing only briefly for a quick Speaker 3 (4:25) nibble or Speaker 1 (4:25) catnap. Speaker 3 (4:26) Wait, what? A catnap? I'm a Speaker 1 (4:29) dog! Oh, it's an expression. We could just say nap. That's better. Speaker 3 (4:36) And boy, how I wish I could take a nap right now. But I have to watch this fire all day and all night, lest I incur the wrath Speaker 1 (4:47) of Nyamuriri. He makes you keep a real eagle eye on that fire, doesn't he? Eagle eye? Again, I'm a dog. Right. Let's just return to our story, shall we? One morning, Nyamuriri told Rukuba that he was heading out. Speaker 4 (5:07) One of my volcanoes has a pressure leak. Can you believe it? One of its walls is cracked and now hot lava is squirting out sideways like a broken garden hose. Keep a close watch on my fire, Rukuba. If I come back and find one flame missing, you'll be in hot water. Speaker 1 (5:30) Rukuba watched the fire all morning. She was still staring at the flickering, rippling flames hours later when, all of a sudden... Speaker 2 (5:40) What is that? Rukuba Speaker 1 (5:43) spun around. Walking her way, with eyes riveted on the fire, was a woman. What could