The Swallow Who Avenged His Kinsman

Overview

The avenging swallow in Rattray’s The Cock and the Swallow is a second bird, a kinsman of the first swallow. The first bird dies after copying the cock’s pretended decapitation, not realizing that the cock merely hides his head beneath a wing. The kinsman later befriends the cock and declares that they will never part, while privately planning to get even. He tells his wife to cook pumpkins and to say that her husband is inside the pot when their guest asks for him.

When the pot is uncovered, the second swallow darts into its smoke, making it look as though he has emerged from the boiling vessel. He then sits and eats pumpkin with the cock. The cock repeats the supposed feat at home despite his wife’s concern and dies in the cooking pot. At first the swallow tells the wife that she has acted badly; once home, he boasts to his companions that he has fooled the cock in return for the earlier death. The tale presents a staged escape followed by mistaken imitation, not evidence that this swallow can survive boiling. The relevant notes explain the head-hiding idiom and reciprocal intention without giving the bird a personal name or exact species.

Origins & earliest records

Rattray attributes the collection’s material generally to Central Angoniland; no individual teller is identified for this selected fable. Hetherwick’s preface describes Rattray’s African Lakes Corporation employment and language study. These are colonial collection circumstances, not a precise modern-country origin for each narrative.

Records & interpretation

Complete Chinyanja witness, printed pp. 62–64; complete English translation, pp. 142–145; full notes to the numbered fable, pp. 218–219. All selected original pages viewed; English understood, Chinyanja not independently translated.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

1. 01

   Some Folk-Lore Stories and Songs in Chinyanja, with English Translation and Notes

   R. Sutherland Rattray, recorder and English translator; introductory preface by Alexander Hetherwick · 1907

   Complete original Chinyanja narrative, literal English translation, relevant notes and both prefaces retained.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

1. Original historical bilingual Chinyanja/English collectionRattray 1907, complete fable and notes, English pp. 142–145Research access: 2026-10-18

Image credits

AI interpretation of the second, avenging swallow beside a pumpkin pot; exact species and pottery unspecified.

Original AI interpretation of a particular Chinyanja fable. Animal species, colours, horns or tail shape, pottery and landscape imagined; no authenticated community iconography, wildlife record, ritual practice or modern national origin claimed.