A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

The ants receive food from a poor man who shares grain and beans even when he has little himself. A miser in the same village hoards gold and crushes the ants he finds. Their king contrasts the benefactor’s poverty with the hostile man’s wealth, prompting the colony to tunnel between the two houses. Over three nights they carry all the treasure from the guarded hut into the poor man’s home.

The gift places their friend in danger. Neighbours discover the tunnel and accuse him of possessing a charm that lets him shrink and steal the gold. He knows nothing about the ants’ work and cannot clear himself. The community confines him in a hut for execution the next day. Realizing their mistake, the ants eat the entire hut in several hours, freeing him to flee into the forest. The villagers wrongly conclude that the ants also ate the prisoner. Their immense collective labour and rescue are narrated; the poor man’s supposed shrinking power is an accusation rather than a transformation.

Collective planning under ant kingUnderground treasure transportHut consumed to free benefactor
01

Origins & earliest records

Ogumefu’s preface attributes the collection to Yoruba country in southern Nigeria and notes that songs are abbreviated. No individual storyteller or field date is supplied for this episode; the preface’s Christian judgments are editorial framing.

02

Records & interpretation

Complete selected chapter read: XIV, The Ants and the Treasure, pp. 21–26

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Yoruba Legends

    M. I. Ogumefu · 1929

    XIV, The Ants and the Treasure, pp. 21–26

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. Collected narrative; digitized historical editionOgumefu — XIV, The Ants and the Treasure, pp. 21–26Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

FT·2993 · RESEARCH EDITION 01Back to top ↑