Season 2 | Ep 19 | The Flying Contest | A Folktale from Suriname

Golpo | Stories From Around the World

A little bird enters a flying contest, flying against the mighty falcon. What do you do when you are in a competition & you know that the odds are against you? Would you strive to win, play fair, or find any means to end up as winner? What you choose is YOUR choice. The Flying Contest is a story that throws up interesting conversations on contrasts, comparisons and competitions.

The Flying Contest is from Suriname, one of the traditional stories that African Slaves brought with them. Within that cultural context, the significance of this story is immense. However, if you choose to retell the story in a sports field, living room or boardroom, there will be lots of interesting things to talk about. I share some of my hooks and anchors in the podcast.

This story also reminds me of one of my earliest stories, Leader of the Birds, one in which all birds (like in this one) want a leader and the lion asks each bird to tell him why should he choose one. Each bird steps forward to talk about his / her virtue making it difficult for the Lion to choose the most appropriate leader. While there is no contest in that version, the lion's decision is guided by something else all together. Watch an old LIVE Recording of Leader of the Birds on our YouTube Channel. This one is in Hindi, and without subtitles. If you listen carefully, you will understand it.

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𝙂𝙤𝙡𝙥𝙤: 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝘼𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚, 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙢, 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙍𝙤𝙤𝙢 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙤𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙢. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙖𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚.

Story Source | African American Folktales - Selected & Edited by Roger D. Abrahams

Here is an interesting page about birds and their flying patterns

If you are interested in Trickster Tales, read on!

Villain of the Hero?

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Until the next story...

Happy Storytelling!