Types ATU1530 holding up the rock
Motifs
K1251 holding up the rock
G0061.1 child recognizes relative's flesh served to be eaten
Notes
Harris and Germer note Kaffis story in which Hkakanyana "puts a grandmother into a pot to rejuvenate her, dons her clothes, and the children discover her flesh in the pot"
East African story "hare escapes from the pot, substitutes the owner's child, puts on the child's clothes, then tells the owner he is eating his own child. When pursued and caught by the tail, eh says, "You are holding a root," whereupon the owner lets go of the tail and grabs a root." ... with biting the root (AT0005) as interchangeable with AT1530.
Jamaica: "boy kills Anansi's mother, puts on her clothes, and serves her to Anansi" -- Baer notes "this is a curious reversal of roles."
Flowers calls it: AT1121 Ogre's Wife Burned in his Own Oven
(Baer complains about Flowers's approach to analogues, but I understand Flowers's frustration... the types both fit and do not fit)
Baer's conclusion: "a tale composed of motifs which occur in Africa and occur in the context and sequence in which they are found here. The tale has been preserved almost intact in its new setting."
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