The Crocodile That Founded a Village

A group of Songhai migrants were traveling down the Niger River, looking for a place to build a new village. They were tired and their supplies were low. One morning, they saw a large Crocodile crawl out of the river and lie on a particularly fertile-looking piece of land on the riverbank. It did not move all day, as if showing them the spot. The leader of the group, a wise man, interpreted this as a sign from the river spirits. "This is where we will build," he declared. "The Crocodile has chosen our home." They founded the village on that spot, and it became prosperous. The crocodile was declared the village's totem animal. The people of the village would never harm a crocodile, and they would often leave offerings of fish on the riverbank for their sacred protector.