Week 9 Story: The Beauty and The Skull

There once was a beautiful woman name Afiong. All of the men of the land and lands far beyond were interested in her; they all tried to woo her, but one by one they were shut down. Afiong's parents tried relentlessly to convince her to take a man, they even arranged several marriages for her, but it was useless. Afiong refused each and every proposal, for she thought herself far too beautiful for any of them, and worthy only of the finest specimen of manhood. 

Rumors of the woman's beauty spread all over the world, even reaching the far corners of the spirit land. The Skull, a spirit known for his ugliness, heard of Afiong and deeply longed and to meet her. He was ashamed of his looks, so he traveled all throughout the spirit land asking for body parts. One friend offered him his legs, another his face, then eyes, torso, arms, until his body was complete and he looked like the most handsome young man. The Skull then traveled to Afiong's country, and for days he watched her from afar when she visited the market, falling madly in love with her. Afiong thus heard of a foreign man of looks beyond anything that she had ever seen, and when she finally met the Skull, she too fell for him. 

Afiong and the Skull began an affair, and soon she invited him to meet her parents where he asked for her hand in marriage. Afiong's parents did not want to approve of the Skull, for marrying a foreigner was known to be a bad idea, but they could not persuade their daughter and at last, had to accept. Woman and spirit were married, and for months lived happily in the lad of the living, until one day the Skull told his wife that they had to visit his country. And so together they traveled, and when they reached the land of the spirits, the Skull turned back into his true ugly nature. At first, Afiong was frightened, but soon she understood that physical beauty was worth nothing in comparison to the inner one. She learned to love the Skull for how he looked on the outside, for she loved how he was inside. 

Unfortunately, Afiong was a living one in the spirit land, so she was vulnerable to the evil nature of other spirits. The Skull's mother, who had grown fond of Afiong, offered her two options: return to the land of the living and leave the love of her life behind, or consume a potion that would take her youth and beauty away, allowing her to stay in the spirit land. Afiong thus understood how vain she had been, and in drinking the potion, she said goodbye to her beauty but welcomed a life filled with eternal love. 

Skeleton Couple in Tumblr

Author's Note: in the original story, Afiong became so terrified of the Skull that she wished to run away, but couldn't. The Skull ordered her to care for his mother, who eventually grew fond of her and decided to help her escape so that she would not die in the spirit land. Afiong's parents had discovered that the Skull was a spirit and therefore thought their daughter was dead, so when she returned they rejoiced and celebrated. They offered her hand in marriage to a man and they were soon married. I wanted to change a bit the ending by making Afiong understand that physical beauty is not that important, so I thought her giving up her youthfulness and beauty was a good way of showing her growth. Also, in my version, I did not mention the parents learning of the Skull's identity so they also do not know that their daughter was in danger or that she eventually became a spirit herself.

Original Story: The Disobedient Daughter Story Who Married a Skull

Story source: Folk Stories From Southern Nigeria by Elphinstone Dayrell (1910).