When all that's left of your child is a bit of hair

A recurring theme in folktales from different West African cultures is the mistreated child who sinks into the earth:

The Pineapple Child (from the Ga ethnic group of Ghana):

A hunter had 2 wives. The younger wife was childless, and wanted a child very much. One day, she was on her way to the farm with her husband when they met an old man who asked them what they wished for. They answered, "A child." The old man uprooted a pineapple plant growing nearby and changed it into a baby girl. The younger wife was delighted, but the old man warned them that they must never tell the child that she came from a pineapple.

The younger wife brought the baby home and spent many happy hours with her. The older wife, Adele, hated that her co-wife was so happy. She eavesdropped on the younger wife and learnt about the origin of the baby. Adele's resentment of her co-wife increased as the years went by, watching her rival dote on the growing child.

One day, the child's parents went out to work, leaving the child in the care of Adele. Adele got tired of attending to the child's needs and called her a pineapple child. At that, the child ran away into the forest. When her parents returned and learned what happened, the hunter ran after his daughter. He found her at the spot where they had met the old man, but she was already sinking into the ground, turning back into a pineapple plant. Her father rushed forward and grabbed her hair to pull her out, but it was too late. She completely transformed, leaving only her hair in his hands. The grief-stricken father clutched the hair to his chest, and there it stuck. And that was how men came to have hair on their chests. ¹

Another version of the story did not involve a co-wife. In this other tale, the betrayer of the secret of the child's origin was an older girl named Adene.

The Cruel Mother (from the Yoruba ethnic group of Nigeria):

There was a kind girl whose mother was always beating her and berating her. The girl was engaged to a neighbor. When she came of age, she asked her mother to buy the clothes, accessories and other necessities for her wedding. Her mother lied that her trousseau was already prepared.

On the girl's wedding day, her mother brought out a basket of leaves and ropes. She told her daughter that this was the trousseau she deserved because she had been stubborn, lazy and unpleasant. The bride wept copiously and began to sink into the ground. When the girl was waist deep in her ground, her mother repented of her wickedness and pleaded with her daughter to come back, promising to give her the things required for her wedding. 

The daughter kept sinking. Her mother seized her hair, which was the only part of her left above ground. But it was too late. The mother's begging and wailing could not stop her from disappearing forever.²

This motif may have crossed the Atlantic. An French Creole version from Louisiana also involved a cruel parent and a child sinking into the earth:

A young girl was being courted by a prince. Her father disapproved because he felt that she was too young. So he told a wizard to get rid of the prince. One day, when the girl and the prince were sitting near the river, the wizard changed the prince into a fish. It went into the river and disappeared.

The father thought that this was the end of the matter until he discovered that his daughter was going to the river every day to spend time with the fish prince. He shot the fish and told his daughter to cook it for him. The girl had to scale her lover and cook him, while the fish sang sadly. After dinner, the girl went down to the riverbank and cried until her tears made the ground open up and she fell into the gap. When her mother came seeking her, all that was left of her was a lock of hair on the ground.³

Notes

1. "The Cruel Mother", West African Folktales, translated and collected by Jack Berry
2. "Adele and the Pineapple Chlid", West African Folktales, translated and collected by Jack Berry
3. "Marie and Redfish", Her Stories: African American Folk Tales, Fairy Tales, and True Tales, Virginia Hamilton