Talk:Tikki Tikki Tembo

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[edit] Expert

This article needs someone to find out:

  • When the story was originally written.
  • A list of all the forms of the name, and what their origins are.
  • What print versions of the story exist.
  • Etc.

Maybe someone can do a little more research on this? Arlene Mosel didn't write this story until 1968 (copyright of book) and Paul Wing's version entitled "Long Name No Can Say" was in 1965 on the reverse side of a Disney Story LP (think it was either Snow White or Cinderella). Ultimately, my mother has been reciting this since the 1950's as "Nikki Nikki Tombo No So Rombo Alabala Buskie Bombo Bee Chi" which from what I understand was a common version sung/chanted in the mid to late 40's at many an East Coast US Summer Camp. The story they were told, more often than not, ended up with "Nikki" drowning in the well due to the length of his name and the fact that in China it would be disrespectful to not say ones entire name. So, the brother told the name to the farmer who told to the mother who told to the...etc. When they arrived at the well with the ladder, too much time had passed and "Nikki" had drowned. The moral of the story is why those of China have SHORT names and why the HONOR of such a long name has a heavy consequence. I also took note that Nikki Nikki was changed to Tikki Tikki for Political Correctness and that Disney forced Paul Wing to change the ending for it to be "Disney-fied".

The previous text was moved from the article. -- Whpq 16:55, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Jugemu

Some folks here assert that there is actually a Japanese folktale with this idea. - Vonfraginoff 07:36, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/cool/03-12/jugemu.html


from Google's cache of http://bvio.ngic.re.kr/Bvio/index.php/Jugemu as retrieved on 21 Jul 2006 02:28:49 GMT

The folktale of Jugemu is one of the most famous Rakugo in Japan. A couple could not think if a suitable name for their newborn baby boy, and so the father went to the temple and asked the chief priest to think of an auspicious name. The priest suggested several names, beginning with Jugemu. The father could not decide which name he preferred, and therefore gave the baby all of the names. Jugemu's full name is "Jugemu-jugemu gokōnosurikire kaijarisuigyo-no suigyōmatsu ungyōmatsu fūraimatsu kūnerutokoroni-sumutokoro yaburakōjino-burakōji paipopaipo-paiponoshūringan-shūringanno-gūrindaino ponpokopīno-ponpokonāno-chōkyūmeino-chōsuke". The recitation from memory of these names is a feature of the NHK children's tv programme "Nihongo de asobō" (Let's play with Japanese) ja:寿限無

[edit] Did Tikki tikki tembo drown?

I am sure there is a version of the story in which Tikki tikki tembo drowns as it says on the page. But the discussion at the first of the external links indicates that he survives in the book to which most of the article refers? Jess Cully (talk) 22:48, 14 January 2008 (UTC)