---
title: Very soon after his arrival the python asked Chief Kekong to allow h… — Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria · tree and pragmatics
description: Very soon after his arrival the python asked Chief Kekong to allow him to marry his daughter ’Ndere, and when the chief asked him who he was and where he came from, the python replied, “I am the son of Chief Kaku, who lives over there,” pointing to where the sun rose at the back of the house. Who ac
---

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# Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria, Xxxi.--chief Kekong’s Daughter ’ndere Who Married a Python., part 1, sentence 20

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Very soon after his arrival the python asked Chief Kekong to allow him to marry his daughter ’Ndere, and when the chief asked him who he was and where he came from, the python replied, “I am the son of Chief Kaku, who lives over there,” pointing to where the sun rose at the back of the house.

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**Who acts:** python, chief, son, sun · **What happens:** ask, allow, marry, be, reply, live · **To what, where:** Chief, daughter, python, son, back · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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This is a sentence of «Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria» by Elphinstone Dayrell, Xxxi.--chief Kekong’s Daughter ’ndere Who Married a Python., part 1. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (python, chief, son, sun), what happens, when and where, as Mova's frames read it from the tree.

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**Mova's own parse.** This tree may be wrong.

## The tree {#tree}

```conllu
# sent_id = book:pg70959:24:20
# text = Very soon after his arrival the python asked Chief Kekong to allow him to marry his daughter ’Ndere, and when the chief asked him who he was and where he came from, the python replied, “I am the son of Chief Kaku, who lives over there,” pointing to where the sun rose at the back of the house.
1	Very	very	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
2	soon	soon	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	8	advmod	_	_
3	after	after	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	arrival	arrival	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	python	python	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
8	asked	ask	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	Chief	Chief	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	iobj	_	_
10	Kekong	Kekong	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	9	flat	_	_
11	to	to	PART	TO	_	12	mark	_	_
12	allow	allow	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	xcomp	_	_
13	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	iobj	_	_
14	to	to	PART	TO	_	15	mark	_	_
15	marry	marry	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	12	xcomp	_	_
16	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	17	nmod:poss	_	_
17	daughter	daughter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	obj	_	_
18	’	'	PUNCT	``	_	19	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	Ndere	Ndere	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	17	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	25	punct	_	_
21	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	25	cc	_	_
22	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	25	advmod	_	_
23	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	24	det	_	_
24	chief	chief	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	25	nsubj	_	_
25	asked	ask	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	conj	_	_
26	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	25	iobj	_	_
27	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	25	obj	_	_
28	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	33	nsubj	_	_
29	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	33	cop	_	_
30	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	33	cc	_	_
31	where	where	ADV	WRB	PronType=Rel	33	advmod	_	_
32	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	33	nsubj	_	_
33	came	come	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	27	acl:relcl	_	_
34	from	from	ADP	IN	_	33	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
35	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	38	punct	_	_
36	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	37	det	_	_
37	python	python	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	38	nsubj	_	_
38	replied	reply	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	33	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
39	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	44	punct	_	_
40	“	"	PUNCT	``	_	44	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
41	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	44	nsubj	_	_
42	am	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	44	cop	_	_
43	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	44	det	_	_
44	son	son	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	38	ccomp	_	_
45	of	of	ADP	IN	_	46	case	_	_
46	Chief	Chief	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	44	nmod	_	_
47	Kaku	Kaku	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	46	flat	_	SpaceAfter=No
48	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	50	punct	_	_
49	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	50	nsubj	_	_
50	lives	live	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	44	acl:relcl	_	_
51	over	over	ADV	RB	_	52	advmod	_	_
52	there	there	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	50	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
53	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	33	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
54	”	"	PUNCT	''	_	33	punct	_	_
55	pointing	point	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	33	advcl	_	_
56	to	to	ADP	IN	_	57	case	_	_
57	where	where	ADV	WRB	PronType=Rel	60	advmod	_	_
58	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	59	det	_	_
59	sun	sun	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	60	nsubj	_	_
60	rose	rise	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	55	advcl	_	_
61	at	at	ADP	IN	_	63	case	_	_
62	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	63	det	_	_
63	back	back	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	60	obl	_	_
64	of	of	ADP	IN	_	66	case	_	_
65	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	66	det	_	_
66	house	house	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	63	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
67	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

## Pragmatics {#pragmatics}

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **ask** *speech: ask* | past | the python |  | Chief |  |  | soon *property* | vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V NP whether S\_INF»: agent=Agent chief=Recipient clause=Topic |
| 2 | **allow** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | the python *not said here* |  | Chief |  |  |  | vn allow-64.1-1 «NP V NP S»: agent=Causer he=Beneficiary clause=Eventuality |
| 3 | **marry** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | the python *not said here* | Chief's daughter |  |  |  |  | vn amalgamate-22.2-3-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent daughter=Patient |
| 4 | **ask** *speech: ask* | past | the chief |  | python |  |  | who *obj* | tree rules |
| 5 | **is** | past | Chief |  |  |  |  | come *property* | tree rules |
| 6 | **reply** *speech: assert* | past | the python |  |  |  |  |  | vn respond-113 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 7 | **is a** *in a quote* | present | the python *= python* | the son |  |  |  | of Chief | tree rules |
| 8 | **live** *in a quote* | present | the son |  |  | there |  |  | vn exist-47.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 9 | **point** | gerund | Chief *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn wink-40.3.1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 10 | **rise** | past | the sun |  |  | the back of the house |  |  | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Agent at back=Location |
| 11 | **arrive** |  | Chief |  |  |  |  |  | nom arrival «act intransitive»: poss=agent |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

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**Text:** «Ikom folk stories from Southern Nigeria» by Elphinstone Dayrell, Project Gutenberg book 70959 (public domain in the USA). **Tree:** Mova's own parse, Elamur Cosmic License. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), the chapter read in order.

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