AFRICAN FOLKTALES

Since ancient times, storytelling in the African culture has been a way of passing on traditions, codes of behaviour, as well as maintaining social order. The African storyteller was a poet, singer, historian, musician, comedian, an entertainer, an archive and so much more. It was through him that knowledge, history, and experiences were able to be passed from one generation to the next.

What is storytelling? One might ask. How is it different from reading a story or reciting a piece from memory? Storytellers in Africa were performers who entertained, inspired, and educated their audiences. They knew how to captivate the audience with more than just words. The storytellers would use gestures, singing, facial expressions, and impersonations to arouse the audience. When a story was told, the audience would participate in accounts of past deeds, beliefs, taboos, and myths.

Animals, mainly in the form of tricksters, play a prominent role in African storytelling because African people live in close proximity to wild animals that share their land. The animal tricksters differ from culture to culture. The hare is the most prominent trickster among the people of East, Central, and Southern Africa. The tortoise is the trickster hero in many parts of Nigeria. The spider is the animal trickster in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and the Gold Coast. Each culture has its own unique way of describing and utilizing its trickster. Animal tricksters have exceptional qualities, mental agility, and extraordinary capabilities. They are portrayed as lazy, greedy, talented, clever, and mischievous. They deceive friends, acquaintances, and adversaries in pursuing their own selfish ends. The storyteller’s audience appreciates the wit that leads the animal trickster from one victory to another.

 In many of the tales Africans attributed human feelings and desires to particular animals and derived ethical ideas from their behaviour. A common African trickster tale is about Pride Coming before a Great Fall. The deer bragged about running faster than any animal at the meeting of all animals. According to the deer, he could run over twenty-six miles. Although the tortoise accepted the challenge, he arranged for thirteen of his family members to be stationed at every other mile. At the beginning of the race the deer teased the tortoise because he was behind him. As each of tortoises family members shouted ahead of the deer, he ran more rapidly. The deer died of exhaustion two miles before the end of the race. The folktale teaches that too much arrogance has severe consequences.

In the ancient times, storytelling was one of the most valued forms of entertainment. Often, people were told the stories by the light of the moon around a village fire after the completion of a long day of hard work at the fields. Without the modern day televisions, radios and social networks to make use of for leisure, storytelling provided the perfect release.