African Myths

Containing delightful stories from the Yoruba and other West African peoples, this book presents tales of courage and cunning, virtue and vice, and fortunes found and lost. Some of these stories draw upon actual historical persons and events, while others are purely fictional, but each story has something to delight any listener.

"Black people are not dark-skinned white people", says advertising visionary Tom Burrell. In fact, they are much more. They are survivors of the Middle Passage and centuries of humiliation and deprivation, who have excelled against the odds, constantly making a way out of "No way!" At this pivotal point in history, the idea of Black inferiority should have had a "Going-Out-of-Business Sale." After all, Barack Obama reached America's Promised Land. Yet, as Brainwashed testifies, too many in Black America are still wandering in the wilderness.

Onyeka and her superhero friends are on the run. Having exposed head teacher Dr. Dòyìnbó’s hidden agenda behind the Academy of the Sun, they’re living as fugitives, laying low as they try to figure out their next move. Despite their best efforts, Onyeka’s parents are still missing, and students at the Academy are still in danger. But when their safe house is discovered, Onyeka must turn to the only allies they have left: a group of rebels called the rogues. Joining forces, will the groups defeat their shared nemesis, or is there a new danger on the horizon?

A careless son named Mohamed loses his inheritance and then makes a hasty business deal with his father's former rival. Knowing he is doomed, Mohamed attempts to end his life. A princess intervenes and solves Mohamed's dilemma.

Anansi the spider used to be handsome, but his never-ending appetite eventually cost him his hair.

The bad-tempered sultan of Kenya is angry because a peasant boy's garden will grow, while his own will not. The boy Imani teaches him that feeding the plants meat of the tongue—singing, laughter, and love—will help them to grow.

Jarell has accepted his destiny as the savior of Ulfrika. But a powerful god will stop at nothing to banish Jarell from the kingdom forever.

Rex M. Ellis weaves the strands of African folklore, early American history, and contemporary interpretations into the rich quilt that is the African-American experience. His stories spin a thread from the Windward Coast of West Africa to the shores of Jamestown and beyond. He uses storytelling as both a historical teaching tool and a method for dealing with controversial subjects.

War is coming. Despite everything Maya and her father have done, the veil that protects the human world is failing. The Lord of Shadows has raised an army powerful enough to challenge the orishas. And it’s only a matter of time before he breaks through the veil and destroys Maya’s neighborhood and the rest of the world.

The short giraffe and his great friend, the rhino, are in search of much-needed food. When they realize that the tall acacia trees have plenty of juicy green foliage, they decide to ask the magic medicine man for some help to reach the leaves. Off they go, imagining all the way how the magic might accomplish their wish. However, when the magic meal is made for the pair, only one of the animals is in time to eat it. What happens next changes their lives forever.

Les contes africains, tels que les contes bamilékés racontés en nufi et traduits en français, représentent un moyen d'éducation traditionnellement privilégié pour instruire les enfants. Dans ces récits, les animaux sont souvent dotés de traits humains pour éviter d'utiliser des êtres humains comme protagonistes. Ils étaient autrefois transmis de génération en génération par les aèdes et les griots, souvent autour d'un feu de bois en attendant la cuisson du repas. Ces contes étaient considérés comme plus captivants que les émissions de télévision modernes.

What happens when a tortoise challenges a hare to a race? Listen to this popular West African tale to find out. There's more than one way to teach a boastful hare a lesson!

How nature came to be is the basis of African folklore. From a greedy baboon, a vain crocodile, and a clever jackal, African animals are often the characters used to convey the message of human characteristics, their pitfalls, and their triumphs. And unlike stories in other parts of the world, the ending is not always happy. In fact, some African fables are downright gruesome! It was from this point that I wanted to adapt some of Africa’s best-loved stories into tales that could delight a very young audience.

African ideas of how the world began are very different from the story of Genesis. Though the creator god is repeatedly seen as having withdrawn from the world, people often have a very direct and intense relationship with demigods, ancestors, and bush spirits. The entire landscape is permeated by spiritual meanings and inhabited by gods and spirits. While many Africans today formally follow the Christian or Muslim faiths, they often blend these beliefs with traditional lore and rites.

On the day of the Harvest Festival, the old woman who lives in the forest appears in Abeni's village with a terrible message: You ignored my warnings. It’s too late to run. They are coming. Warriors with burning blades storm the village. A man with a cursed flute plays an impossibly alluring song. And everyone Abeni has ever known and loved is captured and marched toward far-off ghost ships set for even more distant lands. But not Abeni. Abeni is magically whisked away by the old woman.

As you study the African myths, legends, and folklore through this guide, you will find that there are so many gods and goddesses, and so many different versions of certain stories, that it will blow your mind. The intricate myths in this book have been lined up and collected to help you understand some of the earliest, most ancient beliefs from those living on the African continent. Some have been influential in our day, and some have been completely forgotten except for vague traditions that have been passed on from one generation to the next.

في ذلك الزمان البعيد كان هناك سلحفٌ واحد اسمه (آمبي) وهو الجدّ الأكبر لكلّ السلاحف الموجودة الآن في عالمنا، كان يعيش مع زوجته (آنوم) حياةً سعيدة، لكن مع مرور السنين تغير الجو..بدأت الأمطار تقل وزحف الجفاف وراحت الشمس تطل دون أن تحجبها السحب وإذا بالطعام يقل بل ويصبح نادرًا في تلك البقعة من الأرض الإفريقية السمراء...وعمَّ الحزن..

African folktales come in many different types. Some are myths explaining the origins of things, while others are tales of heroes with supernatural abilities. Animal stories are many and varied, and they usually involve some kind of trickster who uses his wiles to get out of sticky situations and sometimes into them. There are also cautionary tales explaining why it is important to behave well and treat others with respect, while other stories have a style and shape similar to that of a fairy tale.

Cameron Battle grew up reading The Book of Chidani, cherishing stories about the fabled kingdom that cut itself off from the world to save the Igbo people from danger. Passed down over generations, the Book is Cameron’s only connection to his parents who disappeared one fateful night, two years ago. Ever since, his grandmother has kept the Book locked away, but it calls to Cameron.

“The People Could Fly,” the title story in Virginia Hamilton’s prize-winning American Black folktale collection, is a fantasy tale of the slaves who possessed the ancient magic words that enabled them to literally fly away to freedom. And it is a moving tale of those who did not have the opportunity to “fly” away, who remained slaves with only their imaginations to set them free as they told and retold this tale.