FolktalesAfrica.com

Browse Tag

African oral traditions

The Rope Between Heaven and Earth, Dinka creation myth – South Sudanese Folktales

The Rope Between Heaven and Earth

by Elizabeth Fabowale

African Folktales·East African Folktales·South Sudanese Folktales

In the earliest days of the world, when the earth was fresh and the sky hung close above, there was no great distance between humans and Nhialic, the supreme god of the Dinka people. A long rope stretched from the ground to the heavens, and it was said that men and women could climb it whenever they wished. The rope

The Moon strikes the Hare, splitting his lip, after he delivers the wrong message about death – African folktale

African Folktales·Nigerian Folktales

The Origin of Death

Long ago, in the earliest days of the world, life was very different from what we know now. In those times, men and women did not die. They grew old, their hair turned white, their backs bent with age, yet they lived on and on. Death was unknown, and the

a glowing djinn made of wind and light talking with a young storyteller beneath a full moon beside desert dunes

The Spirit of the Wind and the Storyteller

Long ago, on the sandy banks of the Senegal River, lay the

A man resting lazily under the hot sun transforming into a horse while the Sun watches above – Nigerian folktale

Horse Cursed by Sun: A Nigerian Folktale

Long ago, in the days when animals and men could still change

a Tunisian farmer sitting beneath a glowing date palm under a full moon in the Tozeur Oasis

The Date Palm That Spoke at Midnight

African Folktales·North African Folktales·Tunisian Folktales

In the heart of the Tozeur Oasis, where the sand glows gold by day and silver by night, lived a poor farmer named Hafid. His life was simple and

Dog eats mush by the hearth as Jackal howls in the wilderness, Angolan folktale scene.

How Dog Chose the Village Over the Wild: An Angolan Folktale That Teaches Lessons on Temptation and Contentment

African Folktales·Angolan Folktales·Southern African Folktales

Long ago, when the bushlands of Angola stretched endlessly with tall grasses and the distant cries of animals, Dog and Jackal lived as close kinsmen. They roamed together through the

Leopard hangs tied upside down while Monkey laughs and Hare prepares to cut vines, Angola folktale.

Leopard, Monkey, and Hare | A Kimbundu Folktale of Trickery, Greed, and Justice

African Folktales·Angolan Folktales·Southern African Folktales

Long ago, Leopard was feared in the forest. His spotted coat glistened in the sun, his muscles rippled with power, and every beast knew that when Leopard prowled, silence

Squirrel mourning from a tree as hunter discovers swollen Adder below in this Equatorial Guinean folktale.

The Quarrel of Squirrel and Adder: An Equatorial Guinean Folktale on Friendship, Pride, and Betrayal

African Folktales·Central African Folktales·Equatorial Guinean Folktales

Long ago, in the heart of Equatorial Guinea’s lush forests, two unlikely companions lived as neighbors and friends, Squirrel, known as Ihendi, and Adder, the serpent Pe. They often visited

Children by a river face a watchful crocodile as villagers observe in this Equatorial Guinean folktale.

Ngando the Crocodile and the Two Children: An Equatorial Guinean Folktale

African Folktales·Central African Folktales·Equatorial Guinean Folktales

Long ago, in the rivers of Equatorial Guinea, two children went down to bathe in the cool, flowing waters. The river wound through the forest like a silver snake,

Go toTop