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African storytelling tradition

Parchment-style illustration of Anansi beating the drum as beasts and serpents emerge, Ashanti folktale from Ghana.

How Beasts and Serpents First Came into the World

African Folktales·Ghanaian Folktales·West African Folktales

The land had been suffering for three long years. A terrible famine gripped every village, and hunger gnawed at the bellies of men, women, and children alike. Fields that once bloomed with yam and maize now lay barren, and the people grew weaker by the day. Kweku Tsin, a young man known for his persistence, wandered into the forest each

A council of different ants arguing while a beetle carrying a scroll wanders away – African folktale

African Folktales·South African Folktales·West African Folktales

THE LOST MESSAGE

Long ago, in the days when the insect world was filled with both harmony and rivalry, the ants were among the most troubled creatures. Small in size, yet countless in number, they had lived from the beginning of time under constant threat. To some, they were food. To others, they