moral folktales

Milika at the shrine, children emerging from monkey fruit, traditional Zambian folktale illustration.

Milika’s Children: A Zambian Folktale

African Folktales·Southern African Folktales·Zambian Folktales

Chanda married Milika because she was not only beautiful but also wise and modest. For five years, they lived in harmony and happiness, but sorrow slowly crept into their lives when no children came. Chanda’s relatives began urging him to marry another woman, for they believed a man’s legacy must be secured through sons and daughters. Whenever these talks arose,

Young man striking skull with staff as villagers watch, Angolan Kimbundu folktale scene in parchment-style illustration.

African Folktales·Angolan Folktales·Southern African Folktales

The Young Man and the Skull: An Angolan Folktale That Teaches Lessons on Wisdom and Recklessness

Long ago, in the land of the Kimbundu people of Angola, a young man set out on a journey. The sun hung high above the savanna, beating down upon the dusty path that stretched before him. He walked alone, carrying only a staff, his heart filled with restless energy and

Parchment-style illustration of a pretty girl tricked into a pit by seven jealous women in an African folktale.

Of the Pretty Girl and the Seven Jealous Women

In a quiet village, long ago, there lived a young girl whose

Milika’s Children: A Zambian Folktale

The Young Man and the Skull: An Angolan Folktale That Teaches Lessons on Wisdom and Recklessness

Of the Pretty Girl and the Seven Jealous Women

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