West African storytelling

Tortoise with a cracked shell beside Lizard near a hidden yam cave, from a Ghanaian folktale.

The Tortoise and the Lizard

African Folktales·Ghanaian Folktales·West African Folktales

Once upon a time, in the animal kingdom, there came a season of famine. The rivers ran low, the trees bore little fruit, and the ground seemed too hard to yield crops. Every creature struggled to find something to eat, and hunger was written on the faces of the weakest. It was during this time that Lizard, small and observant,

Sagbata on dry earth as villagers beg for rain under an empty sky - Dahomean folktale

African Folktales·Beninese Folktales·Dahomean (Fon) Folktales·West African Folktales

Sagbata and the Battle for Rain: A Dahomean Fon Folktale

The world was young, and the children of the great mother Mawu awaited their destiny. She was the creator, the one who balanced the heavens with the earth, the waters with the winds, and the fire with the rain. Among her children were Sagbata, the eldest son, and Hevioso, the

Iguana with a forked tongue facing judgment from Lion and other animals under a baobab tree - Benga folktale

The Iguana’s Forked Tongue

Long ago, when the animals of the forest spoke as men and

The Tortoise and the Lizard

Sagbata and the Battle for Rain: A Dahomean Fon Folktale

The Iguana’s Forked Tongue

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