A white man, it is said, met Snake upon whom a large stone had fallen and covered her so that she could not rise. The White Man lifted the stone off Snake, but when he had done so, she wanted to bite him. The White Man said, “Stop! let us both go first to some…
Category: Africa
Top 5 Fairy Tales about Food (with recipes)
Food and the lack thereof is a common theme that runs through a lot of fairy tales all around the world. The Grimm Brothers are widely known for using food as one of their main motives. So well known actually that even the Telegraph treated it in their article Grimms fairytale food. In one of…
The Death Card by Helene Munson (2019)
The death card appeared again and again. The Tarot spreads were inauspicious. But I was determined to go on my epic African adventure, overland from Nairobi to Cape Town. Months of planning and saving had gone into it. I had found a Maasai village homestay, paid a deposit for a room at a family home…
Top 5 Stories about “The Hare”
In folk and fairy tales around the world the hare is portrayed as a cunning and clever character. Sometimes, as far as I know, especially in African stories, his wittiness is mixed with a vicious deceitfulness (like in “The hare and the quail” or “Sympathy killed Mr. Kapangula” on malamusi.com. Without further ado, here are…
The Fish and the Leopard’s Wife; or, Why the Fish lives in the Water (FOLK STORIES FROM SOUTHERN NIGERIA WEST AFRICA, 1910) BY ELPHINSTONE DAYRELL
Many years ago, when King Eyo was ruler of Calabar, the fish used to live on the land; he was a great friend of the leopard, and frequently used to go to his house in the bush, where the leopard entertained him. Now the leopard had a very fine wife, with whom the fish fell…
THE STORY OF HARE (South-African Folk-Tales, 1910) by James A. Honey
Once upon a time the animals made a kraal and put some fat in it. They agreed that one of their number should remain to be the keeper of the gate. The first one that was appointed was the coney (imbila). He agreed to take charge, and all the others went away. In a short…