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what are african folktales

by Marcella Kuhn Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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African-American folktales are a storytelling tradition based in Africa containing a rich oral tradition that expanded as Africans were brought to the Americas as slaves.

An African Folktale is an adaptation of a traditional tale told by the Efik people of southeastern Nigeria about why the sun and the moon live in the sky. Briefly, it goes like this: "Long ago, the Sun and the Water lived together in friendship on earth.

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What are 5 types of folktales?

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What was the purpose of African American folktales?

  • Zora Neale Hurston, “My People, My People!,” in Zora Neale Hurston: Folklore, Memoirs, and Other Writings, edited by Cheryl A. ...
  • Ralph Ellison, “Change the Joke and Slip the Yoke,” Partisan Review 25, no. ...
  • The Journal of American Folk-Lore, 1, no. ...
  • William W. ...
  • Newbell Niles Puckett, “Race Pride and Folklore,” in Opportunity: A Journal of Negro Life 4, no. ...

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What are some examples of folktales?

  • Talking Mule Even mules deserve a day off now and then. ...
  • Tall Ted's Turtles Tall Ted came to town with a tank full of turtles!
  • Teething Toy What would you give your baby to teeth on if you lived in Deadwood, South Dakota?
  • Telltale Seaweed An overnight stay in an abandoned Cape Cod house reveals a ghost. ...

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What are the different folktales?

What are some famous folktales?

  • The Pied Piper.
  • The Bremen Town Musicians.
  • Jack and the Beanstalk.
  • The Seven Ravens.
  • The Goose Girl.
  • Brother and Sister A brother drinks from a stream and turns into a deer just when the King and his hunting party ride through the woods.
  • The Frog King.
  • Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

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Whats is an African folktale?

A folktale is a story that's part of a particular people's oral tradition that's passed down from generation to generation. An African folktale is an anonymous, timeless story circulated orally among African people and meant to hand down knowledge and wisdom from parent to child, typically through tales by moonlight.

What are examples of African folktales?

Top African folktalesThe man who never lied.Lion and Jackal.The Tortoise with a Pretty Daughter.The Woman with Two Skins.The King's Magic Drum.Why the Bat flies by Night.The Hare and the Lion.Why the sun and the moon live in the sky.More items...

What are the characteristics of most African folktales?

In the African folktales, the stories reflect the culture where diverse types of animals abound. The animals and birds are often accorded human attributes, so it is not uncommon to find animals talking, singing, or demonstrating other human characteristics such as greed, jealousy, honesty, etc.

Why are folktales important to African culture?

In many African societies, an important aspect of traditional education is concerned with teaching oral literature using folktales, riddles and proverbs which aim at moulding character and providing children with moral values like honesty, integrity, courage and solidarity.

What are the 5 folktales?

5 Folktales From Around The World That Would Make Incredible...'The Eagle and The Whale' Giphy. ... 'Queen Mathilda' Giphy. ... 'The Moon Maiden' (Japan) Giphy. ... 'Baital Pachisi' (Sanskrit) Giphy. ... 'The Woman with Two Skins' (Southern Nigeria) Giphy.

What is one of the key purposes of African folktales?

What is one of the key purposes of African folktales? to teach moral lessons about how to live or behave.

What is the purpose of folktales?

Folktales have a purpose. The purpose of folktales is to help us understand mankind and to guide us during uncertainty. In other words, folktales help us make sense of our surroundings.

What are three common characters in African folktales?

In the African folk tales, the stories reflect the culture where animals abound; consequently, the monkey, elephant, giraffe, lion, zebra, crocodile, and rhinoceros appear frequently along with a wide variety of birds such as the ostrich, the secretary bird, and the eagle.

What are the 4 main features of a folktale?

Terms in this set (4)All folktales originally began as stories told by word of mouth.All folktales have a moral or teach a lesson.Many old folktales explain how something came to be. ... Characters in folktales are usually animals or people.Usually a character in a folktale must face an impossible test.More items...

When did African folktales begin?

African American folktale, storytelling tradition that evolved among enslaved African Americans in the 18th and 19th centuries. When slaves arrived in the New World from Africa in the 1700s and 1800s, they brought with them a vast oral tradition.

How does folklore reflect African society?

The point is that folktales, as a form of oral literature, draw their material from the realities of society and hence reflect people's values and worldview. As a result, folktales are often used as a vehicle for transmitting and preserving shared values and collective experience.

What is folktale and example?

Folktale definition The definition of a folktale is a story passed on by word of mouth, or a legend or myth shared among people of a culture. The story of the Boy Who Cried Wolf is an example of a folktale.

How many stories are there in the African folktales?

The collection of folktales from Africa consists of four books with 88 stories: 28 South African folktales, 40 Nigerian folktales and 10 Tanzanian folktales.

What is African folklore?

Welcome to the African folktales page! Africa is the second largest continent in the world. The earliest humans we know of are discovered in Africa. The people from Africa included unique characteristics in their folklore, showing their way of life and the animals and plants that surround them. African stories sometimes include trickster animals ...

Why Anansi Has Eight Thin Legs

Once upon a time, a long time ago, there lived a spider named Anansi. Anansi’s wife was a very good cook. But always, Anansi loved to taste the food that others in the village made for themselves and for their families.

One Good Meal Deserves Another

Anansi the Spider hated to share! When Turtle came to his house at mealtime, he said, “I can’t give you food until you’ve washed your dusty feet!”

Why Turtles Live In Water

Turtles used to live on the land, they say, until the time a clever turtle was caught by some hunters. They brought him to their village and placed the turtle before the Chief, who said, “How shall we cook him?”

The Gift of a Cow Tail Switch

A great warrior did not return from the hunt. His family gave him up for dead, all except his youngest child who each day would ask, “Where is my father? Where is my father?”

Anansi Goes Fishing

Foolish Anansi thought he could trick a fisherman into doing his work for him. “Let’s go fishing,” he suggested.

Origin of Death

The Moon, on one occasion, sent the Hare to the earth to inform Men that as she (the Moon) died away and rose again, so mankind should die and rise again. Instead, however, of delivering this message as given, the Hare, either out of forgetfulness or malice, told mankind that as the Moon rose and died away, so Man should die and rise no more.

Spider and the Honey Tree

There was once a young girl from a village far way who had a special talent for finding the very best foods in the bush. Her oranges were just a little sweeter, her plums just a little larger, and her bananas had just a little more flavor. Everyone wondered where she located such delicious fruits.

What is the African folktale?

Instead of a particular location, African folktales take place in a general location that exposes readers to the climate and various land forms in Africa, often making reference to the seasons, dry and rainy, and their effect on vegetation.

Why are African folktales important?

African folktales are believed to have the power to hold the community together: the ancestors, the living, and those not yet born. They serve to communicate morals and traditions to the young in preparation of life's obstacles.

What is the evolution of African folktales?

Folktales: Evolution. In order to give a fuller version of a story, many African folktales have been extended, while others have become completely modified renditions. Other forms of literature, such as fairy tales and myths, have been influenced by these stories.

What is a folktale?

A folktale is a story that's part of a particular people's oral tradition that's passed down from generation to generation. An African folktale is an anonymous, timeless story circulated orally among African people and meant to hand down knowledge and wisdom from parent to child, typically through tales by moonlight.

What is the main antagonist in African folktales?

They're exploited by the antagonist, or main adversary, a trickster, who more often than not, leads the protagonist to his or her demise. Along with a clear moral, or lesson, African folktales commonly use personification, or when an author gives animals, elements in nature, and inanimate objects human characteristics.

What is a happy story?

An era where virtue counts for good and evil is easily dispensed with, by the wave of a hand. Happy stories, each chapter ending with a healthy dose of wise morals.

Do folktales have morals?

The personalities of the animal characters in the stories follow the traits of the real animals. Although the stories are folktales, they are true to the individual animal. All tales should have a morality statement, and these stories do not disappoint. I found, many of the descriptions in the stories, amusing.

How to describe folktales?

identify the type of folktales represented by the stories. recognize and describe character traits that are valued in the culture. explain how folktales teach. determine when to follow the directions of others and when to disregard them. describe why it is never too late to show gratitude for a kindness.

What is the main purpose of folktales?

Put the following sentence on the board or overhead: “The main purpose of folktales is entertainment.” Ask the learners to agree or disagree and support their points of view with examples.

Trickery and trouble

Tricksters in folk stories are commonly amoral characters, both human and non-human animals, who ‘succeed’ based on deception and taking advantage of the weaknesses of others. They tend to use their wits to resolve conflict and/or achieve their goals. Two examples of African-American tricksters are Brer Rabbit and Anansi.

Comic heartwarming tales

Comic and heartwarming African-American folktales “stimulate the imagination with wonders, and are told to remind us of the perils and the possibilities”. The stories are about heroes, heroines, villains and fools. One story, The Red Feather, is a response to the intertwining of cultures, ending with heroes bringing forth gifts.

Teaching life lessons

African folklore is a means to hand down traditions and duties through generations. Stories are often passed down orally at gatherings of groups of children. This type of gathering was known as Tales by Midnight and contained cultural lessons that prepared children for their future.

Ghosts and spirits

African-American tales of ghosts and spirits were commonly told of a spook or “haint” or “haunt,” referring to repeated visits by ghosts or spirits that keep one awake at night. The story Possessed of Two Spirits is a personal experience in conjuring magic powers in both the living and the spiritual world common in African-American folklore.

Slavery

African-American tales of slavery often use rhetoric that can seem uncommon to the modern era as the language passed down through generations deviates from the standard for racial narrative. The Conjure Woman, a book of tales dealing with racial identity, was written by the African-American author, Charles W.

What is African folktale?

African folktales are common to most of the tribes and peoples of Africa. Different cultures, whilst sharing a common point of reference, will color each story with their own rich, unique heritage. These tales were always told, by word of mouth, on down the ages by the wise, the sage, the mother, the father or the grandparents.

Why are folktales passed down from generation to generation?

The stories were passed down from generation to generation as lessons for the children, to learn how to interact with each different animal. These ancestors’ folktales, taught the children to survive and prosper in this abundant land called Africa….

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1.African Folktales — Anike Foundation

Url:https://anikefoundation.org/african-folktales

35 hours ago African Folktales. King’s Crown. Long, long ago, Olorun (OH-low-run), the sky god, lowered a great chain from the heavens to the ancient waters. Down this chain climbed ... The Lion’s Whisker. Why Anansi Has Eight Thin Legs. One Good Meal Deserves Another. Why Turtles Live In Water.

2.Welcome to the African folktales page! - World of Tales

Url:https://www.worldoftales.com/African_folktales.html

34 hours ago African Folk Tales. There is an interesting narration to tell how African Folk Tales were born. The African people say : The mouse goes everywhere into rich people's houses and into the poorest people's houses, too. In the old days the mouse made …

3.African Folktales - The Spiritual Life

Url:https://slife.org/african-folktales/

28 hours ago The stories for this lesson are African folktales. “The Collared Crow,” “Selekana and the River God” and “The Ostrich Egg Wife” are from South Africa. “The Cruel Creditor and the Judge’s Wise Daughter” is from Morocco and has Jewish roots. “Gratitude: The Hunter and the Antelope” is from the Nupe people of Nigeria.

4.African Folktales: Importance, Commonalities & Changes

Url:https://study.com/academy/lesson/african-folktales-importance-commonalities-changes.html

23 hours ago African-American folktales are the storytelling and oral history of enslaved African Americans during the 1700-1900s. Many are unique to the African-American culture, while others are influenced by African, European, and Native American tales. See also: African Folktales. Overview

5.African Folk Tales : Moral Stories - English

Url:http://www.english-for-students.com/African-Folk-Tales.html

31 hours ago African folktales are common to most of the tribes and peoples of Africa. Different cultures, whilst sharing a common point of reference, will color each story with their own rich, unique heritage. These tales were always told, by word of mouth, on down the ages by the wise, the sage, the mother, the father or the grandparents.

6.25 Famous African Folktales | Wildmoz | Magazine

Url:https://wildmoz.com/25-famous-african-folktales/

29 hours ago What are examples of African folktales? The man who never lied. Lion and Jackal. The Tortoise with a Pretty Daughter. The Woman with Two Skins. The King's Magic Drum. Why the Bat flies by Night. The Hare and the Lion. Why the sun and the moon live in the sky.

7.African Folktales - Learning to Give

Url:https://www.learningtogive.org/units/generosity-spirit-folktales/african-folktales

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8.African-American Folktales - The Spiritual Life

Url:https://slife.org/african-american-folktales/

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9.Traditional African Folktales | Wildmoz | Magazine

Url:https://wildmoz.com/wild-folktales/

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10.Videos of What Are African Folktales

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