tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-274975202024-03-13T22:12:55.998-04:00West African FolktalesCommentary on African folktales and a companion blog to www.allfolktales.com.folktalerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02217826102982560968noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27497520.post-40199809333647431172012-02-21T22:13:00.000-05:002012-02-21T22:13:01.940-05:00Proverb source: When a knowledgeable old person diesI wrote a post last year titled, When an elder dies, a whole library is lost. A reader wrote to ask me for the source, in the original words. I sent him to the TEDtalk video in the same post. But he insisted it was African and sent me an academic paper with the following quote:
"When a knowledgeable old person dies, a whole library disappears" -An old African proverb
Some more googling found&folktalerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02217826102982560968noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27497520.post-13507915793219242642012-02-19T15:27:00.002-05:002012-02-19T21:50:32.259-05:00Archeological finds in Ile-IfeIf I had been born elsewhere, I might have considered becoming an archeologist. But I was born in Nigeria and concluded at an early age that Nigeria had nothing to offer archeologically. The ancient inhabitants of the land had left nothing that could be discovered, not even their bones could survive the humid rain forest climate. Whatever artifacts that were of any cultural or folktalerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02217826102982560968noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27497520.post-88439207404361875862011-03-06T21:44:00.002-05:002011-03-06T22:05:05.997-05:00When an elder dies, a library is burnedThe words of Elizabeth Lindsey on TEDTalks, "When an elder dies, a library is burned", is so much truer for cultures that relied on oral histories. I think of all the burned libraries in African history and wonder if it matters. Why is it even important to preserve the past. What does it have to do with the future? And I do not have an answer. But I have a very strong gut feeling that it is folktalerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02217826102982560968noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27497520.post-5894913647443687682009-12-08T21:28:00.005-05:002009-12-08T22:09:40.632-05:00Book Review: Greedy Spider The author of Greedy Spider, Bakeh N. Wleh Nagbe, mailed me a copy of his children's picture book. I am delighted at the opportunity to introduce readers to Greedy Spider, a folktale from Liberia, West Africa. The review is posted at allfolktales.folktalerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02217826102982560968noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27497520.post-50775473061488551632009-11-21T09:09:00.002-05:002009-11-21T09:35:25.328-05:00Open thread for folktale submissionEvery now and then, I've had people write to ask how they can contribute stories. It would be wonderful to have as many people contribute new stories or their versions of popular tales. I am thinking (as time and other engagements allow) of how to make this easy and seamless. But in the meantime, I'm offering these options:Send me an email to omowunmi [at] allfolktales.com and I will post yourfolktalerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02217826102982560968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27497520.post-59589891688013381792009-03-18T22:25:00.004-04:002009-03-18T23:18:16.559-04:00Ancient writing in West AfricaToday, I came across the subject of the Olmecs. The Olmecs were a people who lived in South Central Mexico from the 1400BC to 400BC. Apparently, there are some who believe that a large population of the Olmecs were of African origin, specifically, of West African origin. I did google searches and visited several pages but did not read anything that led credence to that claim. What piqued my folktalerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02217826102982560968noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27497520.post-44393128467897870022009-03-05T21:54:00.002-05:002009-03-05T22:13:45.839-05:00A precious cow from Tales by MoonlightI set a goal to publish at least one book review per month and yet, February ended without any review. I intend to make it up. The good news is that the book is already picked, "Tales by Moonlight" by Nigerian Television Authority, so my review will follow shortly.In the meantime, here is one of the stories from the book about a man, his three sons and a precious cow. I was very amused by the folktalerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02217826102982560968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27497520.post-10923754152324951272009-02-24T20:42:00.003-05:002009-02-24T20:48:30.515-05:00Destructive truth tests and true liesLong before lie detector tests were invented in the Western world, Africa had a similar but deadlier test. Let's call it a destructive truth test (DTT). Destructive, because if the test subject tested negative for truth, the test subject would be destroyed. No recourse, no appeal. The result of lying during a DTT was instant death.For an example of how this ancient science, DTT worked, read the folktalerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02217826102982560968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27497520.post-21387078168667968372009-02-02T21:09:00.005-05:002009-02-02T21:21:16.797-05:00One review per month. At least.A Reviews section has been added to the site. I've started off with two reviews:Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears: A West African Tale by Verna Aadema, illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon Sikulu and Harambe by the Zambezi River: An African version of the Good Samaritan Story, by Kunle Ogunneye and illustrated by Bruce McCorkindaleSince I'm so busy - my perennial excuse for not updating this folktalerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02217826102982560968noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27497520.post-57882109918164025052009-02-02T21:03:00.002-05:002009-02-02T21:09:46.092-05:00Girl in drum, gourd seeds, do these ring a bell?Do you recall a folktale about a greedy boy, his sister and gourd seeds? Or one about a monster who traps a girl in a drum? A reader, Mary, is looking for some folktale volumes she had read as a kid. Here's her note and my response.Mary said: I learned to read from a series of collected fables African fables,Aesop's fables, etc. They were old rebound volumes in 1978. they were shortchildren's folktalerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02217826102982560968noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27497520.post-70190299276801041512008-12-11T22:11:00.004-05:002009-09-17T20:21:00.024-04:00Take a 5 minute surveyA short 5 minute survey is up at surveymonkey to help provide some insight into reader's needs.I've wondered, ever since the first visitors trickled into allfolktales.com, "who visits my site?". Are they kids reading folktales for fun? Or are they reading for an assignment? Are they teachers? Are they parents? What are they really looking for when they stumble on this site?I've received hints folktalerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02217826102982560968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27497520.post-50486309205938022982008-12-09T00:11:00.004-05:002008-12-09T00:47:08.393-05:00Putting my vision out hereFor months now, I've been thinking about where I want to take this site, what I want to do next. I'm having a hard time recalling more stories, so is that it? Does that signify the end of this project? "No no no." It can't end like this. Something in me rebels against that thought. But what to do? I don't know. Or, I didn't know.In the past few weeks, my thoughts are beginning to crystallize intofolktalerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02217826102982560968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27497520.post-38671202245097825872008-08-28T20:45:00.004-04:002008-08-28T21:11:46.947-04:00Lyrics to the story of the three brothers and pot of porridgeI am very excited to receive an email from a reader, Enitan. She (I'm assuming she) sent me an email with lyrics to the story of the three brothers and the pot of porridge and she says the name of the youngest brother, yeah, the culprit, is Tegbe. The song goes like this:`To ba se pe emi ni mo je koko arugbo (If I ate the koko yam)Ko'kun o gbe mi, (Let the ocean take me)K'Osa ko gba mi, (Let the folktalerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02217826102982560968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27497520.post-6577570859740872772008-07-15T18:28:00.003-04:002008-07-15T19:37:53.231-04:00Collective amnesia on folktalesThere's an African folktale that tells the tale of how all the stories in the world were lost, and then recovered. I can't recall this tale in detail but think one of the Magic Cellar episodes was based on it. Or maybe I read the story somewhere.Perhaps the story illustrates an actual event - one where the entire (village?) populace forgot their stories or history and needed a concerted effort tofolktalerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02217826102982560968noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27497520.post-41616885995238112672008-06-12T18:32:00.004-04:002008-06-12T19:00:23.430-04:00Stories from AlawiyePhetolo wrote to ask "May u pls send me the origin of the story about how the chimpanzees bottom got swollen and red."Well, this was one of the stories that I remembered just a small fragment of, but I clearly remember where I knew the story from. It was one of the stories that I learned from Alawiye (by J.F. Odunjo), the textbook that we used for Yoruba when I was in primary school. I can't folktalerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02217826102982560968noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27497520.post-22029048950487547012008-04-29T22:44:00.004-04:002008-04-29T23:18:36.687-04:00Alu Jon Jonki JonOne of the earliest stories I posted is the story about how Dog hid his mother in the sky during a famine. There's a song that goes with that story and I can't remember why I left it out. I've now updated the story to include the song.Fela Anikulapo Kuti (late Nigerian Afrobeat musician) used it in one of his songs and you can listen to that clip on BBC. The story is narrated on that page, but itfolktalerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02217826102982560968noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27497520.post-71262346309682423822008-04-22T21:07:00.003-04:002008-04-22T21:23:26.268-04:00Not quite slow and steadyThe Aesop story of the Tortoise and the Hare is a very popular one and it teaches us that "Slow and steady wins the race". However, when I was growing up, there was another version that was also popular where Tortoise won by tricking Hare.I tried to come up with a short phrase/adage/wise words that perhaps explains the moral of this 'win by trickery' version (which I also think predates the folktalerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02217826102982560968noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27497520.post-91463235717691192422008-04-13T15:55:00.003-04:002008-04-13T16:11:22.765-04:00Mosquito and EarI was told the story of why mosquitos buzz in people's ears over a year ago but I didn't want to post it until I read the book that goes by the same title (by Verna Aardema). After all, I didn't want to be accused of plagiarism in case the stories were the same. Well, how could they be the same? I ordered the book and read it and it's a very interesting story but completely different from my minefolktalerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02217826102982560968noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27497520.post-24586205182335140862008-03-30T21:43:00.006-04:002008-03-30T22:13:48.131-04:00Sikulu and HarambeSikulu the spider and Harambe the hippo are two characters developed by Kunle Oguneye. The first book in the series, Sikulu and Harambe by the Zambezi river: An African version of the Good Samaritan Story should be published in July 2008.Now, I haven't read the story, but I'm already won over by the cover illustration. I hope it is representative of illustrations throughout the book. One of the folktalerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02217826102982560968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27497520.post-46349271838050331262008-03-30T20:31:00.006-04:002008-03-30T21:41:56.326-04:00A short note to say I will be back...It took about 5 months for me to quit feeling guilty about not even trying to post a new story or say something on the blog. Initially, I blamed the site inactivity on various things - laptop crashed and I replaced it with a desktop instead of another laptop, then I moved to a new city, have a new 'busier' job and now a new baby. When SOLOMONSYDELLE said "Haba, update nah!", I was long gone. And folktalerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02217826102982560968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27497520.post-72541130488706098572007-06-21T19:51:00.000-04:002007-06-21T20:25:54.656-04:00The tortoise shares his igbakoI posted a new story last night - The tortoise and the igbako. In line with other tortoise stories, the tortoise gets greedy and is subsequently punished. But I feel the punishment is unfair in this case since the tortoise was trying to feed every animal during a famine - an admirable act even if his goal was self-aggrandisement. The water goddess who supplied the magic igbako didn't give a folktalerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02217826102982560968noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27497520.post-36558426465386779072007-06-20T17:07:00.000-04:002007-06-20T17:23:51.500-04:00Working up the willI've been away from allfolktales.com for 2 months now. And even before that there was a dwindling down of activity. Well, moving did take more energy than I expected but I'm way past that. Already settled into the new job and new environment for some time now...but yet I found it difficult to work up the energy will to post a new story or comment. It wasn't for lack of energy or lack of time, folktalerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02217826102982560968noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27497520.post-12848160112561082442007-04-19T19:03:00.000-04:002007-04-19T19:08:02.969-04:00Away...movingI've been away from this website for a long while now but for a good reason. I have been very busy rounding up at work, packing, getting ready to move to a new city and a new job. Exciting. But stressful.So before I pack my computer in a box, I thought I should explain why I have been silent...especially since a few people have posted comments on the blog. I'll be responding to those (and folktalerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02217826102982560968noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27497520.post-54878827159657082992007-03-19T06:23:00.000-04:002007-03-19T12:09:36.510-04:00New stories: Olomuroro and stolen aromaI am trying to catch up on writing folktales I have been told and have just posted two new ones. The first is about Olomuroro and the second about a woman who stole the aroma from her neighbor's soup.Olomuroro is a Yoruba word that literally translates into 'one with droopy breasts' but I have no idea what that has to do with the story. Olomuroro is a monster who stole a boys meals while the boy folktalerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02217826102982560968noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27497520.post-92111751443143711562007-03-05T19:26:00.000-05:002007-03-05T19:56:52.454-05:00Orunmila vs. Orisa Nla in the creation of the worldThe creation myth of the Yoruba people is one of the earliest stories I posted to this website as it was one of those I 'remembered'. I always loved the story - the climbing down from heaven on a rope, the chicken (or lizard or chameleon - I have probably heard versions with these) spreading the earth which was contained in a calabash and especially one of the creators (Orunmila) getting drunk onfolktalerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02217826102982560968noreply@blogger.com3