West African Folktales Continued...
The Moon and the Stars
Interesting story about how the stars and moon receive their light from the sun! I wonder what would have happened if Kweku Tsin, his father, and friends didn't become the sun, moon, and stars? Would there be a more powerful position that he would rather be in? The sun sounds pretty powerful to me!
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| African Tortoise |
The quote, "He has been a creeping creature, with a great shell on his back," sounds very eerie. "Creeping creature" however, describes poor Klo, with the pot and the dust caked on and molded to his back. Even though he was restored to life by medicine, there is of course a twist that he has to live with forever.
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| Leopard |
The Leopard and the Ram
Another reoccurring theme of why certain things are the way they are! I wonder what would have happened if the leopard didn't run away from the house? What if he stayed and accidentally killed the ram?
King Chameleon and the Animals
Karma got the chameleon in the end! Its true, a king is not king without subjects! I wonder what would have happened if the hare did have time to harm the chameleon? Would the hare have been named king? I wonder if this story was retold instead with humans, how would the part of the chameleon play out. Obviously a human cannot slyly climb on another human's back without being noticed during a running race! It would be interesting to place this story in a marathon setting.
Source : West African Folktales by William H. Barker and Cecilia Sinclair, with drawings by Cecilia Sinclair (1917).
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