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African Tales |
Anansi Tales |
Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters |
Lazy, Lazy Hare |
When It Rains |
Why Mosquitoes Buzz... |
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Anansi Tales: Anansi; Anansi & the Moss-Covered Rock; others Background Anansi is the trickster of many Ashanti tales. In McDermott's retelling, six brothers save their father's, Anansi's, life. In doing so, Anansi puts the moon in the sky. This story fits into motif A240 and H621.4.1. In a Liberian variant, four skillful brothers bring their father back to life. One arranges his bones, one gives him flesh, one gives him blood, and one gives him speech. The father then tries to decide which one deserves a reward (McDonald, Sourcebook). In Eric Kimmel's retelling of Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock, Anansi is walking in the forest when he finds a strange, magical rock. He soon realizes that anyone who says "What an ugly moss-covered rock!" is knocked unconscious. Ever the trickster, Anansi tries to use this to his benefit and get food from other animals in the process. In the end, Anansi is the one who is tricked. This story (motif C498.2.1) is a North African tale which has several variants. In a West Indies variant (C498.2), Anansi finds "wheeler" in a tree and when he puts his hand in it, he is thrown a mile. He then uses this to trick other animals. A Jamaican version tells that Anansi has a witch make a spell so that anyone who says "five" dies (see "Being Greedy Chokes Anansi"). Suggested Lessons and Activities 1. Study the similarities and differences between African, Haitian, and Jamaican versions of these stories. Discuss why such variants exist. In cases where the same tale is told, what similarities and differences exist? 2. Study African art by visiting a museum or using resources from your school or local library. Try to create similar art. Citation Kimmel, Eric. Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock. McDermott, Gerald. Anansi the spider. New York : Henry Holt and Company, 1972. Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters Background Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters is an African variant of the Cinderella tale. "This African tale evokes the Cinderella story in its portrayal of two sisters, spiteful Manyara and considerate Nyasha, and the young king who is searching for a bride" (Amazon.com review). Suggested Lessons and Activities 1. Compare several versions of the Cinderella story. Please see the discussion of the Native American version.. Citation Steptoe, John. Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale. New York: Lothrop, Lee, andShepard, 1987. Lazy, Lazy Hare Background This story is the tale of a lazy rabbit. All of the animals in the forest decide to work together to find a spot to dig for water. Then, they work together to dig the waterhole. The hare, however, is too lazy and refuses to dig, so the other animals decide to not let him have any of the water. They plan to have different animals guard the water each night, but they are still tricked by the hare. Finally, they work together to make a make-believe human covered in sticky tree sap. The hare gets stuck to the human. In other versions of the tale, the hare gets stuck to a water buffalo or tortoise. Suggested Lessons and Activities 1. Read and share other tales with similar motifs, such as The Little Red Hen. 2. Have students bring in other stories that have tortoises and hares in them. Share and discuss the stories. 3. What animals are stereotyped to be lazy in other cultures? 4. Finish the story your own way: How would you trick the hare? Citation Orlando, Louise. African Folktales. New York: Scholastic, 1995. When It Rains Background This tale is from the Efik Ibibio tribe in Nigeria. It provides one tale of why we have thunder and lightening. Long, long ago Thunder and Lightening lived on the Earth. Anytime it rained, Lightening grew upset and destroyed trees and other things on Earth. Thunder, his mother, yelled at him to control his behavior. Finally, when the animals could no longer tolerate this, they went to the King, who put them in the sky where they only rarely hurt animals, trees, and people on Earth (Orlando). Suggested Lessons and Activities 1. Discuss other tales you know to explain thunder and lightening. (For example, God playing bowling, etc.) Write your own tale to explain this or other phenomena. 2. Why were tales used to explain natural occurences? Why not science? How did these tales and science seek to explain such things? Citation Orlando, Louise. African Folktales. New York: Scholastic, 1995. Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears Background This West African tale is another tale which attempts to explain something in nature, in this case, why mosquitoes buzz in people's ears. In this tale, a mosquito tells iguana such a terrible lie that iguana puts sticks in his ears. This one event triggers a whole chain of events that lead to the death of an owlet. Mother Owl becomes so sad that she refuses to "wake the sun so that day can come." A trial is then held to determine who is responsible for the owlet's death. However, the mosquito cannot be found and is never brought to try. To this day, she is buzzing in people's ears to find out if everyone is still angry with her. Suggested Lessons and Activities 1. Discuss cause and effect. You may wish to use other books and stories in which one event causes an example or where certain words or phrases are repeated. A few examples of these books include: The Napping House, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, If You Give A Moose a Muffin, and If You Give a Pig a Pancake. 2. Read and share different books about African culture, such as Ashanti to Zulu : African Traditions by Margaret W. Musgrove. Citation Dillon, Leo and Diane. Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears. New York: Dial, 1975. |
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c. 1998 by Deborah Angiolieri Comments to: debbi@csonline.net Deborah M. Angiolieri Elementary Library Media Specialist Franklin Area School District Franklin, PA 16323 United States of America Address, main page: www.oocities.org/Athens/Agora/8623 Addrees, this page: www.oocities.org/Athens/Agora/8623/africa..html c. 1998 to present |