Book Cover of West African Folk Tales

West African Folk Tales

by William H. Barker

Compiled by an American missionary, West African Folk Tales by William H Barker is a delightful collection of folk tales from Nigeria, Ghana, Mali, Mauritania and other countries along the west coast of Africa. These stories spread in various forms to other countries like the West Indies, Suriname, the Netherland Antilles, etc and can be still heard today among the people of these countries. West African Folk Tales is a wonderful read for both young people and older readers alike. The stories are charmingly retold. Most of them are about Anansi, the trickster god of the West African people. He is worshiped as the god of all stories and often takes the form of a spider, which is considered to be very cunning. Anansi the Spider sometimes has a human face, wears clothes or assumes human form but keeps his eight legs. The first story in this book tells of how the Anansi tales originated. In the olden days, goes the tale, all stories were only about Nyankupon the chief of gods. But Anansi the Spider felt that he should be the hero of all stories. He goes to the chief and demands that he should be made the hero, whereupon the chief sets some conditions for Anansi to fulfill before he can call himself a hero. How the clever Spider achieves this forms the rest of this entertaining tale.

Book Details

Language

English

Original Language

Published In

1917

Genre/Category

Tags/Keywords

Author

William H. Barker image

BARKER, WILLIAM HENRY, businessman; b. 24 June 1853 in Manchester, England, one of the ten children of Ambrose Barker and Sarah Westerdale; m. Orpha Beard in Astoria, Oreg., and they had three sons an...

More on William H. Barker

Listen/Download Audiobook

Read by:
00:00
Playback Speed 1.0
00:00
  • Select Speed

Related books

Moni the Goat-Boy Cover image

Moni the Goat-Boy by Johanna Spyri

Moni is the goat boy who takes care of all the goats belonging to the people of Fideris, Switzerland. He loves to sing, yodel, and whistle while he ro...

My Father's Dragon Cover image

My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett

The novel is about a young boy, who runs away to Wild Island to rescue a baby dragon.

The Tale of Jolly Robin Cover image

The Tale of Jolly Robin by Arthur Scott Bailey

Imagine a robin who is always cheerful, no matter what. That's Jolly Robin, and he's about to embark on a series of adventures in the woods and fields...

The Tale of Fatty Coon Cover image

The Tale of Fatty Coon by Arthur Scott Bailey

Fatty Coon was a raccoon with a big appetite and an even bigger heart. His love of food and his adventurous spirit often led him into trouble, but he...

The Wonders of the Jungle  Cover image

The Wonders of the Jungle by Sarath Kumar Ghosh

How do elephants drink? What is the Law of the Jungle at the water hole? How does an elephant baby learn to feed and learn to swim? How do they walk u...

Billy Whiskers Out for Fun Cover image

Billy Whiskers Out for Fun by Frances Trego Montgomery

It follows the mischievous adventures of a mischievous goat named Billy Whiskers. The story takes place on a farm where Billy lives with his animal fr...

Billy Whiskers' Adventures Cover image

Billy Whiskers' Adventures by Frances Trego Montgomery

It features a series of adventures and misadventures of a mischievous goat named Billy Whiskers. The book was first published in 1904 and has since be...

The Adventures of Sammy Jay Cover image

The Adventures of Sammy Jay by Thornton W. Burgess

In the heart of the Green Forest, where the trees stand tall and the creatures roam free, resides Sammy Jay, a mischievous blue jay with a penchant fo...

Mighty Animals  Cover image

Mighty Animals by Jennie Irene Mix

A book about dinosaurs written for children. In short, easy to read chapters designed to keep the interest of juvenile readers.

Coppertop Cover image

Coppertop by Harold Gaze

Can a brave young girl with a heart of gold survive the Australian Outback? Coppertop is a classic Australian children's book by Harold Gaze. It tell...

Reviews for West African Folk Tales

No reviews posted or approved, yet...