1. Listen to, read, understand and discuss two African folk tales.

It was in Africa, the second largest continent in the world, where the earliest human beings were discovered.

To the African people, their folklore is an indispensable part of their traditions and customs. Tricksters and animals are common characters in African folklore. They serve to entertain and at the same time teach lessons, values, and ways of survival. Among the most popular ones are the following:

OWNER of the SKY: OLORUN the CREATOR

by Julius Lester

Olorun was the owner of the sky and the Highest Being. He lived in the sky with other spirits. In the beginning, the earth was all watery, just a marshy place, a waste.

Sometimes, Olorun and the other gods would come down and play in the marsh-waste. There were long spider webs hanging from the sky. They draped across sweeping spaces like graceful silk bridges. Yet there was no solid land anywhere; no ground on which to stand. There could be no human beings under the sky until there is a hard place where they can plant their feet.

Olorun, Owner of the Sky and the Highest Being, called the chief of the divine ones. This chief was the Great God. Olorun told the Great God, “I want you to make a firm ground down below, right away.” “Here,” Olorun went on, “take this.”

He gave Great God a shell. There was a small amount of earth in the shell and there was also a pigeon and a hen with five toes inside. Great God did as he was told. He went down to the marsh land sliding down the spider silks. Then, he threw the earth out of the shell and spread it about him. He put the pigeon and the hen down on the big chunk of earth from the shell.

The pigeon and the hen began scratching the earth with their feet. It didn’t take long for them to scratch the soil over the whole marsh-waste. That was how the firm, hard ground came to be. Great God went back to the sky. There he found Olorun waiting. “It is done. I’ve formed the ground, and it is solid and true,” Great God said.

Olorun sent down Chameleon to take a look at the works of Great God. Now, Chameleon took his time about most things. He walked slowly, and he went down the spider line from the sky carefully. He rolled his big eyes around, looking at everything. And slowly, he changed his color from sky blue to earth brown as he walked on the land Great God had made. “Well, the earth is plenty wide,” Chameleon told Olorun when he had returned, “but it’s not quite dry enough.”

“Go again,” Olorun commanded. And Chameleon went down from the sky a second time. He came back to report to the Owner of the Sky once more. “It is well,” Chameleon said. “The earth is wide, and it is dry this time.” “Good,” Olorun said. He named the place Ife, and it meant wide. Ile was brought to stand on Ife, and Ile meant house. All other houses came from the first one that stood at Ife. And to this day, the city of Ile-ife is the most sacred to Olorun’s people.

It took four days to make the earth. On the fifth day, Great God was to be worshipped as the maker. Then, Olorun sent Great God back to Ife to plant trees and to feed humans when they came, and to give them goods. He planted palm trees. The humans would drink their juice. More trees were planted there, and the rain was made to fall and water them.

The first people came from heaven. Olorun sent them down to the earth to live there. Great God made some of the people’s parts out of the soil. He molded their bodies and heads. The task of bringing these still figures to life was left to Olorun, Owner of the Sky, the creator. Great God was jealous of Olorun’s work. He wanted to give life to the earth figures he had made. “I will watch Olorun so I can see how he does it,” thought Great God. So he stayed with the figures and hid amongst them so that he might see the work of Olorun firsthand. But Olorun knew everything. He knew if somebody was watching. He saw Great God from where he hid himself. And he put Great God into a very deep sleep.

Great God slept and slept. When he woke up again, all the people had come to life. He never saw it happen. So it is that Great God still only makes the bodies and heads of humans, both men and women. He leaves his marks on them though. And sometimes, the marks show how unhappy Great God is.

ANANSI'S TALES

by Harold Courlander

In the beginning, all tales and stories belonged to Nyame, the sky god. But Kwaku Anansi, the spider, yearned to be the owner of all the stories known in the world and he went to Nyame and offered to buy them.

The sky god said, “I am willing to sell the stories, but the price is high. Many people have come to me offering to buy, but the price was too high for them. Rich and powerful families have not been able to pay. Do you think you can do it?”

Anansi replied to the sky god: “I can do it. What is the price?” “The price includes three things.” The sky god said. “I must first have Mmoboro, the hornets. Then, I must have Onini, the great python. I must also have Osebo, the leopard. For these things, I will sell the right to tell all stories to you.” Anansi said: “I will bring them.”

He went home and made his plans. First, he cut a gourd from a vine and made a small hole in it. He took a large calabash and filled it with water. He went to the tree where the hornets lived. He poured some of the water over himself, so that he was dripping. He threw some water over the hornets, so that they too were dripping. Then he put the calabash on his head, as though to protect himself from a storm, and called out to the hornets, “Are you foolish people? Why do you stay in the rain that is falling?” The hornets answered: “Where shall we go?” “Go here, inside this dry gourd,” Anansi told them.

The hornets thanked him and flew into the gourd through the small whole. When the last of them entered, Anansi plugged the hole with a ball of grass, saying: “Oh, yes, but you are really foolish people!” He took the gourd full of hornets to Nyame, the sky god. The sky god accepted them. He said: “There are two more things.”

Anansi returned to the forest and cut a long bamboo pole and some strong vines. Then he walked toward the house of Onini, the python, talking to himself. He said, “My wife is stupid. I say he is longer and stronger. My wife says he is shorter and weaker. I give him more respect. She gives him less respect. Is she right or am I right? I am right. He is longer. I am right. He is stronger.”

When Onini, the python, heard Anansi talking to himself, he said, “Ah, I have had a dispute with my wife. She says you are shorter and weaker than this bamboo pole. I say you are longer and stronger.” Onini said, “It’s useless and silly to argue when you can find out the truth. Bring the pole and we will measure.”

So Anansi laid the pole on the ground and the python came and stretched himself out beside it. “You seem a little short,” Anansi said. The python stretched further. “A little more,” Anansi said. “I can stretch no more,” Onini said. “When you stretch at one end, you get shorter at the other end,” Anansi said. “Let me tie you at the front so you don’t slip.”

He tied Onini’s head to the pole. Then he went to the other end and tied the tail to the pole. He wrapped the vine all around Onini until the python couldn’t move. “Onini,” Anansi said, “It turns out that my wife was right and I was wrong. You are shorter than the pole and weaker. My opinion wasn’t as good as my wife’s. But you were even more foolish than I, and you are now my prisoner.” Anansi carried the python to Nyame, the sky god, who said, “There is one thing more.”

Osebo, the leopard, was next. Anansi went into the forest and dug a deep pit where the leopard was accustomed to walk. He covered it with small branches and leaves and put dust on it, so that it was impossible to tell where the pit was. Anansi went away. When Osebo came prowling in the black of night, he stepped into the trap that Anansi had prepared and fell to the bottom. Anansi heard the sound of the leopard falling, and he said, “Ah, Osebo, you are half-foolish!”

When morning came, Anansi went to the pit and saw the leopard there. “Osebo,” he asked, “what are you doing in the hole?” “I have fallen into a trap.” Osebo said. “Help me out.” “I would gladly help you,” Anansi said, “but I’m sure that if I bring you out, I will get no appreciation for it. You will get hungry, and later on you will want to eat me and my children.”

“I swear it won’t happen!” Osebo said. “Very well. Since you swear by it, I will take you out,” Anansi said. He bent a tall green tree toward the ground so that its top was over the pit. He tied it that way and then he tied a rope to the top of the tree and dropped the other end of it into the pit. "Tie this to your tail", he said.

Osebo tied the rope to his tail. "Is it well-tied?" Anansi asked. "Yes, it's well-tied", the leopard said. In that case Anansi said, "You are not nearly half-foolish, you are all-foolish". He took his knife and cut the other rope; the one that held the tree bound to the ground.

The tree straightened up with a snap, pulling Osebo out of the hole. he hung in the air, head downward, twisting and turning. And while he hung this way Anansi killed him with his weapons. Then he took the body of the leopard and carried it to Nyame, the Sky God, saying "Here is the third thing, now I have paid the price."

Nyame said to him, "Kwaku Anansi, great warriors and chiefs have tried, but they've been unable to do it. You have done it. Therefor I will give you the stories. From this day onward, all stories belong to you. Whenever a man tells a story he must acknowledge that it is Anansi's Tale."

In this way Anansi the Spider became the owner of all stories that are told. To Anansi, all stories belong.

Let's Discuss!!

Answer the questions below to see how well you listened, read and understood.

You only need to answer the questions for yourself. No need to submit it anywhere.

In Owner of the Sky:

1. How did the myth explain the beginning of the world?

2. Why were the two animals necessary?

3. Why was Chameleon sent down?

4. Why is the Yoruba City of Ife special?

5. What was the moral/theme of the story for you?

In Anansi’s Tales:

6. Based on the fact that they listened to Anansi, what can you infer about the hornets, the python, and the leopard?

7. Interpret Anansi’s attitude toward the other animals.

8. Why was Anansi able to do what the rich and powerful families have failed to do? What can you conclude?

9. What was the moral/theme of the story for you?

In both tales:

10. Which aspect of each story struck you most forcibly?

11. Can you summarize the plot in each tale?

12. Identify the main conflict/problem in each tale.

13. How was it solved?

14. Do you agree with the solutions the main characters came up with?

15. How do you, as a reader, feel about the two tales? What mood did it bring about in you?

16. How were the two tales different and similar for you?

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