Ah yes, here we are on the first day of Black History Month. I thought I might do something special this year and post a few articles I found interesting. The articles will vary, some serious, some not so serious. I’ll do regular therapy postings and toss in a few BHM entries. To start us off I want to share a few Librivox recordings of West African Folk Tales by William H. Barker. Reader credits appear at the bottom of this post.
Alright, about these particular folktales….In these tales you’ll find one main character which is a Anansi. Anansi is a false god who plays tricks on people for his own selfish gain. He lies, cheats and steals in order to make himself prosperous. This he does to the detriment of all around him, including his sons, wife and fellow villagers. Anansi sometimes appears in the stories as a spider or a person and sometimes a combination of the two. One thing you can count on with Anansi is that he is an abusive, neglectful, self-centered, “me first” kind of god. You’ll also notice that his selfish tricks always fail but not without consequences to himself and others.
Below is a short list of my favorites from this collection. Click the listen button and it will open to a window that will read you the short story or right click to open a new window:
Anansi and Nothing- Jealousy, awesome ending!
Listen
To Lose an Elephant for the Sake of a Wren is a Very Foolish Thing to Do – Selfishness causes failure. Listen
The Ungrateful Man – Trickery and lies can be dangerous Listen
Thunder and Anansi – This is read by a little girl who does very well. What a shameful display of selfishness Anansi shows. Listen
Why We See Ants Carrying Bundles As Big As Themselves – Such a misuse of kindness Listen
Find more West African Folk Tales on Librivox.
http://www.archive.org/details/west_african_folk_tales_librivox
Credits:
Librivox recording of the West African Folk Tales by William H. Barker.
Read by David Barnes, Lucy Burgoyne, Christabel, Tammi L. Coles, Lizzie Driver, Esther, Ezwa, hefyd, Julian Jamison, Eva-Marie Quinones, roolynninms, Shurtagal. For more free audiobooks, or to become a volunteer reader, please visit librivox.org.
I should mention, Librivox and Sound Portrait are two of my favorite sites so you may see these two pop up during Black History Month at Sundrip.
0 Responses to “Black History Month – West African Folk Tales”