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Activity: Write an African-style Folk Tale In the African culture, folk tales were told to teach lessons of morality, to explain nature, or to relate aspects of society. Traditionally, the storytellers of West African culture are women - grandmothers and mothers passing these stories down to the children. These stories are oral traditions, meaning they have been passed down from generation to generation not through writing, but by the folk tale being told and remembered. When Africans were brought over to the Americas, they were not allowed to bring their possessions, but they were able to carry their stories with them. These stories became a part of the slave culture and have continued on today in the African-American community and in the Americas as a whole. The stories of the spider Anansi are just one example of folk tales which crossed the Atlantic with the slave trade. Anansi (or Ananse) appears in the tales of the Caribbean Islands and in the southern United States. Anansi tales related moral lessons of wisdom, greed, and honesty. You will find several Anansi stories in your school or local library or at the Web site www.afroam.org/children/ myths/myths.html. After reading several African folk tales, create one of your own. Your story will need to have a moral lesson (don't be greedy, be kind to everyone, etc.) or explain something from nature (how the monkey got his long tail, why some flowers bloom at night, etc.) Be creative and don't be scientific. Addition to this exercise:
Sit around a circle and tell your story to your classmates. One very important part of the African folk tale tradition is audience participation. If your story involves animals, have your classmates make the sound that animal makes whenever the character is mentioned. |
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The Transatlantic Slave Trade Quiz | Resources
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