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Pass down the powerful teachings of African oral tradition by adding this luxe illustrated volume of over 50 cultural folktales to your home library.In this captivating collection of folklore from African culture, discover the stories that have been passed down through generations and continue to teach valuable lessons today through their vibrant, illustrative language. With over 50 folktales,
Roots and Legends celebrates the richness of African customs and life, and champions the importance of oral tradition, a practice that rose up through the dark times of slavery and oppression.
Thoughtfully curated and richly illustrated,
Roots and Legends features the wonder and educational lessons of cultural stories and figures such as:
- Why Spiders Are Always Found in the Corners of Ceilings
- How the Tortoise Got Its Shell
- Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky
- How Mr. Lion Lost His Wool
- Brother Bear’s Big House
- Brer Rabbit and the Gold Mine
- Morning Sunrise
- Diddy-Wah-Diddy
- Uncle Monday
- A Ghost Story About an Aunt
- Farmer Mybrow and the Fairies
- And more!
Divided into four sections (Why Things Are the Way They Are; Morals Taught through Animals Tales; Bearing Witness; and People with Unusual Powers) covering the spiritual nature of animals, people, the land and its sometimes spooky inhabitants, and more, each page is filled with timeless tales of heroes, tricksters, and everyday wisdom, and invites you to immerse yourself in the depth and beauty of African folklore.
Featuring historic stories with a modern editorial review, this deluxe collectible edition includes original illustrations and an embellished, giftable package. A perfect choice for families interested in passing down African heritage through storytelling traditions,
Roots and Legends will enchant readers of all ages through its beautifully illustrated and accessible collection of folklore.
List of contents
Introduction
Why Things Are the Way They Are
Anansi and Nothing
Why Spiders Are Always Found in the Corners of Ceilings
How Wisdom Became the Property of the Human Race
Why the Lizard Continually Moves His Head Up and Down
Why We See Ants Carrying Bundles as Big as Themselves
Thunder and Anansi
Ohia and the Thieving Deer
Why Men and Women Don’t Have Tails Like Cows
How the Gopher Turtle Was Made
How the Tortoise Got Its Shell
How Mushrooms First Grew
Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky
Why the Moon Waxes and Wanes
Why the Moon and the Stars Receive Their Light from the Sun
Morals Taught Through Animal Tales
The Squirrel and the Spider
The Leopard and the Ram
To Lose an Elephant for the Sake of a Wren is a Very Foolish Thing to Do
Why the Leopard Can Only Catch Prey on Its Left Side
The Lion and the Wolf
Rabbit Rides Wolf
King Chameleon and the Animals
The Creeturs Go to the Barbecue
Brer Rabbit’s Frolic
Brer Rabbit Finds the Moon in the Mill Pond
Brother Bear's Big House
How Mr. Lion Lost His Wool
Brer Rabbit’s Flying Trip
Brer Rabbit and the Gold Mine
How Brer Rabbit Got a House
Brer Rabbit and the Partridge Nest
Brer Rabbit Gets Brer Fox a Hoss
Brer Rabbit Treats the Creeturs to a Race
The Tar Baby
Bearing Witness
Big John Gives Old Master a Sign
Morning Sunrise
The Swimming Contest
The Fight
Big Feet Contest
The Yearling
Dividing Souls
The Talking Eggs: A Story from Louisiana
Big Sixteen
Diddy-Wah-Diddy
People with Unusual Powers
Uncle Monday
Railroad Bill
A Ghost Story About an Aunt
The Tail of the Princess Elephant
How a Hoodoo Doctor Works
Ógún and Aerosol Art
The Ballad of John Henry
Farmer Mybrow and the Fairies
The Mermaid
Braziel Robinson and the Root-Doctors
The Flying Man
Permissions
Resources
Index
About the author
New York–based Wellfleet Press publishes illustrated reference books for the price-conscious consumer. Wellfleet focuses primarily on well-crafted and researched home reference; entertainment; faith; and mind, body, and spirit titles. We offer our customers a unique combination of both completely original content as well as illustrated editions of classics texts.
Kristin G. Congdon is Professor Emerita of Philosophy and Humanities at the University of Central Florida. She has published extensively on art, folklore, and multicultural education. Her authored or co-authored books include The Making of an Artist: Desire, Courage, and Commitment; Happy Clouds, Happy Trees: The Bob Ross Phenomenon; American Folk Art: A Regional Reference; Just Above the Water: Florida Folk Art; and Uncle Monday and Other Florida Tales. She has been senior editor of The Journal of Cultural Research in Art Education and Studies in Art Education. Dr. Congdon has been president of the Florida Folklore Society, chair of the Florida Folklife Council, and has served in numerous other leadership roles including the Director of the University of Central Florida’s Cultural Heritage Alliance. She has curated several exhibitions at the Orlando Museum of Art, Crealde School of Art in Winter Park, Florida, and more recently, Rooted Visions, a traveling exhibition with the Mid-America Arts Alliance. In 2015, Dr. Congdon founded the Alliance for Truth and Justice, an all-volunteer group whose goal is to facilitate a new era of race relations from the ground up—through research, educational forums, exhibitions, historical markers, and commemorative soil collections--in Orange County, Florida, which was noted to be the worst county in the South, per capita, for lynchings between 1877 and 1950 (Lynching in America: Confronting the Legacy of Racial Terror, 2015).
Summary
Roots and Legends celebrates the richness of African culture with over 50 timeless folktales.
