Roots and Legends - Folktales from African Culture

Roots and Legends celebrates the richness of African culture with over 50 timeless folktales.

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.

Summary

Roots and Legends celebrates the richness of African culture with over 50 timeless folktales.

Product details

• Authors: Editors of Wellfleet Press
• Assisted by: Kristin G. Congdon (Introduction), Congdon Kristin G. (Introduction)
• Publisher: Quarto Publishing Group
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 06.02.2025
• EAN: 9781577155164
• ISBN: 978-1-57715-516-4
• No. of pages: 200
• Weight: 508 g
• Illustrations: color illustrations
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Religion/theology > Other religions; Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; USA, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Folklore & Mythology, North America, Africa, Folklore, myths & legends, United States of America, USA, Ethnic groups and multicultural studies, Ethnic minorities & multicultural studies, Black & Asian Studies, HISTORY / African American & Black, Other non-Christian religions, Relating to African American / Black American people, Relating to people of the African diasporas / heritage, Afro-American / African diaspora religions, Folklore studies / Study of myth