LibriVox: African Folktales

African folktales are amazing, and I am excited to share them with you here! Over the next couple of years, I hope to create an African Story Finder based on public domain materials available online; you can find out more about the Story Finder project here. 

To get started, I'm making audio recordings of the stories at LibriVox. When I started, there were around 150 folktales you could listen to; now there are over 300, and I have cataloged literally thousands more African folktales in the public domain that I want to record, story by story by story. (If you would like to start recording for LibriVox, just visit their website to learn more; it's a very supportive and encouraging community!)

Below this paragraph, you will see an African folktale displayed at random, and you can also see a story displayed at random in the blog sidebar. Just click the "play" button to listen, and you can also scroll down in the frame to see all the stories in that book. You can reload the page to see another story at random, and there's a complete listing of the audio stories below the frame, all free to listen to and to read online. Happy listening/reading!

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Story List:

1. A Chain of Circumstances
2. A Family Quarrel
3. A Journey for Salt
4. A Lesson in Evolution
5. A Plea for Mercy
6. A Quarrel about Seniority
7. A Question as to Age
8. A Question of Right of Inheritance
9. A Snake's Skin Looks like a Snake
10. A Story of the Great Famine
11. A Trick for Vengeance
12. A Tug-of-War
13. Abundance
14. Adventures of a Jackal
15. Adventures of the Jackal's Eldest Son
16. Adventures of the Younger Son of Jackal
17. Adzanumee and Her Mother
18. Agenda: Rat's Play on a Name
19. An Oath: With a Mental Reservation
20. Anansi and Nothing
21. Anansi and the Blind Fisherman
22. Ants Carrying Bundles as Big as Themselves
23. Baboon-Skins
24. Borrowed Clothes
25. Candor
26. Chief Kekong's Daughter 'Ndere who Married a Python
27. Concerning the Human Sacrifices
28. Concerning the Ju-Ju against Elephantiasis
29. Concerning the Okuni Witches and Cannibalism
30. Crocodile
31. Death Begins by Some One Person
32. Do Not Impose on the Weak
33. Do Not Trust your Friend
34. Dog and His False Friend Leopard
35. Dog and his Human Speech (version 1)
36. Dog and his Human Speech (version 2)
37. Essido and his Evil Companions
38. Farmer Mybrow and the Fairies
39. Goat's Tournament
40. Goso, the Teacher
41. Haamdaanee
42. Honourable Minu
43. How 'Nyambi Punished Chief Oga
44. How a Cruel Inkum Chief Was Poisoned by His Slaves
45. How a Father Tried to Kill One of His Sons but Failed
46. How a Hunter Obtained Money from his Friends
47. How Agbor Adam Broke the Hunting Law of Okuni
48. How an Inkum Boy Was Drowned by His Companions
49. How an Inkum Woman Abandoned One of Her Twins in the Forest
50. How Beasts and Serpents Came into the World
51. How Chief Alankor and All His Family Were Killed by a Big Frog
52. How Elili of Inkum Died, and Was Brought Back to Life Again
53. How Essama Stole Her Father's Goat in the Fatting-House
54. How Ewa Abagi, an Inkum Woman, Was Drowned in the Cross River
55. How Ibanang Okpong and Her Mother Were Swallowed by a Man-Eating Drum
56. How Isuro the Rabbit Tricked Gudu
57. How Jakhals Fed Oom Leeuw
58. How Mushrooms First Grew
59. How Oghabi Poisoned His Friend Okpa
60. How the Frog Beat the Bush Buck in a Race
61. How the Grey Parrots Got Their Red Tails
62. How the Hare Traded With a Bag of Corn
63. How the Jackal got his Stripe
64. How the River Came into Existence
65. How the Tortoise Got Its Shell
66. How Tortoise Overcame Elephant and Hippopotamus
67. How Two Bendega Young Men Changes Their Skins
68. How Two Friends Fell Out: The Spider and the Grasshopper
69. How We Got the Name 'Spider Tales'
70. How Wisdom Became the Property of the Human Race
71. Iguana's Forked Tongue
72. Is the Bat a Bird or a Beast?
73. Ituen and the King's Wife
74. Jan the Animal Judge
75. Kasanke the Little Red Bird
76. King Chameleon and the Animals
77. Kwofi and the Gods
78. Leopard of the Fine Skin
79. Leopard's Hunting Companions
80. Leopard's Hunting-Camp
81. Leopard's Marriage Journey
82. Maku Mawu and Maku Fia
83. Mkaaah Jeechonee, the Boy Hunter
84. Mohammed With the Magic Finger
85. Morning Sunrise
86. Motikatika
87. Musoke the Moon-boy
88. Njiwo Died of Sleep
89. Not My Fault!
90. Nunda, Eater of People
91. Nuts are Eaten Because of Angangwe
92. Nya-nya Bulembu; or, the Moss-green Princess
93. Of Chief Amaza, His Wife Achi, and the Tortoise
94. Of the Fat Woman who Melted Away
95. Of the Pretty Girl and the Seven Jealous Women
96. Of the Pretty Stranger who Killed the King
97. Ohia and the Thieving Deer
98. Origin of the Elephant
99. Origin of the Ivory Trade (version 1)
100. Origin of the Ivory Trade (version 2)
101. Parrot Standing on One Leg
102. Quarcoo Bah-Boni
103. Samba the Coward
104. Saved by his Tail
105. Setuli; or, the King of the Birds
106. Soliloquy of Old Age in a Banana Garden
107. Swine Talking
108. Tasks Done for a Wife
109. Tests of Death (version 1)
110. Tests of Death (version 2)
111. The 'Nsasak Bird and the Odudu Bird
112. The Absent-minded Bridegroom
113. The Affair of the Hippopotamus and the Tortoise
114. The Alligator and the Moor Hen
115. The Animals’ Dam
116. The Ape, the Snake, and the Lion
117. The Beauty and the Beast
118. The Buffalo Maiden
119. The Cannibals
120. The Cat and the Hen
121. The Cat, the Rat, and the Fox
122. The Cheats of Kijongo
123. The Clever Cat
124. The Cock who Caused a Fight between Two Towns
125. The Cock's Kraal
126. The Cooking-pot and the Drum
127. The Crimson-striped Lily
128. The Cunning Hare
129. The Daughter of Buk Ettemsuch
130. The Death of Abu Nowas
131. The Deceptions of Tortoise
132. The Disobedient Daughter who Married a Skull
133. The Dog and the Clever Rabbit
134. The Dog and the Kingship
135. The Dog and the Leopard
136. The Dog and the Leopard
137. The Election of the King Bird
138. The Elephant and the Tortoise
139. The Elephant That Wanted to Dance
140. The Enchanted Buck
141. The Fairy Bird
142. The Fairy Frog
143. The Famine
144. The Fate of Agbor the Hunter, Who Killed His Wife and Children
145. The Fights of Mbuma-Tyetye
146. The Fish and the Leopard's Wife
147. The Flame Tree
148. The Flying Lion
149. The Foolish Hare
150. The Frog and the Elephant
151. The Frog and the Leopard
152. The Frog and the Lizard
153. The Game of Hide-and-Seek
154. The Giant Goat
155. The Golden-crested Crane
156. The Grinding-Stone That Ground Flour By Itself
157. The Guardians of the Snakes
158. The Happy Age in the Animal World
159. The Hare and the Lion
160. The Hare Who Earned a Cow and a Chieftainship
161. The Hawk and the Owl
162. The Hawk and the Rooster
163. The Heart of a Monkey
164. The Holy Man
165. The Home of the Rat
166. The Hunter and the Tortoise
167. The Hyena's Punishment
168. The Hyena's Spots
169. The Jackal and the Heron
170. The Jackal and the Hyena
171. The Jackal and the Leopard
172. The Jackal and the Spring
173. The Jackal, the Dove, and the Panther
174. The King and the 'Nsiat Bird
175. The King and the Ju Ju Tree
176. The King of the Snakes
177. The King who Married the Cock's Daughter
178. The King's Magic Drum
179. The Kites and the Crows
180. The Law Concerning Fortune-tellers
181. The Leopard and the Goat
182. The Leopard and the Ram
183. The Leopard, the Hare, and the Monkey
184. The Leopard, the Squirrel, and the Tortoise
185. The Leopard, the Tortoise, and the Bush Rat
186. The Lies of Tortoise
187. The Lion and the Wolf
188. The Lion-girl
189. The Lion, the Hyena, and the Hare
190. The Lion, the Hyena, and the Rabbit
191. The Little Hare
192. The Little Red Tortoise
193. The Locusts
194. The Lucky Fisherman
195. The Magic Drum
196. The Magic Mirror
197. The Magician and the Sultan’s Son
198. The Man Who Knew Too Much
199. The Monkey Finds Worry
200. The Monkey, the Shark, and the Washerman’s Donkey
201. The Mpa Bana Bird
202. The Omanhene Who Liked Riddles
203. The One-handed Girl
204. The Orphan Boy and the Magic Stone
205. The Ostrich Hunt
206. The Owl and His Friends
207. The Physician’s Son and the King of the Snakes
208. The Quits of Gomba
209. The Rabbit and His Ears
210. The Rabbit and the Alligator
211. The Rabbit and the Animal Wizard
212. The Rabbit and the Elephant
213. The Rabbit and the Moon
214. The Rabbit and the Other Animals
215. The Rabbit Escapes the Wolf's Anger
216. The Rabbit Prince
217. The Reward of Industry
218. The Rival Roosters
219. The River Fairy
220. The Robber and the Old Man
221. The Rover of the Plain
222. The Royal Puff Adders of Budo
223. The Sacred Milk of Koumongoe
224. The Savior of the Animals
225. The Sea-turtle When Caught
226. The Sense of the Weasel
227. The Serpent's Bride
228. The Slave Girl who Tried to Kill her Mistress
229. The Squirrel and the Kingship
230. The Squirrel and the Spider
231. The Stars and the Stars’ Road
232. The Story of a Gazelle
233. The Story of a Panic
234. The Story of Dschemil and Dschemila
235. The Story of Halfman
236. The Story of Hassebu
237. The Story of Igiri and Her Husband Inkang
238. The Story of Kibate
239. The Story of Kintu
240. The Story of Mpobe the Hunter
241. The Story of Nsangi and the Apes
242. The Story of Semai-mai
243. The Story of the Chief Kasuju
244. The Story of the Cock and the Hen
245. The Story of the Drummer and the Alligators
246. The Story of the Fairy Bee
247. The Story of the Fairy Foxes
248. The Story of the Frog
249. The Story of the Grey Heron
250. The Story of the Hero Makoma
251. The Story of the Hippos
252. The Story of the King's Son and the Magic Song
253. The Story of the Lightning and the Thunder
254. The Story of the Little Birds who lived in A Cave
255. The Story of the Shining Princess
256. The Story of the Two Friends
257. The Story of the War between Inkum and Enfitop
258. The Story of the Witch who Tried to Kill Her Husband
259. The Story of the Wonderful Goat
260. The Stranger
261. The Suitors of Njambo's Daughter
262. The Suitors of Princess Gorilla
263. The Sun
264. The Three Little Eggs
265. The Tortoise with a Pretty Daughter
266. The Treachery of Tortoise
267. The Turtle, the Wolf, and the Hyena
268. The Ungrateful Man
269. The Unnatural Mother
270. The White Dove
271. The Wolf and His Two Dinners
272. The Wolf's Butter
273. The Woman with Two Skins
274. The Woman, the Ape, and the Child
275. Thunder and Anansi
276. Tit For Tat
277. To Lose an Elephant for the Sake of a Wren
278. Tortoise and the Bojabi Tree
279. Tortoise Covers His Ignorance
280. Tortoise in a Race
281. Tortoise, Dog, Leopard, and the Njabi Fruit
282. Udea and Her Seven Brothers
283. Unkind Criticism
284. Walukaga the Blacksmith
285. What Caused their Deaths?
286. What Happened at Okuni When Anyone Was Killed by Accident
287. Which is the Better Hunter, an Eagle or a Leopard?
288. Which is the Fattest: Manatus, Hog, or Oyster?
289. Who Are Crocodile's Relatives?
290. Who Is King of Birds?
291. Who Was King?
292. Who Was the Thief?
293. Why a Hawk kills Chickens
294. Why a Python Never Swallows a Tortoise
295. Why Dead People Are Buried
296. Why Edidor Killed Her Husband and Her Lover
297. Why Goats Became Domestic
298. Why Leopard Can Only Catch Prey On Its Left Side
299. Why Moon and Stars Receive Light from Sun
300. Why Mosquitoes Buzz
301. Why Spiders Are Always Found in Corners of Ceilings
302. Why the Bat Flies by Night
303. Why the Bat is Ashamed to Be Seen in the Daytime
304. Why the Bat Sleeps All Through the Day
305. Why the Bush Cow and the Elephant are Bad Friends
306. Why the Cat Came to Man's House
307. Why the Cat kills Rats
308. Why the Flies Bother the Cows
309. Why the Goat Left the Jungle
310. Why the Hare’s Nose is Slit
311. Why the Head of the Male Goat Smells So Strong
312. Why the Heron has a Crooked Neck
313. Why the Hyena is Lame
314. Why the Lizard Moves His Head Up and Down
315. Why the Mist Rises from the Water
316. Why the Moon Waxes and Wanes
317. Why the Plantain-Stalk Bears But One Bunch
318. Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky
319. Why the Worms Live Underneath the Ground
320. Why Tigers Never Attack Men Unless Provoked
321. Why White Ants Always Harm Man's Property

About the Story Finder

This "Story Finder" project is inspired by the Story Finder books by Sharon Elswit; you can find out about all four of her books — Caribbean Story Finder, Latin American Story Finder, Jewish Story Finder, East Asian Story Finder — at her webisite: SharonElswit.com. They are incredibly useful resources! Each volume in the series features hundreds of stories, and for each story she provides a detailed summary along with variant versions across multiple sources. Here's a screenshot of a two-page spread from the Latin American Story Finder, so you can get a sense of the approach she has taken (click on the image for a larger view):

In those books, Elswit relies on a variety of published and online sources, some of which are readily accessible (i.e. available in local libraries or at used booksellers, etc.), but some of which are not. Since discovering her books, I started wondering what it would be like to create some Story Finder books that are based on public domain and open access resources that everyone can read.

My own focus for the past couple of years has been folktales from Africa, and I've done a comprehensive survey of English-language public domain and open access materials available as online books or online articles at the Internet Archive. That includes public domain books published before 1928, books published after 1928 whose copyrights have lapsed, plus materials that are available with Creative Commons licenses or other forms of open access. I completed that survey in conjunction with the books that were available by controlled digital lending from the Internet Archive; you can see the bibliography guide I published here: A Reader's Guide to African Folktales at the Internet Archive (free ebook). Unfortunately, the big publishers' lawsuit against the Internet Archive has put the future of controlled digital lending in doubt, but there is still an abundance of public domain and open access material available.

What finally prompted me to start working on an actual Story Finder project was that I started recording for LibriVox in August 2023. I made an index of the African folktales already available at LibriVox (142 stories from 5 different sources), and then I started recording more African folktale sources. I completed one book which has been cataloged (Stafford's Animal Fables) and another book which is still waiting to be cataloged; meanwhile, I am working on my third book! By the time that third book is done, I will have added 130 more stories, nearly doubling the number of stories available. And I have LOTS more sources to record. There are over 1000 African folktales available in public domain books, and that many again (actually more) in public domain articles from journals like Folklore, The Journal of American Folklore, etc.

So, I am going to be recording (and recording and recording...), and I am also going to be writing posts at this blog featuring the story motifs and story types that reveal the inner workings and creative invention of African storytelling traditions. These posts will, in turn, provide the raw material for a book I would eventually like to write about African storytelling, something similar to Elswit's Story Finder books, although instead of summaries I will include public-domain texts of the stories. Of course, it won't be enough just to rely on public domain sources; I will need to supplement these colonial-era sources with more contemporary work, with an emphasis on work published by African storytellers and scholars, citing those resources in the bibliography and in the variant versions. Still, I am excited about building the book with a core of public domain materials that everyone can access online all over the world.

Here are the posts I've written so far:

1. Motif: Heyo, House!
2. Motif: Measuring the Snake
3. Type: The Bird That Made Milk
4. Type: Chain of Debt Collectors
5. Type: Trickster and Dupe on a Journey

Meanwhile, just for fun, I made a randomizing widget which displays LibriVox recordings of African folktales embedded right here in my blog. You can see the widget below, and also in the blog sidebar. I'll update the widget as more and more stories get added — and if you are curious about such widgets, I build them with a free program created by a former student: RotateContent.com.

Happy listening!

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Type: Trickster and Dupe on a Journey

Today's story — "How Isuro the Rabbit Tricked Gudu" — is from The Orange Fairy Book by Andrew Lang, published in 1906 (for more stories, see the index). You can listen to today's story via LibriVox and which you can read online at the Internet Archive. The story is item 5 in the audiobook playlist:

Of all Lang's Fairy Books, the Orange Fairy Book is the one with the most stories from Africa, and you can find all of the African stories from the Fairy Books here: African Folktales in the Fairy Books of Andrew Lang. This particular story comes from the Shona storytelling tradition, and the characters have their Shona names: Isuro (tsuro) the rabbit and Gudu (gudo) the Baboon.

The book is illustrated by Henry Justice Ford, and here is his illustration for the story, showing the first trick, when the baboon gets the rabbit to drop his food in the water, while he only pretends to drop his food, dropping a stone in stead.

This story type is Trickster and Dupe on a Journey. The role of the trickster usually shifts at some point in the story. For example, in this story, the baboon starts out tricking the rabbit, but finally the rabbit gets wise to what is going on, and in the final part of the story, the rabbit is the trickster and the baboon becomes his dupe.

To see another story of this type, take a look here:

"Baboon and Hare" in "Tales and Proverbs of the Vandau of Portuguese South Africa" by Franz Boas and C. Kamba Simango published in Journal of American Folklore. This version has a different role reversal: on the first journey, Baboon travels with Wild-Cat, and Baboon tricks Wild-Cat every time. When Wild-Cat comes home, he tells Hare what happened. Baboon then asks Hare to journey with him, Hare makes Baboon his dupe. Then Baboon wants revenge and he takes Hare on another journey, but again Hare outsmarts him. You will find both the Ndau version here and a literal English translation.