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African Myths & Tales
Africa south of the Sahara is a land of wide-ranging traditions and varying cultures. Despite the diversity and the lack of early written records, the continent possesses a rich body of folk tales and legends that have been passed down through the strong custom of storytelling and which often share similar elements, characters and ideas between peoples. So this collection offers a hefty selection of legends and tales - stories of the gods, creation and origins, trickster exploits, animal fables and stories which entertain and edify - from 'Obatala Creates Mankind', from the Yoruba people of west Africa, to 'The Girl Of The Early Race, Who Made Stars', from the San people of southern Africa, all collected in a gorgeous gold-foiled and embossed hardback to treasure.
480 pages, Hardcover
Published June 24, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 31, 2021
These books are filled with stories that are 1-10ish pages in length, and this particular one contains a lot of stories of talking animals and shapeshifters, which was more consistently interesting than the previous ones I've read from this collection so far. I did not like that they changed a lot of the names to make them easier to pronounce(says so in the forward), likely you’re reading these to expand your horizons learning proper pronunciation is a part of that.
June 3, 2019
The introduction is the best part. The fables themselves are a bit dry (as most historical mythology can be). Great book for reference though.
September 11, 2019
Interesting, but unfortunately quite repetitive. Lots of stories that were retold versions or portions of previous stories.
October 14, 2019
I’ve never had the pleasure of reading a collection of African mythos before. And now I’m kind of wondering why it took me so long with my obsessions… after all, I love Africa and I love mythologies. And now I’m kind of disappointed that it’s all over… but I’m sure I can find more to add to my shelves.
I honestly bought this book because the cover is pretty. I wasn’t expecting such a fantastic breakdown of African myths and legends to fill the pages. Some of the stories felt like they were slightly awkward in their breakdown, but the general gist was still there and it was still seriously enjoyable. Generally, the stories which lacked a certain level of flow were incredibly short and segued into the next tale perfectly.
African Myths and Tales is a very easy read. It’s one of those books that you don’t need to read in order, but tend to get a little more out of it if you do. The myths are broken into their themes, but they don’t flow onwards from one another. Definitely a collection that I’m going to pick up again and again… learning something new each and every time.
I honestly bought this book because the cover is pretty. I wasn’t expecting such a fantastic breakdown of African myths and legends to fill the pages. Some of the stories felt like they were slightly awkward in their breakdown, but the general gist was still there and it was still seriously enjoyable. Generally, the stories which lacked a certain level of flow were incredibly short and segued into the next tale perfectly.
African Myths and Tales is a very easy read. It’s one of those books that you don’t need to read in order, but tend to get a little more out of it if you do. The myths are broken into their themes, but they don’t flow onwards from one another. Definitely a collection that I’m going to pick up again and again… learning something new each and every time.
May 17, 2025
This is an anthology of short stories from the continent of Africa.
There was a lot of repetition between them the stories in each categories. As a result, it was hard to get into it. The stories were mildly entertaining. I feel like they would be more entertaining if they were told by African narrators, in the native language + English and visualized like what Netflix did with 'Love Death and Robots, or like what was done with Deathly Hallows, Part 1 where Xenophilius Lovegood is taking about the 3 Brothers
There was a lot of repetition between them the stories in each categories. As a result, it was hard to get into it. The stories were mildly entertaining. I feel like they would be more entertaining if they were told by African narrators, in the native language + English and visualized like what Netflix did with 'Love Death and Robots, or like what was done with Deathly Hallows, Part 1 where Xenophilius Lovegood is taking about the 3 Brothers
January 8, 2025
Tinka: Dr Osei-Nyame's epic collection of African myths is a great read and very interesting. He captures the creativity and artistry of these 'story tellers' gift to the continent with an academic purity and without judgement. This book "should" be in every home of an African child!!
My favorite part was the stress of the "origin of man" against the colonial influences.
My favorite part was the stress of the "origin of man" against the colonial influences.
February 26, 2022
A good collection of stories. A lot of the stories were repetitive, which accounts to them being from diferente tribes across the motherland. Some of the stories were hard to understand, probably because things got lost in translation. I really loved the stories about wits and wisdom.
March 9, 2023
Lovely collection of folk tales that are a bit more varied and interesting than that European or Chinese tales that clog up book shops.
June 28, 2023
"Serpent is king over all, except man."
What an interesting collection of stories from a continent I've never really read myths from (besides like, The Egyptian Book of the Dead).
What an interesting collection of stories from a continent I've never really read myths from (besides like, The Egyptian Book of the Dead).
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews