Identify the purpose of the folktales in the culture of African peoples. Each country that the Sortilege is sailing near had special villages and tribes that were known for different ways of sharing customs, myths and values. Storytelling in African villages served partially as entertainment and as a way for values to be communicated to the young people. Many of the stories were carefully constructed to guide the children with their decision making - without telling them what to do and how to do it. The tales were told during moonlight nights, and children would go to bed with most of the lessons vividly in their minds.
Animals often are the main characters of the stories.
Anansi the spider is a favorite character in many of the tales from Ghana and Liberia. You have probably read accounts of these tales that have the spider in situations with a monkey or a turtle. The same story may be told many different ways. To become the wisest creature, Anansi set out to collect all of the wisdom in the world. As he went from village to village and collected the wisdom, he would bring it back home and put it into a big pot.