African Folk Tales - Background Information Complimentary lessons can be found in African Folk Tale Activities . Excerpted from Multicultural Discovery Activities for the Elementary Grades . There is a rich, fertile legacy of folklore from Africa. On this vast continent, folk tales and myths serve as a means of handing down traditions and customs from one generation to the next. The storytelling tradition has thrived for generations because of the absence of printed material.
Folk tales prepare young people for life, as there are many lessons to be learned from the tales.
Because of the history of this large continent, which includes the forceful transplanting of the people into slavery on other continents, many of the same folk tales exist in North America, South America, and the West Indies. These are told with little variation, for the tales were spread by word of mouth and were kept among the African population. In addition to the folk tales, there are myths, legends, many proverbs, tongue twisters, and riddles. Anansi Anansi, the Spider, is one of the major trickster figures in African folk tales. The spider tales have traveled from Africa to the Caribbean Islands.