Folklore
Explore Folklore works from across the pan-African world
Collection of African-American folklore from Florida and hoodoo practices from New Orleans.
The epic of Mwindo, the Nyanga culture hero who is born against his father's wishes, descends into the underworld, battles supernatural enemies, and returns to establish a just kingdom. Transcribed from the bard Candi Rureke's performance in 1956.
Three hunters journey to the underground kingdom of Kaidara, god of gold and knowledge. Only the one who grasps that wisdom must be earned escapes transformed. A Fulani philosophical poem on greed, patience, and sacred knowledge.
p'Bitek's collection of Acholi oral poetry — love songs, war songs, hunting songs, and funeral dirges — translated into English while preserving the rhythmic energy of the original.
The epic of Sundiata Keita, founder of the Mali Empire, as told by the griot Djeli Mamoudou Kouyaté to D.T. Niane in the 1950s. Sundiata overcomes physical disability, exile, and enemies to unite the Mandinka people.
The Ijo oral epic of Ozidi, performed over seven nights, following a warrior's posthumous son who avenges his father's murder through supernatural power. Clark-Bekederemo filmed and transcribed a complete performance.
A landmark collection of African American folktales — animal stories, supernatural tales, and the title story of enslaved Africans who remember how to fly and escape their bondage.
A comprehensive collection of Palestinian Arab oral folk tales, collected from women storytellers across Palestine, preserving a tradition under threat of erasure.