Folklore from Kenya

I liked the African folklore a lot. It is very different from Western Fairytales in many ways. For the most part, African fairytales involve animal characters, instead of humans. Most characters, human or animal, tend to be adult. The tales are usually very short and have a more definitive moral or lesson. Also, there is a much more distinct sense of unity and community in these tales. For instance most of the solutions come from whole communities working together.

One thing that I like is that African folklore does not always centre around a moral, but rather on preferred traits in people. For instance, most of the stories  are about wit and quick thinking. In a harsh environment like Africa, wit is a highly valued character trait.

I also like that the tales attempt to explain things in life. For instance "How the Crocodile Got the Bumps on His Back" and "How the Hare Got his Long Ears"

One thing that was brought up that I thought was interesting was that Calulu, the hare, was the main character in most of the tales told on Thursday to us in class. The speaker pointed out that Calulu is prominant mostly in Eastern Africa. In Western Africa, it is Anansi, the spider, who is the most prominent. I've actually heard of Anansi quite a bit. One of my favorite authors, Neil Gaiman, uses him in novels constantly.