Native Fairy Tales Of South Africa

This unique and exquisite collection of folk tales and legends from South Africa, originally published in 1910, is now being resurrected to benefit those young South Africans who would not normally receive a full education.

This collection of folktales from South Africa has been put together the author says, not for scholarship but for a love of the sunny country where he was born. Some stories originate from Dutch sources, and some have several versions. Most are tales told by the bushmen.

Xhosa Folk & Fairy Tales contains 21 Xhosa folk and fairy tales for children plus a section on the Proverbs and Figurative Expressions of the Xhosa. Nelson Mandela, or Madiba, was a Xhosa and these are the stories he would have been told as a boy. Herein you will find stories like: The Story of Sikulume The Story pf Mbulukazi The Story of Long Snake The Story of Kenkebe The Story of The Wonderful Horns The Story of The Glutton The Story of The Great Chief Of The Animals; to name but a few. Like Native Americans and most other African folk and fairy stories, each story carries a moral as they were used to teach children the morals and lessons they would carry with them through life. Despite this, they are also extremely amusing and entertaining. But the tribes of South Eastern Africa were not as isolated as many would think. Long before the Europeans arrived on the coast of South East Africa, Indians and Arabians had been trading regularly along this coast, mostly for gold and slaves and often venturing far inland to obtain either or both. There was also frequent contact with, at least, the neighbouring tribes of the Bechuana, the Zulu, the Sotho, the Qwa Qwa and the Gariep. Indeed, many locally crafted items found their way North to the ancient city-state of Great Zimbabwe, some even making it as far afield as India and Arabia. In the days long before Radio, TV and the Internet, many a traditional story would have been shared around a blazing campfire and it is with this mix of Indian, Arabian and inter-tribal African cultures that stories, or fragments of stories, would have been swapped with the peoples they met. So, if one of these stories should ring with familiarity, you don’t have to look far to find the reason for it. ================ KEYWORDS/TAGS: Xhosa folklore, folk tales, Fairy Tales, African myths, African legends, fables, childrens stories, childrens books, storyteller, Bird That Made Milk, Five Heads, Tangalimlibo, Girl, Disregard for Custom Of Ntonjane, Simbukumbukwana, Sikulume, Hlakanyana, Demane And Demazana, Runaway Children, Wonderful Feather, Ironside And His Sister, Cannibals, Wonderful Bird, Cannibal Mother, Children, Mbulu, monster, creature, Mbulukazi, Long Snake, Kenkebe, Wonderful Horns, Glutton, Great Chief, Animals, Hare, Lion, Little Jackal, Proverbs, Figurative Expressions, south east Africa, south Africa, Xosa, click language, nelson Mandela, Nguni, Swazi, Sotho, Bechuana, Qwa Qwa, India, Arabia, Gariep, Transkei, kei river,

IN presenting these stories, which are of deep interest and value to South Africans, I hope they may prove of some value to those Americans who have either an interest in animals or who appreciate the folklore of other countries. Care has been taken not to spoil the ethnological value for the sake of form or structure; and in all cases they are as nearly like the original as a translation from one tongue to another will allow. They are all South-African folklore tales and mainly from the Bushmen.