Smith. Annancy Stories.

Today's free book is Annancy Stories by Pamela Colman Smith, with illustrations by the author. This collection of stories about the Jamaican trickster Anansi (ultimately of West African origin) was published in 1899, which makes it roughly contemporary to Joel Chandler Harris's Brer Rabbit publications,

I have found this book at Internet Archive, Google Books, and Hathi Trust.

Here is a list of stories in the book:

Annancy and Chim-Chim
De Man An' De Six Poach Eggs
Why Toad Walk 'Pon Four Leg
Annancy An' Tiger Ridin' Horse
Mr. Titman
Why John Crow Hab Peel Head
Candoo
Mother Calbee
How Annancy Win De Five Dubbloon
Morass
Annancy And Gingy Fly
How Annancy Went To Fish Country
Haylefayly An' Pretty Peallope
Paarat, Tiger, An' Annancy
Bull-Garshananee
Annancy An' De Nyam Hills
Ticky-Picky Boom- Boom
De Golden Water, De Singin' Tree An' De Talkin' Bird
How Annancy Fooled Death
The Three Sisters
Annancy And Dry Kull; Or, Why Hog Hab A Long Mouth
Dog An' De Duckanoo

Barker-Sinclaire. West African Folktales

Today's free book is West African Folktales by William H. Barker and Cecilia Sinclair, with drawings by Cecilia Sinclair. You can find out more about this book in the West African Folktales unit of the Myth-Folklore UnTextbook.

For the table of contents, check at the bottom of this post below the image.

The book is available at Internet Archive, Hathi Books, and Sur La Lune. There is also a free audiobook at LibriVox.

I. Anansi, or Spider, Tales

How We Got the Name "Spider Tales"

How Wisdom Became the Property of the Human Race 

Anansi and Nothing 

Thunder and Anansi 

Why the Lizard Moves His Head Up and Down 

Tit For Tat 

Why White Ants Always Harm Man's Property 

The Squirrel and the Spider 

Why We See Ants Carrying Bundles As Big As Themselves 

Why Spiders Are Always Found in Corners of Ceilings 

Anansi and the Blind Fisherman 

Adzanumee and Her Mother 

The Grinding-Stone That Ground Flour By Itself 

Morning Sunrise 

Why the Sea-turtle When Caught Beats Its Breast With Its Forelegs 

How Beasts and Serpents Came into the World 

Honourable Minu 

Why the Moon and the Stars Receive Their Light From the Sun

II. Miscellaneous Tales

Ohia and the Thieving Deer 

How the Tortoise Got Its Shell 

The Hunter and the Tortoise 

Kwofi and the Gods 

The Lion and the Wolf 

Maku Mawu and Maku Fia 

The Robber and the Old Man 

The Leopard and the Ram 

Why the Leopard Can Only Catch Prey On Its Left Side

Quarcoo Bah-Boni 

King Chameleon and the Animals 

To Lose an Elephant For the Sake of a Wren Is a Very Foolish Thing To Do

The Ungrateful Man 

Why Tigers Never Attack Men Unless They Are Provoked 

The Omanhene Who Liked Riddles 

How Mushrooms First Grew 

Farmer Mybrow and the Fairies

Finnegan. Oral Literature in Africa.

Today's free book is Oral Literature in Africa by Ruth Finnegan. For the table of contents, check at the bottom of this post below the image.

For a variety of online versions, see the Open Book Publishers site.

This book is made available thanks to the UnGlue.It organization which raises money to buy the copyright to books and then to make them free, open publications. This book was first published by Oxford University Press in 1970, and now, thanks to the UnGlue.It contributors who raised $7500 to buy the copyright, the book is free to all.

(image source)

Table of Contents

Introduction
Poetry
- poetry and patronage
- panegyric
- elegiac poetry
- religious poetry
- special purpose poetry
- lyric
- topical and political songs
- children's songs
Prose
- prose narratives
- proverbs
- riddles
-oratory
Special Forms
- drum language
- drama

Littmann. Tales of the Tigre (Ethiopia)

Today's free book is Tales, Customs, Names, and Dirges of the Tigre Tribes (Princeton Expedition to Abyssinia, volume 2) by Enno Littmann. For the table of contents, check at the bottom of this post below the image.

The book is available at the Internet Archive and Hathi Trust.

(Tigray Women, Ethiopia)

1. The Tale of the two Donkey-Owners
2. The Tale of the Ox, the Sheep, the Chicken and the Donkey
3. The Tale of the Boar, the Fox and the Man
4. The Tale of the Man, the Serpent and the Fox
5. The Tale of the Council of the Mice
6. The Tale of the Boar and the Elephants
7. The Tale of all the Wild Animals, Eatable and Uneatable
8. The Tale of the Guenon, the Baboon and the Lion
9. The Tale of the Lion, the Hyaena and the Fox
10. The Tale of the Lion and the Fox
11. The Tale of the Fox, the White Kite and the Raven
12. The Tale of the Scholar and the Guenon
13. The Tale of how the Fox followed the Elephant
14. The Tale of a Hen
15. The Tale of the Pure-Hearted One and the One with the Black Soul
16. The Tale of Beiho, of the People of Old
17. The Tale of a Woman and her Husband
18. The Tale of the Elephant and the Leopard and his Son
19. The Tale of the Leopard and the Fox
20. The Tale of the Ape and the Gazel
21. The Tale of the Hyaena and her Herdsman
22. The Tale of the Hyaena
23. The Tale of the Hyaena and a Moslem Prophet
24. A Tale of Abunawas
25. The Tale of the Man who made a Bet
26. A Tale of Abunawas
27. The Tale of the Parting of the Brothers
28. A Tale Resembling a Riddle in Figures
29. A Tale Resembling a Riddle
30. A Tale Resembling a Riddle
31. The Story of the Ad Takles
32. The Story of the Fight at Balqat
33. The Story of the Fight of Sangera
34. The Story of Kantebay Sallim and of Ali wad Mao
35. The Story of Kamel wad Gabay and Gahad wad Aggaba
36. The Proverb that Gahad wad Aggaba made
37. The Story of Gendefll
38. The Story of Dannas and his Slave
39. The Proverb that Adeg wad Fedel made
40. The Proverb that the People of Ad Takles made
41. The Legend of the Three Marys
42. The Legend of the Prophet Moses and the Prophet Mahammad
43. The Stars that Have Names
44. The Story of the Great Star
45. The Story of Kema and her Son
46. The Story of the True Seven and Gah and the Qeren
47. A Song of Ali-Gange wad Hemmad-Derar
48. About the Stars, again, he Sang thus
49. Of what is Told about the Stars
50. Of what Happens at the Rise of the New-Moon
51. The Names of the Months of the Year
52. Of what is Believed about the Death of the Moon
53- Of the Computation of Constellations
54. Of the Bird Called Adha or Dah
55. Edris wad Sawer Sang this Song
56. The Tale of the Leopard in his Old Age
57. Of what they Tell about the Chameleon
58. Of the Debbi
59. Of the Wolf
60. Of the Lizards
61. Of the Bird Qerqer and her Son Hamed
62. Of the Guinea-Hen and the Partridge
63. Of the Serpent Called Heway
64. Of a Certain Bird and his Wife
65. Of the Bird Called Suksuk
66. Of the Bird Called Mameraye-mi-tedarrara
67. The Race of the Hyaena
68. The Race of the Fox
69. The Legend of the Monkey, the Beetle, the Wasp, the Fly, the Lizard, the Frog and the Sayat-Tree
70. A Song of Hamad-Lul wad Egel of Marya
71. Keffal wad Bakit of Habab Sang this Song
72. The Legend of God and the Human Race
73. The Legend of the Rom, the Giant People
74. Of how the Rom Came to an End
75. Of how God Takes Care of the Children
76. The Tale of a Man who Knew the Language of all the Animals
77. The Tale of Mount Gadam
78. The Tale of a Man and his Wife
79. Of a Man who Took an Oath about Four Things
80. The Tale of Jacob and Joseph
81. Of the MansacCountry
82. Of the Rites and Customs that are Practised from the Time of Pregnancy until the Time of Childbirth
83. Of the Customs that are Practised from the Betrothal until the Wedding
84. Of the Rite of Circumcision in the Tigre Country
85. Of the Rite of Baptism with the Mansa Bet-Abrehe
86. Names of Persons in the Tigre Country
87. Of the Way in which the Dervishes united
88. The Way in which Factions United
89. Tunes of the Harp
90. War-Cries
91. Of the Highwaymen
92. The Names of Swords
93. Species of Swords
94. The Wered or Ordeal
95. Of the Years of Camels
96. Names of She-Camels
97. The Years of Cattle
98. Races of Cattle
99. The Colours of Cattle
100. The Names of Cattle with the Tigre People
101. The Making of Beverages in the Tigre Country
102. The Making of Unleavened Bread in the Tigre Country
103. The Years and the Time which the Bet-Abrehe Know
104. The Taboos or Forbidden Food of the Tigre People
105. The Greeting of the Tigre People
106. Of the Keeping of Festivals of the Mansa Bet-Abrehe
107. Of the Rite of Sacrifice in the Tigre Country
108. Of the Customs and Rites Observed by the Tigre People from the Time of Disease until Burial
109. Of what is Thrown for the Dead and of the Milk-Sacrifice
110. Dirges Sung by Women for the Men
111. Of the Belief which they Have about the People of Below
112. Of the Gan (the Bird of the Soul)
113. Of what they Call Seher (Sorcerer) and Bozza
114. Of the Demon called Waddegenni
115. Of the Beliefs about Hair
116. Unlucky Hair
117. Of what is Believed about Nails
118. Of what is Believed about Teeth
119. Of what is Believed about the Body of Man and about his Bones
120. Of Some Beliefs about the Digging of Clay
121. The Tale of a Man whose Cattle had been Seized by a She-Demon
122. Of Omens
123. Of the Curse of Trees
124. Cursing of Men
125. The Tribes that Know the Tigre Language and their Way of Living

Nyabongo. African Fairy Tales

Today's free book is Winds and Lights: African Fairy Tales by H. H. Prince Akiki K. Nyabongo. Prince Akiki K. Nyabongo (born in 1907) was the son of Kyembambe, King of Toro, a state in Uganda. He lived in both England and in the United States, receiving a Ph.D. from Harvard, and he died in 1975. You can see online a copy of a letter that he wrote to W. E. B. DuBois in 1937: Prince Akiki K. Nyabongo to W. E. B. DuBois.

For the table of contents, check at the bottom of this post below the image.

The book is available from Hathi Trust.

1. Ekituru or The Shadow.
2. Mahangwe na Nyamugoromora or The-Wind-From-The-Rising-Sun and The-Wind-From-The-Setting-Sun.
3. Omusisa or Earthquake.
4. Enzirasi Yaruhemba or The Wind That Blows From North To South.
5. Kabimbiri or The Wind That Blows From North To West.
6. Nyakinyunyuzi na Nyamuhaibonwa Enganzi Yokwezi or Morning Star and Evening Star.
7. Omunyantaza Waruhemba or The Comet.
8. Kibonwaomu na Kalinda or Shooting Star and Orion's Foot.
9. Omuhangazima or The Rainbow.
10. Omuiguru Haliyoki? or What Is In Heaven?

Bleek-Lloyd. Bushman Folklore

Today's free book is Specimens of Bushman Folklore by W. H. I. Bleek and L. C. Lloyd. The San people (Bushmen) are hunter-gatherers who live in southern African; you can learn more about them at Wikipedia.

For the table of contents, check at the bottom of this post below the image.

The book is available at the Internet Archive, Sacred Texts, and Hathi Trust.

The Mantis Assumes The Form Of A Hartebeest
!Gaunu-Tsaxau (The Son Of The Mantis), The Baboons, And The Mantis
The Story Of The Leopard Tortoise.
The Children Are Sent To Throw The Sleeping Sun Into The Sky.
The Origin Of Death; Preceded By A Prayer Addressed To The Young Moon.
The Moon Is Not To Be Looked At When Game Has Been Shot.
The Girl Of The Early Race, Who Made Stars.
The Great Star, !Gaunu, Which, Singing, Named The Stars.
What The Stars Say, And A Prayer To A Star.
!Ko-G!nuing-Tara, Wife Of The Dawn's-Heart Star, Jupiter.
The Son of the Wind.
The Wind.
#Kaga'Ra And !Haunu, Who Fought Each Other With Lightning.
The Hyena's Revenge. First Version.
The Hyena's Revenge. Second Version.
The Lion Jealous Of The Voice Of The Ostrich.
The Resurrection Of The Ostrich.
The Vultures, Their Elder Sister, And Her Husband.
Ddi-Xerreten, The Lioness, And The Children.
The Mason Wasp And His Wife.
The Young Man Of The Ancient Race, Who Was Carried Off By A Lion; When Asleep In The Field.
A Woman Of The Early Race And The Rain Bull.
The Girl's Story; The Frogs' Story.
The Man Who Ordered His Wife To Cut Off His Ears.
The #Nerru And Her Husband.
The #Nerru, As A Bird
The Death Of The Lizard.
The Cat's Song.
The Song of the Caama Fox.
The Songs of the Blue Crane.
The Old Woman's Song.
A Song Sung By The Star !Gaunu, And Especially By Bushman Women.
Sirius And Canopus.
The Song Of The Bustard.
The Song Of The Springbok Mothers.
||Kabbo's Song On The Loss Of His Tobacco Pouch.
The Broken String.
The Song Of !Nu!Numma-!Kwiten.
The Leopard And The Jackal.
Doings Of The Springbok.
Habits Of The Bat And The Porcupine.
The Saxicola Castor And The Wild Cat.
The Baboons And ||Xabbiten||Xabbiten.
A Lion's Story.
The Man Who Found A Lion In A Cave.
Certain Hunting Observances, Called !Nanna-Sse.
!Nanna-Sse, Second Part.
Treatment of Bones by the Narrator's Grandfather, Tsatsi.
How The Father-In-Law Of The Narrator Treated Bones.
Tactics in Springbok Hunting.
||Kabbo's Capture And Journey To Cape Town. First Account.
||Kabbo's Capture And Journey To Cape Town. Second Account.
||Kabbo's Journey In The Railway Train.
||Kabbo's Intended Return Home.
How |Hang#Kass'o'S Pet Leveret Was Killed.
The Thunderstorm.
Cutting Off The Top Of The Little Finger, And Piercing Ears And Nose.
Cutting Off The Top Of The Little Finger. Second Account
Bushman Presentiments
Doings And Prayers When Canopus And Sirius Come Out.
The Making Of Clay Pots.
The Bushman Soup Spoon.
The Shaped Rib Bone.
The Bushman Drum And Dancing Rattles.
How the Dancing Rattles are Prepared.
The Use of the !Going!Going, Followed by an Account of a Bushman Dance.
Preparation of the Feather Brushes Used in Springbok Hunting.
The Marking Of Arrows.
The Adhesive Substance Used By The Bushmen In Marking Arrows.
Mode Of Getting Rid Of The Evil Influence Of Bad Dreams.
Concerning Two Apparitions.
The Jackal's Heart Not To Be Eaten.
||Hara And Tto.
How Tto Is Obtained.
Signs Made By Bushmen In Order To Show In Which Direction They Have Gone.
A Bushman, Becoming Faint From The Sun's Heat When Returning Home, Throws Earth Into The Air, That Those At Home May See The Dust And Come To Help Him.
Death.
The Relations Of Wind, Moon, And Cloud To Human Beings After Death.
1. The Doings Of |Xue Are Many.
2. Further Changes Of Form.
3. |Xue As A ||Gui Tree And As A Fly.
4. |Xue As Water and As Other Things. In His Own Form, He Rubs Fire and Dies.
Prayer To The Young Moon.
The Treatment of Thieves.
The Four Pieces of Wood Called |Xu, Used for Divining Purposes.
To Beat The Ground (With A Stone).
Snakes, Lizards, And A Certain Small Antelope, When Seen Near Graves, To Be Respected.
A Certain Snake, Which, By Lying Upon Its Back, Announces A Death In The Family; And Which Must Not, Under These Circumstances, Be Killed.

Tremearne. Fifty Hausa Folktales

Today's free book is Fifty Hausa Folktales by A. J. N. Tremearne (1910 and 1911). For the table of contents, check at the bottom of this post below the image.

The book is available at Hathi Trust (I have not checked for other online sources). Because the stories are spread out over seven issues of the journal, I have compiled them into a single PDF document: 50 Hausa Folktales.

(Hausa harpist)

Folklore. v.21 1910.
1 The Spider, the Hippopotamus, and the Elephant
2 The Spider, the Hyena, and the Corn
3 The Malam, the Spider, and the Hyena
4 How the Spider outwitted the Snake
5 The Snake and the Dove Outwit the Spider
6 The Spider Has a Feast
7 How the Spider Obtained a Feast
8 The Spider Outwitted by the Tortoise
9 The Spider and the Rubber Baby
10 The Jackal's Revenge on the Spider
11 The Lion, the Spider, and the Hyena
12 The Cunning Spider and his Bride
13 How Spiders Were Reproduced
14 How the Woman Taught the Spider Cunning
15 The Hyena, the Scorpion and the Ram
16 The Ungrateful Hyena
17 The Girl who Prevented the Beasts from Drinking
18 The Cunning He-Goat, the Hyena, and the Lion
19 The Hyena and the Wrestling Match
20 Why Dogs and Hares Do Not Agree
21 The Dog, the Salt, the Cake, and the Hyena
22 The Hyena and the Bitch
23 The Cunning Goat and the Hyenas
24 The Old Woman, the Hyena, and the Monkey
25 Why the Hyena and the Donkey Do Not Agree
26 The Lambs, the Hyena, the Jackal, and the Jerboa
27 Why the Hyena and the Jerboa Cannot Agree
28 Why the Donkey Lives in the Town
29 The Jackal and the Dog at the Marriage Feast
30 The Contest of Wits between the Dog and the Jackal
Folklore. v.22 1911.
31 The City of Women
32 The Boy who Refused to Walk
33 How the Goat and the Dog Frightened the Hyena
34 The Beginning of Enmity between Mouse and Man
35 The Waterfowl Borrows the Dove's Beak
36 The Search for a Bride
37 The Origin of the Crow
38 The Woman and her Strange Suitors
39 The Ungrateful Boy and the Dove
40 The Most Cunning of All the Birds
41 The Wild Cat and the Cock
42 The Girl, the Snake, and the Pigeon
43 The Tender-Hearted Girl and the Fish
44 The Girl who Stole the Snake's Egg
45 The Girl who Married a Snake
46 How the Hunter was Hunted
47 The Man who Married a Gazelle
48 The Elephant's Daughter
49 The Wonderful Horse
50 The Lucky Youngest Son

Clarke. Art of Africa

Today's free book is The Art of Africa: A Resource for Educators by Christa Clarke (2006). For the table of contents, check at the bottom of this post below the image.

The book is available thanks to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Table of Contents

Introduction to Africa
Geography
Peoples and Cultures
History

The Role of Visual Expression in Africa
Aesthetics
The Human Figure
Animals and the Natural World
Other Forms of Symbolism
Abstraction and Idealization
Surface
Form and Meaning
Religion and the Spiritual Realm
Art and Politics
Rites of Passage
Art and the Individual
Western Appreciation of African Art

Artists and Patronage
Artists in Africa
Patronage

Materials and Techniques
Wood
Ivory
Stone
Metal
Clay
Fiber
Painting
Other Materials and Media

Introduction to the Visual Materials

Quick List of the Works of Art

Descriptions of the Works of Art

Classroom Applications
Animals in African Art
The Power Behind the Throne
The Human Figure and Abstraction
African Art: Materials and Techniques
Art and the Cycles of Life
Masks and Headdresses
Comparisons for Classroom
Discussion

Cotton. Calabar Stories

Today's free book is Calabar Stories by J. C. Cotton (in Journal of the African Society, v.5 1905). For the table of contents, check at the bottom of this post below the image.

The book is available at Hathi Trust (I have not checked for other online sources).

(a Calabar chief)

Table of Contents

Monkey and Leopard
The God and his Wife
The Monkey and the Pig
The Old Woman and her Yams
The Old Woman Farmer
The Twins
The Tortoise and the Bat
The Sun and the Cock
The Snake and the Rat

Camphor. Folk-lore from Africa

Today's free book is Missionary story sketches: folk-lore from Africa by Alexander Priestley Camphor (1909). For the table of contents, check at the bottom of this post below the image.

The book is available at Hathi Trust (I have not checked for other online sources).

Table of Contents

Native Stories
Fembar's Curiosity
A Woman Transformed into a Leopard
A Melusine Story from the Gold Coast
How Dispositions are Given
Plant Life and Animal Life
Seddee
Why the Natives do not Wear Clothes
War with the Baboons
The Leopard and the Dog
Elephant, Hippopotamus, and Tortoise
THe Tortoise and the Pig
Tortoise's Creditors
The Spider and the Pweh
The Foolish Sheep
The Elephant and the Goat
Legends Told by Four Kroo Boys
Native Parables
Some Liberian Proverbs

Driberg. The Lango of Uganda

Today's free book is The Lango, a Nilotic tribe of Uganda by Jack Herbert Driberg (1923). For the table of contents, check at the bottom of this post below the image.

The book is available at Hathi Trust (I have not checked for other online sources).

(Lango of Uganda)

Table of Contents

The Elephant And The Chameleon
The Hare And The Tortoise
The Bee And The Hare
The Hare And The Python
The Jackal And The Dog
The Hare And The Leopard
The Hare And The Hornet
The Cherry-Pickers
The Enchanted Guinea-Fowl
The Spook's House
The Wife Of The Colobus
The Hyena's Grindstone

Migeod. Mende language

Today's free book is The Mende language by F.W.H. Migeod (1908). For the table of contents, check at the bottom of this post below the image.

The book is available at Hathi Trust (I have not checked for other online sources).

(Mende musicians)

Table of Contents

The Spider and his Hungry Children (incomplete)
The Man who Abandoned his Wife and Child
The Men who Cleared the Bush
The Devil who Took a Human Wife
The Twins and Their Brother (incomplete)
The Boy who Fell into a Hole
The Boy Stolen by a Devil
The Woman who did not Wish her Daughter to be Married
The Spider and the Maggot
The Spider and the Bush Goat
The Okro Tree
The Race between the Deer and the Snail
The Hornbill and the Dog
The Eggplant and the Woman who Talked
The Magic Shirt
The Woman whose Child Returned to Life
The Dream that Vanished through Disobedience

Parkinson. Yoruba Folk-Lore

Today's free book is Yoruba Folk-Lore by John Parkinson (in Journal of the African Society, v.8 1908). For the table of contents, check at the bottom of this post below the image.

The book is available at Hathi Trust (I have not checked for other online sources).

(Shango)

Table of Contents

The Ape with Sixteen Tails
How Thunder Came
Why the Cat Stays at Home
Why A Bride is Brought by Day
The Story of the Two Wives
The Worship of the Thunder-Bolt
How Shango Hanged Himself
How The Tortoise Helped the Animals
The Tortoise and a Man Named Tela
A Dog and a Tortoise
The Pig and the Tortoise
Ifa
How the Parrot's Beak Became Bent

Sibree. Madagascar before the conquest

Today's free book is Madagascar before the conquest by James Sibree (1896). For the table of contents, check at the bottom of this post below the image.

The book is available at Hathi Trust (I have not checked for other online sources).

(Sikidy divination)

Table of Contents

The Crocodile and the Dog
The Three Sisters and Itrimobe
The Dispute for Seniority among the Members of the Body
The Little Bird and he who ate it
Rapeto
The Lost Son of God
The Cause of the Separate of the Five Fingers
The Earth Proposing to Fight with the Skies
The Birds Agreeing to Make a King
The Sitry and the Antsiantsy (Lizards)
The Hawk and the Hen
The Vazimba
The Chameleon and the Lizard
The Serpent and the Frog
The Rice and the Sugarcane
Ikotofetsy and Imahaka
Rasoalavavolo
The Wild-hog and the Rat

Torday. Camp and tramp in African wilds

Today's free book is Camp and tramp in African wilds by Emil Torday (1913). For the table of contents, check at the bottom of this post below the image.

The book is available at Hathi Trust (I have not checked for other online sources).

Table of Contents

The Chief's Revenge
How the People first got Married
The Origin of Light
Why the Gorilla does not Speak
Why the Dead are Buried
How the Making of Fire was Invented
What the Dog has Discovered
Fleecing the Rich
The Story of the First Suicide
How People learned to Drink from Brooks and Rivers
The Squirrel's Clearing

Weeks. Sojourn amongst the Boloki

Today's free book is Among Congo cannibals: a thirty years' sojourn amongst the Boloki by John H. Weeks (1913). For the table of contents, check at the bottom of this post below the image.

The book is available at Hathi Trust (I have not checked for other online sources).

(Boloki)

Table of Contents

The Adventures of Libanza (Boloki Jack and the Beanstalk)
The Fowl and the Hippopotamus
The Punishment of the Inquisitive Man
Mbungi and his Punishment
Why the Fowl and Dog are Abused by the Birds
The Eagle Leaves the Tortoise in the Lurch
The Kite Breaks His Promise to the Tortoise
Why the Plantain-eater did not Build a Nest
Why the Water-Snake Has No Poison
How the Squirrel Outwitted the Elephant
Rudeness and its Punishment
Nkengo Fails to Obtain Lasting Life
The Two Bundles
The Spider Regrets Her Marriage
The Heron and the Parrot are Unbelieving

Kirk. Somali language

Today's free book is A grammar of the Somali language, with examples in prose by J.W.C. Kirk (1905). For the table of contents, check at the bottom of this post below the image.

The book is available at Hathi Trust (I have not checked for other online sources). For additional information about the informants, see the publication in Folklore.

Table of Contents

Lame Habiyo
The Dragon-Killer
The Girl Without Legs
The Hole in the Wall
The Town of Man-Eaters
Misfortunes
How to Choose a Wife
Man and Hyena
Camel and Her Followers
The Blind Man

Stannus. The Wayao of Nyasaland

Today's free book is The Wayao of Nyasaland by H. S. Stannus (in Varia Africana v. 3, 1922). For the table of contents, check at the bottom of this post below the image.

The book is available at Hathi Trust (I have not checked for other online sources).

(Wa-Yao dancing man)

Table of Contents

The Hare and the Elephant
The Hawk and the Cock
The Pig and the Baboon
The Cock and the Crocodile
The Tortoise and the Baboon
The Snake and the Partridge
The Hare, The Leopard, and The Bushbuck
The Hare and the Hyenas
The Hare, The Elephant, and The Hippopotamus
The Story of the Dzimwe
Nalumbalapa, The Night-Jar
The Story of the Hornbill (Lipomombo)
The Story of the Young Man Testing the Advice Given to Him by His Father
About the Greedy Man

Johnston. George Grenfell and the Congo

Today's free book is George Grenfell and the Congo by Harry H. Johnston (1910). For the table of contents, check at the bottom of this post below the image.

The book is available at Hathi Trust (I have not checked for other online sources).

Table of Contents

The Origin of Death
The Creation
The Phases of the Moon
The Origin of Lake Tanganyika
The Elephant and the Shrew
The Elephant and the Chameleon
The Leopard and the Jackal
A Man with Two Wives
The Woman and the Ape
The Chief and the Ape
Mbwa! Mbwa! Mbwa!
The Hippopotamus and the Crocodile
The Toad and the Kite

Johnston. Uganda Protectorate

Today's free book is The Uganda Protectorate by Harry Johnston (1904). For the table of contents, check at the bottom of this post below the image.

The book is available at Hathi Trust (I have not checked for other online sources).

Table of Contents

Fables
The Greedy Hyena
The Leopard
The Hyena's Cry
The Hare and the Tortoise
The Hare and the Elephant
The Bird and the Elephant

Miscellaneous Stories
A Man Called Muguta
The Immortal Kintu

More Stories 
The Creation
A Sportsman
Kawekwa and Nakawekwa
The Goat-Herd and the Leopard
The Hare and the Elephant