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