Description
“A tale is not just a story. It is a voice echoing through the village night, it is a fire around which the generations gather.”
After the two books of 54 Tales of Africa, which crossed the continent one tale per country, this special volume applies the same golden rule to a single country: Côte d’Ivoire, ethnic group by ethnic group.
Four ethnolinguistic groups, one whole country
The tales are organized according to the four major Ivorian cultural groups:
- Akan — Abbey, Abidji, Abouré, Abron, Adioukrou, Ahizi, Alladian, Agni, Appolo-Nzima, Attié, Avikam, Baoulé, Ébrié, Ega, Éhotilé, Essouma, Krobou, Yaouré
- Gur — Birifor, Camara, Degha, Komono, Koulango, Lohron, Lobi, Mangoro, Senufo, Siti, Tagbana
- Kru — Bakwé, Bété, Dida, Gnedeboua, Godié, Guéré, Kodia, Kouya, Kouzié, Kotrohou, Kroumen, Niaboua, Neyo, Oubi, Wané, Wobé
- Manden — Biélou, Gban, Gouro, Koyaka, Ligbi, Mahouka, Malinke, Marka, Mona, Ngin, Nigbi, Toura, Wan, Yacouba
Each tale names the ethnic group it comes from. When several ethnic groups are listed, it means the same story — or a very similar one — circulates among them: a concrete way of showing what the peoples of Côte d’Ivoire have in common.
Page by page
The spider’s mischief, the tortoise’s wisdom, the hare’s cunning: The Envious Wasp, The Sacred Drum, Why the Fish Lives in Water, Koasia, the One Nobody Looked At, The Warthog’s Shame, The Village of Three Voices, The Stubborn Child, The Golden Braid, The Man Who Heard Everything, The Cockroach and the Termite…
Made for storytelling evenings — and for the classroom
- M’Bobog’s words — the old sage accompanies each tale with a short thought.
- Difficult words — terms followed by an asterisk are explained in the glossary (p. 126).
- “Did you know?” (p. 130), and pages of cultural background: social organization, traditional architecture, patterns and symbols.
Specifications
- Publisher: Ultimes Griots Group
- 1st edition in French
- ISBN: 978-2-494551-16-9
Ultimes Griots tales can also be heard in KUMA, our app for reading and listening to African tales.
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