African Folktales at Internet Archive: Mandela's Favorite African Folktales

Last week I focused on books of stories from northern Africa, and the week before that I focused on southern Africa, but this week instead of focusing on a specific region, I want to do something different: the theme this week is anthologies of African stories that bring together stories from across the continent. I'll start with what is probably the best known anthology of African folktales: Favorite African Folktales, edited by Nelson Mandela, which is just a click away at the Internet Archive.

The book first appeared in 2002, and it was published in South Africa under the title "Madiba Magic: Nelson Mandela's Favorite Stories for Children" (Madiba being Mandela's Thembu clan name, which was used as a nickname). You'll find 32 stories here, primarily from South Africa but from other regions also (Kenya, Nigeria, Morocco, and more), with a helpful map at the front of the book. Some of the legends appear here in English for the first time (translated from books written in Afrikaans). There is a detailed bibliography in the back of the book, plus a note at the start of each story to put it into context.

Mandela wrote the foreword, with some lovely thoughts about folktales and their travels: 

A story is a story; and you may tell it as your imagination and your being and your environment dictate; and if your story grows wings and becomes the property of others, you may not hold it back. One day it will return to you, enriched by new details and with a new voice. ... It is my wish that the voice of the storyteller will never die in Africa, that all the children in the world may experience the wonder of books, and that they will never lose the capacity to enlarge their earthly dwelling place with the magic of stories.

And speaking of new voices, there's also a celebrity cast audiobook with readings of the stories by LeVar Burton, Don Cheadle, Whoopi Goldberg, Forest Whitaker,  Alfre Woodard, and more. See Audible.com for more information about the audiobook.

Unfortunately, the audiobook is not available at Internet Archive, but the book is, and it's a fantastic place to start learning about the different storytelling traditions of Africa.

Favorite African Folktales
edited by Nelson Mandela