Africa at the Internet Archive: Congo Fireside Tales

Since I wrote about Geraldine Elliot yesterday and the day before, that is a good occasion to follow up with a book by Phyllis Savory, a contemporary of Elliot and even more prolific. I've featured several books from Savory before, and here is another item in her "Fireside" series: Congo Fireside Tales. 

I've featured about a several other books by Savory at this blog; this link will take you to all those posts on one page: books by Phyllis Savory. I had mentioned this book of Congo stories previously, and now it is available at Internet Archive!

The illustrations are by Joshua Tolford; here is his illustration for a story in which the rabbit outwits the lion (again!):

The book contains a mix of animal stories and stories about humans; these links go to each story's starting page at the Internet Archive: The Hare and the Elephant / A Bride for the Hare / The Hare and the Reedbuck / The Lion, the Hare and the Eland / The Elephant, the Hare and the Leopard / The Antelopes' Convention / The Lion and the Robin / Kalulu, the Clever One / The Magic Anthill / The Tale of the Golden Birds / The Blind Man and the Tortoise / Musakalala, the Talking Skull / How the Beggar Boy won the Chiefs Daughter / Umusha Mwaice, the Little Slave Girl.

The story "Musakalala, the Talking Skull" represents one of the most widespread African folktale types, and it is a really great story! I found it included in two different anthologies which are also available at the Archive.

The first is Ghosts and Spirits of Many Lands by Freya Littledale, which contains supernatural folktales from around the world, including Savory's talking-skull story.

The illustrations are by Stefan Martin, and here's his illustration for the skull story:

And the second anthology that includes Savory's story is Even More Short and Shivery: Thirty Spine-Tingling Stories by Robert San Souci. In this book, Souci combines different African versions of this folktales, including Savory's version, to create his own story.

And, yes, you can find the other books in Souci's Short-and-Shivery series at the Internet Archive too! 

Finally, I also want to mention this wonderful book: Look Back and See: Twenty Lively Tales for Gentle Tellers by Margaret MacDonald.

Although Savory's story is not included here, it is mentioned in the parallels and references for a variant of the story where, instead of a skull, it is an animal who refuses to talk on demand: The Singing Turtle. You will find the talking-skull motif discussed in the comparative notes for that story, with Savory's Congo Fireside Tales listed as a source. Books like this one are a great way to learn about the ways folklorists study stories, looking for recurring story types and elements. Margaret MacDonald is one of my favorite story-anthologizers, and you can find many of her books at the Internet Archive: MacDonald links. You can find out more about MacDonald's work at Wikipedia.

So, as always, wonderful books abound at the Internet Archive, both in the form of story collections dedicated to Africa, like Savory's book, along with these fun anthologies that put those African stories in new contexts. Enjoy!

Congo Fireside Tales

by Phyllis Savory

Ghosts and Spirits of Many Lands

by Freya Littledale

Even More Short and Shivery:

Thirty Spine-Tingling Stories

by Robert San Souci

Look Back and See:

Twenty Lively Tales for Gentle Tellers

by Margaret MacDonald