Exploring African Folklore: Tales, Traditions and Childhood

2412 Words5 Pages

Folklore is traditional stories within cultures that are passed down through generations some of which are myths, legends, and, fairy tales. Legends are stories based on historical facts that have been exaggerated or changed up over time. Myths are stories of gods demigods and other supernatural characters. Fairy tales involve creatures that are completely out of the ordinary. These stories are hard to believe because most of it is nonexistent. African folklore is heavily concentrated on fairy tales because because it has to do so much with their customs and traditions. African folklores involve more animals than people to entertain young ones more that older ones. The kids are the future of the culture so their values have to do with the children …show more content…

The hero’s journey is basically an outline of a character's (hero) adventure in a story. What is significant about the journey is it has 12 stages. The purpose for these stages is to describe the journey the character goes through literally and mentally. The archetypal hero’s journey serves as a guideline for stories in folklore. The legend of “Queen Sheba” has the strongest connection to the archetypal hero’s journey but doesn’t go through some stages. In stage one “The Ordinary World” it’s where they introduce the character and give background information on them. In the story they introduces Queen Sheba, how she is royal, and is a “seeker of truth”. In stage two “The Call to Adventure” is where the character is introduced to something new or a challenge. In the story this is when the queen hears of a king who is wise so she goes to test the king's wisdom and knowledge. In stage four “Meeting with the Mentor” is when the character comes across another person who teaches them something. In the story she arrives at the King’s castle and gets to know him and is taught about his god and she becomes a follower. In stage five “Crossing the Threshold” is when the character leaves the ordinary world. In the story she is asked to stay as a guest in the king's castle leaving her kingdom for a night. In stage six “Tests, Allies and Enemies” is when the character is tested and sorts out stuff in the “new world”. In the story Queen Sheba makes a deal with the king to not touch her if if she does not take anything of his. In stage eight “The Ordeal” is where the character faces a fear or is faced with death. In the story the king is released from the deal because she had drank some of his water which she did not want. In stage nine “The Reward” is when the character receives a treasure for going through the eighth stage. In this case in the story she gets

More about Exploring African Folklore: Tales, Traditions and Childhood

Open Document