Mythological Africans
Mythological Africans Podcast
Choosing a Leader
0:00
Current time: 0:00 / Total time: -7:46
-7:46

Choosing a Leader

An Irreverent US Election Special

As many of you may know, we’re one day away from the American presidential elections. It’s certainly one of those election cycles where it feels like the choice of whoever wins will reveal something about the soul of this country. If you’re a student or lover of myth and folklore, you know there is something mythological about moments like this.

Whether its birds or animals or trees or a chief with his sons, folktales in which the characters try to choose a suitable leader by assessing their strengths and weaknesses are a well known folkloric theme. Usually, a trickster-type animal wins by some sleight of hand but given the context of these elections, and the dire times, perhaps a folktale which reminds us all of how much we are dependent on eachother, ultimately, is just the thing.

Even better when it involves farts…

I hope you enjoy the story and please be sure to check out other African folktales on the Anike Foundation website which is where today’s story comes from.

Discussion about this podcast

Mythological Africans
Mythological Africans Podcast
The Mythological Africans Podcast features live recordings of the Mythological Africans Twitter Spaces Storytime sessions, public talks, and episodes of the Mythological Africans Deep Dive series which you can watch on YouTube. Join us to delve into the rich diversity of oral traditions and worldviews from the African continent, and discover the intricate and textured African mythic imagination.
Listen on
Substack App
Spotify
RSS Feed
Appears in episode
Mythological Africans