For the month of February, we’ll be delving into what Librivox has to offer on African folklore. In this week’s episode, we’ll listen to three stories from the sky lore of different southeastern Nigerian peoples:
“Why the Sun and Moon Live in the Sky.”
“The Story of the Lightning and the Thunder.”
“Why the Moon Waxes and Wanes.”
The stories come from Elphinstone Dayrell's Folk stories from Southern Nigeria, West Africa published in 1910 (I say 1913 in the episode which is true for Elphinstone Dayrell's other book, Ikom Folk Stories from Southern Nigeria, also in the public domain.)
You can listen to the other stories from the book here. I share the recordings as they are uploaded so there are some introductory statements, which you’ll hear with every new story, stating the source and the name of the person reading the story.
The different accents make listening very special and I have a dream that one day there will be many African accents on these recordings. Maybe even translations and readings in the story’s original languages one day!
If you can’t get enough of African sky lore, here are other MA podcast episodes on the topic:
Across African Skies Part 1: Mythology, Folklore and Symbolism of the Sun and Moon
Across African Skies Part 2: Mythology, Folklore and Symbolism of the Stars
Enjoy!
Skylore from Southeastern Nigeria