How the ostrich lost his fire and other stories

By Roohi Shah

“Grandma, grandma, tell us a story! Tell us a story!”

“The one about the hyena who forgot how to laugh! No! No! The one about the legendary Zulu warrior who killed the mighty demon with a single throw of his spear!”

“He he, okay children, let me tell you a story, a long, long time ago...”

A long, long time ago; legends and folk tales were used by people as a way of captivating the imagination of children and adults alike. Elders would use stories in order to impart the ways of the community, wisdom and morals to the rest and thereby also fostering a strong community spirit. Africa has always been a melting pot of thousands of different communities with their own specific cultures, traditions and stories!

Curious about why the warthog shuffles on his knees or how the ostrich lost his fire? Then read on for a collection of short animal stories from the Nama, San, Sotho, Xhosa and Zulu people.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Roohi Shah
• Release date: May 19, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476388434

Roohi Shah

A long, long time ago; legends and folk tales were used by people as a way of captivating the imagination of children and adults alike. Elders would use stories in order to impart the ways of the community, wisdom and morals to the rest and thereby also fostering a strong community spirit. I have always been fascinated by mythology and being born in Kenya, the connection to Africa has also been strong. Africa is a melting pot of thousands of different communities with their own specific cultures, traditions and stories! However most of these stories were never written and over time communities have started to lose their stories. I came to Cape Town, South Africa on a corporate secondment and the existence of so many different tribes just within South Africa intrigued me. I realised that a lot of the culture and traditions that used to be in existence several years ago, had gradually diminished over time. This project was borne as a result; with the aim of preserving the stories, legends and folk tales of some of the South African cultures through children. It is hoped that these books will help the youth of South Africa to re-connect with their cultures as well as to raise awareness and tolerance of others. Through sales of this book, I hope to raise funding in order to donate printed books to needy children in less privileged schools. Some of these stories have been collected through interacting with the local communities and others through research. Due to the lack of historic documented records as well as evolution and adaptation of some of the stories over time; it is difficult to guarantee the originality and uniqueness of the stories. The stories gathered have been further adapted to make them more captivating for today’s children.

Book preview

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