The editors’ concept of folklore scholarship in Africa is broad, in keeping with current thought in the United States, and this expansive position is reflected by African Folklore: An Encyclopedia.

Like classical myths, African myths were passed down orally from one generation to another. Although there are many different tribes and countries in Africa, scholars have identified common …

Drawing on both primary interviews and secondary documentary analysis, the work examines the historical significance, thematic diversity, and socio- cultural functions of African folklore.

The study has showed that folklore materials abound in traditional African communities and they are expressed through English, French, Portuguese, Arabic and other non-African languages in order to …

These stories are written in precisely the same way that Credo tells them, with all their original colloquialisms and styles. The eland was viewed by Africans as an animal closely associated with …

Folklore does not present the entire gamut of cultural ideas and actions of a society, but selected domains of themes which are deemed suitable for particular genres of expression.

Distinguishing folklore and folktales from myth can be difficult. Please review our African mythology entry and see whether you see a clear distinction between these two categories of folk-produced expression.