Abstract

This e-book is a collection of orally transmitted folktales about animals, currently circulating among the Ewe and Akan people of Ghana. Many of the stories in this bundle provide an explanation for the appearance of the most remarkable Ghanaian animals. For example, why does the parrot have such beautiful feathers? And why does the Pin-tailed Whydah have such a long tail? For sure, Ghanaian storytellers know the answer. They shared their animal wisdom stories, including those of the famous spider Anansi, with Dr. Kofi Dorvlo. He wrote the stories down for us in English and translated them into Ewe and standard Akan/Twi with the help of his Ghanaian team members Dr. Kwaku Ofori and his students (Twi) and Mr. Kenneth Adevu (Ewe). The e-book contains twenty Ghanaian folktales and includes an introduction by Dr. Louise Müller, who also interpreted the stories. The 22 beautiful collages were made by the visual artist Josee Tesser. Editorial thanks are due to Greg Suffanti for proofreading the stories in English and Ir. Joke Koppius for her editorial help and graphic design. Trilingual edition in Ewe, standard Akan/Twi and English