Long before children heard mother goose rhymes or "Jack and the Beanstalk" Stories were told in Africa about, wise lions, wily snakes and how the world began.

Storytellers passed along these tales orally embodying ideas about ethics, human nature and the cultures from which they came. These stories now termed as folktales. Folk tales educate the audience about different cultures and ethnic groups, teach important rituals and events or values in the community and entertain both young and old.

Stories in East Africa were told by the elderly these included; aunts, uncles and mostly grandparents in the village and community. The stories were mainly told in the evening or at night, "when the cattle went back to the boma" this was after the completion of a days work, be it household, hunting, grazing or schoolwork.

The African people just like other parts of the world believe that children are the leaders of tomorrow, In fact the African culture fully embrace children as a symbol of wealth, blessing, productivity, power and strength, Thus it was and still is important to guide, protect, teach and discipline the children in order to bring up responsible and respectful Individuals. One of the Swahili proverbs says "Mtoto umleavyo ndivyo akuavyo" Meaning how you raise your child determines what he or she will be as an adult. Another proverb in Swahili says "samaki mkunje angali mbichi" meaning try to teach or discipline your child while young and fresh this relates to the proverb that says, "You can not teach an old dog new tricks"

The Elderly people took the mantle of storytelling very natural, as it was believed and still is that the elderly are always wiser. As one of the swahili proverbs would have it "kuishi kwengi kuona mengi" Meaning the more you live here on earth the more things you experience. In true context stories or folktales play an important part by instilling basic moral and social concepts in the minds of children.

Songs would most of the time be included in the stories. The songs not only recount and reinforce the events of the plot but also colors and vivifies them, thus making them more memorable. The Songs add spice and salt to tale merriment. The African people are the originators of music thus; music played a very vital role in a story. Songs helped to pass information that was left out in the stories, break the monotony or recapture the children attention. The first two lines of the songs would customary be repeated, a sort of emphatic announcement, like opening heavy chords of classical overture which boom out to silence the audience and demand their attention.

So much can and will be said about folktales or storytelling, as the Native American storytellers say " I give you these stories to share and to pass them to the next generation"

So do all African storytellers that lived and those that are present say. Keep and share these words.