Alieh Kimbeng

African Folktales from My Childhood Alieh Kimbeng

Oral history is a key part of West African oral tradition used to pass down values and traditions from one generation to the next. Folktales are part of African oral history and are usually filled with wisdom, which convey a moral or teach a lesson. As a child, Alieh's Father usually told them stories. Storytelling was a part of their family, and these stories had been passed down from one generation to the next. Some of these stories were used by Alieh's father to teach her and her siblings a lesson. As Alieh grew older, she realized that she could not remember most of these stories, and this oral tradition was being lost, so she decided to capture them. This book is a collection of stories that have been passed down from one generation to the next but have never been written down or visually represented. The name "Tales from my Childhood" represents stories from everyone's childhood regardless of their age. Through this book, Alieh hopes to bring back storytelling to families.