by K. P. Kojo
SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT …
PEOPLE AND LANGUAGE
There are over 800 different ethnic groups in Africa, and more than 1,250 languages (some scholars believe there are over 3,000 different ones!). The continent contains 54 independent countries, as well as other territories, each one with a huge mixture of people and languages – for example, about 80 languages are used in Ethiopia, and around 500 in Nigeria! Some of them are sign languages, or ones used by only small groups of people; many of these languages have little in common with any of the others.
Most African people speak more than one language, with Amharic, Swahili and Hausa being used very widely.
Over centuries, many people from other parts of the world have come to Africa – to trade, to live, or to exploit. As a result of this, Arabic, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish – or versions of these languages mixed with local words – are all found here; people from India and China have also settled in Africa. However, even if you took away all the languages from outside the continent, there would still be hundreds left. And each language reflects the lives and customs of the people who use it – words for hunting, perhaps, or weather, or music and dancing.
Wonderful Words
How many languages do you know? Maybe you and your family speak or read other languages than English. How many people in your school speak other languages? Make a list of all the ones you can think of, or the ones spoken by people you know. Can you find out how to say ‘Hello’, or ‘Good morning’ in all of them?
CRAZY CREATURES
In Madagascar, we are told in the stories, there was a time when animals and birds could be mixed up: ‘You could be a crocodile and a grasshopper – a crochopper, or a snail with the red blood of a lion – a snaion.’
There are animal crosses in the world today – a mule is half donkey, half horse, a liger is half lion, half tiger, and there are dogs that are actually half wolf (and wolves that are half dog).
However, the mothers and fathers of these animals are closely related, and their children look like one or other of their parents. What would happen if we could do what the storytellers of Madagascar described, and put halves of completely different animals together? Would a combination of a sheep and a goldfish be very good at swimming and have a woolly orange coat? Would it be a sheefish or a goldeep? Would a half-cat, half-pigeon be a cat able to fly home over long distances, or would it be a bird that caught mice?
What is the strangest combination you can think of? Draw a picture of your new creature, name it and describe what it might be able to do.
HOW WOULD YOU PAINT YOURSELF?
Mbe the tortoise (in the story ‘A Tortoise Named Ununile’) paints all the birds in glorious colours to go to a party. In his part of Africa this skill was called uri. Of course, Mbe is doing it for selfish and greedy reasons, not because he wants the birds to look lovely.
These days, birds don’t paint themselves, but people do! It’s something we’ve done for many centuries. In Iron Age Britain men used woad to paint themselves with all sorts of blue patterns when they went into battle. The Maori of New Zealand also painted themselves when going to war – it helped frighten their enemies. Modern soldiers colour their faces and hands with green, brown and black paint as camouflage if they think their skin will show up in action – and in some South American countries soldiers on parade colour their faces so that people can see which of the many native peoples they belong to.
Battles aren’t the only reason for painting your body. People in many countries wear nail varnish. Actors may paint both their faces and bodies to change the way they really look. Maori and other Polynesian peoples, aboriginal Australians and various groups of people in Africa all paint themselves for religious and other ceremonies. The patterns may also show which clan or family group a person is from.
The paints are often natural pigments – coloured earths that will come off easily. When plants like woad are used, they stain the skin and it takes longer for the patterns to fade. In South America juice obtained from the bush now called huito (Genipa Americana) was used for a dark blue or black dye: originally worn in battle, it’s now used for jagua tattoos – very fashionable decorations that last for about a fortnight!
In India and some North African countries skin dyes have long been used for adornment – girls and women, especially brides, use the reddish-brown dye from henna leaves to paint wonderful patterns on their hands. Sometimes the spice turmeric is also used to give a yellow colour. Anyone who uses modern cosmetics such as lipstick or eyeshadow is following in the same tradition – using body paints to look more beautiful!
There are other reasons to use paints on your face or body: circus clowns paint their faces – every clown has his or her special design which no other clown is allowed to use. And many people will have seen ‘living sculptures’ – mime artists completely covered in white or silver or gold paint, standing as still as a statue – but if you throw coins into their collecting plate, they will move very slowly and take up a new position!
You might not want to cover yourself in paint, but if you support a team – a football or rugby club, for example – you might want to paint their colours on your face or hands. And if you visit a theme park, a show, a fete or other gathering, you might find someone who will paint your face to look like a bird or a butterfly or a tiger.
How would you like to be painted?
TAKE CARE! If you want to try painting your face or hands, you will need special paint that won’t damage your skin. The paints you use on paper may hurt you – so make sure you have the right kind before you start.
MANCALA
In the story ‘The Cheetah’s Whisker’ Abeba enjoys playing tegre with her friends. Tegre is the Ethiopian name for a game called mancala. Mancala is a very old game indeed – there’s evidence that it’s 1,300 years old, but it may be far more ancient than that (one archaeologist thought he had found an ancient Egyptian mancala board carved into a piece of limestone). It’s played in different versions all over Africa and in parts of Asia, and it has many different names. Most versions are for two players.
It can be played using shallow holes scooped out of the ground – or on beautifully carved and decorated boards.
This game is the version played by the Akan people of Ghana. It is called oware, and is a very ancient form of mancala.
How to play:
You will need two rows of six holes, plus two containers for storage such as saucers or small bowls. You could use an empty box for 12 eggs as your holes, if you cut off the lid. Your holes are the six in front of you.
You also need 48 playing pieces – large seeds, dried beans, small shells or pebbles could be used. These pieces are known as ‘seeds’. Place four in each of the 12 holes.
The player who starts takes all four seeds out of one of the holes on their side of the board. Moving in an anti-clockwise direction (to the right!), they ‘sow’ the seeds by putting one in each hole.
When the last seed has been ‘sown’, this player picks up all the seeds in that hole, including the one they’ve just put there, and carries on ‘sowing’ the seeds. This continues until the last seed goes into an empty hole (unless you’ve made a mistake, this should mean you’ve lifted seeds five times).
Now the second player lifts seeds (or a seed) from any hole on their side, and sows them around the board, again working anti-clockwise.
After this first round, look at the holes on your side. If there are four seeds in any of them, scoop them up and put them in your storage bowl. You can do this even if your opponent is sowing seeds.
If you have four seeds in a hole when you put your last seed in it, and the hole is on your side of the board, the seeds are yours, so put them in your store. If you do this, your turn finishes.
If your opponent has four seeds on their side, they win the seeds and their turn finishes.
When there are only eight seeds left, the game is over. The eight see
ds belong to the player who started the game.
For the second game, each player fills as many holes with four seeds as they can, and all those holes belong to them. The player who started second the first time round now begins to sow seeds into holes (starting turns alternate).
The game ends when one of the players can no longer put four seeds in a hole to start a game. The player with the most seeds wins.
MAKE A GLASS XYLOPHONE
Marimba, the mother of music, was good at inventing musical instruments. Here’s one you could make for yourself.
You will need:
Some empty jam jars – if you can find eight that are all the same shape and size, it is easier to make a scale, but you can use a range of jars
A jug of water
A metal spoon
Newspaper to catch any drips or spills
What you do:
Put the newspaper on a flat surface, and arrange the jam jars on it in a row. Pour different amounts of water into each jar, from hardly any to quite full. Tap them with the spoon (gently!). You should get a different note from every jar – try arranging them with the highest note at one end and the lowest at the other. You might need to adjust the amounts of water (spoon a little out, pour a little in) to get a proper scale.
With a little practice, you should be able to play simple tunes on your glass xylophone.
Try tapping different parts of the jars. Is there a change in sound if you tap the top or the bottom?
FUL SUDANI – PEANUT SOUP
Peanuts grow in warm climates, and African farmers produce a large proportion of the world’s crop. They are very good for you! That may be one reason why peanuts appear in a number of African recipes.
This peanut soup recipe comes from the Sudan, but there are many other versions from different African countries. There is enough soup here for six people, so you could cut the quantities in half if you don’t need that much.
You will need:
450g (1lb) shelled peanuts
1 litre (1¾ pt) milk
1 litre (1¾ pt) chicken stock (you could use a stock cube)
Salt and pepper
Cream and butter, if you like
What you do:
Please ask an adult to help you before you begin.
Heat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
Spread the peanuts in a single layer on a baking tray, and roast in the oven for 15–20 minutes.
Leave to cool, then rub off their skins.
If you have a mincer or food processer, grind up the roasted peanuts. If you don’t, you could crush them with a pestle and mortar, or put them in batches into a clean plastic bag, and squash them as finely as you can using a rolling pin. Be careful not to puncture the bag! You don’t want to lose any peanuts – or have bits of plastic in your food.
When all the peanuts are finely crushed, put them in a mixing bowl. Add the milk slowly, stirring all the time. Then add the stock, still stirring. Add a little salt and pepper. Pour the whole mixture into a big saucepan. Cook over a moderate heat until the soup comes to the boil. Carry on cooking for 10 minutes, stirring often.
Before you serve the soup, add a little cream and butter, if you like.
GLOSSARY
addax – a large antelope found in the deserts of North Africa. Addaxes have greyish-white coats, and can go without water for long spells. They are a critically endangered species
afterbirth – the placenta and membranes that come from a mother’s womb soon after she gives birth to her baby. They nourished the baby while it grew inside its mother, but aren’t needed once it is born
atuu – a big hug
diviner – a person who seeks knowledge, particularly of the future, by magic or supernatural means
entrails – the inside organs of an animal
flay – to take the skin off a person or an animal
gourd – a large fruit with a hard skin. The dried skin can be used as a container for water
harmattan – a dry, dusty wind from the east that blows along coastal regions of West Africa
hyrax – a small plant-eating mammal with a thick fur coat and a short tail. Hyraxes live in small family groups in Africa south of the Sahara and in the Middle East. Although a hyrax looks something like a mouse or a rabbit, its closest relatives are elephants and dugongs (relatives of manatees)
Igboland – an area in south-east Nigeria where the Igbo people live. It is sometimes spelled ‘Ibo’
impala – an antelope found in southern and eastern Africa. An impala has horns curved in the shape of a lyre, and a coat that is brown, black and white. Impalas like to live on the edges of woods and grasslands, and always near water
karimba – an African musical instrument in which tines – strips of metal of different lengths – are inserted into a piece of wood. When struck by thumb or finger, each tine makes a different note
makhoyana – a musical instrument made from a bow, like a hunting bow. When the taut string is picked, struck or rubbed by another bow, it makes a note. Sometimes a container, such as a gourd or a tin can, is added to the bow. This amplifies the sound
mentor – someone experienced at a skill or in a business, who can be trusted to train and advise students or new employees
perspective – how objects are seen, depending on their position and distance from the viewer
petrel – a seabird usually found far from land. Petrels fly close to the sea, trailing their feet, so it looks as if they are walking on the water!
quagga – a species of zebra, now extinct. The front half of a quagga’s body had brown stripes on a yellowy white coat, and the back half was plain brown. Quaggas lived in South Africa, and were hunted until there were none left. London Zoo has the only photo of a live quagga, taken in 1870
tine – a prong. The prongs on a fork are called tines
trogon – a brightly coloured bird. Trogons live in tropical forests all over the world. There are three species of trogon that live in Africa. They nest in hollows which they make in trees and termite mounds
tropicbird – a large seabird, mostly white, with very long tail feathers, found in tropical waters. Their feet are set so far back on their bodies that they can’t walk on land but have to push themselves along. They land to lay only one egg each year and raise their chick, which they feed so well that, when it fledges, it has to float on the water until it loses enough weight to be able to fly
Trou d’Eau Douce – a town on the east coast of Mauritius, which grew up at an important crossroads. It is named after the well of sweet water that was found there. Today it is a popular holiday resort
ululate – howling or wailing in grief
Your story starts here …
Do you love books and discovering new stories?
Then puffin.co.uk is the place for you. . .
• Thrilling adventures, fantastic fiction and laugh-out-loud fun
• Brilliant videos featuring your favourite authors and characters
• Exciting competitions, news, activities, the Puffin blog and SO MUCH more. . .
puffin.co.uk
Do you love listening to stories?
Want to know what happens behind the scenes in a recording studio?
Hear funny sound effects, exclusive author interviews and the best books read by famous authors and actors on the Puffin Podcast at www.puffin.co.uk
#ListenWithPuffin
It all started with a scarecrow …
Puffin is over seventy years old. Sounds ancient, doesn’t it? But Puffin has never been so lively. We’re always on the lookout for the next big idea, which is how it began all those years ago.
Penguin Books was a big idea from the mind of a man called Allen Lane, who in 1935 invented the quality paperback and changed the world. And from great Penguins, great Puffins grew, changing the face of children’s books forever.
The first four Puffin Picture Books were hatched in 1940 and the first Puffin story book featured a man with broomstick
arms called Worzel Gummidge. In 1967 Kaye Webb, Puffin Editor, started the Puffin Club, promising to ‘make children into readers’. She kept that promise and over 200,000 children became devoted Puffineers through their quarterly instalments of Puffin Post.
Many years from now, we hope you’ll look back and remember Puffin with a smile. No matter what your age or what you’re into, there’s a Puffin for everyone. The possibilities are endless, but one thing is for sure: whether it’s a picture book or a paperback, a sticker book or a hardback, if it’s got that little Puffin on it – it’s bound to be good.
www.puffin.co.uk
PUFFIN BOOKS
UK | USA | Canada | Ireland | Australia
India | New Zealand | South Africa
Puffin Books is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com.
www.penguin.co.uk
www.puffin.co.uk
www.ladybird.co.uk
First published 2017
Text copyright © K. P. Kojo, 2017
Illustrations by Joe Lillington
Illustrations copyright © Penguin Books Ltd, 2017
The moral right of the author and illustrator has been asserted
Cover illustration by Nathan Yoder
ISBN: 978-0-141-37327-0