<P> In many traditional arts and craft traditions in Africa, certain themes significant to those particular cultures recur, including a couple, a woman with a child, a male with a weapon or animal, and an outsider or a stranger . Couples may represent ancestors, community founder, married couple or twins . The couple theme rarely exhibit intimacy of men and women . The mother with the child or children reveals intense desire of the women to have children . The theme is also representative of mother mars and the people as her children . The man with the weapon or animal theme symbolizes honor and power . A stranger may be from some other tribe or someone from a different country, and more distorted portrayal of the stranger indicates proportionately greater gap from the stranger . (HI) </P> <P> Like all human cultures, African folklore and religion represents a variety of social facets of the various cultures in Africa . Like almost all civilizations and cultures, flood myths have been circulating in different parts of Africa . Culture and religion share space and are deeply intertwined in African cultures . In Ethiopia, Christianity and Islam form the core aspects of Ethiopian culture and inform dietary customs as well as rituals and rites . According to a Pygmy myth, Chameleon, hearing a strange noise in a tree, cut open its trunk and water came out in a great flood that spread all over the land . </P> <P> Folktales also play an important role in many African cultures . Stories reflect a group cultural identity and preserving the stories of Africa will help preserve an entire culture . Storytelling affirms pride and identity in a culture . In Africa, stories are created by and for the ethnic group telling them . Different ethnic groups in Africa have different rituals or ceremonies for storytelling, which creates a sense of belonging to a cultural group . To outsiders hearing an ethnic group's stories, it provides an insight into the community's beliefs, views, and customs . For people within the community, it allows them to encompass their group's uniqueness . They show the human desires and fears of a group, such as love, marriage, and death . Folktales are also seen as a tool for education and entertainment . They provide a way for children to understand the material and social environment . Every story has a moral to teach people, such as good will prevail over evil . For entertainment, stories are set in fantastic, non-human worlds . Often, the main character of the story would be a talking animal or something unnatural would happen to human character . Even though folktales are for entertainment, they bring a sense of belonging and pride to communities in Africa . </P> <P> There are different types of African stories: animal tales and day - to - day tales . Animal tales more oriented towards entertainment, but still have morals and lessons to them . Animal tales are normally divided into trickster tales and ogre tales . In the animal tales, a certain animal would always have the same character or role in each story so the audience does not have to worry about characterization . The Hare was always the trickster, clever and cunning, while the Hyena was always being tricked by the Hare . Ogres are always cruel, greedy monsters . The messengers in all the stories were the Birds . Day - to - Day tales are the most serious tales, never including humor, that explained the everyday life and struggles of an African community . These tales take on matters such as famine, escape from death, courtship, and family matters, using a song form when the climax of the story was being told . </P>

What are some characteristics of african cultural heritage