Pre-viewing Discussion
Burkina Faso:
The Tyrant
and the Child
Background
West Africa has a great oral tradition. In many communities of this region,
griots have served as storytellers, entertainers and historians for centuries.
They have committed to memory genealogies and accounts of significant
events of a village going back hundreds of years. Through this inherited tradition passed down from one generation to the next, ancient stories have been
preserved. A griot narrates this tale from Burkina Faso about a wicked king
and a wise young boy. Folk literature terms relevant to this tale are provided
below:
folk literature/folklore — Traditional tales, knowledge and beliefs
handed down from generation to generation by word of mouth.
folktale — A type of folk literature that has grown from the lives and
imaginations of people. Folktales often tell of the adventures of human or
animal characters and sometimes attempt to explain the physical or spiritual world. Folktales can be organized into several different categories.
trickster tale — A type of folktale in which a small, weak character outsmarts a larger, more powerful character.
Program Summary
Once upon a time, there was a village ruled by a wicked and crazy king. The
king fears that he will lose his position of power if the elders know that he is
mad. Therefore, he decides one day to expel all of the village elders, leaving
behind only the children. Rather than harm their parents, the village children
find suitable hiding places for their elders. This is what Raogo, who lives
alone with his elderly father, does. Raogo leads him to a cave outside the
village. Back at the village, the delusional king calls upon the children to
build him a palace that can reach the sky. Raogo remarks at the impossibility
of the task and the king reacts to Raogo’s comment by commanding him to
bring him something that is not alive but can move. A veiled woman pulls
Raogo aside and informs him of the king’s madness. When Raogo visits his
father with food and water that night, he has an idea that might save himself
and the village from their crazy king. At the next gathering of the king and
children, the children ask the king to mark the boundaries for the palace.
During the meeting, Raogo uses a rope trick and the appearance of his father
and other elders to play upon the king’s hallucinations. This overwhelms the
king and he leaves the village running. In spite of his young age, Raogo is
made king of the village and restores joy to the people who live there.
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• Consider the age-old saying, “Children should be seen and not heard.” Ask
students how they feel about this saying. Do they agree or disagree? When
it comes to dealing with a problem, are children able to come up with
opinions and solutions worth considering? Explain.
• Where in the world is Burkina Faso? Many students may not be familiar
with this West African land-locked nation that is just slightly larger than
Colorado. Find the country’s location on a map. Use the map and other geographical information to make inferences about the landscape and people
of that place. How might this information be relevant to a story set in this
location?
• Review some of the different types of folktales so that students can classify
this tale after viewing.
Follow-Up Discussion
• At the end of this tale, Raogo is made king of the village and “joy returned
to the hearts of these peaceful people.” If you were given the opportunity
to assume the role of king of this village, what would you do? Have students discuss the issues they would consider a priority.
• With the exception of their mad king, the people of this village respect and
revere their elders. Discuss the contributions an elderly population can
bring to a community. In what ways are the older adult population of your
community respected and revered?
• Are there instances when the actions of Raogo or the wicked king could
have resulted in an entirely different effect? How could the king have
handled the situation differently? How about Raogo? Do you think it is
likely that these characters might have acted differently? Explain.
• Discuss the cultural elements of the characters, setting and plot by asking
students which aspects of the tale appear to be unique to West Africa and
which are more universal in nature.
Follow-up Activities
• Burkina Faso: The Tyrant and the Child is an example of a tale in which a
young protagonist rises up against a much larger and more powerful character. Consider viewing these other tales in this series where the protagonist is a young child: Taiwan: Aunt Tiger, Scotland: The Loch Ness Kelpie
and Norway: The Three Sisters Who Fell into the Mountain. Discuss the
benefits of seeing young people in these empowering roles. What message
might these wondrous tales convey to students? How can these messages
be applied to everyday life? Encourage students to get creative and come
up with their own tales with a child as the protagonist. They may even
wish to cast themselves as the lead character! Students can write and illustrate their stories or prepare for a dramatic storytelling.
• Tales with tricksters are common in West Africa. In fact, elements of trickster tales are present here in that a small, weak character is able to trick, or
outsmart, a larger, more powerful character. In West African folklore, trickster tales are often told with characters that are animals. Popular tricksters
from this region of Africa include Ananse the spider, Tortoise and Zomo the
Hare. Share of the tales of these tricksters with students. Consider Adwoa
Badoa’s The Pot of Wisdom: Ananse Stories (Groundwood Books, 2001). If
students could recast this tale with animal characters, what animals would
they choose? Encourage them to consider animals that are native to that
region as well as the trickster characters that are well-known there.
Students can retell their tales in the form of an illustrated booklet or comic
strip.
• The wicked king commands the children of the village to build him a
palace between the Earth and the sky. Although in the story, the children
knew such a task would be impossible, have students sketch and label an
elaborate palace fit for a king of that village. Consider the raw materials
used in the construction of other dwellings in the village as well as drought
and desertification problems that affect this region. How might these considerations influence their designs?
(Continued)
Teacher’s Guide © 2007 by Schlessinger Media, a division of Library Video Company
P.O. Box 580, Wynnewood, PA 19096 • 800-843-3620
• The narrator’s face in this tale resembles a mask. The making and wearing
of masks are traditions long held by many people across the African continent. Masks have been used in funeral rituals, coming-of-age rituals, religious practices, village celebrations and in telling mythical tales. Carol
Finley’s The Art of the African Mask: Exploring Cultural Traditions
(Lerner Publishing Group, 1999) is a helpful resource to learn more about
this tradition and how it can vary from group to group. For extensive
images and information about mask traditions in Burkina Faso, visit
www.uiowa.edu/~africart/Art%20of%20Burkina%20Faso.html
#Dafing. Select and share some images of masks with students. Identify
interesting and distinguishing characteristics of the masks. Then, have students select a key character in the tale and create a mask that represents
the character. Encourage students to use a variety of craft materials (e.g.,
raffia, yarn, bits of colored paper cut into geometric shapes, pastels, etc.).
Students can even use their masks in a reenactment of this tale.
• Act it out! Recreate this tale in your classroom. This can be done as a
puppet show, a mime skit, a student play, etc. In preparation for the production, examine and critically think about the story’s elements of characters,
setting and plot. Consider how the story might change if the setting was a
different time and place.
• Before folktales were written or turned into films, they were passed down
orally, from one generation to the next. In West Africa, griots were often the
keepers of a village’s oral tradition — often recounting past events in song.
Introduce students to the art of storytelling. Discuss different ways in
which the storyteller can engage listeners (e.g., using sound and gestures,
giving vivid sensory details). Practice storytelling techniques by having
each student retell a portion of this tale.
• Compare West Africa today with the setting and people portrayed in the
folktale. Organize these similarities and differences using a Venn diagram.
• www.darsie.net/talesofwonder/
This archive of folk and fairy tales from around the world presents a
sampling of the many stories that make up our world’s oral tradition.
Suggested Print Resources
To learn more about the land and people of West Africa:
• Croze, Harvey. Africa for Kids: Exploring a Vibrant Continent. Chicago
Review Press, Chicago, IL; 2006.
• Mitchell, Peter. People and Cultures of Africa: West Africa. Facts on File,
New York, NY; 2006.
• Zurlo, Tony. Indigenous Peoples of Africa: West Africa. Lucent Books,
Farmington Hills, MI; 2001.
If you are interested in tales from West Africa, you might also enjoy:
• Aardema, Verna. Koi and the Kola Nuts: A Tale from Liberia. Aladdin
Paperbacks, New York, NY; 2002.
• Aardema, Verna. Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears: A West African
Tale. Penguin Young Readers Group, New York, NY; 1975.
• Vernon-Jackson, Hugh O. West African Folk Tales. Dover Publications,
Mineola, NY; 2003.
• Diakite, Baba Wague. The Magic Gourd. Scholastic, New York, NY; 2003. A
tale from Mali.
• Lippert, Margaret H. Head, Body, Legs. Henry Holt Books for Young
Readers, New York, NY; 2005. A creation tale from Liberia.
Teacher’s Guide written by Megan Carnate, M.Ed., Curriculum Specialist,
Schlessinger Media
Suggested Internet Resources
• www.burkinaembassy-usa.org/
Learn more about Burkina Faso’s history, geography and government from
this site, presented by the Embassy of Burkina Faso in Washington, DC.
• www.oxfam.org.uk/coolplanet/ontheline/
explore/journey/burkina/bfindex.htm
This child-friendly site contains a wide variety of information and
photographs about Burkina Faso. You can even take a virtual tour!
• www.mainlesson.com/display.php?author=barker&
book=folktales&story=_contents
A great source of West African folktales that includes animal trickster tales
and pourquoi tales.
(Continued)
Teacher’s Guides for titles in this series are available at www.LibraryVideo.com
• Alaska: Raven Steals the Daylight
• Arabia: The Crown and the Sceptre
• Armenia: The Shoemaker’s Son
• Australia: Bad Baby Amy
• Burkina Faso: The Tyrant and the Child
• Canada: Timoon and the Narwhal
• Caribbean: The Chief and the
Carpenter
• Catalonia: The Manairons
• China: The Magic Gourd
• China: The Magic Paintbrush
Page 2 of 2
• Denmark: The Shepherdess and the
Chimney Sweep
• England: Cap O’ Rushes
• Finland: The Raspberry Worm
• France: Ewenn Congar
• Germany: Frau Holle
• Germany: The Enchanted Lion
• Greece: The Myth of Persephone
• Holland: The Tree with the Golden
Apples
• India: The Multi-Coloured Jackal
• Ireland: Fionn
• Ireland: The Boy Who Had No Story
• Israel: King Solomon and the Bee
• Japan: Crossing the Snow
• Mongolia: Shepherd Boy Tumur
• Namibia: Omuninyan
• Norway: The Three Sisters Who Fell
Into the Mountain
• Pakistan: Podna & Podni
• Poland: The Flower of Fern
• Poland: The Story of Flax
• Russia: The Two Brothers
Teacher’s Guide Copyright 2007 by Schlessinger Media, a division of Library Video Company
P.O. Box 580,Wynnewood, PA 19096 • 800-843-3620
Programs © 2005 S4C International All Rights Reserved
• Scotland: The Green Man of
Knowledge
• Scotland: The Loch Ness Kelpie
• Singapore: Redhill
• South Africa: How Tortoise Won
Respect
• South Africa: Ummemo
• Taiwan: Aunt Tiger
• U.S.A.: John Henry: Steel-Driving Man
• Wales: King March
• Wales: Merlin and the Dragons