Discover the African roots of famous fairy tales

Matthew Torres, also known as “The Story Time Guy” on social media, recently brought to light the appropriation of African cultural elements by Andrew Lang, a renowned European children’s author. Lang, famous for stories such as Cinderella and Rapunzel, has been accused of using narratives rooted in the folklore of the Xhosa people, a Bantu ethnic group from South Africa, in his late 19th-century works.

Lang’s 1889 version of Cinderella and Rapunzel, published in 1890, appear to contain themes and elements of African fairy tales. In particular, a South African story published in 1895, “Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters” by John Steptoe, bears similarities to Lang’s Cinderella. This story celebrates the virtues of selflessness, generosity and kindness of its heroine, Nyasha, who eventually marries a prince.

Historian William Bascom also points out that the Hausa people of West Africa have had their own version of Cinderella since 1911. In this version, a young girl is oppressed by her stepfamily, but magical frogs help her attend a festival. The plot is similar to that of the Western Cinderella fairytale.

Interestingly, the earliest documented version of the Cinderella fairy tale may originate not in Africa, but in Chinese culture. The story of Yeh-Shen, recorded during China’s Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), contains similar elements of oppression, magical help, and a special shoe that only fits the protagonist’s foot. This story was introduced to Western audiences in the mid-20th century.

These revelations challenge the notion of a single cultural origin for such universal stories and highlight the rich, interconnected heritage of global folklore. As Torres points out, while Lang may have popularized these stories in the Western world, he was certainly not their originator.