South African Folklore originates from an oral,
historical
History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...
tradition
A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common e ...
. It is rooted in the region's
landscape
A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or human-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes th ...
with
animal
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Biology, biological Kingdom (biology), kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, ...
s – and the animal kingdom – playing a dominant role. Some of the subjects covered include:
plant life
Plant Life Records was a record label that existed from 1977 until 1984. It was formed by Nigel Pegrum, at that time drummer for Steeleye Span. Maddy Prior recorded one album for the label, as did Magical Flight, Wizz Jones in 1977. Its most s ...
taking on a human form, women being married to gods, messages being delivered by thunder. Music and song is often used to tell the story and the tales values are usually African, with community and sharing being key. Some 19th century folklore tales from this genre include: "Crocodiles Treason", "Lion’s Share", The World's Reward, "The Dance for Water or Rabbit’s Triumph", "The Hunt of Lion and Jackal", The Zebra Stallion, "Lion Who Taught Himself Wiser Than His Mother" and "the Origin of Death".