AFRICAN

African
MYTHOLOGY

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Letter By Letter
“The Calabash Children”
Find words from the story of “The Calabash Children” to fill in the blanks which are above and
below the word “calabash.” The clues are in the order in which they appear in this word.

___

___ ___ ___

___ ___ ___

C A L A B A S H

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

___ ___ ___ ___ ___

___ ___ ___ ___

___ ___ ___

___

___

What the lonely woman wanted most

The state of the lonely woman’s husband
What the messenger said that the Great Spirit would send to the lonely woman
How the lonely woman felt when Kitete acted helpless
The type of tree that the lonely woman tended
Material used to mend the roof of the house
Animals that the woman acquired when she became rich
Place where the lonely woman lived

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Letter By Letter
“Goto, King of the Land and the Water”
Find words from the story of “Goto, King of the Land and the Water” to fill in the blanks which are
above and below the words “Magic Horse.” The clues are in the order in which they appear in this
word.

___

___ ___ ___

___ ___ ___ ___

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

M A G I C H O R S E

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

___ ___ ___ ___

___ ___

___ ___

The person who deserted Goto in the bush

The woman who recognized Goto as her son
The reward for which the watchman agreed to kill Goto
A word used to describe the greedy watchman
Where the ring was tied to the dog
The portion of the kingdom that Kabel’s father gave to the couple
The king of two kingdoms
The woman who was banished
In his dream, the direction that Goto was told to go
The bride of Goto

127 Copyright 2008 American Classical League

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TEACHER’S KEY
Letter By Letter: “The Calabash Children”
_I_

_D_ _M_ _G_

_E_ _P_ _R_

C A L A B A S H

_H_ _D_ _U_ _T_ _A_ _S_ _H_ _U_

_I_ _C_ _I_ _N_ _S_ _E_ _T_

_L_ _K_ _E_ _A_ _E_

_D_ _N_ _N_ _P_

_R_ _T_ _A_

_E_

_N_

TEACHER’S KEY
Letter By Letter: “Goto, King of the Land and the Water”
_W_

_A_ _A_ _Y_

_T_ _V_ _A_ _K_

_C_ _A_ _N_ _W_ _E_ _A_

_H_ _D_ _R_ _E_ _G_ _U_ _A_ _B_

M A G I C H O R S E

_A_ _N_ _O_ _C_ _K_ _A_ _T_ _O_ _T_ _L_

_N_ _Y_ _L_ _I_ _L_ _O_

_A_ _D_ _O_ _F_

_W_ _U_

_O_ _S_
128 Copyright 2008 American Classical League
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African Crossword Puzzle

“The Calabash Children”
“Goto, King of the Land and the Water”

Complete this crossword puzzle using the clues on the following page.

129 Copyright 2008 American Classical League

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African Crossword Puzzle (continued)

CLUES

Across

1. The mother of Goto

7. The childless wife of the king
8. The oldest brother's name
12. The animal that Goto is anxious to hunt
13. Where Kitete places the children when they are ready to turn back into
gourds
14.The false name that Goto uses
17. What the gourd on the ground beside the fire becomes
19. One word used to describe Kitete
20. The person who brings instructions from the Great Spirit to the woman
22. The plants that the lonely woman carefully tends
24. The father of Goto
Down

2. Another word used to describe Kitete

3. The princess of the river people
4. The man who is bribed to kill Goto
5. What the lonely woman scoops out of each gourd
6. The place where the Great Spirit lives
9. Yet another word used to describe Kitete
10. The type of transportation that Kabel and Goto take to go to Goto’s home
11. A container used to carry water or for a bowl
15. The reward that the king offers
16. The bribe that Yawuro offers to the gatekeeper
18. The animal that recognizes Goto
21. What the children do while the lonely woman is gone
23. The jewelry that proves Goto's identity

130 Copyright 2008 American Classical League

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TEACHER’S KEY
African Crossword Puzzle

131 Copyright 2008 American Classical League

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 AFRICAN

Cause and Effect in the African Myths

ACCORDION BOOK PROJECT
Events in both African myths occur because of situations that cause other things to happen. The
objective of this activity is for students to determine each cause-and-effect situation and compile
these into a simple book.

MATERIALS

scissors
tape
glue stick

copies of the cover sheet below and the next four pages

PROCEDURE

STEP 1: Cut out the cover sheet and each of the causes and effects (which have been
scrambled on the pages).

STEP 2: Tape together each cause with its effect on both front and back as shown below.

STEP 3: Organize all cause-and-effect sets by the stories which contain them. (NOTE: for
more advanced and older students, further organization, sequentially by story,
might be in order.)

STEP 4: Once organized, tape the sets together, front and back, as in the diagram below.

STEP 5: Glue the front part of the cover to the back of the first “cause” card; glue the back
part of the cover to the last “effect” card.

STEP 6: Fold, accordion style (/\/\/\/\/) at each taped point, and the result will be a book
where each left-hand page is a cause, and each right-hand page, its effect.

CAUSE & EFFECT

Produced
Produced by
BOOK
__________________________

Susan Senechal
Virginia Beach, VA
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Cause and Effect in the African Myths (continued)

C E
A F
U The messenger touches The gatekeeper abandons Goto. F
S the gourds. E
E C
 T

C E
A F
U Goto falls asleep. The lonely woman tends her gourds F
S with even greater care. E
E C
 T

C E
A F
U Kitete is witless. The king worries about his successor. F
S E
E C
 T

C E
A F
U The king has no sons. The lonely woman trips over him. F
S E
E C
 T

C E
A F
U Bags of cowries are offered as a Goto becomes king of a F
S reward for news of Goto. second kingdom. E
E C
 T

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Cause and Effect in the African Myths (continued)

C E
A F
U A woman has no husband The secret of the gourd children F
S or children. is discovered. E
E C
 T

C E
A F
U The village women spy. Everyone looks for Goto. F
S E
E C
 T

C E
A F
U Goto longs to see his father. People refuse to give the king F
S any more children. E
E C
 T

C E
A F
U Goto’s father dies. The gourds become children. F
S E
E C
 T

C E
A The messenger tells the woman F
U that the Great Spirit of the Goto comes to live among the F
S mountain has heard her prayer. river people. E
E C
 T

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Cause and Effect in the African Myths (continued)

C E
A F
U All of the adopted children die. She is lonely. F
S E
E C
 T

C E
A F
U An aged dog recognizes Goto. No one knows where Goto is. F
S E
E C
 T

C E
A F
U Kitete lies on the floor Goto is able to send a message F
S in the dark hut. to his father. E
E C
 T

C E
A F
U The calabash children work hard The lonely woman grows F
S for the lonely woman. poorer and poorer. E
E C
 T

C E
A F
U Goto has a vivid dream. Goto goes to a river and calls for Kabel. F
S E
E C
 T

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Cause and Effect in the African Myths (continued)

C E
A F
U Kabel’s father dies. Yawuro becomes jealous F
S and brokenhearted. E
E C
 T

C E
A F
U The king recognizes Goto’s ring. The spirit answers F
S the lonely woman’s prayer. E
E C
 T

C E
A F
U The lonely woman tends The gatekeeper and Yawuro F
S her gourd seeds faithfully. are banished. E
E C
 T

C E
A The gatekeeper takes Goto F
U on a secret hunting trip. The lonely woman becomes rich. F
S E
E C
 T

C E
A F
U Goto follows Kabel’s command. Yawuro bribes the gatekeeper F
S to kill Goto. E
E C
 T

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Cause and Effect in the African Myths (continued)

C E
A F
U Goto tells of his adventures Kitete helps the children F
S since he left his father’s palace. down from the rafters. E
E C
 T

C E
A F
U The lonely woman calls Kitete The gatekeeper receives his reward. F
S a calabash. E
E C
 T

C E
A F
U Goto is born to Danyawo. The gods do not send F
S the lonely woman any children. E
E C
 T

C E
A F
U The gatekeeper has children Kabel and Goto become F
S of his own. king and queen. E
E C
 T

C E
A F
U A woman is considered The lonely woman becomes impatient F
S to be bad. and abuses Kitete. E
E C
 T

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Cause and Effect in the African Myths (continued)

C E
A F
U The children in the rafters Goto is brought before the king. F
S yell for help. E
E C
 T

C E
A F
U The gatekeeper lies The seeds grow very quickly. F
S about killing Goto. E
E C
 T

C E
A F
U The lonely woman prays The gatekeeper is unable to kill Goto. F
S for someone to help her. E
E C
 T

C E
A F
U The gatekeeper tells Yawuro The children change back into gourds. F
S that he would do anything E
E to become rich. C
 T

C E
A F
U The children never return. Kabel offers the magic horse F
S for transportation. E
E C
 T

138 Copyright 2008 American Classical League

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TEACHER’S KEY
Cause and Effect in the African Myths
The Calabash Children
Cause Effect

A woman has no husband or children. She is lonely.

A woman is considered bad. The gods do not send the lonely woman any
children.

The lonely woman prays for someone The spirit answers the lonely woman’s prayer.
to help her.

The lonely woman tends her gourd The seeds grow very quickly.
seeds faithfully.

The messenger tells the woman that The lonely woman tends her gourds with even
the Great Spirit of the Mountain greater care.
has heard her prayer.

The messenger touches the gourds. The gourds become children.

The children in the rafters yell for help. Kitete helps the children down from the rafters.

The village women spy. The secret of the gourd children is discovered.

The calabash children work hard for The lonely woman becomes rich.
the lonely woman.

Kitete is witless. The lonely woman becomes impatient and abuses

Kitete.

Kitete lies on the floor in the dark hut. The lonely woman trips over him.

The lonely woman calls Kitete a calabash. The children change back into gourds.

The children never return. The lonely woman grows poorer and poorer.

139 Copyright 2008 American Classical League

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TEACHER’S KEY
Cause and Effect in the African Myths
Goto, King of the Land and the Water
Cause Effect

The king has no sons. The king worries about his successor.

All of the adopted children die. People refuse to give the king any more children.

Goto is born to Danyawo. Yawuro becomes jealous and brokenhearted.

The gatekeeper tells Yawuro that Yawuro bribes the gatekeeper to kill Goto.
he’d do anything to become rich.

The gatekeeper takes Goto on a secret No one knows where Goto is.
hunting trip.

Goto falls asleep. The gatekeeper abandons Goto.

The gatekeeper has children of his own. The gatekeeper is unable to kill Goto.

The gatekeeper lies about killing Goto. The gatekeeper receives his reward.

Bags of cowries are offered as a reward Everyone looks for Goto.

for news about Goto.

Goto has a vivid dream. Goto goes to a river and calls for Kabel.

Goto follows Kabel’s command. Goto comes to live among the river people.

Kabel’s father dies. Kabel and Goto become king and queen.

Goto longs to see his father. Kabel offers the magic horse for transportation.

An aged dog recognizes Goto. Goto is able to send a message to his father.

The king recognizes Goto’s ring. Goto is brought before the king.

Goto tells of his adventures since he The gatekeeper and Yawuro are banished.
left his father’s palace.

Goto’s father dies. Goto becomes king of a second kingdom.

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