Asuom

By
Asuom is to the Bulsa, what Ananse is to the Akan; a symbol of wisdom, mischief and often of villainy whose main delight is in using his cunning to outwit others. In Bulsa folktales, Asuom is portrayed as wise, shrewd and full of ideas and plans to exploit others whilst Apiuk (the Hyena) is quite the opposite. He represents the height of foolishness, imprudence and gluttony. Asuom however frequently overreaches himself by being too smart, and too greedy so that he ends up in trouble. But thanks to his ingenuity, he is often able to get out of trouble. Nevertheless, such a person cannot escape trouble forever. All stories of Asuom have a moral lesson: not to be too greedy or selfish or mischievous but to be kind, generous and considerate of others. 

The collection of stories of Asuom by this author is available in two volumes: Why the Chameleon Has a Broken Head and The Adventures of Asuom. Details of the two books are found below. 


Why the Chameleon has a Broken Head

"Why the Chameleon Has a Broken Head & other stories of Asuom" is the second in the Asuom Series which seeks to present 'Buluk to the World' by translating these popular folktales of the land into the English Language to reach a wider audience and hopefully enable them to be integrated into mainstream educational texts in time. 

Content: The Book contains the following tales: 
  • The Fattened Rams of Agoabiak
  • Which is more important – Age or Wisdom?
  • How Asuom Got A Handsome Mouth
  • Asuom and the Three Herculean Tasks
  • Asuom and the King's Roofing Beam
  • Asuom and the Honey Tree
  • Why the Lion Hunts Other Animals
  • The Gossip Trap
  • Why the Chameleon Has A 'Broken' Head (I)
  • Why the Chameleon Has A 'Broken' Head (II)

Look out for the book in the coming months at a bookshop near you. For more information about it and how you can buy a copy of this book, you may contact the author via the options below: 

Mobile 0246258194 
Email at: j.agandin2016@gmail.com 





The Adventures of Asuom

The Adventures of Asuom, I believe, is the first collection of Bulsa folktales written in English. It was published in 2015 by Afram Publications Ltd, a leading publishing house in Ghana. It is an easy to read book. Originally meant for Junior High School students but can be read by adults as well. It is packed with adventure, laughter, and many useful lessons. No matter your origin, age,and interests, you are sure to be entertained by these amusing tales. Why don't you try it for yourself?


To buy copies of this book, contact:

In Accra:

The Publisher: 

Afram Publications (Gh) Ltd.
Midway Lane, Abofu-Achimota, C184/22, Accra
P.O. Box M18, Accra.
Phone: +233 (0) 244314103 / +233 (0) 302412561
E-mail: info@aframpubghana.com / sales@aframpubghana.com

The Author: 

 John Agandin - 0246258194

In Sandema:

David Angaamba - +233 (0) 242776788 / +233 (0) 203064283

 In Tamale:
Wisdom Books and Stationery, T-poly Road, Tamale
+233 241861418



For a taste of some Bulsa folktales refer to the folktales tab on the main blog



Comments

  1. Macbonti11:43 pm, October 10, 2022

    So entertaining to read that I can't just take my eyes off each piece I come across . Hoping to get more of it. Thanks a million for such great pieces. Keep on bro. Never be discouraged irrespective of the challenge. There is none that is insurmountable

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Recent Posts

A Lively-Minded Journey Pt. 1

By
Image
It was my first visit to the Nkwanta North district and it began like any other day. My mission: to support other members of the Lively Minds Technical Team to set up the GES Lively Minds Programme in the district. We were at the stage of Training of Mothers popularly called ToM. At 7am, we left the hotel and drove into the town to get breakfast. When the cars stopped, one of my colleagues walked over to our car and informed us that those in the first car were going to eat fufu but he wanted porridge. Fufu at 7:00am? I asked. Interesting. "But there is also waakye and ‘raster’ porridge," he added. I told him I had taken a cup of coffee and I had an apple in my handbag. The driver burst out laughing. “Hahaha!! We’re talking of food and you say you have an apple?” We all laughed. Everyone eventually bought some food and the fufu team returned to report that it wasn’t ready. So we drove to the education office to meet the district team (DT) and begin the day's work.  I me
Read more

Halting Words for the 'Early' Jacob Adongo Atambilla

By
Image
When evenings in Sandema were dark, His footsteps on the road were heard, On journeys long with his Bible in hand, In Faith and works he showed the way. From Kori number 1 to number 2 both, From nearby Kobdema to far-off Kalijiisa, Across streams to Nyaansa and hills to Suwarinsa, A weary pilgrim on many treacherous roads. With girls and boys, men and women, With Roman Catholics and protestant folk, With those of faith and those without it, All their sorrows and joys he shared. A gentle voice, a helping hand, Knees that bleed from kneeling in prayer, A soft cackling laugh, with seamless teeth, The perfect listener, with limitless patience. Long upon an empty stomach he went, And defied both the devil and his lieutenants, His Bible and faith were his only staff, Upon them, he leaned and hoped and prayed.             Read:  Village Boy Impressions - Fathers Hail the man Jacob Adongo Atambilla, The son of Atambilla of Bongo Gorogo, Who today
Read more

Buli Series 8 - Money in Buli

By
Image
Many Bulsa seem to think that when we ask the question, "How do we say this or that in Buli?", it means they have to think back to some deep and incomprehensible Buli to say what it is. Others also believe that "pure" Buli is old-fashioned words or expressions used in a time different from ours. Neither of these ways of thinking is right. The essence of language is communication and in my opinion, language is what it is at any point in time. It can be likened to a living organism and it develops overtime by making new words and phrases, borrowing others, giving new meanings to old words among other strategies. A friend of mine in good humour, once remarked that "if we take away the French, Greek and Latin words from the English Language, it will become German!".  One of the topics that often trouble many Buli speakers is in relation to counting money or mentioning monetary figures. We therefore, continue our  lesson in numerals today by learning about mone
Read more

What is in a greeting?

By
There was an old man in my village who didn’t like to be greeted “Saliu’wa?” (Good morning?), or for that matter good afternoon, or good evening. He preferred to be greeted in the traditional exchange which entail a recital of enquiries about a person’s health, and that of their spouse, children, siblings, parents, other relatives and even neighbours. As children, we took delight in arousing his anger by shouting “saliu’wa!” at him from a distance before we took to our heels and run for dear life.
Read more