The Adventures of Asuom

Folktales from Northern Ghana

by John B. A. Agandin

Asuom is to the Builsa, what Ananse is to the Akan. He is the hero of many Builsa tales. His incorrigible mischief and cunning has always amused both the young and the old. In this collection, the reader comes face to face with the crafty creature in his adventures through many aspects of life. From his bullying of Apiuk (the hyena) to his duel with the nightjar (Akalaasing), the reader will find it difficult not to both love and despise the clever Asuom. The sheer magnitude of his wisdom, courage, resourcefulness, enthusiasm, dexterity, cunning and lively devotion to mischief is guaranteed to hold you spellbound through every tale. Nevertheless, even Asuom cannot get away with everything forever! The tales are not only hilarious and entertaining, but teach many useful lessons for life.

£21.00

About the author

John B. A. Agandin

John B. A. Agandin was born in Sandema. He went to Sandema Secondary Technical School and St. John Bosco’s Teacher Training College before later going to read Geography at the University of Ghana. He had a huge appetite for story telling from the stories his mother told under the bright moon light at home and later developed a keen interest in literary and cultural works whilst at Bosco’s. As a teacher, he sought to help his students appreciate literary works especially those of their own culture. He was in charge of cultural activities in Sandema J.H.S and helped to organise the inter-schools cultural festival in the Sandema zone in 2007. It was in this process that the idea of compiling the popular folktales of Asuom was conceived and started. This is the first collection.