Compilation of

Afro – Asian
Stories
Juia daniella D. Leandado
8 – Lian Hua
 Table of
Contents
Introduction
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………… 3

What is a story?
……………………………………………………………….……………………….……………………………
…………………………………………… 4

Types of a story
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………….… 5

Elements of a story
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………….. 7

Short stories

The Aged Mother

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………..…….. 8

Makoto and the Cowrie Shell

…………………………………………………………………………………………………….....…….. 10

outwitting a crocodile
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..….
..…..... 11
 Ramayana
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………….…...…….. 12

Tale of two brothers

…………………………………………………………………………………………………….........................
....……... 13

The woodcutter and the tiger

……………………………………………………………………………………………………...…….. 15

Tale of Chunhyung
………………………………………………………………………………………………………….................
............……... 16

Introduction
What is Afro – Asian?
Afro-Asians or African-Asians (also known as Black Asians or Blasians), are

persons of mixed Asian and African ancestry. Historically, Afro-Asian populations

have been marginalized as a result of human migration and social conflict. The

term Black Asian may also be used to describe Negritos (blacks indigenous to Asia);

therefore Afro-Asian is a more scientifically proper term to describe Black Asians

with direct African background or ancestry.

What are the countries?

The eleven Afro- Asian countries are:

 Cambodia
 Pakistan
 China
 Philippines
 India
 South Africa
 Israel
 Sudan
 Japan
 U. A. R. Statute
 Liberta

What is a Story?
A story or narrative is a connected series of events told through words (written

or spoken), imagery (still and moving), body language, performance, music, or

any other form of communication. You can tell a story about anything, and the

events described can be real or imaginary; covering both fiction and nonfiction;

and leaving no topic, genre, or style untouched. There are stories about all

things and all times; past, present and future. Whenever you’re telling somebody

about a series of events, you are telling a story, no matter what the subject nor

when they occurred. As such, stories are of great value to human culture, and

are some of the oldest, most important parts of life.

Types of a Story
Autobiography
 a detailed description or account of the storyteller's own life.

Biography
 a detailed description or account of someone's life.

Captivity narrative
 a story in which the protagonist is captured and describes their experience with the culture of
their captors.

Epic
 a very long narrative poem, often written about a hero or heroine and their exploits.

Epic poem
 a lengthy story of heroic exploits in the form of a poem.

Fable
 a didactic story, often using animal characters who behave like people.

Fantasy
 a story about characters that may not be realistic and about events that could not really
happen.

Folk tale
 an old story which has been passed down orally and which reveals the customs of a culture.

Historical fiction
 stories which take place in real historical settings and which often feature real historical figures
and events, but which center on fictional characters or events.

Legend
 a story that is based on fact but often includes exaggerations about the hero (e.g. the East
African legend of Fumo Liyongo in the coast of Kenya).

Memoir
 similar to an autobiography, except that memoirs generally deal with specific events in the life
of the author.
Types of a Story
Myth
 an ancient story often meant to explain the mysteries of life or nature.

News
 information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of
mouth to a third party or mass audience.

Non-linear narrative
 a story whose plot does not conform to conventional chronology, causality, and/or perspective.

Novel
 a long, written narrative, normally in prose, which describes fictional characters and events,
usually in the form of a sequential story.

Novella
 a written, fictional, prose narrative normally longer than a short story but shorter than a novel.

Parable
 a succinct, didactic story, in prose or verse, which illustrates one or more instructive lessons or
principles.

Play
 a story that is told mostly through dialogue and is meant to be performed on stage.

Quest narrative
 a story in which the characters must achieve a goal. This includes some illness narratives.

Realistic fiction
 stories which portray fictional characters, settings, and events that could exist in real life.

Short story
 a brief story that usually focuses on one character and one event.

Tall tale
 a humorous story that tells about impossible happenings, exaggerating the hero's
accomplishments.
 Elements of a
Short Story
American literature contains some of the world's best examples of the short story. Readers around
the world enjoy the finely crafted stories of American writers such as O. Henry, Stephen Crane, Jack
London, Mark Twain and Edgar Allen Poe.

What makes these authors such remarkable short story writers? They are true masters at combining
the five key elements that go into every great short story: character, setting, conflict, plot and theme.

Character
A character is a person, or sometimes even an animal, who takes part in the action of a short story or
other literary work.

Setting
The setting of a short story is the time and place in which it happens. Authors often use descriptions
of landscape, scenery, buildings, seasons or weather to provide a strong sense of setting.

Plot
A plot is a series of events and character actions that relate to the central conflict.

Conflict
The conflict is a struggle between two people or things in a short story. The main character is usually
on one side of the central conflict.
On the other side, the main character may struggle against another important character, against the
forces of nature, against society, or even against something inside himself or herself (feelings,
emotions, illness).

Theme
The theme is the central idea or belief in a short story.

The Aged
Mother By Matsuo Basho

Long, long ago there lived at the foot of the mountain a poor farmer and his aged, widowed mother.
They owned a bit of land which supplied them with food, and they were humble, peaceful, and happy.

Shining was governed by a despotic leader who though a warrior, had a great and cowardly shrinking
from anything suggestive of failing health and strength. This caused him to send out a cruel
proclamation. The entire province was given strict orders to immediately put to death all aged people.
Those were barbarous days, and the custom of abandoning old people to die was not uncommon.
The poor farmer loved his aged mother with tender reverence, and the order filled his heart with
sorrow. But no one ever thought twice about obeying the mandate of the governor, so with many
deep and hopeless sighs, the youth prepared for what at that time was considered the kindest mode
of death.

Just at sundown, when his day’s work was ended, he took a quantity of unwhitened rice which was
the principal food for the poor, and he cooked, dried it, and tied it in a square cloth, which he swung in
a bundle around his neck along with a gourd filled with cool, sweet water. Then he lifted his helpless
old mother to his back and started on his painful journey up the mountain. The road was long and
steep; the narrow road was crossed and re-crossed by many paths made by the hunters and
woodcutters. In some place, they lost and confues, but he gave no heed. One path or another, it
mattered not. On he went, climbing blindly upward -- ever upward towards the high bare summit of
what is known as Obatsuyama, the mountain of the “abandoning of the aged.”

The eyes of the old mother were not so dim but that they noted the reckless hastening from one path
to another, and her loving heart grew anxious. Her son did not know the mountain’s many paths and
his return might be one of danger, so she stretched forth her hand and snapping the twigs from
brushes as they passed, she quietly dropped a handful every few steps of the way so that as they
climbed, the narrow path behind them was dotted at frequent intervals with tiny piles of twigs. At last
the summit was reached. Weary and heart sick, the youth gently released his burden and silently
prepared a place of comfort as his last duty to the loved one. Gathering fallen pine needles, he made
a soft cushion and tenderly lifted his old mother onto it. Hew rapped her padded coat more closely
about the stooping shoulders and with tearful eyes and an aching heart he said farewell.

The trembling mother’s voice was full of unselfish love as she gave her last injunction. “Let not thine
eyes be blinded, my son.” She said. “The mountain road is full of dangers. LooK carefully and follow
the path which holds the piles of twigs. They will guide you to the familiar path farther down”. The
son’s surprised eyes looked back over the path, then at the poor old, shriveled hands all scratched
and soiled by their work of love. His heart broke within and bowing to the ground, he cried aloud: “oh,
Honorable mother, your kindness breaks my heart! I will not leave you. Together we will follow the
path of twigs, and together we will die!”

Once more he shouldered his burden (how light it seemed now) and hastened down the path, through
the shadows and the moonlight, to the little hut in the valley. Beneath the kitchen floor was a walled
closet for food, which was covered and hidden from view. There the son hid his mother, supplying her
with everything she needed, continually watching and fearing she would be discovered. Time passed,
and he was beginning to feel safe when again the governor sent forth heralds bearing an
unreasonable order, seemingly as a boast of his power. His demand was that his subjects should
present him with a rope of ashes.

The entire province trembled with dread. The order must be obeyed yet who in all Shining could make
a rope of ashes? One night, in great distress, the son whispered the news to his hidden mother.
“Wait!” she said. “I will think. I will think” On the second day she told him what to do. “Make rope of
twisted straw,” she said. “Then stretch it upon a row of flat stones and burn it on a windless night.”
He called the people together and did as she said and when the blaze died down, there upon the
stones, with every twist and fiber showing perfectly, lay a rope of ashes.

The governor was pleased at the wit of the youth and praised greatly, but he demanded to know
where he had obtained his wisdom. “Alas! Alas!” cried the farmer, “the truth must be told!” and with
deep bows he related his story. The governor listened and then meditated in silence. Finally he lifted
his head. “Shining needs more than strength of youth,” he said gravely. “Ah, that I should have
forgotten the well-known saying, “with the crown of snow, there cometh wisdom!” That very hour the
cruel law was abolished, and custom drifted into as far a past that only legends remain.

Makoto and the

Cowrie Shell A Thai folktale

Once upon a time there was a boy named Makato. He was an orphan, and had no friends or family to
take care of him. Because he had to make his own living he did all kinds of odd jobs: chopping wood,
feeding pigs, clearing and cleaning. He didn't mind to work hard, and despite his small wages he was
satisfied with his life.

He was only 4 when his mother passed away, but he remembered some stories she had told about
the kind-hearted king of Sukhotai. Ever since he was small he wanted to meet this king. One day,
when helping a friend to find food for elephants, he found so many branches that the friend offered
him a job to become the assistant of the King's mahout. He worked hard cleaning elephants sheds
and finding food. One fine morning Makato's patience and hard work got rewarded: he was to
accompany the King's elephant an a parade. As the king mounted the beast, in his splendid, shiny
costume, he dropped a tiny cowrie shell. Makato picked it up and held it out to the king. who told him
to keep it.
At the time the people of Sukhotai used cowrie shells as money, and although one little cowrie had
little value, he wanted to use it wisely. He went to the market to buy seeds, yet quickly realized he
could not even buy the smallest bag of seeds, while he noticed a lettuce seed stall.

"Lady, if I dip my finger into this pile of seeds, can I take those that stick to my finger for one cowrie?",
he asked. "Well why not", replied the sales lady, amused by his suggestion. Makato carefully scraped
the seeds from his finger and planted them, watering the tiny sprouts daily, until the garden was
covered in fresh, green lettuce. Proud as he was, he offered to king his first produce.

"Where did you get these, my boy?" the king asked surprised, and Makato told him the story. He king
was impressed by so much intelligence and industry that he offered him a fixed position at the palace.

Outwitting a
Crocodile A Malaysian folktale
Sang Kancil was a clever mouse deer. Whenever he was in a bad situation, he always played a
clever trick to escape. In this story, Sang Kancil outwitted Sang Buaya, a big, bad crocodile, who
wanted to eat him.

There were many trees whereSang Kancil's lived along the river, so he never had trouble finding
food. There were always lots of leaves. He spent his time running and jumping and looking into the
river.
Sang Buaya, the big bad crocodile, lived in the river with other crocodiles. They were always waiting
to catch Sang Kancil for dinner. One day when Sang Buaya was walking along the river, he saw
some delicious fruit on the trees on the other side the river.

Sang Kancil wanted to taste the tasty-looking fruit because he was a little tired of eating leaves. He
tried to think of a way to cross the river, but he had to be careful. He didn't want to be caught and
eaten by Sang Buaya. He needed to trick Sang Buaya.

Sang Kancil suddenly had an idea He called out to the crocodile, "Sang Buaya! Sang Buaya!" Sang
Buaya slowly came out of the water and asked Sang Kancil why he was shouting his name. He asked
Sang Kancil, "Aren't you afraid I will eat you?" Then he opened his big mouth very wide to scare Sang
Kancil.

Sang Kancil said, "Of course, I am afraid of you, but the king wants me to do something. He is having
a big feast with lots of food, and he is inviting everyone, including you and all the other crocodiles. But
first, I have to count all of you. He needs to know how many of you will come. Please line up across
the river, so I can walk across your heads and count all of you."

Sang Buaya was excited and left to tell the other crocodiles about the feast with all the good food.
Soon, they came and made a line across the river. Sang Kancil said, "Promise not to eat me because
or I can't report to the king how many of you are coming. They promised not to eat him.

Sang Kancil stepped on Sang Buaya's head and counted one. Then he stepped on the next one and
said, "Two." He stepped on each crocodile, counting each one, and finally reached the other side of
the river. Then he said to Sang Buaya,"Thank you for helping me to cross the river to my new home."

Sang Buaya was shocked and angry. He shouted at Sang Kancil, "You tricked us! There is no feast,
is there?" All of the crocodiles looked at Sang Buaya angrily. They were angry because he let Sang
Kancil trick all of them.

Sang Kancil loved his new home on the other side of the river because he had a lot of tasty food to
eat. Poor Sang Buaya was not so lucky. After that, none of the other crocodiles ever talked to him
again.

Ramayana By Shreya Sharma

Dasharatha was the King of Ayodhya and had three wives and four sons. Rama was the eldest and
his mother was Kaushalya. Bharata was the son of Dasharatha’s second and favorite wife, Queen
Kaikeyi. The other two were twins, Lakshmana and Shatrughna whose mother was Sumithra. In the
neighboring city the ruler’s daughter was named Sita. When it was time for Sita to choose her
bridegroom (at a ceremony called a swayamvara) princes from all over the land were asked to string
a giant bow which no one could lift. However, as Rama picked it up, he not only strung the bow, he
broke it. Seeing this, Sita indicated that she had chosen Rama as her husband by putting a garland
around his neck. Their love became a model for the entire kingdom as they looked over the kingdom
under the watchful eye of his father the king.

A few years later, King Dasharatha decided it was time to give his throne to his eldest son Rama and
retire to the forest. Everyone seemed pleased, save Queen Kaikeyi since she wanted her son
Bharata to rule. Because of an oath Dasharatha had made to her years before, she got the king to
agree to banish Rama for fourteen years and to crown Bharata, even though the king pleaded with
her not to demand such a request. The devastated King could not face Rama and it was Queen
Kaikeyi who told Rama the King’s decree. Rama, always obedient, was content to go into banishment
in the forest. Sita and Lakshmana accompanied him on his exile.

One day Rama and Lakshmana wounded a rakshasas (demon) princess who tried to seduce Rama.
She returned to her brother Ravana, the ten-headed ruler of Lanka. In retaliation, Ravana devised a
plan to abduct Sita after hearing about her incomparable beauty. He sent one of his demons
disguised as a magical golden deer to entice Sita. To please her, Rama and Lakshmana went to hunt
the deer down. Before they did though, they drew a protective circle around Sita and told her that she
would be safe for as long as she did not step outside the circle. After Rama and Lakshmana left,
Ravana appeared as a holy man begging alms. The moment Sita stepped outside the circle to give
him food, Ravana grabbed her and carried her to his kingdom in Lanka.

Rama then sought the help of a band of monkeys offer to help him find Sita. Hanuman, the general of
the monkey band can fly since his father is the wind. He flew to Lanka and, finding Sita in the grove,
comforted her and told her Rama would come to save her soon. Ravana’s men captured Hanuman,
and Ravana ordered them to wrap Hanuman's tail in cloth and to set it on fire. With his tail burning,
Hanuman escaped and hopped from house-top to house-top, setting Lanka on fire. He then flew back
to Rama to tell him where Sita was.

Rama, Lakshmana and the monkey army built a causeway from the tip of India to Lanka and crossed
over to Lanka where a cosmic battle ensued. Rama killed several of Ravana’s brothers and
eventually confronted the ten-headed Ravana. He killed Ravana, freed Sita and after Sita proved
here purity, they returned to Ayodhya where Bharata returned the crown to him.

Tale of Two
Brothers By Seti II (1209-1205 B.C.)

(1)
Once there were two brothers, Anpu was the elder and Bata was the younger. When their parents
died, Anpu was already married and had a house of his own, so he took his little brother to live with
him and treated him like a son. When the lil' bro grew into a young man, he was an excellent worker.
He did the plowing and harvested the corn; there was not an equal in the land. Behold the spirit of a
god was with him.

Every morning, the younger bro followed his oxen and worked all day in the fields and every evening
he returned to the house with vegetables, milk, and wood. He laid all these before his elder brother
and at dawn, he took the bread with him which he had baked and laid it before his elder brother; and
he took with him his bread and drove the cattle into the field.

Because Anpu loved his brother very much, his wife became jealous and wanted to destroy Bata.
One day when Anpu and Bata were in the fields, they needed some corn so Anpu sent Bata home to
get some. The younger brother found the wife combing her hair and said, "Get up and give me some
corn so that I may run to the field for my elder brother is in a hurry. Do not delay."

At eventide, Anpu returned home earlier than his brother because Bata had much work to do in the
fields. Anpu was met by his wife who was crying bitterly. She showed him her arms and legs which
she had painted black and blue, and accused Bata of having beaten her. She pretended to be in
great pain. She didn't give him water to wash his hands with, she didn't light the fire for him, she
pretended that she was very sick. And Anpu became very angry; he sharpened his knife and waited
for Bata in the stable.
 Tale of Two
Brothers By Seti II (1209-1205 B.C.)

(2)
When the sun went down, Bata came home as usual loaded with herbs, milk, and wood. And as he
entered the door, he saw the feet of his brother and the sharp knife hanging by his side. The brother
sprang at him and Bata fled praying to Ra, "My good lord! Save me from death, thou who divines the
evil from the good." And Ra heard his cry; he made a river flow between one brother and the other
and filled it with crocodiles. And Bata said to his elder brother, "Why do you seek to kill me? Am I not
your brother and have you not always treated me as if you were my father?

And has not your wife been as a mother to me? Now, since you want to kill me, I shall go to the
Valley of the Acacia." Anpu answered, "Why did you beat up my wife and almost kill her?" Bata
answered, "I did no such thing. Have I not told you that I have always looked upon her as my
mother?" So Anpu went home. He found his wife near the river washing off the black and blue dye
with which she had painted herself. Filled with great anger, Anpu killed his wife and cast her to the
dogs. Then he sat down, poured ashes on his head, and mourned for his younger brother. Bata
reached the Valley of the Acacia. There was no one with him; he slew wild beasts for food and built
himself a house under the acacia tree, which is sacred to the gods.

One day as he walked out of his house, he met the Nine Gods who knew of his innocence and
goodness. Ra said to the god Khunumu, "Behold, frame a woman for Bata that he may not remain
alone. And Khunumu made for Bata a wife to dwell with him. She was indeed more beautiful than any
other woman in the whole land. She was like a goddess and Bata loved her very much.
 The Tale of the
Woodcutter
And the Tiger A Korean folklore

Korean folklore recalls the tale of a woodcutter who encounters a tiger in the woods.

Fearing that he would soon be the tiger’s dinner, he exclaimed: “You must be my long lost brother!
Our mother cried for you when you left home. She had dinner ready for you every night, waiting for
your return. Sadly, out mother has just passed away. How happy she would have been had she
known you are alive and well!” The woodcutter took out his handkerchief and pretended to wipe at
his eyes. The tiger turned away, as tears fell down his cheeks, leaving the woodcutter unharmed.

Every year thereafter, on Chesa, the memorial day of the woodcutter’s mother’s death, an offering
appeared on her grave - sometimes a peasant, or even his mother’s favorite mountain berries. The
woodcutter did not know where these offerings came from.

One year, the woodcutter noticed that the customary offering had not been placed on his mother’s
grave, and he wondered what had happened. Out from the bush, three baby tigers appeared,
carrying offerings. They approached the woodcutter and cried: “You must be our uncle! Mother tiger
is gone now, and we know how important it is for her to honor grandmother by bringing an offering to
her Chesa table beside her grave.
We are here to bring offerings for our grandmother in loving memory of our mother.” The woodcutter
noticed that his face had turned suddenly warm and realized that it was his own tears streaming down
his cheeks.

Tale of
Chunhyung A Korean folktale

Yi Mongryong, who always studies hard, goes out to get some fresh air. He sees Chunhyang on a
swing and he falls in love with her at first sight. He orders his servant, PangJa, to ask Chunhyang to
come to him but she refuses. Yi Mongryong then goes to talk to Chunhyang's mother, Wolmae, to ask
permission to marry Chunhyang; Wolmae gives her permission and the two young people marry that
day.

Yi Mongryong's father, a government official, has to move to another region, Hanyang (Seoul now) so
Yi Mongryong has to leave Chunhyang to follow his father. Chunhyang gives Yi Mongryong a ring as
a token of her love for him and promises to stay faithful to him and wait for him to come back in the
future and take her to Seoul. After he leaves, a replacement for Mongryong's father comes to
Chunhyang's village. The new replacement is Pyon, a greedy and selfish person- he always wastes
his time partying with courtesans. Chunhyang, renowned for her beauty, is forced to come to his
party. Although Chunhyang is not a courtesan, Pyon treats her like one because her mother is a
courtesan. He compels her to sleep with him, but Chunhyang keeps refusing because she is married.
Pyon gets angry and imprisons her. He decides to punish her on his birthday.

Yi Mongryong wins first place in a state examination and he becomes a secret royal inspector, or
Amhaeng-eosa, who investigates and prosecutes corrupt government officials as an undercover
emissary of the king. Under disguise, he comes to Chunhyang's village and finds out what has
happened to Chunhyang and the misbehavior of Pyon. He must conceal his real identity so he acts
like an insane person and wears mendicant clothes. Despite his mendicancy, Chunhyang still loves
him and asks her mother to take good care of him.

At Pyon's birthday celebration, Yi Mongryong comes in and makes a satirical poem about the
misbehavior of Pyon, but he does not understand the poem. Yi Mongryong discloses his real position
and punishes the lord. At first, Chunhyang cannot recognize Yi Mongryong and he tests her faith by
asking her to spend a night with him. Chunhyang, who still cannot recognize him, refuses him as well.
Deeply moved by her faithfulness, Yi Mongryong orders a courtesan to show her the ring Chunhyang
gave him. She is shocked that he is Yi Mongryong and they live happily ever after.