An African Folktale and a Prayer Quilt!

“Ask and it shall be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7*

     While looking through the newsletter from a nearby senior center, an interesting announcement caught my attention. Mr James Graham, a member of the Detroit Association of Black Storytellers, was coming with some folktales from West Africa. Now that sounded like fun! Al signed us up for the evening presentation and it turned out to be a delightful experience.

     Dressed in simple traditional clothing and holding a wooden staff, James Graham shared some of the folklore of West Africa, including a version of the creation story and a rather familiar one that came from Mali, “Sundiata, the Lion King of Mali.” The original version though, as told by Mr. Graham, was much different from the Disney production of “The Lion King.”

    In the West African tale, when a baby, Sundiata, was born there was a prophecy made that he would reign over his people. Yet as a child he was very weak and could neither walk nor talk. His peers mocked him, calling him the “lion king” because he crawled on all fours like a lion.

   Sundiata’s mother grew increasingly frustrated with him. When he was ten years old, she challenged him to stand up and walk. Our storyteller took on the role of the mother, crying “Sundiata, why can’t you walk or talk? What is wrong with you?”

   At this Sundiata looked at his mother and asked, “Mother, what do you want me to do for you?” Although amazed that he had spoken, she challenged him by ordering him to bring her a certain type of tree. He crawled over to that tree and pulled himself up, grasped it by the trunk and heaved it to a place in the center of the village.

   Then, he walked back to his mother, unsteadily at first but soon taking one step after the other. 

   “Sundiata,” she asked, “why didn’t you tell me that you could talk and walk?”

   “Mother,” the lad responded, “You never asked me the right question!” A surprise and thought provoking ending to the story!

   The evening went by quickly, with the audience absorbed in listening to Mr. Graham’s deep, resonant voice and watching his facial expressions and gestures. It was quite a performance, but even more than that, very inspiring. “What I’ve found to be true,” he rhymed in a lilting voice, “life can be enhanced with the Spirit, the story and you!”

   After the program was over, I began a conversation with the friendly woman sitting in our row a few seats down. Our husbands waited patiently while we talked, mostly about our families and grandchildren. After telling her that our daughter had recently gone through some health issues, the woman, a nurse, offered to give her a prayer quilt. A special group of people sewed and prayed over shawls and quilts before donating them to the hospital where she, Deborah, worked.

   Such a nice surprise. We exchanged phone numbers that night before leaving the Senior Center and she assured me that she’d call sometime during the week and figure out how to get the quilt to us.

Deborah was true to her word, leaving a message one morning while Al and I were out. When I called back, we arranged a time for her to stop by our house after working at the hospital. Her husband was familiar with our area and was going to come with her to make the delivery.

   On that designated day, not only did they come with the gift of a beautiful maroon and white star themed quilt, but also with a list of 100 verses about healing from the Bible. After visiting over cups of hot tea, the four of us prayed for our daughter, joining hands around the table.

   The prayer quilt encouraged me, reminding me to be strong in faith. How easy it is for doubts and anxiety to creep in, especially as months and even years pass by and the answers to our prayers seem long in coming. We believe and doubt at the same time like Sundiata’s mother or the agonized father who confessed to Jesus when his demon tormented son was in the midst of convulsions, “Lord I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief.”Mark 9:24*

Thank you Lord for hearing our prayers. In Jesus’ name, Amen!

*NIV Bible