The Voice of an African Storyteller: Souleymane Mbodj
The Voice of an African Storyteller : Souleymane Mbodj on Culture, Memory, and Childhood
In April 2026, we spoke with Souleymane Mbodj
Souleymane Mbodj is a musician, writer, and narrator in the deep-rooted tradition of African storytelling. He was born and raised in Senegal, where, from a young age, he developed a love for percussion and the art of words. Immersed in this rich cultural environment, he quickly came to understand something essential: in many African societies, the spoken word carries history, knowledge, and identity.
Today, based in Paris, he brings this living tradition into classrooms, books, and cultural spaces across the world. In recognition of his work, he was named Chevalier de l'ordre national du Mérite in 2020 by the French Ministry of Education, an honour that reflects his contribution to education and cultural transmission.
When he introduces himself, he does it so simply: a storyteller, a writer, a musician. But behind that simplicity lies a life shaped by many paths.
From Numbers to Narratives
Souleymane's path did not begin with storytelling. After finishing secondary school, he moved to Paris to study international economics, a structured and analytical world, far removed from the stories of his childhood. But his path did not remain within numbers.
He later explored Philosophy and the History of Religion, and went on to refine his musical training at the International Conservatory of Music.
His world began to shift. The stories he had grown up with returned, not as distant memories, but as something alive. That movement eventually led him to teach at university for nearly a decade, where he trained future teachers and introduced them to philosophy and African oral literature.
Where Stories Truly Belong
Despite his academic work, Souleymane felt drawn back to something more immediate: children, classrooms, and living stories. He left university life to dedicate himself fully to storytelling and creative work in schools.“This is where I found my true place,” he explains. “In schools, transmitting knowledge to children.” For him, storytelling is not simply about telling stories. It is about opening possibilities, inspiring the next generation.
Why African Stories Matter
At the heart of Souleymane’s work lies a clear mission: cultural transmission. He noticed that many African stories in children’s books were often told by outsiders, sometimes inaccurately, sometimes disconnected from reality. Names, for example, were chosen for how they sounded, “exotic” appealing, rather than for their meaning or origin. But in many African traditions, names carry history. They belong to specific regions, languages, and lineages, often rooted in precolonial cultures, before the influence of Islam or Christianity.
When those names are replaced, something deeper is lost. The same was true for the stories themselves. Details were sometimes inaccurate. Animals appeared where they do not exist, like tigers in African landscapes. Small elements, perhaps, but they reveal a larger distance from the reality these stories come from. And with that distance, something essential disappeared: authenticity. So he asked a simple question: Why not tell these stories ourselves? From that question, a mission took shape, to preserve, restore, and renew African storytelling from within its own tradition.
Mbodj: “We all share the same human experience. We all have the same red blood.”
A Storyteller Across the World
Today, Souleymane Mbodj travels widely, invited to schools, festivals, and cultural institutions across Africa, Europe, and North America. His stories move across borders, just as the traditions he carries have always done.
When he began publishing, the process remained deeply rooted in oral tradition.
“I already had everything in my memory,” he says. “I recorded myself. And from those recordings, the books were born.” His stories are not just invented. They are remembered.
Where Stories Begin
For Souleymane, storytelling began at home.
With a mother.
With elders.
With evenings filled with stories.
These moments were never only about entertainment. Stories carried layers, logic, reflection, imagination, ways of understanding the world. In this sense, storytelling was always a form of education.
A Story of Transformation
As a form of education, Souleymane shares one of his stories, Le ciel est si haut (“The Sky Is So High”). A poetic tale where myth and philosophy meet. In the story, the sky is alive with children. The clouds are the boys, moving freely across the vastness above. The earth is the girl, grounded and deeply connected to the life below. At first, there is harmony. But conflict arises. When one is hurt, the other responds. Slowly, unity gives way to separation, only for them to realise that what hurts us does not only destroy us, it can also transform us. A beautiful story for young and old.
A Living Tradition
Souleymane Mbodj is not only telling stories. He is continuing a tradition. A tradition where stories are spoken, carried, and remembered. Like a river, they move forward without losing their source. And in that movement, something essential remains: Stories continue to live from voice to voice, from child to child, from one generation to the next.
Mbodj: "A story is something that took place in the past, is told in the present, and carries meaning into the future."
Discover African Stories For Kids
For parents, educators, and cultural organisations, this is an invitation:
To bring meaningful stories into your home or classroom.
To introduce children to voices that carry history, wisdom, and imagination.
Because when children encounter authentic stories,
they don’t just listen.
They grow.
African Stories For Kids