The African Folktale: Collection Of Tales [Completed]

The Princess's Wedding (An Akan Story)

There was joy in the air as the villagers of the Asante tribe in Kumasi gathered for the three day celebration of the Crown Princess’s wedding. Princess Yaa was set to marry a Prince from a neighbouring village and she was very excited.

The Prince and Princess had grown up together and had been acquainted during many local and national ceremonies. They had even stolen some precious time alone during their many months of courtship. All her life the Princess had been waiting for such a day to arrive: a grand wedding in which she would be the absolute centre of attention.

To prepare for the first night’s celebrations, the maids adorned their Princess with beautiful gold jewellery, beads, and delicate ink drawings on her skin.

‘Princess,’ implored one of the maids, ‘please tell us how you feel about your future husband.’

The Princess replied in a very matter of fact voice. ‘He is a nice man, predictable but loyal. He will be a good husband. If it were my choice I would marry someone more adventurous, more dangerous; somebody with more wealth and better looks. But who knows,’ said the Princess with a wicked smile, ‘I may end up in love with my poor husband someday. Right now I am happy to settle for him because he will take care of me. It is only a pity that he will not be able to satisfy all of my worldly desires because his family is not nearly as rich as mine.’

The youngest maid asked, ‘Princess, what will you do without your gold, your beads and your precious stones?’

The Princess giggled and replied, ‘I will find a rich admirer from the city. After all, there is only so much of a boring life a beautiful girl like me can take.’

All the maids began to laugh because they knew that their Princess was indeed very naughty and would surely do as she had said behind her poor husband’s back.

And so the morning of the wedding finally arrived. The Princess was still a little upset by a conversation she had had with her parent’s the previous night. The Princess had asked that her father support her new husband financially so that the young man might be able to buy the Princess more jewellery and worldly things. Her father had refused, assuring his only daughter that riches were not the most important thing in the world.

The princess thought that her father was being very stupid and mean. ‘After all,’ she reasoned, ‘it is okay for him, he is rich already. What about me?’

The Princess looked in the mirror at her beautiful body adorned with the finest jewels. Then she looked around at her luxury room with fine silks and expensive furnishings. It finally dawned on her that she would have to leave all of this luxury behind. Her future husband was not poor, but he was not overly rich and could not afford to keep her in the luxury to which she had become accustomed. ‘If only a rich man would come and save me from the boring life that awaits me,’ thought the greedy princess.

The villagers began to gather in order to see their beloved Princess wed. Some villagers were happy because they knew that the King and Queen were making sure the Princess married for good reason and not just for riches. Others were not so happy because they thought that the Princess should marry an important and wealthy man who would help put their village on the map and have them recognised internationally.

There was silence and anticipation among the crowd as the beautiful Princess began to walk up the aisle towards her future husband. Then the silence was broken by the sound of approaching horses. The entire village looked towards the horses as they came to a halt before the wedding ceremony. On the lead horse there sat a handsome young man. He wore shiny jewels and was adorned in the finest fabrics. His shoes were made of pure silk, and his jacket was made of rich velvet encrusted with precious diamonds and rubies.