The Sources Behind Each Story World

Three-Act Structure The European/American dramatic and narrative tradition — rooted… The Hero's Journey The European/American comparative-mythology and craft tradition — the… Seven-Point Structure The European/American storytelling-craft tradition — a modern structural… Four-Act Structure The European/American dramatic and narrative tradition — a… Akan — Anansi Web Akan peoples — Ashanti, Fante, Akyem, Akuapem, Kwahu… BaAka — Congo Forest Spirits Mbuti, Baka, Aka, Efé and related forest peoples… Dogon — Creation Cycle Dogon people — Bandiagara Escarpment, Mali, West Africa Mandé — Griot Performance The Mandé peoples — Mandinka (Maninka), Bambara and… Kemet — Ma'at Balance Ancient Egyptian civilization — Nile Valley from the… San — Click Stories San — the Ju/'hoansi (!Kung), the Taa-speaking !Xóõ,… Mandé — Sundiata Epic Mandinka, Bambara, Dyula peoples — Mali Empire and… Zulu, Xhosa & Shona — Ubuntu Story Circle Bantu-speaking peoples — Zulu (umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu), Xhosa,… Yoruba — Ifá / Orisha Realms Yoruba peoples — Oyo, Egba, Ijebu, Ile-Ife, Ekiti,… Mbuti & Baka — The Forest Song Mbuti (Ituri Forest, Democratic Republic of Congo), Baka… BaKongo — Dikenga Cosmogram BaKongo peoples — Kongo, Vili, Yombe, Woyo, Solongo… Dinka, Nuer & Maasai — Cattle Song Dinka and Nuer of South Sudan, Maasai of… Zulu & Xhosa — Izibongo Zulu (amaZulu), Xhosa (amaXhosa), Swazi (emaSwati), and Ndebele… Finnish & Karelian — Kalevala Finnish and Karelian peoples — Finno-Ugric tradition Irish & Welsh — The Celtic Spiral Celtic peoples — the Irish (Gaelic) and Welsh… Icelandic — Norse Saga Norse peoples — the medieval Icelanders and the… Slavic Peoples — The Turning Year Slavic peoples — the East Slavs (Russians, Ukrainians,… Babylonian — Enuma Elish Babylonian civilization — Akkadian-speaking, central Mesopotamia Persian & Arabic — Thousand and One Nights The Arabic and Persian storytellers of Baghdad, Cairo… Sumerian — Gilgamesh / Inanna Sumerian civilization — the city-states of Uruk, Ur,… Persian Sufi — Rumi's Masnavi Sufi Islamic mystical tradition — centered on Jalal… Japanese — Ma (間) Japanese aesthetic and artistic tradition — developed across… Japanese — Kishōtenketsu (起承転結) East Asian literary tradition — originating in classical… Chinese (Tang) — Qǐchéngzhuǎnhé (起承轉合) Chinese literary tradition — the classical poetics of… Chinese — Wuxia (武俠) Chinese literary tradition — the wuxia genre of… Chinese (Taoist) — Zhuangzi Parables Chinese Taoist tradition — Zhuangzi (Zhuang Zhou, c.… Yamato Japanese — Kojiki / Amaterasu Yamato Japanese peoples — the Kojiki ("Record of… Korean — Pansori Korean peoples — the pansori tradition flowered under… Sanskrit Theatre — Rasa (Nāṭyaśāstra) The Indian (Sanskrit) dramatic and aesthetic tradition —… Sanskrit Epic — Mahābhārata Sanskrit literary and religious tradition — attributed to… Tamil — Sangam Akam / Puram Tamil peoples — Tamilakam (the ancient Tamil country… Javanese — Wayang Kulit Javanese peoples — the island of Java, Indonesia,… Tagalog, Visayan & Ilocano — Bathala / Diwata The Tagalog, Visayan (Bisaya, including the Sulodnon of… Zapotec — Cloud People Zapotec peoples — Oaxaca Valley; Monte Albán civilization Mexica (Nahua) — Codex (Amoxtli) The Mexica (Aztec) and wider Nahua peoples of… K'iche' Maya — Creation Cycle The K'iche' Maya of highland Guatemala, whose sacred… K'iche' Maya — Popol Vuh Hero Twins K'iche' Maya peoples of the Guatemalan highlands, heirs… Shipibo, Achuar & Matsés — Vision Journey The Desana (Wira) and their Tukanoan neighbours of… Quechua & Aymara — Inca Quipu The Quechua-speaking Inca of Cusco and the peoples… Guaraní — The Land Without Evil Guaraní peoples — Mbyá, Ava (Ñandeva), Kaiowá, and… Lakota, Anishinaabe, Diné & Cherokee — Animal-Guide Journey The Pawnee (Chaui, Kitkehahki, Pitahawirata and Skidi), whose… Lakota, Cheyenne, Crow, Blackfeet & Cree — Sacred Hoop The Lakota — the Titonwan (Teton) bands, Oglala,… Plains Cree, Lakota & Cheyenne — Medicine Wheel Story The nations whose medicine wheels and four-directions teachings… Lakota, Cheyenne & Crow — Vision Quest The Lakota (the Titonwan bands) and the Dakota… Haudenosaunee — Sky Woman / Great Law Haudenosaunee (the "People of the Longhouse," also known… Diné — Hózhó / Blessingway Diné (Navajo) people — Diné Bikéyah, the Navajo… Trobriand & Melanesian Peoples — Ancestor Presence The Trobriand Islanders of Kiriwina and the other… Polynesian Voyagers — Wayfinding The voyaging peoples of the Pacific — Hawaiian… Aboriginal Australia — Songlines The First Nations of Australia whose Country the… Māori — Whakapapa Māori — the Indigenous Polynesian people of Aotearoa…