All across Africa fables are told of the cleverness, deceit and triumph of the Hare (in some places the Spider), called by various names according to the language. These yarns were taken to America by the slaves and became the Bre'r Rabbit tales related by Uncle Remus. There are no Rabbits in tropical Africa and the clever animal is really a Hare, which depends on its speed and cunning to protect itself against the dangers of the open Sudan and savannah country. Its chief enemy is the Hyena, whose American counterpart is Bre'r Fox.

The Hare is also present in Egyptian mythology. Osiris was sometimes called Wepuat or Un-nefer, and portrayed with the head of a Hare. The risen Osiris is also linked to the Hare: he was sacrificed to the Nile each year in the form of a hare to guarantee the annual flooding that Egyptian agriculture (and indeed their entire society) depended upon. A name of Osiris which, as an important name, is written at times in a cartouche, is usually explained to mean "the Good Being," although it has been suggested that "beautiful hare" is its signification.

The Hare is often depicted greeting the dawn, and he sometimes serves as messenger for the god Thoth. (An interesting side note: Thoth is usually described as the scribe of the gods, while the Hare in Mayan belief invented writing. Coincidence?) On a more spiritual level, the Hare could symbolize the very essence of life itself: the hieroglyph "Wn", depicting a Hare atop a single ripple of blue-green energy means "to exist".

A minor Egyptian goddess named Unut or Wenet has the head of a Hare. There is a city that bears Wenet's name, meaning "District of the Rabbit", its capital being Hermopolis. Its primary deity was Thoth.

Read some stories from Africa about Hare:

- How the Hare's Lip Was Split (unknown, widespread)
- The Pulling Contest (West Africa)
- Hare Goes Hunting With Hyena (West Africa)
- King of Beasts (Hausa people, Nigeria)
- Kalulu and Simba (Mtoto people, Zambia)
- Kalulu Fools the Doctor (Mtoto people, Zambia)

© 2002 Heather Riesen