[2] A renowned veterinarian, diplomat and leading voice of the Négritude literary movement,[citation needed] Diop exemplified the "African renaissance man".

[3] His mother raised him with his two older brothers, Massyla and Youssoupha; his father, for unknown reasons, disappeared two months before Diop was born.

[6] During his work as the head of the government's cattle-inspection service for several regions in Senegal and Mali,[citation needed] he was introduced to traditional folktales, most of which he committed to memory.

Generally recited to a group at night by a professional storyteller, called a griot, folktales were repeated in different places by the people who heard them.

[7] By combining his mastery of the French language with his experience with African folktakes, Diop was able to spread the values and beliefs of his ancestors throughout the world.

[citation needed] The following excerpt illustrating his homesickness can be found in "The Humps": When Diop finally returned to Africa, he served as a director of zoological technical services in Ivory Coast and Upper Volta (modern day Burkina Faso).

[8] Each volume contained a collection of short stories: animal-centred tales he directly transcribed from the griot Amadou Koumba's accounts.