The World and the Word: Tales and Observations from the Xhosa Oral TraditionA master storyteller of the Xhosa people of South Africa, Nongenile Masithathu Zenani gives us an unprecedented view of an oral society from within. Twenty-four of her complex and beautiful tales about birth, puberty, marriage, and work, as told to the renowned collector of African oral tradition, Harold Scheub, are gathered here. Accompanying the stories are Zenani’s detailed commentaries and analyses and Scheub’s striking photographs of her in performance. The combination of these historical and cultural observations with a richly symbolic collection of tales from a single traditional storyteller make The World and the Word a remarkable document. |
From inside the book
Results 1-3 of 45
... fire for the young mother . Then the women take the meat off the fire for the men . That meat is eaten , and they make certain that no bone is carried off by a dog . All of the bones are carefully preserved ; they are placed over there ...
... fire . All of these people grieved here , but they wept inside because they were men . They kindled a huge fire . Then they cut the eland's neck ; they skinned it . And the king emerged . He emerged alive . He was sick ; he was not well ...
... fire , a fire that fit into his plans . This woman must not be killed : she must die on her own . She would be sus- pended above this huge fire , a fire kindled from the wood of a mimosa thorn tree , and , when the time came for her to ...
Contents
The Art of the Storyteller | 7 |
Masithathu Zenani on Storytelling | 19 |
Tales | 27 |
Copyright | |
16 other sections not shown