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
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... give birth . " As she considered her plight , the woman wept there by the side of the kraal . She cried , and the ... give to the person who enables her to bear children . " The other one said , " Vukuthu ! He asks you what you would ...
... give us for that ? ' " He said , " I can give you some corn . " The first bird said , " Do you think that we have throats large enough to swallow corn ? " The second bird said , “ Vukuthu vukuthu ! It is said , ' Do you think that we ...
... give him some roots . I said that I had none , but he kept begging me . I asked him who he was . And he told me to approach so that I could see that he was really a person . I went to him , and while I was digging , he suddenly ripped ...
Contents
The Art of the Storyteller | 7 |
Masithathu Zenani on Storytelling | 19 |
Tales | 27 |
Copyright | |
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