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. |
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... roots make it possible for the people to move from a drought to a period of sufficiency , even though the roots are a substitute food . They are not real food , but they act as a mediator , moving the family from no food to real food ...
... roots . " The man asked , " What are these roots ? " They told him about the root : " Well , it's something that's dug up in the pasture . " " Then it's roasted and put into the hearth . But you can eat it when it's raw too . " " But it ...
... roots sizzled . They were snug- gled into the hearth and roasted . As for the husband , he put his " roots " on his own side of the hearth . But his wife caught their scent . " What kind of roots are those ? They have a peculiar smell ...
Contents
The Art of the Storyteller | 7 |
Masithathu Zenani on Storytelling | 19 |
Tales | 27 |
Copyright | |
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