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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... woman friends . The young women had cut their own hair , and now the hair has come out afresh , indicating that they are now young men's women . When they get to the ... young manhood . A gathering of young men does not Commentaries 113.
... young men . They sit on these mats , which are made of rushes picked at the river , so that their garments will not get dirty . They sing then . The young men put the garments on their waists , and they dance around the hearth . Their woman ...
... young woman said , " No ! Leave me alone ! Leave me alone ! Where are you taking me ? " They said , " You're going with us ! " The young woman screamed and kicked , scratching them , biting , try- ing to get away , angrily accusing them ...
Contents
The Art of the Storyteller | 7 |
Masithathu Zenani on Storytelling | 19 |
Tales | 27 |
Copyright | |
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