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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... Vel'ekhaya , who was older now , had something he wanted to say about this matter of the young woman's suitors . He said , " My sister [ that is , his mother ] cannot marry , because I am here ! My sister must remain here at home ...
... Vel'ekhaya , behind here at home . But in this home , you are the child of her father because she bore you at her home of birth . This should be clear to you , Vel'ekhaya , our child . Your sister is an unmarried woman . You were ...
... Vel'ekhaya . This is what I think should be done . If you marry me to that man over there , Father , Vel ́ekhaya should be the negotiator . Make my child a man . I have borne him among you . He is my brother because I bore him at home ...
Contents
Introduction | 3 |
PrologueOrigins | 9 |
Masithathu Zenani on Storytelling | 19 |
Copyright | |
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