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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... 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- wood had been gathered ; it was stacked near the door , just inside the house . A fire would be kindled with this wood as soon as the bridal party entered the house . And they would want to make a fire in the morning , too . On ...
... fire to the accompaniment of a chant . All that is said is that the leftovers are being cooked , “ The ummiso is cooked . " Ummiso is the name of the feast that day . It is taken off the fire , all of it is removed from the fire at the ...
Contents
Introduction | 3 |
PrologueOrigins | 9 |
Masithathu Zenani on Storytelling | 19 |
Copyright | |
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