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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... look at her , he would look at her and cry . Time passed , and the father's conduct caused the child great anxiety— his staring at her , his tears . She became thin ; she could not understand why her father cried like that . Her mother ...
... Look ! We've been provided for ! We've been expected here ! Look at our dishes ; they're the same number as we are - twelve ! Look ! One , two , three , four , five , six , seven , eight , nine , ten , eleven , and twelve ! Don't you ...
... look in that house ! " Someone went to look- " Yo ! There's nothing in the house anymore ! Only a pot remains ! Only a pot - that's all , that's all ! There's no meat ! There's no one ! " " Yo ! " Someone said , " Close off the fords ...
Contents
Introduction | 3 |
PrologueOrigins | 9 |
Masithathu Zenani on Storytelling | 19 |
Copyright | |
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