The only demographically oriented tale-type index for folktales of the Arab world

Written by an international team of experts, this is the first work of its kind to offer comprehensive coverage of folklore throughout the African continent. Over 300 entries provide in-depth examinations of individual African countries, ethnic groups, religious practices, artistic genres, and numerous other concepts related to folklore. Featuring original field photographs, a comprehensive index, and thorough cross-references, African Folklore: An Encyclopedia is an indispensable resource for any library's folklore or African studies collection. Also includes seven maps.

Jarmon (English, U. of Tennessee, Martin) studies the history and attempts to trace the origins of several prevalent themes in African American folklore, using folk tale collections from the US and Africa. The themes link subjects with symbolic content, such as tar baby with binding and transcription and the skull with presence and propriety. An introduction presents Jarmon's methodology; her thesis is that these narratives are a type of modal discourse that is symbolized by the motifs of the wishbone and crossroads which she sees as emblematic of the concept of margins and reflective of a mood of indeterminacy. ^^^^ Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).

Atti del 9. International congress of Anthropological and ethnological sciences, Chicago 1973.

"This collection of stories from several different tribal traditions in the American Southeast includes introductory essays showing how they fit into Native American religious and philosophical systems."--Provided by publisher.

In Stars and Keys: Folktales and Creolization in the Southwest Indian Ocean, Lee Haring introduces readers to the rich folklore traditions of the islands of the southwest Indian Ocean. The culture of Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, Réunion, and the Comoros is a unique blend of traditions that have been brought from Africa, South Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. The folktales from these islands reflect the diversity of this culture and provide a rare opportunity to observe the fluidity of traditions and the process of creolization. Haring presents the tales in a uniquely innovative style: he interrupts the text as if he were reading aloud and directly addresses the reader. His words and those of the storytellers are clearly distinguished, making this folktale collection useful to a wide range of readers and scholars.

Der Band entstand aus einer Kooperation von Erzählforschenden aus Benin, Ghana und Deutschland. Die Beiträge in deutscher und englischer Sprache beschäftigen sich mit Ananse, dem Spinnenmann, der zentralen Gestalt der westafrikanischen Erzähltradition sowie mit anderen Phänomenen der narrativen Kulturen in Afrika: Dabei werten sie schriftliches Material aus, präsentieren Quellen aus eigener Feldforschung, berichten über Projekte, bei denen mediale Umsetzungen von oralen Überlieferungen erprobt wurden: Rollenspiel und Theater in einer dörflichen Kommunität, zeichnerische Gestaltungen von Jugendlichen in einem städtischen Slum. Besondere Bedeutung kommt dem Film zu. Eine DVD mit Beispielen für die performative Transformation als Spielfilm ist beigefügt.

African literary texts can be approached in a variety of ways. They may be examined in isolation as verbal artifacts that have a unique integrity. They may be studied in relation to other texts that preceded and followed them. Or they may be seen against the backdrop of the times, traditions and circumstances that helped to shape them. In this book, all these approaches have been utilized, sometimes singly, sometimes in combination.

Covering a period of more than one hundred years of work by renowned folklorists, these enlightening essays explore the timeless tale of Cinderella. In addition to the most famous versions of the story (Basile's Pentamerone, Perrault's Cendrillon, and the Grimm's Aschenputtel), this casebook includes articles on other versions of the tale from Russian, English, Chinese, Greek and French folklore. The volume concludes with several interpretive essays, including a psychoanalytic view from Dundes and a critique of the popularization of Cinderella in America. "Folklorists, scholars of children's literature, and feminists should appreciate particularly the wide scope of this collection . . . now in paperback with an updated Bibliographical Addendum. . . . Most helpful are the two-page introductions to each variant and to each essay which include a brief overview of the historical times as well as suggested additional sources for more discussion."-Danny Rochman, Folklore Forum "A milestone, a near complete source of primary and secondary materials. . . . The selected analytical writing include definitive classic and new discoveries, covering the whole range of methodological modes and theoretical perspectives from early forms and typology to myth-ritual, social-historical, anthropological, and psychoanalytical readings. The annotated bibliography is most helpful, illuminating, and comprehensive, encompassing publications in other Western languages and works by Asianists."-Chieko Mulhern, Asian Folklore Studies "One can imagine several dimensions on which psychoanalysts might find such a collection interesting: as examples of applied psychoanalysis, in relation to philosophical and cultural examination of imaginative material, in relation to child development, and in the correlations between folktales of a particular culture and individual histories."-Kerry Kelly Novick, Psychoanalytic Quarterly

The all new essays in this book discuss black cultural retellings of traditional, European fairy tales. The representation of black protagonists in such tales helps to shape children's ideas about themselves and the world beyond--which can ignite a will to read books representing diverse characters. The need for a multicultural text set which includes the multiplicity of cultures within the black diaspora is discussed. The tales referenced in the text are rich in perspective: they are Aesop's fables, Cinderella, Rapunzel and Ananse. Readers will see that stories from black perspectives adhere to the dictates of traditional literary conventions while still steeped in literary traditions traceable to Africa or the diaspora.