| Favorite African Folktales Contributor(s): Mandela, Nelson (Editor) |
|
 |
ISBN: 0393326241 ISBN-13: 9780393326246 Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company OUR PRICE: $12.56 Product Type: Paperback Published: November 2004 Annotation: The vibrant tradition of African folktales is long and varied, but to date it has been largely overlooked in the West. Aware of this gap, Nelson Mandela has selected 32 stories, many of them translated from their original tongues, to show the seminal role of African folklore in world literature. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Social Science | Folklore & Mythology |
| Dewey: 398.209 |
| LCCN: 2004015494 |
| Physical Information: 0.58" H x 5.42" W x 8.02" (0.45 lbs) 240 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - African |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Mandela, a Nobel Laureate for Peace, has selected these thirty-two tales with the specific hope that Africa's oldest stories, as well as a few new ones, be perpetuated by future generations and be appreciated by children throughout the world. In these beloved stories, morsels rich with the gritty essence of Africa, we meet, among many others, a Kenyan lion named Simba, a snake with seven heads and a trickster from Zulu folklore; we hear the voices of the scheming hyena and learn from a Khoi fable how animals acquired their tails and horns. Several creation myths tell us how the land, its animals, and its people all came into existence under a punishing sun or against the backdrop of a spectacularly beautiful mountain landscape. Whether warning children about the dangers of disobedience or demonstrating that the underdog can--and often does--win, these stories, through their depiction of wise animals as well as evil monsters, are universal in their portrayal of humanity, beasts, and the mystical. What is particularly exciting about this book is that many of the stories, in their oral form, are almost as old as Africa itself. Most of them were, in fact, first told in various African tongues around evening fires in centuries past--tales from, for example, the San and the Khoi, the original hunter-gatherers and livestock herders of Southern Africa. Translated into English and other European languages chiefly in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries from their original languages--be they Karanga, Nguni, Xhosa, or one of many others--these folktales are a testament to the craft of storytelling and the power of myth. Accompanied by dozens of enchanting, specially commissioned color paintings, Favorite African Folktales--culled from African countries as far-flung as Morocco, Nigeria, Uganda, and Kenya--presents a fountain of precious knowledge that will be treasured by children, as well as adults, for years to come. |
Contributor Bio(s): Mandela, Nelson: - Nelson Mandela (1918--2013) was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, politician, and philanthropist, who served as the first democratically-elected President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. Mandela established the Nelson Mandela Foundation as his post-presidential office in 1999. It is a not-for-profit organization which has, since 2004, been transformed into an archive and trusted voice on his life and times. It carries out its mandate to promote Mandela's vision and work by convening dialogues and creating platforms for engagement around critical issues to promote social justice. |