Product Description

A large, distinctive collection of tales, traditions, lore, legends, folk wisdom, and poetry captures the oral heritage of the peoples of Africa, including the Hause, Kanuri, Ashanti, Mbundu, Zulu, Hottentot, and Mensa tribes. Reprint. PW. IP.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1170176 in Books
• Published on: 1995-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 617 pages

Customer Reviews

Final Grade: a C-Plus
As far as compilations of oral literature from subsaharan Africa goes, this is one of the best. The problem is there aren't very good ones to compare it too. The translations are weak, in that they are vague and incomplete. The author reduces the African stories to the simplest sentences in order to be as brief as possible. Surely the story teller, in story telling mode, were more eloquent and elaborate. However, this is lost because the book is more concerned with giving accounts of numberous African stories rather than giving detailed accounts of just several.

Also, the colonial mentality of the author, though not as severe as his European contemporaries in the early 20th century, shines through. Thus even by around 1972, when this compilation was completed it was largely based on stories collected and written by the author and other European oral collectors decades earlier, during colonialism.

Stones are Gems of value when you know what they are!!
With respect to the other reviewer it is very important that such a work exists especially for the cheap price that it is available making it a bargain. Everything is referenced so if you do find something of particular interest you can track it down. Courlander does not pretend that this is the complete African lore rather it is geared towards offering a source for a variety of styles and sources from the diversity of the African world. If you can afford it and have the time buy cultural specific studies that will specify the specific sub-groups and unique aspects of a certian group. However many of the smaller cultures will then be neglected by people that might know about one people and feel no desire to buy something about a lesser known group that may infact interest the reader. Please all those who have ideas of writing a better book do so but don't turn people away from having one of the most useful introductions to a broad range of the continents beliefs and creations for which I have bothered to read and utilised. There is something for every one: proverbs, tales, warrior epics, creation accounts and much more. It is far better than Abraham's books which adopt the same titles as both of Courlanders books yet are not half as deep nor well written.
Love and Blessings to all. If you are a serious researcher write a book that facilitates what is missing or is needed to a field. I try to reason with so many complainers who do nothing, please don't just complain that the wall is broken get up and fix it!!