Matateyou, Emmanuel

Anthology of Myths, Legends and Folktales From Cameroon: Storytelling in Africa

1997 0-7734-8514-7
Unlike other publications on folklore, this book illuminates for the reader the complex and rich performance contexts of the oral narratives in Subsaharan Africa. The study of the narrator, narrative pattern, audience interaction, and details about language, setting, date and time of the performance of each tale is very important and helps to recreate the atmosphere of live performance. Though translated into English, the author has made an effort to give to the oral narratives an indigenous flavor. The tales are divided into categories, such as origin stories, stories about men and women, trickster cycles. Strongly recommended for Africanists, educationists, those interested in women's studies and the question of cultural identity, sociologists, literary critics, and students and teachers of African literature.