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In the late seventeenth century Wala emerged as a small state in what is now northwestern Ghana. Its creation involved on the one hand warrior groups of Mande, Dagomba and Mamprusi origins, and on the other hand scholars from the centres of Muslim learning on the Middle Niger. Ivor Wilks traces the history of Wala from its beginnings to the present, paying particular attention to relations between the Muslim and non-Muslim elements in its population. He also examines the impact of Zabarima, Samorian, British and French intrusions into Wala affairs. By the use of orally transmitted traditions and recensions of these in Arabic and Hausa, he is able to show how the Wala themselves view their past. Wala is periodically convulsed by crises often resulting in communal violence. He suggests that the policy maker involved in the region's political problems needs a sound knowledge of Wala history and an understanding of the deeper structures of Wala society, especially in the context of official support for decentralization.
"They say that the eldest of the chief's daughters..." So begins a tale from the Basotho, unfolded by the meager light of a dung fire that burns smokily behind the reed screen sheltering the entrance of the hut. The old ones of the tribe wait until dark before telling their stories, for everyone knows horns will grow from the head of one who tells a story during daylight hours. Tales from the Basotho abounds with elements familiar to folk narrative. The heroes and heroines are the chiefs and their wives, their sons and their daughters. Fantastic creatures frequent the narratives. exhibiting their awful powers. Rustic peace and beauty pervade the stories, as Minnie Postma amply demonstrates i...
Papers presented at the 9th International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences, Chicago, 1973.
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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.
This memoir on the ancient and future resources of African literature, by the author of Two Thousand Seasons, KMT and other novels, gives colonial Africanist preconceptions of Africa's literary heritage a clean burial. Citing new evidence on oral and written traditions, it shows that Africa's old oral culture, antedating the pyramids, was the matrix from which emerged the hieroglyphic literature of ancient Egypt.
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