Cunnie Rabbit, Mr. Spider and the Other Beef: West African Folk Tales

Cunnie Rabbit, Mr. Spider and the Other Beef: West African Folk Tales

The collection of folk-lore tales, from which the stories contained in the present volume have been selected, was made by Miss Cronise while a teacher in the mission school at Rotifunk, Protectorate of Sierra Leone, West Africa; a mission under the control of the Woman's Board of the United Brethren Church. The stories were collected without the remotest thought of offering them for publication. The first motive was a desire to enter more intimately into the life and mental habits of the people whom she was to instruct. This motive was soon reinforced by the attractiveness of the stories themselves, and by the fascinating manner in which they were told. The tales were gathered from the mission children, most of whom had been brought from native homes farther inland, and from[2] adult employees of the mission who had been long enough in contact with these white people to be found worthy of entire confidence, and to give their confidence in return. Notwithstanding the many touches of English influence noticeable in the stories, it is believed that the ones here presented are, in all essentials, characteristically native. The same stories were heard from different persons, under different circumstances, and with every evidence of their being the spontaneous outflow of traditional lore. Sometimes a tale already heard in detail from an adult, would be told in mere outline by some child fresh from a hut of the forest. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 48828
Author: Cronise, Florence M.
Release Date: Apr 30, 2015
Format: eBook
Language: English

Contributors

Contributor (Author): Ward, Henry W.

Illustrator: Sichel, Gerald