African Folktales

by Paul Radin (Editor)

A representative collection of eighty-one myths and folktales chosen from the oral tradition of the peoples of Africa south of the Sahara.

Originally published in 1964.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Genres: Mythology, Africa, Fiction, Short Stories

340 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

He was an American cultural anthropologist and folklorist.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Radin

Reviews

[Recensioni in tre parole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interessante. Affascinante. Mitologico.

[Joseph Carrabis · Rating 2 out of 5]

First, few of these tales are direct from sources. Most are from secondary or later sources and many of them show this. It's a challenge for me to accept a folktale involving rifles and handguns unless it's from the American West.
Stripping out the cultural contagion takes effort, although it's easy to figure out which tales are compromised from their original forms.
A greater challenge is deciding which tales have had their original meanings so mangled as to lose their mythic significance. Some are clearly mythic and you can get a hint of their original meaning, and even so I wondered how much of the original meaning had been westernized and neutered.

[Francis Manzano · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is about many different old folktales told in Africa. The stories have many different vibes to them, some are sad, twisted or joyous. All the stories tie in to how the people of Africa live their lives. I gave the book all 5 stars because the book was completely entertaining and great to read. "The eldest son came back and killed the younger brother, then took his wife." (Radin 87) the book has very little comedy with in the book but its worth the read. i would recommend this story to those that can't read the same story for too long, because there is a new story every few pages. Its a fast paced book, with many entertaining stories that will keep you reeled into the story.

[Lisa Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good survey, appreciate different traditions being labeled clearly, good organization.

[A YOGAM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Diese Sammlung von 81 Erzählungen aus Subsahara-Afrika bewahrt die Vielfalt oraler Traditionen in konzentrierter Form. Radins Auswahl überzeugt durch thematische Breite und anthropologische Sensibilität. Die Geschichten vermitteln moralische Ordnungen, soziale Spannungen und humorvolle Weltsichten – jenseits schriftlicher Kanons. Ein stilles, aber kraftvolles Dokument kultureller Kontinuität.
Radins Sammlung ist eine faszinierende Erinnerung daran, dass Weltliteratur nicht gedruckt sein muss, um tiefgründig und komplex zu sein. Er rettet die mündliche Erzählkunst aus der Nische der reinen Folklore und zeigt sie als das, was sie ist: ein lebendiges, hochphilosophes Archiv menschlicher Erfahrung.

[Clivemichael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rather enigmatic, they may have lost something in translation, as well contextually. Women as chattels subservient to men.

[Theresa Lange · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very small print but real interesting

[Andy Armitage · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating collection of folk tales and myths from missionaries and anthropolgists compiled from various African tribes south of the Sahara (Ashanti, Hottentot, Zulu, Bushmen, and so on). The stories are devided into four sections: Creation Myths, the Animal and his World, The Realm of Man, and Man and his Fate.

The stories give a peek into the African psyche and provide an understanding of the way the Africans made sense of their world and its inhabitants and explained their social contracts and moral obligations.

Many of these stories are strange indeed. They resonate in a darker, dustier, bloodier key than the Greek Myths. Paul Radin puts the disorganised manner of the stories down to the fact that the religious/cultural/political state of Africa was chaotic because of colonisation and internal disputes at the time the stories were collected. Many of the stories depict a brutal unforgiving world in which man must use all his ingenuity in order to obtain the next meal. Other sories are hilariously glib; one etiological myth, 'Why There are Cracks in the Tortoise's Shell' had me in tears of laughter.

Worth mentioning that poet Sylvia Plath was reading this book prior to writing Ariel and those interest will find the origin here of some of the images and ideas in her poems. One of the stories here, for example, is called 'The City Where Men are Mended'.

[Cori Thomas]

I found this book on my sister's book shelf I thought I was intersting that she had it. I love folktales and stories. I've even heard some of these before.