Yoruba Trickster Tales

by Oyekan Owomoyela

Book Overview

Yoruba Trickster Tales come out of the tradition of evening storytelling, a popular form of entertainment in traditional African societies. A favorite genre among these folktales is the trickster tale, variations of which are found in many cultures around the world. Among the Yoruba of West Africa (mostly in western Nigeria but also in neighboring B nin), the trickster character is j p , the tortoise. The repertory of tales about him is seemingly...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0803286112
• ISBN13: 9780803286115
• Release Date: July 1997
• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
• Length: 218 Pages
• Weight: 0.76 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

outstanding

Owomoyela's prose versions of these trickster tales are terrific -- sharp intelligence, respect for the material, and traditional proverbs abound. Very readable and very good. The only potential drawbacks lie in the fact that these are prose versions, and much of the original oral traditional context has been stripped. Still, an impressive updating of some ancient material that works on a high intellectual level.