Reading Notes: Nigerian Folk Stories Part A
Overall Impression:
This unit had a strong emphasis on the topic of marriage. This is something I haven;t really seen in my other readings. Sure, Kings get many brides, or beautiful women are quickly snatched away by competing men, but these stories were different. They focused on the importance of marring the right person and on the dangers of marring strangers, animals, or people different than you. It also focused on fairness of upholding the marriage contract and thereby the dowry. I thought this was interesting as it speaks to the values of this culture.
I also enjoy the creation/explanation stories. It is fun to see different perspective's on how the world came to be. These stories also had a key element of justice and fairness in matters. One animal would commit an error against another, the offended party would seek help from the king, and justice would be rendered. Some of these stories were quite funny to read too as the quirky explanations of animals and their habits are rather convincing.
Likes/Dislikes:
I really enjoyed many aspects of these stories. They incorporated many specific cultural aspects that were fun to further investigate. They style was also interesting, it reminded me a lot of the Tibetan stories I read in week 7. There is a mystical, fairy tale sense about them, bit they also have a sense of delivering factual happenings. They are also rooted in teaching morals and values, as many of the previous stories I have read.
I can't think of anything I particularly disliked... past the archaic views of women. They were all fun and engaging to read. They also provided perspectives on things I hadn't really considered before.
Favorite Stories:
I chose this image as it came from one of my favorite stories, It is also a very beautiful and peaceful image.
originally from Wikipedia)
Bibliography: Nigerian Folk Stories, from Folk Stories From Southern Nigeria by Elphinstone Dayrell (1910).
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