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Zanzibar Tales
Book Overview:
If you have read any accounts of adventure in Africa, you will know that travelers never mention animals of any kind that are gifted with the faculty of speech, or gazelles that are overseers for native princes, or hares that eat flesh. No, indeed; only the native-born know of these; and, judging by the immense and rapid strides civilization is making in those parts, it will not be long before such wonderful specimens of zoölogy will be as extinct as the ichthyosaurus, dinornis, and other poor creatures who never dreamed of the awful names that would be applied to them when they were too long dead to show their resentment. As to the truth of these tales, I can only say that they were told to me, in Zanzibar, by natives whose ancestors told them to them, who had received them from their ancestors, and so back; so that the praise for their accuracy, or the blame for their falsity, lies with the first ancestor who set them going. (Summary by Author)
If you have read any accounts of adventure in Africa, you will know that travelers never mention animals of any kind that are gifted with the faculty of speech, or gazelles that are overseers for native princes, or hares that eat flesh. No, indeed; only the native-born know of these; and, judging by the immense and rapid strides civilization is making in those parts, it will not be long before such wonderful specimens of zoölogy will be as extinct as the ichthyosaurus, dinornis, and other poor creatures who never dreamed of the awful names that would be applied to them when they were too long dead to show their resentment. As to the truth of these tales, I can only say that they were told to me, in Zanzibar, by natives whose ancestors told them to them, who had received them from their ancestors, and so back; so that the praise for their accuracy, or the blame for their falsity, lies with the first ancestor who set them going. (Summary by Author)
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“It is a creature that has neither heart nor ears.”
The shark, his curiosity overcoming his haste, thereupon begged to be told the story of the washerman’s donkey, which the monkey related as follows:
“A washerman owned a donkey, of which he was very fond. One day, however, it ran away, and took up its abode in the forest, where it led a lazy life, and consequently grew very fat.
“At length Soongoo′ra, the hare, by chance passed that way, and saw Poon′da, the donkey.
“Now, the hare is the most cunning of all beasts—if you look at his mouth you will see that he is always talking to himself about everything.
“So when Soongoora saw Poonda he said to himself, ‘My, this donkey is fat!’ Then he went and told Sim′ba, the lion. [23]
“Miss Poonda, I am sent to ask. . . Read More
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Community Reviews
Small collection of tales - some of which are really good - originally told in Swahili on the island of Zanzibar around the turn of the 19th century. A pity that the Swahili original is not included, that the narratives are heavily edited, words in Swahili are not properly spelled, and that no infor
Zanzibar Tales Told By Natives of the East Cost of Africa – By George W. Bateman
Dutch Translation
George W. Batemane en Engelsman in Afrika gebruiken het Europese verhaal van de 'Puss in Boots' en 'The House that Jack Built' als kinderverhalen. Tijdens zijn reis in Tanzania stuitte hij op vele verha
Reading this book reminded me of my childhood days, sitting around bonfires to hear stories from old folks. However, the author did not do justice to the tales.
This is a case of someone listening to African tales and trying to tell the same without understanding the context or the morals they're su
Not sure the translation was really faithful, or I'm simply missing many cultural cues to understand some of the stories. Interesting reading nevertheless.