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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Alternation in a unique Herero loan-fable
Author:Ohly, RajmundISNI
Year:2000
Periodical:Afrika und Übersee: Sprachen, Kulturen
Volume:83
Issue:2
Pages:277-292
Language:English
Geographic term:Namibia
Subjects:Herero
folk tales
Abstract:Taking into consideration the value of the fable as a didactic instrument and favoured genre of entertainment, Herero communities in Namibia decided to adopt fables from different cultural sources and assimilate them into Herero. Afrikaans and English acted chiefly as intermediary in the process of borrowing motifs from Arabian, Persian, European and Indonesian fables. This article focuses on the fable about the Bean, Grass and Coal which the Herero most probably borrowed from the Germans. It compares the German and the Herero version of the fable. Formally, this Herero loan-fable has been partly assimilated with an appropriate change of environmental conditions, but chiefly adapted by storytellers. Important was the necessity to introduce copying rhythmic devices required as performance attributes, the free speech technique to enhance the climax spectrum and as innovation the epilogue, expressing a strong feeling about nature's revival. Bibliogr., notes, ref.
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