Africa is a land of contrasts and of diverse cultures and traditions. It is also a land of conflict and creativity. The literature of the continent draws upon a fascinating body of oral traditions and lore and also reflects the political turmoil of the modern world. With the increased interest in cultural diversity and the growing centrality of Africa in world politics, African literature is figuring more and more prominently in the curriculum. This book helps students learn about the African literary achievement.
Yoruba1 Proverbs is the most comprehensive collection to
date of more than five thousand Yoruban proverbs that showcase Yoruba
oral tradition. Following Oyekan Owomoyela’s introduction, which
provides a framework and description of Yoruba cultural beliefs, the
proverbs are arranged by theme into five sections: the good person; the
fortunate person (or the good life); relationships; human nature;
rights and responsibilities; and truisms. Each proverb is presented in
Yoruba with a literal English translation, followed by a brief
commentary explaining the meaning of the proverb within the oral
tradition.
This definitive source book on Yoruba
proverbs is the first to give such detailed, systematic classification
and analysis alongside a careful assessment of the risks and pitfalls
of submitting this genre to the canons of literary analysis.
1 The Yoruba (Yorùbá in Yoruba orthography) are a large ethno-linguistic group or ethnic nation in Africa; the majority of them speak the Yoruba language (èdèe Yorùbá; èdè = language). The Yoruba constitute approximately 21 percent of Nigeria's total population, and around 30 million individuals throughout the region of West Africa.
This volume includes the indigenous cultures of Africa, the major Arab and Muslim cultures of the Middle East, as well as the minority Christian and Jewish groups.
Wilbur Smith - Ballantynes 04 - The Leopard Hunts in Darkness (unabridged audibook + text)
The Leopard Hunts in Darkness is a novel of stunning power and pace, infused with a deep love for the landscape, the people and the wildlife of Africa.
Alone, disillusioned and empty of inspiration in New York, best-selling author Craig Mellow longs to return to his roots. Sole survivor of the Ballantyne family, who had farmed in the Zambezi valley for a hundred years, he fled the country when the bush war ended, and now he has lost his way.
So when he is asked to return to Africa on a secret mission funded by the World Bank, he seizes the chance. His cover is the writing of a book on Africa in collaboration with the brilliant and beautiful young American photographer, Sally-Anne Jay, but his real task is to send back information on ivory poaching and signs of Soviet interference in the country.
Back in Zimbabwe, exhilarated and full of hope once more, Craig embarks on a giant project – the restoration of the derelict family estates in the Matabele grasslands – only to be caught up in a bloody tribal war and pitted against a power-crazed fanatic who would sell his people into slavery and plunge his country into a new Dark Age.
This is a story of high adventure, of hatred and terrible violence but also of love, love of a man for a woman, of a man for his country, and love of a man for his friend.
Added by: jaybeere | Karma: 320.01 | Fiction literature | 25 September 2007
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In Desert and Wilderness by Henryk Sienkiewicz translated from the Polish by Max Anthony Drezmal (Rare Book Collection)
The renowned Polish novelist, inspired by his travels through Africa, gives us a fascinating book recounting adventures and experiences of two children during an escape from Khartoum after the death of General Gordon, and their flight through Africa to the Indian Ocean. The children’s adventures in the Egyptian desert and African wilderness at the time of the Mahdi (1848 - 1885) also contain a vast quantity of information about the plant and animal life of the African swamps and jungle.
Although written around a hundred years ago, this book covers "current" issues such as radical Islam, terrorist kidnappings, war in the middle east, and genocide in Sudan.
