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Vail and White present the case for the dynamism of oral culture and the active role of poets and poetry in Southern African history. North America: The University Press of Virginia
| ISBN | 085255088X | | Pages | 336 | | ISBN13 | 9780852550885
(What's this?) | | Weight (grammes) | 580 | | Publisher | James Currey | | Published in | Oxford | | Imprint | James Currey | | Series title | Carter G. Woodson Institute Series in Black Studies | | Format | Paperback | | Height (mm) | 234 | | Publication date | 13 Feb 1992 | | Width (mm) | 156 | | DEWEY | 968 | | Academic level | Undergraduate, Postgraduate, Professional / Scholarly | | DEWEY edition | DC12A | |
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The invention of "oral man" - anthropology, lietrary theory and a Western intellectual tradition; "maps of experience" - songs and poetry in Southern Africa; the development of forms - Ndebele royal praises; the development of forms - the Chopi Migodo; Swazi royal praises - the invention of tradition; "Paiva" - the history of a song; the possession of the dispossessed - songs as history among Tumbuka women; of chameleons and clowns - the case of Jack Mapanje.
'The collaborative work of Leroy Vail and Landeg White has once again yielded significant scholarship on the oral literature of Southern Africa...This indigenous form of free speech is important, not just as a scholarly notion, but as the key to re-energizing the African oral tradition as a tool of social transformation.' - Njabulo S. Ndebele in The Times Literary Supplement '... highly readable, wry and remarkable text ...' - Journal of African History '...impressive book...' - Man 'An eloquent and masterful presentation of the voice of the voiceless in southern Africa for the last century, the voiceless who are not just "the masses" or "popular culture" but distinct groupings within the population with different concerns and interests and also different views on the past. To me this message is crucial for any historical understanding and because it does so and because it does it so well, this book transcends its stated goal.' - Jan Vansina, University of Wisconsin '...elegantly, at times movingly crafted...There is no comparable work in terms of the substantive subject and the hypotheses argued. Their conclusions represent a significant advance on anything around. The closest competition is their own previous publications...' - Joseph C. Miller, University of Virginia  Be the first to write a customer review
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