Speak, Bird, Speak Again
Mar. 27th, 2022 09:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
marycatelliSpeak, Bird, Speak Again: Palestinian Arab Folktales by Ibrahim Muhawi and Sharif Kanaana
An interesting collection of tales. Many are recognizable types, but only in their deep structure. "Sackcloth", a type like "Catskin" or "All Kinds of Fur" not only dresses up in sackcloth but passes herself off as a man to escape.
Some discussion of local customs affecting tales, such as polygyny and cousin marriage, but take it with a grain of salt. When the same tale is told from India to Ireland, the plot devices that remain the same are driven by the story not the culture. (The brother in "Brother and Sister" including the variant here, drinks from the wrong spring and turns into an animal because that's how "Brother and Sister" goes.)
An interesting collection of tales. Many are recognizable types, but only in their deep structure. "Sackcloth", a type like "Catskin" or "All Kinds of Fur" not only dresses up in sackcloth but passes herself off as a man to escape.
Some discussion of local customs affecting tales, such as polygyny and cousin marriage, but take it with a grain of salt. When the same tale is told from India to Ireland, the plot devices that remain the same are driven by the story not the culture. (The brother in "Brother and Sister" including the variant here, drinks from the wrong spring and turns into an animal because that's how "Brother and Sister" goes.)