1997
249 pp.
3 tables, appendix: 20 Hausa tales and English translation
Text language(s): English, Hausa
Introduction:
General – Themes – Plot structures – Variability and Stability in Versions of The Tale – Performance and Performer – Review of the Literature on Hausa Tales.
The Position of Tales and Tale-Telling in Hausa Society:
Factors which Militate Against Oral Tradition – Factors which Promote Hausa Tales
Thematic Classification of Hausa Tales:
Unfair Treatment of Members of the Family – The Theme of Reprehensible Behaviour of the Ruling Class – Personal Virtues and Virtuous Behaviour – Deceptive Behaviour
Structural Classification of Hausa Tales:
The Simple Tale – The Compound Tale – The Complex Tale
Variability and Stability in Versions of Stories covering Four Thematic and Three Structural Categories:
The Shared Core of the Stories “A Girl and her Father” and “A Girl and her Elder Brother” – The Shared Core of the Stories “Gizo and the Birds” and “Gizo and the Cranes” – The Shared Core of the Stories “The Poor Man Picked up by a Dove” and “The Man who had a Gown of Fronds of Dum-Palm” – Variation in the Presentation of the World of the Tale Aspects of Narrative Technique in the Performances of Hajiya Saude, Kubura Magaji and Hececi: Hajiya Saude’s Performance – Kubura Magaji’s Performance – Abdu Gala’s Performance.