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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Transformational narratives: hearing/reading selected Senegalese folktales by young women
Author:Sougou, OmarISNI
Year:2008
Periodical:Research in African Literatures
Volume:39
Issue:3
Pages:26-38
Language:English
Geographic term:Senegal
Subjects:folk tales
women
domestic workers
rural-urban relations
External link:http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/research_in_african_literatures/v039/39.3.sougou.pdf
Abstract:The culture of a people is usually reflected in its folklore. As important constituents of folklore, folktales are expressive of the world view of a society at some point in time; they convey indicators of the prevailing ideology in a society. Thus, they are suitable sources for an inquiry into gender relations at work in a given social formation, especially when folktales by women are considered. This essay embarks on a listening/reading of such folktales in search of transformational trends in gender relations. It is based on folktales collected among young women originating from the rural area of Fatick in Senegal who work seasonally as housemaids in the city. The narratives were collected over three nights in November 2004 while they were performed in front of a small audience mainly composed of friends. The women hold such sessions to entertain themselves, reconnect with their home culture after a day's work in the city, and re-create the missed homey village evenings. Bibliogr., note, sum. [Journal abstract, edited]
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