The trickster appears in the myths and folktales of nearly every traditional society. Robert Pelton examines Ashanti, Fon, Yoruba, and Dogon trickster-figures in their social and mythical contexts and in light of contemporary thought, exploring the way the trickster links animality and ritual transformation; culture, sex, and laughter; cosmic process and personal history; divination and social change.
The Trickster in West Africa A Study of Mythic Irony and Sacred Delight
About the Book
Table of Contents
I. Interpreting the Trickster
II. Ananse: Spinner of Ashanti Doubleness
III. Legba: Master of the Fon Dialectic
IV. Legba and Eshu: Writers of Destiny
V. Ogo-Yurugu: Lord of the Random, Servant of Wholeness
VI. Toward a Theory of the Trickster
Appendix
Selected Bibliography
Index
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