Why Monkeys Live in Trees and Other Stories from Benin

Posted on 07 March 2018 by Raouf Mama

This is a book for both young and old lovers of folklore Why Monkeys Live in Trees and Other Stories from Benin is a rich tapestry of oral tales that come from a wide range of Beninese ethnic groups They include trickster tales and sacred tales involving the greatest and meanest of mankind, as well as nature and the world of spirits These ageless tales remind us of the power of love, the perils of greed and pride, and the redemptive virtues of courage, humility, and kindness The Western African Republic of Benin formerly Dahomey is gifted with a great folktale tradition, one of the richest in the world As pieces of oral literature and cultural history, these tales shed light on some of the values and beliefs as well as the customs and traditions of the people of Benin Download Why Monkeys Live in Trees and Other Stories from Benin – kino-fada.fr I quite enjoyed this collection of regional folk tales It reminded me very much of Native American folk tales of the Coyote Trickster, and some of the stories were similar to various biblical parables, most with either a tale to tell why natural phenomena occur such as the moon and sun or morality tales how to treat others, etc There was even a tale about a Prodigal Son, although most of the details were different and the father figure is primarily the one at fault, the story has enough I quite enjoyed this collection of regional folk tales It reminded me very much of Native American folk tales of the Coyote Trickster, and some of the stories were similar to various biblical parables, most with either a tale to tell why natural phenomena occur such as the moon and sun or morality tales how to treat others, etc There was even a tale about a Prodigal Son, although most of the details were different and the father figure is primarily the one at fault, the story has enough very basic similarities that one ha...I read this book for the Around the World in 80 Books Benin group read I m hesitant to give it a low rating, because these stories obviously meant enough to several ethnic groups in Benin to be handed down over generations, and who am I, as a white Western reader, to discount them But Goodreads ratings are based on enjoyment of the book, and the honest truth is, I didn t enjoy it At first I thought this was because the tales were about animals and that just isn t really my thing But then the I read this book for the Around the World in 80 Books Benin group read I m hesitant to give it a low rating, because these stories obviously meant enough to several ethnic groups in Benin to be handed down over generations, and who am I, as a white Western reader, to discount them But Goodreads ratings are based on enjoyment of the book, and the honest truth is, I didn t enjoy it At first I thought this was because the tales were about animals and that just isn t really my thing But then the tales moved on to stories about people, and I still didn t enjoy them I began to wonder if there was a cultural divide preventing me from seeing what was valuable about these tales And that may be true The writing was, in my opinion, not good, but I m willing to say that could just be a function of African storytelling being much different from European storytelling The thing that makes me wonder about this conclusion, though, is that when poems or sayings ...This was so good.Specifically the story why monkeys live in trees is very funny for a children story Its not very interesting if your looking for a long book but forof people who like multiple short story s.I giggled.

English
07 March 2018

Raouf Mama