Thomas A. Hale
Autore di The Epic of Askia Mohammed (African Epic)
Sull'Autore
Thomas A. Hale is Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of African, French, and Comparative Literature and Head of the French Department at The Pennsylvania State University.
Opere di Thomas A. Hale
Oral Epics from Africa: Vibrant Voices from a Vast Continent (African Epic) (1997) — A cura di — 17 copie
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Statistiche
- Opere
- 6
- Utenti
- 85
- Popolarità
- #214,931
- Voto
- 3.4
- Recensioni
- 1
- ISBN
- 11
- Lingue
- 1
The first half of the epic tells of the birth and rise to power of Mamar Kassaye, as Askia Mohammed is called in the text, the founder of the Askia dynasty of the Western African Songhay Empire.We start with Mamar's mother, Kassaye, conceiving via an encounter with a water spirit and hiding her son from the current ruler who was given a prophecy that one of Kassaye's children will grow up to kill him and become ruler; Mamar fulfills the prophecy, goes on pilgrimage to Mecca, has adventures, and founds a dynasty.
The second half deals with Mamar's descendants, and I have to admit I got kind of lost there. There's a long genealogy given before we get to any more action, and I had very little idea of who anyone was and why they were important. Having notes alongside the text rather than at the end of the book probably would have helped a great deal.
Despite my difficulty with the second half, I did enjoy the epic and hope it becomes more widely known.… (altro)