Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'African folktales'

Includes bibliographical references.
In this study I trace the influence of Paul Radin’s collection of African folktales on Sylvia Plath’s Ariel poems. Elements from these tales have been identified by various critics in Plath’s “Poem for a Birthday” sequence which, according to Hughes, she wrote around the same time as she was reading the African tales. However, the importance of the tales to her later poetry has not yet been fully explored in Plath criticism. “Poem for a Birthday” marks an important stage in the emergence of what has become known as Plath’s “Ariel voice” and it is my contention that the influence of the African tales is significantly present even in this later work. The Ariel poems manifest a preoccupation with motherhood which merges thematically with creative fruitfulness. I examine how Plath adopts and uses the concept of “the African” in Ariel to represent repressed aspects of the human psyche which must emerge into consciousness in order for creative expression to attain a level of deep resonance. This engagement is repeatedly presented as a vital “primitive” force emerging from beneath a stony silent reality. The Africanfolktales provided Plath with a novel set of imagery and resources with which to portray this explorative process. I therefore explore Plath’s interest in “primitivism”. I also argue that the orality of the African tales inspired Plath to focus on the oral nature of her later writing. I hope in this study to free Plath’s Ariel voice from the shadow of her suicide. More importantly, I hope to show that her own collection of Ariel poems represented an important moment in her creative development that envisaged a vital spirit of possibility, activated dramatically by an engagement with Radin’s African tales.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2013.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: South African author Linda Rode‘s book In die Nimmer-Immer Bos (2009a) and Elsa Silke‘s English translation thereof In the Never-Ever Wood (2009b) have won a number of prizes in South Africa, which is evidence both of the quality of the anthology and its translation, as well as of the continued significance of the folktale genre in today‘s fast-paced, modern society. People continue to make sense of the world through telling stories and, although the stories told today might be marked by life in the 21st century, our ancestors‘ stories are still appreciated by many. Although Rode‘s tales are not unlike other folktales, her collection differs in that it is a mosaic of cultures and their folklore spanning the globe, a book that appeals to the whole family, and to young readers and listeners in particular. Through a practical translation into German of selected tales from Silke‘s English version of Rode‘s book, the present thesis investigates ways and means of translating folktales for children. A functional approach was suggested, taking into account the European audience as well as the original intention of the author. As such, the author‘s style was naturalised and an attempt was made to replicate it in the target language, whereas culture-specific items relevant to the setting of the individual tales were retained. Hans J. Vermeer‘s skopos theory, as enhanced by Christiane Nord, as well as Lawrence Venuti‘s concepts of foreignisation and domestication were discussed, amongst other relevant theories. Many of the challenges discussed in the annotations to the practical translation typically occur in the translation of literature for children, and the study thus hopes to make a contribution to research on the translation of literature for children. Interviews conducted for the purpose of the present study furthermore proved the positive impact of good cooperation between the people involved in a translation project on the final translation product. The resulting translation, meant to impart knowledge and pleasure to the audience, furthermore serves as a translation sample that is intended to entice German publishers to commission a translation of Rode‘s anthology for the German book market.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die Suid-Afrikaanse skrywer Linda Rode se boek In die Nimmer-Immer Bos (2009a), sowel as die Engelse vertaling daarvan deur Elsa Silke, getiteld In the Never-Ever Wood (2009b), is in Suid-Afrika met verskeie pryse bekroon. Hierdie erkenning is ‘n bevestiging van die gehalte van die antologie en van die vertaling, sowel as van die voortgesette belangrikheid van volksoorleweringe as genre in die gejaagde, moderne samelewing van vandag. Mense maak steeds sin van die wêreld deur stories te vertel, en hoewel die stories wat vandag vertel word meestal handel oor die lewe in die 21ste eeu, word die stories van ons voorouers steeds deur baie mense waardeer. Hoewel Rode se verhale nie besonder anders as ander volksverhale is nie, verskil haar versameling in dié opsig dat dit ‘n mosaïek van kulture en volksoorleweringe van regoor die wêreld is. Die boek is dus een waarby die hele gesin, maar veral jong lesers en luisteraars, aanklank kan vind. Hierdie tesis ondersoek, deur ‘n praktiese vertaling van enkele verhale uit die Engelse weergawe van Rode se boek in Duits, strategieë vir die vertaling van volksverhale vir kinders. ‘n Funksionalistiese benadering is gevolg, wat die Europese gehoor sowel as die oorspronklike bedoeling van die skrywer in ag neem. In die lig hiervan is die styl van die skrywer genaturaliseer en, waar moontlik, na die doeltaal oorgedra, terwyl kultuurspesifieke items behou is wat relevant is vir die agtergrond waarteen die individuele verhale afspeel. Hans J. Vermeer se skoposteorie, soos aangepas deur Christiane Nord, sowel as Lawrence Venuti se konsepte vervreemding en domestikering is bespreek, saam met ander relevante teorieë. Baie van die uitdagings wat in die annotasies by die praktiese vertaling bespreek word, kom dikwels in die vertaling van kinderliteratuur voor. Hierdie studie hoop dus om ‘n bydrae tot navorsing oor die vertaling van verhale vir kinders te lewer. Onderhoude wat vir die doel van die studie gevoer is, het verder bewys gelewer van die positiewe impak wat goeie samewerking tussen die rolspelers in ‘n vertaalprojek op die finale vertaalproduk kan hê. Die uiteindelike vertaling, wat bedoel is om kennis oor te dra en genot aan die gehoor te verskaf, dien verder as ‘n vertaalvoorbeeld wat Duitse uitgewers hopelik sal aanmoedig om Rode se antologie vir die Duitse boekemark te laat vertaal.

African American Studies
M.A.
Often disconnected from the African diaspora, the Black South Pacific is constantly laid to the wayside. My research works to shed light on the voices of Afro-Oceanic scholars who are fully capable of articulating their own narratives based on their traditional foundational knowledge that may not align with standard western notions of knowledge but in fact create a system or methods of knowledge unique to the Afro-Oceanic community and traditions. The indigenous Afro-Oceanic agenda of self-determination, indigenous rights and sovereignty, integrity, spiritual healing, reconciliation and humble morality, builds capacity towards a systematic change and re-acknowledgement of indigenous Afro-Oceanic epistemologies. By identifying and analyzing indigenous Oceanic epistemologies, ontologies, and cosmologies, my research seeks to place Afro-Oceanic peoples within the broader African Diaspora. Scholars throughout Afro-Oceania such as Dr. A.M Tupuola, Dr. Vaioleti T.M, and Dr. Helu-Thaman inter
Temple University--Theses

This thesis maps a marriage of postcolonial theory and folklore studies. The progeny of this marriage is an analytic tool which can suitably and effectively tackle the subject of written folktale texts, whether they be part of a nineteenth century colonialist discourse, or a twenty-first century nationalist discourse. First, GM Theal's collection of folktale texts, Kaffir Folklore (1882), is analysed as part of his specific colonialist discourse. Theal formulated for himself, and for the Xhosa peoples, identities which consolidated the colonialisms he supported. I argue that these folktale texts, although a part of Theal's colonialist discourse, are hybrid, containing the voices of both coloniser and colonised. Second, the position of contemporary written folktales in a neo-colonialist and >new nationalist discourse=, is examined. The optimistic belief of scholars and authors, that folktales are a means of bridging cultural gaps, is questioned. Finally, it is shown that authors of folktale texts can synthesise diverse literary traditions in a hybrid artform. This synthesis, to some extent, embodies the >new nationalist= aim of a unified national cultural identity in South Africa. The central value of recognising the role of folktale texts in colonialist and nationalist discourses lies in the awareness that this type of literary activity in South Africa is a cross-cultural practice. The confluence of voices which constitutes these folktale texts, reveals that our stories are intertwined. In the past, the discourses of colonialism and apartheid controlled the formation of the diverse and hierarchised cultural identities of South Africa. But this is not to say that alternative stories of self-fashioning and cultural self-determination did not exist. In the folktale texts of writers such as Mhlope, Jordan, and even in Theal's colonial collection, different mediums, literary heritages and styles converge to create narratives which speak of cross-cultural interaction and the empowerment of the black voice. In post-apartheid South Africa, there is even greater opportunity to reshape stories, to recreate selves, and to redefine intercultural relations. This thesis has outlined how some of those stories, which use folktale texts as their central trope, are constructed and commodified. Not only do these reinvented folktale texts embody the heterogeneous cultural influences of South Africa, they also have the potential to promote, first, the understanding of cultural differences, and second, the acceptance of the notion of cultural hybridity in our society.

The recent increase in the number of children orphaned and rendered vulnerable by HIV and AIDS in South Africa has placed an added burden on schools as sites of care and support. Education policies mandate schools to develop strategies to support such children, but this is no easy task in contexts where teachers are already struggling to fulfill instructional requirements. Literature reveals that teachers in under-resourced schools, where the problem is more severely experienced regard this increased pastoral role as an added responsibility that they do not feel competent to execute. Since there is unlikely to be any significant improvement in the circumstances of these children in the near future, there is a need to discover creative ways to address this problem. I was led to ask how teachers could support children to better cope in the face of adversity in a way that could be easily integrated into the academic curriculum, so as to minimise the perceived burden of providing care and support. Based on my knowledge of the value of bibliotherapy in promoting resilient coping in individuals, I was interested to see if folktales could be used in a similar way with groups of children. Working from an asset-based perspective, and proceeding from a transformative and participatory epistemology, I adopted an action research design to explore the potential of traditional folktales to enhance positive coping responses in children orphaned and rendered vulnerable by HIV and AIDS. My choice of traditional folktales was influenced by the importance that resilience theory attaches to cultural variables in the resilience process. The participants were isiXhosa speaking children who were orphaned and rendered vulnerable by HIV and AIDS (OVC) between the ages of nine and fourteen years (n=30) in Cycle One who lived in a children‟s home or with foster parents. In Cycle Two, the study was conducted in a school setting with thirty (n=30) participants. I conducted two cycles of reflective action research enquiry to ascertain how folktales could be used to enable teachers to meet both pastoral and academic requirements. In the first cycle, I used a pre-post time series design to explore if merely telling the stories would enhance the resilience of the children. Although this use of the stories was teacher-centred, I knew that it would be an easy and time-saving way for teachers to provide support, if it proved to be effective in enhancing resilience. Drawings and accompanying explanations were used to generate data pre-and post-intervention. The thematic analysis of the data revealed that, post-intervention, there appeared to be an increase in two resilience-enhancing indicators: the children appeared to have a more positive sense of self and improved positive relations with peers/friends. Critical reflection on the process also revealed ethical and methodological concerns and problems when working with vulnerable children. The findings from this cycle informed my second cycle, in which I adopted a more participatory approach to engage the children in making meaning of the stories and explore how they related to their own lives. I used participatory arts based methods such as drawings, collages, drama and more usual qualitative strategies, such as focus group discussion and observation, to generate data. The findings from this cycle suggest that using such strategies will equip teachers with tools to enhance the resilience of OVC in a way that also promotes the attainment of instructional outcomes. This study has contributed important theoretical, methodological and pedagogical insights. Theoretically, this study has contributed to the social ecological perspective of resilience by confirming that cultural resources, such as indigenous African stories (folktales) can enhance the resilience of vulnerable children. Lessons learnt from this study had a methodological contribution to the ethics of working with children and the use of culturally appropriate resources in the field, which were folktales. This study has also contributed to the meaning making implications of using folktales, which can aid the pedagogical strategies that teachers use. Although this study was meant to be small- scale research and was not intended to be generalisable, the findings do suggest that teachers could have a resource that is time efficient, effective and could assist them to reach both their pastoral and academic goals.

This study focuses on the translation of children’s literature. Its aim is to examine the translation strategies adopted in translating culture-specific concepts found in three African folktales written in English taken from Gcina Mhlophe’s African Tales: A Barefoot Collection, into Sepedi. The focus is on culture-specific elements such as proper names, geographical names, references to food, names of fauna and flora, songs, forms of address and humour. Translating such texts will enable Sepedi speaking children to learn more about the cultural practices of other African countries. A further aim is that by translating folktales from African Tales: A Barefoot Collection into Sepedi, Sepedi speaking children will have access to more reading material written in their language which is easy to comprehend and can expand their Sepedi vocabulary. Currently there is little reading material available for Sepedi learners, therefore translating the chosen folktales into Sepedi will help in filling this gap.

Tricksters and Trickery in Zulu Folktales is a research on one of the central themes in African, and particularly Nguni/Zulu folklore, in which the trickster figure plays a pivotal role. The Zulu form part of the Nguni group of the Kintu speaking populations in sub-Saharan Africa. Their oral traditions are based on those of the whole sub-continent, but also constitute significant innovations due to the Nguni's contacts with the Khoisan peoples and to the history that has shaped their reasoning processes. Folktales are an artistic reflection of the people's culture, history, way of life, attitudes to persons and events, springing from the observation of nature and of animal and human, behaviour, in order to create a "culture of the feelings" on which adult decisions are based. The present research is based on the concept of a semiotic communication system whereby folktale "texts" are considered as metaphors, to be de-coded from the literary, cultural and behavioural points of view. The system is employed to produce comic entertainement, as well as for education. A careful examination of the sources reveals the central role that observation of the open book of natural phenomena, and especially the observation of animal life, plays in the formulation of thought patterns and of the imagery bank on which all artistic expression is based, be it in the form of proverbs, or tales, or poetry. Animal observation shows that the small species need to act with some form of cunning in the struggle for survival. The employment of tricks in the tales can be either successful or unsuccessful, and this constitutes the fundamental division of the characters who are constantly associated with trickery. They apply deceiving patterns based on false contracts that create an illusion enabling the trickster to use substitution techniques. The same trick pattern is however widely employed, either successfully or unsuccessfully, by a score of other characters who are only "occasional tricksters", such as human beings, in order to overcome the challenge posed by external, often superior, forces, or simply in order to shape events to their own advantage. The original mould for the successful trickster figure in Kintu speaking Africa is the small Hare. The choice of this animal character points to the bewildered realization that small beings can only survive through guile in a hostile environment dominated by powerful killers. The Nguni/Zulu innovation consists of a composite character with a dual manifestation: Chakide, the slender mongoose, a small carnivorous animal, whose main folktale name is the diminutive Chakijana; and its counterpart Hlakanyana, a semi-human dwarf. The innovation contains a double value: the root ideophone hlaka points to an intelligent being, able to outwit his adversaries by "dissecting" all the elements of a situation in order to identify weaknesses that offer the possibility of defeating the enemy; and to "re-arrange" reality in a new way. This shows the ambivalent function of trickery as a force for both demolition and reconstruction. Chakijana, the small slender mongoose, is like the pan-African Hare in most respects, but with the added feature of being carnivorous, therefore a merciless killer. He makes use of all its powers to either escape larger animals, or to conquer other animals for food in order to survive. Hlakanyana, being semi-human, can interact with both humans and animals; Chakijana is mostly active in an animal setting. The unsuccessful trickster figure in Kintu speaking Africa is Hyena, an evil and powerful killer and scavenger, associated in popular belief with witches by reason of his nocturnal habits and grave digging activities. The Nguni/Zulu innovation is Izimu, a fictional semi-human being, traditionally interpreted as a cannibal, a merciless and dark man eater. Izimu is another composite figure, prevalently corresponding to Hyena, from which he draws most of his fictional characteristics. The figure further assimilates features of half-human, half-animal man-eating monsters known in the folklore of many African cultures, as well as the ogre figure prevalent in European tales. The anthropophagous aspect, taken as its prevalent characteristic by earlier researchers, is a rather secondary feature. The innovation from a purely animal figure (Hyena) to a semi-human one allows this character to interact mostly with human beings, thus expressing deeply felt human concerns and fears. Trickery is the hallmark of comedy, the art of looking at life from an upside-down point of view, to portray not the norm but the unexpected. Thus the metaphors contained in trickster folktales, as expressions of comedy, are rather difficult to decode. The ambivalence, so common in many manifestations of African culture, becomes prevalent in these tales. Human tricksters, who try to imitate the trick sequence, are successful if their aims can be justified in terms of culture and tradition; but are unsuccessful if their aims are disruptive of social harmony. Ambivalence is also predominant in "modern" trickster folktales, and in some manifestations of the trickster themes in recent literature. The trickster tradition is an important aspect of the traditions of the Zulu people, permeating social, educational and literary aspects of life and culture. The Nguni/Zulu innovations of Hlakanyana/Chakijana and of Izimu point to the dynamic and inner stability of the culture, a precious heritage and a force on which to build a great future.
Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1995.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 2001.
Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 116-121).

M.A.
The object of this work is to investigate and identify the social function of Setswana folktales. Folktales are known as stories which were told to entertain people. These were told through performance. Without performance it would be impossible to identify the basic functions of folktales which are entertainment and education. This work was done through reference to relevant sources. Interviews with informants were conducted. Although many of the informants co-operated during the interviews, some were doubtful about talking to a stranger who recorded their voices and even demanded to know their names. Most informants supplied folktales (told stories) rather than discussing their functions...

Thesis (M.A. (Applied Language and Literacy Education))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Humanities, 2017
This study critically analyses a set of folktales from the African Storybook website, which is an open licence digital publishing platform supporting early reading in Africa (www.africanstorybook.org). The selected folktales were mostly written by educators and librarians working in the African Storybook project pilot sites. The folktales were illustrated and published as indigenous African language and English storybooks during 2014 to 2015. The analysis is centrally concerned with the settings in which the folktales take place (with a distinction made between space, place and time), and the age and gender associated with central characters. The analytical tools used and the perspectives applied are drawn predominantly from post-colonial studies, African feminism, critical literacy, broad folktale scholarship, and theory from local – as opposed to global – childhoods. The analysis is interested in the conventions of the folktale genre, as it is constructed in the narratives by the writers. The three central findings with regards to the settings of folktales are as follows: (i) 90% of the folktales are set in rural environments in or near villages or small settlements. The somewhat idealised villages and settlements appear to have been relatively untouched by modern communications and infrastructure, and represent a “nostalgic, imagined past”. (ii) The study found that 75% of the folktales are set in the remote past, indexical of the folktale genre’s oral roots. (iii) Supernatural characters, objects and events occur in nearly 75% of the folktales. This suggests a possible interpretive space of intersecting temporalities and dimensions of existence, as well as possibilities for imaginative problem-solving. In addition, it raises challenging questions about the limits of human agency. The study also found that the ASb folktales, perhaps somewhat unsurprisingly for a genre that tends to employ archetypes and stereotypes, seemingly offer no characterisation outside of heteronormative family roles. But despite the heteronormativity and narrowly-defined family roles, especially for women characters, the folktales also present other positions for female gendered characters, and by extension for girl child readers – courageous, interesting, clever and unconventional female characters are in no shortage in these narrative populations. The findings suggest that the ASb folktales provide a range of identity positions for both girls and boys in African contexts, and my study reflects on how educators might navigate this complex territory. In particular, the findings point to how teachers and other adult caregivers might balance the moral and cultural lessons in folktales with the need for children to imagine and construct different worlds and positions for themselves.
MT2017

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2006.
Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-11, Section: A, page: 4100. Adviser: Violet Harris. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 331-350) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Owing to changes brought by modernisation, folktales and other folklore genres are often looked down upon, and thought by many to be outdated. The aim of this study is to explore manipulative behaviour in Siswati folktales. The study glanced at how manipulation is used in folktales, i.e. the causes and key strategies used by manipulators to manipulate their victims. The focus was on the conformism of manipulation in folktales, to current practice of manipulation in different social institutions, implication of manipulation, and how manipulation could be controlled. The researcher used the qualitative research method to collect and analyse data. To achieve the objectives of the study, data was collected from 28 folktale books that were purposefully selected for the purpose of providing information to answer the research questions. All data collected was analysed using ’Neuman’s (2000) Analytic Approach whereby the Method of Agreement and the Method of Difference was utilised. Data was categorised into different themes teased from the folktales for analysis. Based on the findings of the research, it is evident that manipulation prevails in Siswati folktales. Different characters are being manipulated in different settings using different strategies and tools. The powerful manipulate the less powerful, the intelligent manipulate the less gifted, and the rich manipulate the poor, while the knowledgeable manipulate the ignorant. The research findings relate very well with the current manipulative behaviour practiced by different social institutions and almost every individual and society is affected. Furthermore, the research reveals that manipulation can be curbed if current victims of manipulation decide to expose manipulative acts and join forces to fight the manipulator. In this case, it is recommended that different stakeholders from various departments join forces to fight manipulative tendencies that prevail in different institutions and society as a whole. The present study may revitalize the urge and the need to reconsider the study of folktales, since their themes remain the same.
African Languages
D. Litt. et Phil. (Languages, Linguistics and Literature)

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 103-107)
This study explored the role played by Siswati folktales in building the character of boys. It included how boys are depicted in folktales and how this depiction influences boys in real life. The study further investigated the correlation between traditional and modern boys and tried to uncover the value of folktales regarding the boys of today. The way boys are portrayed in folktales, their heroism in fighting and conquering monsters, could encourage present-day boys to fight the monsters that they come across daily. Based on the application of the lessons from folktales, the study examined how societal changes affect boys today.
African Languages
M.A. (African Languages)

This study deals with the relationship between culture and national development in Angola. It is self-evident that folktales are integral to the cultural heritage of any people, and the Lunda-Cokwe of Angola are no exception. Folktales pass on their knowledge and general cultural heritage to new generation. However, they are rarely regarded as a useful component on development process of a country. In general the development is largely measured in statistics reflecting material wealth. It maintains that, in order to bring about sustainable development and national unity, a holistic approach to personality building as well as nation building is required. The argumentation will not only take into account economic capital generated through national resources, such as diamonds from the Lunda provinces, but also requires other forms of capital, including social and cultural capital as articulated in Bourdieu’s theory of capital.
African languages
M.A. (African languages)

The purpose of the study was to identify the gender-related themes from a cultural discourse in order to determine how gender is constructed in African society. The study specifically examines the Maragoli Folktale. The Maragoli people mainly inhabit the western part of Kenya and are a sub-tribe of the larger Luhyia community. The Luhyia community is the second largest community in Kenya. The study attempts to uncover how gender is constructed through the examination of dominant themes, characterization, images, symbols, formulaic patterns and formalities of composition and performance in the Maragoli folktales at the time of performance. Based on an eclectic conceptual framework, the study takes into consideration gender theories, feminist literary perspectives, psychoanalysis and discourse analysis paradigms to critically examine the tales as a semiotic system of signification grounded within an African social cultural milieu. The folktales are analysed as a symbolic and ideological discourse of signs encoded by the performer and decoded by the audience at the time of performance. The study therefore situates the tale firmly at the time of performance, taking into consideration the interaction between the performer and the audience in the dissemination and internalization of gender ideology. While establishing that patriarchal structures and values are transmitted through the tales, the study also reveals the methods and interventions that the mainly female performers advance as active agents in their struggle for space within the culture. Women are, therefore, perceived as active agents of change and the folktale as a site from which gender ideology is discussed, contested and subverted. The study is based on a corpus of twenty (20) folktales collected from the Maragoli country in Western Province of Kenya (See maps, Appendix B.) The English versions of the tales appear in appendix A.
English Studies
D. Litt. et Phil. (English)

In this thesis, the research focuses on the role and presentation of women in Zulu traditional literature. Employing feminism as a literary canon, the research investigates whether the perceived oppression of Zulu women is reflected in such Zulu folklore. The research aims to establish whether or not folklore was used as a corrective measure or avenue of correcting gender imbalances. This dissertation proceeds from the premise that the traditional Zulu society or culture attached to women certain stereo-typical images which projected them as witches, unfaithful people, unfit marriage partners on the other hand or brave care givers, loving mothers and upright members on the other hand. Using feminism as a scientific approach, the study investigates whether these projections were not oppressive on Zulu women. The study is scientifically organised into various chapters dealing with various subjects e.g. the feminist theory (chapter 2), portrayal of Zulu women in folktales (chapter3), in proverbs (chapter 4) and praise-poetry (chapter 5). The study concludes that the traditional Zulu woman felt depressed by this patriarchal discrimination especially in the marriage situation. In the day and age of African Renaissance, the study recommend that it is imperative for women to mould their children, especially their sons to adapt to the idea that women have changed, they have rights and priviledges which could intimidate their male ego.
African Languages
D. Litt. et Phil. (African languages)

Chapter 1 introduces the study by means of its aim, scope, methodology and terminology. It also hosts summaries of all the folktales that are analysed in this study. Chapter 2 is a study of parenthood and its portrayal in Zulu folktales. Motherhood and fatherhood will be scrutinised separately. Chapter 3 concentrates on girl characters as siblings, brides and companions to old men. Chapter 4 analyses boy characters as herd boys, villains, tricksters and companions to old women. Chapter 5 concentrates on the status of the Zulu folktale. The influence of urbanisation, gender, and the media will receive attention. The lessons that folktales teach will be noted. Chapter 6 concludes and summarises this study and hosts recommendations on the promotion of Zulu folktales
African Languages
M.A. (African Languages)

Unlike in the days of yore where storytelling was primarily known for its entertainment value, storytelling should be harnessed to make people's livelihood. Chapter 1 serves as prologue wherein the background of the study, problem statement, statement of aims, research methodology, research questions, hypotheses, definition of terms and organization of the study are presented. Storytelling began with the aim of transmitting the culture of people from one generation to another. There are different theories to account for the origin of stories. The identified problem is that storytelling is dying because it has not yet been professionalised in African languages. For storytelling to become viable in South Africa, storytellers have to be economically empowered. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were employed in this study. Various questions have been prepared for use when interviewing the respondents. As a point of departure, the research hypotheses were laid down. Various concepts used in the study have been defined in order to clarify any misconceptions. For a study to follow a predetermined plan, it has to be organised in its initial stage. For that reason what has been discussed in each chapter has been summarised in the first chapter. Chapter 2 presents views of scholars, researchers and authors in general on how storytelling could be professionalised. The factors which retard the professionalisation of storytelling were also provided. The furnished views are classified according to their similarity. In Chapter 3, the methodology used in the gathering of research data is outlined. Both qualitative and quantitative methodologies were used, but the qualitative method more extensively because this is an explorative study. Data was collected through interviewing, questionnaires, documents and observation methods. Two sampling methods were used to select the respondents: the snowball sampling method and the judgmental or purposeful sampling design. The setting of the study was determined by the accessibility and the willingness of the respondents to use the site. Once the data was collected, it was analysed and interpreted. Chapter 4 focuses on the analysis and interpretation of the research data collected through interviews, questionnaires and systematic observations. During data analysis, similar themes from different respondents were combined in order to interpret the main findings. All such themes are discussed under major categories. In this chapter, themes were identified in relation to how storytelling might be professionalised. The fifth chapter outlines the main findings arrived at during the analysis and the interpretation of the data. To make this study more pragmatic, the findings are accompanied by suggested recommendations. The final chapter provides a general conclusion to the entire study. The success of professionalised storytelling and storytellers, the implications in terms of teaching and professionalisation, the implications for further study and the limitations of the study are also dealt with in this chapter.
African Languages
D. Litt. et Phil. (African Languages)

Narrative therapy provides an opportunity for children to identify what is important to them. The aim of therapy in this research is to open up space for Nguni speaking children, who in their culture, are not allowed to express their feelings freely. The researcher has found that stories allow children an opportunity to realise that they are all human and that we have come through a process where we have to acknowledge that our existence today is largely dependent on the fact that we are not denying our stories as Nguni speaking people. From looking at the results of study, it would appear that these children have benefited from the therapy sessions. From three clients a sense of pride and self-worth was often evident at the end of a session and the overall comment made was that each one felt far better than when they had started the sessions.
Educational Studies
M. Ed. (specialisation in Guidance and Counseling)