African Folktales in the New World »

WILLIAM BASCOM (1912—1981) was Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Robert L. Lowie Museum of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley. The author of Ifa Divination and Sixteen Cowries, he co-authored Continuity and Change in African Cultures and A Handbook of West African Art.

"These essays... are of immense importance to anyone interested in the issues of origins and folklore texts." — Choice

"... this is Bascom at his best.... an attractive and full-bodied book." — Fabula

These essays, devoted to traditional narratives found in Africa and in the New World, represent the last major research project of William Bascom (1912-1981), eminent authority on African art and folklore — his intention was to demonstrate the African roots of African American folktales.