The Story of “!Khwe // na ssho !kui who Brought Home a Young Lion to Use as a Dog”

Character, Identity and Knowledge in a /Xam Narrative

Bibliographic Data

ID8932636
AuthorsMichael Wessels (corresponding author)
Year2011
Volume122
Issue2
Pages196-216
Publication date2011-06-26
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueFolklore (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0015-587X • E-ISSN: 1469-8315
PublisherRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/0015587x.2011.570522
OpenAlexW1981529423
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited13

This paper discusses several aspects of a /Xam Bushman story in which a man brings home a lion cub and insists that it is a dog. The paper seeks to demonstrate that the text is capable of eliciting a range of important critical questions. It argues that the call to exegesis is inherent in most forms of literature, including those that are often treated as folklore or mythology. The paper suggests that there are several aspects of the story that accord with current critical concerns. It concentrates on just two of these: the tension between character and identity in the text and the different modes of knowledge that are present in it. The paper does not attempt to provide an exhaustive or authoritative analysis of the story. Instead it contends that the interpretative possibilities in /Xam literature are more extensive than some of the ways in which it is read would suggest

Aesthetics · Art · Character (mathematics · Folklore · Identity (music · Literature · Mythology · Narrative · Sociology · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Archaeology and Rock Art Studies · Rangeland Management and Livestock Ecology

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