“Black literature is taught as sociology, as tolerance, not as a serious, rigorous art form.” - Toni Morrison
BR'ER RABBIT OR BUGS BUNNY
AFRICAN FOLKLORE TO AMERICAN ENTERTAINMENT The majority of the Brer Rabbit stories originated in Africa. The
stories were told and retold by enslaved Africans, and the tales evolved with the changing times and the circumstances. Br'er Rabbit is the consummate trickster, who typically matches wits with Br'er Fox, whom he always bests. Brer Rabbit Earns a Dollar-A-Minute Brer Rabbit Fools Sis Cow Anansi Stories are part of an ancient mythology that is rooted in West African folklore and concerns the interaction between divine and semi-divine beings, royalty, humans, animals, plants and seemingly inanimate objects. These stories continue to provide a moral foundation for the community. Anansi the Spiderman existed from the time when deities, humans and animals were able to converse with each other.
Why Anansi Has Eight Thin Legs The Dozens
Also known as ribbin, crackin, clownin, checkin, jonin An element of the African American oral tradition in which two competitors, usually males, go head-to-head in a competition of often good-natured insults. They take turns "cracking," "snapping," "ribbing" or insulting on—one another, their adversary's mother or other family member until one of them has no comeback. This is called playing the dozens or doin' the dozens, and sometimes dirty dozens, The dozens is a contest of personal power—of wit, self-control, verbal ability, mental agility and mental toughness. Each putdown, each "snap", ups the ante. Defeat can be humiliating; but a skilled contender, win or lose, may gain respect. The dozens is one of the contributing elements in the development of hip hop, especially the practice of battling. |