TALES FROM THE PAST!
By PATRICK MOHATLANE
Published in The growth of Free state Black Writing (2005)
Book: African Night Fire Stories Author: Kgang Abel Motheane
It is my privilege and honour to pen these few notes about the debut book of Ntate Motheane. Relatively, few books by local authors are written and published every year hence we can always celebrate when new books are out!
I was delighted to read a preliminary review of this book in Daily Sun. I shall like to supplement my own review with that of respected literary critic, Mr. Peter Moroe.
Moroe wrote and I quote him: “Motheane has written stories that African children used to be told around the firelight at night. They are full of proverbs and animals from ancestral history. They are stories which were told but never written down up to now.”
The name of the book we are launching today is AFRICAN NIGHT FIRE STORIES. The book has ten chapters or stories. Chronologically, the chapters are:
* The Rainmaker
* The Snake and the man
* The moon visits the star
* The crocodile visits the big fish
* The birds and the animals’ meeting in the Black Forest
* The old man and the three boys
* The duck that laid the golden eggs
* The flowers in the garden and peach tree
* The horse and the zebra
* The king who requested a long story
I must point out the importance of books like these, before those of us living in the new Millennium forget about our rich tapestry of our African heritage. This book is the latest in the line of African books made famous by disparate authors like Amos Tutuola and Gcina Mhlope.
I wish to point out three or four salient aspects of Mr. Motheane’s book. Firstly there is the ancestral, old age ambience of the book. The stories are drawn from a long period back.
Secondly, I was impressed with the way animals have been incorporated into the book. It seems our forefathers had a symbiotic relationship with animals
Thirdly, one cannot but touch on the didactic nature of these stories. For example in the story of the old man and the three boys, we learnt that greed and avarice can be disastrous.
I also want to point out that we have AUTHORIAL INTERJECTIONS, we are advised intermittently by the writer which is a good thing.
This is a book to be commended and recommended. I am sure others will comment favourably on it
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