Lecture - Hansel and Gretel in Jijiga - Elizabeth Laird - 18.06.14
Posted: Apr, 6th 2015
This event is presented by the Anglo-Ethiopian Society Ethiopia. Ethiopia possesses an extraordinary trove of folktales. Caravans on the great trade routes brought stories from East and West. Tales with echoes of the Old Testament are heard in the remotest areas. The origin myth of the Bena peoples is strikingly similar to the story of Lot and his daughters. Are the many animal fables as old as Aesop? Or older? How did the Somali Hansel and Gretel arrive in Jijiga?
Author Elizabeth Laird will explore the links between Ethiopian folktales with stories from around the world and will present an update on efforts to make a selection of them available in simplified English to Ethiopian school children.
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