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Synopsis
The Nzema of West Africa, who inhabit a land of forest and lagoons along the Atlantic, continue a heritage untapped by anthropologists and scarcely influenced by Western civilization. Vinigi L. Grottanelli first discovered the rich culture of this southern Ghanaian tribe in 1954. Over the next three decades, intermittent sojourns enabled Grottanelli to develop friendships with the Nzema and learn about their beliefs, traditions, and practices.
In twenty absorbing vignettes, The Python Killer renders a vivid portrayal of Nzema life. An unobtrusive observer, Grottanelli gives center stage to the Nzema narrators who tell their own vibrant, delightful, and mystical stories. This exotic world of coconut groves, nza (palm wine), cassava, and poisonous snakes is inhabited by a people who believe in sinister witches, oracles, jealous gods, and angry nwomenle (ghosts) to whom they offer "sheep, some rice, eggs, and drinks, including two bottles of Coca-Cola." Witches are all the more dreaded for their habit of stealing their female kin's wombs and for their faculty of turning instantly into hogs, snakes, or millipedes. Men, even if nominally Christian, may have as many wives as they can afford. Ghosts haunt the ocean beaches by night and may even sneak into villages and homes.
The Python Killer joins a growing number of recent works in anthropology that emphasize the voices of indigenous peoples. To provide a foundation for the stories, Grottanelli discusses the history, family ties, and beliefs of the Nzema in an introduction, and in an appendix he offers a theory of witchcraft as allegory. The only anthropologist to have lived among the Nzema, Grottanelli brings the realities of their lives to anthropologists, Africanists, and curious readers.
In twenty absorbing vignettes, The Python Killer renders a vivid portrayal of Nzema life. An unobtrusive observer, Grottanelli gives center stage to the Nzema narrators who tell their own vibrant, delightful, and mystical stories. This exotic world of coconut groves, nza (palm wine), cassava, and poisonous snakes is inhabited by a people who believe in sinister witches, oracles, jealous gods, and angry nwomenle (ghosts) to whom they offer "sheep, some rice, eggs, and drinks, including two bottles of Coca-Cola." Witches are all the more dreaded for their habit of stealing their female kin's wombs and for their faculty of turning instantly into hogs, snakes, or millipedes. Men, even if nominally Christian, may have as many wives as they can afford. Ghosts haunt the ocean beaches by night and may even sneak into villages and homes.
The Python Killer joins a growing number of recent works in anthropology that emphasize the voices of indigenous peoples. To provide a foundation for the stories, Grottanelli discusses the history, family ties, and beliefs of the Nzema in an introduction, and in an appendix he offers a theory of witchcraft as allegory. The only anthropologist to have lived among the Nzema, Grottanelli brings the realities of their lives to anthropologists, Africanists, and curious readers.
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The Python Killer : Stories of Nzema Life
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University of Chicago Press, 1988
ISBN 10: 0226310051
ISBN 13: 9780226310053
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The Python Killer: Stories of Nzema Life
Published by
University of Chicago Press, 1988
ISBN 10: 0226310051
ISBN 13: 9780226310053
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The Python Killer: Stories of Nzema Life
Published by
University of Chicago Press, 1988
ISBN 10: 0226310051
ISBN 13: 9780226310053
Used
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First Edition
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The Python Killer: Stories of Nzema Life.
Published by
University of Chicago Press, 1988
ISBN 10: 0226310051
ISBN 13: 9780226310053
Used
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Condition: as new. Chicago : University Of Chicago Press, 1988. Hardcover. Dustjacket. 231 pp.- The Nzema of West Africa, who inhabit a land of forest and lagoons along the Atlantic, continue a heritage untapped by anthropologists and scarcely influenced by Western civilization. Vinigi L. Grottanelli first discovered the rich culture of this southern Ghanaian tribe in 1954. Over the next three decades, intermittent sojourns enabled Grottanelli to develop friendships with the Nzema and learn about their beliefs, traditions, and practices. In twenty absorbing vignettes, The Python Killer renders a vivid portrayal of Nzema life. An unobtrusive observer, Grottanelli gives center stage to the Nzema narrators who tell their own vibrant, delightful, and mystical stories. This exotic world of coconut groves, nza (palm wine), cassava, and poisonous snakes is inhabited by a people who believe in sinister witches, oracles, jealous gods, and angry nwomenle (ghosts) to whom they offer "sheep, some rice, eggs, and drinks, including two bottles of Coca-Cola." Witches are all the more dreaded for their habit of stealing their female kin's wombs and for their faculty of turning instantly into hogs, snakes, or millipedes. Men, even if nominally Christian, may have as many wives as they can afford. Ghosts haunt the ocean beaches by night and may even sneak into villages and homes.English text. Condition as new. Condition : as new copy. ISBN 9780226310053. Keywords : , Seller Inventory # 243695
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The Python Killer: Stories of Nzema Life
Published by
University of Chicago Press, 1988
ISBN 10: 0226310051
ISBN 13: 9780226310053
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THE PYTHON KILLER. Stories of Nzema Life
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Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. first printing. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, (c. 1988). first printing. Hardcover. Near Fine/Fine. Octavo, xi [1] 223 pages. Includes black and white illustrations, glossary, references, and index. Remainder mark on bottom edge of book block else book and dust jacket are in Fine condition. 061508E. Seller Inventory # 000014957
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The Python Killer: Stories of Nzema Life
Published by
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ISBN 10: 0226310051
ISBN 13: 9780226310053
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Hard Cover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First Edition. xi, 223pp, b/w ills, notes, glossary, references, index. Or cl boards in dust-jacket which has a tear from the spine head. In 20 vignettes, The Pyton Killer renders a portrayal of Nzema life in West Africa. Size: 8vo. Seller Inventory # 027196
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The Python Killer: Stories of Nzema Life
Published by
University of Chicago Press, 1988
ISBN 10: 0226310051
ISBN 13: 9780226310053
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The Python Killer/Stories of Nzima Life
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ISBN 13: 9780226310053
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Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. Hardback in fine condition with fine dust jacket in protective mylor sleeve. Seller Inventory # 157613
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The Python Killer: Stories of Nzema Life
Published by
University of Chicago Press, 1988
ISBN 10: 0226310051
ISBN 13: 9780226310053
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VHS. Condition: Used. Hardback with dustjacket; notes; glossary; index; 223 pages. Book and dustjacket; are near fine; text is clean and tight. Seller Inventory # 203474
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