The Village Witch Doctor And Other Stories

Yoruba legend and culture were the source of much of Amos Tutuola's writing and the stories collected here are no exception. They feature characters from folklore, archetypal figures from Yoruba society, supernatural or magical happenings, acute human observation and often a moral point. Their very titles - from 'The Duckling Brothers and their Disobedient Sister' to 'Don't Pay Bad for Bad' - are evocative of a unique blend of tradition and imagination, which belongs to the same universal culture as Aesop and the Brothers Grimm.

The repressive regime in Ethiopia places innocent people in the dock. In 'The Case of the Socialist Witchdoctor' and related stories Hama Tuma puts the regime itself on trial. Other stories take place outside the courtroom - in bars, brothels, guerilla hideouts and village huts - where life is equally full of vengeance and betrayal. These are terrible tales, their darkness shot through with brilliant flashes of satire and irony.

In Feather Woman of the Jungle, the people of a Yoruba village gather on ten memorable nights to hear the stories and wisdom of their chief. They learn of his adventures, among them his encounter with the Jungle Witch and her ostrich, his visit to the town of the water people and his imprisonment by the Goddess of Diamonds. Each night the people return, eager to discover if there is a happy ending. Amos Tutuola was born in Abeokuta, Nigeria, in 1920. His first novel, The Palm-Wine Drinkard, was acquired by T. S. Eliot and published by Faber in 1952.

This is the story of Ajaiyi, a man born into poverty who is determined to improve his situation. In the hope of finding the money he needs, he travels through unfamiliar lands filled with strange creatures. He meets the Spirit of Fire with its huge feathered head and flaming body, and receives assistance from a wizard and a unicorn. Yet, in the end, the answer to his woes is not far from home.Amos Tutuola was born in Abeokuta, Nigeria, in 1920. His first novel, The Palm-Wine Drinkard, was acquired by T. S. Eliot and published by Faber in 1952.

After four years of marriage, the brave hunter of the Rocky Town and his beautiful wife, Lola, are still without a child. Equipped with juju, sharpened machete, bow and poisonous arrows, flints and thunderbolts, he sets off in search of the Witch-Herbalist's medicine. For six years he journeys, conquering or escaping from such haunting characters as the Abnormal Squatting Man of the Jungle and the Crazy Removable-Headed Wild Man. Finally he reaches the Remote Town of the Witch-Mother and is given medicine for his wife, but on the way home he makes a decision with interesting consequences.

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This classic novel tells the phantasmagorical story of an alcoholic man and his search for his dead palm-wine tapster. As he travels through the land of the dead, he encounters a host of supernatural and often terrifying beings - among them the complete gentleman who returns his body parts to their owners and the insatiable hungry-creature. Mixing Yoruba folktales with what T. S. Eliot described as a 'creepy crawly imagination', "The Palm-Wine Drinkard" is regarded as the seminal work of African literature.