From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A search of the internet shows that Wolf Leslau was an expert on Semitic languages and cultures, notably Ethiopian. He codified the Amharic language of Ethiopia, creating its first written dictionary. Charlotte Leslau was his wife. She also published books on African proverbs and African love poems. If somebody knows more, please write articles about them. Nannus 21:20, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Carl Einstein was an author belonging to the movement called Expressionism. He is the editor of the book, but the stories are all in a poetic, very expressive style, showing that he translated or retold the stories in his own, expressionistic language. It makes a reading reminiscent of the Bible, in a strong, mythical language. On the other hand, the content of the storries is unmistakably African, obviously he did not make it up. Unfortunately, he did not give his sources. At the time the book was published, he spent most of his time in France, so the sources might have been french (or Belgian?). On the other hand, he might also have taken these stories from Sources available to him in German ethnological collections (he also published a book about African sculpture, so he might have had contact to ethnologists working on Africa). It is importang to identify the sources from which he took the stories in this very beautiful book. (I hope these sources survived World War II and can be identified). The book contains stories from Togo (Ewe ?), from the Mkwule, from Dahome (Benin), Fang, Ababua, Boloki, Upota, Bena-Kanioka, Bakuba, Baluba, Bahololo, Uruwa, Haholoholo, Warundi (Urunda) and Ba Ronga (names taken from the contents). Nannus 21:30, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
