Wisdom and Initiation in Gabon
eBook - ePub

Wisdom and Initiation in Gabon

A Philosophical Analysis of Fang Tales, Myths, and Legends

  1. English
  2. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Wisdom and Initiation in Gabon

A Philosophical Analysis of Fang Tales, Myths, and Legends

About this book

Wisdom and Initiation in Gabon: A Philosophical Analysis of Fang Tales, Myths, and Legends is a study of the philosophical significance of Fang mythology and the rituals of Initiation that lead to Wisdom. Bonaventure Mvé Ondo argues that Fang tales, myths, and legends are components of the foundation of a worldview that sustains and protects a unique, historical Fang identity. For Mvé Ondo, the contemporary challenges to the existence and identity of the Fang require, perhaps more than ever, recognition of the central role of mythology. At an historical moment when Africans are faced with the challenges of westernization, the metaphysics of the Fang, illustrated and preserved by tales, myths, and legends, is a critical element of Fang survival. Mythology is far more than a collection of amusing or awe inspiring stories, they are profoundly important moral lessons for the Fang in their continuing encounters with such contemporary challenges as materialism and, as the "stories" in this book illustrate, the constant struggle to live lives of purpose and meaning. For Mvé Ondo, the critical, central issue for the Fang is to focus on the distinction at the heart of his analysis, i.e., the crucial distinction between "to have" and to "to be." The lessons transmitted from generation to generation by these marvelous stories are, Mvé Ondo argues, central to living lives that reflect and perpetuate the eternal truths of the Fang experience.

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Yes, you can access Wisdom and Initiation in Gabon by Bonaventure Mvé Ondo, James F. Barnes in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Social Sciences & African Literary Criticism. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. List of Figures
  2. Foreword
  3. Prologue
  4. Acknowledgments
  5. Preface to the Second Edition
  6. Introduction
  7. Chapter One The Legend of the Sun, the Moon and the Stars
  8. Chapter Two The Seven Sons of Essamnyambogë
  9. Chapter Three The Legend of the Three Sons of Ada
  10. Chapter Four The Myth of Evus
  11. Chapter Five The Legend of Ngurangurane: Son of the Crocodile
  12. Chapter Six The Tale of the Orphan and the Old Woman
  13. Conclusion
  14. Bibliography
  15. About the Authors