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summary
The Sacred Door and Other Stories: Cameroon Folktales of the Beba offers readers a selection of folktales infused with riddles, proverbs, songs, myths, and legends, using various narrative techniques that capture the vibrancy of Beba oral traditions. Makuchi retells the stories that she heard at home when she was growing up in her native
Cameroon.
The collection of thirty-three folktales of the Beba showcases a wide variety of stories that capture the richness and complexities of an agrarian society’s oral literature and traditions. Revenge, greed, and deception are among the themes that frame the story lines in both new and familiar ways. In the title story, a poor man finds himself elevated to king. The condition for his continued success is that he not open the sacred door. This tale of temptation, similar to the story of Pandora’s box, concludes with the question, “What would you have done?”
Makuchi relates the stories her mother told her so that readers can make connections
between African and North American oral narrative traditions. These tales reinforce the commonalities of our human experiences without discounting our differences.



Table of Contents

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  1. Cover
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  1. Contents
  2. pp. vii-viii
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  1. Foreword
  2. pp. ix-xvi
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  1. Preface
  2. p. xvii
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  1. Part 1
  1. The Story of Bat and Sun
  2. pp. 3-4
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  1. The Story of Hawk and Hen
  2. pp. 5-7
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  1. The Story of Pig and Tortoise
  2. pp. 8-11
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  1. The Story of Cat and Rat
  2. pp. 12-14
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  1. The Story of the BirdsThat Went to the Sky
  2. pp. 15-19
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  1. The Story of Cat and Dog
  2. pp. 20-23
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  1. The Story of Monkey and Bee
  2. pp. 24-26
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  1. The Foolish Leopard
  2. pp. 27-33
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  1. Tiger Kills His Mother
  2. pp. 34-40
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  1. A Tug-of-War
  2. pp. 41-44
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  1. The Race
  2. pp. 45-50
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  1. Part 2
  1. Metse-Tsate-Nfo, aka Sense-Pass-King
  2. pp. 53-58
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  1. The Man-Eating Lion
  2. pp. 59-62
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  1. The Flutes
  2. pp. 63-70
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  1. The Boy and the Dish
  2. pp. 71-75
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  1. The Unhappy Stepson
  2. pp. 76-79
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  1. The Disobedient Son
  2. pp. 80-82
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  1. The Two Sisters
  2. pp. 83-95
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  1. The Girls Who Refused Suitors
  2. pp. 96-106
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  1. Mbaka and the Magic Ring
  2. pp. 107-110
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  1. The Dance in the Sky
  2. pp. 111-115
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  1. The Quest
  2. pp. 116-125
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  1. Union Is Strength
  2. pp. 126-128
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  1. Part 3
  1. Penis, Testicles, and Vagina
  2. pp. 131-133
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  1. When You Eat Today,Remember There Is Tomorrow
  2. pp. 134-136
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  1. The Greedy Mother
  2. pp. 137-139
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  1. The Ring and the String of Beads
  2. pp. 140-144
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  1. The Huntress
  2. pp. 145-149
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  1. King-of-Scabies
  2. pp. 150-157
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  1. Pumpkin, Pumpkin, Back to the Stem
  2. pp. 158-163
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  1. A Secret Is Difficult to Keep
  2. pp. 164-166
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  1. The Test
  2. pp. 167-169
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  1. The Sacred Door
  2. pp. 170-172
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  1. Hunting Elephants
  2. pp. 173-176
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  1. Afterword
  2. pp. 177-206
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