Mythology for Storytellers: Themes and Tales from Around the World (review)

Mythology for Storytellers provides storytellers and other readers with a rich selection of myths from regions as diverse as Siberia and the Kalahari. As Sherman writes in her introduction, "The stories in this book are not restricted to any one region or any one era. How could they be? Mythology really does belong to everyone" (p. 16). She organizes the anthology thematically into myths of creation, death and rebirth, origins, gods, and heroes, thus enabling the storyteller to concentrate on a particular kind of story. Each section begins with a brief introduction to the category, which explains its subgenres. This method of compilation allows readers to compare similar myths across diverse cultures. For those wishing to see complete translations or more myths from a particular culture, Sherman includes a citation of her sources at the end of each selection.

The versions here are brief, each preceded by an introduction that identifies the main character as necessary. Before "Heiseb and Death" (pp. 94–5), for example, Sherman explains that Heiseb is a trickster figure in San mythology. Cultural keys are also identified. Sherman explains in this same introduction to the Heisab myth that in the Kalahari region there are strict rules concerning food and its consumption, because of the scarcity of resources. The aim of these introductions and versions clearly is not to tell storytellers how to perform the stories, but rather to provide them with a more complete understanding of the tale that they will be performing. Additional apparatuses provide further information on the cultural contexts of these myths, including a bibliography, character name index, and culture index.

Each of the thematic sections includes myths from Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. Along with more commonly known stories such as the Norse Ymir creation myth, Sherman includes "Something from Nothing" from Melanesia and the Amana creation myth of the Calina people of South America. Mythology for Storytellers is truly an international anthology, providing storytellers with a culturally and ethnically diverse selection of myths, translated into English and edited down to facilitate storytelling without sacrificing the important contextual keys that a native audience would recognize.

The most important asset in this volume, aside from the selection of myths, is Sherman's introduction, which tackles the thorny question of the ethics of performing a myth from outside one's own culture. Because the stuff of myth is rooted in belief and religion as well as fantasy, storytellers who perform mythic texts must demonstrate an even greater degree of cultural sensitivity than that required of other taletellers. For this reason, Sherman is adamant that "a retelling should stay true to the original and not be deliberately and radically altered to make it into a 'better' story" (p. 5). One might argue that no myth should be told outside its context, particularly those from belief systems to which many still adhere. Knowing that these fascinating stories will be told out of context by someone at sometime, however, Sherman emphasizes that the responsible storyteller will be both educated and sensitive to the origins of each myth.

The introduction also includes highlights of myth studies from Plato to Campbell, while much of the second half of the book is devoted to modern American myths, including those born out of popular culture, and draws parallels between the hero archetype and James T. Kirk, ritual Navajo sand paintings and the art of Salvador Dalí, and pagan Russian spring rituals and the operas of Rimsky-Korsakov. Bringing the readers' own secular and sacred myths to their attention, Sherman both highlights the relevance of mythic texts and heightens readers' sensitivity to the delicate intersection of belief and myth.

The secular performance of myth outside its ritual contexts will continue to...