One of the most important elements of public space in Stone Town of Zanzibar is the baraza. The baraza is the place where people sit, meet, talk, and even rest. In its simplest form, the baraza is a platform built in front of houses or in open public spaces. Although the baraza was brought to Stone Town from rural areas of Zanzibar in the past century, today it is a part of its identity. The ma...

Chapter 2 benefits from a larger corpus collected over several years by Noël J. Gueunier and his collaborator Madjidhoubi Said. Numerous versions of Africa’s most widespread folktale, the defiant girl who marries monster in human disguise, reinforce importance making proper marriage. The popularity tale, many small island, show performers varying it tone borrowing elements other tales. One vers...