Ibonia Epic of Madagascar

E-177: UNKNO. Very Good. 1994. Hardcover. Hardcover. 8vo. Published by Bucknell University Press, Lewisburg, PA. 1994. 169 pgs. First Edition/First Printing. DJ has light shelf-wear present to the DJ extremities. Bound in cloth boards with titles present to the spine. Boards have light shelf-wear present to the extremities. No ownership marks present. Text is clean and free of marks. Binding tight and solid. Ibonia: Epic of Madagascar is a discovery: the first English translation of the major work of Malagasy oral literature, recorded in 1877 from an anonymous bard by a Norwegian missionary and translated by Lee Haring, who was called "the pre-eminent American scholar of Malagasy verbal art" by Research in African Literatures. Ibonia is the epic tale of the birth and exploits of a royal hero. His mother, a queen of heroic caliber, is barren until she consults a diviner, who brings about the hero's conception. An unusual birth and precocious strength prepare the hero to go in quest of his betrothed, who has been abducted. Such tests of worth as combat with a crocodile, supernatural aid, and a victorious struggle with her abductor prove him a true epic hero worthy of ruling his people. Haring's translation makes this Malagasy epic at last available to the general reader as well as to the scholar, also providing extensive notes and translating six shorter variants of the story. EB; 9.8 X 6.8 X 0.8 inches; 169 pages .