Tales from Uluguru in Eastern Tanzania 
James L. Brain 
Contents: 
Introduction 
1. Mkejua 
2. The Child Who Fell in the River 
3. Kisime and Elephant 
4. The Rooster and the Bush-Cat 
5. The Woman Whose Child was Taken by a Baboon 
6. A Luguru Hansel and Gretel 
Introduction 
Tales may be of interest from a variety of viewpoints - as fiction, as 
Samples of oral history, as 'charters for social action’, or as myths ‘mediating 
°Ppositions\ None of those that follow contain historical elements, but might 
^vell p rove examples of the other three, but most of all they provide charters 
^ 0r behavior. Two of them are very short, but the message is very clear. In 
Kisime and the Elephant” the purpose is to inculcate the notion that though 
huguru society is egalitarian and acephalous politically, at the same time elders 
are held in great esteem and that it is presumptuous to attempt to do what 
°ne’s elders and betters can and may. In the "Rooster and the Bush-Cat” the 
Message is even more obvious - do not allow your enemies to know your 
We aknesses. The other tales have a variety of themes but two recurring ones 
Wl U be evident to readers. These are the importance of obedience to old people 
ari d the superiority of males to females. The former theme is emphasized several 
times in the meeting with an old woman who requires the younger person to 
ii°k out the discharge from her eyes, those who comply being rewarded and 
those who do not being punished. Along with this goes the ambivalent attitude 
t° °ld lone women noted by Beidelman in the stories he has published from 
The recording of these tales was made possible by a fellowship from the State 
Cniversity of New York in the summer of 1971. 
Anthropos 68. 1973 
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