What the forest told me

<p>Studies of Yoruba culture and performance tend to focus mainly on standardised forms of performance and ignore the more prevalent performance culture which is central to everyday life. <em>What the Forest Told Me</em> conveys the elastic nature of African cultural expression through narratives of the Yoruba hunters' exploits. Hunters' narratives provide a window on the Yoruba understanding and explanation of their world; a cosmology that negates the anthropocentric view of creation. In a very literal sense man in this peculiar world is an equal actor with animal and nature spirits with whom he constantly contests and negotiates space.</p><p>Adeduntan offers new insights into key aspects of Yoruba culture while providing a close appraisal of particular texts and contexts of oral performance forms. In doing so he presents a fresh view of the poetics of oral performance rising above generalisation and mere description.</p>