Kaffir folk-lore : A selection from the traditional tales current among the people living on the eastern border of the Cape Colony with copious explanatory notes

This anthology gathers a vivid cross‑section of the oral stories that have long animated the evenings of the eastern Cape border. Passed down by elder women around fire‑lit circles, each tale unfolds with a rhythm that feels both intimate and timeless, inviting listeners to hear the world as the storytellers once did—when night deepens the sense of the supernatural and every word carries the weight of community memory.

Accompanying the narratives are detailed notes that illuminate the cultural backdrop behind each motif, from ancestral beliefs and social customs to the way new influences have begun to reshape the folklore. The collection showcases the remarkable flexibility of these stories, which can be recombined like building blocks to create fresh variations while still echoing the original spirit of the people who first sang them. Listeners gain not only entertainment but a window into the imagination, values, and evolving identity of a society that has long used myth to make sense of its world.