Sigrid Schmidt
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Sigrid Schmidt (birth name: Sigrid Matthäi) (born 1930 in Berlin) is a German folklorist.[1] She is best known for her voluminous Afrika erzählt ("Africa Narrates") series. The ten volumes are tales (with extensive commentary) collected by the author during 1959-1962 and 1972-1997 (volumes 1 to 7 in German, volumes 8 to 10 in English), mostly in Namibia.[2]
Biography
Sigrid Matthäi studied English and German literature at the Free University Berlin with special interest in folklore,[3] Ph.D thesis (1958): Rittertum und Adel in den englischen und schottischen Volksballaden.[4] Right after the defense of the thesis Sigrid married to a hydraulic engineer and spent the years of 1959-1962 in South West Africa, now Namibia, mostly at the construction site of the Hardap Dam. [3] She started collecting Namibian folklore in 1960 among the Nama and Damara people. After the return to Germany he went for folkloric fieldwork to Namibia in 1975, 1981, 1987, 1991, 1993, 1995, and 1997.[5]
Books
- Aschenputtel und Eulenspiegel in Afrika, Afrika erzählt, Volume 1
- Zaubermärchen in Afrika Afrika erzählt, Volume 2
- Als die Tiere noch Menschen waren, Afrika erzählt, Volume 3
- Tiergeschichten in Afrika Afrika erzählt, Volume 4
- Sagen und Schwänke in Afrika, Afrika erzählt, Volume 5
- Scherz und Ernst Afrika erzählt, Volume 6
- Hänsel und Gretel in Afrika, Afrika erzählt, Volume 7
- Tricksters, Monsters and Clever Girls Afrika erzählt, Volume 8
- Children Born from Eggs, Afrika erzählt, Volume 9
- The Forgotten Bride. International Tale Types in Namibia – Texts and Discussions, Afrika erzählt, Volume 10, 2009[6][7]
- It collects stories of Nama and Damara people classified with types of international provenance.[7] The Oorlam Nama and [Basters]] of South Africa lived in contact with Boers and most probably picked a substantial amount of tales from them. After they emigrated to Namibia in the 19th century, they brought these tales with them.[5]
- (with Helize Van Vuuren) Die vere van die duiwel: vergete ou Afrikaanse sprokies - opgediep in Namibië (The feathers of the devil: forgotten old African fairy tales - unearthed in Namibia), 2014, translated by Philip John[3]
References
- ^ Ergebnis der Suche nach: nid=105377422 KATALOG DER DEUTSCHEN NATIONALBIBLIOTHEK, biography data citing Hildesheimer Literaturlexikon von 1800 bis heute
- ^ Afrika erzählt
- ^ a b c Die vere van die duiwel by Sigrid Schmidt, an interview by Naomi Mayer about the book
- ^ Rittertum und Adel in den englischen und schottischen Volksballaden. Dissertation. (bookseller's catalog; retrieved April 9, 2024
- ^ a b The Forgotten Bride, pp. 7, 10, 11 (available in the preview)
- ^ The Forgotten Bride, includes book sample from the publisher
- ^ a b Goldberg, Christine (2010). "'The Forgotten Bride' by Sigrid Schmidt book review". Marvels & Tales. 24 (2): 345–347. JSTOR 41388963. Gale A241862735 Project MUSE 402467 ProQuest 763256457.