THE RAIN FOREST STORYBOOK

THE RAIN FOREST STORYBOOK
(Cambridge University Press 1994)

“conjurs up visions of a vanished, magical time when people could converse with animals, plants and elemental forces… deepened by a factual commentary on how the rain forests and the cultures they support are being deliberately exterminated. This is moving and important reading.” - Books for Keeps

“Told in the voice of the people themselves, Rosalind Kerven’s adaptations capture the spirit of their lives, traditions and beliefs...prefaced by a thought-provoking introduction” - Hadith Nzri, published by Action Aid At the time of writing this book, destruction of the world’s rain forests was often in the news and I was fascinated by the occasional glimpses that media reports offered into the people that live in them. What, I wondered, was their perspective on the forests that provided their homes and yet were in such danger?I chose the three largest areas of rain forest: South America, central Africa and South-East Asia. Although the peoples of these areas have all produced a huge variety of stories, I looked specifically for those with a ‘forest’ theme. My final choices ranged from esoteric myths to amusing ‘tall stories’ - each one unique and fascinating in its own way. The factual introduction to each section was checked over for accuracy by Survival International, the charity which works to protect tribal peoples throughout the world.


CONTENTS
THE FOREST PEOPLES OF SOUTH AMERICA

• Jaguar-Man (Desana, Colombia)
• Gifts from the River (Waiwai, Brazil and Guyana)
• Bumblebee Spat (Yanomami, Brazil and Venezuela)
• Us and You (Ufaina, Colombia)
• The Old Sun (Juruna, Brazil)
• The Magic Canoe (Kamaiura, Brazil)

THE FOREST PEOPLES OF AFRICA

• Fire and the Forest Lord (Mbuti Pygmy, central Africa)
• The Most Beautiful Song in the Forest (Mbuti Pygmy, central Africa
• The Naked Ape (Ngbandi, central Africa)
• Sister Chimpanzee (Daobli Village, Ivory Coast)
• The Chimpanzee Ancestor (Makere, central Africa)
• The Making of the Palm Trees (Ngbandi, central Africa)
• What a Terrible Life in the Forest (Mbuti Pygmy, central Africa)

THE FOREST PEOPLES OF SOUTH-EAST ASIA

• The Forest is His (Iban, Malaysian Borneo)
• The Superman of Sarawak (Dayak, Malaysian Borneo)
• Never Laugh at Animals (Dayak/Murut/Dusan, Malaysian Borneo)
• Pig Power, Python Power (Lae District, Papua New Guinea)
• The Women’s Revenge (Koitabu, Papua New Guinea)
• Stolen Goods (Masin District, Indonesian New Guinea)

Jaguar: take care, hide yourself when his footfalls come near.
Jaguar: he is the master - of thunder, of fire; moon-brother, sun-brother, master of the caves and mountains, chief of all the animals…
Jaguar: he goes where he will, does what he wants; friend or enemy, he chooses to please himself. Love him, fear him, always respect him…
Listen: more mysteries. There are men in this village who can transform themselves into jaguars. the shamans, the wise men, the mystery men: the ones who can make their minds fly freely to run with the spirits, and come back again.
Jaguar: is he man or spirit, cat or shaman? Who can tell, when he passes so softly, softly through the shadows?
- from Jaguar Man

Hush: listen. Can you hear the Forest?
Leaves dropping, softly, softly; rain pattering on the leaves. Creatures scuttling, creeping; the cracking of twigs; monkeys chatting, bees humming. Lianas creak as they sway in the wind, and far, far off, an elephant calls.
Listen to them all, my friend. Ah, but there is one sound you can never, ever hear, because it has been destroyed for ever - it is extinct. And that is the most Beautiful Song in the Forest.
- from The Most Beautiful Song in the Forest

There was a lady called Gumiloh. She was proud, she was beautiful and she was clever. Lots of young men courted her: one even persuaded her to make half a promise of marriage Yet, in her heart, she felt that none was really her match.
One day she was working on the longhouse verandah, laying out piles of freshly cut rice in the sun, when she felt a stranger’s eyes upon her. Looking up, she saw an arrogant looking youth.
‘Who are you?’ she called to him.
‘I am Kichapi,’ he replied.
‘Well then, Kichapi: what do you want of me?’
‘I have fallen in love with you, lady. I want to marry you.’
Gumiloh laughed. ‘Oh, if that’s your game, I’m afraid you’re too late, for I’m already betrothed to Bilantur.’
‘Then un-betroth yourself, lady. Whoever he is, I’m a much better man than him.’
‘Oh yes?’ said Gumiloh. ‘Do you expect me to believe that? I don’t know even the first thing about you!’
‘No,’ said Kichapi, ‘but I’m certain you’ll be impressed when you hear the amazing story of my life.’
- from The Superman of Sarawak

MYTHICAL QUEST (British Library)

THE MYTHICAL QUEST

(British Library 1996)
(USA co-edition)

This book for adults was specially commissioned by the British Library to accompany an exhibition of the same name. It is the only book I have ever written which was published within just a few months of being commissioned - most books take at least a year, sometimes even five years, to see the light of day! I had to research and write very fast in order to meet the deadline.The accompanying exhibition was a display of ancient manuscripts relating to the ‘quest’ stories from around the world which are featured in the book. Alongside my stories, the book includes scholarly articles from British Library curators about the provenance and development of the stories, and an introduction by novelist Penelope Lively wearing her hat of British Library trustee.



CONTENTS

• The Epic of Gilgamesh
• Jason and the Quest for the Golden Fleece
• The Homecoming of Odysseus
• The Tale of Cupid and Pysche
• The Legendary Journeys of Alexander the Great
• The Seven Voyages of Sindbad the Sailor
• Rama’s Quest for Sita
• Journey to the West
• The Life of St. Brendan
• The Quest for the Holy Grail

When the gods created Gilgamesh, they made him almost perfect. His beauty was blinding like the sun. Like a bull, his strength was insurmountable. He saw everything, knew everything. No warrior could overcome him. No virgin could resist him. People said, 'That man is like a god’ - and indeed the gods had made him two-thirds divine.
But the lesser part of him, that which was human, was afflicted with human weakness. He used his allure, his strength, his power like a brute. The gods sent him to the city of Uruk and appointed him there as king; but he degraded his reign with bride-rape and bloodshed.
Suffering, the people wailed to the gods and their complains were heard. Thus the gods created Enkidu, the wild-man, to be Gilgamesh’s companion, to rein him in and be his soul-mate. They made Enkidu rough and unkempt; but his heart and his soul were pure.
- from The Epic of Gilgamesh

A king and queen had three daughters. The two eldest had a choice of admirers, and so married as soon as they came of age. However, the youngest princess, Psyche, was so unusually beautiful and sweet-natured that people whispered she was surely divine; and although she was much admired, no man considered himself worthy enough to seek her hand in marriage.
Rumours about Psyche travelled and grew. They reached the ears of Venus, goddess of love, and gnawed at her heart. Venus called up her son , Cupid, and commanded him to punish this upstart beauty by matching her to a foul and unwholesome lover.
Time passed. The king and queen, despairing of ever finding Psyche a husband, consulted an oracle of Apollo. The message that came back to them struck horror into their hearts:
Lead the girl to the mountain top
where the unseen monster lurks.
He will take her for his bride.

- from The Tale of Cupid and Pysche

CAMBRIDGE 'LEGENDS'

CAMBRIDGE 'LEGENDS'

LEGENDS OF THE ANIMAL WORLD (Cambridge University Press 1986)

THE TREE IN THE MOON and other Legends of Plants and Trees

(Cambridge University Press 1989)

KING LEOPARD'S GIFT and other Animal Legends

(Cambridge University Press 1990)

(chosen by the Federation of Children’s Book Groups for their ‘pick of the year’ list)

“stimulating and well researched...will give children much pleasure and enhance their knowledge of other cultures” - TES

“Rosalind Kerven’s retellings are accessible to the eye and ear and the success of each story lies in its affinity with the oral tradition… worth adding to any storyteller’s source library” - School Librarian

“the style of writing is strongly oral… a useful and enjoyable book” - British Book News

“particularly helpful introduction...approachable and encourages further exploration of animal legends” - Signal Selection of Children’s Books

“told in a manner accessible to children but faithful to the oral story-telling styles of their source cultures” - New Jersey Goodlife

Although I had already published several children’s novels, Legends of the Animal World was the first book I wrote in the ‘myths and legends’ genre. It was well received, so I was commissioned to write two more for the Cambridge Legends series.

Each book consisted of short retellings of 11 or 12 stories, with a large colour illustration to accompany each one. They were sourced from many different countries including Australia (Aboriginal peoples), African-America and Native America, India, China, Japan, Malaysia, Ghana, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Tahiti, Jamaica, Inuit, New Zealand (Maori people), Brazil and Norway – as well as some from Britain and Ireland.

They sold well in the USA and Australia as well as the UK.