“M’Riddle, M’Riddle, M’Yanday, O”

Oral tradition or orature, encompassing such elements as folktales, legends, beliefs, superstitions, myths, cosmology, songs, proverbs, jokes, riddles and rhymes is a global phenomenon, its advent likely coterminous with humankind’s acquisition of language. Folktales and storytelling, the dominant aspect of folklore, are now widely accepted into a more flexible definition of “literature” and rightly so. They are as much inventions of human creativity as any written material. They can also yield valuable information about the origins, ethos and relationships of the peoples who produce such cultural artifacts, especially as regards preliterate societies and those where access to print is limited by poverty or repression. Inevitably, folktales must also play a role in any examination of children’s literature; they have delighted youngsters for countless generations across the globe and most certainly throughout the 700-island Bahamas archipelago.