Lion-Man & Other Stories is a collection of short stories culled from the culture and folklore of the indigenous people of Bamunka. Bamunka is a small village with a population of approximately 76,500 located in the grass fields of the North-West Province in the Republic of Cameroon. The greater majority of the natives depend on subsistence farming, rice cultivation, fishing and the tapping of palm wine for a living.

This compendium comprises bird trickster tales, animal survival stories as well as human-interest narratives. If you have never set foot in this part of Africa, these stories will take you on a safari trip around the region in less than no time. It is truly a mirror that reflects the socio-cultural life of the native inhabitants of the region. It is a pointer to the worldview and value systems of the people.

Each story is an entity in itself harboring a moral. The stories deal with life yesterday, today and tomorrow. They constitute a bridge between the near and the far. The order in which the stories are arranged is strictly arbitrary. The reader may want to turn first to a story the title of which intrigues him. Whether you read the stories in the order in which they are arranged or dart about as your fancy dictates, you will still be able to derive the pleasure the author intended for you. We hope that this book will be kept where the entire family can enjoy its contents, where guests can turn to it with pleasure.

Its special merit resides in its suitability to the young and the old. High school and college students with an interest in African folklore and literature would find the collection indispensable.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
PETER WUTEH VAKUNTA was born and raised in Bamunka in the Republic of Cameroon. He did his college education in Cameroon, Nigeria, South Africa, France, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. At present, Peter is a Ph.D candidate in French and Francophone literatures at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He writes poetry, short stories and essays. He is holder of many literary wards, including the Fay Goldie Literary Award for Excellence in creative writing and the international poet-of-the-year award.

Mr Vakunta’s published works include: Brainwaves (poems), Pandora’s Box (poems), African Time And Pidgin Verses (poems), Square Pegs in Round Holes (essays), Food For Thought (essays) Aphorisms (Wise Sayings), A Lexicon of English and French Terms and Expressions Used in Parliamentary Proceedings (reference book), and A French-English Lexicon of Terms and Expressions Relating to Voting and Election Monitoring (reference book).

CATEGORY
Fiction/AFRICA