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NOTES FOR TEACHERS
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Edel on the floor with children at Balmain Public School
Click photo for larger view. |
The following notes include suggestions for teachers who are introducing some of Edel Wignell's titles in classrooms.
NEW!
The following tall tale, 'How to Share Five Cakes', is a folk tale from Sri Lanka. A farmer and his wife argue, and neither will give in. Repetitive dialogue, exaggerations and absurdity encourage children to join in.
The tale is one of 13 folk tales in the collection, Tying the Knot: Folk tales of Love and marriage from around the world (2006, Phoenix Education), for Years 5-10.
ISBN: 1 921085 21 5 www.phoenixeduc.com
Below are notes from the accompanying Tying the Knot: Teacher Resource Book.
ISBN: 1 921085 22 3.
HOW TO SHARE FIVE CAKES
A folk tale of Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon)
retold by Edel Wignell ©
Once upon a time, a farmer decided to visit his married daughter. She opened the door, saying, 'Welcome, father,' and took him inside. 'Sit here in this comfortable chair.'
Then she made some special cakes out of rolled rice pastry, and brought them to him.
'These cakes are a great delicacy in our village,' she said.
The farmer tried one. 'It's delicious,' he said. 'What is its name?'
'They're called vella vahum,' she replied. 'It means sweet-rice-dough.'
After he had eaten several cakes, the farmer set off to return home. He beamed with satisfaction as he hurried along and muttered to himself, 'Sweet-rice-dough, sweet-rice-dough.' He didn't want to forget the name.
He leaned forward as he ran, jiggety-jig, jiggety-jog, to the rhythm of 'sweet-rice-dough, sweet-rice-dough'.
He smiled at some girls who were going to market, and continued to mutter, 'Sweet-rice-dough, sweet-rice-dough.'
Everyone laughed at him. Poor farmer! Was he taking leave of his senses?
The farmer ignored the stares and the laughter and continued on his way. When he saw someone he knew, he said, as always, 'I wish you long life.' And then he added, 'Sweet-rice-dough, sweet-rice-dough.'
His journey became more and more urgent. Hurry, hurry, hurry! he thought. Then he stubbed his toe against a rock, and cried out in pain, 'Oh-my-toe! Oh-my-toe!'
But he kept going – hopping, limping and stopping from time to time to rub his toe. 'Oh my toe! Oh my toe!' he cried as he stumbled along.
At last the farmer arrived home. He limped to his chair and sank into it with relief.
He said to his wife, 'Our daughter made some delicious oh-my-toe. It's a specialty of her village. I wish you would make some oh-my-toe for me. I like it very much.'
'Oh-my-toe?' said his wife. 'What is oh-my-toe? I've never heard of it.'
'What a fine wife,' said the farmer. 'I'm more than sixty years old, and you have never made me any oh-my-toe. It's disgraceful! My daughter made it for me, and you have never even heard of it.'
His wife retaliated, 'In all our years married, I've never heard a kind word from you. All you do is nag. Nag, nag, nag! You've never appreciated anything I've done for you. What an ungrateful husband you are!'
'Get out of my house,' raged the farmer.
Their quarrel went on, getting louder and louder, until the neighbours looked out of their windows.
One watched the farmer's wife, and said, 'When she quarrels, she rolls her lip up, and looks like a cake of sweet-rice-dough.'
The farmer overheard the comment. 'That's it! 'That's it!' he cried in delight. 'That's what I meant – sweet-rice-dough.'
The quarrel ended immediately. 'Of course I know how to make sweet-rice-dough!' said the farmer's wife, and she set to work.
When the cakes of sweet-rice-dough were ready, the farmer said, 'Fine! Three cakes for me and two for you.'
But the woman brought two cakes on a dish, and gave them to him.
'Two?' said the farmer. 'I said three!'
'Three for me,' said his wife. 'Two for you.'
Then another storm began, both of them shouting.
'If you'd shut your big mouth,' shouted the farmer. 'We could sit in comfort and enjoy our cakes.'
'My big mouth?' screamed his wife. 'What about your big mouth?'
'You should stop your shrieking out of respect for your mother's memory,' shouted the farmer.
For a few moments, there was complete silence.
'Isn't this silence wonderful?' the farmer said. 'Let's make a bet: whoever breaks the silence by speaking will get the smaller number of cakes.'
'You'll break it!' the wife retorted.
'Let's bet,' said the farmer.
'Done!' said the wife.
They sat at the table looking at the five cakes. Neither of them spoke. The afternoon wore on... evening... night... Neither of them said a word. Silently, they went to bed.
Next morning the silence continued. Now and then they signalled to each other, but they did not speak.
The days passed, and the cakes lay, uneaten, on the table, and the domestic work was not done. Neither would tell the other to go shopping for food.
Finally, they became weak and stayed in their beds.
The neighbours began to worry.
'The farmer and his wife aren't quarrelling.'
'What's wrong in there?'
'Perhaps we'd better go in and find out.'
They discovered the farmer and his wife lying still in their beds. The neighbours prodded them, but they didn't speak.
'They must be dead,' said the neighbours, and made preparations to bury them.
Still the farmer and his wife did not say a word.
The neighbours dug two graves and began to lower the bodies into them. As they lowered the farmer, someone dropped a shovel, and it landed on his sore toe.
The pain was unbearable. 'Oh-my-toe!' he cried. 'Oh-my-toe!'
The farmer's wife rose and shouted, 'I won! You broke the silence. The three cakes of sweet-rice-dough are mine – all mine!'
That is how she won the bet. And that's the difference between sweet-rice-dough and oh-my-toe!
Source
Folk Tales from Asia for Children Everywhere, Book 6 (1975, Weatherhill, New York, and Heibonsha, Tokyo, sponsored by the Asian Cultural Centre for UNESCO)
Notes for Teachers on How to Share Five Cakes
from Tying the Knot: Teacher Resource Book
(Phoenix Education) ISBN: 1 921085 22 3 www.phoenixeduc.com
1. Locating the folk tale
Students could find Sri Lanka on a map of Europe and a world globe, and display library books on Sri Lanka in the classroom; others could search encyclopedias and the Internet and share their findings.
Sri Lanka is a pear-shaped island, south-east of India, separated by the Palk Strait – 32 miles wide. In 400 BC Ceylon was a great Buddhist civilization – an island of peace, culture and splendid architecture.
Ceylon endured 450 years of colonialism: firstly, the Portuguese in the 16th century, then the Dutch, who were driven out by the British in 1796. Independence was achieved in 1957 and, in 1960, Mrs Bandaranaika was the world's first woman Prime Minister. Since 1983, the Tamil Tiger Terrorists have been waging a civil war to establish an independent Tamil state in the north, and many Sri Lankans have migrated to Australia to escape the conflict. The 2004 tsunami was the greatest disaster of Sri Lankan modern history resulting in its worst human tragedy.
2. Love and Marriage
The argumentative couple is one of the comic stereotypes of marriage, often used by playwrights, and by comedians as part of a stand-up routine
Discussion starters
- How prevalent is the 'never-give-in' attitude in partnerships and marriage? What happens in most relationships? Who gives in? Do couples take turns to give in, or does one partner always win?
- Students may suggest examples in all kinds of relationships: siblings, friends sharing a flat, partners, married couples – from real life and from books and television.
3. Writing Comedy
The tall tale is a popular genre in comic writing, each episode being more outrageous than the last. The fact that much of the behaviour of the protagonists is irrational is part of the humour. If the couple had cut one cake in half, they would have had equal shares; people who are so close to death that they are put into graves would not have the vocal ability to shout or the strength to rise up in victory. The exaggeration and the absurdity are part of the fun.
Discussion and creative writing
- Students may discuss the number of episodes in the story, and the fact that each one is more extreme than the last. To be effective, a tall tale must be short, with a triumphant climax.
- In pairs or small groups (three or four), students may discuss an idea suitable for comic writing and develop it into a monologue, a tall tale or a short play script. These can be either read to the class, or memorised and performed without scripts.
4. Sharing
One definition of sharing is: to perform, enjoy or suffer in common with others. Many people say that sharing brings lifelong pleasure, and those who are on good terms with their siblings say that their sense of shared history is a wonderful bond.
Discussion and creative response
- What are the secrets of sharing? How do we learn to cooperate rather than dominate? Some students will have observed the play behaviour of younger siblings, and may be able to describe the normal sequence of learning the skill: from solitary play to parallel play and, finally, cooperative play.
- How long does it take to learn the skill of sharing? Some people learn it in primary school, but some, such as the couple who fought over the cakes, reach adulthood, and are still focussed on 'I, me, myself'.
- What are the benefits of sharing - in family life, study, sport, hobbies, various kinds of work...?
- As most children learn to share at pre-school and junior school, students could make 'Sharing' posters that would appeal to this level, and present them locally. This could be a mentoring session, with students talking to the children, followed by discussion with them as they play at their various activity centres.
5. Rice – a staple food
Rice, a tropical annual grass, provides the staple cereal diet of half the population of the world, including Asia and Central and South America.
Research
- Students could discover how rice is cultivated, why it can grow in standing water (paddy fields), how it can be grown on steep hillsides, its constituents and why it is nutritious.
- A multi-cultural banquet could be planned by searching for rice recipes from many countries of the world.
OR
- Students could discover Sri Lankan foods by means of research in recipe books and on the Internet, interviewing people from Sri Lanka and visiting a restaurant (if possible).
- They may enjoy a morning tea of sweet rice cakes and Sri Lankan tea.
6. Tales of silent couples
The idea of the silent couple is popular, with tales widely distributed in countries throughout the world, including Turkey, Venice, Kashmir, Scotland, Sicily, Arabia and Japan.
In an Arabian version, 'The Silent Couple', a newly-married couple, dressed in their wedding finery, farewell departing guests. The wife asks the husband to close the door, and he refuses, saying, 'Go shut it yourself.'
She is greatly offended. 'Impossible!' she says.
Then they agree that whoever speaks first, should be the one to shut the door.
Thieves arrive and, thinking the house is deserted, take everything valuable. They decide that the couple are wax dummies and strip them of their jewels while they sit, staring mutely. Neither will give up.
Next morning, police arrive and are affronted by the couple's refusal to answer questions. The officer in charge gives an order, 'Strike that man, and get some sense out of him!'
The wife cannot restrain herself. 'Please kind officer,' she cries. 'Do not strike him. He is my husband.'
'I won!' shouted the husband. 'You have to shut the door.'
In a Japanese version, 'A Silence Match', a couple make mochi. There is too much for their meal, and they agree that the one who can keep still the longest, will have the leftovers. In the night, a robber arrives and searches for valuables. He opens the food cupboard and takes out the mochi box. The wife cries out, 'Oh, the thief is taking the mochi!' The husband roars, 'That mochi is mine now.'
(In Japan, sticky rice cakes are called mochi. Boiled sticky rice is put into a container and patted with water by one person while another hits it with a large wooden hammer. By mashing the rice, a sticky white dumpling is formed.)
A Scots version, 'Get up and Bar the Door, can be found on the Internet.
Discussion
Why are there numerous stories on this theme? Why do the couples decide that the maintenance of silence is the best option for a solution? Suggest other ways of coping with problems that seem insoluble.
7. Literature and folklore links
- Students could ask family members, especially grandparents, to contribute stories, folklore and anecdotes on the topics of tall tales, sharing and silence.
- Emma Barnard, The Really Big Food Project, illus. Sally Rippin (2004, Curriculum Corporation): a project book on rice. www.curriculum.edu.au/accessasia/bigfoodbook
- Maureen Stewart, Tall Tales from the Speewah: Australian Stories that are Bigger and Better, illus. Jeff Hook (1988, Puffin): Australia's tall tales about the Speewah, an imaginary cattle station in the outback - a fabulous place where men are stronger, cattle are bigger and everything is better than it is everywhere else.
- Other Australian tall tale collections: Kel Richards, Aussie Yarns (2005, Strand); Rex Hunt, Rex Hunt's Tall Tales and True (1994, Crossbow); John Gurney, Favourite Australian Tall Stories, (1988, ACP in association with Greenhouse Publications).
- Debra Oswald, Frank and the Secret Club, (2005, Puffin): Lewis receives a spy kit for his birthday – perfect to share in a secret club with his best friend. It grows to four and, before long, so many people are sharing that it becomes unwieldy!
- Faustin Charles, The Selfish Crocodile (1998, Koala Books): 'Stay away from my river!' shouts the crocodile. 'It's MY river!'
NEW!
The White Elephant: Drama based on Asian Folk Tales (2009, Teaching Solutions)
ISBN 978 1 870 51688 4
A white elephant, a magic gem, trickery, fire and wind wrapped in paper, a beautiful bird, time twists, wishes granted .. This collection contains seven plays based on folk tales from India, Indonesia, Japan, Vietnam, China, Thailand and Papua/New Guinea.
Extensive Notes for Teachers accompany the plays. www.teachingsolutions.com.au
NEW! Classroom Activities from The White Elephant: Notes for Teachers.
1. The White Elephant – creative writing
After discussing the topic, 'Keeping a Secret', the children could write a story or a poem - factual or imaginative - about keeping a secret. They could compile the writings, with illustrations, into a book and give it an appropriate title.
2. The Mouse deer and the Crocodile – language development
- What does it mean when a person cries 'crocodile tears'? Children could ask parents, report back to the class, and discuss.
- In the English language certain animals, reptiles, birds and insects are believed to have particular character traits. Here are a few examples: timid mouse, mischievous monkey, playful kitten, faithful dog. Children could start a list and add to it every day as they find more.
- Sometimes people are likened to creatures. Continue the following list:
- Grandma is as wise as an owl.
- My brother is as brave as a lion.
3. Urashima Taro and the World Beneath the Sea – Discussion and dilemma
'Don't open the box,' said the Princess. It was a magic box, and there were consequences when Urashima Taro disobeyed. Questions may elicit imaginative responses.
What do you think would have happened if he hadn't opened it?
Would he have met the Princess again?
Could you obey an order such as this?
How hard is it to wait when you see wrapped gifts under the Christmas tree?
4. The Raven's Magic Gem - research
- Children could find information and illustrations of semi-precious stones or gems, and suggest which one was given to the boy by the raven.
- If children's relatives own a ring, necklet or brooch set with a gem or a precious stone, they could be invited to visit and show it; or take an excursion to shop which sells gems.
ADDING CHORUSES TO PLAYSCRIPTS
Edel Wignell ©
First published in Practically Primary Magazine www.alea.edu.au
When writing plays for children, I make provision for every member of a class to join in. The addition of choruses gives those who aren't taking the main roles an opportunity to sing or chant together several times during the play.
Teachers who encourage children to create plays, both orally and in script form, can introduce them to the idea of adding choruses. The following notes outline several ways of doing this.
Various approaches
- Choruses may be written for one, two or more groups.
- They may be said or sung as chants (rhyming or non-rhyming), based on the tunes of well-known songs.
- In some plays, it is appropriate to chant the same words several times as the drama progresses. In others, the words may change slightly as the plot unfolds.
- Each chorus may be totally different.
Rhyming chants
In 'The Picture Wife', a play adapted from a Japanese folk tale, rhyming choruses depict the attitudes - first of the village girls, then, later in the play, of the castle servants. The village girls laugh at Gombei, a simple village boy who wants to marry. The words of the choruses change throughout, but the structure remains the same. Here are two examples of the nine choruses:
VILLAGE GIRLS CHORUS:
Gombei, Gombei!
Village boy, oh! so shy;
Wants to marry
In a hurry!
No, no! Gombei!
CASTLE SERVANTS CHORUS:
A picture we found, a picture we bring,
In praise we shout, in praise we sing.
Who is this girl?
A gem, a pearl -
This lovely young woman will marry a king.
(from Tricking the Tiger: Plays Based on Asian Folk Tales)
Non-rhyming chants
1) 'The Hobyahs', a puppet play adapted from a Scots folk tale, provided an excellent opportunity to introduce choruses. (A hobyah is a frightening bogie.) The tale has a sequence of incidents introduced thus:
FIRST CHORUS:
Out from the gloomy gullies came the Hobyahs -
creep, creep, creeping.
SECOND CHORUS:
Through the grey gum-trees came the Hobyahs -
run, run, running.
THIRD CHORUS:
Skip, skip, skipping on the ends of their toes
came the Hobyahs.
The troop of Hobyahs shouted every time they neared the hut where the little old man, the little old woman, the little girl and little dog Turpie slept.
HOBYAH CHORUS:
Hobyah, Hobyah, Hobyah!
Pull down the hut!
Eat up the little old man
Eat up the little old woman,
Carry off the little girl.
These are the actual words of the story, so the choruses are not invented - merely adapted to chorus structure. (By the way, a comforting word to anxious readers: at the end, little dog Turpie ate up all the Hobyahs, 'and that is why there are no Hobyahs now'.)
(from The Hobyahs and other Plays from around the World)
2) In 'The Young Head of the House', adapted from a Chinese folk tale, the father has issued an ultimatum to his daughters-in-law who are leaving to visit their mothers. They must not return unless they bring back fire and wind, both wrapped in paper. The chanting of the sons' chorus several times provides an atmosphere of menace.
SONS' CHORUS:
Fire and wind, wind and fire,
Wrapped in paper, paper-wrapped.
As the story progresses and the action changes, the chants change, too, but the pattern remains until the last:
SONS' CHORUS:
No sorrow, sorrow none,
Fame and wealth, wealth and fame.
(from The White Elephant: Drama based on Asian Folk Tales)
Known songs
'Ghost Wagon' was inspired by an anecdote from Australian folklore in which campers see a ghost wagon arriving at a camping ground in the outback.
In the play, a class is on a five-day excursion with teachers and parents. One evening, they sing songs chosen by the children as they sit around the campfire. The songs include: 'Waltzing Matilda', 'Old Macdonald had a Farm', 'Michael Finnigan' and 'Ten Green Bottles'. The arrival of the ghost wagon pulled by two horses, and the actions of the driver provide the drama and the mystery in the scene.
(from The Hobyahs and other Plays from around the World)
New verses set to familiar tunes
'A Trip to the Sky' is a script based on a Russian folk tale, a variant of the English 'Jack and the Beanstalk'. While the action and the dialogue belong to the main characters, the remainder of the class sing ten songs to the tunes of well-known nursery rhymes. Following are two, the first being sung to the tune of 'Mary Mary, Quite Contrary':
Water the seed, water the seed,
Watch the pea seed grow,
With little yellow roots
And little green shoots
And green leaves all in a row.
Soon after the farmer enters a house in the sky, the owner comes home. He gives his orders in song - to the tune of 'Three Blind Mice':
Throw him out! Throw him out!
Throw him out! Throw him out!
Find the rascal and throw him out,
The rascal is here - now throw him out!
Throw him out! Throw him out!
(from The Hobyahs and other Plays from around the World)
Like rap
It is important that children read choruses aloud to ensure that they have a strong rhythm and can be spoken or sung to a regular beat - like rap.
- First, identify the beat (e.g. three strong beats in each line).
- Then practise the choruses several times to ensure that participants speak together.
Sharing
Finally, choruses provide group reading with a difference: a way for audiences to enjoy the fun of participation and sharing. Although the chorus participants are not taking active individual roles in the drama, they aren't merely watchers and listeners. They contribute to the atmosphere and the development of tension, and thus to the satisfaction and success of the whole class.
Script collections
The White Elephant: Drama based on Asian Folk Tales (2009, Teaching Solutions) for Years 3-7
ISBN: 978 1 921454 28 8
www.teachingsolutions.com.au
Tricking the Tiger: Plays Based on Asian Folk Tales (2002, Phoenix Education) for ages 10-14 years
ISBN 9 781876 580322
www.phoenixeduc.com
The Hobyahs and Other Plays from Around the World (1995, Bushfire Press, translated into Chinese by Bookman Books, Taiwan) for ages 8-10 years
ISBN: 1 875191 48 8
www.bushfirepress.com
Big Eyes, Scary Voice illustrated by Carl Pearce, (2008, Tamarind/Random House Children's Books, UK; Random House Australia) for ages 3-5 years.
ISBN: 978 1870 51688 4
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Edel at Balmain Public School for the release of 'The Ghostly Jigsaw'. |
Tania and Josh hear a scary voice calling in the park at sunset. They explore and listen as they venture warily through the shadows to find the source. Carl Pearce's interpretation brings drama and mystery to the setting – a cliff top park beside a harbour.
www.tamarindbooks.co.uk
www.randomhouse.com.au
This book will be of special interest to teachers with multi-cultural classes.
Perhaps your class includes black and brown children with parents from countries such as India, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, the Philippines, the Sudan and other African republics, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Samoa and other Pacific Islands… Is it difficult to find stories featuring these children?
Publisher Verna Wilkins, who was born in Granada, worked as a lecturer in English and Business for ten years before founding Tamarind Books in 1987. When her children were young they believed that only white children could feature in books. Through Tamarind, Verna set out to ensure that the next generations had access to high quality books featuring children from all backgrounds in universal situations.
She has produced a range of high quality illustrated children's books in which black children have a positive profile. Verna publishes both fiction and non-fiction, and has written about 30 biographies of successful black people living in the UK today. Late in 2007, Tamarind Books became an imprint of Random House Children's Books (UK).
See the Random House Australia website for news of the six Tamarind Books now available.
www.randomhouse.com.au
Classroom presentation – Big Eyes, Scary Voice
- Before reading the story, children may comment on the cover illustration: the characters and the setting.
- On opening the book, they may discuss the end papers, decorated with stylized feathers and eyes.
- The first double-page spread, revealing a cliff top park and a harbour, provides opportunities to discuss the geographical setting and the time of day.
- The hoots throughout may inspire suggestions: Is it a train, a ship, a bird, someone's toy? The tone of voice will tell something about the hoots. If the hoots are scary, will they be high or low, soft or loud? Children may try hooting. Whose hoot is scariest? Why?
- A comparison of the final double-page spread with the first shows the passage of time. What happens to the sky at sunset? How long were Tania, Josh and their mother adventuring in the park?
- On re-reading, look for eyes and suggestions of eyes, and ensure that the hoots are effective – soft voices being more scary than loud.
- Art activity: Whose Eyes? Firstly, children may think of a setting: jungle, zoo, shopping centre, farm or underwater, then draw or paint several pairs of eyes on a sheet of paper and build a scene by selecting animals, birds, insects, fish, people… and adding details.
UNLONELY! TYING THE KNOT
Edel Wignell ©
Edel Wignell (reteller), Tying the Knot: Folk Tales of Love and Marriage from Around the World (2006, Phoenix Education) a collection of 12 entertaining tales for Years 6-9 ISBN 1 921085 21
also Tying the Knot: Teacher Resource Book
ISBN 1 921085 22 3
www.phoenixeduc.com
Samples from Tying the Knot: Teacher Resource Book
1. 'The Maiden Wiser than the Tsar
In a Serbian tale, 'The Maiden Wiser than the Tsar', a young woman, on her marriage to the Tsar, requests that the Tsar write and sign a contract for her future security. She has the foresight to secure her future in the event that the marriage fails.
Making such a contract was, no doubt, unusual hundreds of years ago, as it is today. Many people enter marriage believing that they are 'marrying for life': they will be together 'until death us do part'. To write a contract relating to future difficulties is anathema, for it contradicts hopes and faith in the enduring nature of marriage.
Increasingly in the last twenty years, couples have been negotiating a contract stating that, if the marriage fails, they will share property and agree to certain conditions in relation to their future children. Full of goodwill, they hope to avoid the acrimonious arguments and protracted legal proceedings that often arise, years later, at the time of separation and divorce.
- What do you think? Is it wise for newly-weds to make a contract in regard to a possible future separation? Obtain copies of wedding vows from religious and civil celebrants so that you will have a clearer understanding of what is involved in making marriage vows.
2. The Stubborn Wife
When people lived all their lives in villages, on farms and in other small communities, and never travelled far, they expected to court and marry within their own community. Many young peoples' lives were programmed by parents who promised them in marriage at an early age - a tradition maintained in some cultures today.
The stubborn wife and the henpecked husband are stereotyped figures found in many societies and are, therefore, an ideal subject for humour, both oral and written. A Finnish folk tale, 'The Stubborn Wife', well illustrates the saying: In marriage two people become one, but soon they have to decide, which one? (Source unknown)
- What is true love? Some people say that wanting to please a partner is evidence of it. But what happens when one partner has a dominant personality: must win, must always have the last word? Consider relationships that you know. Where does the power lie? Who makes the decisions? How are disagreements negotiated? Do any couples achieve equality?
3. How to Share Five Cakes
The argumentative couple is one of the comic stereotypes of marriage, often used by playwrights, and by comedians as part of an entertainment routine. In 'How to Share Five Cakes', a folk tale from Ceylon (now called Sri Lanka), neither partner will give in and a dire situation develops.
- How prevalent is the 'never-give-in' attitude in partnerships and marriage? What happens in most relationships? Who gives in? Do couples take turns to give in, or does one partner always win? Many examples will come to mind, both humorous and tragic, in all kinds of relationships: siblings, friends sharing a flat, partners, married couples – from real life and from books and television.
Folk tales of love and marriage from around the world mirror life in former times. Better than a history lesson, more telling that an exposition of feminist theory, folk tales explain life and relationships as they were and, in many places, still are.
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