Talk:List of incidents of cannibalism

Latest comment: 8 months ago by Gawaon in topic Oral History


Oral History edit

About 1897-1898 either in Clarksdale, Mississippi or Idda Bugga, Mississippi a sharecropper killed his wife and sold parts of her for beef for which he was executed[1]— Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.49.179.53 (talkcontribs) 21:29, 27 August 2023 (UTC)Reply

I found the book you mentioned – the editor's name is actually Richard M. Dorson. But folktales aren't "oral history" and cannot generally be treated as such. In chapter 1, the editor compares his collection with those made by the Brothers Grimm. But nobody believes Grimm tales to be literally true, which is why Hansel and Gretel and similar folktales don't show up in this List of incidents. And neither should stuff from Dorson's collection. --Gawaon (talk) 17:27, 29 August 2023 (UTC)Reply

References

  1. ^ "American Negro Folktales" by Richard Dodson in No 161 "The Man Who Sold His Wife For Beef" (Told by Mary Richardson and James Douglas Suggs) pp.293-294