‘We are dwarfs seated on the backs of giants’, so the medieval philosophers assessed their own work, and so too must any scholar engaged in the essentially medieval tasks of studying an oral tradition. Particularly when his work consists of collecting, cataloging and analyzing traditional stories, the scholar must rely on the good will and good humor of many people. Above all he must rely on the story performers. In this respect, Bunny and I could not have been more fortunate. For one year we were the guests of the good people of Mattru-on-the-Rails who invited us onto their verandahs to witness the dɔmɛisia which are the subject of this work. Our gratitude and respect is extended to them all, and especially to Mariatu Sandi, Bobadeen Goba, Bobadeen Macarthy and Mos'ay Dubua who took such delight in delighting us with their amazing performances. I would also like to thank the people of Njayehun and Pujehun for their nights of entertainment, and to acknowledge the outstanding talents of their premier performers, John Aifa and Mama Ngembe. There is a final performer, perhaps the most famous in Mendeland, who deserves special mention. Lεlε Gbomba came to Mattru and performed epically for three nights. I have written of his dɔmɛisia elsewhere, but found them too gargantuan to be contained in this small work.

In order to fix Mende verbal art in a book of written English, I also had to rely on the assistance of others. I owe special thanks to Harold Scheub, first for revealing what wonders lay buried under the misnomer ‘folktale’, and then for criticizing this work with his unflagging candor during each stage of its development.