Yesterday I shared a book by Julian Bagley, a storyteller from Florida, which is the perfect excuse to share one of my very favorite books by one of my very favorite storytellers today: Every Tongue Got to Confess: Negro Folk-tales From the Gulf States by Zora Neale Hurston.
You can find out more about Hurston at Wikipedia. Here's a gorgeous photo you can find at the Library of Congress from 1937 where she is playing a drum:
This amazing book contains over 300 stories that Hurston collected in the 1920s, and it was brought back from oblivion to be published for the first time in 2001. It's an amazing story in and of itself, which you can read about in the book's introduction. The unpublished manuscript turned up at the Smithsonian in the papers of William Duncan Strong, an anthropologist at Columbia and colleague of Franz Boas, who had supported Hurston's work; Hurston had been Boas's student in the 1920s at Columbia. It seems likely that Boas had a copy of the manuscript which ended up in the files of the Anthropology department that were eventually moved into storage in the basement where Strong's papers were also stored, and the whole lot ended up being archived at the Smithsonian, where Hurston's manuscript was discovered decades later.
It is a MIRACLE.
The book also features a foreword by John Edgar Wideman with some great observations about Hurston's writing style and the whole idea of folklore and "oral literature" (more about Wideman at Wikipedia).
Here's an inventory of the stories you will find in this book linked to that specific page at the Internet Archive (some of the stories in Hurston's manuscript had titles, but most did not, so I have supplied those titles myself):
God Tales. Why God Made Adam Last / When God First Put Folks on Earth / When God Made Man / Christ Wuz Going Along / God's Two Boxes / Why Negroes Have Nothing / Why Negroes Are Black / Uncle Ike in de Judgment / God Made de Cabbage / De Lightning / Two Boys, the Sweet Potato, and God / Praying
Preacher Tales. Isaac and Daphne / Gabriel's Trumpet / De Holy Ghost / The Preacher an' de Sheep's Tails / A Man and His Wife Had a Colt / Testimony / A Great Sunday-School Boy / Economical River / A Half Pint of Shinny / A Woman Always in Church / The Rooster / God Grant It! / Aunt Dinah / The Ole Preacher / Called Tuh Preach / Just Done Dat Tuh Try Yo' Faith / De Blood-Stained Banner uh Jesus Christ / Gimme Dat Ole Time Religion / Every Tongue Got to Confess / Two Deacons / Cussin' and Damnin' / Hongry Man / A Great Big Woman / Two Men Hoboing / Changing Pastors / Ole Lady Par'lyzed / The Farmer's New Ground / Man Loved Preachers / Uncle Jeff and the Church / Preacher Had a Son / Preacher in the Pulpit / Shouting and Running / All dem Words Don't Say Preach / A Little Boy Lived on a Hill / Daddy Was a Great Preacher / Two Colored Preachers / Leaving Alabama / I Been to Hell
Devil Tales. The Communion Cup / Bapti' and Meth'dis' / A Man Had Two Sons / The Woman and the Devil / Uh Man Wid Two Horses / Woman Smarter than Devil / The Devil's Daughter / De Devil Took Possession / A Negro and de Devil / De Devil Don't Do Everything They Say / Why We Say "Unh Hunh"
Witch and Hant Tales. De Witch Woman / The Four Story Lost Lot / The Orphan Boy and Girl and the Witches / The Old Fortune-Teller Woman / De High Chief Devil / High Walker and Bloody Bones
Heaven Tales. The First Colored Man in Heben / De Flying Negro / Prophets Died and Went to Heaven / Stingy Man in Heaven / Meeting in Heaven / God's Big Blackboard / If Your Lamp Is Low / A Man and His Brother / The Day That President Harding Died
John and Massa Tales. During Slavery Time / John and Bill / De Chimbley / Ole Missus / Meddling Man / Bear in de Cane Patch / Ole Marsa and Jack / When John Got Tired / Big Sixteen / John / Ole Rooster / Massa's Hogs / John in the Smoke-house / John and de Horse / Jack and his Wife
Massa and White Folks Tales. Sambo / Stolen Meat / Dat Rain / De Boss Man / Ole Massa's Gun / Deer-Huntin' / A Gold Watch and Chain / De Buggy / De White Man's Prayer / Roofin' uh House / Walkin' Cross de Street / The Black Horse / Hunter / Biscuit Bread / Big Talk / Moufy Emma / Ole Master's Sheep
Tall Tales. The Ugliest Man / The Meanest Man / A Man So Bad / A Man So Hungry / The Gun and the Bullet / A Nose So Big / A Man So Smart / The Fastest Man / A Man So Lazy / The Tallest Man / The Biggest Man / The Shortest Man / The Stingiest Man / The Blackest Man / The Smallest Wife / So Much Milk / A Cow So Swaybacked / The Fastest Horse / The Poorest Horse / A Mule So Poor / A Hen That Cackled So Much / The Biggest Chickens / Best Trained Mule / The Biggest Pumpkin / Sugar Cane So Large / Watermelon So Large / Biggest Apple / The Biggest Cabbage / Sweet Potato So Big / The Biggest Tree / Rich Ground / On Mississippi River / The Poorest Ground / Country So Hilly / Hard Ground / Hard Wind / It Rained So Hard / So Dry / De Darkest Night / The Hottest Day / The Coldest Day / The Biggest Gate / The Blacksmith / A Boiler So Big / Uh Seed-Tick / De Workenest Pill / Talking about Fishing / Rockefeller and Ford / So Many Fish / Brother So Swift / Train So Fast / River Running So Fast / Hobo Trip out in Texas / Railroad So Crooked / De Grist Mill / Blocks of Ice / A Burning / River on Fire / In a Field I Saw a Man / Crossing the River / Making My Fire / I Wuz Lost / The Largest Sawmill / My Uncle / Muzzle-Loader / De Hongry Bear / Wild Turkeys / Hunting a Deer / The Race Runner / My Pa Had a Gun / Three Thousand Ducks / Rabbit Huntin'
Mosquito and Gnat Tales. Skeeter an' de Hominy Pot / Once in My Home / Clearing Up New Ground / Some Tin Suits / The Boiler / The Fireman / A Man Who Lived in the Country / An Airplane / Me an' My Brother / Me and My Buddy / Coming from Birmingham
Neatest Trick Tales. A Man Had Three Daughters / Three Girls Went to Huntin' / Three Fellows Courtin' de Same Woman / Courtin' uh Man's Daughter / A Big Rabbit / An Old Man Had Three Sons / A Man Had Seven Sons
Mistaken Identity Tales. A Man by the Name of Tom / The Running Death / Uh Persimmon Tree / Prayin' Woman an de' Banjo Man / God an' de Devil in de Cemetery / A Negro Praying / Praying in the Graveyard / A Boy Who Was Always Cussin' / An Old Man, His Son, and Two Good Dogs / Hog-Stealing / Pig in de Poke
Women Tales. A Lady Sitting by the Fire / A Man and His Wife / A Woman That Had a Sweetheart / De Hoodoo / Cruel Wife / The Wash-Pot / The Widow Woman / No Women in de Army / Pokin' de Fire
Miscellaneous Tales. Good-Time Willie / Scissors / Sam / Pretty Woman, Proud Man / The Load of Wood / Man with Three Coughs / Cutting Wood / Courting a Girl / On the Train / The Old Man and the Old Woman / Grasshopper / De Boll Weevil / The Cotton Patch / Jordan Car / The Old Man, the Old Woman, and the Boy / The Old Woman's Pipe / The White Folks' Graveyard / Fishing on Sunday / Sunday Morning / The Poor Old Lady / Corn / Going to Church / Uncle Sam / The Big Man / The Man That Was Drunk / Hey Cook / Two Rogues / The Man That Stole Some Sheep / Buzzards / The Nigger and the Goat / The Red Silk Shirt / The Mourning-Ground / De Lying Mule / The Pretty Girl / Jack Johnson / Calling Trains / Gold Teeth / The Mobile Disaster / Take Me / Stealing / Hard Times / The Big Grizzle Bear / Man and de Lion / De Animal Congress / Mocking Birds / Terbaccer / Hurrican Met de Tornado / Why the Waves Have White Caps
Talking Animal Tales. The Pet Monkey / The Stolen Chicken / Bill the Mule / The Fox / Collision / The Rooster's Head / Man Had a Cat
Animal Tales. Rooster and Fox / The Frog and the Mole / Why the Dog Hates the Cat / Why de Donkey's Ear Is Long / De Reason de Woodpecker Got uh Red Head / Why de Buzzard Ain't Got No Home / The Fox and the Hounds / Why de Alligator Is Black / The Flies and God / Why de Cat Has Nine Lives / The Goat / Why de Porpoise's Tail Is on Crosswise / The Lion and the Rabbit / Biddy, Biddy, Hen / De Crane Wuz Hongry / Why the Waves Have White Caps / How Come de Gator Hate de Dog / Why de Gator Got No Tongue / De Rabbit Wants uh Tail / Dirt-Dauber and Bee / The Alligator and de Rabbits / The Snake and God / De Rabbit an' de Elephant / How the Gopher Was Created / Brother Rabbit and Brother Fox / The Snail Crossing the Road / The Possum's Tail / The Rabbit, the Fox, and the Girl / De Gopher in Court / Hawg Under de House / Ole Goose / Tarrypin an' de Fox / The Rabbit and the Bear / Living in the Country / The Snail and His Wife / The Snail Crosses the Road
Note that the animal tales come last here; Zora Neale Hurston was very aware of how the popularity of animal tales had become part of the infantalizing of folklore, associating the tradition with children, making it something "childish" as a whole. So, even though I love the animal tales (they are my main interest!), I have to admire her putting the animal tales last here when they regularly come first in folktale collections by other anthropologists.
Zora Neale Hurston's importance as a folklorist is maybe not as well known as her work as a novelist and essayist. So, if you are a fan of Hurston and want to know more about the work she did collecting and documenting African American storytelling traditions, this is the book to read... and thanks to the Internet Archive, it's just a click away.
by Zora Neale Hurston
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