Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents vii
3. Illustrations ix
4. Foreword xi
5. Preface xiii
6. Notes on Transcription and Transliteration xvii
7. Introduction: The Tradition 1
8. Part One: The Ethnography of a Poetic Tradition
9. I. The Village 23
10. 2. Poets Inside and Outside the Epic 48
11. 3. The Economy of Poetic Style 102
12. Part Two: Textual and Performance Strategies in the Sahra
13. 4. The Interplay of Genres 137
14. 5. The Sahra as Social Interaction 177
15. Conclusion: Epic Text and Context 207
16. Appendix: Texts in Transliteration 213
17. Works Cited 227
18. Index 239