Folk Beliefs of the Southern Negro

by Newbell Niles Puckett

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

Genres: Folklore, Nonfiction, History

680 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 1969

Reviews

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating tome delving into the belief systems of Afro-Americans in the early 20th century. While I enjoyed reading about all the folk traditions and rituals, my joy was tainted by the downright patronizing tone of the author. It was quite obvious that he thought African-Americans were being silly by believing such things and a lot of the language used would be considered highly inappropriate in today's society. I do understand that this was the norm during this time period, however.

Although I did not like the tone used throughout, the information provided was more than useful for both research and entertainment purposes. I would (cautiously) recommend this novel to anyone wanting to learn more about African-American folk beliefs and their possible origins.

[Amy]

I'm currently obsessed with the first edition of this 1926 book (thank you Carnegie Library). While the racism of the white author is definitely dated, the tales he accumulates from hundreds of interviews are amazing to read (even if he writes them down in somewhat patronizing dialect).

[E.S. Wynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting read. Very dated, (uses some very dated terms) but definitely a fascinating resource.