ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an overview of West African story cycles that crossed the Atlantic with African captives who passed them down through generations to the present day. It reviews trickster figures such as Brer Rabbit, Anansi, and the Signifying Monkey, supernatural tales, stories about bad men like Stagolee, patakis or sacred stories about the orisha spirits, and common Carnival characters such as Midnight Robber and Moko Jumbie. Highlighting the relationship that contemporary performance artist, Iyaba Ibo Mandingo has to traditional folktales, storytelling performance techniques, Carnival masquerade, and fiber arts craft skills illustrates how the various elements of the African American Object Performance Complex come together in his artistic practice.
