From the publisher’s description:
Using stories he collected from narrators from the old West African kingdom of Benin, the author shows how the present mirrors the past in both folklore and political reality, suggesting that African states fail to create a level playing field for the plural identities within their borders, leaving marginalized peoples uncertain of their place in an uneven socio-political landscape.
Okpewho, Isidore (NHC Fellow, 1997–98). Once Upon a Kingdom: Myth, Hegemony, and Identity. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1998. ISBN 9780253333964.