The significance of the journey in folk tales from Zanzibar.

This thesis attempts to decode the journey in the Zanzibar folk tale in order to reveal its structural, psychological and, to some extent, ideological significance. The main part of the thesis takes off by making an analysis of the physical movement of a hero or heroine. It does so by subdividing the route of the journey into different loci and curves. Attention is paid to Locus A (departure point), Curve AB (the outgoing curve) and Locus B (arrival point). Although in some tales Curve BA (the return arc) and a new Locus A are present, the above-mentioned Loci and curve are indicated as the stable points in the journey folk tale from Zanzibar which, in their general terms, can sometimes be transferable from one tale to another. The subsequent sections of the thesis show how the journey motif goes beyond the spatial movement. The thesis asks and attempts to answer the question: Why does a character go on a journey? Does such character reveal himself or herself through that journey? In answering these and other similar questions, the thesis shows that the journey sheds a lot of light on the character's social concerns, so that through it the growing-up process is illustrated; human existence is explained, and conflict is managed and resolved metaphorically.