Myths and Legends of the Swahili

From back of book: "The Swahili, leading merchants from the coast of East Africa, traded stories as they traded goods. In these myths, Oriental Sultans encounter African spirits, and the beliefs in Mohammed are intertwined with stories about the efficacity of amulets in the fight against monsters. The Swahili keep cattle and goats like so many African peoples; they are navigators like the Arabs, they are fishermen like the Malagasy, they eat curried food like the Indians, and they write beautiful poetry in an elegant Arabic script in the manner of the Persians. It is not surprising that they have one of the richest mythologies of all African peoples."