Paramisa: Fairy Tales and Stories by Romani Storytellers from the Former Czechoslovakia

The fairy tales presented here have not yet been published in Czech, and they may be the last fairy tales recorded in Czechoslovakia from folk storytellers. The fact that Milena Hübschmannová’s collection captures a storytelling tradition that was still very much alive at the time is evidenced, among other things, by the many elements and details of everyday life in the 1970s and 1980s, with which the storytellers embellished the timeless world of fairy tales. The hero thus overcomes the evil sorcerer not only with the help of magical horses, but also thanks to several truckloads of sand and a telephone line, which the king provides at his request. The storytellers, however, use these period-specific touches sparingly so that the fairy tale remains a fairy tale. The book is not intended for child readers.

The Paramisa collection was edited, translated from Romani and prepared for Argo publishing house by Pavel Kubaník, a Romologist and disciple of Milena Hübschmannová.

The publication of the book was supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.