Cite: Salamon, Humour of Ethiopian Immigrants in Israel

Salamon, Hagar. “The Floor Falling Away: Dislocated Space and Body in the Humour of Ethiopian Immigrants in Israel.” Folklore 122.1 (2011): 16-34.

 

URL: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a936286607

 

Abstract

The present paper analyses humorous stories circulating among Ethiopian immigrants now living in Israel. Typically told at community gatherings, these narratives articulate the drama of dislocation and the traumatic encounter with life in Israel, by focusing on the embarrassing clash of the quintessential “traditional” Ethiopian, with a new land-scape, time-scape, and body-scape. Characterised by an easy spirit, the revelation of innocence met with forgiving and accepting laughter, these stories enable internalisation and mediation of common ambivalences and vulnerabilities, converting them into elements of pleasure.