Creator Bio
Sonya the Wise Woman (Sonya Naimark)
Mid-19th Century–Early 20th Century
Little is known of Sonya (Naimark) the Wise Woman, whose folktales reflect Jewish life in her home Mogilev province (today in Belarus). A respected khakhome (wise woman), Naimark won recognition—and earned a living—as a practiced storyteller. She also taught tales to badkhentes (female wedding jesters), which they used to entertain guests at weddings and other festivities. Naimark was noted for her deft and theatrical use of language, style, and rhyme in her performance of stories and proverbs. Naimark was a contributor to A. Litvin’s pioneering ethnographic compilations of East European Jewish folk culture.
Entries in the Posen Library by This Creator
Primary Source
The Tale of the Ba‘al Shem and the Dybbuk
This is no fairy tale, it really happened.
In our shtetl, there was a bright young man named Móyshele. He was as smart as a whip, and also a good-for-nothing. Then all at once he disappeared, and no…
Primary Source
A Tale of a Teacher
In the province of Mollive, there is an old woman who is known for her shtetl wisdom, her old sayings, and her folktales. I met her quite by chance. Her…