19th Century Macedonian Folktales, translated by Fay Thomev, is the first more extensive presentation of Cepenkov's work in English. The 66 stories in this collection reflect the spirit and essence of generations of Macedonians when oral storytelling was a highly prized skill and a gift. The stories are very diverse, entertaining and instructive. They can be wise, pious, didactic, just, helpful, clever, surprising, scary, familiar, funny, hilarious and often irreverent. Marko Cepenkov (1829 -1920) dedicated his whole life to collect and preserve for posterity the enormous wealth of Macedonian folk literature. This literature embodies the deepest layers of the Macedonian collective consciousness, wisdom and philosophy of life of a sturdy area at the crossroads of cultures, civilizations, peoples and languages.
Cepenkov collected more than 800 tales, 710 songs, 5,032 proverbs 100 riddles, 389 folk beliefs, 201 dreams and their interpretations, 46 sorcery incantations,67 children's games as well as pledges, curses, blessings, folk traditions, customs, examples of secret languages, descriptions of crafts and musical instruments, personal names and surnames.
