Scholars have questioned his collection of stories, citing the difficulty that many white folklorists had in persuading African Americans to divulge their folklore. But, others note the similarity of African folk stories in several sources that are similar to the Brer Rabbit tales as published, which represent a folk genre. Examples include the Ila language "Sulwe mbwakatizha Muzovu" ("Hare makes the elephant afraid") in Smith & Dale "The Ila-Speaking Peoples of Northern Rhodesia" volume 2, page 309. In the totally unrelated Kanuri or Bornuese culture in Northern Nigeria, such tales as a "Fable of Jackal and a Hyena" display similar themes quite in the Brer Rabbit manner. The difficulties in obtaining printed sources on the African languages may have inhibited these aspects of critical treatment. Some critical scholars cite Uncle Remus as a problematic and contradictory figure: sometimes a mouthpiece for white paternalism, sometimes a stereotype of the black entertainer, and sometimes poetically subversive.