Art from Kashmir, where Hindu, Buddhist and Islamic cultures mingle, has been little explored by scholars.

Byzantine and other cultures mingled long after the fall of Constantinople.

In this lady's veins flowed the blood of all races, and in her mind all cultures mingled.

American, European and African cultures mingle seamlessly in the new work, though from first to last it is Africa that predominates.

During the reign of its first seven caliphs, Baghdad became a center of power where Arab and Iranian cultures mingled to produce a blaze of philosophical, scientific, and literary glory.

"The cultures mingled much more freely here than in California," Mr. Burka said.

Gaimán (population 4,000 or so), lies in central Patagonia near the Atlantic in Chubut Province, where the cultures and languages have mingled for more than 100 years but remain distinct.

Now, as cultures mingle more, Mr. Appiah predicted that African folk tales will find audiences beyond their native home.

In the 13th century, Mali was an empire, a cosmopolitan place where the cultures of northern and sub-Saharan Africa mingled.