ProfLangat Chebelyon | Moi University (original) (raw)
Phone: (+254) 723 568 659
Address: P.O. BOX 4002-30100, Eldoret, Kenya
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This paper deals with the specific challenges of research in African oral literature based on a r... more This paper deals with the specific challenges of research in African oral literature based on a reading of Okot p"Bitek"s essay "African Aesthetics-the Acoli Example" in Artist, the Ruler. It seeks to imbibe p"Bitek"s ideas on the specific challenges of research in oral literature and use the same understanding on Research that aims at finding useful knowledge of culture in relation to development. In this paper, culture is simply defined as a people"s way of life, irrespective of the time and space. The cross-cutting argument is that a proper understanding of our different cultures in Kenya, based on properly premeditated research, will enable the Government and other stakeholders to bring about the timely realization of MDGs. Literature is part and parcel of life. It cannot be divorced from the human experience of time and space. The subject of literature is man: his way of life, beliefs, politics, trades, among other things. Although society and man are subjects of literature, literature does not have to be subject to society and man. Hence, as a discipline as well as a theory of human studies, literature transcends social-human borders and can offer an objective view of society. It communicates human experiences across time and space. No other form of literature draws closer to people in their society than oral literature; more so when it is studied in the context of human lifestyle in different places and times. This has always been the aim of research: to identify the semantics of cultural beliefs and practices in their contexts, and to draw relevant and useful conclusions about culture and human existence. This immediately raises a question as to whether research draws accurate meanings of cultural materials or not. The problems are numerous: language barriers, understanding the full meanings of aesthetic terms as used by the owners, the structure of cultures that brings chaos to composition and performance textual materials and the Researcher-based problems of preconceptions and ideologies. This paper examines these challenges as brought out by p"Bitek with an aim to extending their discussion to Development-oriented research. This paper will contribute to the place of Oral Literature research in the realization of Millennium Development Goals.
This paper deals with the specific challenges of research in African oral literature based on a r... more This paper deals with the specific challenges of research in African oral literature based on a reading of Okot p"Bitek"s essay "African Aesthetics-the Acoli Example" in Artist, the Ruler. It seeks to imbibe p"Bitek"s ideas on the specific challenges of research in oral literature and use the same understanding on Research that aims at finding useful knowledge of culture in relation to development. In this paper, culture is simply defined as a people"s way of life, irrespective of the time and space. The cross-cutting argument is that a proper understanding of our different cultures in Kenya, based on properly premeditated research, will enable the Government and other stakeholders to bring about the timely realization of MDGs. Literature is part and parcel of life. It cannot be divorced from the human experience of time and space. The subject of literature is man: his way of life, beliefs, politics, trades, among other things. Although society and man are subjects of literature, literature does not have to be subject to society and man. Hence, as a discipline as well as a theory of human studies, literature transcends social-human borders and can offer an objective view of society. It communicates human experiences across time and space. No other form of literature draws closer to people in their society than oral literature; more so when it is studied in the context of human lifestyle in different places and times. This has always been the aim of research: to identify the semantics of cultural beliefs and practices in their contexts, and to draw relevant and useful conclusions about culture and human existence. This immediately raises a question as to whether research draws accurate meanings of cultural materials or not. The problems are numerous: language barriers, understanding the full meanings of aesthetic terms as used by the owners, the structure of cultures that brings chaos to composition and performance textual materials and the Researcher-based problems of preconceptions and ideologies. This paper examines these challenges as brought out by p"Bitek with an aim to extending their discussion to Development-oriented research. This paper will contribute to the place of Oral Literature research in the realization of Millennium Development Goals.