CULTURE AND ART IN RESEARCH FOR KNOWLEDGE: CONTRIBUTIONS FROM OKOT P'BITEK (original) (raw)
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Nature and Functions of Oral Literature in Africa
EN-QUETE: Revue scientifique de lettres, arts et Sciences humaines, 2021
ABSTRACT African literature cannot be fully apprehended if the concept of “oral literature” or orature is underestimated. In fact, contemporary literature in Africa is the child of orature because this form of artistic expression, in more ways than one, bears many imprints on literature. Writers have shown their African identity in literature by means of oral literature. Here, the question is what is oral literature? How does it deploy itself in the fabric of African expressive creativity? What are the characteristic features of such a literature? Answering these questions is the point of the current study. Keywords : Africa, Orality, Epic, Poetry, Tale, Myth, Language, Writing, Art, Colonialism.
Theory In the Study of African Oral Literature: The Oral Artist’s Agenda
Journal of Arts and Humanities, 2014
This paper grapples with the question of choice of theory in the study of African oral literature. The paper argues that while it is easy and desirable to choose a facilitative theory in the analysis of a written work of literature, such a process poses challenges when it comes to the oral type of African literature. The difficulty of such choice lies in the unpredictable and ephemeral nature of oral literature in which to a large extent it is the performer who decides what to perform and how to perform it. This leaves the literary analyst in a dilemma over what theory to apply unless the latter wants to base the choice on trial and error. Owing to the centrality of the performer in an African oral performance this paper argues that choice of theory in this respect has to put the oral artist at the centre. Besides the paper criticizes unchecked application of the Western type theories to African oral literature as some are not designed to cater for the oral nature of the said litera...
Knowledge acquisition, like all human interaction in the world depends on and is enhanced through verbal or written forms which, today, exist at parallels but are never dichotomous, yet oral cultures seem to be more pervasive than written cultures in many parts of the world. History and knowledge systems are located in memory, the personal lives, traditions and the mythical past of all communities in the world. Today, literature has commonly been associated with written forms yet most other cultures of the world, apart from western cultures, have produced a wide range of literary material all encoded in verbal or non-written genres. Oral discourses are, therefore, predominant in most indigenous communities all over the world and knowledge systems have as such been constructed and communicated through these oral discourses or verbal systems, with emphasis on graphic contextual performances. African verbal forms, perhaps, constitute the largest stock of literary material performed, sung or spoken in numerous social or ritualistic contexts. These enhance encoding of new meaning and knowledge through the transmission of ideas and in most contexts, oral or verbal communication surpasses all other forms of communication. Despite this importance of orality, the supposed supremacy of a scientific consciousness which is enhanced by writing has become coterminous with the relegation of verbal performances leading to the failure to understand the nature and function of oral literature and its pedagogical content amongst oral cultures. Literacy is consequently emphasized over orality and contextuality. Recent developments in the academia, however, have tended to emphasize the supremacy of orality as a preferred mode of socialization and pedagogical functions. Anthropologists, literary critics, folklorists, creative writers and even psychologists all attest to the dynamism of oral literature in the production and transmission of knowledge systems not only in Africa but generally in pre-literate societies all over the world. This paper, therefore, examines the extent to which Oral literature can serve as a base for the development of a pedagogical model for instruction of our younger generations in African knowledge systems using the Bakor experience as an example.
LITERARY ANALYSIS OF DANGME TRADITIONAL WORK SONGS Abstract This paper presents a descriptive analysis of the literary devices in Dangme ( a Kwa language of South-Eastern part of Ghana) traditional work songs. The Dangme people are traditionally known for their traditional industries, agricultural and native economic activities. These activities crave the occasion for some sort of songs to be used. These traditional work songs are used in contexts in which wearisome labour is involved. The songs are considered ‘special purpose poetry’ because they have some direct connection with particular occasions and actions. This paper analyses these traditional work songs and brings to bear the literary devices deployed in them as they accompany specific work(s). Data for this paper was collected from both primary and secondary sources. The data analysis is descriptive with much emphasis on the literary devices in the songs. It has been revealed that literary devices such as repetition, idiophones, parallelism and the like provide aesthetic and beauteous values to the work songs. This aids to soothe the workers’ psychological and physical bodies in order to increase their efficiency and work output.
One of the disciplines that, for long, eluded proper perception and analysis due to the lack of an effective theoretical approach that would elucidate the intricacies involved in its creation or realization is African oral literature, which, incidentally, provides a base for its written counterpart. In contemporary times, however, consistent scholastic investigation has led to the eventual shifting of emphasis from content to context thus emphasizing the centrality of the performance context to the clarification of the interaction between artist, audience and the environment. The emergence of performance studies, as well, aided renewed interest in the relevance of Orality or orature in the cultural lives of communities, particularly African communities who depend primarily on it for the enhancement and maintenance of interaction in socio-cultural life and projection of values. Since Walter Ong's (1982) seminal work on Orality and literacy, many societies have come to a realization of the importance of Orality, not only in traditional societies but also in the highly technologized world. This paper therefore examines how Orality or orature, as some people prefer to call it, can be utilized to form the center-piece of the aesthetics of African literary creation and criticism to enhance a unique identity for that literature in today's literacy dominated and globalized power play polity that seems to threaten the Africanness of the literature.
Oral Literature in Africa: A Review of Chapters One and Two by Agbeye Oburumu
Since the early 1960s, Ruth Finnegan has made a significant contribution and had an impact on postcolonial studies. A seminal document that has influenced students, teachers, and researchers of African oral literature for the past four decades and counting is her book, Oral Literature in Africa, which was released in 1970 and revised in 2012. The cover of the book is light blue with a light brown header that captures the text "World Oral Literature Series." The cover photo is that of a man playing a local African string instrument (a performer). This work validates Finnegan's status as a prominent researcher in the fields of orality, oral literature, and communicative aesthetics. Her work provides an intriguing look at the oral storytelling tradition, especially in African nations. The Work of Finnegan is a thorough study guide that examines the history of oral folklore and storytelling, which have been practised since the beginning of time. It touches on and affects the history of the oral tradition, its social and linguistic context, the various forms and styles of poetry used, the use of drums and rhythm to accompany it, drama, and the various "types" of storytelling, including short stories with morals, proverbs, poetry, and stories as a teachable moment, among other topics. Finnegan leads us on a trip where we learn about the various ways that Africans express themselves, including drumming, dancing, songs, parables, nursery rhymes, and writing. Each kind of communication shapes the history and rhythm of a language. To better illustrate the language of communication, Finnegan provides stunning image illustrations of the settings for a few of the stories.