FUNCTIONS OF ORAL AFRICAN LITERATURE

This Unit continues the functions that oral African literature performs in the African
society. This unit is another important stage in the level of discussion of the oral
African literature. Oral Africa is a „living‟ literature, living in the sense that does not
entertain any strict distinction of its genres as poetry, drama and prose are all
performative, active and call for the active involvement of not only the professional
Artist but of the entire members of the African society, present, the dead as well as
succeeding generation of the African community.
The necessity for the aspect being introduced to you is obvious and unavoidable, if we
mean otherwise, we then mean that we are in the league of those who say that oral
African literature and culture do not exist, but if not, we must admit its functionality.
You may have been taught some of these things, but in our own treatment of the
various aspects of oral African literature, we have included various examples that
remind you of a need to be continually nearer to your culture eboth in theory and
practical.
OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
 demonstrate your awareness of the functions of oral African literature
 identify some of the functions during practical oral performance of your people
 show a mastery of the knowledge of the culture of your people
 explain the social functions of oral African literature
 identify the functions of oral African literature to specific aspects of your oral
culture and education
 do a convincing discussion of oral African literature as agent of communal
socialization and productive interaction
 discuss orature as the „learning field of Africa‟.

The Social Function of Orature

In the African cultural compound, it is cultural for people to gather under moonlight
and tell stories in the evenings. Through such avenue the people socializes, engage
each other in relevant communal and family issues, and friendly gossips as they listen
to and take part in the oral performance as the aged or elderly in a family or
community leads the social gathering while serving as the oral Artist for the moment.
Usually, in African culture, the people take advantage of every occasion or gathering
to socialize and engage in relevant communal discussions. Example is the Yoruba
people of Nigeria‟s hunter’s chant. Ijala Ode though a chant but addresses the varied
economic viability of the Elephant, his physical, enormous nature and wonderful
frame which all combined a mixture of awe and of great economic value to man.
Trickster tales pf the tortoise are often told in such avenue.
Orature as Avenue for Entertainment
The different aspects of oral African literature by nature, be it poetry, drama or prose
explore every avenue to entertain the community, sometimes, singing, dancing and
drumming are involved, for instance, among the Igbo, the New Yam Festival that is
celebrated periodically among the Easterners is specifically indigenous and deeply
cultural to the Igbos, such that every Igbo from all works of life usually return to their
roots to take part in the New Yam festival. The cultural activity is both performative,
cultural and entertaining. Likewise, the Pgymies of the Congo basin in their poetry of
the moon, a replica of moonlight play from other parts of Africa is also an avenue in
which any virgin or man who is ripe enough to have a husband or take a wife as the
case may be looks around to take part in moonlight dance and looks around for a
husband and wife, as the case may be. The entertaining aspect of oral African
literature cannot go out of fashion, no matter African‟s level of civilization, the
Adimu-Orisa festival often celebrated among Oyo‟s, Ijebus and people of Lagos
though began as a ritual thing, but became an avenue for entertainment among
Lagosians of the time of King Dosumu of Lagos, and has flourished greatly in modern
Lagos as real sociable and entertaining show that accommodates audience of different
age group, and people from all works of life. Example is the anonymous poem of the
Igbo speaking people of Eastern Nigeria, Breaking Colanut. The poem depicts the
philosophical spiritual, social, economic and cultural symbol of the people.
Indigenous Education
Oral African literature is generally known to be avenue for the exhibition of the
people’s culture and promotion of indigenous education. Ever before Western
education was imported to Africa alongside colonialism and Christianity, Africans had
a way of educating their people, though the system of education may not take place in
the four walls of a classroom or in informal setting still Africans are gracefully
„schooled‟ in their „open air‟, under trees, market square where the people meet to
entertain and discuss their culture, tell stories, legendary tales about known and
unknown mysteries of the world that surrounds them, the wonders of their traditional
existence of necessity in every oral African performance is the way stories and tales
are education centres, essentially towards building new ideas that have moral basis
into the life of who all owe the society a duty to transmit the usually moral packed
indigenous education to succeeding generation; thus fulfilling the educational function
of oral African literature.
Communal Interaction and Socialization
Most oral African practises are spiritual and physical exercises and are not entirely an
indoor affair. Infact, they are conducted in open spaces that can accommodate a great
number of people. There are some oral performance that involves nearby communities
as it is the culture in African societies, such tales for instance, the Ekwesi festival in
Eastern Nigeria where every participant are by custom should dance to be seen by
neighbouring communities. Whenever such takes place, social interactions in all
forms, become inevitable among the participants, and such gives room for communal
expansion, through intercultural, intercommunal marriages through wide involvement
in such cultural exercise. For instance, among the Assagai of the traditional Zulu in
South Africa, tradition insists that when a virgin is to be given out in marriage,
immediately she leaves the fattening house, she must be accompanied by Oral Artists
who will sing the praise song of her lineage, accompanying her to neighbouring
community with pomp and pageantry. This is often done in groups of virgins not less
than five at a time while people will shower the virgin with material gifts in
preparation for her new home.
Learning Field‟ of African Culture
There are different avenues for learning African culture, the first is within the home
where one lives with one‟s parents, relations, extended family members, another is the
immediate community as well as when one runs into contact with an elder on the foot
path, one can also learn about the people’s culture where one 135
undertakes a job as apprentice like Ifa divination, hunting, weaving, pottery, farming,
and in the process of learning other forms of traditional occupation. In addition
orature is like a „learning field‟ or school in which one has gone to learn the
underlining philosophy of the people’s culture in all areas, and such includes moral,
religion and economy; how to drum, dance, show courtesy to elders and so on.
Example is the short anonymous Elegy of the Bahama speaking people of Uganda,
Lekhuem that praises a war hero who decorated his compound with the skulls and
skeletons of those he killed in the field of battle. He had a pot in which blood was
also stored. He was also said to drink woman blood in preparation for a battle. His
extreme bravery is still being discussed in Bahama-Ugandan culture in the modern
time.