WHAT IS AFRICAN LITERATURE?
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In the process, African writers had to use the language of the colonizers—an experience objected to by many critics and writers of African descent. It is on this basis that numerous African writers have returned to using their own dialects first, before translating into foreign languages like English, French, Portuguese, or any other inherited colonial language.
African Literature delves into the experiences of African writers who, through their literary works, express dissatisfaction or anger over the dislocation of African society and their efforts to rectify it.
African Literature includes literary works by Africans originating from Africa or Africans based outside the continent. Thus, works from North Africa, South Africa, East and West Africa are included in most studies of African Literature. Most African countries share the burden of colonial ideology and issues surrounding crises of cultural identity. In post-colonial African culture, nations still struggle with problems such as neo-colonialism, ethnicity, and the quest to establish their identity in the international arena. African Literature can be broadly categorized into three phases from 1900 to 1940.
THE FIRST PHASE OF AFRICAN LITERATURE (1900 - 1940)
Considering the significance of the oral genre in modern African Literature, it would be incorrect to claim that African Literature began solely in the 20th century. In the early part of the twentieth century, Africa underwent exposure to Western education. Many African writers from the 20th century, who returned to their countries after studying abroad, were praised for their thematic concerns and issues in literary works. Their works have been categorized as the inception of African Literature. Examples of such works include those written by Gladys May Casely Hayford and Thomas Mafolo. The latter authored "The Traveller of the East" (1934), "Chaka" (1925), and "Pitseng" (1910). His initial novel was composed in his native Sesuto language, later translated into English.
THE SECOND PHASE OF AFRICAN LITERATURE (1940- 1960)
The second phase of African Literature spans from 1945 to the independence era in 1960. This period was marked by political agitations throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa, with intense literary activity and protests against cultural imperialism. From the 1800s to the 1920s, European writers acted as the mouthpiece for African writers, drawing on their experiences as colonial masters and administrators to reinforce and popularize erroneous images of African people.
This second phase propelled writers such as Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, Aime Cessaire, Tchicanya Utamsi, and Mongo Beti, among others, who used their works to challenge and reverse the negative portrayal of Africa found in 'classical' novels like Joyce Cary’s "Mister Johnson" and Joseph Conrad’s "Heart of Darkness." Many African writers from this phase relied on aspects of oral tradition, literature, and culture as literary tools to counter Eurocentric depictions of Africa.
These writers, for instance, depicted characters struggling to adapt to a highly individualized way of life, contrasting with the collective, people-oriented lifestyle they were accustomed to—a culture that catered to the overall well-being of all. The changing society captured in the creative works of African writers like Leopold Sedar Senghor, Aime Cesaire, Leo Gotran Damas, David Diop, and Birago Diop reflects the adoption of the African philosophy, Negritude, to protest colonial exploitation and denigration of African culture and ideology.
Leopold Sedar Senghor, the Senegalese poet and writer, defined Negritude as "the sum total of civilized values of the black world." African writers from this period presented an African identity to the world, countering the pitiable image of Africa prevalent across Europe during that time.
Literature reflects the social and political experiences of a particular time and place. For instance, in 1948, the Apartheid regime of South Africa imposed various restrictions on both writers and non-writers. Black authors, lacking access to publishing houses, struggled to publish their works, with only Afrikaner writers who were pro-apartheid or subtle apologists finding success. South African writers like Nadine Gordimer, Doris Lessing, Athol Fugard, J. M. Coetzee, and Alan Paton produced what became known as South African plays. Some black South African writers, such as Es'kia Mphahlele, Peter Abrahams, Alex La Guma, Bessie Head, and Dennis Brutus, wrote from exile, projecting the theme of apartheid in their works. Other writers whose ideals opposed the philosophy of apartheid were subtle and 'selective' in the themes of their creative works.
However, language plays a central role in the attempt to establish an identity for African Literature. This is because most literature from the region is written in English, French, and Portuguese, and many African countries inherit a tradition that is foreign or alien to their people. Due to historical, political, and geographical experiences, the literature that emerged from the language contact and experience bears a distinct coloration termed African Literature.
THE THIRD PHASE OF AFRICAN LITERATURE (1960-PRESENT)
The response to the language dilemma has been taken seriously during the third and current phase of the development of African Literature. Ngugi wa Thiong'o is a prominent and practical example of the language exponent and the issue at hand. He wrote his work, "I Will Marry When I Want," first in his native Kikuyu tongue and later translated it into the English language. This is in line with the belief that, for Africans to assert possession of a literature, it must be written in a language that is native to them. However, some schools of thought have challenged this view due to the multilingual nature of many countries in Africa. For instance, in Nigeria alone, there are over 450 languages, most of which are shared mutually. It becomes difficult to restrict the publication of creative works to a specific language or one's mother tongue. To avoid a form of 'literary babel,' it becomes imperative for a language of the colonial masters to be used in expressing African Literature.
RELATIVITIES AND REGIONAL DIFFERENCES IN AFRICAN CULTURES
The concept of Africa in the imagination of the West is colored with distortion, degradation, blackmail, and denial. Africa was believed to be situated in an irrelevant and hidden part of the globe covered with 'darkness.' The continent was also depicted as populated by barbarous blacks who had no history or religion. However, during the 1950s and the 1960s, African writers became the 'light' that dispelled the ignorance and 'darkness' associated with Africa and Africans. These writers took on the creative task of showcasing the culture, tradition, politics, customs, and history of the continent and its people. Their writings significantly contributed to the quest for independence during the pre-independence era in many African countries.
In the twentieth century, many indigenous writings in Africa were preoccupied with political themes and issues. African poets employed imagery, local expressions, and figures of speech drawn from the rich African oral tradition. However, African writers faced a dilemma regarding the language of expression — whether to use the colonial language or their own. There was also the challenge of translating the rich repertoire of African oral literature into English/French/Portuguese, highlighting language as a cultural accumulation and historical transmission tool. African writers responded to the issue of colonialism in different ways: some rejected the Western ideology of the African continent and its people, while others made room for compromise.
AFFECTIVITIES: AFRICAN VERSUS WESTERN CULTURAL VALUES
As society becomes more complex and cosmopolitan, cultural patterns undergo changes to accommodate emerging ones. This is evident in the infiltration of Western cultural values into Africa, a phenomenon described by Kofi Awoonor (George Awoonor Williams), the Ghanaian poet from the Volta region, as the "Hallelujah of our second self."
Orality plays a crucial role in contemporary creativity, as seen in the literary works of poets like Niyi Osundare and Kofi Awoonor, who write in Yoruba and Ewe tongues. Osundare often code-mixes and incorporates orature into his poetic compositions (as seen in his poetry collections, "Songs of the Market Place" and "Waiting Laughters"). Contemporary African poets translate poems from the pool of oral African renditions into foreign languages such as French, English, Portuguese, and other inherited colonial languages. Given the diverse ethnic nationalities in Africa, each region has different poetic patterns in oral poetry. For example, among Ghanaians, Akan poetry praises the dead, in contrast to the tonal pattern of oral recitation in Yoruba poetry. Oral recitation is regional, revealing the environment and life of the people. Akan poetry is enriched through the use of drums and horns at the end of each poetic movement. An example of Akan poetry translated by Audu Koffi is provided below:
He is the one,
O father wake up
What is it my child?
Was the Toucana crying
Really!
You are a good boy to
Mistake the horns of
Amaniampong for the crying of
Toucana.
The recitative genre is half spoken and half sung. It celebrates the dead or ancestors. Every age group among the Akan has their own poetry.
Below is an example of Akan poetry that address Akan ancestors:
Gransire Opon Sasraku
I asking you to help me in clearing the forest to make a farm Then I ask you to help me in felling trees on the farm
Then I ask you to help me in making mounds
for theyam seeds
but for harvesting the yams, I do not need your help …
The ancestor is usually summoned for assistance.
The character in the poem is in search of honor, bravery and economic empowerment.
Another example of oral poetry of the Akan-speaking people of Ghana is the song of praises which a group of women often singin praise of the protection and generosity of an
Akan king:
Shall we praise God for the king
Let us praise His shower of blessing
Praise the Chief of the four corners
Our king of the centre
Boaten of Woonnoo, Akuamoa of Kyerekyere
When he was dedicating his new palace
He slaughtered cattle for his people
And caused women to cook for the town
He showered gifts on women
Secured the road to Sekyere …
The song dedicates and pays homage to the kindness of the king, who is considered the mouthpiece of God on earth. The king is praised extensively for being security-conscious, at the center of unity, recognizing his people, and involving them in ceremonies such as house warming or palace dedication. The society prays for the king, the community, and the nation, placing Almighty God and the Akan king at the apex of government and control. The recitation is vital to the community, and the Akan drum and horn produce oral poetry in sounds, serving as accompanying instruments to the women's voices.
Oral poetry is also prevalent among the Hausa in Nigeria. Praise poetry of the Hausa is often sung by praise singers as a tribute to the Emirs (Kings). The poetry of the Hausa is crafted to suit their socio-economic conditions and/or class distinctions in society. These poems are sung to the beat of drums (kalangu) and other instruments, with some lines being epigrammatic, using phonemic sounds to create effects.
The Yoruba, with its tonality, expresses daily life through idioms, metaphors, and proverbs indirectly. Various aspects of Yoruba life, such as harvesting, planting, masquerading, funerals, festivals, homage, and worships of gods and goddesses like Ogun (the god of Iron) and Sanponan (the god of poxes), provide ready content for poetry and chants. Epic poetry in Yoruba, known as Ewi, is chanted in a high-pitched voice accompanied by the drum.
Ewi is classified into 'Rara,' often chanted at a slow pace similar to the chant of church litanies, and 'Ofo' or 'Ogede,' which are magic words employed to gain supernatural assistance. The latter is chanted in praise of an individual, deity, or thing, such as the Iroko tree (Mahogany). Yoruba praise poems celebrate one's genealogy, glorify one's attributes or deficiencies, and use repetition, digressions, epigrams, oxymora, allusions, hyperboles, heteronyms, and word pictures. An epic poem is a significant political poetry dealing with war, embracing the bravery of the subject of praise. Below is an example of a Yoruba epic poem about the legendary Yoruba warrior:
Olugbon agbe offspring of a titled woman in the society of circumcisers
The elephant grass does not grow in forest but in the farm clearing
Man of war carrying sheaves of arrows
Gunyandemi, an el derly man tilling his farm
Rokademi, offspring of Eruuku
Who ever fought a war for the Eso in their absence?
Man of war carrying large numbers of arrows
Plenty of agony-inflicting powers …
The poem discusses the legendary Yoruba field marshal of the Alafin of Oyo, the political center of the Yoruba Kingdom. Tradition holds that the field marshal's real name is Yanbiolu, a weaver of clothes and a renowned military strategist. The King of Oyo encountered him during one of his tours while Yanbiolu was carrying raffia (iko) for weaving. Intrigued, the king asked his page to invite the strange man. Confused, the page called the strange man with raffia "Onikoyi," and that is how the name came to be. The name later became the significant imprint of the strange man, who became the field marshal of the Alafin (King) of Oyo, building his kingdom solely on military prowess through the valor of Onikoyi. He created a military force of about 1,460 soldiers.
Although heroic recitations have lost much of their traditional importance among West Africans, poems have assumed a new dimension while adapting to changing times. Works of poetry in West Africa owe their rhetorical dimension and conventions to oral traditions. For example, Soyinka’s "Idanre" reveals the characteristics and mythic prowess of Ogun, the god of metallurgy, while "Kongi’s Harvest" depicts conflicts between the past and present, traditional versus Western-styled democracy in Africa. Wole Soyinka’s satires may have been written for intellectuals, but he borrows largely from Yoruba oral tradition, similar to Christopher Okigbo, the Igbo poet, who invokes the spirit of his ancestors, as seen in his poem "Heavensgate."
Since 1966, the volume of literary writing in English increased with the emergence of notable African writers like Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Taban Lo Liyong, Okot p. Bitek, David Rubadiri, John Mbiti, and Joseph Kariuki. Each of these writers has drawn from their African background to create works in English expression. Most of such works made it possible for the new generation of Africans to read about events formerly celebrated only in oral poetry. Historical events like the Mau Mau revolution of the 1950s, Maji Maji revolts of 1905, and the bitter experiences of post-independence African nations become subjects of literary discourse. The Ugandan poet Okot p. Bitek’s "Songs of Okot" is a backlash against the over-dependence on Western values and lifestyles by Africans. The poet completely rejects the West.
Woman
Shut up
Pack your things
Go!
Take all the clothes
I bought you
The beads, necklaces
And the remains
Of the utensils
I need no second-hand things …P.121
In the poem, Ocol, the Westernized African, holds a dislike for his wife, the unrefined Lawino (Africa), who serves as a symbol of African traditional culture. Instead of refining her, Ocol chooses to ridicule and despise her. Ocol is depicted as a failure who fails to use his education to uplift his own culture. The poem portrays apparent spiritual and cultural disappointment in Western education and civilization, thus Song of Lawino merges the cultural, spiritual, and political values of the people.
In East Africa, the traditional Gikuyu, Luo, Masai, Baganda, and Bahima of Ankole represent a cross-section of East Africans well-versed in oral tradition, with a strong attachment to the land. This connection is particularly significant as they had to contend with Europeans who forcefully acquired their land. East African oral poets focus on praise names and recitations of poetry to protect their land. For instance, the Bahima cattle rearers of Uganda chant poetry called ‘Omwevugi’ in the evenings, following the custom of the people.
The dynamics of Western influence in South Africa differ from those in East and West Africa. Africans in South Africa have endured the bitterness of imperial domination since the fifteenth century, a bitterness reflected in their oral poetry. South African oral poetry is characterized by metrical rhythm, similes, personifications, metaphors, structural condensation, and emotive repetition. An example is provided below:
A lion came from Mokgalwana, roaring
It appeared from Mfete Willow grove;
It was not a lion, but a small cub
It was not a lion of any repute
It made a rush at the monster
The monster was a sechele motswasele
And the big lions, the old males
Stumbled away in flight.
The poem recounts the war that took place between 1875 and 1883 involving King Lentswe of the Kgatla and King Scheele of the Kwana. King Lentswe, a respected ruler who had lived for approximately half a century, faced off against King Scheele, a minor who ascended to the throne in the year the war began.
The mock-heroic poem portrays the former king as a cub and the latter as the lion; the minor is depicted as the monster who eventually flees in flight. The poem utilizes repetition for emphasis and employs personification and symbolism, culminating in the final line. Oral poetry serves the purpose of consolidating social issues in both ancient and modern African societies, preserving culture, and responding to changes within the broader African context.
CONCLUSION/SUMMARY
We have discussed the meaning of African Literature, the phases of African Literature, and what African culture entails. We have also discussed the relativities and regional difference in African cultures as well as how Western culture affects African cultural values.
In this unit, you have learnt the following:
. The definition of the concept of African Literature.
. Phases of African Literature.
. Western impression of Africa in the 1920s through the 1950s.
. African writers ’ reaction to Western negative portrayal of Africa.
. Relativities in African cultural practices.
REFERENCES/FURTHER READING
Achebe, Chinua (1975) Morning Yet on Creation Day. Essays. London:
Heinemann.
Alice, Warner (1928) Native Poetry in East Africa. Nairobi: Longman
Aschroft, Bill (1995) The Post-colonial Studies Reader. London: Routledge
Ayese S. A. (2014) The Crossings: Plot Structure of African Novels. Lagos: B
Prints
Clive, Wake (1960) Anthology of African and Malagasy Poetry in English and French. London: Penguin Books.
Darthorne, O. R. (1976) African Literature in the 20th Century. Ibadan: HEB
John Janheinz (1963) The Handbook of African Literature. New York: New York University Press.
Okot, P. B. (1984) Song of Lawino and Song of Ocol. London: Heinemann Educational Books Ltd.
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