Introduction
In this unit, you will learn about pre-colonial / traditional forms of oral literature which serve as antecedents of modern day prose fiction. These forms manifest in different ways from one ethnic group to another. The oral form is the earliest form of literature across the world. Like African literature, Western literature developed from oral narratives as well. For instance, Greek and Roman myths or legends like that of Oedipus, Ulysses and Aeneid inspired great works of classical literature. In the same way, the oral forms influenced early Nigerian writers as they attempted to represent their African experience through the novel or the short story medium. The playwrights are not left out as they re- enact some myths and make copious use of other oral narrative forms of proverbs, riddles and many others in their plays. Poets also draw inspiration from their cultural background and reflect some aspects of oral forms in their works. You should therefore learn to pay more attention to the oral narrative forms as it will help you to understand the development of modern Nigerian literature, better.
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3.1 Oral Literature
Generally, literature is a word that is applied to virtually anything that is written under the sun. For instance a manufacturer who is offering the consumer some new products encloses it in a leaflet or manual containing more information on the product or gives some prescription on its use. This is called literature. Similarly, every discipline from humanities to social sciences, law, environmental studies, and mathematics to medical sciences has its own literature. It is therefore necessary for us to distinguish the literature we intend to discourse in this material. Nkem Okoh categorized literature into literature of knowledge and literature of power. Literature of knowledge refers to the literature that gives more information on products or subjects while literature of power is imaginative (1). We are concerned with the latter, the imaginative type of literature.
This imaginative literature is a powerful form of human expression in an artistic manner. It is an art that conveys its message through language. This language is organized in a colourful manner to make it enjoyable. The writer uses words in their denotative and connotative ways in order to please the audience. Generally, literature is expected to delight and instruct. Through literature, we learn more about, people, the physical, psychological, religious, political, cultural and social issues in the world around us. It also inculcates values, imparts knowledge and helps us in our intellectual and emotional growth as individuals. In fact, it helps us also to understand human beings and their interpersonal relationships better.
Literature therefore is a composition in language (words) which tells stories, represents, mirrors, enacts or dramatizes real life situations, advocates ideas and expresses emotion. We are familiar with works like Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, Zulu Sofola’s Wedlock of the Gods or J.P. Clarks “Abiku” or even popular nursery rhymes like “Baa baa Black Sheep” or “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”. These are works of imagination that tell stories about events, animals, concepts, or objects. As we read them, we learn more about the world around us while at the same time we enjoy the stories presented. The unique feature of literature is made manifest more in its use of denotative and connotative language. This means that words are used in their literal, figurative or symbolic sense. The writer, through the manipulation of words, sends his message across to his/her audience.
3.2 Oral Literature
Generally, literature is seen as a form of expression in which ideas of local and universal interests are presented. It is presented in the form of poetry, romance, history, biography, essays, and other forms of writing. It is used to denote a piece of writing that deals with a particular subject.
The definition of literature above emphasizes written literature but in this section we are concerned with oral literature. What is oral literature? In simple terms, oral literature is a spoken imaginative communication that is not written but transmitted through the word of the mouth for entertainment and sometimes edification of the audience. Oral literature therefore means literature that is not written but presented orally, preserved and transmitted from one generation to the other in that form.
Oral literature reflects the people’s way of life. Those from riverine areas for instance base their folklore on the sea/sea animals while a race of hunters dwell move on hunting, animals and the forest. Thus we have different versions of the same basic story, in which the setting and characters change according to the occupation and environment of the people. Generally oral literature is realized in performance. The performer in oral tradition “formulates it in words on specific occasions” (and) renders the performance to suit the occasion. Unfortunately, as the oral form is translated and written in a foreign language for documentation or used in literary works, the actualization of an aesthetic experience of the original work is not realized. This is because the general tones, symbolic associations and meanings of words and phrases are lost in most cases.
3.3 Classification of Oral Literature
Oral Literature, like the written form, is categorized under three broad genres.
The spoken form – prose
The sung form – poetry
The performance – drama
A. Prose
The spoken form is further divided into such as
. Myths
. Fables
. Legends
. Folktales
. Anecdotes
. Riddles
. Proverbs and
. Tongue Twisters.
B. Poetry
The sung form is realized in different forms of songs presented on different occasions like works, births, wars, marriages, funerals and other ceremonies. These are presented in poetic forms.
. They are further grouped into the following types of poetry
. Musical poetry
. Lyrics
. Dirges/Elegy
. Invocative poetry
. Didactic poetry
. Narrative poetry
. Praise Poetry
. Heroic Poetry
. Satirical Poetry
. War Poetry
. Ritual poetry
. Casual poetry
. Special Occasion poetry e.g. Births, Weddings …
C. Drama
The Performance comes in form of
. Masquerades
. Dance
. Festivals
. Ritual.
3.4 Traditional Oral Narrative/Prose Forms in Nigeria
Before the advent of the novel, the novella and the written short story genres, there existed in many Nigerian cultures, stories that recorded the people’s cultural experiences. These stories serve as the repository of the people’s beliefs, social philosophies and observations about life. They also provide insightful information about their environments. In these stories, we find the people’s attitudes to natural phenomena and depict the way of life of a particular community. The stories are generally educative while they entertain the audience. They are also part of the socialization process, because through them, the community perpetuates its knowledge, values and experience. They attempt to explain the origin of existence, and also present the lives and contributions of great personages. In addition, they create a nexus between the past and the present. Sometimes this past dates back to the primordial or prehistoric era. Modern Nigerian written prose narrative evolved from the traditional oral narratives. They include myths, legends, folktales and fables.
3.4.1 Myths
Myth refers to an ancient story or a body of stories that attempt to explicate the early history or origin of a people. Myths are set in primordial times. It is presented as incidents or events that happened “in those days”, so, it is difficult to situate myths in a particular period hence there is no date for the origin of myths. It is assumed that they exist in each community. Myths also help to explain the process, the whys and where fores of certain natural events which are usually viewed or sound mysterious. Stories about the origin of a community are often regarded as myths because they appeal to the imaginative fancies of the people. Myths essentially fuse the physical with the metaphysical and the natural with the supernatural. Hence, they cannot be meaningfully subjected to the rules of logic, rationalism and empiricism. An example of myth is the creation story of Yoruba people of Western Nigeria that traces the origin of the people to a myth which states that Olodumare sent Orunmila to the earth but the whole place was flooded. Orunmila then sent the dove which perched on top of the water and deposited the sand it clutched in its two legs. The sand that was deposited started expanding on top of the water thereby gaining more solid lands. The act of spreading which in Yoruba
means Ife, is where Ife got its name Ife and the town is regarded as the origin of the Yoruba race.
Myths also try to explain certain phenomena in the traditional societies like the origin of life and death, other great forces of nature and the reasons why certain features are where they are or why certain things happen. They deal principally with past events relating to the origin of the universe, the creation of heaven and earth, the separation of the sky sea from the land. They also try to explain other matters of great significance for instance another Yoruba myth of creation claims that a primogenitor called Oduduwa descended from heaven to the earth through a chain, a bag of sand and a pigeon in hand. He began the work of creation and expansion of the earth with the help of the pigeon at a spot that became known today as Ile Ife (meaning “the place where the land began to expand”). Hence, in the two myths, Ile Ife is seen as the origin of mankind.
Akporobaro (2006:48) defines myth as “a kind of story or rudimentary narrative sequence, normally traditional and anonymous, through which a given culture ratifies its social customs or accounts for the origin of human and natural phenomena, usually in supernatural or boldly imaginative terms”. People tend to regard myths as being false or unreliable, but its literary quality is assured.
Myth is close to legend. It is however, distinguished from it because myth is far removed from history. Etiological myths explain why certain truths about human existence have come to be. For instance, the story about why the sky is separated from the earth exists in many Nigerian cultures and such a story is classified as etiological myth. The coming of death into the world and the struggle between good and evil, are other examples of such myths.
This prose narrative which in the society where they were told are considered to be truthful accounts of what happened in the remote past is myth. They are accepted on faith; they are taught to be believed and they can be quoted as authority in answer to ignorance, doubt, or disbelief. Myths are the embodiments of dogma; they are usually sacred; and they are often associated with theology and ritual. Their man character are animals, deities, or cultural heroes, whose actions are set in an earlier world, when earth was different from what it is today, or in another world such as the sky or underworld.
3.4.2 Legends
Legend is set in the past but deals with heroes/heroines in a known past. The link between myth and legend is that both are set in the past. However, they differ in nature. Unlike myth, legend has some measure of claim to history in an unknown past. Legend refers to a story that is passed down orally from one generation to another and has its foundation in history. They are fragments of history that help to teach morals, encourage and inspire members of the community. They are close to life and some of them are authentic. They tell stories of people who actually lived and the things that really happened. However, most of them are embellished to enhance the aesthetic perspectives of the stories and make them move fascinating, and entertaining. Legends present personalities and events that are believed to have existed in the history of a particular community, whereas myth draws its subject from gods, superhuman entities and natural phenomenon. Thus, the deeds of great warriors, kings and leaders of a community are woven into legends. Legends have provided inspiration for the modern Nigerian novelist and short story writers.
3.4.3 Folktales
This is the most popular and important form of oral literature.
Folktales are narrative stories constructed from the imagination of people over time. They are as old as the culture of the people. The tales may be about human beings or animal community or both in mutual interaction. From the above description, you have seen that unlike myths and legends, they are not concerned with history or set in primordial times. They are mainly fictitious and depict the cultural background of the people. They are mainly didactic and most of the moral principles that a child received in the traditional society used to come from folktales. The Predominantly didactic or moralistic nature of folktales combined with entertainment make them the most popular form of oral narratives. Folktales make no claim to historical antecedent or factual background. The ultimate end is to entertain and teach moral principles. Folktales feature in the moonlight night story-telling sessions of different ethnic groups in the country and are not identified with any individual author. They are handed down from one generation to another. It is important to note that Amos Tutuola, D.O. Fagunwa and Chinua Achebe drew heavily from the folktale traditions of their people in Forest of a Thousand Demons, The Palm Wine Drinkard and Things Fall Apart respectively. The stories are made up of inexhaustible exploits of the trickster, either as tortoise, hare, or fox usually narrated to children by adults at night in many cultures.
3.4.4. Fables
Fables are stories that are considered fictitious and imaginary. They draw their subjects essentially from the animal world. Adults use fables also to teach morals to the young generations for whom they are primarily, composed. As the animal characters speak and act, they remind us of the human world and its load of vices, intrigues, virtues and moral principles. As such, fables derive their significance from the imitation of, and relevance to the concrete realities of human existence. You should note that fables are essentially imaginative and fictitious stories that are not founded on history or reality.
Self Assessment Exercise
Narrate the myth of creation of your ethnic group.
Conclusion
To conclude this unit, it is evident from the discussion that Nigerian written literature has its roots in the oral narrative tradition of the various ethnic groups in the country. The modern writer has myths, legends, folktales and fables of his/her culture to draw from in the creation of his/her literary compositions.
Summary
The unit has traced the origin of Nigerian literature in the oral narrative traditions of different ethnic groups. It stresses the importance of oral traditions in the development of the literature. It also underscores the import of indigenous myths, legends, folktales and fables in the evolution of the Nigerian novel and short story. Many Nigerian literary artists, especially the novelists draw from the oral narratives. Folktale is seen as the root of modern Nigerian novel.
Tutor Marked Assignment
Define myth and legend. Examine the differences between myth and legend
References/Further Readings
Akporobaro, F.B.O. (2006). Introduction to African Oral Literature. Ikeja: Princeton
Publishing Company.
Bascom, William (1965) “Forms of Folklore: Prose Narratives” in Journal of American
Folklore 78:3-20
Finnegan, Ruth (1965). Oral Literature in Africa. London: Oxford University Press. Okpewho, Isidore (1990). The Oral Performance in Africa. Ibadan: Spectrum Books. Okoh, Nkem (2008) Preface to Oral Literature Onitsha: Africana first Publishers Ltd.
Taiwo, Oladele (1985) An Introduction to West African Literature Nairobi: Nelson.
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