ORAL AND WRITTEN LITERATURE

1. ORAL AND WRITTEN LITERATURE

2. African Oral And Written Literature • Introduction • Traditional Literature • Fables, Folktales, Myths & Legends • Poetry • The Novel • Conclusion

3. Introduction • Western definition • Imaginative or critical writings whether in the form of prose or verse • To become literature, stories, proverbs, legends, etc. must to recorded • For a long time, there was not written language in most of Africa (literature is Latin for “written”) • Attempts were made by colonists to document oral literature

4. Traditional Or Oral Literature • Used interchangeably to refer to stories that have become the cultural heritage of the community • Most African stories have moral endings, however, many are composed for entertainment • Stories have been revised by the teller and tailored to the audience of a particular place or time

5. Fables • Seen as fiction as designed to teach • Straight out instruction and open ended for interpretation • What is in print is only a small part of the storytelling event and make the lessons memorable • Fables usually use animal characters to educate the reader or listener • Aimed at children to teach them the values of the community • Community knows that the story is fiction, but the message is considered important

6. Myths • Considered sacred stories that deal with origins and explanations of natural phenomenon and human institutions • Original tellers thought the stories to be true and treated them as sacred • Myths are not usually fictitious stories

7. Folktales • Seen as fiction as in fables and also used to teach indirectly, but also to express the individual and communities hopes and fears, to provide entertainment and to create a role model of desirable conduct for the community • Brothers Grimm made the folktale famous • Characters tend to be humans who encounter adventures and problems but can contain animals

8. Legends • Unverified stories, more closely related to history or biography • Reflect peoples ideals as embodied in the actions of heroes • Tell a people’s history as recalled thorough oral tradition and used frequently to create a cultural or political identify for the group • Some legends tell the significance of specific landmarks like mountains and waterfalls

9. Group Assignment • Break into groups • Each person read your example • Select one example • Try to determine if it is a myth, fable, legend or folktale • Determine if there is a moral or lesson involved • Select a team member to read the story to the class and present your findings

10. Poetry • More contemporary than traditional literature • Family rites connected with birth, death, marriage, religious ceremonies were all occasions to recite poetry • Part of every day life • Hunting, harvesting, preparing meals • Poets, like griots can be esteemed or distained based on the culture • The larger the poets repertoire, the more respected they are • Modern poetry is concerned with cultural, social, political or economic life • Themes could deal with spirits, death, oppression

11. The Novel • The African novel in new • Most novels were an outgrowth of the society in which the author lived • Moving from a limited view to a global view of life • Wrote of traditional life, religion and colonial oppression • Novelists have gained worldwide recognition since independence

12. Conclusion • Long journey to develop its own written literature and to preserve the oral traditions • Themes must go beyond colonial past and focus on the future and provide a sense of direction