scholarly journals Toward A Restoration of Societal Ethos with Reference on Chinua Achebe’s Writings

2020 ◽  
Vol 03 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mexan Serge EPOUNDA ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Dignity ◽  
Oral Tradition ◽  
Social Values ◽  
African Literature ◽  
Chinua Achebe ◽  
Oral Literature ◽  
The Past ◽  
Cultural Codes ◽  
Nigerian Immigrants ◽  
Societal Norms

Traditional oral literature of Africa is counted as one of the most distinctly and varied categories of African literature with Chinua Achebe as pioneer. In his writings, Achebe takes on the roles of social commentator and crusader through the conduit of orature to criticize the devaluation of cultural and societal norms. His later novels can be read imbued with the lamentation of the death of moral and social values in Nigerian society; the unspoken degradation of Nigerian immigrants in Europe and America, and the frequency with which corrupt practices have undermined the nation’s development. This paper examines how Achebe’s writings canvasses for a re-examination of societal ethos, which demands that the contemporary Nigeria settles. Therefore, the necessary actions should be taken in restoring, maintaining and preserving the oral tradition. Preservation is not just limited to keeping the form of oral tradition in the community, but the values that contained in the oral tradition with the past by recovering social, moral and cultural codes for the restoration of human dignity.

scholarly journals Bury my bones but keep my words: The interface between oral tradition and contemporary African writing

Literator ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 27-44
Author(s):  
M.J. Cloete
Keyword(s):  
Oral Tradition ◽  
African Literature ◽  
Ngugi Wa Thiong'o ◽  
Oral Literature ◽  
Bessie Head ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
School Curricula

The contention in this article is that African oral tradition should be reexamined in view of its perceived new importance in the work of African novelists. This article investigates the nature and definition of oral tradition, as well as the use of oral tradition as a cultural tool. The increasing inclusion of oral literature as part of the African literature component within university and school curricula is discussed. Finally, the pronounced role of oral tradition in fiction is examined, using as exemplars some seminal works of Bessie Head (1978, 1990 and 1995 ) and Ngugi wa Thiong’o (1965, 1977, 1981, and 1982).

Approaches to the Study of African Oral Literature

Africa ◽  
1972 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 140-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. O. Beidelman ◽  
Ruth Finnegan
Keyword(s):  
Oral Tradition ◽  
African Literature ◽  
Future Research ◽  
General Knowledge ◽  
Oral Literature ◽  
Opening Paragraph ◽  
Influential Book

Opening ParagraphDr. Ruth Finnegan's study Oral Literature in Africa (The Oxford Library of African Literature. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1970, pp. xix+558, £5) is likely to become an influential book. It surveys and summarizes much of our knowledge regarding the basic forms of African oral literature. Although there have been a number of essays published discussing some of the issues involved in recording, analysing, and appreciating such literature, as well as on the use of oral tradition for historical studies, this is the first modern attempt to take stock of our general knowledge in this field and to suggest how and along what paths future research should proceed.

scholarly journals JEJAK SEJARAH DALAM SASTRA LISAN DI NUSANTARA

TELAGA BAHASA ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Fadli Muslimin ◽  
Mira Utami
Keyword(s):  
Oral Tradition ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Close Relation ◽  
Oral Traditions ◽  
Oral Literature ◽  
The Past ◽  
Research Show

The oral literature had a close relation to history, where oral literature which is part of oral tradition become the main container in the delivery of historical facts. Therefore, tracking historical facts in oral literature in the archipelago. The purpose of this study is to reveal the historical traces that exist in oral traditions in Indonesia, especially those found in Bugis, Minangkabau, Sundanese, Banjar, Kerinci, and Sentani oral literature. The method used is the descriptive analysis utilizing the theory of Jan M. Vansina about oral tradition as history. The results of the research show that the historical content in oral literature tells about the origins of humans, the lives of the past kings, and their narrative tends to be personified. 

scholarly journals "Recalling-ls-Greatest": Personal Memory and Lyricism in Toyin Falola's A Mouth Sweeter than Salt and Counting the Tiger's Teeth

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Felicia Ohwovoriole
Keyword(s):  
African Literature ◽  
Chinua Achebe ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
Personal Memory ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
Personal Experiences ◽  
Major Trend ◽  
Written Traditions ◽  
Relationship Of

The reflective disclosure of the past is a major trend in African literature as indicated in writers like Wale Soyinka, Chinua Achebe and Ngugi Wa Thi­ong'o. Personal memory is also often employed aesthetically to mirror what is embedded in the past. Toyin Faiola the author of A Mouth Sweeter than Salt and Counting the Tiger's Teeth presents his childhood and teenage years, fam­ily history and the social and historical events of Ibadan, Ilorin and Ile-Ife, Nigeria. He also details his personal experiences as a witness to the Agbekoya rebellion of 1968-70. In presenting actions in the two self-narratives, Toyin Faiola exploits the resources of indigenous and contemporary African songs, incantatory chants and transliterated version of many lyrics. He uses the lyrics to also investigate the symbolic meaning of words used in the past and reiter­ates the prevalence of songs in Yoruba culture. The lyrics link together many themes as well as serving as an avenue for community and individual expres­sion. We have memorial songs, songs of rebellion, songs of sexuality and sa­tirical songs which mock teachers, the police and government officials. Faiola presents an inseparable relationship of mutual exchange between the oral and written traditions. However, our point of emphasis is to evaluate the context and usage of the lyrics and panegyrics in the two texts.

NILAI-NILAI KEARIFAN LOKAL DALAM TRADISI LISAN WARAG-WARAH DAN RINGGOK-RINGGOK SUKU KOMERING, SUMATERA SELATAN (VALUES OF LOCAL WISDOM IN ORAL TRADITION OF WARAH WARAH AND RINGGOK-RINGGOK OF KOMERING TRIBE, SOUTH SUMATRA)

ALAYASASTRA ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 73
Author(s):  
Ery Agus Kurnianto
Keyword(s):  
Social Relations ◽  
Oral Tradition ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Oral Traditions ◽  
Oral Literature ◽  
Belief In God ◽  
Real Effort ◽  
Descriptive Method

The focus of the problem in this study is the values of local wisdom within two oral traditions of Warag-Warah and Ringgok-Ringgok of Komering Tribe, South Sumatra. This study aimed to identify and to describe elements of local wisdom within those oral traditions. In addition, this study was established as a real effort to explore, to inventorize, and to document the oral traditions of Komering society. A descriptive method was applied in this study. The data were analyzed by applying qualitative approach on ethnographic elements to demonstrate and explain the value of local wisdom within those oral traditions. The theory applied in this study were oral literature and local wisdom. The conclusion from the analysis proved that there was a concept of social relations among individuals, among individuals and society, among social groups, and among individuals and their God. The value of local wisdom that had been identified were: 1) belief in God, 2) deliberation, 3) responsibility and 4) helping each other. The actualization of the value of local wisdom within the oral traditions of Warag-Warah and Ringgok-Ringgok was in form of behaving in ways that help each other, solving problems by means of deliberation and responsibility. Keywords: Oral tradition, warah-warah, ringgok-ringgok, local wisdom values.

Fyodor Fyodorovich Martens (1845–1909) a humanist of modern times

1996 ◽  
Vol 36 (312) ◽  
pp. 300-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladimir Pustogarov
Keyword(s):  
Oral Tradition ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Mutual Aid ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
Contemporary World ◽  
The Past ◽  
History Of ◽  
Ancient Record ◽  
Peace And War ◽  
The Ideal

In the history of humankind, no matter how far back we look into the past, peaceful relations between people and nations have always been the ideal, and yet this history abounds in wars and bloodshed. The documentary evidence, oral tradition and the mute testimony of archaeological sites tell an incontrovertible tale of man's cruelty and violence against his fellow man. Nevertheless, manifestations of compassion, mercy and mutual aid have a no less ancient record. Peace and war, goodneighbourly attitudes and aggression, brutality and humanity exist side by side in the contemporary world as well.

Oral Literature and Transculturality: A Study of Contemporary Cameroonian Songs

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-64
Author(s):  
Anne Obono Essomba
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Oral Tradition ◽  
Culture Shock ◽  
Oral Literature ◽  
Universal Values ◽  
Hybrid Product ◽  
The Way

Globalization led by Europe has spread so-called 'universal' values across the globe, which seems to have cultural intermingling as its backdrop. All human endeavors are based on a culture that has become multidimensional. All the time, in their diversity, cultures try to complement and absorb each other. However, in this meeting of cultural giving and receiving, it takes on a new face, the culture shock.  This encounter causes major changes in our modern societies, giving way to a loss of cultural identity and internal imbalance. This article aims to analyze the way in which contemporary Cameroonian musicians use cultural and linguistic facts for communication purposes and other arguments. The aim of our work is to show how the various songwriters have found, through song, a new mode of resistance so that African traditions escape sedimentation. In this way, they reconcile the elements of oral tradition and the contributions of modernity to create a hybrid product. To illustrate our point, we have chosen oral texts from different regions of Cameroon.  In order to better understand the transcultural reality in the texts, we will highlight the marks of traditional and modern aesthetics, then show that the transcultural is seen as a space of symbiosis between the traditional and the modern.

The identity of the Kyrgyz: a historical and social study (Part 1)

2021 ◽  
pp. 380-389
Author(s):  
ŞENGÜL ÇEBİ İSRA
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Social Study ◽  
Frames Of Reference ◽  
Cultural Discourses ◽  
Common Culture ◽  
The Past ◽  
Common Heritage ◽  
Cultural Codes ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Individual

Identity is the expression of an individual's self-definition and self-positioning. It gives the answer to who a person is and what his worldview is. It is the definition of being and belonging. It is the explanation of what the individual is, both socially and psychologically. It is clear that identity, which is the focus of our research, is a concept related to belonging, what we have in common with some people and what differentiates a person from others. Based on this definition, it can be stated that identity is characterized by sharing certain things and, on the basis of these common points, a person is differentiated from other groups of people and approaches a group to which he feels belonging. In this understanding, identity is determined not by the norms that characterize the culture of a particular period, but by the existence of a community of people who share a common heritage, such as language and history: “… our identities reflect common historical experiences and common cultural codes that provide us as «a people» with stable, unchanging and permanent frames of reference and meaning under the changing distinctions and changes of our true history.» Accordingly, we can define the Kyrgyz identity through «a common culture, a common history and a kind of collective real identity shared by all members of the clan». However, the Kyrgyz identity accepts cultural identity as a reality belonging to both the future and the past. In this direction, the Kyrgyz identity is a positioning formed within the framework of historical and cultural discourses. In the light of this information, in this study, we will reveal the historical roots of the Kyrgyz identity.

Constructing a Precolonial Owan Chronology and Dating Framework

1994 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 219-249
Author(s):  
Onaiwu W. Ogbomo
Keyword(s):  
Oral Tradition ◽  
African History ◽  
Accurate Assessment ◽  
Historical Reconstruction ◽  
Historical Events ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
The Past ◽  
Relative Chronology ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Genealogical Data

Oral tradition has been recognized by historians as a vital source for historical reconstruction of non-literate societies. However, one of its “deficienc[ies] is an inability to establish and maintain an accurate assessment of the duration of the past [it] seeks to reconstruct.” As a result of its time-lessness it has been declared ahistorical. In the same vein R.A. Sargent argues that [c]hronology is the framework for the reconstruction of the past, and is vital to the correlation of evidence, assessment of data, and the analysis of historical sources. Any construction of history [which] fails to consider or employ dating and the matrix of time to examine the order and nature of events in human experience can probably be labelled ahistorical.Basically, the concern of critics of oral tradition is that, while they are veritable sources of history, the researcher “must work and rework them with an increasing sophistication and critical sense.” Because dating is very pivotal to the historian's craft, different techniques have been adopted alone or in combination to create a relative chronology. In precolonial African history, the most commonly used have been genealogical data which include dynastic generations, genealogical generations (father-to-son succession) and the age-set generation. Also systematically charted comets, solar eclipses, and droughts have been employed by historians in dating historical events, or in calculating the various generational lengths.A dynastic generation is determined by “the time elapsing between the accession of the first member of a given generation to hold office and the accession of the first representative of the next.”

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