Apart from these, there are several other themes peculiar to African literature. Apartheid, Negritude, Assimilation, Racism, lack of education, dual identity of the mixed people etc . are some of them dealt with, in the powerful writing from the African Continent. However, every African writer is “two people”.
What is the purpose of Storytelling in the African context?
Storytelling in Africa has been manifested in many ways and was used to serve many purposes. It was used to interpret the universe, resolve natural and physical phenomena, teach morals, maintain cultural values, pass on methods of survival, and to praise God .
What is the theme of storytelling in African literature?
African proverbs and stories draw upon the collective wisdom of oral peoples, express their “structures of meaning, feeling , thought, and expression,” and thus serve important social and ethical purposes: “The story itself is a primary form of the oral tradition, primary as a mode of conveying culture, experience, and ...
What is African storytelling?
African storytelling: A Communal Participatory Experience
It is a shared communal event where people congregate together, listening, and participating in accounts and stories of past deeds, beliefs, wisdom, counsel, morals, taboos, and myths (Ngugi wa Thiong’o 1982, Utley 2008).
What are the themes of African writings?
Mazrui and others mention seven conflicts as themes: the clash between Africa’s past and present , between tradition and modernity, between indigenous and foreign, between individualism and community, between socialism and capitalism, between development and self-reliance and between Africanity and humanity.
Who is father of African literature?
Chinua Achebe , the Nigerian novelist seen by millions as the father of African literature, has died at the age of 82.
What are the elements of African literature?
Characteristics of African literature include slave narratives, protests against colonization, calls for independence, African pride, hope for the future, and dissent .
What is importance of storytelling?
Storytelling brings language learning alive and creates a participatory and immersive experience that allows Young Learners to enjoy hearing the language in a dynamic, sometimes stylistic and entertaining way. Participation using key vocabulary and phrases can create an awareness of rhythm and structure.
What kind of narrators are most used in African literature?
The third-person omniscient point of view is one of the most flexible narrative techniques and is widely used in both European and African literature.
What is the purpose of African folktales?
In many African societies, an important aspect of traditional education is concerned with teaching oral literature using folktales, riddles and proverbs which aim at moulding character and providing children with moral values like honesty, integrity, courage and solidarity.
What do Africans call their skilled storyteller?
A griot (/ˈɡriːoʊ/; French: [ɡʁi.o]; Manding: jali or jeli (in N’Ko: ߖߋߟߌ, djeli or djéli in French spelling); Serer: kevel or kewel / okawul; Wolof: gewel) is a West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet, or musician.
What is a West African storyteller called?
Griot , Mande jeli or jali, Wolof gewel, West African troubadour-historian. The griot profession is hereditary and has long been a part of West African culture. ... In addition to serving as the primary storytellers of their people, griots have also served as advisers and diplomats.
What are some of the characteristics of African folktales?
Unlike Western fairy tales, African folktales rarely end with ‘happily ever after’. In Africa, folktales, myths, legends and even tongue twisters are often told around the fire. Animals in the stories sometimes take on human characteristics, such as greed or jealousy , to teach a lesson or moral.
What is African literature examples?
- Things Fall Apart (The African Trilogy, #1) Chinua Achebe. ...
- Half of a Yellow Sun (Hardcover) Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. ...
- Americanah (Hardcover) ...
- Purple Hibiscus (Paperback) ...
- Homegoing (Hardcover) ...
- The Thing Around Your Neck (Hardcover) ...
- So Long a Letter (Paperback) ...
- Disgrace (Paperback)
What are the three phases of African literature?
The African literature thrived in three periods, namely: the pre-colonial era, the colonial-era and the post-colonial era . The pre-colonial literature is the literary works done before the coming of the white men to the African continent.
What is negritude in African literature?
Négritude (from French “Nègre” and “-itude” to denote a condition that can be translated as “Blackness”) is a framework of critique and literary theory , developed mainly by francophone intellectuals, writers, and politicians of the African diaspora during the 1930s, aimed at raising and cultivating “Black consciousness ...
