The folklore is one of the many variants of
African literature; an interesting, alluring and exciting part of African oral
literature that was in existence long before written literature emerged. The
folklore, also referred to as the Folktale, was very much prevalent
in all of Africa; it was, and still is, part of the African culture that speaks
of the liberating beauty and awareness that the African continent holds.
Folklore, which usually involves talking animal characters, was narrated to
bring entertainment to both children and adults, not just to entertain, but
also as a means of education. Folklore also helps to convey the wisdom of
disclipline for children; some of the tales make them aware of the wrong in
actions such as lies, theft, greed, and being generally disobedient to their
parents. Although most of the storylines hold little or no ounce of truth, the
theme behind them is meant to strongly move the audience to think right, act
responsibly, and to do the right thing when in a dificult situation.
These tales are generally made up of three kinds: the trickster
tales, the dilemma tales, and the tales that explain reasons why certain
things, or animals, are the way they are.
The trickster tale is the kind that usually tells of a certain
animal's trickery and wiles into getting what he wants, and most of the time
this results either in a lesson learned (an example could be The
consequences of greed), or leads to a 'reason-why' tale, (e.g. Why
the tortoise carries his house on his back). The animals that are used in
these tales include the Hare, Tortoise and Spider (in most African countries
the spider is popularly known as Anansi, originally derived from Ghana. In
countries like Nigeria, the tortoise is the most popular of the animals because
of his extremely cunning and deceitful ways). The trickster tale is not
restricted to just animal characters, but human characters are included as
well. The trickster's intention might either be good or bad, but either way, he
almost always loses in the end because of the shrewd means he goes through to
prove his intentions.
The dilemma tale is when the audience is presented with a dilemma
situation in a folktale and asked to participate and try to decide or conclude
what happens at the end: who among the fictional characters deserves to be
rewarded for his/her good deeds, etc. It is a form of cliffhanger that invites
the audience to guess and try to make their own conclusion on how the 'dilemma'
is to be resolved. These tales serve to educate but also to entertain the
audience and get them to be interactive and strengthen their bond as a
community and family.
The third type of folktale is that which describes why a certain
real situation is the way it is. Needless to say that these tales are exactly
what they are – tales, they still are hugely entertaining and humorous. An
example (or two) of this kind would be tales about Why the Cheetah's
cheeks are forever stained, Why chickens don't fly or Why
mosquitoes buzz in people’s ears. The fun part about these tales is that
they seem very logical, reasonable, and of course almost believable when
narrated to a children-filled audience.
Today, African folklore still exists, but now in written form, as
the oral tradition is almost non-existent, having being overridden by
modernization and higher education. Nevertheless, the African tradition of the
folklore is still collected, preserved and published by the African scholars
and writers of today, their mindset intent on preserving the richness and
virility of the African culture.
The folklore is forever entertaining, and if you want to learn
more about these tales, visit your local library, there are tons of books that
showcase the history of African literature, and there are lots of books as well
that contain the most popular African folklore of all time - see Goodreads for
a list of books. Also, you can choose to buy one from Amazon.
Happy readings!
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