Our-illumination.com



A LOOK AT AFRICAN FOLKTALESAfrica boasts of rich cultures and tradition. These cultures are by far and wide fairly intact and most tribes still understand their history despite the dynamism of modernity. The preservation of cultures among other methods was passed through various channels including oral narratives, religion, marriages and music among others.Before the advent of modernity; including reading and writing, most African passed important values through generations through oral narratives. Important religious happenings, natural calamities and histories were shared through oral narrations. These narratives had major lessons and secrets to pass to the younger generations and played an important role in a community.Folklores used animals to portray human behaviours that they wished to address. The strong Lion could be pitted against a weak animal that had more wit than strength. The animals were allowed to think reason and converse like human beings. These were told in a manner that the audience could easily relate with. There are as many folklore stories as there are African countries and tribes. Each culture had devised a way to ensure that knowledge of cultural values was passed from generation to generation mostly done by the elders of the community. It is worth noting that most folklore was told in the evening or at night. Daytime was reserved for hard work in the farms and other duties. Folklores like the story of Luanda Magere of the Luos of Kenya tried to explain the relationship between two tribes and how one strong hero played his part to save his community. The folklore also seeks to explain how pride could easily bring a downfall to a seemingly strong individual. The hero, Luanda Magere for instance, failed to heed the warning by elders against taking a wife from the enemy’s camp. This eventually cost him his life. The role of elders as the custodians of these cultural values cannot be overemphasized. Children revered the elders and treated them with respect. Some folktales praised good characters and condemned bad behaviours. Laziness, pride, selfishness and other vices were discouraged by simply sharing a story about how characters were punished for unworthy traits. Folklores also did acknowledge the presence of witchcraft and its use in the community, especially in fortifying warriors before wars with other tribes. However such could also be used as for manipulation of situations either for good or bad.Youngsters also got to spend valuable time with their elders and learn important life challenges and how to deal with them through these oral narratives. The aged did not feel isolated from the community and enjoyed their roles of imparting their wisdom to the youngster through a relaxed and happy atmosphere.There would be excitement whenever a community gathered in a commonplace to celebrate a bumper harvesting or other type of celebrations because oral narratives would form a centre stage to such events. The events would be marked with shared laughter, songs and dances. However, of major importance would be the historical folklore that was in sync with the theme of the day. Come to think about it, folklores orally told were the best method to share stories due to the tonal variation, acting out and even songs that made part of the storytelling session very interesting. Writing such stories down would inevitably water down its charm and purpose.Folktales had a very important function in society, especially in terms of explaining the whys? For example, why the tortoise spots a cracked-like shell, why the hyenas limbs or even why man dies. They are also handy in explaining historical events, like what makes the Maasai of Kenya believe they were blessed with livestock. These tales also helped in solidifying the importance of rites of passage like initiation, marriages, death and birth.Many cultures had a very good explanation of their origin through folklores. Most of these stories had a hero who led their tribes into being, either by daring extra-ordinary circumstances to ensure the community survived. There was an evident interaction of gods and the people, spirits and animals of the community.Most folklore was narrated to children, according to their age group. While women were busy in their huts preparing dinner for the families, children would sit around the kitchen to hear her narratives while waiting for the food. This was done to keep the young ones awake and active until their meal was ready. However, most folklores were told by grandparents either in the middle of the compound, with a bonfire and full moon. Both the young and adults would sit around to listen to the stories, which had the aim of teaching the community something important or a lesson. This kind of sessions was done once the evening meals had been eaten and people were about to go to sleep.The character choice of a folklore narrative had to achieve the purpose for which the intended audiences were to learn. Some animals showed extreme bravery, tricksters like the Hare, the wise, the kind-heartedness. Sometimes the stories explained how seemingly week animals triumphed over fierce and scary animals with a combination of wit and humility.African folklores had certain elements which stood out. Animals could converse and express human characteristics like anger, pain and joy. The stories provided a source of entertainment, especially when combined with songs and dances. There was always a moral value that the audience was expected to carry with them. Finally, the narratives explained the existence of nature and other historical phenomena. The Agikuyu tribe of Kenya for instance with their Mumbi and how a woman leadership shaped the lives of their people, Luos with the Simbi Nyaima explaining how a water body covered an entire village are all represented in legends and myths. While the narratives can be subject to debate, the evidence of such a happening exists even in the present day. For instance, the Lake formed as a result of the Simbi Nyaima folklore exist in Nyanza province of Kenya.That being said, the African folklores have gone through a lot of changing trends in terms of how the information is disseminated from one generation to the next. While the original format of oral narration has been on the downward spiral, all hope is not lost yet. With the urbanization and the loss of the extended family unit, it seems that most children are raised in urban areas, away from the elderly, who were instrumental in passing down such knowledge. That does not entirely mean that all African children are raised in urban areas, far from it, a good number are still in the villages, surrounded by uncles, aunties and even grandparents.To bridge the gap that the urbanization has caused, the artist has embraced the oral narration as part of their art and hold shows where the public can attend and listen to folklores. Some poets have taken up oral narration of folklores through spoken words as well as cultural songs and dances. In Kenya, there exist a team of actors who travel from town to town, acting out various skits that resonates with the community that they visit. This gives youngsters a chance to develop curiosity and interest to learn more about the portrayed characters and seek to learn more from their families and friends.Schools are known to encourage folklores, especially through holding drama festivals, where different schools compete by acting out folklores from different cultures and communities. This helps the learners better understand their cultural values that remain important and relevant in their daily lives.These measures, in the long run, ensure that some element of folklores like entertainment, education and explanation of phenomena is not entirely lost. The audience, in fact, has the added advantage of learning folklores not only from their community but also those from other communities.Authors have also taken up writing children’s books that narrate such folklores. While the effect achieved via oral narration is lost, the lessons can still be learnt through reading such stories.Scholars and linguist still believe that folklores are way important to discard and their importance must be preserved. While the replacement of elders as the sole source of narratives is sad, the use of audio to relay folklore narratives is a better alternative to deal with such effect in an attempt to pass values to the new generation.Folklores have been used for centuries to provoke self-reflection among individuals and the communities to make correct decisions. Without the availability of television sets, gaming console and other modern inventions, attending folklore narration were an effective way to ensure that youngsters were engaged and entertained. It allowed critical thinking and enhances imagination that is only comparable to reading a well-crafted book. Author, Opondo Maureen ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download