INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN LITERATURE THE BEGINNINGS OF AFRICAN LITERATURE The first African literature is circa 2300-2100‚ when ancient Egyptians begin using burial texts to accompany their dead. These include the first written accounts of creation - the Memphite Declaration of Deities. Not only that‚ but ’papyrus ’‚ from which we originate our word for paper‚ was invented by the Egyptians‚ and writing flourished. In contrast‚ Sub-Saharan Africa feature a vibrant and varied oral culture. To
Premium Africa Atlantic slave trade Sub-Saharan Africa
African Literature: What Tradition? by Es’kia Mphahlele It all started when Africa was shanghaied into the history of the West in the late nineteenth century. What were we coming into? ----- a long line of continuity going back some 9‚000 years since the civilizations of the great river valleys of the Nile‚ the Tigris and Euphrates‚ the Indus‚ and the Hwang-ho had launched man on a long intellectual quest. We had been discovered by an aggressive Western Culture which was never going to let us be
Premium Africa Education Present tense
of literature gives the reader a proper understanding of the roots of a story. The setting is an especially important in African American literature‚ because it shows readers many of the conditions African Americans had to face‚ unlike caucasians. Works such as Joe Turner’s Come and Gone by August Wilson‚ “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” by Zora Neale Hurston‚ and “Equal Opportunity” by Walter Mosey‚ show different settings‚ which allows for different points of view on how the typical African American
Premium African American Zora Neale Hurston Black people
Introduction I-The Place of women in the African Literature 1-Women’s Role in the Development of African novel 2-The Emancipation of Women and the Rising of their Consciousness II-Women’s condition in the African Society 1-The Power of the Traditional Beliefs 2-An African Male dominated society III-The Interest around Women in Today’s World 1-Women’s Promotion of Rights and Dignity 2-Women’s Fight for Freedom Conclusion Introduction Literature is a means of communication. It is a support
Premium Things Fall Apart Igbo people Chinua Achebe
Native American Literature and Oral Traditions A gentleman named David Eller once quoted‚ “Insularity is the foundation of ethnocentrism and intolerance; when you only know of those like yourself‚ it is easy to imagine that you are alone in the world or alone in being good and right in the world. Exposure to diversity‚ on the contrary‚ is the basis for relativism and tolerance; when you are forced to face and accept the other as real‚ unavoidable‚ and ultimately valuable‚ you cannot help but see
Premium Culture Sociology Cultural relativism
Oral tradition and oral lore is cultural moral and tradition transmitted orally from one generation to another. These messages are passed verbally from one generation to the next and so forth and may take many forms‚ such as folktales‚ ballads or songs. In this way‚ it is possible for a society to transmit oral history‚ oral literature‚ oral law and other knowledge across generations without a writing system. This type of storytelling was used to teach lessons and morals before writing systems were
Premium Folklore Humanities Writing
literary artists have argued that writing is not a precondition before having an interesting oral narrative. There were oral narratives before writing came to Africa. Chinweizu & co. insist that we have oral narrative in Africa before people like Amos Tutuola began to write. Oral tradition is as old as man himself. DEFINITION OF AFRICAN ORAL NARRATIVES/ ORAL TRADITION The definition of African oral literature is both paradoxically complex and simple. The definition seems to depend on one who is doing
Premium
African literature is quite exciting and has lots of lessons to learn‚ let alone it humor and style of expression. Betrayal in the city was a nice literature book to study in high school. Francis Imbuga’s phrase‚"When the madness of an entire nation disturbs a solitary mind‚ it is not enough to say that the man is mad" was one of my favourites.Infant and Baby Colic by T.A. Lawrence B.Sc‚ CIRM‚ CPMP What are the Symptoms of Colic? It is not uncommon for newborn babies to go through periods when
Premium Infant
People and You Can’t Get Lost in Cape Town for semblances of an old social structure as the birth of a new nation develops. In Wicomb’s You Can’t Get Lost in Cape Town‚ we are presented with a young girl‚ Frieda‚ transforming into a woman in a rural African village. Frieda is faced with the realization that apartheid has ghettoized the coloreds to live in dreadful conditions. It is through the suppression of this ghetto life along with the suppression of racial and sexual stereotypes that Frieda removes
Premium Gender role Role Physical attractiveness
Balance of Male and Female Roles Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a novel about the colonization of an African culture. Also‚ the novel is about a tribesman named Okonkwo who lives in an African village called Umuofia which undergoes the drastic changes of colonization. In Things Fall Apart there is an overwhelming amount of masculinity in the culture of Umuofia and clan life in general. However‚ there is also a balance between masculinity and femininity in certain aspects of their culture
Free Things Fall Apart Chinua Achebe Igbo people