This article first seeks to describe the key characteristics of colonialism as a system of domination and subjugation, before considering the legitimacy of contemporary judgments on the morality of historical colonialism. While the european perception of literature generally refers to written letters, the african concept includes oral literature or orature, in the term coined by ugandan scholar pio zirimu. The artist in traditional african society is a difficult figure to understand, for his function corresponds to nothing comparable in presentday western society. Africa in precolonial times was divided into various ethnic groups. Therefore, african literature is literature written by an african, about africa, using common african characters, setting and themes that are conveyed through the common african vehicle of proverbs. There is also great pride in sharing stories about history and culture, even if the stories arent always pleasant and uplifting. As george joseph notes in his chapter on african literature in understanding contemporary africa, whereas european views of literature often stressed a separation of art and content, african awareness is inclusive. During that period different communities developed. Australian international academic centre, australia afriphone.
Pdf after the second world war, the imperialist trends of the eighteenth and nineteenth century began to decline. African literature is literature of or from africa and includes oral literature. African literature article about african literature by the. Ngugi wa thiongo, a kenyan writer, says that african writers should write in their mother tongues, not in the old colonial languages of english, french and portuguese. African literature should be defined and compared with literature from other continents through a cross cultural modus operandi.
Oral literature has no transcription due to the language not being a written language. African american literature, body of literature written by americans of african descent. African literature, literary works of the african continent. The specific concept of narrative in african philosophy and its value for crosscultural. I suggested that the task might bec,me easier when more of our produce had entered the. From this it is clear that an accurate definition of poetry is not always possible. The paradoxical primacy of european languages in african literatures necessitates another anomalythe inclusion of a separate chapter on literature in african languages. Postcolonial theory deals with the reading and writing of literature written in previously or currently colonized countries, or literature written in colonizing countries which deals with colonization or colonized peoples. Another example of oral literature would be that of native americans. African literature is literature of or from africa and includes oral literature as george joseph. It is defined as the body of written works of a language, period or culture, produced by scholars and researchers, specialized in a. In reply to wali, achebe expresses, you cannot cram african literature in a small, neat definition.
Afriphone literature as a prototypical form of african literature. Top ten websites for african literature and writing by comfort olukogbon on thu, 02102014 20. Despite popularity for this collection of literature growing in the 1950s, its history goes back to ancient egypt. Officially called a conference of african writers of english expression, it was sponsored by the congress for cultural freedom and the mbari club in association with the department of extramural studies of makerere, whose. Apr 17, 2017 african american literature refers to literature written by americans of african descent. The comprehensive account of the development of african literature from its. English, french or portuguesespeaking african countries. Bruce argues that contrary to prevailing perceptions of african american voices as silenced and excluded from american history, those voices were loud and clear.
African feminists attach to the reproductive role of women and the tendency to put the community before the individual. He is a spokesman for the society in which he lives. What is the importance of literature and its impact on. Perhaps the chadwicks put it best when they defined oral poetry as speech. African literature is replete with writeups that project male dominance and inadequately pleads the case of the african woman. The body of written works of a language, period, or culture. This adage is perhaps the most appropriate description of the importance of literature in our lives. Pdf negritude in anticolonial african literature discourse. Before the high point of slave narratives, african american literature was dominated by autobiographical spiritual narratives. African literature may be classified into three distinctly and widely accepted categories traditional oral literature of africa, literature written in indigenous african languages and literature written in european languages. African literature, the body of traditional oral and written literatures in afroasiatic and african languages together with works written by africans in european languages. One example of this would be american sign language, or asl. Their african eve conclusion may be supported by linguistic observations. As kolawole 1997 notes, by omission or commission, most male writers in the early phase of african literature encouraged the.
Despite this sonorous and rather solemn title, it turned out. African literature refers to literature of and from africa. Traditional written literature, which is limited to a smaller geographic area than is oral literature, is most characteristic. Traditional written literature, which is limited to a smaller geographic area than is oral literature, is most characteristic of those subsaharan cultures that have. Traditional written literature, which is limited to a smaller geographic area than is oral literature, is most characteristic of those subsaharan cultures that have participated in the cultures of the mediterranean. This is certainly a question that requires a broad answer but i will make it as short as possible. A conference of african writers of english expression.
Beginning in the prerevolutionary war period, african american writers have engaged in a creative, if often contentious, dialogue with american letters. Jun 23, 2009 african literature should be defined and compared with literature from other continents through a cross cultural modus operandi. North african writers convey their ideas in french and arabic in a variety of literary genres. The three countries of the maghrib algeria, morocco, and tunisia share more than common geographic boundaries. Contemporary african literature will help students to develop a greater appreciation of cultural, thematic, and aesthetic representations in african literature, starting from a quick revision of the classic, but concentrating mostly on the contemporary texts from different countries. Fiction, plays, and poetry by women from around the continent have been singularly important because they complicate the meaning of works by their literary. African literature consists of a body of work in different languages and various genres, ranging from oral literature to literature written in colonial languages french, portuguese, and english. However, for a common understanding and, to give us a working definition, we shall adopt the definition of literature as.
Despite this sonorous and rather solemn title, it turned out to be a very lively affair and a very exciting and useful experience for many of us. But different critics belonging to different schools. It becomes imperative to trace the genesis of gender inequality in african literature. Knowledge is not well served by asserting that definition is a male prejudice and that the day we start defining feminism its lost its vitality melanie randall, defining feminisman interview by melanie randall, resources for feminist research 14, no. Pdf away from a definition of african literatures daria tunca. In june 1962 a conference of african literature in the english language, the first african writers conference, was held at makerere university college in kampala, uganda. Dec 28, 2011 the following is mainly based on the first chapter of ngugis decolonising the mind. The politics of language in african literature 1986. What are the characteristics of african literature. The african writer and the english language chinua achebe in june 1962, there was a writers gathering at makerere, impressively styled. African literature is as diverse as the continent itself, but several characteristics and themes prevail throughout much of the written works emerging from africa.
Literature definition is writings in prose or verse. Australian international academic centre, australia. African literature may have gained much of its popularity in the 1950s, but its history goes back thousands of years. Characteristics of african american literature pen and. Although there were certainly slaves writing in the early days of slavery and colonization, the african american literary tradition began to take root in the 17th and 18th centuries, when former slaves such as frederick douglass.
Morals and lessons are typically woven into wellcrafted and engaging stories. Ian forsythgetty images newsgetty images oral literature is a term generally applied to spoken literary traditions such as folk tales, musical theater, proverbs, riddles, life histories, plays, proverbs, epic poems and historical recitations. African american literature dates back to african slaves earliest arrival in the new world in 1639, when they forged a language and literature of their own. Oral literature in africa is part of the world oral literature series published in conjunction with the world oral literature project. Chapter one afroamerican literature from slave narratives to recent fiction african american literature has undergone a revolutionary change from phillies wheatley, the first african american poet to publish her works, to toni morrison, maya angelou, walter mosley, alice walker, gloria naylor, and paule. African writers of english expression sat down to the first item on the agenda. Key terms in the study are oral praises, written praises, critical evaluation. Characteristics of african american literature pen and the pad. Top ten websites for african literature and writing zodml. Imaginative or creative writing, especially of recognized artistic value. In discussing african culture and values, we are not presupposing that all african.
The definition of oral literature would be literature or story telling that uses the spoken work or word of mouth. For instance, there is often a great emphasis on the history, culture and customs of a group of people when telling their stories. The predominant african languages used are amharic, zulu, hausa, and swahili. Literature can also simply mean an artistic use of words for the sake of art alone. Doctor of literature and philosophy in the subject african languages at the. Yet by avoiding a real confrontation with the language issue, it was clearly wearing false robes of identity. Postcolonial literature comes from britains former colonies in the caribbean, africa and.
For example, literature in english is the subject of five chapters, and french the subject of three, while literature in portuguese is confined to a single chapter. The following is mainly based on the first chapter of ngugis decolonising the mind. Cavallisforza, piazza, menozzi, and mountain 1988 have shown that considerable similarity exists between canns tree of genetic relationships and the tree of language groups, which hypothesizes that all the worlds languages can be traced to africa. Literature reminds us of stories, epics, sacred scriptures, and classical works of the old and modern times. But from its many designs, its many elements, its many idioms, none. What is african literature history of african literature. African american literature is the body of literature produced in the united states by writers of african descent. To african women motherhood is an inherent aspect of womanhood and should not be questioned. Why limit the investigation group to africans from south africa.
The origins of african american literature, 16801865. The difficulty created in the above definition would lie with establishing who an african is and what this african world. The result is a literature rich in expressive subtlety. To be sure, the arabic, english, french, and portuguese literary traditions along with christianity and islam and other effects of colonialism in africa also had a dynamic impact on african literature, but african writers adapted those alien traditions and made them their own by placing them into these african classical frames. As george joseph notes on the first page of his chapter on african literature in understanding contemporary africa, while the european perception of literature generally refers to written letters, the african concept includes oral literature. Pdf african languages and african literature researchgate. Culture, language and evolution of african literature. African literature is meant in large part to be educational as well as entertaining. African literature is literature of or from africa and includes oral literature or orature, in the term coined by ugandan scholar pio zirimu as george joseph notes in his chapter on african literature in understanding contemporary africa, whereas european views of literature often stressed a separation of art and content, african awareness is inclusive. Pdf the untold history of neocolonialism in africa 1960. African literature has a long history stretching back over thousands of years.
Womens reproductive role reproductive tasks are very important to african women and they are never inferior to any other role. Thiongo ngugi wa, the language of african literature, nlr. The term african literature generally refers to a comprehensive, complex and creative literature of and from africa. Literature definition of literature by the free dictionary. Much has been written by poets like arnold, sampson and aristotle bergman and epstein, reeves, okara, stedman, wheeler, bloom, cook, pottle and hayden.
The literature it produced in european languages was given the identity of african literature as if there had never been literature in african languages. Defining south african literature for a new nation njabulo s ndebela south africa is the one country where social and political contradictions have been so stark that the influence of politics on other social activities and vice versa, has been most easily observable. African literature then would presumably be literature as defined above that is. African american literature refers to literature written by americans of african descent. Anyone with a passing acquaintance with discourses concerning african literatures is aware that the mention of the subject. Thiongo ngugi wa, the language of african literature, nlr i. Pdf away from a definition of african literatures daria.
The conference failed to come up with any authentic identifiable definition and a year later, a nigerian critic, obi wali, writing in his famous essay the dead end of african literature. English, like french and portuguese, was assumed to be the natural language of literary and even political mediation between african people in the same nation and between nations in africa and other continents. African literature then would presumably be literature as defined above that is created by an african as opposed to a non african to represent some aspect of the african world, real or imagined. African literature article about african literature by. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. At the heart of this body of work lies the african american vernacular tradition.
The book is available as a free pdf and ebook download thanks to the generous support of interested readers and organisations, who made donations using the crowdfunding website unglue. He is at once inheritor and donor of the literature, its custodian and its liberator. I do not see african literature as one unit but as associated units in fact, the sum. African literature is any literature that tells the african story, be it from the perpestive of the coloni. Within the context of the wider culture, these writers offered powerful, widely read, and widely appreciated commentaries on american ideals and ambitions. The vernacular press and african literature by ntongela masilela to consider the importance of the vernacular press in the making of african literature is simultaneously to encounter the paradoxical role of christian missionaries in both enabling and equally disabling the emergence of modern african literary sensibilities.
418 764 1142 674 370 462 1454 1187 17 1056 1399 407 771 1319 453 869 278 576 263 812 1096 862 259 449 1305 643 805 327 744 1481 1116 1024 772 235