DEFINITION: 

African literature is defined as literary works of the african continent it consists 

of a body of work in different languages in various genres ranging from oral 
literature to literature written in colonial languages such as french portuguese 
and english; 
 
HISTORY: 
We must know that african literature history is divided into 3 main parts , 
pre-colonial literature,post-colonial literature ,post-independence literature; 
 
°Pre-colonial literature refers to the period before the coming of the white man 
and most notoriously the occurrence of the berlin conference of 1884 aka “ the 
scramble for africa” from 1881 to 1914 (that was the period of colonization) 
This period before the coming of the white men boasted pure african literal 
customs undiluted and completely free from the white man's influence such as 
proverbs ,idioms, myths, dramas and songs and customs that were divided from 
african ways were very important to society; 
 
It’s impossible to do justice for african literature, without mentioning ​orature ​, as 
it was the dominant kind of literature in africa , as literature was usually told 
in pros, exemple àf that is in algeria where oral poetry was an 
important part of beiber traditions when the majority of the population was 
illiterate; 
 
​WHAT INSPIRED AFRICAN LITERATURE: 
 
African literary work were mainly inspired by things that people personally 
interacted with on a day-to-day basis such as their livestock, hunting, the 
climate, nature, agriculture , the people , witchcraft and superstition, social 
interactions and so much more. 
 
African literary work would be used to pass on wise morals and ideas that 
children can learn from so they can grow up to be better adults who make better 
decisions. 
 
EXEMPLES: 
 
A proverb IN ZIMBABWE :  
“SEKA UREMA WAFA” YOU CAN LAUGH AT A CRIPPLE WHEN YOU ARE DEAD.