African literature

Introduction

• Africa – 2nd largest continent next to Asia

• It covers more than one-fifth of all the earth’s surface

• There 54 nations which make up Africa. Each of these separate countries have their own history,
culture, tribes, and traditions.

History

• African literature has origins dating back thousands of years to ancient Egypt and hieroglyphics,
or writing which uses pictures to represent words.

• Africa experienced several hardships in its long history which left an impact on the themes of its
literature. One hardship is the colonization.

Religion

• Islam – this religion is the most dominant religion of the northern Africa

• It replaced Christianity in the 17th century

Education

• Literary rates for men are higher than woman

• Urban education is higher than rural education

• Only small fraction of Africa’s young people attends universities

Five Major Languages:

1. Afro-asiatic languages

2. Click languages

3. Niger – Congo languages

4. Sudanic languages

5. Austronesian languages

African literature

• African literature is a body of literary works of African people concerned about their culture,
language as well as about their way of life.

• It includes oral literature called:

• Orature

- was coined by Ugandan scholar, Pio Zirimu

Oral literature (Orature)

• Often sung or recited bards or griots (West African praise-singers, poets or musicians) and can
take the form of songs, with tongue-twisters, recitations, poetry, proverbs and riddles.

• referred to as “traditional literature”, “folk literature” or “folklore”. It simply means “literature

delivered by word of mouth”.

• African oral literature is often told using “call-and-response” techniques, where the storyteller
would engage the audience through interaction with them.

Pre – Colonial literature

• literary works done before the coming of the white men to the African continent.

• EPIC OF SUNDIATA (THE SUNDIATA KEITA)- composed in medieval Mali

• Djibril Tamsir Niane is a descendant of griots African oral historians/storytellers. He translated

Sundiata, as told by the griot Djeli Mamadou Kouyate, into French under the title Soundjata ou
Epoque Mandiginue in 1960.

• Kebra Negast, or “Book of Kings”- was supplied by Baltazar Téllez (1595-1675). The best-known
work in this tradition.

Colonial

• mostly portrayed slave narratives

Works: Ethiopia Unbound: Studies in Race Emancipation - Joseph Ephraim Casely Hayford
The Girl Who Killed to Save - Herbert Isaac Ernest Dhlomo 

Things fall apart – Chinua Achebe

Post-colonial

The post-colonial era/writers “enjoyed” the dividends of the war fought and won by their predecessors.

Ali A. Mazarui-Mention 7 Conflicts as:

Themes:
• The clash between Africa's past and present
• Between traditional and modernity
• Between individualism and community
• Between socialism and capitalism
• Between development and self-reliance
• Between Africanity and humanity