126

ON NAMING  "TRADITIONAL  ORAL  LITERATURE"

By

E.O.  Apronti*

The  problem  of  definitions  is  one  of  those

knotty  issues  that  have  featured  in  scholarly  dis-
course  in  the  African  domain,  notably  because  many
disciplines  are  still  struggling  to rid  themselves
of  encrusted  prejudices  bequeathed  to them  by  the
activities  of well-intentioned  but  ultimately mls<-
guided  pioneering  amateurs  in  the  field  of  African
studies.  Now-obsolete  evolutionists  theories have
had  many  unfortunate  effects  on  the extant work  of
the  early  ethnographers,  explorers  and  adventurers.
One  of  the most  persistent  prejudices  fostered  by
such  an orientation  has been  the habit  of  regarding
the  continent  as  "retarded"  in more  than  the  stric-
tly  technological  sense.  An extension  of  this is
the  outlook  that  regards  the  un-written  literature
of  so-called  "primitive"  societies  across  the world
not  as  literature  yet, but  rather  as the  raw  (or
source)  material  from  which  "literature" will  e'Ven- .
dually ..emerge  in  some  later  evolutionary  stage  of
development.

Such  arguments  run  counter  to several  facts.

For one  thing,  all  cultures  have  evolved  their
modes  of  literary  expression  first  in an oral  mode
and  later  in a written mode.  The primacy  of  speech
over writing  in all  civilizations  is  unquestionable.
But whether  a culture  is  literate  or  not,  it mani-
fests  modes  of expression 'that we  organize  as  "liter-
ary" because  they  contain  evidence  of  the  imaginative
use  of  language  in a creative  perspective  to  comment
on  the human  condition,  help  man  to cope with  his
environment  and  heighten  man*s  awareness  of  the
beautiful  and  the  sublime.  Such  literary  qualities
are evident  in verbal  data  not primarily  intended  to
as yell  as  in  some  data  that  is
communicate  "facts'

* Senior  Research  Fellow,  I.A.S.  University  of  Ghana

Legon.

- • #•

?•**"

.•ef

127

written.  The  appeal  to  the  etymology  of  the  word
"literature" which  leads  some  scholars  to  insist
that  the  term  should  be  limited  in  its  application
to written  materials  is untenable.  It  smacks  of
unnecessary  obsolescence  and  provides  some  cover
for  those who,  in addition  to propounding  such
views,  would  like  to  insinuate  that written  mate-
rials  are  deserving  of more  serious  literary  study
than  unwritten  ones.  There  is every  justification
therefore  for  talking  of both  written  literature
and  oral  literature.

Secondly,  naow-written  literature  has  persisted
(in  its  own  right)  in  cultures  which  have  developed
systems  of writing.  Whereas  there  are  obvious  links
between  the  two  literary  modes,  it  cannot  therefore
be  argued  that  oral  literature  will  vaporise  when
written  literature  emerges  in any  specific  culture.
This  is demonstrably  false.

Xn  the  domain  of  African  Literature,  the  debate

as  to what  to  call  the  unwritten  congener  of modern
written  literature  has  gone  on  for  some  time.  Contend-
ing  schools  of  thought  have  argued  the  rival  claims
Of  "verbal  art",  "oral  literature",  "traditional  verse"
and  "traditional  literature".  Ruth  Pinnegan's  Oval
Literature  in Afrioa,  a monumental  exploration  of  the
field,  should,  one  would  have  thought,  have  finally
decided  the matter  in  favour of  the  term  "oral
literature".  But  occasional  rumbles  do get  heard  still.

In  this essay,  therefore,  it  is  intended  to re-*

examine  some of  these  issues  in  the  light  of  two  fairly
recent  publications  in  this  domain»  Igbo  Traditional
j>ev8e  compiled  and  translated  by  Romanus  Egudu  and
Donatus  Nwoga,  two  Igbo-speaking  literary  scholars  at
the University  of  Nigeria  at  Nsukkai  and  Guardians  of
the Saored  Wood, Ewe  poetry,  compiled  and  translated
with  explanatory  notes  by  the  Ewe-speaking  English-'
medium  poet  and  literary  scholar,  Kofi  Awoonor  of
Ghana,  currently  Professor  of  Comparative  Literature
at Stonybrook,  New  York.

128

What,  one  may  ask,  is the  dispute  about?  There

lingers  in  the  minds  of  some people  a motion  that  un-
written  materials  are  somehow  inferior  to,  and  less
reliable  than, written  ones.  The  study  of  African
Literature,  like  African Historiography  before  it,
is having  to divest  itself  of  these  prejudices.
It  is unfortunate  that  some  African  scholars  (e.g.
E.o.  Akyea  and  C. Angmor)  have  found  these  arguments
persuasive  enough  to  adopt  them  in  dissertations.
Even  the  Americanism,  "verbal  art", begs  the ques-
tion.  For  neither  this  term  nor  its presumed  opposite,
"unwritten  art" possesses  the  definitive  power  that
we  need  so  as  to adequately  discuss  areas  of  artistic
activity  such as drama, which  may be written,  read  or
quintessentially  declaimed  on  stage; or  music,  which
can be  notated  but  not vocalized.  Which  of  these
three  art  forms  is not  a  "written  art"?

No,  the  term  "verbal  art"  is  somewhat  otiose  and
lacks  the precision  that we would  like  to  see  in our
terminologies.  It would  be  readily  admitted  that  the
increasing  corpus  of written  literature  of our  con-
tinent,  although  mostly  articulated  in  European  lan-
guages, bears  unmistakable  evidence  of  its debt  to
our  (equally  contemporary)  African-language  traditions
of  literature.  Indeed,  it  is highly  desirable  that
this  link  should  be  made  manifest  in  scholarly  studies
so  that  the  aesthetics  of  this  form  of  literary  ex-
pression  may  be  objectively  revealed  and  also  so as
to pre-empt  any  attempt  (and attempts  have been  made,
for  instance  in  the  Leeds  School's  proclamation  of
the  entity  "Commonwealth  Literature"!)  to balkanize
and  appropriate  the output  of our writers  by  claiming
that  anglophone  African  Literature  belongs  primarily
to  the English-speaking  world,  and  Francophone  African
LiteratureJ  belongs  to  the  French-speaking  world.
Claims of  this  nature  fly  in  the  face of all  the evi-
dence which problaims  an  affinity  in narrative  tech-
niques  between,  for  instance,  anglophone  Chinua  Achebe
of Nigeria  and  francophone  Ferdinand  Oyono of  Cameroun,
both  of whom  write  under  the  inspiration  of  literary
traditions  separated  by only  a few hundred  miles of
territory.

>**]

•  - » • *-

.«•«;

129

In attempting  to  justify* the criteria  on which

their  collection  is baaed,  Egudu  and Nwoga  say  <p.l)«

It night be  questioned  by  what  criteria  we
include  contemporary  verse  on  life  and per-
sons which  obviously  has been  composed  in

, 

. 

,the  last,few  years  within  the  'traditional',
since  'traditional1  is normally  understood
to mean  the product  of a forgotten  past,
handed  down  from  generations  immemorial.
We do  this because  our  concept  of  'tradi-
tional' has  its  antithesis  'modern1  and
both  are  separated  in  the  African  context
not  so much  by  time  as by  mentality  and
. <•. v,/:
mode. 

• 

  ;

This  statement  strikes  at  the  r'oot. of  the  matter:

the  contention, While  not  overtly  denying  and  continuity
of  feeling  between  the  "traditional"  and  "modern",, does
underline  the  fact  that  the  two worlds  are  separable.
The  traditional  relates  to group-emphasis  in  those
spheres  of  contemporary  African  life  that  derive  their
essence  from  indigenous  ritual, belief  and  practices;
the, modern  defines  those  new  forms  of  expression wljose
social  reference  owes much  to'the  influence of  alien
cultures, notably  European  culture.

The  authors' next  statement,  however,  leaves  room

for much  potential  confusion  by  seeking,  to my  mind,
to equate  "traditional" with  "unwritten"  and  "modern"
with  "written"*

The mode  that  distinguishes  the modern  from
the  traditional  in  this  context  is  whether
the  verse  belongs  to  the written  tradition
or  to  the  oral  tradition.  The verses  in
this  collection  belong  to the  oral^tradition
of  the  Igbo. 

• • . .

' 

(A subsidiary  amplification  ascribes  the  essential
quality  of  these  iexts  to the  fact  that  they, are un-
influenced  by  the  forms  and  techniques  introduced
through  formal  education?  that  is  to say, the  poets
have  not been  influenced  by  European  literary  experience)

1 3 0

The  equation  between  "traditional"  and  "written"

cannot  be  pressed  very  far.  To make  a  trite  point,
do  the  verses  in  the  Egudu-Nwoga  volume  cease  to be
"traditional" now  that  they  have  been  trapped  on  paper?
Or  let us  recall  what  happened  some  few  years  ago when
a dinner was  held  in honour  of  Robert  Graves  on  his
seventieth  birthday.  On  that  occasion*  he  made  an
impromptu  speech  which  everyone  present  acclaimed  as
pure  poetry;  the unanimous  opinion  was  that  it was a
shame  that  this  spontanious  poetry  was not  recorded
and preserved.  It presumably  was  unwritten  but,  since
Graves was  a native  of  some  locality  or  other, was  it
also  "traditional"?  Or  "verbal  art"  rather  than  "oral
poetry"?  It  is clear  that  the  Egudu-Nwoga  equation
cannot  hold.

As we  shall  see  in the  discussion  of  the  Awoonor

volume  below,  the  anonymity  of  authors, cannot  in  itself
be  a defining  criterion,  for  the  three poets  he  features
are  distinct  individual  artists  whom  he  interviewed  as
recently  as  1970.  Besides, we  cannot  ascribe  a defin-
ing  role  to  the  literacy  or  illiteracy  of the  poet.
This  is because  the method  of  composition  described
by  Awoonor*s  poets  bears  a specific  resemblance  to
the  mode*  of1 composition  that  creative  writers  in  the
Western  and other  traditions  have  attested.*  Akpalu,
the  most  famous  of  the  three, exemplifies  this* (p. 3)

Sometimes.... .a song  comes  to me  in my  sleep.
At  first  cock-crow,  I nail  Its  substance  down.
Then  I arrange  it  in  stanzas.  Some  may  demand
four  or  five  stanzas.  I think  seriously  about
the  tuna  that will  carry  it,  since  it  is  this
that gives  the  song  its, emotional  and  lyrical
appeal.

The  experience  of  poets  in  the written  traditions  is
analogous  to Akpalu1s.  It may  therefore  be  contended
that  the  accidental  factor  of  the  literacy  of  the
author  is not  a useful  criterion  for  establishing
what  constitutes  traditional  poetry.

Indeed,  another  of  Awoonor's  assertions  on  the

role  of  the  individual  artist  in  traditional  literature
should  commend  itself  to us  (p.12).

4.'

131

Akpalu  is acknowledgtid as the master  and the
teacher.  His example  is one of the strongest
evidences we have to counter  the claim often
made by scholars that all oral poetry  is the
work of anonymous men  in a vaguely  defined
tribal tradition.  Like Magolwane  of the Zulu
during  Shaka's reign, Akpalu  took an older
tradition  and  turned  it around, forging it
into a new and more  dynamic poetic medium.

It should be clear, therefore, that the crux of the
definition  of  traditional  literature  lies  in its
sources of inspiration  and  its artistic technique.
If we put Akpalu's work  side by side with that of
the early Awoonor  or Okot p'Bitek, on what basis
are we going  to say  that the one  is "verbal art"
and  the others are not, seeing  that all three derive
their  inspiration  and  technique  from a living  indi-
genous  tradition: Akpalu happens  to have been non-
literate and  (I believe) monolingual  in Ewe; Awoonor
in his early work  translated much oral Ewe poetry
into Englishj  Okot p'Bitek wrote his Song of Lawino
first in Acholi and  then translated  it into English.
Radio Uganda broadcast the Acholi version  extensively,
and  it is reported  that non-literate  Acholis had no
hesitation  in recognizing  it as authentic Acholi,
poetry, that  is, poetry  in an unmistakable Acholi
tradition.

Is it any wonder  that the irrepressible Komi

Ekpe, one of the poets in Awoonor's  collection, should
devise an elaborate  linguistic  ruse  to ensure  that
he  is not consigned  to some  "non-modern" ghetto?

He has in his day  sung  in many places  across
Ewe country  including  Ho, Kpedze, Kpetoe,
AnyakO, Anloga, Vuti and outside Eweland in'
Nsawam  and Koforidua.  He is a poet whose
power  rests on sarcasm, insult, allusion,
exaggerated  use of events, real or fictional,
and a sharp wit.  He knows  a smattering of
English  and pretends  to a knowledge of Hebrew,
German, French  and a countless number of other
African, Languages.  Some of these claims are
for pure comic  effect.  He neither  roads nor
writes  any  single  language  including  his own
( p - . 9)  . •  •

I 3 2

It would be a shame  if we made our prejudices  compel
our most  gifted  artists to resort to such  tedious  tricks
so as to got the recognition  they deserve.

To dispose  now of the Egudu-Nwoga volume, it pro-

vides  in its  introduction  a very informative  statement
on  the Igbo  (and therefore  traditional  African)- under-
Standing  of poetry, giving  appropriate  emphasis to its
group-orientat*lon , the  importance  of techniques of per-
formance, the cultural  and social background  from which
It has  sprung.  Its statement on the aesthetics of
literary  texts  is noteworthy  (p.4):

**-,

Moreover, and  this  i3 significant, except
for .narration, the oral situation calls for
succint  statements  rather  than  for long logi-
cal discussion.  The performer  is therefor**
expected  to show expertise, not in the build-
ing  up of  a complicated  sequence  of thought,
but  in the variety of expressions  with which
he can state, expand  and deepen  a single state-
ment.  When  this  fails  the result is uninterest-
ing  tautology.  When  it succeeds  it is a marvel-
lous exposition  of imaginative wealth.

In thus drawing  attention  to the cumulative  (as opposed
to progressive)  technique of artistic performance, the
authors provide  an  important  clue  to one of the aesthe-
tic principles  underlying  traditional  literature.  They
also  justify  thereby  their  action  in editing out of the
text those occasional  exchanges between performer and
active  audience which  are a common  feature of the actua-
lization of  traditional oral literature.

The volume  is divided  thjematically  into chapters

dealing  respectively  with Praise Poems, Invocation Poems,
Incantation  Poems, Igodo Dance Poem, Relaxation Poems,
Satirical Poems and  Lamentation Poems,  There  is much
material here  that will  sound  familiar  to the Ghanaian
reader, a veritable proof  of the cultural unity of (at
least West) African peoples.  The slot-filling word-
play  of the relaxation poems  (pp.45  ff) have a positive
echo  in a type of  light Ewe poetry  that the people of
Ada are very  fond of.  One  example starts thuss

E do loo?
E e e I
Nuka  e do loo?
E do loo afanyal

•*->

*

«.

•*••<

133

Nuka  e do  loo?
E do  loo  afanya!
Nuka  tsitsi?
Tsitsi  mial
Nuka  mia?
Mia.......

ogbooI

Nuka  ogboo?
Ogboo  lati!
Nuka  lati?
Lati  olor!
Nuka  olor?
Olor  korsorI

Nuka  korsor?
Korsor....

And  so  it goes  on  to a grand  finale.

The one  final question  one  is prompted  to ask on

the Egudu-Nwoga  volume,  thought  is in regard  to  the
material  on  pages  25  to 27.  Here we  find  a presenta-
tion of  Igbo male  and  female  names, with  English  trans-
lations.  Useful  and  interesting  information  on  toponymy,
no doubt.  But by  what  definition  of verse  does  this
short  and  disjointed  series  qualify  for  spa.ce in a
chapter  on  Praise  Poetry?  How  usefully  can we  apply
the  term  Praise  Poetry  to Schapera's  substantial  work
On  the  Tswana  and  at  the  same  time  to  this  list  of
names?  This*  surely, plays  into  the hands  of  those
who would  have  us believe  that  all  traditional  verse
is no more  than  the  raw material  out  of which  poetry
may be made!  This  kind  of material  detracts  from  the
worth  of  the  genuine  praise  poetry  with which  it  shares
the  chapter.

Awoonor's  volume  explores  entirely  new ground,  as
indeed  has been  intimated  above.  Already  widely  known
as an  English-medium  poet  who  transmutes  the poetry  of
his people  into  the English  language  with more  modesty
as well  as more  artistry  than  Taban  lo Liyon  claims  to
have  done  in Eating  Chiefs** Awoonor  spent  the  summer  of
1970  sitting  at  the  feet  of  three  acknowledged  contempo-
rary  (modern?) Ewe poet-cantors.  These  are unsung  heroes
of Ghana's  literary  firmament,  innovators  whose one dis-
ability  is that  they  are  not  fluent  in  the  language

I
<-«
^

^

"
**

**

-r'
^

vw

134

of our  erstwhile colonial masters} but they  are master- 
craftsmen whose names are legend  in their immediate  tra-
ditional milieu.  Hesino Akpalu, the most  famous of them 
all, earned  no more than a 3-inch  paragraph  in The
Ghanaxan Ttmee when he died late in 1974.  The other two, 
Komi Ekpe and Amega  Dunyo must now be respectively  81 and 
87,  if they  are still  living,  one hopes that some national
recognition  can be given  to them before  they pass away. 

Awoonor's  introduction  is an excellent poetic-prose

tribute  to his fellow poets.  Among  other things, he draws 
attention  to the integrated multi-artistic  nature of Ewe 
poetry.  On the  role of drums in Ewe poetry, for instance,
he states  (p. 16) 

Poetry  among  the Ewesiis embedded  in their drums.
By drums  I do not mean the.*phyaical entities of
leather  and wood,  rattlers, gongs  and other in-
struments which are part of the African  musical
ensemble.  I mean  the variety  in musical and poetic
approaches  of the various  drumming  groups that have
become part of the Ewe cultural  tradition.

Thus  it is that  each of his poets are credited with having
founded  a drum.  This re-affirmation  of our predilection
for the concrete  is further  illustrated by how Komi Ekpe
installed his Muse, his god of song, in his house after a
diviner had  recommended  that he do so.  The relations
between god  and cantor;are best  illustrated  by Ekpe*s
affirmations  "He is still with me.  When he tells me not
to appear  in public, I do not".  (p.8).

Awoonor's  definition of the ramifications  of Ewe poetry

is also  noteworthy)

The song  in the Ewe t
poem.  incantations,
names are part of the
essential  features are  revealed  in statement*
allusion, imagery  created  through simile or metaphor,
and  repetition.

tadition is structually the
shants, salutations  and praise
same poetic  conception.  Its

The statement  is capped by the  final observation  to the
effect  that among many groups  in Africa, "the poem is the
music, the drum  and  the dance".  With appropriate modifica-^
tions  (e.g. for drum  read cora among  the Wollof of Senegal)

135

the  generalization  holds  good  for  our  continent.  Equally
valid  is  Awoonor's  l i st  of  s k i l ls  needed  by  the  poet-
cantor:  good  voice,  verbal  s k i l l,  excellent  drumming  and
superb  dancing  (p.7) .

It  is  precisely  because  African  thought  abhors  the

Caucasian  penchant  for  compartmentalization  that  Western-
oriented  criticism  has  been  loath  to  accord  the  status  of
l i t e r a t u re  to  much  of  the  material  from  the  traditional
milieu  on  our  continent.  The  African  poet  is  often  a
composer-arranger-diviner-dancer-songster.  His  protein
gifts  make  him  an  elusive  character  to  recognize  if  one
approaches  him  s t r i c t ly  from  the  perspective  of  the  West-
ern  tradition.  But  there  should  be  no  doubt  of  his  status
as  a  poet  with  an  individual  voice,  as  well  as  a  carrier-on
of  a  living  tradition.  Awoonor's  introduction  contains  two
pertinent  observations:

I was  struck by the  discovery  that  each  poet
within  the  oral  tradition is a distinct  in-
dividual, propelled by a deep  sense of loneli-
ness  and an overwhelming  ennui  that  are  the
burdens of  all  true  poets,  (p.2) .

and  Because  they  ate all  older poets  they  carry
in  their work a continuing  tradition  which" goes
back in time.  They  are  also  poets  who  have  in-
fluenced  younger  poets.  (p*11)

It  is, I hope, superfluous to indicate  that  "eating  older
poet" in the  second  quotation is an earthy, concrete  and
fsithful  translation of the  (metaphorical)  act of absorbing
the works of the  artist's  predecessors.  The  evidence on the
role of individual  creativity  in poetry  (see Harold  Scheub)
and  the  folktale  (see  S.L.  Ansah)  must by now be  overwhelming,

To conclude  then, these  two collections do much  service

to the  student of African  Literature in thus  making  available
in print  some of the gems of literary  creativity  which  the
language  barrier  would  otherwise  have  made  the exclusive  pre-
serve of Igbo  and  Ewe  speakers.  The  texts  vary in quality,
which is not  surprising;  but  they  do provide  evidence (if
such  should be  needed) of genuine  creativity  of  anonymous
authorship in the case of the  Igbo volume, and of the re-
pertoire of three  distinctive  Ewe poetic personalities. The
Awoonor volume in  particular  is a timely  reminder  that  Sue

-. -

*•

3*

136

recognition  should  be  accorded  to  the  artistic
stature  of  those many  unsung  practitioners  of
arts  in our various  African  countries,  torch-
bearers  of  a living  tradition.  In  the  same
way  that  they  have  extended  the  boundaries  of
the  aesthetic  traditions  in which  .they work, we
need  also  by  study  and  even  experimentation  to
extend  the: scope  of  their  achievement.

In  the  circumstances, who  are  we  to  deny  them  the

status  of  literary  creators  by  quibbling  over  whether
to call  their  output  "verbal  art",  "traditional  verse"
or  some  such  piece  of  apologia.  Their bequest  is
literature,  albeit  literature  in an oral medium.  To
be  amply  specific,  it  is  "traditional  oral  literature".

REFERENCES

E.  Ofori Akyea :

"A study  of  some  verbal  art  forms  of
Juaben  - An  Ashanti  State", M.A. Thesis
I .A.S.,  Legon,  1967.

Charles  Angmort

"New  Voices  in  Ghana,"  the  development
of  Ghanaian  Literary  writing  in  English,
M.A. Thesis, I.A.S,  Legon,  1974.

S.L.  Ansah:

"Oral  Literature  Among  the  Hill  Guan",
N.A.  Thesis, I.A.S.,. Legon,  1974.

Kofi  Awoonor:

of the Sacred  Wood, Ewe

Poetry,  Nok  Publishers,  Ltd.,  New  York,
1974.

Romanus  Egudu  & Donatus  Nwogat  Igbo  Traditional  Versej

Heineman,  London,  1973.

Ruth  Fennegan:

Oral Literature in Africa,  Oxford
University  Press, 1970.

Taban  Lo  liyong: Eating  Chiefs^Heineman,  1970.

I.  Schapera:

Praise  Poems of the Taw ana Chiefs,
o.u.P.,  1965.

Harold  Scheubi

"The Ntsomi: a Xhosa  Performing  Art,"
Ph.D.  Thesis, University  of Wisconsin,
1969.

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