When we say African literature it is a literary works of the African continent. 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). It is not focuses only in written activities but also in Oral literature, including stories, dramas, riddles, histories, myths, songs, proverbs, and other expressions, is frequently employed to educate and entertain children. Oral histories, myths, and proverbs additionally serve to remind whole communities of their ancestors' heroic deeds, their past, and the precedents for their customs and traditions. Essential to oral literature is a concern for presentation and oratory. Folktale tellers use call-response techniques. A griot (praise singer) will accompany a narrative with music.
Some of the first African writings gained attention in the West were the poignant slave narratives, such as The Interesting Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa, the African (1789), which described vividly the horrors of slavery and the slave trade.
Since the early 19th cent. writers from western Africa have used newspapers to air their views. Several founded newspapers that served as vehicles for expressing nascent nationalist feelings. French-speaking Africans in France, led by Léopold Senghor , were active in the négritude movement from the 1930s, along with Léon Damas and Aimé Césaire , French speakers from French Guiana and Martinique.
After World War II, as Africans began demanding their independence, more African writers were published. Such writers as, in western Africa, Wole Soyinka , Chinua Achebe , Ousmane Sembene , Kofi Awooner, Agostinho Neto , Tchicaya u tam'si, Camera Laye, Mongo Beti, Ben Okri, and Ferdinand Oyono and, in eastern Africa, Ngugi wa Thiong'o , Okot p'Bitek , and Jacques Rabémananjara produced poetry, short stories, novels, essays, and plays.
In South Africa, the horrors of apartheid have, until the present, dominated the literature. The weaving of music into the Kenyan's play points out another characteristic of African literature. Many writers incorporate other arts into their work and often weave oral conventions into their writing.
African literature has origins dating back thousands of years to Ancient Egypt and hieroglyphs, or writing which uses pictures to represent words. These Ancient Egyptian beginnings led to Arabic poetry, which spread during the Arab conquest of Egypt in the seventh century C.E. and through Western Africa in the ninth century C.E. These African and Arabic cultures continued to blend with the European culture and literature to form a unique literary form.
Africa experienced several hardships in its long history which left an impact on the themes of its literature. One hardship which led to many others is that of colonization. Wherein the became slave, they leave their country and settle in another land often one which is already inhabited. The problem with colonization is when the incoming people exploit the indigenous people and the resources of the inhabited land. Colonization led to slavery. Millions of African people were enslaved and brought to Western countries around the world from the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries. This spreading of African people, largely against their will, is called the African Diaspora.
Sub-Saharan Africa developed a written literature during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This development came as a result of missionaries coming to the area. The missionaries came to Africa to build churches and language schools in order to translate religious texts. This led to Africans writing in both European and indigenous languages.
Though African literature's history is as long as it is rich, most of the popular works have come out since 1950, especially the noteworthy Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. Looking beyond the most recent works is necessary to understand the complete development of this collection of literature.
THEMES IN AFRICAN LITERATURE:
COLONIALISM
LIBERATION
NATIONALISM
TRADITION
DISPLACEMENT
ROOTLESSNESS
Chinua Achebe, the Nigerian novelist seen by millions as the father of African literature, has died at the age of 82 .
CHARACTERISTICS OF AFRICAN LITERATURE:
Now, let's have the two poems from African Literature. They were entitled Life in Our Village by Matei Markwei and THE LITTLE BIRD by Ray Ndebi.
Life in Our Village
by Matei Markwei
In our village When elders are around, Boys must not look at girls And Girls must not look at boys Because the elder say That is not good.
Even when night comes Boys must play separately, Girls must play separately. But humanity is weak So boys and girls meet.
The boys play hide and seek And the girls play hide and seek. The boys know where the girls hide And the girls know where the boys hide – So in their hide and seek, Boys seek girls Girls seek boys, And each to each sing Songs of love.
Lesson: There are different kinds of love. There is the love you feel for someone special, who made a great impact in your life. There is also a love for things, which made you feel passionate and determined to achieve your goals. Most importantly there is a love for friends and family, who always showed care and comfort to make you feel safe. However, this poem shows how much elders are dedicated to taking care of their offspring. After all, they are young and still innocent of the real world. The whole poem actually speaks of elders barring boys and girls to interact with each other. Thus, if we objectively think about it, they are just protecting their children so they will not commit mistakes that they will regret in the end.
THE LITTLE BIRD
by Ray Ndebi
Little bird little bird come home
My skies are empty without you
Little bird little bird come home
Your mother is waiting for you.
Haven't you heard she was dying
So often had she tried to walk
Her feet failed her, she's now crawling
You can't hear her, as she can't talk.
But I know you can feel her pain For you are her blood and her breath You are the shield against the rain Don't let her in the arms of death. Each day kills her a thousand times She will not make it to the door She begs God to disclose her crimes And why He took away her core.
The odds are no longer serving They have turned greedy and empty Remember she was a great queen Now she's a slave tied to a tree Little bird Hope of Africa Come home and never leave again Don't make today my last stanza Don't let me take the midnight train.
Lesson: The essential thing that one will learn is the fact that there is hope. Whatever the situation, wherever you live, no matter how hard life can be, you have to keep hope and faith in life because something can happen.
END!!!
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