African Oral Tradition and Sundiata Critique - Essay Example

? African Oral Tradition and Sundiata Critique African Oral Tradition and Sundiata Critique Thesis ment The artistic forms of expression dominate the black cultural experience and define the cultural norms of the African people. Moreover, Africans have distinct oral languages that they use in their oral performance to pass their traditions from one generation to another. This paper relies on the two articles provided for this assignment to define orality as the use of speech through oral languages in oral performances within a living community (Appiah & Gates, 2005). The paper will conveniently discuss the different forms of African oral traditions. Further, it will discuss the African oral tradition with relation to oral traditions and my society. While giving an example of an African epic, this paper seeks to critic the book Sundiata. African Oral Tradition According to the two articles, oral tradition refers to the preservation of traditions, norms, and cultures of a community by passing them to different generations using oral language of communication. The most dominant forms of oral traditions include songs, folktales, myths, praise poetry, and legends. Songs are part of African orature that define a systematic form of language, which is set to music, composed, and transmitted through an oral medium (Appiah & Gates, 2005). They fundamentally form the cultural production of the African literary and form part of oral performance that communicates the historical and social environment of an African tradition. Songs manifest in African societies through the African folklore and the African oral aesthetic event Appiah & Gates, 2005). Notably, there are different types of songs. For instance, we have traditional songs, which call people to safety and give directions in case of danger. On the other hand, folktale refers to the narration of events or a sequence of events, which are real or fictitious and that form part of oral traditions in a given community using an oral language. Folktales manifest in the society when individuals address the audience directly. An example of a folktale is the Black Snake and the Eggs. A myth defines a collection of true or untrue traditional stories that describe a given culture and explain natural events (Appiah & Gates, 2005). A myth deals with legends, ancestors, and supernatural beings, which divine intervention, cannot explain. Indeed, a legend is a poetic narration of the deeds of great heroes or historical events transmitted in a traditional ceremony. Myths and legends manifest in the society when people tells these stories to the audience directly with a view of explaining the origin of a certain tradition. An epic is an example of a legend. The Sunjata of West Africa is a common epic that depicts a legend (Appiah & Gates, 2005). Praise poetry refers to poetic expression that defines and name individuals characterized by bold imagery expressed in relevant oral language (Irele & Gikandi, 2004). Praise poetry manifests in the personal set of praise names of individuals in a society from birth to maturity. An example of a praise poem is the “praises of Nzibe, son of Senzangakhona (Irele & Gikandi, 2004).” Notably, oral performance in society takes place in the public arena and performers start receiving training on how to become a good performer since childhood (Appiah & Gates, 2005). Performance is temporal, collective, interactive, and participatory (Appiah & Gates, 2005). In an oral performance, the performer and the audience engage in direct dialogue that enhances cohesion and passing of oral traditions from one generation to another. Sundiata Critique The reference articles and the book depict Sundiata as an epic form of literature. However, before justifying or analyzing Sundiata as an epic, we may need to define an epic. According to Appiah & Gates (2005), an epic is a poetic narration of the deeds of great heroes or historical events transmitted in a traditional ceremony. An epic contains social and ecological knowledge on the origin of things, seasons, and names of certain things and people. It explains the origin of traditions and teaches efficient traditional behavior, which includes the respect for traditional norms. An epic condemns unethical and negative behavior like fear, lies, treason, and advocates for positive behaviors like loyalty, respect, honor, and courage (Appiah & Gates, 2005). Notably, epics cover various disciplines and derive entertainment to the audience. Ideally, we can define an epic in terms of the nature of birth, corruption, supernatural heroes, exile of an heir, restoration of law and order, corrosion of morality, return of the hero, formation of alliances, and early childhood (Appiah & Gates, 2005). As such, for Sundiata to qualify as an epic, it must possess some or all the identified features. Therefore, in critiquing/discussing Sundiata as an example of African epic, I will briefly narrate how the story of the epic of Sundiata fulfills the above structural motifs of an epic. Notably, the epic of Sundiata satisfies various structural motifs of an epic and conversely fails to satisfy some structural motifs. The author of the epic of Sundiata describes the nature of birth and childhood life of Sundiata. He denotes that Sundiata was the son of Nare Maghann and Sogolon Conde (Niane, 2006). However, the author does not give the actual dates of the birth of Sundiata. Niane (2006) narrates that Sundiata, though born in a kingdom, was from childhood a cripple. Thus, his mother suffered a lot of ridicule from the society and more specifically from his mother’s co-wives. As a result, Sundiata’s mother suffered the humiliation because of her son’s disability (Niane, 2006). This form of humiliation made Sundiata desire to walk; he did anything he could to walk just like his peers. Indeed, subject to his determination, Sundiata miraculously got up and walked one day. Niane (2006) also informs us of the supernatural nature of Sundiata. In fact, he introduces the epic by appreciating Sundiata as the man whose victory created the Mali Empire (Niane, 2006). He recognizes him as the founder of the Mali Empire and the celebrated hero of the Mandinka people of Mali. The generations of Mandinka griots transmits the epic of Sundiata. Moreover, after suffering from ridicule, threats, and persecution of her son’s disability, Sogolon took her children, Sundiata and his sisters, into exile. Indeed, for a period of seven years, Sogolon and her immediate family travelled from one asylum to another (Niane, 2006). This depicted the exile of a rightful heir as a structural motif of an epic. During the asylum, Sundiata encountered hospitability as well as mistreatment. Ultimately, the King of Mema granted Sundiata and his family asylum. Notably, as an epic depicts, King Mema admired Sundiata due to his courage and tenacity where he consequently gave him a senior position in his Kingdom. However, King Soumaoro Kante of Sosso was aware of the prophecy, which destined Sundiata to be a great leader (Niane, 2006). As such, the king ordered for the search and return of Sundiata from exile. In fact, his return was to liberate the Mandinkas and their homeland from captivity. This shows the return of a hero, which is a structural motif of an epic. The greatness of Sundiata also manifested when the army accompanied him back to his homeland in Mandinka (Niane, 2006). In the narration, Niane (2006) also reveals structural motif of an epic by depicting how Sundiata formed allies during the battle of Kirina. Indeed, through the formation of alliances, Sundiata was able to win battles like the battle of Kirina where he defeated the Sosso king to become the first emperor of the Mali Empire (Niane, 2006). This led to the restoration of law and order in the Empire as characterized in the structural motifs of an epic. However, the epic of Sundiata had significant demerits, which attract serious criticism. For instance, the epic of Sundiata does not give actual dates and the attempt of the Arab and North African historians to provide some chronological dates for the epic does not satisfy the need for structural motifs in an epic. At the same time, the Sundiata epic omitted some important information relating to the oral traditions of the Mandinka as transmitted by Mandinka griots. Additionally, we cannot establish an authoritative version of the epic, which derives questions to the information contained in the epic. References Appiah, K.A., & Gates, H.L., Jr. (2005). Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience. London: Oxford University Press. Irele, A., & Gikandi, S. (2004). The Cambridge history of African and Caribbean literature. London: Cambridge University Press. Niane, D. T. (2006). Sundiata: An epic of old Mali. Harlow: Longman. Read More