An alluring beauty of Africa
ETYMOLOGY
Africa Terra- land of the afri
Afri- (Plural)
Afer- (Singular)
Afer may be from:
Phoenician Afar- which means dust or
Afridi- Tribe of Northern Africa
Greek Aphrike- it means without cold or
Latin Aprica- which means sunny
AND LATER BECAME AFRICA
INTRODUCTION
Africa is considered as the 2nd largest country next to Asia. It covers more than one-fifth of all the earth's surface. In fact, it comprises 46 countries and territories. It has 5 major languages namely: Afro-asiatic languages, click languages, Niger-Congo languages, Sudanic languages and Austronesian languages.
AFRICAN LITERATURE
The African literature includes oral literature called Orature and Pio Zirimu. Orature was coined by Pio Zirimu and this kind of literature can be process or verses. On the other hand, Pio Zirimu is an Ugandan scholar and they used the call and response techniques used by story teller.
PRE-COLONIAL LITERATURE
Epic of Sudiata (composed by Medieval Mali), Epic of Dinga (from Old Ghana empire), Kebra Negas or Book of Kings (the best known work in this tradition) and Tricksters story (one of the popular forms of Tradition African Folktales).
African literature, 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). 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. 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 .
COLONIAL LITERATURE
Joseph Ephraim Casely
He published the 1st African novel written in English. He wrote the 1st African "Ethopia Unbound" which is the studies in race emancipation.
Ngugiwa Thiong'o
He wrote the first African drama, Black Hermit.
POST COLONIAL LITERATURE
Ali A. Mazrui
It mention "seven conflicts" as "themes"
Wole Soyinka
Became the 1st post independent African writer
Herbert Isaac Ernest Dhlomo
He wrote 1st english language African play entitled "The Girl Who Liked to Save"
AFRICAN WRITERS AND POET
Wole Soyinka- foremost English language poet. He was born on July 13, 1934 at Nigeria
Chinua Achebe- Nigerian novelist and poet.He was born on November 16,1930 at Ogidi Anambra.
He wrote the 1st novel entitled "Things Fall Apart".
John Peer Clark- Nigerian poet, dramatist and literary critic. He was born on April 6, 1935.
Ngugiwa Thiong'o- the most important East African novelist. He was born on January 5, 1938 at Kenya.
CHARACTERICTICS OF AFRICAN LITERATURE
African literature preserves the rich culture and traditions of all African nations, The myths and trickster tales, which typically explains the creation of the universe, the activities of the gods at the beginning of creation and the essence of existence. English, Portuguese and French were the European colonial powers who conquered Africa. Most of the literary pieces of Africa shed light on controversial issues such as racial discrimination, political conflicts, civil war, gender sensitivity, and human right issues.
“Life in Our Village” by MateiMarkwei
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.
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.
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