ORAL AND WRITTEN LITERATURE IN AFRICA: A STRUCTURALIST THINGS FALL APART. BAKO

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1 ORAL AND WRITTEN LITERATURE IN AFRICA: A STRUCTURALIST THINGS FALL APART. BY BAKO Abstract This paper examines the relationship between Oral and written literature in Africa. It highlights the transformation of Oral narrative into written texts. The paper focuses specifically on the use of Oral-narrative techniques in structuring and fashioning the narration Fall Apart. In this regard, the paper dwells on how the Oral tradition in Africa influences the plot structure of Things Fall Apart. The paper uses the Structuralist approach for the analysis of the text under study, and discovers that in spite of its being presented in the written medium, Things Fall Apart contains a huge dosage of African Oral traditions. Lastly, the paper identifies how oral songs, storytelling, and proverbial Fall Apart, proving the assertion that anteced Key Words: Orality, oral-songs, storytelling, proverbial-expressions, structuralism, and oral -narratives. Introduction Little acquaintance with African literature written in the European languages (particularly English) will reveal its oral antecedents. This is not surprising since the writers of these texts are core members of their respective traditional societies. As such, whenever they choose to communicate their experiences to the world, there is always a lingering possibility that they will cling back on the rich repertoire of oral tradition that exist in their midst. In this regard, African culture becomes a great source for themes and motifs with which to structure and fashion their experiences in the form of prose, poetry and drama. However, of all these genres of literature, prose seems to be the most pervasive medium through which the writers in Africa interrogate and criticize the socio-political and religious deeds of the people. In their various attempts to perform this societal obligation, African writers, using European languages, often resort to the use of folkloric elements and indigenous storytelling modes in their texts. For some writers, reliance on these oral elements forms the basis or a sub-text of their narration. Examples of such African writers who hinge their narratives on the African Oral mode include: Chinua Achebe, Ngugi Wa Thiongo, Femi Osofisan, Niyi Osundare and Wole Soyinka. However, this pape Things Fall Apart (1958) to provide the platform upon which the discussion and analysis of my premise revolves and evolves. In virtually all of his novels: Things Fall Apart (1958), No Longer at Ease(1960), Arrow of God(1964), A Man of The People (1966) and Anthills of the Savannah (1987), Orality is a visible textual element, which implies that as African writers are inseparably attached to their environment, so are they to their oral antecedents. The relationship between oral and written literature in Africa is that of adoption and adaptation. In this respect, it would be convenient to suggest that the written literature in *, Department of English, Gombe State University , Audulbako15@gmail.com 75

2 Africa adopted the oral; and the oral in turn adapted and integrated into the written. Another way of understanding the connection between these two modes of expression is to see it as a relationship between a river and its tributaries. This relationship has what Irele (1990:61) calls that - articulating the cultural tradition of the people in addition to being a medium for challenging and criticizing tyrannical authorities. This makes African literature highly political in both appearance and orientation, regardless of the medium through which it is conveyed. In modern African literature written in European languages, there is a close textual relationship between Orality and the written word. The relation is most often dual, because the oral can be recovered in the written; and the written can also be textually realized as a verbal performance. This makes language and its use to be at the center of textual compositions, because whether oral or writt whether written or oral, are composed and addressed to the people as a whole, thereby making stories to be communal property in the African context. Thus, the narrator of tales in African context is the performer, in that he or she must, by necessity, demonstrate some part of the story being narrated through the use of both linguistic (voice) and paralinguistic elements (gesture). In addition to having a well-defined narrator in every oral narrative, there is also the presence of an audience. This means that the narrator and the audience must meet at a particular location and at a particular time, with a particular goal. Theoretical Framework This paper will adopt the structuralist approach for the analysis of oral arts. This is for the e characters in the story, structuralism is mostly concerned with the style and mode of telling it. Achebe has artistically succeeded in interlacing the oral tradition of his people into the fictional narration of Things Fall Apart. He does that with relative ease, bearing in mind the target readers of his literary piece who are mostly Africans. Structuralism is based on the premise that, for a story to be well- understood there is the need to divide it into smaller sections or units. Characters therefore, are not much important in a tale, but the role they play. Structuralism is based on the realization that, since human productions have meaning, there must be an underlying system responsible for producing such meaning. Jonathan Culler (1975:5) quotes Rolan implies that for us to understand structuralism, we have to examine its relationship with linguistics. This is because literary artists use language as their raw material; by crafting it, manipulating it, and shaping it with their artistry. They create language which is extraordinary, poetic, metaphorical, powerful, and esthetic. In this regard, the works of famous linguists such as Roman Jacobson and Ferdinand de Saussure have provided basic tools for structural analysis. The borrowings from linguistics are based on two fundamental premises. First, is the fact that social and cultural phenomena, unlike objects or events, do have meaning and are therefore signs. Secondly, parts of the phenomena are independent, but are defined by a network of relations both internal and external. Furthermore, Claude Levi-Strauss derived ideas of linguistics. He introduces two important concepts towards the definition of culture which are known as Nature/Culture opposition. He argues that everything that is subject to rules belongs to culture. 76

3 Things Fall Apart Things Fall Apart has been widely regarded as a literary piece that humanizes Africa and presents its past and culture as intriguing, profound and elaborate enough to inspire the most considered literary treatment. It is conceived as a response to the degeneration of Africa in colonial novels. It seeks to go beyond the colonial depiction of Africa as a land with no language, culture and history, by reversing the colonial gaze in order to reveal an essential humanity that the colonial novels either deliberately eschewed or over looked. Achebe seems to achieve all these by mixing up the European conventions of literate expressions with the indigenous tradition of Orality. The discourse of Things Fall Apart is interlaced with African proverbs, oral songs and storytelling tradition. Most often, the dialogue in the novel is structured around proverbial expressions and popular sayings, thereby demonstrating the cultural rootedness of the writer. To begin with, in the story of the tortoise and the birds, Achebe has artistically succeeded in presenting a trickster hero that is extremely clever. As a typical element of African oral tradition, the story is narrated to an eagerly awaited audience whose desire for traditional tales is unbelievably insatiable. It begins with the opening formulae thus: Once upon a time, the birds were invited to a great feast in the sky. There was a famine in those days and Tortoise had not eaten for days. He wished he could attend the feast with his dear wings. Because he was very clever and cunning, he succeeded in persuading them to borrow him a feather, with which he made two wings. The Tortoise was very pleased to fly among the birds, and was soon chosen as the man to speak for the party because he was a great orator. As they flew on forget. When people are invited to great feast like this, they take new names for the occasion. Our hosts in the sky will expect us to honor this age- So when they had all taken names, Tortoise also took one. He was to be called all of you. At last the party arrived in the sky and their hosts were very pleased to see them. Tortoise stood up and thanked them for their invitation. His speech was so eloquent that all the birds were glad they had brought him, and nodded their heads in approval of all he said. However, when food and drinks were served before the guests, one of the people of the sky came forward and tasted a little from each pot. He then invited the birds to eat. But the Tortoise jumped replied the man. Tortoise turned to the bir name is All of You?... (77-8) As the foregoing example demonstrates, it is convenient to state that the trickster in most African oral narratives is a stock character associated with smartness, cunning, wit, and sophistry. He is an extremely clever character that can assume many forms and shapes as the situation demands. In most African narratives, the trickster figure exists mainly in a lop-sided power relation. Most often, it is the exploitative character of the society that produces tricksters. In traditional African societies, for instance, the relationship between the rulers and their subjects is mostly skewed in favor of the former. Consequently, they exploit the weakness of the teeming majority of their followers by misappropriating the resources created out of the sweat of the masses. In societies such as this, the trickster figure features prominently in the resistance narratives of the people often contained in their folktales. This makes the trickster to 77

4 be a subversive character that is all out to contest the authority of the rulers through deception, cunning and trickery. The tortoise, in this regard, can be rightly considered as a symbolic representation of the ruling class who uses the naivety of the birds (the masses) to bleed them dry. The story therefore, enforces and externalizes an aspect of human life which sometimes becomes vivid in our daily relationship with one another. The tale in this regard reflects cultural norms and the realities of the environment. Things Fall Apart Oral songs are very popular and most commonly used in African societies. Every occasion provides an opportunity to address the issue at stake. As the occasion warrants, the oral singers deal with praises of persons such as chiefs, heroes, and tribal leaders. Men of outstanding qualities and achievements are equally praised, while laziness and other social vices are frowned at and lampooned. Such oral songs are used to extol the subjects and exaggerate their deeds beyond human capabilities. To achieve this, the oral singers employ various poetic devices such as simile, metaphor, hyperbole, personification and irony. Perhaps, it is for the profuse use of these poetic devices in praise poems that Ruth Finnegan (1970:11) views Praise reveals a stylized use of diction and syntax. The words chosen, the order, rate and patterns in which they occur are very often different from the normal mode of speech. This element of stylization, which may be conscious or unconscious, imposes a peculiar artistic quality upon a given composition. These stylistic effects are also some of the factors, which are responsible for the achieved aesthetic effect of the given oral literary artifact. As may be seen in the praise poem below, the use of stylistic form is the hallmark of a literary imagination. Things Fall Apart came to limelight during a hotly contested wrestling match between two neighboring villages. The contestants fought fiercely and in the end Ikezue was thrown over by Okafo. It is important to note that these contestants are nothing but symbolic representation of their respective communities, with Okafor representing Umuofia on one hand, and Ikezue representing Mbaino on the other hand. The winner was raised shoulder-high and carried home by his teeming supporters who were clapping their hands and singing, thus: who will wrestle for our village? Okafo will wrestle for our village. Has he thrown a hundred men? He has thrown four hundred men. Has he thrown a hundred cats? He has thrown four hundred cats. (p41). In the above oral song, Okafor, though a single being, has been artistically presented as the perfect representation of Umuofia, a village that was mostly cherished and respected for its gallantry and bravery. However, it was feared by all its neighbors, because it was powerful in war and in magic. One may be tempted then, to ask what makes Achebe to bring oral song into prose narrative. This is for the simple reason that structuralism is primarily concerned with the in this regard, have been carefully employed to play an important role in the African ways of life. For this reason, there is hardly an occasion that does not involve oral singers. In the oral song demo hyperbole for graphic and dramatic effects. Here, the number of men Okafor wrestled with is indeed hyperbolic. To demonstrate this, Achebe has greatly exaggerated the number from one 78

5 -anddemonstrates the complete reliance on an active audience in a typical African oral song. Here, the audiences helped in chorusing the oral song, without which the performance may never be actualized. Achebe has deliberately presents this element of oral art to showcase his rootedness in African ways of life. Aside showcasing the heroic deeds of outstanding personalities, African oral songs are equally deployed in observing other societal functions like marital rites, naming ceremonies and other festivities. Achebe captures this in his novel, thus: If I hold her foot But when I hold her waist-beads It is a common practice in African traditional societies to complement marital rites with oral songs, dance, rituals and other forms of performances. The above song was sang to mark the departure of a just wedded bride from her parental home and introduce her arrival to her matrimonial home. The song is indeed sarcastic, as it indirectly enjoins the bride to uphold her marital obligation by being submissive to the whims and caprices of the bridegroom. Re Things Fall Apart African proverbs emanate from a repertory preserved by the community of speakers. Their form is elliptical and figurative, which easily allows for their recognition in discourse. The characteristic traits of the genre may vary from one society to the next, yet proverbs share a certain degree of similarity because of shared properties that confer a relative homogeneity among them throughout the continent. There are similar properties of content, which is understandable, given the task of the proverb to express general truths that are the fruits of a practical, ethical, social, or philosophical nature. Its metaphorical dimension distinguishes it among many African societies in an undoubtedly more systematic fashion. The proverb is indeed considered a saying that is necessarily circuitous, as it must certainly not express directly what it has to say. Proverbs are often encountered in everyday conversations among Africans, but they can also have ritualistic uses. In many African cultures, the proverb is indispensable to customary judgment. Likewise, it is the centerpiece of verbal jousts in which the two Therefore, proverb in Africa is a highly valued mode of discourse that functions as an indication of cultural status. An individual who demonstrates knowledge of proverbs distinguishes dimension of the language. Things Fall Apart. An attempt to analyze these proverbs is undoubtedly beyond the scope of this paper. However, the following constitutes some proverbial usage around which my discussion will revolve and evolve. For us to drive home the possible interpretation of the aforementioned proverb, we need to be father, Unoka, who was trying to explain the state of affairs to one of his creditors, Okoye. In 79

6 doing so, he points at the lines of chalks written on his wall to symbolize the number of groups means that Unoka shall pay only his bigger debts first. Another instance of proverbial usage came into limelight when the white men invaded the village of Umuofia, and the elders saw an urgent need to convene a meeting, at the market square, to curtail the furtherance of missionary evangelism and colonial imperialism. The speaker, in person of Okika, emphasizes the reason for such untimely gathering when they ought to be building their bands or mending their huts. broad dayligh looms large on the horizon of the people of Umuofia. -2) Meaning an impending doom As we noted earlier, in African art of conversation, proverbs are regarded with high esteem. They are perceived as the pride of African culture. Proverbs have been used to convey message -oil usually associated with the grey-haired who pride themselves with the mastery of language and all the nuances we bring to play into it. Conclusion structuralism as its theoretical framework. Things Fall Apart, using step further to prove that the relationship is that of adoption and adaptation, in that, the oral can be recovered into written; and the written can also be textually realized as a verbal art. The paper equally demonstrates how some African writers, writing in European languages, find it convenient to hinge their narrations on African oral mode. However, the paper uses only proverbs, oral narratives and oral songs as a convenient representation of African oral art which help in structuring and fashioning the narration of events in the text under study. Works Cited Achebe, Chinua. (1958) Things Fall Apart. England: Heinemann. Ahmad, Saidu B. (1989). Stability and Variation in Hausa Tales. Taylor and Francis Ltd. Culler, J. (1975) Stucturalist Poetics: Structuralism, Linguistics and the Study of Literature. Routledge &Kegan Paul, London. Finnegan, Ruth. (1970). Oral Literature in Africa. Oxford: Oxford University Press. University Press. Research in African Literature. Indian Jokobson, Roman. (1960) Concluding Statement: Linguistics and Poetics. In Style in Language. Cambridge. Propp, Vladimir. (1968). Morphology of The Folktale. New Heaven: Connecticut. Yale. Reader, London, Jonathan Cape. Structuralism: A 80