REDUCCIÓN DE FUENTES DE AGUA

UNIT 5 AESTHETIC DELIMITATIONS IN AFRICAN VERBAL

The oral African literature wth the employment of various relevant constructional instruments yields itself to all the dynamic change and interculturality of the oral practised not only to make the African verbal narrative aesthetically satisfying but also aesthetically delimited in all spheres. This explains that the context of African Art serves aesthetic functions unavoidably, primarily and this is not an invention of the modern man but part of the mimetic instinct of man that was brought into play in the various parts of preliterate Africa. Even in modern time, oral African narratives have moved a little further from its old ritualistic experiences such as ritual dance, drama, worships of deities, for instance, the worship of Obatala the sculptor Oduduwa, the Yoruba progenitor, Ogun, the god of iron and metallurgy, Sapono, the god of poxes, Iroko tree and other sacred trees among the pygmies of the Kongo Basin, Roads in traditional Kikuyu culture, worship of the sea among the Kajokaji of the Bari speaking people in the Kuku tribe of Southern Sudanese, and in varieties of other forms in Africa. Oral narratives in modern time therefore have incorporated the use of musics, acrobatic display and social festivals, as evidences of the aesthetic delimitation of oral verbal narratives.

3.1 Characterization

Characterization is an aesthetic feature of such oral forms as poetry, prose and drama. Ritual personage gods, goddesses, deities are represented in orature to characterize the creation and make a convincing representation. The narrator presents the characters to the audience sometimes through dramatic representation, symbolic reenactment through the use of costume for instance the Yoruba deity, Sango‟s character, (red, yeri Sango‟s skirt on which flaps of leather called Wabi, the special hairdo of Sango known as the Osu as well as Sango‟s girdle. Oja Sango on with the laba Sango (Sango‟s bag) cross the chgaracter‟s chest, he holds a hand prop and Ose Sango‟s dancing wand, a deftly carved double-edged axe, and a gourd rattle, Seere). The character who mirrors Sango in such marrative must also dance to bata‟s music at the moment and perform some amazingly magical feats such as emitting fire from his mouth, spitting fire, carrying a pot of fire with bare hands, momentarily, aggressive, restless, power-drunk, power-driven as the audience chants his Sango‟s praise song and other amazing skills that are characteristic of the Sango character-impersonator as understood in Yoruba myths and narratology. This characteristic feature of Sango, a literary dramatic re-enactment, re-inventing the oral aesthetism, is role play-evolving is to further reflect the aesthetic delimitation of oral narratives. Moreso, the one who characterizes the Yoruba god of Iron, Sango is a known person, one of them in the community who must assume Sango in the ritualized drama and theatre.

The ritual is essentially a very good part of oral African narrative, and it is a continuum as a cultural practise rich in spiritual acstasy, music, praise, chants, incantations, proverbs and drumming. The delimitation of such ritual experiment is visible as members of the oral African societies are turning to primitive forms of drama, introducing stages, formal structures, improvising spaces to further the formal aesthetics of orality and narratology.

3.1.1 Oral African Narrative Conceptualized into Creative Aesthetics

Everywhere in African culture and traditition, circularity (relational) and linearity (analytic) are expressed in the peoples oral culture because the people and their tradition and cultural expression are inextricably bound to the way one conceptualizes the oral African universe, and particularly, this is true of oral African culture as culture permeates the African mind. And, every occasion in the African culture and tradition is considered important and thus, calls for the making of ceremonies, and such ceremonies in whichever dimension, and figurines are called for the making of music, hence, the importance placed upon musical activity as an integral and functioning part of the African society is a feature that music shares with other aesthetic aspects of culture in Africa and on which is emphasized in almost all non-literate societies. In oral African literature, almost nothing is compartmentalized or divorced from aspects of everyday life, including the artist, and commercial artist or craftsman who have their roles and functions, but, all fussed with societal competence and the aesthetics activities which are closely related to the overall functioning culture of the society.

3.1.2 Weaving of Conflicts into Story Variants

A survey of oral African narratives across cultures in Africa reveal that no matter how little a situation may appear in African culture, its overall purpose is to tell a story and provide aesthetics for the people. For instance, the Kajokaji of the Bari speaking people of Kuku tribe of Southern Sudanese are known to demonstrate their stories before the audience practically, and where such stories require the character to dress imitatively to assume a mythical character, it is done with all the necessary materials with none or little improvisation. The Pygmies of the Congo too, tradition reveals that whenever they are set to worship the sun, the characters that are involved are required to paint their face-masked like the sun/in the appearance of the sun to promote aesthetics. In many African societies, oral narratives are woven into conflicts and conflicts into the narratives, as in the Sundjata of the Mali people, that is often a mixture of praises, singing, dancing and drumming combined with men dressed in the traditional warrior of the Mali Warriors, performing acrobatic display and amazing skills with locally made spear at hand. Usually, the men are grouped into two as opposing warrior camps ready for warfare combined with wrestling. They are dressed in Malian warrior appearance, with spear in hand, holding locally made fan, with power enhancing charm wrapped round their left wrists, Tambourine, heifer, wands, girdle, short skirts. The entire participants dance, runs to assume Sundjata in reflective tone, dance to the flute and drum amidst praises, chants, songs and incantations completing the aesthetic value of the entire performance with delimitational functionality reciprocal of the peoples indigenous culture and tradition.

4.0 CONCLUSION

In this unit, we have discussed the aesthetic delimitation of African verbal narratives showing evidence of its delimitation.

5.0 SUMMARY

In this unit, you have learnt that

 you can reproduce the verbal narrative of your people and indicate evidence of aesthetic delimitation

 African verbal narrative is ever aesthetically satisfying

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

1) Present two African verbal narratives indicating evidence of aesthetic delimitation.

2) How are the following concepts related to aesthetic delimitation in African verbal narratives

(i) characterization (ii) dramaturgy (iii) creativity (iv) conflict as story (iv) use of drums and songs

(vi) relate issues with the terrestrial and celestial/ancestors

7.0 REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING

Adedeji (1973). “The Adimu Orisa Play”. Occassional Publications, No. 1, Dept.

of Theatre Arts, University of Ibadan.

Creighton (1965). „An Attempt to Define African Literature‟ G. Moore (Ed.) African Literature and Universities. England.

Dathorne (1976). African Literature in the 20th Century. Ibadan: HEB.

Irele, Abiola (1976). „Studying African Literature in African Perspectives 1977/71 Text and Cont.‟ ed. M. Schipperde Lee UV The Netherland Africa Studies Centrum.

Nkosi, Lewis (1981). Tasks and Mask: Themes and Styles of African Literature.

Ibadan: Longman.

Olatunde, Olatunji (1980). Music in Yoruba Chants: Readings in Yoruba Chants.

Olatunji, O. (1970). Characteristic Features of Yoruba Oral Poetry. Ibadan:

University of Ibadan Press.

Olukoju, O. (1978). The Place of Chants in Yoruba Traditional Oral Literature.

Ibadan: University of Ibadan Press.

Osanyin, Bode (1983). “A Cross-road of History, Legend and Myth: The Case of the Origin of Adimu Orisa”. Nwanna Nzewunwa (Ed.) The Masquerade in Nigerian History and Culture. Port Harcourt: University of Port-Harcourt Press.

Schechner, R. (1995). The Future of Ritual Writings on Culture and Performance. London: Routledge.

Soyinka, Wole (1975). Myth, Literature and the African World. Cambridge:

CUP.

Vincent, T. & Senanu, K. (1988). A Selection of African Poetry. London:

Longman.