Incest in Ballads: the Availability of Cultural Meaning EBEOGU, AFAM N
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Lore and Language The Journal of the Centre for English Cultural Tradition and Language Editor J.D.A. Widdowson Centre for English Cultural Tradition and Language, University of Sheffield Editorial Board N .F . Blake, University of Sheffield D.O. Buchan, Memorial University of Newfoundland G . Cox, University of Reading D .G. Hey, University of Sheffield J.M. Kirk, The Queen ·s University of Belfast R . L e ith, Leamington Spa C. Neilands, The Queen's University of Belfast P .S. Smith, Memorial University of Newfoundland © 1993 Hisarlik Press. Apart fro1n any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticis1n or review, as pennitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, or where reproduction is required for classroon1 use or coursework by students, this publication 1nay only be reproduced, stored or trans1nitted, in any fonn or by any tneans, with the prior pennission in writing of the publishers. US copyright law applicable to users in the USA. Lore and Language is published twice annually, in January and July. Volutne 11 is a single vol mne ( cotnprising two issues) covering two years, 1992-1993; Volutne 12 will cover 1994. Subscription rates for Volutne 11 are: Institutional, £50.00; Personal, £12 (all prices in Sterling). Send pay1nent to Hisarlik Press, 4 Catisfield Road, Enfield Lock, Middlesex EN3 6BD, UK, or credit card details to Vine House Distribution, Waldenbury, North Cointnon, Chailey, East Sussex BNg 4DR, UK. All other business correspondence concerning Volutne 11 and later volutnes should be addressed to Hisarlik Press, 4 Catisfield Road, Enfield Lock, Middlesex EN3 6BD, UK; tel. +44 992 800 989; fax +44 81 292 6118; e-tnail: lore(i!!hisarlik.denton.co.uk. Correspondence concerning vol mnes previous to Volunu.·. 11 should be addressed to Sheffield Acadetnic Press, 343 Fulwood Road, Sheffield S10 3BP, UK. For editorial correspondence and Instructions to Authors see inside back cover. 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Printed in Great Britain by Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenha1n, Wiltshire Lore and Language The Journal of the Centre for English Cultural Tradition and Language Volume 11 Number 1 1992-1993 Contents WIDDOWSON, J.D.A. 1-2 Editorial ALABA, OLUGBOYEGA 3-25 The place of verbal jokes in Yoruba life ATKINSON, DAVID 27-44 Incest in ballads: the availability of cultural meaning EBEOGU, AFAM N. 45-67 '"City and transcity" folk literature: the dramaturgy and rhetoric of oral advertisetnent of medical products in Nigeria FRYE, CHARLES 69-90 The African South: a critique of Puckett's Folk beliefs of the Southern Negro YANKAH, VICTOR 91-94 Review Article-The novels of Chinua Achebe: a reappraisal N OTES AND QUERIES 95-97 REVIEWS 99-126 Lore and Language 11, 1-2 (1992-1993) Editorial The publication of Lore and Language Volume 11 marks a new phase in the development of the journal. Founded in 1969, primarily as a newsletter and discussion forum for fieldworkers, correspondents and others interested in the Survey of Language and Folklore, Lore and Language has been published twice a year since then, and will celebrate its silver jubilee in 1994. Its relaunch in a new format under the auspices of Hisarlik Press provides an opportunity to remind readers and contributors that back numbers are available from the Centre for English Cultural Tradition and Language (CECTAL), an institution which developed directly from the ongoing Survey of Language and Folklore, inaugurated in 1964. It is also an occasion for restating the aims and scope of the journal and to invite new contributors and readers to join the international list of subscribers to this unique publication. This interdisciplinary journal includes articles on all aspects of cultural tradition and welcomes contributions from the fields of folklore, linguistics, anthropology, sociology, popular culture, psychology, history (especially oral history) and literary studies, among others. It regards all such disciplines as making their distinctive contribution to a holistic description and analysis of culture, particularly in their mediation through language. Modern approaches to the study of folklore and cultural tradition, whether theoretical or applied, are emphasised, and the recognition of the importance of urban folklore is central to the aims of the journal. It has a special interest in English folklore, dialectology, sociolinguistics, and British culture, but publishes articles in English from all cultures and languages; material on African folklore and language, for example, is strongly represented. A substantial proportion of the journal is devoted to reviews of recent releases across the very wide field of interest concerned. A Notes and Queries section maintains the discussion forum which has been an important feature from the outset. The journal also actively encourages written contributions from young writers entering the disciplines concerned. It seeks to promote the work of younger scholars, especially those in England and other parts of the British Isles where folklore and cultural studies are currently enjoying something of a renaissance after a lengthy period of neglect. The two issues comprising Volume 11, which covers 1992-1993, 2 J.DA. Widdowson include a typically wide-ranging selection of subject matter-from English regional dialects and blason populaire to folk beliefs, verbal jokes, early English drama, the ballad and aspects of moral education. Volume 12 will consist of a celebratory 25th anniversary double issue of papers presented at the highly s uccessful 22nd International Ballad Conference of the Societe Internationale d ,Ethnologie et de Folklore in Belfast in 1992. The conference conveners, Dr John M. Kirk and Dr Colin Neilands of the Queen's University of Belfast will be the Guest Editors. We also take this opportunity to thank all friends and subscribers who h ave supported the journal and the Centre for almost three decades. At the same time, we welcome new friends and subscribers, and look forward to your contribution and your support in the years to come. J.D.A. WIDDOWSON Lore and Language 11, 3-25 (1992- 1993) The place of verbal jokes in Yoruba life OLUGBOYEGA ALABA Introd uction The Yoruba The Yoruba people1 primarily inhabit the South-Western part of Nigeria (Lagos, Ogun, QyQ, Ond6, parts of Kwara and Bendel States). The people are basically hard-working peasants, hunters, traders and craft-workers. They are in most things religous in the African sense. 2 They love verbal art and music.3 They are fond of social activities at leisure when they engage themselves in various entertaining activities such as outdoor and indoor games, storytelling and cracking jokes in chit-chat conversation over drinks. Not even the influence of Western civilisation has been able to reduce let alone destroy these customs of the Y aruba people. The customs are continually adapted to the changing culture of the people while their essence remains intact. The Yoruba language in relation to verbal jokes The Yoruba language is a tone language4 which is also rich in words and lends itself to easy manipulation for generating puns, riddles, jokes, proverbs, tales, chants and songs, among other forms of communication by the people. Looking cursorily at Yoruba verbal jokes, one is inclined to regard most of them as mere instances of figures of speech such as metaphors, play upon words, play upon tones and idiomatic expressions. But they are really more than these. If one carefully considers them in their social context, that is, the totality of their cultural and sociological background, one would definitely see them as constituting interesting problems for scholars such as linguists, folklorists, 4 Olugboyega Alaba anthropologists, sociologists, psychologists, historians and even philosophers. The focus of the present study In this paper, we focus on each successful Yoruba verbal joke as a speech act5 and will attempt to answer the basic question: "What is the significance or overall meaning of Yoruba verbal jokes?"6 The significance of Y oruba verbal jokes AMUSEMENT The primary significance of Yoruba verbal jokes is to make the Yoruba laugh when and if there is need for it. In this, the Yoruba as a people are not unique, for laughter is so highly regarded the world over. Laughter, a. "'is a universal human response"7, b. "the 8 universally uniting commodity" , and c. ""a very effective antidote to the tensions built up by the stress of modern life."8 All these observations point in only one direction: it is that human beings do need to laugh occasionally. Since Yoruba verbal jokes provoke laughter, they are meant to satisfy this human need and as such constitute a significant aspect of Yoruba life. Laughter is the overt yardstick for verbal jokes throughout the world. Psychologists see laughter as ··an experimental test" while, to them: "Humour is the only form of communication in which a stimulus on a high level of complexity produces a stereotyped, predictable response on the psychological reflex level. Thus the response can be used as an indicator for the presence of the elusive quality that is called humour. " 9 This has been tested during our fieldwork on Yoruba verbal jokes. Whenever a Yoruba verbal joke is created, laughter ensues, but occasionally the people merely smile; in short, there is normally no adverse reaction from any of the language users involved, and so humour is assumed. Basically, Yoruba verbal jokes are a means of amusement. There is, however, a limit to laughter in Yoruba speech, because they say: Iw()n l~rfn dun mQ, Verbal jokes in Yoruba life 5 ~ si rin in nfba. (Laughter needs measurement, Do laugh moderately). This is in keeping with the universal truism that "Too much of anything is bad." So, the Yoruba use their verbal jokes to provoke laughter, not indiscriminately but judiciously.