Folktale Tradition of the Esan People and African Oral Literature
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“OKHA”: FOLKTALE TRADITION OF THE ESAN PEOPLE AND AFRICAN ORAL LITERATURE 1ST IN THE SERIES OF INAUGURAL LECTURES OF SAMUEL ADEGBOYEGA UNIVERSITY OGWA, EDO STATE, NIGERIA. BY PROFESSOR BRIDGET O. INEGBEBOH B.A. M.A. PH.D (ENGLISH AND LITERATURE) (BENIN) M.ED. (ADMIN.) (BENIN), LLB. A.A.U (EKPOMA), BL. (ABUJA) LLM. (BENIN) Professor of English and Literature Department of Languages Samuel Adegboyega University, Ogwa. Wednesday, 11th Day of May, 2016. PROFESSOR BRIDGET O. INEGBEBOH B.A. M.A. PH.D (ENGLISH AND LITERATURE) (BENIN) M.ED. (ADMIN.) (BENIN), LLB. A.A.U (EKPOMA), BL. (ABUJA) LLM. (BENIN) 2 “OKHA”: FOLKTALE TRADITION OF THE ESAN PEOPLE AND AFRICAN ORAL LITERATURE 1ST IN THE SERIES OF INAUGURAL LECTURES OF SAMUEL ADEGBOYEGA UNIVERSITY OGWA, EDO STATE, NIGERIA. BY BRIDGET OBIAOZOR INEGBEBOH B.A. M.A. PH.D (ENGLISH AND LITERATURE) (BENIN) M.ED. (ADMIN.) (BENIN), LLB. A.A.U (EKPOMA), BL. (ABUJA) LLM. (BENIN) Professor of English and Literature Department of Languages Samuel Adegboyega University, Ogwa. Wednesday, 11th Day of May, 2016. 3 “OKHA”: FOLKTALE TRADITION OF THE ESAN PEOPLE AND AFRICAN ORAL LITERATURE Copyright 2016. Samuel Adegboyega University, Ogwa All Rights Reserved No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system or by any means, photocopying, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of Samuel Adegboyega University, Ogwa/Publishers. ISBN: Published in 2016 by: SAMUEL ADEGBOYEGA UNIVERSITY, OGWA, EDO STATE, NIGERIA. Printed by: 4 Vice-Chancellor, Chairman and members of the Governing Council of SAU, The Management of SAU, Distinguished Academia, My Lords Spiritual and Temporal, His Royal Majesties here present, All Chiefs present, Distinguished Guests, Representatives of the press and all Media Houses present, Staff and Students of Great SAU, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen. Summary This lecture seeks to demonstrate that “Okha” folktale tradition of the Esan People is a form of Literature in its own right. It is rich in aesthetic and artistic qualities. It has a recognizable structure, as well as a high functional value in the society. It is a rich form of cultural heritage which mirrors and transmits the Esan culture from generation to generation. It entertains and instructs. At the same, it time acts as a vehicle for the code of living. It acts as a device for sustaining the code and imparting Esan cosmology. They give the Esan people a sense of belonging and a feeling of self- pride. The performers of Esan folktales manipulate language literarily to present the image of Esan women and men in the world of the folktales. Overall, the lecture argues that although feminist literature posits that all women are being oppressed by men, a close examination of women in Esan Folktales reveals that some women are oppressed and remain passive; some women are oppressed and resist; some women are unoppressed; while some women are portrayed negatively as women who dominate other women and men. Preamble Mr Vice-Chancellor Sir, I came to Esan Land in 1972. I savoured the vast artistic oral dramatic performances of Esan verbal arts, especially the folktales and I worked with all my might to study them, record and store many of them, and add them to the body of universal knowledge that is available to the modern man. I became more interested in the study of Esan Folklore and Literature during my researches in 1978, 1994 and 2000, as a result of my desire to salvage and save what appeared to me to be the remains of the endangered species of the wealth of the memory of artistic giants of Esan Oral Literature. With the advent of globalization the number of speakers of Esan Language is reducing drastically. 5 Moreover, people’s interest in Esan verbal arts is beginning to wane. Some old generation of folktale singers are beginning to go to the great beyond, with all the tales locked in their memories. This is in line with Gideon Darah (2010) and Ahmadou Hampate Ba’s saying that, “every old person who dies in Africa is like a library destroyed by fire.” Ojaide (2003:3) emphasizes: “…the urgent need to retrieve as much of the (African) folklore as much as possible for study and preservation before its aged custodians die with their cast knowledge.” Okha Folktale Tradition of the Esan People and African Oral Literature Introduction The performance of every Esan folktale is a significant and interesting moment of artistic experience. The narration of a folktale in Esanland is a total human experience that involves dramatizing the tale, uniting its aesthetics and sociology; and it is a work of art. Feminists state that all women are oppressed. However, women are expected to emancipate themselves from any traditional system that obstructs their development and grow into self-assertive and self, fulfilled women (Ezeigbo, 1996.) I found that women who distinguish themselves in Esan folktales by being committed in one desirable field of human endeavour or the other and leading good lives are highly respected. They are not oppressed. The Esan People The Esan people in Edo State, of Nigeria, occupy five local government areas. These include: Esan West, Esan North East, Esan South East, Esan Central and Igueben, and are geo-politically known as Edo Central Senatorial District. The population of the people is about 591,534 (Federal Republic of Nigeria Official Gazette, 2009) and they occupy a total landmass of 80.805 square metres (Ewanlen, 2011). Esan turned “Ishan”, courtesy of Anglicism, is linked with Benin as an ancestral home (Aluede, 2006). This view is held by Eweka (1992), Okojie (1994) and Egharevba (2005). As a result of its historical origin, the socio-political, socio-cultural and religious structures, including oral folktale traditions, modes of worship, and marriage of the people draw on that of the Benin, who coronate the reigning sovereigns in Esanland. The Esan people speak six main varieties of Esan Language (Uromi, Ubiaja, Igueben, Ewohimi, Irrua, and Ekpoma varieties) which are mutually intelligible. According to Okojie (1994), the different varieties of Esan 6 are “highly mutually intelligible, such that successful communication between speakers is no problem”. This lecture seeks to demonstrate that “Okha” folktale tradition of the Esan People is a form of Literature in its own right. It is rich in aesthetic and artistic qualities. It has a recognizable structure, as well as a high functional value in the society. It is a rich form of cultural heritage which mirrors and transmits the Esan culture from generation to generation. It entertains and instructs. At the same it, time acts as a vehicle for the code of living. It acts as a device for sustaining the code and imparting Esan cosmology. They give the Esan people a sense of belonging and a feeling of self- pride. The performers of Esan folktales manipulate language literarily to present the image of Esan women and men in the world of the folktales. Overall, the lecture argues that although feminist literature posits that all women are being oppressed by men, a close examination of women in Esan Folktales reveals that some women are oppressed and remain passive; some women are oppressed and resist; some women are unoppressed; while some women are portrayed negatively as women who dominate other women and men. Folktales and African Oral Literature Utility of African Oral Literature: Why Study African Oral Literature? Mr Vice-Chancellor Sir, African Oral Literature has been found very useful to Africans, especially, the students in Africa and in the Africa Diaspora. I am very excited to have studied it. The study of Oral Literature is important to students of Literature because: (1.) Until fairly recently, the study of literature was restricted to the study of written literature, based perhaps on the mistaken notion that the term “literature” is restricted to only “written literature”. Today, the term literature includes both oral and written literature. (2.) To us Africans, who since the beginning of the 20th century have been pre-occupied with the struggle for independence, and the assertion of our own identity and achievements the various verbal art-forms, that make up Oral Literature represent a level of artistic consciousness in pre-literate Africa. (3.) The study of Oral Literature complements the study of Written Literature. Many African writers draw consciously and unconsciously on oral 7 literary tradition of Africa, therefore the study of Oral Literature enables the student of African Literature to appreciate Written Literature better. (4.) Oral Literature is a form of literature in its own right; it is a rich form of literature which provides satisfaction to students of Literature in addition to the study of Written Literature. (5.) Oral Literature teaches didactic, moral and aetiological lessons. Oral Literature is used to describe that kind of Literature that is first composed orally and transmitted orally. It is an important aspect of folklore. Oral Literature includes those “Verbal arts” which are part of folklore transmitted from generation to generation, such as: stories, songs, proverbs, riddles, dances, festivals and other traditional dramatic displays. Orality is the most characteristic feature of Oral Literature. Oral Literature materials have been transmitted from generation to generation, thus they belong to the society, as common property without any known individual author. Oral Literature is created for the eyes as well as the ears, in the sense that the oral artist creates in the midst of an audience; the audience sees the artist perform and also hears him. The oral artist therefore strives for immediacy of effect. He uses the voice as well as physical gestures to enhance his performance. His art, therefore, is a kind of dramatic literature in the theatrical sense of the word.