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Folklore Genres in Socio-Cultural and Political Environment

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Folklore Genres in Socio-Cultural and Political Environment PART TWO Oral Literature as Field of Scholarship: Folklore Genres in Socio-Cultural and Political Environment 65 4. Features of Oral Literature: Verbal Genres as Transparent Medium Folklorists have employed a variety of formal approaches to literature as a corpus of genres. In the analysis of form and content of a literary text, we need to identify to which genre the message belongs. A concrete cultural meaning is expressed in a particular generic term when it is placed in a given social structure. As the spoken word of oral literature came into existence in history, literary forms such as folktales, proverbial lore, riddles, folk songs, poems, etc., also came into being as part of human civilization and they are meant to justify the age of reason and artistic pursuits. “Genres have histories. We need to study such histories because it is important to recognize that the naming and identification of genre types is itself a historically relative process, and the application of genre names often shows…instability over the centuries” (Furniss, 1996: 266). A genre may be defined as a cultural bound concept characterized by stylistic features into which the category of the work of art is based. It contains or generates the social meaning which is open to interpretation or deconstruction; and in this perspective, a genre involves diachronic and synchronic dimensions, thematic variation and aesthetic merit. In every society, the meaning of a given genre depends upon cultural conventions and this is often indicated by the fact that a name for it exists in a vernacular language. In order for a researcher to capture the local or national meaning assigned to a text and put emphasis on the contextual factors, he or she should focus on the ethnic conception of the genre and its specific character. For this reason, researchers are always obliged to take generic identification and grouping into account whenever they study folk-literature. If the comparative study of oral literature is to involve contemporary world situations based on formal criteria or the use of language on the basis of traditional standards of correctness, researchers often prefer to construct classifications that would be valid both at local and international level. By and large, every culture has its own yardstick for interpreting the natural world in its basic taxonomies of genres. Of all the reasons for selecting and/or employing a particular genre, the way it serves as a representative image, whether it is supposed to have national and international significance and its relevance to the changing social and political circumstances are what interests most folklorists. 66 In this section, we shall examine the way folklore forms are perceived, the pragmatic aspects, that is, how they are performed in a particular cultural situation and the formulation or expressive feature. The elusive materials of folklore literature can reasonably be defined in terms of the formal genres into which they fall. Folklorists generally agree on certain broad stratification of folk literary genres. These may be divided into five parts; namely folk rituals (pilgrimage, Thanksgiving ceremonies/festivals, rites of passage), witticism (proverbs and riddles), folk song narratives, poems and folktales (fables, myths, legends). The investigation of the methods and principles that govern literary tradition in human communication and their functions in a specific cultural context are points of greater concern for folklorists. Whenever we study folk literary forms, probing into their identification as well as the exploration of expressive and social performance aspects enables us to grasp a vivid picture of events and characters, together with how the themes of Oromo oral literature raises the most intriguing issues. The cognitive features consist of names, taxonomy, and commentary by which a society labels, categorizes, and interprets its forms of folklore within a wider system of discourse. The expressive features are the styles, the contents and structures which characterize each genre and the social features are the constituents of the situational contexts of each folklore performance (Ben-Amos in Lindfors, 1977: 2). Ben-Amos emphasizes the way the categorization of folklore forms occurs in accordance with the thematic domains of a text. A society usually classifies verbal communication into three ways: first, identifying literary forms or genres, second, performing them in a particular social context, third, formulating the oral art using poetic languages that are peculiar to them. The taxonomy of oral art becomes coherent and valid if stylistic, thematic and contextual aspects are taken into consideration. The proper perception of specialized phrases or expressions, their general functions in a particular verbal text, and the symbolic meanings of these groups in a given society are the defining features of forms of the verbal genres. It is evident that the generic terms of African narratives are also closely connected with the concept of culture of a particular folk group. The semantic constituents the Oromo assign to literary tradition create certain specific features, which according to the native speakers are part of the 67 aesthetic qualities of each verbal art. The symbolic meanings of a given literary form in the culture of the society define the characteristic feature of a genre and its significance. For example, if we examine the following three proverbs: 1) Kormi qaata du’ee warri saaqama laala, literally “the owners look at the stripes of colour of the bull, which died long time ago,” 2) Abbaa oorruu jaldeessi keessaa baafate, “the owner of the farmland is evicted by the monkey,” and 3) gowwaan bakka ittibade warra seeya, “a fool thinks that the place where he lost himself is his home,” we see that the Oromo emphasize the element of figure-headed in their term for kormi qaata du’ee (died years ago); and they stress the constituent of oppression in the expression jaldeessi keessaa baafate (evicted by the monkey). Foolishness has no blessing and the fools always lose because they are incapable of understanding the right way to go. In their name for the expression bakka ittibade warra seeya, literally “he sees the place where he lost himself as his home,” the Oromo emphasize the element of the absence of self-respect. Error of judgement and irrational behaviours are often rectified by evoking traditional values and norms. Thus, the symbolic meaning this proverb conveys has ornamental value in a cultural and social setting. The basis for placing forms of folk-literature in appropriate categories is the distinctive features of each genre, and each feature signifies its social value. In every situation, folk narrative is considered to be the facilitator of a general way of life. Therefore, what counts most in the final analysis is the beneficial effect of traditional literature upon the audience (readers or listeners); and whether that effect brings about moral, cultural, social or political transformation. On a pragmatic level (performance feature), functional differences are observable between the various folklore forms of the Oromo, and these differences can clearly be seen when they are performed in the specific cultural and social environment. The suunsuma (satirical/humorous poem) are told for entertainment when people are free from work; mammaaka/mammaaksa (proverb) on occasions of argument, in times of seeking sound judgements, commenting on unfairness, criticising or correcting erroneous views; durduri (the trickster tale/fable story) is narrated in the context of unfolding deception, villainy and social corruption; weedduu hujii (work song) is sung to reinforce belonging together, solidarity and friendship; weedduu jaalalaa (love lyric) is sung to provoke romantic love feelings; the geerarsa (heroic tale) is narrated in the context of promoting a sense of patriotism and a strong national feeling. 68 As far as the formulations of genres are concerned, the Oromo generally recognize folklore forms with rhythmic language, as for instance weedduu sabaa (folk song), suunsuma (satirical/humorous poem) and the geerarsa; whereas prose narratives are recognized as mammaaka (proverb) and oduu/odeessii durii (traditional story); both types are told by adult males, especially the experienced senior members of the society. Within these general categories they identify several genres according to context and theme (see proverb 1 and 16). For instance, the second genres, proverbs and traditional stories, deal with discourses on serious public concern uttered by wise ancestors, literary historians and prominent political figures. It is an attempt to stress the importance of building the society free from error of judgement, corruption and misconduct. The Formulation of Verbal Narrative: The Expressive Aspect The specific terms assigned to different folklore genres make up a variety of abstract knowledge (accumulated experience) concerning the structures, the substance, styles and the entire construction of the oral art. In terms of the socio-cultural reality of folklore narrative and performance, generic terms serve as image forming references through which a system of cultural order takes place, and in which the new concepts are systematically related and interpreted within a given historic time. The changing of abstract ideas into coherent and meaningful artistic communication demands the effective use of expressive aspects. Obviously, folklore texts are endowed with what is known as expressive
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