1. Central and West African Literature
An Overview
Copyright 2015, Sean William Doyle

2. Copyright 2015, Sean William Doyle
African Literature
Major Characteristics
Oral tradition (orature)
Fixed texts (transmitted by griots) [West Africa]
Free texts (transmitted by non-professionals) [other areas of Africa
A high level of respect for nature’s bounties and vagaries
The veneration of one’s forbearers, living and deceased
Copyright 2015, Sean William Doyle

3. African Literature (continued)
Major Characteristics (continued)
The values of religious expression through the arts, ritual, and celebration
The importance of child bearing, the family, the community, and its leaders
Copyright 2015, Sean William Doyle

4. Copyright 2015, Sean William Doyle
African Poetic Genres
Songs
Poetry
Epic
Utenzi [Swahili]
Lyric
Oriki [Yoruba]
Copyright 2015, Sean William Doyle

5. Copyright 2015, Sean William Doyle
African Prose Genres
Proverbs
Legends
Folktales
Tatsuniyoyi – tales about people and animals that impart lessons of etiquette, morality, and human values usually told by women to children around night campfires [Hausa]
Labarai – tales which pass on historical events as presented by elders of the extended family [Hausa]
Copyright 2015, Sean William Doyle

6. African Prose Genres (continued)
Short Stories
Novels
Dramas
Essays
Copyright 2015, Sean William Doyle

7. The Separation of God from Man
Genre: Cosmogony
Source Culture: Krachi people of Togo
Copyright 2015, Sean William Doyle

8. Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali
Genre: Epic Poem
Poet/Griot: Djeli Mamoudou Kouyaté
Synopsis: an epic about the cultural founder of the Mali people, Sundiata Keita
Copyright 2015, Sean William Doyle

9. Traditional West African Lyric Poetry
“In Praise of Bow and Arrow” (Fon)
“Three Friends” (Yoruba)
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10. Copyright 2015, Sean William Doyle
The Rubber Man
Genre: Folktale
Source Culture: Hausa
Copyright 2015, Sean William Doyle

11. Copyright 2015, Sean William Doyle
Hausa Proverbs
Genre: Proverbs
Source Culture: Hausa
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12. Copyright 2015, Sean William Doyle
Fulani Proverbs
Genre: Proverbs
Source Culture: Fulani
Copyright 2015, Sean William Doyle

13. Yoruba Lyric Poetry and Riddles
“A Child Is…”
Yoruba Riddles
Copyright 2015, Sean William Doyle

14. Copyright 2015, Sean William Doyle
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African
Genre: Slave Narrative
Author: Olaudah Equiano ( CE)
Synopsis: a firsthand account of the transatlantic slave trade
Copyright 2015, Sean William Doyle