Reflecting back on ‘Oral literature in Africa’: Some reconsiderations after 21 years

Abstract

In this article the background to Oral Literature in Africa (first published in 1970) is considered, as well as its aims of providing a foundation for further research and enhancing the visibility of oral literature. Among the continuing issues raised by the book and similar work on the subject are questions of terminology, particularly the terms ‘literature’ and ‘oral’. Other issues relate to studies of oral composition, of narrative/narratology, and of genre (including the question of ‘epic’). The basic theoretical and methodological approach of the book may still in essence be acceptable, but needs to be supplemented by newer insights arising from recent and future research.