The Form and Function of Oral Tradition in African Literature: The Literary/Linguistic Study of Proverbs Adaptation by Writers

Oral tradition is adapted by African writers to spice-up their writing. They seem to explore myths of origin, religion, belief system, socio-political experiences and the vast human experiences in their works. Many African writers both at home and diaspora use the tradition in nostalgia to pin their works in all genres to traditional novels, plays and poetry. Among these writers are Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Ayi Kwei Amah, Ngugi Wa Thiong’o, Amos Tutuola, Gabriel Okara, John Pepper Clark, Isidore Okpewho, Niyi Osundare and many others. This paper analyses the oral tradition features in the African literature; explaining in details the cultural milieu as perceived in festivals, dances, funeral songs, songs generally and proverbs. It examined the literary/linguistic use of proverbs in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, Ngugi Wa Thiong’o’s Devil On The Cross and Miesoinuma Minima’s Odum Egege. This paper focuses on the aesthetic values of the oral tradition in African literature using ethnopoetic theory and qualitative design method. The adaptation of oral tradition in African literature is a unifying force that brings the people together to live in peace, unity and love. The use of oral tradition especially the proverb functions to restore morality, wisdom, social justice and above all preserve the cultural heritage of the Africans.