An Application of Axel Olrik’s Epic Laws in Imbiza Eyayingavulwa

The aim of this article is to apply Axel Olrik’s epic laws in Imbiza eyayingavulwa, one of the traditional isiZulu folktales. Even though these laws have been widely applied to non-African folktales, there seem to be fewer studies that have evaluated the relevance of this approach to folktales of the South African indigenous languages. This study sought to determine if Olrk’s epic laws are applicable or not by focusing on isiZulu as one of the South African indigenous languages. The folktale analysed was derived from a published isiZulu volume of folktales titled ‘Phinda Ungixoxele’. The study adopted the qualitative method as a research technique and textual analysis as a data collection technique. Olrik’s epic laws for folk narrative were considered the main theoretical base for the analysis of the textually analysed data. The findings revealed that these laws can be successfully applied to the folktale Imbiza eyayingivulwa. However, as argued by some scholars of the South African indigenous languages, it was discovered that these laws do not occur in the expected sequence and that not all of them may comprehensively appear in a single folktale of the isiZulu language. The law of the importance of final position and the law of twins, for instance, in the analysed folktale, are two examples of laws that do not appear in the analysed folktale. The study is significant as it contextualises Olrik’s epic laws from a South African languages perspective.