AFRICAN LITERATURE SONG OF A MOTHER TO HER

AFRICAN LITERATURE SONG OF A MOTHER TO HER FIRSTBORN

JOURNAL • What do you think children need to know? What would you tell your children if you were a parent? Why would it be important to communicate those things?

FEATURES OF AFRICAN ORAL LITERATURE • Repetition and parallel structure • Aided in memorization for griots. • Creates rhythm, builds suspense, and adds emphasis to important parts of the poem. • Repeated lines, often called refrains, indicate places where audience can join in participating • Repeat-and-vary technique • Lines or phrases are sung with slight variation • Tones on which syllables are spoken help indicate meaning • Call-and-response • Leader calls out a line or phrases and the audience responds with an answering line or phrase. • Allows for audience participation!

SONG OF A MOTHER TO HER FIRSTBORN • Cradle song—type of oral poetry to be chanted or sung. Tender words and repetitions express a mother’s love while also soothing the baby to sleep. • Uganda culture • Children viewed as immortality for parents. • Naming of a child involved a ceremony several days after birth. • Mother who sings this poem is assuring her child that the gods of his people are good and will take care of him. • Predicts future of the child—father and great leader.

SONG OF A MOTHER TO HER FIRSTBORN • Figurative language • Simile—comparison using like or as. • Metaphor—comparison made WITHOUT the use of the words like or as.

AFRICAN DILEMMA TALES

AFRICAN DILEMMA TALES • Dilemma tale—open-ended story that concludes with a question that asks the audience to choose from among several alternatives. • Interactive form of African oral literature • Almost always about human characters, family, and community relationships. • Present life-or-death situations • Tale often ends with a question—”Who is most deserving? ” or “Who behaved best? ”

AFRICAN DILEMMA TALES • “Wondrous Powers: Mirror, Sandals, and a Medicine Bag” • “The Five Helpers” • Read the following dilemma tales on your own or with a PARTNER. • When you are finished, write your own dilemma tale using situations that are recognizable to a contemporary American audience. If you wish, include supernatural or exaggerated fairy-tale-like elements. Be sure to conclude with an open-ended question that the entire class can discuss!

YOUR HOMEWORK • 3. 2 “Song of a Mother to Her Firstborn & African Dilemma Tales”—due Wednesday, September 18 th.