It is the envelope of ancestral thoughts and wisdom. It embodies imagery and concise expressions, expressions that may or may not make sense at face-value, but that are laden with truth. Unlike poetry and proverbs, which are used mostly by adults to address adult subjects and concerns, riddles and jokes are used by common folks to express themselves in an informal setting. They are the training tools of a would-be great speaker, as good speakers are known by the type of jokes they use to attract audience attention. It is sometimes used as an educational tool for children, and for adults as well, depending on the context and content.
Riddles are usually brief, metaphorical, and indirect.
But the message they convey are powerful and longlasting form of memory teaser. The epic, as an African oral tradition, occupies a position of great importance in the creative traditions of African societies. Viewed in totality, it encompasses and transcends the bounds of all the other genres that make up the African oral tradition. It is sometimes rightly called the supergenre. Because most epics are true life stories that are derived from true history, as is the case with the epic of Sundiata, one could make the claim that every African societies can boast of one or two epic legends.