Power, marginality and African oral literature
By: edited by Graham Furniss and Liz Gunner.
Contributors: Furniss, Graham.; Gunner, Elizabeth.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 1995
Place of publication: Cambridge [England]; New York, NY, USA
Language: eng
Number of pages: 285
Subjects: Oral tradition -- Africa.; Folklore -- Africa.; Narrative poetry, African.; Power (Social sciences) -- Africa.; Social structure -- Africa.; Marginality, Social -- Africa.; Africa -- Politics and government.; Africa -- Social life and customs.
Description: African oral literature, like other forms of popular culture, is not merely folksy, domestic entertainment but a domain in which individuals in a variety of social roles are free to comment on power relations in society. It can also be a significant agent of change capable of directing, provoking, preventing, overturning and recasting perceptions of social reality. This collection examines the way in which oral texts both reflect and affect contemporary social and political life in Africa.

It addresses questions of power, gender, the dynamics of language use, the representation of social structures and the relation between culture and the state. The contributors are linguists, anthropologists, folklorists, ethnomusicologists and historians, who present fresh material and ideas to paint a lively picture of current real life situations.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 260-276) and index.
Based on a conference held at Birkbeck College and the School of Oriental and African Studies in January 1991.