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1. COMS 253:
COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS
IN AFRICA
Mondays
2pm – 4pm
NB FF R2
Lecture Two:
Features and Evolution of Communication
Systems in Africa

2. African Folklore and Evolution
Folklore represents an important aspect of Indigenous African Communication and
has transcended several generations.
It plays an important role in preserving and transmitting African norms, customs
and traditions.
Folklore consists of genres such as myth, legends and folktales.
The boundaries between these can sometimes be fluid that a particular folklore
may have two or more genres expressed in them.

3. Myths
Myths are often set in the distant past and often deal with the supernatural.
 They tell stories of the relationship between man and supernatural beings.
Such stories are considered sacred and may include narrations based on
religion and issues such as good and evil.
Examples of Myths include; Adu Ogyinae in Akan Mythology

4. Myths – Adu Ogyinae
 According to Akan Mythology, all men lived deeply beneath the surface of the earth until one day, seven
men, five women, a leopard and a dog emerged from a big hole carved by a worm onto the surface of
the earth.
 According to this myth, they were terrified when they emerged on the surface of the earth, but it
appeared, Adu Ogyinae who was the first to emerge on the surface of the earth was more comfortable
with the new environment and its wonders, so he calmed and strengthened the others by laying hands
on them.
 Once they were calmed and strengthened, he organized them into work teams and begun building the
first human settlements on the surface of the earth.
 However, he was struck by a tree he was cutting and eventually died.

5. Legends
Legends are similar to myths and they are usually presented as
truth by their originators and those who tell them.
They may be based completely on imaginary tales or historical
accounts of others, yet they are human centered and set in
locations that can be identified or real.

6. Legends – The Legends of Okomfo Anokye
 Okomfo Anokye was a fetish priest who lived in the Ashanti Kingdom and is credited as the law
giver of the Ashantis.
 He is also considered to be the wisest sage of the Ashantis and there are many legends of his
supernatural abilities that continue to be told with some elements of evidence. These include;
 Conjuring the golden stool from the skies, carving an Oware (indigenous game) from a slab of
stone with his bare fingers or heels, fetching water in a basket without spilling a drop.
 He is also said to have lived in a house without a roof but was never wet because, rain did not
fall in his house.

7. Folktales
 Unlike Myths and Legends, folktales are more fictional and less authoritative stories passed on from one
generation to another through oral culture. It is believed that African folktales dates back hundreds of years
ago. Modernisation however, presents folktales in models that ensure more reliable transmission beyond
oral culture, for instance through animations and other modern digital technologies.
 Folktales are admired for their moral and ethical lessons and usually told by older people to younger
people or children.
 They deal with themes such village life, greed, treachery, morality, societal values, ethics and personal issues.
 Usually, the tricksters are smaller animals such as the Spider that must often contend with large and
threatening animals such as the Lion.

8. Folktales
+ Indeed, the Trickster character has been studied by scholars such as Pelton, Babcooks-Abraham,
Evans-Pritchard and Hynes & Doty and it is generally noted that while tricksters are universally
used in tales, their orientation and ways of operation do vary due to cultural differences.
+ As noted by Hynes, the trickster usually has the following attributes or traits:
The central attribute is that the trickster is a deceiver and witty person always looking for ways
to trick other whether justifiably or unjustifiably.
The trickster is considered a non-conformist or an “out person” who does not conform with
societal boundaries on ethical or appropriate behaviour.

9. Folktales
The trickster can adapt to different environmental situations, also referred to as ‘shape shifter’
and that may include presenting himself as other animals or other characters.
The trickster sometimes tries to evoke super-natural powers and does by attempting to
imitate the gods.
The trickster always tries to improvise when faced with challenging circumstances.
The trickster is inclined to inverting circumstances or situations such that he may turn a good
situation into an evil situation and a bad one into a good situation to suit his selfish interests.

10. Folktales
Popular African folktales include; Ananse the Spider, Kalulu the Hare and Fudugazi the
Tortoise, Nnabe the Tortoise, Gudo the Baboon.
These characters or folktales have travelled around the world partly as a result of
migration and also as a result of the slave trade.
For instance, the character of Ananse has evolved in the Caribbean and Southern parts
of the US: Aunt Nancy in South Carolina, Ba Anansi in Suriname, Anansi Drew in
Bahamas, Nanzi in Aruba and Annancy in countries such as Jamaica, Colombia, Costa
Rica and Nicaragua.

11. Folktales
They also teach important lessons about survival, ethics, morals and wisdom.
The infusion of drumming, singing and dancing is intended to make the
stories more lively and more entertaining.
They also provide valuable historical lessons.
The personalization of animals confers some traditional importance on
animals and teaches children about the importance of treating animals well.

12. Elements in African Folktale
African oral story telling tradition gained importance because of the absence a print culture
to document the stories in print so they continuously had to be transmitted orally.
Also, they became popular in the United States particularly in Southern States where, slave
trade was more prevalent.
For instance, in the southern parts of US, Ananse Stories were told as Aunty Nancy stories
by the Gullah.
The Gullah people are African Americans who are descendants of slaves sent from the West
Coast of Africa

13. African Poetry and Evolution
African poetry is often to its roots in oral culture and perhaps can be considered to have first
emerged as Orature.
Orature is defined as information passed on or transmitted through the spoken word and for
which community involvement is required.
The unwritten nature of African Orature implied that there were not fixed boundaries in terms of
what is said for as long the general theme is maintained.
African Orature is considered to be a complex literary genre developed over time and suited for
non literate communities as these communities sought to socialize and establish stronger bonds
of communal living in their communities.

14. African poetry and evolution
Orature in African societies was also performance centered with
the executioner bringing sound, action and meaning together.
 As noted by Obaje and Yakubu, African poetry draws from this
tradition of Orature.
• African oral poetry is passed on by words of mouth from one generation to another.
It is also called African traditional poetry whose modus operandi is collective
participation. It can be described as a collective experience that is initiated by an
individual in a group and shared by the rest of the group; it is a common heritage
shared by all and handed over from one generation to another. Obaje and Yakubu

15. African poetry and evolution
They further state that African oral poetry, spoken in African languages, is rich in allusions
and imagery and have the unique modes of;
• Epic
• Satire
• Protest
In epic mode, the poem focuses on heroism and war.
In Satire mode, the ills or wrongs society are depicted in a satirical manner.
In Protest mode, the poems throw spotlight on oppression, suppression or unfair
domination by forces such as colonial forces, political leaders or business interests.

16. African poetry and evolution
It has been noted that “African Vernacular Poetry has its own artistic features analogous to,
but not always identical with, literary forms from a literate society”.
Finnegan identifies two forms of African Vernacular Poetry:
• Ritual
• Non-Ritual
Ritual forms of poetry are Associated with formal occasions such as naming ceremonies,
marriage ceremonies and in some cases national ceremonies and included are panegyric
and lyric forms.
Non-ritual forms are for informal occasions and basically lyric poetry in the African context.

17. African poetry and evolution
Panegyric: Public speech whether written or unwritten delivered to praise a person or thing.
• Example of such praise poetry is Court Poetry of Southern Bantu
• Praise poetry is also common during rites of passage Example, among the Sotho boys after their rites of
passage.
• They are also common in funeral dirges that eulogise the dead in Akan funerals
Lyric: Expresses personal emotions or feelings and usually told in first-person narrative.
• Considered the most common form of African oral poetry. Used commonly for occasions such as
naming ceremonies, marriage ceremonies, betrothal and funerals.
• Also common during informal social gathering of drinking and dancing among the Zulu and Sotho of
South Africa.
• Love poetry among the Zulu people of South Africa and the Luo of Kenya.

18. African poetry and evolution
With the advent of literacy, Africa poetry has evolved and there are
African Literature also aptly captures the new expressions of African
poetry.
Contemporary African poets include: Chinua Achebe, Kofi Awoonor,
Wole Soyinka, Ama Ata Aidoo, Denis Brutus and Léopold Sédar Senghor.
Yet as noted by some scholars, African oral traditions are well expressed
in modern African poetry a case in point being West African poetry.

19. Evolution of African poetry
Tanure Ojaide states that:
• There is a symbiotic relationship between the oral and the written in modern African poetry in which the poetic
aim, vision and practice have fused to produce a poetry that is distinctly oral though written. The oral nature of
written poetry is generally strong because of the vocal nature of its transmission, being essentially composed to
be read aloud. This is moreso in West Africa with a strong folkloric tradition which feeds these poets with
stylistic models before and during their writing careers. Ojaide (1996)
Ojaide argues further that young African poets are utlising the broadcast media of TV and radio
and adapting their techniques to the broadcast media as they seek to attract large audiences.
• Thus, in recent West African poetry, “the written form is not opposed to the oral. Infact, not only do the two
exist side by side, but they often interact”. Ojaide (1996)
+

20. Proverbs
B. J. Whiting, describes the proverb as "a short saying of a philosophic nature, of great antiquity,
the product of the masses rather than of the classes, constantly applicable, and appealing
because it bears a semblance of universal truth.
Famenyi states that proverbs are traditional expressions that convey morals and wisdom and
handed over from generation to generation.
Olatunji Ọlátúndé also argues that proverbs constitute an inheritance that has traditionally been
passed on from generation to generation via oral culture
While some argue that proverbs may be culture specific, Rachel Grant and Lweis Asimeng-
Boahene argue that proverbs have universal applicability.

21. Proverbs
Some Western scholars argue that proverbs are usually associated with
oral cultures considered to be of low literacy levels.
However, Kwesi Yankah raises some doubt with regards to this
assertion.
He notes that non literate cultures such as the Australian Aborigines,
American Indians or the people of Paupau New Guinea do not display
exceptional use of proverbs like Africans.

22. Proverbs
Yankah also argues that the use of proverbs perhaps is inspired the pervasive use of face-to-face
communication in African societies and argues that proverbs provide a neutral way of saying
things that may otherwise sound uncomfortable to another party.
This is partly because proverbs are usually attributed to a third person, usually referred to as the
Elders in some African cultures and are considered to be impersonal.
He notes further that proverbs provide a way to, order to stave off, contain, or manage tense
situations in communication.
Obviously, such tensed situations are avoided in written communication where there is no co
presence of speaker and listener(s).

23. Proverbs
+ Proverbs are perceived variously in in various parts of the continent:
+ Among the Akans, it is said that proverbs make conversations or communication
more tasty.
+ It is also noted that proverbs help in the condensation of speech or
communication and also helps to highlight or emphasise a particular viewpoint
during the communication process.
+ In Somalia, proverbs are considered to add spice to speech

24. Proverbs
Among the Igbos, it is considered to be the broth of speech and the
palm oil within which words are stewed.
Among Yorubas, it is considered that proverbs is a ‘horse’ lifts drooping
conversations. In other words, proverbs lifts the speaker to his or her
destination.
The generality of these assertions points to the view that proverbs in
African cultures plays an aesthetic role in the communication process.

25. References
 Hynes, William J. 1993. “Inconclusive Conclusions: Tricksters - Metaplayers and Revealers.” Hynes and Doty, eds. 202-217.
 Hynes, William J. and William G. Doty. 1993. “Introducing the Fascinating and Perplexing Trickster Figure.” Hynes and Doty, eds.
1-12.
 Ojaide T (1996). Orality in recent West African poetry. CLA Journal , MARCH 1996, Vol. 39, No. 3 (MARCH 1996), pp. 302-319
 Pelton, 1980. The Trickster in West Africa: A Study of Mythic Irony and Sacred Delight. Berkeley: University of California Press.
 Grant, Rachel A., and Lewis Asimeng-Boahene. 2006. Culturally responsive pedagogy in citizenship education: Using African
proverbs as tools for teaching in urban schools. Multicultural Perspectives 8: 17–24.
 Yankah K (1989). The Aesthetics of Traditional Communication. Research in African Literatures, Autumn, 1989, Vol. 20, No. 3
(Autumn, 1989). Indiana University Press
 Olatunji, Ọlátúndé O. 1984. Features of Yoruba Oral Poetry. Ibadan: University of Ibadan
 Fayemi, Ademola Kazeem. 2009. Deconstructing proverbs in African discourse: The Yoruba example. Afroeuropa: Journal of
European Studies 3: 1–18
 Gyan C, Abbey E and Baffoe M (2020). Proverbs and Patriarchy: Analysis of Linguistic Prejudice and Representation of Women
in Traditional Akan Communities of Ghana. Social Sciences. . 2020, 9, 22; doi:10.3390/socsci9030022. MDPI

26. References
1. Salawu A, Chibita M and Sarantakos (Eds) (2016). Indigenous Language Media, Language Politics and
Democracy in Africa. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK.
2. Ansu-Kyeremeh K (Ed) (2016). Indigenous Communication in Africa. Concept, Application and Prospects.
Ghana University Press.
3. Adejunmobi M (2004). Vernacular Palaver: Imaginations of the Local and Non-Native Languages in West
Africa. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
4. Gagliardone I (2016). The Politics of Technology in Africa: Communication, Development, and Nation-
Building in Ethiopia. Cambridge University Press