The place of Urhobo folklore in Tanure Ojaide's poetry
DOI :
https://doi.org/10.4314/tvl.v52i2.10Mots-clés :
cultural identity, Tanure Ojaide, oral tradition, Urhobo folkloreRésumé
While some notable studies have been done on Tanure Ojaide and his coevals on their “Alter/Native” tradition of modern African poetry that gained inspiration from indigenous African oral literature and folklore, there has been no focused study on the place of folklore in his writing, especially his poetry. Ojaide’s writing is deeply steeped in Urhobo folklore, which his upbringing and later study and research in Udje have brought about. Though this is not an essentialist reading of his work, I intend to use his specific cultural background to do a reading of his poetry in order to show the depth, breadth, and complexity of his themes and the sophistication of his art, all of which are infused with his native Urhobo folklore. From legendary personages such as Ogiso, Arhuaran, Aminogbe, Ayayughe, Ogidigbo through the fauna and flora of the iroko, akpobrisi, uwara, eyareya, to the incorporation of folk songs and modelling of poems on the udje genre, Ojaide uses orature to establish a cultural identity and a common humanity for his work. Through local folklore and a style borrowed from the oral tradition he deploys folkloric resources as style and form to advance his themes. My study thus illuminates the deep meaning of the writer’s thoughts and the effective use of oral poetic performance style. This conscious effort of the writer appears to have yielded poetic dividends in the relevance of his work and the literary reputation he has gained through his consistency despite innovations now and then.
Téléchargements
Références
Alu, Nesther A. “Tanure Ojaide: The Poet-Priest of the Niger Delta and the Land Saga.” An International Journal of Language, Literature and Gender Studies 1.1 (2012): 132–44.
Darah, G. G. “Revolutionary Pressures in Niger Delta Literature”. The Guardian 28 Jun 2009.
Darah, G. G. Battles of Songs: Udje Tradition of the Urhobo. Lagos: Malthouse, 2005.
Maduka, T. C. “The African Writer and the Drama of Social Change”. Ariel 12.3 (1981): 5–18.
Nwagbara, Uzoechi. “Poetics of Resistance: An Ecocritical Reading of Ojaide’s Delta Blues and Home Songs and Daydream of Ants and Other Poems.” African Study Monographs 1.31 (2010): 17–30.
Ojaide, Tanure. Delta Blues and Home Songs. Ibadan: Kraftgriots, 1998.
Ojaide, Tanure. Great Boys: An African Childhood. Trenton, NJ: Africa World P, 1998.
Ojaide, Tanure. In the Kingdom of Songs. Trenton,NJ: Africa World P, 2002.
Ojaide, Tanure. Labyrinths of the Delta. New York: Greenfield Review P, 1986.
Ojaide, Tanure. Poetry, Art, and Performance: Udje Dance Songs of the Urhobo People. Durham, North Carolina: Carolina Academic P, 2003.
Ojaide, Tanure. The Activist. Lagos: Farafina Publications, 2006.
Ojaide, Tanure. “The Niger Delta, Nativity and My Writing.” African Cultural and Economic Landscapes. Eds. Paul Tiyambe Zeleza & Ezekiel Kalipeni. Trenton, NJ: Africa World P, 1999. 233–48.
Ojaide, Tanure. The Tale of the Harmattan. Cape Town: Kwela Books, 2007.
Ojaide, Tanure. Theorizing African Oral Poetic Performance and Aesthetics: Udje Dance Songs. Trenton, NJ: Africa World P, 2008.
Ojaide, Tanure. Waiting for the Hatching of a Cockerel. Trenton, NJ: Africa World P, 2008.
Ojaruega, Enajite E. “Urhobo Literature in English: A Survey”. Aridon: The Journal of Urhobo Studies 1 (2014): 87–102.
Otite, Onigu. The Urhobo People. Ibadan: Heinemann, 1983.
Sallah, Tijan M. “The Eagles Vision: The Poetry of Tanure Ojaide”. Research in African Literatures 26.1 (1995): 20–9.
Tsaaior, James. “Poetic Rites, Minority Rights, and the Politics of Otherness in Tanure Ojaide’s Delta Blues and Home Songs”. Eco-Critical Literature: Regreening African Landscapes. Ed. Ogaga Okuyade. New York: African Heritage P, 2013. 175–90.
Téléchargements
Publiée
Numéro
Rubrique
Licence
(c) Copyright Tydskrif vir Letterkunde 2015
![Creative Commons License](http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-sa/4.0/88x31.png)
Ce travail est disponible sous licence Creative Commons Attribution - Partage dans les Mêmes Conditions 4.0 International.