African

literature
Presented by: Group 1
 objectives
To define the difference between oral and written literature
of Africa.
To explore the characteristics of African literature.
To know some famous African writers and poets, such as Wole
Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, John Peter Clark, and James Ngugi Wa
Thiong'o.
Africa's cultural richness explodes in over 2,000 diverse
ethnic groups, each a vibrant thread woven into the
continent's tapestry. This vast array creates a stunning
mosaic of unique traditions, languages, and identities.
Let's embark on a journey to explore a few examples:
 West Africa
The Maasai of Kenya and Tanzania:
ochre-painted clothing
fierce warrior traditions,
semi-nomadic pastoralists who value cattle
and communal living.
Their rich oral traditions boast intricate
beadwork and rhythmic dances.
 West Africa

The Yoruba of Nigeria:

Vibrant artistic spirit
Their language, Yoruba, is spoken by
over 40 million people globally.
 East Africa

The Nuer of South Sudan:

skilled cattle herders
Their cultural expression reflects
resilience and harmony with nature.
 Southern Africa

The Zulu of South Africa:

Powerful singing and intricate beadwork,
Their Zulu language, spoken by over 12
million people, is a cornerstone of their
cultural identity.
 Southern Africa
The San (Bushmen) of Kalahari Desert:
Indigenous hunter-gatherers boast deep
spiritual connections to the land.
Their click-consonant languages like Nama
and Kung reflect their unique
understanding of the natural world.
 Languages of Africa

Africa boasts a linguistic tapestry as diverse as its cultures. While

Arabic and Swahili hold significant influence, the continent is home to
over 2,000 distinct languages, classified into five major families:
Languages of Africa

Afro-Asiatic
Niger-Congo
Nilo-Saharan
Khoisan
 Africa's Religions

Africa is a land of rich religious tapestry, woven from ancient

traditions, colonial influences, and modern adaptations. From Islam in
the north to Christianity in the south, and diverse indigenous beliefs
across the continent, religion plays a significant role in shaping African
cultures, identities, and daily lives.
Major Religions

Islam
Christianity
Indigenous Beliefs
Characteristics of
African literature
 Orality
Many African literary works are rooted in oral
traditions and are transmitted through storytelling,
music, and performance.
 Colonialism
The impact of colonialism on Africa and its people is
a recurring theme in African literature.
 Cultural identity
African literature often emphasizes the importance of
cultural identity and the struggle for self-definition in
the face of external forces.
 Political engagement
African writers have historically been politically engaged and have used
their writing to critique oppressive regimes, advocate for social justice,
and promote national liberation.
 Language
African literature is often multilingual, reflecting the linguistic diversity of
the continent. While some works are written in English, French, or
Portuguese, many African writers also use local languages to express
themselves.
Oral and written traditions
The use of oral storytelling techniques, such as
repetition and call-and-response, is also common in
African literature.
Community and social issues
Many African writers seek to use their work to
raise awareness of these issues and promote
positive change.
Differentiate oral and
written literature of
Africa
Oral literature of Africa, woven through memory and performance,
sings of shared history, values, and morals, while written literature,
penned on scrolls or printed pages, explores individual voices and
challenges, often influenced by colonialism's legacy. (Reference:
Britannica, "African literature")
Africa possesses both written and unwritten traditions. The former
is relatively well-known at any rate the recent writings in European
languages (much work remains to be publicized on earlier Arabic and
local written literatures in Africa).
The unwritten forms, however, are far less widely known and
appreciated. Such forms do not fit neatly into the familiar
categories of literate cultures, they are harder to record and
present, and for a superficial observer at least, they are easier to
overlook than the corresponding written material.
different African
languages
 Afroasiatic
Spoken in Asia, but also in North Africa, the Horn of Africa and parts of
the Sahel. The Berber, Chadic, Cushitic, Egyptian and Omotic branches are
all native exclusively to the African continent.
 Niger-Congo
A hypothetical language family which includes the Atlantic-Congo and
Mande languages in West, Central, Southeast and Southern Africa. If
considered valid, the Niger-Congo language family would be the largest in
the world.
 Nilo-Saharan
The Nilo-Saharan languages are a family of African languages. They are
spoken by around 50 million people, who mainly live in the upper parts of
the Chari and Nile rivers.
 Austronesian
Spoken in Madagascar, Comoros and other countries outside the African
continent.
 Khoe–Kwadi
Khoe: The larger branch, including Nama/Damara spoken in Namibia
and the Kalahari languages of Botswana.
Kwadi: An extinct language once spoken in Angola, with only
fragments and records remaining.
 Indo-European
Colonialism resulted in the spread of Indo-European languages even to
Africa. English is also commonly spoken in Liberia and countries that were
once British colonies.
 Most spoken African languages
1. Arabic – 150 million speakers
2. Swahili – 50 million speakers
3. Hausa – 49 million speakers
4. Oromo – 37 million speakers
5. Amharic – 32.4 million
speakers
6. Yoruba – 28 million speakers
7. Igbo – 27 million speakers
8. Fula – 25 million speakers
9. Malagasy – 18 million speakers
10. Portuguese – 17 million speakers
African writers and
poets
 Wole Soyinka

• Wole Soyinka, a Black Nigerian playwright, poet,

novelist, and lecturer, was born on this date in 1934.
• Originally named Akinwande Oluwole Soyinka, Wole
studied at the University College of Ibadan and
graduated from the University of Leeds in Britain in
1958.
 THE WORKS
• " Poems from Prison” (1969), republished as “A Shuttle in the Crypt”
(1972), “The Man Died” (1972)

• "A Dance of the Forests” (1960), “Kongi’s Harvest” (1965), “Death and the
King’s Horseman” (1975), “A Play of Giants” (1984), and “From Zia, with
Love” (1992).

• “The Interpreters” (1965) and “Season of Anomy” (1973).

 THE WORKS
• “Idanre” (1967) and “Mandela’s Earth” (1988)

• “Myth, Literature, and the African World” (1976);

• “Ake: The Years of Childhood” (1981) and “Isara” (1989);

•“The Credo of Being and Nothingness” (1991)

 Wole Soyinka

In 1986, Soyinka became the first African and black writer to win the
Nobel Prize for literature.

In December 2017, he was awarded the Europe Theatre Prize in the

“Special Prize”.
 Chinua Achebe

Writer Chinua Achebe was born November 16,

1930 in the village of Ogidi in eastern Nigeria.
 Chinua Achebe

At the age of eight, Achebe began to learn English.

When he was 14, he was one of a few boys selected to attend the
government college at Umuahia, which was one of the best schools in
west Africa.
In 1948, Achebe enrolled at University College, Ibadan, which was a
new school.
 Chinua Achebe
A year later, Achebe’s first novel, Things Fall Apart (1958) appeared.
Achebe’s two follow-up novels to Things Fall Apart—No Longer at Ease
(1960) and Arrow of God (1964)—continued the story the first novel
began
Achebe also published essay collections on literary and political subjects.
These collections include Hopes and Impediments: Selected Essays 1965-
1987, Home and Exile (2000), and There Was a Country: A Personal
History of Biafra (2012).
 Chinua Achebe

Achebe was also a well-published poet. His poetry collections include

Collected Poems (2002), Another Africa (1997), and Christmas in
Biafra and Other Poems (1973).
Achebe’s awards include the German Booksellers Peace Prize, the
Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, the Man Booker International Prize for
fiction, and honorary degrees from over 20 American universities.
 Clark, John Pepper

John Pepper Clark, (born April 6, 1935, Kiagbodo,

Nigeria—died October 13, 2020), the most lyrical of
the Nigerian poets, whose poetry celebrates the
physical landscape of Africa.
 Clark, John Pepper

• Clark’s verse collections Poems (1962) and A Reed in the Tide (1965) do
not display the degree of craftsmanship apparent in the work of his
fellow Nigerian Christopher Okigbo.
• His Casualties: Poems 1966–68 (1970). Other poetry collections included A
Decade of Tongues (1981), State of the Union (1985, as J.P. Clark
Bekederemo), and Mandela and Other Poems (1988).
 Clark, John Pepper

His plays – Song of a Goat (1961), The Masquerade (1964), The Raft (1964),
Ozidi (1966), The Boat (1981), The Wives' Revolt (1991), and All for Oil
(2009)
 James Ngugi Wa Thiong O

• Ngugi wa Thiong’o (born January 5, 1938,

Limuru, Kenya) Kenyan writer who was
considered East Africa’s leading novelist. His
popular Weep Not, Child (1964) was the first
major novel in English by an East African.
 James Ngugi Wa Thiong O
• Ngugi received bachelor’s degrees from
Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda, in 1963
and from Leeds University, Yorkshire, England, in
1964.
• From 1972 to 1977 he was senior lecturer and
chairman of the department of literature at
the University of Nairobi.
 James Ngugi Wa Thiong O

His novels include Weep Not, Child (1964), The River Between (1965), A
Grain of Wheat (1967), Petals of Blood (1977) and Devil on the Cross
(1980).
 James Ngugi Wa Thiong O
• Homecoming (1972), Writers in Politics (1981), Barrel of a Pen (1983),
Moving the Centre (1993), and Penpoints, Gunpoints, and Dreams (1998).
In Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature
(1986),
• Ngugi argued for African-language literature as the only authentic
voice for Africans and stated his own intention of writing only in Kikuyu
or Kiswahili from that point on.
African Poems and
short stories
 THE AUTHOR

Mabel Ellen Dove was a freedom fighter, political activist, first female
member of the Legislative Assembly in the Gold Coast, journalist and
prolific writer.
 ANTICIPATION BY Mabel Dove Danquah
"The summary of this story is about Nana Adaku II ,the Omanhene of
Akwasin a 55 years old and have forty-five wives. He had take on liking by
the beautiful dancer name Effua. Nana give fifty gold of sovereign to
Effua as a marriage dowry. But the greatest twist of this story was
Effua is one of his wives that he doesn’t even recognize her. I may say
that Nana is an irresponsible husband and have greed for women. For he
has fault that he take lot of wife that he doesn’t even take care or
recognize them