Prepared by: Sarrah Joy Lomonsod

TOPIC: AFRICAN LITERATURE- The Dark Continent

(Introduction to African Lit.; The Rise of Africa’s Great Civilization; Literary Forms in African Lit.)
DARK CONTINENT- they called Africa the Dark Continent because of the mysteries and the savagery they
expected to find in the interior.
- 19th century Europeans did not know about Africa
- Europeans had known quite a lot about Africa for at least 2,000 years, but because of powerful imperial
impulses, European leaders began purposefully ignoring earlier sources of information.
- Around 150 C.E., Ptolemy created a map of the world that included the Nile and the great lakes of East
Africa
- In the Middle Ages, the large Ottoman Empire blocked European access to Africa and its trade goods,
but Europeans still learned about Africa from Islamic maps and travelers, like Ibn Battuta
- The Catalan Atlas created in 1375, which includes many African coastal cities, the Nile River, and other
political and geographical features, shows how much Europe knew about North and West Africa.
20th century the Explorers like David Livingstone, Henry M. Stanley, and Heinrich Barth became national
heroes
British explorer Henry M. Stanley, who with an eye to boosting sales titled one of his accounts "Through the
Dark Continent," and another, "In Darkest Africa." However, Stanley himself recalled that before he left on his
mission, he had read over 130 books on Africa. 

Imperialism and Duality

Three purposes:
1. The spirit of adventure,
2. The desire to support good work of "civilizing the natives,"
3. The hope of stamping out the slave trade.
Missionaries began traveling to Africa to bring the word of God.
Africa was seen as "a primeval, bestial, reptilian, or female entity to be tamed, enlightened, guided, opened, and
pierced by white European males through western science, Christianity, civilization, commerce, and
colonialism."
 INTRODUCTION OF AFRICAN LITERATURE
ETYMOLOGY

AFRICA TERRA –land of the afri

AFRI (Plural); AFER (SINGULAR) PHOENICIAN; AFAR – meaning dust OR AFRIDI – Tribe in northern
Africa.
GREEK APHRIKE-meaning without cold or
LATIN APRICA-Meaning sunny
And later became Africa.
RISE OF AFRICAN GREAT CIVILIZATION
Africa will become more involved in the global trade network
- Much of the continent is dominated by savanna and desert .
 - Savanna areas tend to have larger populations because they receive enough rainfall to support
agriculture.
TRADITIONAL SOCIETY
Village Government –power was shared among the members of the community , not a single leader.
Family Patterns – Traditional people lived in both nuclear and extended families .
Religious Belief – Early Africans identified with the forces of nature and belief that all living and non
living things contained spirits , this is called animism.
Rise of African Kingdoms
-Gold and salt were the two most important exports
-Strong rulers created powerful kingdoms by gaining control of the profitable trade routes.
-These kingdoms included Ghana,Mali, and Songhai in West Africa and Axum in East Africa
CONTRIBUTIONS
Art- Closely tied to religion made ivory , wood, and bronze.
Literary Traditions –Folktales were passed on from generation to generation, Arabic was a popular
written language.
Education- In most societies ,it was the duty of the elders to teach boys and gils their roles in the village
Commerce- Trade allowed many empires to prosper and develop as a result of cultural diffusion.
AFRICA – 2nd largest continent
It covers more than ONE –FIFTH of all the Earth’s surface
It comprises 46 COUNTRIES AND TERRITORIES

FIVE MAJOR LANGUAGES

1. AFROASIASTIC LANGUAGES
2. CLICK LANGUAGES
3. NIGER- Congo language
4. SUDANIC LANGUAGES
5. AUSTRONESIAN LAGUAGES

RELIGION
ISLAM – it is the dominant religion in Africa
It replaced Christianity in the 17th century
AFRICAN LITERATURE:
ORAL LITERATURE CALLED “ORATURE “Was coined by PIO ZIRIMI .
PROSE - Mythological or historical, written or spoken languages.
CALL AND RESPONSE
Verbal and nonverbal interaction between the speaker and the listener

Pre-colonial African societies - oral literature was the only form of literature known to the various people of
Kenya It was valued as one of the major means by which these societies educated, instructed and socialized
their younger members.
-many genres, youths learnt to assess the feelings of their people towards their neighbors and attitudes to each
other: whether it was hostile, tolerant, warlike and aggressive or friendly and neighborly.
- Oral literature as in indigenous literature projected the societies' image and gave a clear picture of the African
world by treating events which were familiar to their members.
- One of the most well known is the Epic Of Sundiata Keita, the Founding Epic of Ancient Mali.
COLONIAL LIETRATURE
 JOSEPH EPHRAIM CASELY HAYFORD- published the 1st African novel written in English
“ETHIOPIA UNBOUND”
 HERBERT ISAAC ERNEST DHLOMO-published 1st English language African play “THE GIRL WHO
LIKED TO SAVE”
 NGUGI WA THIONG’O – He wrote 1st east African drama “BLACK HERMIT”
 CHINUA ACHEBE- receive significant worldwide critical acclaim.
 LEOPOID SEDAR SENGHOR- President of Senegal published the 1 st anthology of French language
poetry.
POST-COLONIALIST
 ALI A. MAZRUI- mentioned 7 conflicts as THEMES:
-The clash between Africa’s Past and present.
-Between tradition and modernity.
- Between individualism and community.
-Between socialism and capitalism.
-Between development and self –reliance.
-Between Africanity and humanity.
AFRICAN WRITERS AND POETS
 WOLE SOYINKA (JULY 13/1934 IN NIGERIA) - English language poet.
-1st African Writer who won the novel prize for literature in 1986.
 NADINE GORDIMER (19991) – 2nd African writer.1st play “THE SWAMP DWELLERS.
 CHINUA ACHEBE- Nigerian novelist and poet, his 1st novel was entitled “THINGS FALL APART”
- Co-editor of Okike (was Africa‘s most influential literary magazines)