African

Literature
01 Oral 03 Colonial
Literature African
Literature,

02 Pre-colonial 04 Postcolonial
African Literature
Literature
01 Oral Literature
● Examples may be in the form
of a prose,
● Often mythological or
historical and can include
tales of the trickster
character, or a verse
02 Pre-colonial Literature
● There are many examples such as the
Kebra Negast, or "Book of Kings."
● They include animal tricksters like
Anansi, a spider in the folklore of the
Ashanti people of Ghana; Ijàpá, a tortoise
in Yoruba folklore of Nigeria; and
Sungura, a hare found in central and East
African folklore
 Kebra Negast or "Book of Kings."
The Kebra Nagast is derived from Ethiopian oral traditions of the Queen of Sheba and
her marriage to Solomon.
The Kebra Nagast has been cited as one of the sources of the Rastafarian movement .
03 Colonial African Literature
● This was the time between the end of
World War I and independence.
● African literature increasingly
showed themes of liberation,
independence, and (among Africans
in French-controlled territories)
négritude
 04 Postcolonial Africa Literature
● The seven conflicts as themes
many authors mention are:
● African writers in this
period wrote both in -The clash between Africa's past and present.

Western languages - Between tradition and modernity,

(mainly English, -Between indigenous and foreign,

French, and Portuguese) -Between individualism and community,

and in traditional -Between socialism and capitalism,
African languages such -Between development and self-reliance and
as Hausa - Between Africanity and humanity
Characteristics
of African
Literature
⇨ Characteristics:
1. Written in both African and European languages. The predominant African
languages used are Amharic, Zulu, Hausa, and Swahili.

2. Encapsulates different periods in African history:

• from Ancient Africa to the period of Imperialist domination (15th-19th centuries),
• from Post-Colonialist and Reconstruction period (19th-mid-twentieth century)
• to Post-Independent/Contemporary period (mid-twentieth century-present).

3. Includes oral and written literature from more than 3,000 ethnic African groups.
⇨ Characteristics:
4. May be regionally-based, such as:
• West African Literature,
• North African Literature,
• South African Literature, or
• East African Literature

5.
• -Oral literature comes in varied forms such as myths, folk tales, proverbs, dramas,
songs, and folk tales.
• -They often involve stories about the creation of the world and legends about how
various powerful dynasties originated in African regions.
⇨ Characteristics:
6. During the colonization period, written slave narratives documented European
atrocities and the horrors of slavery.

7. Nationalist newspapers as well as resistance/liberation poetry critiqued European

colonizers and their practices. In the 19th century, various African authors produced
works in English criticizing colonialist ambitions and advocating for independence

8. During the post-colonialist era, various authors denounced the practice of

apartheid. These authors include Nadine Gordimer, Bessie Head, and J.M. Coetzee.
⇨ Characteristics:
9. Contemporary African literature often documents how corrupt, modern African
governments perpetuate the suffering of the African people.
Famous African Writer

1 2 3
David Diop Gabriel Okara Mabel Dove Danquah
(1927-1960) (1921 - 2019) ( 1905-1984)
 David Diop (1927-1960)
• Africa, by David Diop

• A revolutionary African poet born in France

but with parents of West African descent.

• His poems highlighted problems of Africa

brought about by colonialism and gave a
message to Africans to bring about change
and freedom.

• He was known for his involvement in the

negritude movement in France, a movement
started by Black writers and artists protesting
against French colonialism and its effects of
African culture and values.
 “Africa “
(by: David Diop 1927-1960)

Summary
 The opening line of the poem
expresses the poet persona's love for
his nation, Africa.
 He uses a possessive pronoun to
exhibit his love for Africa.
 The poet persona regrets for not
being a part of olden Africa,
wherein it had many warriors and
rich savannahs.
Theme
 The theme would be “Patriotism”, again understanding
the poem in biographical perspectives most of the
authors poems highlighted the problems of Africa
brought about by the colonialism.
 He gave a message to African people to urge and bring
about the change & freedom in verses; “Is this your back
that is unbent, this back that never breaks under the weights of
humiliation, This back trembling w/ red scars and saying yes to
the whip of under the midday sun”
 Urges them to remain unbent and must not this break
them despite the weight of their suffering.
 “Africa “
(by: David Diop 1927-1960)
Philosophy
 EMANCIPATION
 RESILIENCY
 Gabriel Okara (1921 -
2019)
• Once upon a Time , by Gabriel Okara.

• He was born in Nigeria, in April 1921.

• Considered to be one of the first modern African

poets.

• He uses folklore, religion, myth and social

issues to explore tradition and transition.

• Okara may be described as highly original and

uninfluenced by other poets.

• His poems show great sensitivity, perceptive

judgements and a tremendous energy.
 “Once upon a Time “
(by: Gabriel Okara 1921 - 2019)

Summary
 Tells us about the emptiness of modern life.
 Everything we do is artificial.
 The Poet explains what happens when a
traditional African culture meets the forces of
the Western way of life.
 The poem tells of the conversation between a
father and son, where the father wants to
learn from his son how to go back to
normality and no longer be fake.
Theme
 The writer emphasises on two main themes of
innocence and experience.
 About the influence of the white western world
on African nations.
 • Dishonesty/hiding true intentions and
Innocence/childhood.
 How countries like Nigeria were more honest
before being developed by the west.

 He wants to “unlearn all these muting

things”; he has learnt how to behave in a way
which “mutes” or silences his real emotions.
 “Once upon a Time “
(by: Gabriel Okara (1921 - 2019)
Philosophy
 CHANGE
 Mabel Dove-Danquah (1905-1984)
• Anticipation by, Mabel Dove-Danquah .

• Occupation - Journalist, politician and writer.

• Notable works- The Adventures of the Black

Girl in her Search for Mr Shaw (1934); Selected
Writings of a Pioneer West African Feminist.

• 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 1905-1984)

Summary Theme
 This story is about marriage customs in  Appreciation and contentment of things that are
Africa at one time. already at the moment.

 A chief is a polygamist and pays a dowry and  the things we anticipate are already there but we
marries a woman he was already married to fail to appreciate them when we don’t have any
for two years. He had so many wives he options or when we simply get bored.
couldn't keep track of them.
 “Anticipation“
(by: Mabel Dove-Danquah 1905-1984)
Philosophy
 APPRECIATION
 CONTENTMENT
 Chinua Achebe (1930-2013)
• Wrote some of the most extraordinary
works of the 20th century

• Things Fall Apart (1958), his most famous

novel, is a devastating depiction of the
clash between traditional tribal values
and the effects of colonial rule as well as
the tension between masculinity and
femininity in highly patriarchal societies.
 Chinua Achebe (1930-2013)
• A noted literary critic, particularly known
for his passionate critique of Joseph
Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (1899), in
which he accuses the popular novel of
rampant racism through its “othering” of
the African continent and its people.
 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
(1977-)
• Born in Nigeria in 1977
• Part of a new generation of African
writers taking the literary world by
storm.
• Her works are primarily character-
driven, interweaving the background of
her native Nigeria and social and political
events into the narrative.
 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
(1977-)
• Her novel Purple Hibiscus (2003) is a
bildungsroman, depicting the life experience
of Kambili and her family during a military
coup
• Her latest work Americanah (2013) is an
insightful portrayal of Nigerian
immigrant life and race relations in
America and the western world
• Her works have been met with
overwhelming praise and have been
nominated for and won numerous
awards, including the Orange Prize and
Booker Prize.
 Nadine Gordimer (1923 – 2014)
One of the apartheid era’s most prolific writers,
Nadine Gordimer’s works powerfully explore
social, moral, and racial issues in a South Africa
under apartheid rule. Despite winning a Nobel
Prize in Literature for her prodigious skills in
portraying a society interwoven with racial
tensions, Gordimer’s most famous and
controversial works were banned from South
Africa for daring to speak out against the
oppressive governmental structures of the time.
Her novel Burger’s Daughter follows the
struggles of a group of anti-apartheid activists,
and was read in secret by Nelson Mandela
during his time on Robben Island.
Thanks!