Class Notes Series

Oral literature is a broad term which may include ritual texts, curative chants, epic poems, musical genres, folk tales, creation tales, songs, myths, spells, legends, proverbs, riddles, tongue-twisters, word games, recitations, life histories or historical narratives. Most simply, oral literature refers to any form of verbal art which is transmitted orally or delivered by word of mouth. Orature is a more recent and less widely used term which emphasises the oral character and nature of literary works. In  African Oral Literature for Schools , Jane Nandwa and Austin Bukenya define oral literature as "those utterances, whether spoken, recited or sung, whose composition and performance exhibit to an appreciable degree the artistic character of accurate observation, vivid imagination and ingenious expression" (1983: 1). The Canadian Encyclopaedia suggests that "the term oral literature is sometimes used interchangeably with ...

This work is a discussion on the oral literature materials of Lango and Acoli or Acholi tribes found in the northern part of Uganda. It gives a brief analysis of contextual issues and categorises and discusses precisely the oral literature materials from these two communities. The work is a scholarly document written and informed by research and consultation of published works, authorities in the field and reliable sources (elders/cultural leaders, scholars, cultural resources and local materials) from the target communities.

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