African Literature An introduction

Africa: Ancient Kingdoms The cradle of life Egypt Eastern Africa Western Africa Literary Development and Devices The cradle of life is where anthropologists found first modern humans.

In the Beginning…… Anthropologists believe that the first modern humans (homo sapiens) began in the northern regions of the African continent Cradle of life (Neolithic, “new stone”) Birthplace of human civilization (roughly 100,000 years ago) Mesopotamia, Egypt, Asia Minor, etc. (Fertile Crescent) Brought together through use of writing (technology) African climate is varied in several regions: Desert, coastline, tropical rain forest, plains, and mountains.

Egypt (3000 B.C.-343 B.C.) First great civilization Had a vibrant and strong empire that centered on a polytheistic society Pantheon of gods and influence on the middle eastern religious perspective: Greek, Roman Written language: Hieroglyphics

Kushite Kingdom Conquered and ruled Egypt around 1000 B.C. Royal families traced lineage through female line More women ruled here than any other ancient civilization Other smaller civilizations popped up around Sahara Fasa of southern Sudan

The Golden Age A.D. 300-1600 Sculpture, music, metal work and textiles Literature plays a huge role in the creation and success of the empires Oral epics Praise poems Fables Proverbs Dramas

Eastern African Empire: Aksum Third century A.D., modern-day Ethiopia Well-developed oral traditions First great civilizations that created full and dominant cultural footholds in northern Africa Center of trade routes from Rome all the way to India Key to success was development of a specific and complex writing system …Migration south and west due to drought

West African empires Old Ghana: (A.D. 300-400) A strong and prosperous kingdom: Mainly traders of salt and gold Old Mali: (A.D. 1235) Overtook Old Ghana for supremacy Songhai: The last of the great kingdoms Timbuktu: The marriage of Songhai and Old Mali empires: Hugely successful kingdom

Religious and cultural influences Tribal origins are founded in a polytheistic and nature-based belief system 4th century A.D. Roman empire introduces Christianity 700 A.D. Islam introduced into the African continent Islam becomes the recognized state religion of Mali in 1235

Literary Terms to Know in this Unit Parallelism Epithet Apostrophe Polytheism vs. Monotheism Omniscient point-of-view Legend Oral epic Griot Refrain Folk tale Trickster Personification Proverb Metaphor Alliteration Rhyme

Oral Tradition Dilemma tale Chain tale or Cumulative tale Form of moral tale, ends with a question, invites audience to share judgment. One tale deals with a man who died while hunting an ox to feed his three wives. The first wife learns through a dream what has happened to him, the second leads her fellow wives to the place where he died, and the third restores him to life. Which of the three most deserves his praise? Chain tale or Cumulative tale Formulaic story Every incident that came before is repeated The 12 days of Christmas A single extended joke

Proverbs a short, traditional saying that expresses some obvious truth or familiar experience Used to convey accumulated cultural wisdom Often use literary elements (metaphors, alliteration, parallelism, rhyme) Give a man a fish, and he eats for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he eats for a lifetime.