Paradigm for Classical African Orature

Abstract

African-American sermon and protest rhetoric conforms with continental African standards for oratory because much of the cultural integrity from Africa has been retained in spite of some 400 years of Euro-American cultural imposition. Rhetorical standards emanate from ancient African traditions, such that the form, content, and dynamics of African-American oratory can be validly analyzed only within the parameters of African cultural ideals. Thus, it is culturally correct to use the term African orature generically in referring to oratory typically found within indigenous rhetorical traditions on the African continent and in the diaspora. African orature can be characterized as classical based upon four factors drawn from the African world experience. The first factor is historical, in that the African oratorical format, style, and dynamics can be traced back to the time of Egyptian antiquity (Budge, 1973, pp. 44-78). Second, African orature conforms to particular African cultural expectations, so that it is standard and authoritative; in other words, it is traditional (Abarry, 1990). Third, the orature of African people is an art form that can be analyzed in accordance with an approved and recognized set of traditional standards (Budge, 1973). Fourth, with the submission of this study, African orature is now codified arranged in a relevant, articulated system that is congruent with the actual phenomena. African orature is culturally idiosyncratic and does not conform to the Western style of speech-making. The underlying under-

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