The Folktale and Social Values in Traditional Africa

Abstract

Africans, like people elsewhere in the world, have a set of values which they consider worthwhile and necessary for the preservation and wellbeing of their culture. In this way, it may be said that societal values are embodied in and communicated by its system of education and that the education that a society offers its youth reflects the sum total of what is held dear in that society. In many African societies, an important aspect of traditional education is concerned with teaching oral literature using folktales, riddles and proverbs which aim at moulding character and providing children with moral values like honesty, integrity, courage and solidarity. This paper examines the relevance of folktales to the promotion of social values in Africa by demonstrating how folktales can open a window of understanding to a community’s social norms, values, thoughts, concepts and ideas with a view to drawing implications for positive change. It is predicated on the assumption that African folktales, with a particular focus on Cameroon, promote social and ethical values, provide human understanding, facilitate the elimination of anti-social behaviour and help with social identity construction. The point is that folktales, as a form of oral literature, draw their material from the realities of society and hence reflect people’s values and worldview. As a result, folktales are often used as a vehicle for transmitting and preserving shared values and collective experience. The paper concludes by observing that despite the preponderance of modern means of entertainment in Africa, storytelling persists. Contemporary African folktales are imaginatively refined for the purpose of injecting new meanings, ideas and values, based on society’s contemporary experiences and relations.

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