This project work deals with a
critical evaluation of Africanism in relation to theme and techniques of Amos
Tutuola’s novel – THE PALMWINE DRINKARD. This study tends to examine the
important of African culture and promotion of its cultural heritage which was
bastardized by the colonial masters during colonization.
In the course of this essay,
chapter one will deals with introduction, background of the study, purpose of
the study, scope and limitation, justification, methodology and authorial
background. Chapter two forms the literature reviewed about past scholars’ view
on Africanism, the concept of Africanism as theme, the concept of Africanism as
techniques. Chapter three focuses on analysis of the novel- the palm-wine
Drinkard. Chapter four encompasses summary, findings and conclusion to the
whole essay. In our finding, we are able to discovered.
That “Africanism especially the
aspect of African culture in Tutuola’s texts enable the readers to appreciate and
value their own traditions. That Africanism as a concept is capable of
generating its own body of literature and attracts criticism to itself. That
through the concept of Africanism, the efficacy of African culture has been
proved using Tutuola’s text, the palmwine Drinkard.
Also, that the writing of the
palmwine drinkard has been greatly influences by oral tradition. Furthermore,
it is discovered that Tutuola through the palmwine drinkard has proved that
African writer are not writing in vacuum, but concentrate on Africa
background. This research is aimed at
re-emphasizing the concept of the supernatural which has become an inseparable
part of most of the works written by Africans, and bring to limelight the
relationship it has with the human world and how both have exerted their
influence on each other.
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
Title
Page---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------i
Certification
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ii
Dedication
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------iii
Acknowledgements
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------iv
Abstract
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------v
Table
of Contents -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------vi
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction---------------------------------------------------------------------------------1
1.2 Scope of the
Study -------------------------------------------------------------------------6
1.3 Statement of
Research Problem----------------------------------------------------------6
1.4 Research
Questions-------------------------------------------------------------------------6
1.5 Research
Objectives -----------------------------------------------------------------------7
1.6 Significance
of the Study -----------------------------------------------------------------7
1.7 Methodology --------------------------------------------------------------------------------7
1.8 Theoretical
Framework --------------------------------------------------------------------8
1.9 The Yoruba
Perception of Myth--------------------------------------------------------10
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW -----------------------------------------------12
A
Review of Existing Literature on Tutuola’s Fiction---------------------------------------16
Conclusion-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------23
CHAPTER THREE: TEXTUAL ANALYSIS (THE
PALM-WINE DRINKARD)
3.1 Synopsis of The
Palm-Wine Drinkard---------------------------------------------------25
3.2 Ordinariness
of the Supernatural -------------------------------------------------------27
3.3 Life is
Beyond Physical Sensory Perceptions-----------------------------------------29
CHAPTER FOUR: TEXTUAL ANALYSIS (MY LIFE IN THE BUSH OF
GHOSTS)
4.1 Overview -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------32
4.2 Techniques
of the Body -----------------------------------------------------------------32
4.3 Instrumental
Techniques ---------------------------------------------------------------
33
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION
5.1 Summary -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------41
5.2 Findings-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------41
5.3 Conclusion ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------42
WORKS CITED
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------43
CHAPTER ONE
Introduction
“Pan-African” unity is important in African identity
politics, because the African ancestry of Afro-American community cannot be
derived from an identifiable African people. Therefore, it has become necessary
to minimize the differences between the various peoples of African favour of a
generalized “African” heritage.
Background
to the Study
The word “Africanism” connotes pan-Africanism.
Pan-Africanism represents the aggregation and the projection of historical,
cultural, spiritual, artistic, scientific and philosophical legacies of
Africans from past times to the present. Pan-Africanism as an ethical system
traces its origin. From ancient times and promotes values that are product of
the African civilization and the struggles against slavery, racism, colonialism
and neo-colonialism.
However, Pan-Africanism is usually seen as a product
of the European slave trade. Enslaved Africans of diverse origins and their
descendants found themselves embedded in a system of exploitation where their
African origin becomes a sign of their service status. Pan-Africanism set aside
cultural differences, asserting the principality of these shared experiences to
foster solidarity and resistance to exploitation.
Alongside a large number of slave insurrections, by
the end of the eighteenth century political movement developed across the
Americas Europe and African which sought to weld these disparate movements into
a network of solidarity putting an end to these oppressions. In London, the
sons of Africa were political group addressed by quotona Ottobah Lugoano in the
1791 edition of his book thoughts and sentiments on the evil of slavery. The
group addressed meetings and organized letter-writing campaigns, published
campaigning material and visited parliament. They wrote to figures such as
Granvile sharp, William Pitt and other members of the white abolition movement,
as well as king George III and the prince of Wales, the future George IV.
Modern Pan-Africanism began around the beginning of
the twentieth century. The African Association latter renamed the Pan-African
Association, was organized by Henry Sylvester – Williams around 1887, and their
first conference was held in 1900. The concept of the supernatural is
one of the key themes in African literature. African literature is “any
literary work composed by an African having African experiences, elements,
characters, attitudes, and settings” (Brown n.pag.).Before the advent or
introduction of colonial
literacy to the
African continent, literature existed mainly in oral form which validates the
autonomy
of African literature and although the colonial situation imposes constraints
on the
African novel,
it is essentially
a hybrid out
of the African
oral tradition whose
primary
constituents
is different from that of the European and other regional novel.
The idea of the supernatural is core
of the experiences explored by African writers which
therefore
necessitates a scholarly research such as this on its significance in the
African society,
and more specifically in Yoruba culture using selected
novels by Amos Tutuola; an indigenous African writer. According to Brown, the
notion of the supernatural is embedded in the “religious and moral belief
system” of Africans (n. pag.). These beliefs are examined below.
1. The
belief in one Supreme God: Most African societies believe that there is one
supreme God who has created the earth and also has complete control over the
universe. They see God as “all-powerful, all-knowing and supporter of justice”
(Brown n.pag.).
2. The
worship of gods and goddesses: With the conception that the supreme God is too
powerful and distant from the earth, most African societies come to believe
that the supreme God has assigned different tasks to some smaller gods and
goddesses to take care of. For instance, “some believe that the earth is a
goddess that is directly connected with fertility and fecundity” (Brown n.pag).
The rivers, streams, and lakes are believed to have some gods and goddesses in
charge of them.