Classification and typologies. The oral literature of the Australian Aborigines, for example, has an essential ceremonial function. The Homeric stories, for example, though founded upon an oral tradition, have come down to us in the form of fixed text, not as bardic voice. - At its essence, an oral narrative is a story spoken to an audience. Examining the functions Yoruba of folktales in educating children, Adeyemi (1997) ALT 301: Theory and Methods in Oral Literature Unit Description The unit is an introduction to the theoretical approaches to the study of oral literature. Thus, I would argue, one of the important functions of myth is that it anchors the present in the past . What demands further study: occasions; role of narrators; purpose and function; literary conventions; performance; originality and authorship. This function of … In the traditional society, oral literature was the main tool of education and social propriety. The following are the most obvious functions of oral arts in African situations. Questions in South Slavic oral epic are characteristically devices of authority: social, epic, and narrative. Shivaprakash, who … Myths include gods and/or goddesses, and these figures often have supernatural powers. Myths thus are stories with a religious basis based on the beliefs of a certain religion or s people. A few undoubtedly are, including those of “that is why the camel has a hump” variety, but most are not, even though intellectual curiosity (sometimes expressed through the notion of the quest, for example) is often incorporated. The theories will then be applied in the analysis of oral literature material. For some commentators, myth was central to folktales: the meaning of folktales was seen to derive from their assumed status as broken-down myths that accounted for solar, meteorological, or other natural phenomena. The stories that are usually told in them try to give justification or explanation to the origin of certain things of the world, or to a phenomenon that happens. It teaches suggestively through allusion. 2. They are believed to be true and the sacred nature of the myths increases their believability. 349–350) More recently, studies of myth have focused on the contemporary adaptations and changes of oral and written storytelling. Later in the 20th century there was a move to interpretations of myth that were dependent on a search for hidden meanings, some relying on psychoanalysis, others on different approaches to symbolic decoding, and yet others on structuralist analyses, especially in the work of Claude Lévi-Strauss, which sought in myths an underlying structure of abstract similarities (often binary in character) between a range of social institutions. The importance of myth is immeasurable—in literature, philosophy, history and many other parts of human life. Myth. Check if you have access via personal or institutional login. - An oral narrative is one of the genres of oral literature. Answers. Folklore is the expressive body of culture shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. Thank Writer; Comment; Blurt; thanked the writer. It was earlier thought that many such stories were explanatory. A. Just about every culture has its own myths, stories about gods and their magical deeds. In other words: people invent and fill in where they do not have perfect recall. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings. Used for entertainment.4. From mythology to literary criticism Myths are primarily acknowledged as oral traditions, while literature is in the form of written text. To teach about relationships between people and between people and nature. Available online At the library. Still, anthropologists and literary critics both acknowledge the links between myths and relatively more contemporary literature. Though Africa oral literature has several parts,… 2. Answers. These new techniques showed that myths vary considerably over time, the exigencies of oral reproduction making such generative transmission a virtual necessity. Thank Writer; Comment; Blurt; thanked the writer. Kindness and cruelty; iii. As we've said before, one of the important functions of myths is to explain the world around us in a literary rather than a scientific way. (Caldwell 6-7) Here, Caldwell declares his support to the psychological interpretation. It has certainly proved to be the most interesting to outsiders and at the same time the most difficult to comprehend, because, even though it deals in cosmological matters, myth is in some ways the most localized of genres and the most embedded in cultural action (such as when it is recited in a very specific ceremonial context). - The terms used to mean the same as a narrative are tale, folk tale, or a story. They will hear above all of the many animal tales that so … As part of genres of oral literature, such as legends and folktales, myths—the symbolic tales serve four basic functions such as mystical, cosmological, sociological and pedagogical. Yet these women, precluded from some knowledge, may also have parallel ceremonies from which men are excluded and during which women hand down different bodies of knowledge. Throughout Africa, oral literature is flourishing, though it is perceived by some as anachronistic to the modern world. Legends and historical recitations—or “histories”—occur everywhere: chiefless societies might produce stories of clan migration, for instance, while chiefly societies might generate stories of the coming of rulers and of the establishment of kingdoms. Reality,... By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Generally, the functions of literature are as follows: the first function is literature gives knowledge of those particularities with which science and philosophy are not concerned. The latter are relatively rare and unevenly distributed around the world, being recited in particular restricted circumstances. Used as a major way of passing time.5. As such, the myths were interpreted as “keys to culture,” throwing a privileged light on society as a whole. Connected to belief systems and rituals, myths also often deal with origins of important elements of the culture like food, medicine, ceremonies, etc. The creator or transmitter did not write the song or the story but sang or told it; the receiver did not read the song or story but heard it. It is a time of masks. These stories were meant to offer reasonable explanations; therefore, the audience believed these stories to be true. ... entertain or amuse us, they will provide that. Still, anthropologists and literary critics both acknowledge the links between myths and relatively more contemporary literature. Others, such as Bronisław Malinowski and the functionalist school, have understood myth as a legitimizing “charter” of social institutions. This paper grapples with the question of choice of theory in the study of African oral literature. An Introduction to Storytelling, Myths and Legends Notes written by EUGENE McKENDRY INTRODUCTION There have always been storytellers because people enjoy stories. It deals with the role of theory in the study of oral literature. Oral art as literature. Ring in the new year with a Britannica Membership, Differences between oral and written literatures. The speech of former generations can legitimize the material within a recitation, making that material more valuable and more sacred at the time of the recitation, but it can also make the material less comprehensible, more mysterious, and more prone to conflicting and ambiguous interpretations. Here are a few common features that myths typically share: 1. An example of this shift in configuring myth is apparent in Erik Uskalis's “Contextualizing Myth in Postcolonial Novels: Figures of … The Celts had the peculiarity of transmitting their culture, religious beliefs and myths exclusively by oral means, from one generation to another. (d) Accompanied with movement and dance. (c) There is often solo and chorus pattern especially in sung poetry. Oral ‘literature’ was the standard form (or genre) found in societies without writing. - A narrative is a prose that recounts events, people, and places. Imprint Claremont, South Africa : New Africa Books, 2001. 4.7/5 (783 Views . However, folktales, directed largely to children, also persist in the nurseries of written cultures. Let us now look at some of the functions that oral literature is supposed to fulfil in the society. The aesthetic function is not dominant, nor should it be, because that would disrupt the very essence of oral literature, and that is the collective preservation and transmission of knowledge from gene- ration to generation. Other commentators (such as representatives of the myth and ritual school at the beginning of the 20th century) have seen the explanation of myth as a function of ritual and of ritual as a function of myth. (, pp. Repetition 2. An example of this shift in configuring myth is apparent in Erik Uskalis's “Contextualizing Myth in Postcolonial Novels: Figures of Dissent and Disruption”. i)Cultural identity and transmission. As a way of preserving the culture and history of their people. Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths.The main characters in myths are usually gods, demigods, or supernatural humans. 2 Answers. Used to preserve the culture and norms of a community. ii)Education on moral,social and environment iii)Understanding a communities history iv)Entertainment v)Nation building. Functions of myth and mythology Explanation. It is important to distinguish between contributions to mythologies (i.e., accounts of worldviews constructed by observers) and myths in a narrower sense, which are actual recitations around a cosmological theme (for example, creation myths). African oral literature : functions in contemporary contexts. ... Australian aboriginal culture is well-known for its “songlines” which form part of local creation myth and offer practical information for navigating the harsh landscapes of the Australian interior. Email your librarian or administrator to recommend adding this book to your organisation's collection. Myths thus are stories with a religious basis based on the beliefs of a certain religion or s people. The available data relating to Celtic goddesses are thus all indirect and of a different nature and period according to the country concerned. We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. The importance of myth is immeasurable—in literature, philosophy, history and many other parts of human life. The result is a plurality of versions spread over time (and space), but, arguably, no fixed text such as often found with written literature. However, recent explorations on the function of myth in postcolonial literature demonstrate a more contemporary engagement with myth as disruptive and discursive narrative strategy.