THE PLACE OF FOLK TRADITION IN AFRICAN LITERATURE.
]By Kobo Freeman Korkara. +2348174611446
In an attempt to portray the significance of folk tradition, Bu-buakei in Critical Perspectives on Chinua Achebe, states: "the good orator calls to his aid the legends, folklore, proverbs... of his people; they are some of the raw material with which he works... they are like dormant seeds lying in the dry season earth waiting for the rain."
As literature still tills its crops in many virgin forest, and art indefatigably and unequivocally continues to speak in gargantuan or concatenation of voices, folk tradition remains or forms the basis for the perceived, widely known African Literature. It is the wherewithal, the cornerstone, and the hub of the African Literature. It forms the essential qualities of the literary expressions in the African Literature. The ability to subtly include the folk tradition into any narrative in an African setting depicts a great feat and an impeccable craftsmanship in the African Creative Writing. Nnolim, defines folk tradition as:
Unrecorded traditions of a people as they appear in their popular fiction, custom, belief, magic, ritual, superstition, and proverbial sayings. Folklore also includes myths, legends, stories, omens, charms, spells, found among a homogeneous group of people; it is a major component in the folk culture of such a homogeneous group of people.
Folklore has its most inclusive part which is called, “folktale”, Nnolim defines it as “a popular tale handed down by oral tradition from a more or less remote antiquity and usually told either about animals or the common folk, to draw attention to their plight and to teach a lesson.”
Below is an example of folktale told by Kanee to a crowd of people During Ikpong festival:
“Ahii!” He began.
“Yah!” the crowd responded in total expectancy.
“At such ancient period when people made friends with a lot of people both far and near, expensive feast were used in entertaining visitors who might have come from far lands. This was what took place between the birds and their friends in the sky. Their friends in the sky had just invited them to a feast and they were preparing to go. Suddenly, the tortoise having been observing their movements, met his friend, parrot and quickly asked him why he and the other birds were busy. The parrot without prevaricating emptied his mouth, why they were busy. Having listened with rapt attention, the tortoise opted to go with them—not only did he borrow some feathers from parrot but he also coaxed other birds to do likewise...

At the feast, as the hosts trotted in and out the house bringing all kinds of food, the tortoise cunningly asked the birds to answer the names they would like to be called. Some people answered president, chairman, and some answered vice president, secretary, spokesman, provost etc. But when it was the tortoise’s turn, he answered all of you. Funny enough, when the hosts were done with bringing food they said, “This food is for all of you.” The myriad of food was so appetizing such that some of the birds began to salivate tightening their nostril to forcefully inhale the properly-cooked aroma. As they stretched forth their properly washed hands to cut a lump of foofoo, the tortoise reminded them that the food was given to all of you which they were aware of and did not question the hosts why they said so. He refused them eating the food until his tummy was like a keg of water with several sizable morsels of foofoo packed, all of which were dented by his thumb.

Having been disillusioned, the birds withdrew their feathers and flew away with emotional baggage as soon as the feast was over. It was only the parrot, his friend that obliged him though he seized the opportunity to outdo him in a bit to cash a draw (pay back) with him. He begged the parrot to tell his wife to bring outside all foamy matters so that he would land safely on them from the sky. Reaching home, the parrot cunningly told his wife to bring out all metallic materials.

When it was time, the tortoise fell from the sky and landed heavily on the pieces of metals brought outside by his wife, and as a result its shell was given several cracks. Ahii,” He ended. “Yah.” The crowd rejoined with cheeks puckered by excessive laughter.
(culled from The Lefthander, by Freeman Korkara Kobo)
---------------To be continued-------------------