AN APPRAISAL OF FOLKLORIC FORMS IN TIV PLAYS AS INSTRUMENT FOR CULTURAL EDUCATION

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction

This research attempts an appraisal of folkloric forms in Tiv Plays as a vehicle for cultural education. The purpose is to determine the effective use of these folkloric forms in the plays as instrument of cultural education. The study is propelled by the fact that cultural values in our society are fast being eroded to a point of going comatose. The use of isolated folkloric forms instead of epic stories that are rooted in the culture and tradition of the people in some plays that serve as media of cultural transmission is also a propelling factor. A particular attention is paid to the significance of folklore as cultural material for playwriting and the adequate use of the material as vehicle for conveying culturally relevant education in three

Tiv modern plays; Hagher‟s Swem Karagbe (1979), Gbilekaa‟s Prized Chickens are not Tasty (2002) and Gande‟s The Rebound (2010). A close examination of the texts through content analysis has been carried out to arrive at findings that reflect the adequate use of s folklore in the plays in this regard.

1.2 Background to the Study

Folklore as a body of cultural materials is rooted in the socio-cultural milieu of the society. It exists chiefly to address the basic social, cultural and individual needs of the people in the society. Such needs according to Gbilekaa (2013:219) include entertainment, recreation, education, and cultural perpetuation. Folklore transcends cultural and physical boundaries and possesses universal attributes and applicability that are crucial to the understanding of existence, and co-existence amongst people in the society. In other words, folklore is integral in defining the histories and cultural heritage of the people be it in Africa, America, Europe or elsewhere. Succinctly put, folklore is common to all human societies and peculiar to given societies. It is Common in the sense that there are traditional stories, practices and cultural materials and symbols regarding the histories and origins of people in every society. At the same time, these stories, practices and cultural materials regarding traditions and ancestry of the people are understood better within the ambience of the cultural codes or symbols inherent in that given society. Thus, we have deliberate ascription of folklore to given societies (be it regions or nations) such as English folklore, American folklore, Chinese folklore, Hausa folklore, Yoruba folklore, Igbo folklore, Tiv folklore, Igala folklore, Ibibio folklore and so on.  

In African societies particularly, folklore serves as the symbolic representation of the people‟s philosophy and worldview, a phenomenon that Africans hold tenaciously to as a code that defines them as a people. In the words of Usman, (2014:7) folkloric tradition is a very rich and fertile legacy that Africa bequeathed to many parts of the world especially North America, South America, and the West Indies. This was apparently made possible through belligerent cultural activities like storytelling, rituals, rites, hunting expeditions, artefacts, as well as symbols that were kept and cherished in Africa. Slave trade, colonisation, tourists‟ researches involving Africans and non-Africans alike helped identified those practices, and cultural materials in the realm of folklore. According to Darah (2014:34), the term “folklore” was first used by the English antiquarian, Williams Thoms in a letter published in the London journal; The Athenaeum in 1846.However, folklore is a pre-literate tradition that permeates cultural boundaries to assume contemporary significance. It is a universal phenomenon that is characteristically peculiar to given societies. 

Folklore therefore refers to a traditional system that belongs to a given people within a geographical area. This traditional system is made peculiar through non-material cultural values exhibited in oral history, folktales, legends, myths, beliefs, fables, riddles and proverbs. In other words, as Gbenga (2014:38) rightly notes, folklore is a:

General term for the verbal, spiritual, and material aspect of any culture that are transmitted orally, by observation, or by imitation. People sharing a culture may have in common an occupation, language, ethnicity, age, and geographical location. This body of traditional materials is preserved and passed on from generation, with constant variations shaped by memory, immediate need or purpose, and degree, of individual talent.

In the light of this therefore, folklore that is peculiar to the Tiv is rooted within the ambience of the Tiv cosmological society like other folkloric traditions of the world. The composition of folktales, history, myths, legends, artefacts, fables, riddles and proverbs that find expression through oral stories and renditions within the ambience of Tiv cultural background could be referred to as Tiv folklore. In other words, stories about religious myths like Swem (ancestral land), Tsav (Witchcraft), Adzov/Mbaterev (Non-human spirits), Ikyarem (proverbial green snake), Wankwase hungwa Idyeregh (Descended naked woman from the east). Symbolic folk materials like Idyer (wooden ritual gong), Anger (weaved traditional dress) and tales about animals and human characters like Alom (Hare, the trickster) and Tor (the human king) in relation to Aondo (supreme being) which are told and performed through the raconteur amidst songs, music, dance and other renditions is what characterises folklore amongst the Tiv people.

The Tiv are traditionally found around central Nigeria on both banks of River Benue. They are spread across the Benue, Taraba, Nasarawa, Plateau, Cross River and FCT Abuja with the highest concentration of their population in Benue State. Their population is over ten million people (Hagher, 2003:20 and Tsevende et tal, 2013:1). The name Tiv is also ascribed to their father who had two sons; Ichogo and Ipusu (meaning literarily circumcised and uncircumcised).Consequently Ichogo and Ipusu have since become the two ruling houses in Tiv land (Akpede 2010:1). Tiv also is the name of the father of all Tiv people, who according to Hagher (2003:23) is a descendant of Takuruku Anyamazenga, the grand ancestor(s). Much of the stories surrounding the ancestors of Tiv are scanty and thereby gives rooms for speculations. While some scholars like Uhondo (1991:12) and Hagher (2003:23) regard Takuruku Nyamazenger as the grand ancestor, others like Makar (1994:3-4) claim that Tiv was the son of Awange. However, Tiv was “a hero who broke away from his brothers and moved with his entire family to settle at Swem” (Makar 1994:4). His wife, Aliwe gave birth to Ichongo and Ipusu, the two sons. The story of Tiv as the founder of Tiv race who now occupy the Benue valley, having migrated from Swem Mountains as compared to those of the distant ancestors is more explicit. Tsevende et tal (2013:1) also argues that, “the Tiv are an ethnic group who today inhabits quite a substantial portion of the Benue valley”. The region extends on both sides of River Benue in central Nigeria, covering an area of about 30,000 square kilometres and is located between latitude 7 30‟ to 8 10‟ north and longitude 8 to 10 east, (Tsevende el tal, 2013:2). In the words of Akpede (2010:2), “The Tiv people are one of the ethnic groups that inhabit the geographical area referred to as the “Middle Belt” in central Nigeria”. 

Genealogically, Tiv people as they presently occupy the Benue valley, having migrated from Swem hills are members of one family, comprising of different clans and lineages (Gbor, 2006:13). The two sons of Tiv; Ichongo (the elderly one) and Ipusu (the younger one) according to Geri (2012:35) “provides the basis for Tiv lineage segment action that makes effective social and political organisation of the Tiv society”. The two genealogical families comprise:

a.     Ichongo (the circumcised) is made up of Iharev, Masev, Nongov, Turan, Ikyurav,

Ugondo, and Tongov, collectively referred to as Mbachongo (Chongo people).

b.     Ipusu (the uncircumcised) has Jemgbagh, Jechira, Shitile and Ukum, also collectively known as Mbapusu (Ipusu people) [Geri, 2012:35]. 

Accordingly, the Tiv folklore is imbedded into Tiv worldview and way of life. This worldview specifically revolves round the human and the spirits as well as how the two worlds interact and co-habit the same cosmological habitat. The spirit world is comprised of the Adzov/Mbakuv or Mbatarev and Mbatsav (all non-human spirits in their categories) and they operate within the same environment as humans, even though they cannot be seen with ordinary human eyes. In other words, the Tiv belief system recognises the land of the living and the dead, which is understood through the activities of Mbatsav (witches/wizards). Generally, Tiv have many mythic stories regarding their origin and ancestry, which have been told and preserved through the folkloric tradition. The interwoven ancestry stories, for instance, indicates the migration saga of the Tiv people from the Bantu tribes in the present day Democratic Republic of Congo in South Eastern Africa. It is believed that they left their

Bantu neighbours when dispute arose and crossed the Congo River by the help of Ikyarem, (the green snake). Many Tiv people believe that, it was the spirit of one of the ancestors that appeared as the green snake to rescue his descendants from danger by the Congo River. The Tiv people as a result do not kill a green snake. It is regarded as sacred, being a permanent friend of all Tiv descendants. The people then came to settle at Swem, (ancestral location) after the historic cross of the Congo River. Swem is a place believed to be situated on the border between the present day Kwande Local Government of Benue State and the Cameroon Mountains. The same way Ikyarem (the green snake) is considered sacred, Swem is reputed to be of both legendary and of religious importance to the Tiv people up till today. Akiga

(1965:238) who visited the location called Swem in 1934 describes it as “a hill in the land of the Ukwese and Udir, the Bush Tribes through which the Tiv passed on their way down from the hills”. This presupposes that Swem is both a location (ancestral land) and a symbol of justice and truth. The Tiv pay allegiance to Swem as a religious symbol usually represented in a clay, native pot containing green Ayande leaves and ashes from a particular shrine, (Ushima, 2002:4). As ancestral location, people take adventurous trips to the land at the Kwande/Cameroon Mountains (a mile away from the Cameroun border) to acquire magical powers or take the oath of allegiance regarding any contentious issue. According to Makar (1994:4):

The Swem Mountain, towering three thousand feet above sea level is easily identifiable. It has three ridges and one of its pinnacles is composed of a large prominent rock resting on three huge stone pillars, which from afar gives the semblance of a round hut. The physical appearance of this rock known in geography as kopje or decaying inselberg, has great significance to the Tiv. To (them) this is one of the mysteries of their ancestral homeland. 

This ancestral homeland shrouded in myths was later known as Swem Karagbe, (ancestral mountains where Karagbe lived) ascribing it to one Tiv ancestral descendant, Karagbe (from Nongov lineage) who desecrated the Ilyum (Sacred) altar and was beheaded after refusal to be arrested to stand trial before the people for his crime.

Kor (bitter concoction) is a replica of Swem (ancestral mountains). It is a bitter concoction given to people to drink for the adjudication of justice, usually to unravel a mystery or separate the innocent from the guilty. Like the Swem, Kor is prepared by certain elders who have the mastery of Tiv tradition or akombo (ritual emblem). The bitter and liquid substance is given to people who have been accused of a crime or serious offence to drink. Those wrongly accused are expected to vomit it, while the guilty would not vomit but eventually exhibit the symptom of protruding stomach and finally die. 

Ivom (mounting of the heap) or Amar amilin (dance celebration) is another Tiv folkloric tradition in this regard. It is the celebration of one‟s achievements or prestige characteristically accompanied by rigorous dances with highly melodious music. Ivom (mounting of the heap is a Tiv cultural festival that has as its climax the dance display by couples to showcase their worth in the society as mark of achievements. Also as part of Tiv folklore classification are Anza akaa (wisdom laden Tiv proverbs) and Ukikyaa (Tiv riddles).The two have close affinity but have different expressive tendencies. Tiv proverbs are usually used by elders in conversations on challenging subject matters to show sophistication and mastery of the tradition. Tiv riddles on the other hand are used by both adults and children for impartation and cultural education, and are strictly based on sociocultural peculiarities of Tiv people. 

Tsav (witchcraft) is another mythic tradition that is an integral part of the Tiv folklore. The notion of tsav can be conceptualised under the purview of Tiv religion, which centres on three fundamental (beliefs) things; Aondo (the Supreme Being), Tsav (witchcraft), Adzov or Mbataregh (spirits). However, Akombo (magic emblem), described by Ubwa (2013:5) as “some unique mystical forces” is a unifying symbol through which Tiv religion in general and tsav in particular is practiced or expressed. The concept and institution of Tsav is viewed generally as an internalised potency in man as part of his personality. However, different levels of Tsav exist, ranging from the seemingly mild to the chronically fierce type. A mild Tsav (witchcraft) gives the possessor some awareness of the supernatural, without necessarily practicing it through the instrumentality of Akombo (magic emblem). For instance, virtually all Tiv elders (both male and female) are believed to be Mbatsav (witches and wizards), owing to their wealth of experience, coupled with tendencies of chronic and desperate wizards and witches to use their words or decrees to inflict malevolent powers on others. 

Notably, most Tiv folkloric forms have the folktale as their expressive medium. It is through the “tales” that knowledge of the other folkloric forms components are transmitted from generation to generation. Cultural aspects like storytelling, singing, dancing, farming, hunting, dressing, weaving, woodcarving, Clay moulding etc. are part of the traditional life of the people. As the matter of fact, Tiv people are known for their penchant and tenacity for their culture and tradition. Evidence of this abounds in their stories of migration and subsequent resilience to oppression and alien cultures around them. This presupposes that there is enough potential regarding oral tradition as far as Tiv indigenous knowledge in the realm of folklore is concerned.

The pertinent question therefore is what is the place of cultural materials that are peculiar to Tiv folkloric tradition in artistic creations like plays and of what significance are they to cultural propagation and education if properly harnessed? A play is supposed to be a reflection of human experiences that have bearing on the society as seen by the playwright from a given cultural background. These “human experiences” connote folkloristic traditions and its significance to the people. Theatre is often described as a melting pot of culture, ostensibly because of the instrumentality of a play and its attendant significance. Through the play, cogent cultural materials are deployed for communication. According to Musa (2004:171):

Culture is theatre and theatre is culture because all cultural activities are essentially theatrical and that most theatrical events are moments of cultural re-enactments. While culture serves as the materials for the theatre, the theatre itself celebrates known and unknown cultures of the world through various performance forms as aesthetically designed or reflectively created by theatre workers….

If this submission is anything to go by, it is pertinent to submit that cultural materials inherent in the society, which constitute folklore, are greatly significant to the theatre artist like playwright to use in creating a play that would have cultural appeal on the people. The playwright as one of such theatre artists is one who through his artistic knowledge sees folklore as cultural bedrocks in his quest to bring to bear cultural education. In as much as some playwrights may not be interested in exploring folklore traditions in their plays as a yardstick of the stories, theatre through the art of playwriting serve as the media for the conveyance of people‟s culture and tradition. Folklore could serve as the creative raw material with which the playwright creates his play. 

The playwright derives his raw materials within the ambience of the cultural society (where folklore is deeply rooted). The importance of folklore here cannot be overemphasised as far as cultural education is concerned. As Asigbo (2013:12) rightly asserts:

The theatre, in any society, is a cultural house through which the totality of the ways of life of the people can be documented and presented over a given period of time. Its functions and values, its power as a weapon of mobilization, its function as a medium of communication and change are quite indisputable….

Theatre through the art of playwriting can document history of the people, legendary stories, myths, fables, proverbial assertions and so on for the purpose of cultural education. This could be done through artistic representation of the issues of interest to the artiste.

The practice of using folklore as materials for playwriting is not new in the theatre. What is probably new is the consciousness and deliberate theorisation of the practice in the past, leading to the present day practices. In the Greek theatre for instance, there was a transition of what is called “literature from stage to page”. That is the situation where by oral traditional performances already known in that medium were moulded into scripts or play texts for performances in the theatre. The Greek classical drama or classical literature was the reflection of the Greek‟s worldview rooted in the oral tradition. Greek mythology; rituals, superstition, ancestral worship (gods), and occupational practices were folkloristic in nature. This was an indication of the use of folklore by the Greek classical playwrights as cultural materials in dramatic literature. Greek plays like Sophocles‟ King Oedipus (Oedipus Rex), or Euripides‟ The Bacchae of Euripides, have served as models for African plays and the theory of Aristotle became a basis for dramatic criticism in Africa and other parts of the world apparently because of the deployment of cultural materials in those plays. Notable examples are the transposition by the Nigerian playwright, Ola Rotimi, of King Oedipus by the Greek playwright, Sophocles, into a play in the Yoruba setting (but in English) called The Gods are not to Blame and adaption of Euripides‟ The Bacchae of Euripides by Wole Soyinka called

The Bacchae. An example of the influence of Aristotle‟s theory is the analysis by John Pepper Clark (a Nigerian critic and playwright) of the Ijo saga of Ozidi (Etherton, 2012:68 & Idegu, 2009:70).

In the Elizabethan period, the people‟s folklore was reflective, especially in the plays of William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe. Folkloristic components are manifest in plays like Shakespeare‟s Macbeth, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, (including many of his historical plays) and Marlowe‟s Doctor Faustus and many other Elizabethan literary works. Papp and Kirkland (2003:17) state that, “Most Elizabethan households were well stocked with peculiar superstitions and strange practices”. The use of myths, superstitious practices, histories, legends, and epic tales are usual occurrences in virtually all Shakespearean works and those of Marlowe (who were major dramatists) in the Elizabethan Literature. The wave of influence of the classical Greek, Elizabethan or Western literatures gave rise to amongst other things adaptations, and as Umukoro (2002:136) agrees, apart from the legendary Shakespeare, some foreign authors have featured on the reading lists of

Nigerian schools at one time or the other, the development that gave fresh impetus to Nigerian dramaturgy.

The growth and development of African dramatic literature saw many African playwrights turning to their folklore or oral tradition to source materials for their dramaturgy. The rich potentials of their traditional society became a point of interest. In other words, they also imitated the Greeks in this regard, as Etherton (2012:69) observes that, “when Greek thinkers began to ponder the moral and social meaning of their legends and myths, they were actually seeking to expand the significance of their ancient traditional culture so as to reach a truth about their own contemporary realities”.

There have been therefore many ground-breaking efforts towards the use of folklore as source materials for playwriting in African dramaturgy. Most of these efforts saw the playwrights projecting the communal, and mythic African ways of life and worldview. A cursory example brings to mind great efforts like John Pepper Clark‟s Ozidi [1966] (from Nigeria), Efua T. Sutherland‟s The Marriage of Anansewa [1967] (from Ghana), Mukotani Rugyendo‟s The Contest (from Uganda) [1977], Ngugi wa Thiong‟o and Mecere Mongo‟s I will Marry when I Want (from Kenya), amongst many others. J.P.Clark‟s Ozidi for instance, wholly dwells on the oral, folkloristic tradition. It is derived from the traditional Ijo saga, or, epic, centred on Orua in the Delta region of Nigeria where it is still told and enacted today (Etherton, 2012:72). In this play, the people‟s folklore having been harnessed as cultural materials for dramaturgical composition via playwriting. 

The Marriage of Anansewa by Efua Sutherland is another effort in this regard. The play adopts the conventions of Akan story-telling tradition of the Ghanaian people in its story line, which is conceprualised as Anansegoro. It is a story-telling art called Anansesem by Akanspeaking people. The name, which literally means Ananse stories, is used both for the body of stories told and for the story-telling performance itself. (Sutherland, 2005:3).The Akan story-telling (theatre) performance which is harnessed as raw materials for the making of this play is a culturally relevant material of the people of Ghana. In other words, it is the folkloric tradition of the people that finds expression in the play, The Marriage of Anansewa.  

For Mukotani Rugyendo‟s The Contest, the exploration of what he refers to as “popular” tradition of the people into a play script also underscores the efforts of African playwrights to use their oral, folk tradition to create dramatic literature. The play explores the well-cherished traditional performances of the people in form of epic narratives with the aim of preserving some aspect of it Etherton (2012:92) The exploration of the people‟s folklore in a script format here is evidently significant as reflecting the folk tradition of the people. 

On the Nigerian playwriting scene, there are notable examples of playwrights‟ use of folklore. This is evident in works like Femi Osofisan, whom Obafemi (2007:93) describes as

“unquestionably the most articulate in terms of both ideological commitment and political aesthetics of the second generation Nigerian writers…” His plays such as The Chattering and the Song (1977), Moruntodun (1982), Twingle Twangle a Twynning Tayle (1993), amongst others attest to this claim. Osofisan‟s prolific disposition draws a lot from folkloristic tradition of his people, the Yoruba to help define his ideology in dramaturgy. Wale Ogunyemi‟s Langbodo (1989), Queen Amina of Zazzau (1999) amongst other worthy examples. The exploration of history, myths and legends is exemplary characteristics of his plays. The legendary story of Queen Amina deployed in this play belongs to the oral traditional archives. In other words, it is through the tales that the story found expression into our modern day life and history.

Sam Ukala is another pertinent voice in the realm of folk plays writing. He does not only write plays that reflect epic traditions but also theorises on them. His theory of folkism, exemplified in his plays like The Slave Wife (1985) and Akpakaland (1990) amongst others assert his ideological posture in Nigerian contemporary dramaturgy. Other examples in this regard include, Emmy Idegu‟s The Legendary Inikpi (1994), which dwells on the myth of Inikpi, the Igala legend who was believed to have been scarified for the liberation of the Igala people. Yemoja (2002) by Ahmed Yerima is also a notable example, including the three plays selected for analysis in this research: (Iyorwuese Hagher‟s Swem Karagbe (1979) Saint Gbilekaa‟s Prized Chickens are not Tasty (2002) and Yev Peter Gande‟s The Rebound (2012) amongst others examples.

What these playwrights have done as regards these plays is that, they have taken artistic look at the oral or folkloric traditions of their immediate societies and project their ideals via dramatic media. However, the treatments of folkloric elements in these drama masterpieces vary. For instance, while some playwrights like J.P.Clark with Ozidi (1966), Wale Ogunyemi‟s with Langbodo (1989) or Osofisan with Twingle Twangle a Twynning Tayle (1993) have the subject matters or plots of their plays dwelled on popular epic traditions, coupled with the deployment of folktale narratives by the use of the narrator to convey their stories. Others like Wale Ogunyemi with Queen Amina of Zazzau (1999), Ahmed Yerima with Yemoja (2002) or Emmy Idegu‟s The Legendary Inikpi (1994) harness historical facts, myths and legends without the deliberate deployment of folk tale narratives through the narrator to convey the stories. There are some others like Wole Soyinka with Kongi’s Harvest (1978), and Bakare Ojo with Rogbodiyon (1999), who use folk materials sparsely to assert socio-political messages. The three plays selected for this study; Iyorwuese Hagher‟s Swem Karagbe (1979) Saint Gbilekaa‟s Prized Chickens are not Tasty (2002) and Yev Peter Gande‟s The Rebound therefore, have their subject matters dwelled on epic traditions of the Tiv people with the deployment of storytelling techniques through the narrator to tell the stories to the audience. 

The deployment of folklore by Nigerian playwrights with varying tendencies propels questions as to what usage would translate to cultural education. In other words, how have playwrights who choose to write from a given cultural background taken the issue of cultural education seriously? Indeed, culture as a way of life is imperative to the people in defining the people‟s identity and value orientation. This is why Gbor (2006:1), describes culture as that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society. The practice of these complex elements that constitute culture by man in a given society therefore requires knowledge of patterns and modes of preservation and transmission in order to communicate the ideal cultural values to the people. It is against this backdrop that cultural education is anchored. The traditional roles of culture in the society, such as technological aspect, that enables humans to exploit their environment through the development of tools for man‟s use. The sociological aspect which emphasises the relationship between and amongst humans, and ideological or philosophical aspect, which deals with the systems of beliefs, attitudes, sentiments, and values is at the core of cultural education (Gbor 2006:12). According to Iji (2004:13), “It is the cumulative effect of different generations in history of different societies in terms of what they have been able to create, that express their culture as well as their level of development”. This portrays culture as a yardstick of development in the society. The efforts that aim at communicating or asserting given cultural tendencies be it technological, sociological or philosophical to the people connotes cultural education. The world acclaimed international cultural organisations such as UNESCO recognised the need for cultural education by declaring the World Decade for Cultural Development (WDCD) from 1988. In the words of Iji (2004:13), “The essence of the UNESCO‟s cultural re-orientation is to draw attention to the necessity to search for solutions to various national issues by looking inwards to the indigenous cultural traditions of the various people”. Those indigenous cultural traditions connote the people‟s folklore, which is imperative in this regard in achieving culturally relevant education.

The medium through which cultural materials in the realm of folklore are communicated is equally significant. In other words, the deployment of cultural materials within the ambience of folklore in a medium like literature, which traditionally entertains, informs or educates portray literature as a veritable tool or vehicle of facilitating value orientation, which is synonymous to cultural education.  

Language as a means of communicating the cultural values to the people is also a key component in cultural education. Hence language is said to be “a window unto culture” (Buratai, 2009:20), the need for emphasis on the use of the “popular” language of the people to assert or communicate culture is an important component that will endear people to culture and its values. Specifically, the documentation of the people‟s history, ancestral background, values, norms and mores artistically in a medium of a play is instrumental in communicating cultural education. The play in this light is a veritable media of communicating cultural knowledge, using folklore as raw materials.

 In spite of the significance of folklore in achieving cultural education of the people through the medium of playwriting, the use of it in some modern plays leaves much to be desired as far as folklore tradition is concerned.  There is a marked difference between deploying stereotypical cultural elements, and symbols like characters‟ names, places, songs and music, dressing, linguistic variable like code switching and so on. And deploying epic traditions like Swem (ancestral location), Kor (judicial concoction), Tsav (Witchcraft system), Ivom Uden (mounting of heap dance festival/celebration), or The Saga of Ozidi (in J.P. Clark‟s Ozidi), Abgekoya Uprising (in Osofisan‟s Moruntodun), Langbodo myth (in Ogunyemi‟s Langbodo), Anansesem-Akan Storytelling Tradition (in Sutherland‟s The Marriage f Anansewa), amongst other examples. There is also a significant difference between harnessing these folk traditions in their original indigenous languages and learned languages like English as expressive medium. 

The question is, why would playwrights who choose to harness the folklore milieu not deploy basic epic traditions of the people in their peculiar forms using the folk tale narratives to assert their cultural messages, and what medium of expression (indigenous or foreign language) would the playwright  best communicate culture to the people? This is the propelling factor for this study, to see the extent to which  the basic folkloric traditions (of the Tiv people) are deployed  in accordance with their unique significance by the three playwrights; Iyorwuese Hagher (With Swem Karagbe), Saint Gbilekaa (with Prized Chickens are not Tasty) and Peter Gande (with The Rebound) to achieve cultural assertion and education. Theatre or drama generally has evolved over time transcending mere entertainment and is been focused on issues of human development and advancement in the society. Cultural promotion which drama through playwriting can facilitates is significant in achieving sustainable development in the society through culturally relevant education.

1.3 Statement of the Research Problem

 The need for cultural education in the society like ours can never be overstated owing to complex socio-cultural processes of colonisation and globalisation. Pervasive foreign cultures have adversely affected our indigenous cultures, to a point of imminent extinction. Colonisation, for example sought to denigrate our African cultural values such as language, dressing and festivals, which define our ways of life. More recently, globalisation through the medium of cultural imperialism has also provoked deed-rooted cultural maladjustment, resulting in further denigration of indigenous traditions. The introduction of cable satellites television and related mass media of communication for instance has continued the onslaught almost unhindered. Although, efforts have been made toward cultural promotion, a lot still need to be done in this regard.

In the light of the foregoing, cultural education through folklore with the use of play as medium is imperative in harnessing the folkloric forms imbedded in the people‟s tradition for preservation, propagation and transmission. This underscores the essential nature of folklore as cultural materials and drama as medium of communicating them with a view to achieving cultural education. It is therefore in view of this significance, and of course attempts made by some playwrights regarding the use of folklorc forms in the play medium that underscores an appraisal of such forms as vehicle for cultural education. The pertinent question therefore is how have the playwrights been using the media of plays to address cultural education by the use of folkloric forms as vehicle given the efficacy of the play as medium of communication? Moreover, what language of expression in the play texts could best endear the people to the cultural issues dramatised in the text thereby culminating in cultural education? 

1.4 Aim of the Research

The aim of this research is to determine the effective use of folklore as vehicle for cultural education in Swem Karagbe, Prized Chickens are not Tasty and The Rebound 

1.5 Objectives of the Research 

The objectives of this research are:

(1)     To identify the playwrights‟ deployment of folkloric forms in Hagher‟s Swem                    

       Karagbe, Gbilekaa‟s Prized Chickens are not Tasty and Gande‟s The Rebound.        

(2)     To elicit the role of the folkloric forms in the plays for the effective communication of          themes in relation to cultural education.             

(3)     Ascertain the effectiveness to which the Plays serve as Media of Cultural Education                                 through Folklore.

1.5 The Research Questions

Accordingly, this research seeks to answer the following questions:

(1)  What are the forms of folklore used in Swem Karagbe, Prized Chickens are not Tasty and           The Rebound?

(2)  What are the Roles of folkloric forms in conveying the playwrights‟ messages in the three

       plays?

(3)  To what extent have the three plays served as media of facilitating cultural education                        with folklore as the vehicle?

1.6 Scope of the Research

The research examines or attempt a critique of the use of folk traditions that would engender cultural education of the people in a number of Tiv modern plays; Hagher‟s Swem Karagbe, Gbilekaa‟s Prized Chickens are not tasty and Gande‟s The Rebound. This is needful in order to arrive at the goal of this research, which is to determine the effective use of folklore in the selected plays for cultural education and development.

 Analysis of data in this research will accordingly be confined to the three drama texts, which are written in the realm of folklore from the Tiv cultural background. The analysis of data from these texts will be based on the extent to which the playwrights have deployed the folkloric traditions in the three plays under consideration. This is because the three plays under consideration unlike others available to this researcher have their storylines dwelled on the basic forms of folklore in the society on which the totality of the people‟s worldview revolves.

1.7 Significance of the Research 

The study, which beams its light on the efforts of some playwrights who explore folklore as source materials for their drama automatically, stresses the need for more research to be carried out into our folk culture for the production of dramatic scripts that could be described as peoples oriented or having great appeal on the people. This therefore indicates that students of arts and oral tradition, teachers of creative writing and arts administrators will stand to benefit from a research of this nature, which has propelling impetus for reexamination of folk culture and tradition for more artistic documentation that would facilitate cultural education. It is a wake-up –call research, apart from the fact that it is a general contribution to the body of knowledge in general and academic research in the area of evaluating the use of traditional, folk materials for cultural education. 

1.8 Research Methodology

This research, which is an appraisal of folkloric forms in a number of Tiv plays is  qualitative by nature and as such would generate non-quantitative (narrative) analysis in order to gain insights into the main objectives of the research. This would eventually culminate in the production of verbal synthesis through data presentation and analysis. The research is being carried out with an aim to determine effective exploration of folklore in the plays of Hagher, Gbilekaa and Gande as vehicle for achieving cultural education. The study in this regard will be situated within the confines of the three plays; Swem Karagbe, Prized Chickens are not

Tasty and The Rebound. The information gathered from the “worlds” of these literary texts shall constitute the basis for data presentation, analysis and findings in this study.    

This research being qualitative will adopt content analysis, as main technique or tool of data gathering and analysis. Content analysis will be based on the three selected plays, to examine how folkloric materials are used in the three texts and whether or not they achieve culturally relevant education. The data or information gathered because of the use of the adopted technique will be analysed based on verbal description method in order to come up with findings and conclusions as well as recommendations that would meet the objectives of the study.  

1.9 Definition of Operational Terms

The definition of terms for this research is operational and contextualised. They are defined within the framework of this study for better construct and precision. Some of the terms and concepts worth conceptualising for better comprehension of this research include:

1.9.1 Folklore: In the context of this research, folklore is viewed as those forms such as folktales, myths, historical facts, legends, fables, artefacts, chants, performances, and proverbial assertions, jokes, and riddles, curses, traditional conventional sounds amongst others usually transmitted orally from generation to generation for the purpose of cultural propagation, preservation and education (Dundes 1965:3). To this end, folktale in this context is regarded as an aspect of folklore. However, it is also viewed as the expressive medium of other folkloric traditions. 

1.9.2 Cultural Education: In the context of this study, cultural education is viewed as a deliberate practice of inculcating or imparting cultural values, norms and heritages into other people through a given medium such as play with a view to getting them enlightened and acculturated. In other words, the deliberate use of aspects of the people‟s culture (both material and immaterial) to project the identity and ideal life of a certain group of people is aimed at achieving cultural education. Specifically, the documentation of the people‟s history, ancestral background, their values, norms and mores artistically in a medium of a play is instrumental in communicating cultural education.

1.9.3 Tiv Plays: Plays in terms of dramatic literature written from the Tiv cultural background, which reflects their worldview. In this light, the worldview is synonymous with folklore. Tiv folklore therefore entails the traditional folktales, myths, legends, symbols, dance festivals, and other socio-cultural activities that are told and performed to teach morals and cultural education and indoctrination.  Examples of  Tiv folklore are based on the myth of Swem (ancestral place and symbol of magical powers), Kor (closely related to Swem, a concoction meant to ascertain justice), Tsav (witchcraft) practice which are integral parts of Tiv religion. All these are usually intertwined with tales of animals with the trickster hero, Alom, (the Hare) with his wife, Anjieke, tales of human characters, animals and spirits involving usually the adventures of kings and their elegant princes or beautiful princesses. All these stories are narrated orally through folktale or storytelling amidst music, songs and dances through the mastery of a traditional raconteur or narrator.

Buyers has the right to create dispute within seven (7) days of purchase for 100% refund request when you experience issue with the file received. 

Dispute can only be created when you receive a corrupt file, a wrong file or irregularities in the table of contents and content of the file you received. 

ProjectShelve.com shall either provide the appropriate file within 48hrs or send refund excluding your bank transaction charges. Term and Conditions are applied.

Buyers are expected to confirm that the material you are paying for is available on our website ProjectShelve.com and you have selected the right material, you have also gone through the preliminary pages and it interests you before payment. DO NOT MAKE BANK PAYMENT IF YOUR TOPIC IS NOT ON THE WEBSITE.

In case of payment for a material not available on ProjectShelve.com, the management of ProjectShelve.com has the right to keep your money until you send a topic that is available on our website within 48 hours.

You cannot change topic after receiving material of the topic you ordered and paid for.