List of illustrations		xiii
Foreword by Mark Turin		xvii
Preface to the First Edition		xxiii
Preface to the Second Edition		xxv
Acknowledgments		xxxv
Acknowledgments: Addendum 2012		xxxix
Abbreviations		xli
Notes on Sources and References		xliii

I.	INTRODUCTION	1
1.	The ‘oral’ nature of African unwritten literature	3
	The significance of performance in actualization, transmission, and composition. Audience and occasion. Implications for the study of oral literature. Oral art as literature.
2.	The perception of African oral literature	29
	Nineteenth-century approaches and collections. Speculations and neglect in the twentieth century. Recent trends in African studies and the revival of interest in oral literature.
3.	The social, linguistic, and literary background	51
	Social and literary background. The linguistic basis—the example of Bantu. Some literary tools. Presentation of the material. The literary complexity of African cultures.

II.	POETRY	81
4.	Poetry and patronage	83
	Variations in the poet’s position. Court poets. Religious patronage. Free-lance and wandering poets. Part-time poets. A note on ‘epic’.
5.	Panegyric	111
	Introductory: nature and distribution; composers and reciters; occasions. Southern Bantu praise poetry: form and style; occasions and delivery; traditional and contemporary significance.
6.	Elegiac poetry	145
	General and introductory. Akan funeral dirges: content and themes; structure, style, and delivery; occasions and functions; the dirge as literature.
7.	Religious poetry	165
	Introductory. Didactic and narrative religious poetry and the Islamic tradition; the Swahili tenzi. Hymns, prayers, and incantations: general survey; the Fante Methodist lyric. Mantic poetry: Sotho divining praises; odu Ifa (Yoruba).
8.	Special purpose poetry—war, hunting, and work	201
	Military poetry: Nguni; Akan. Hunting poetry: Yoruba ijala; Ambo hunters’ songs. Work songs.
9.	Lyric	235
	Occasions. Subject-matter. Form. Composition.
10.	Topical and political songs	265
	Topical and local poetry. Songs of political parties and movements: Mau Mau hymns; Guinea R.D.A. songs; Northern Rhodesian party songs.
11.	Children’s songs and rhymes	291
	Lullabies and nursery rhymes. Children’s games and verses; Southern Sudanese action songs.

III.	PROSE	305
12.	Prose narratives I. Problems and theories	307
	Introductory. Evolutionist interpretations. Historical-geographical school. Classification and typologies. Structural-functional approach. Conclusion.
13.	Prose narratives II. Content and form.	327
	What is known to date: content and plot; main characters. Types of tales: animal stories; stories about people; ‘myths’; ‘legends’ and historical narratives. What demands further study: occasions; role of narrators; purpose and function; literary conventions; performance; originality and authorship. Conclusion.
14.	Proverbs	379
	The significance and concept of the proverb. Form and style. Content. Occasions and functions. Specific examples: Jabo; Zulu; Azande. Conclusion.
15.	Riddles	413
	Riddles and related forms. Style and content. Occasions and uses. Conclusion.
16.	Oratory, formal speaking, and other stylized forms	431
	Oratory and rhetoric: Burundi; Limba. Prayers, curses, etc. Word play and verbal formulas. Names.

IV.	SOME SPECIAL FORMS	465
17.	Drum language and literature	467
	Introductory—the principle of drum language. Examples of drum literature: announcements and calls; names; proverbs; poetry. Conclusion.
18.	Drama	485
	Introductory. Some minor examples: Bushman ‘plays’; West African puppet shows. Mande comedies. West African masquerades: South-Eastern Nigeria; Kalabari. Conclusion.

Conclusion		503
Map showing peoples mentioned in the text		507
Bibliography		509
Index		543

Online Resources

This volume is complemented by original recordings of stories and songs from the Limba country (Sierra Leone) which are freely accessible at: http://www.oralliterature.org/collections/rfinnegan001.html

Ruth Finnegan’s Limba collection was recorded during her fieldwork in Limba country in northern Sierra Leone, mainly in the remote villages of Kakarima and Kamabai. Recorded mostly in 1961, but with some audio clips from 1963 and 1964, the collection consists of stories and occasional songs on the topics of the beginning of the world, animals and human adventures, with some work songs and songs to accompany rituals also included.

Performances were regularly enlivened by the dramatic arts of the narrator and by active audience participation. Songs in this collection are accompanied by the split drum (gong) known as Limba nkali ki, although story songs are unaccompanied. The predominant language of the recordings is Limba (a west Atlantic language group), with occasional words in Krio (Creole), which was rapidly becoming the local lingua franca at the time of the recordings.