The edifying role of Wasukuma mythical narratives and the African concepts of idealism and realism

Abstract

The study was carried out to examine didactic functions embedded in performances of the Wasukuma mythical stories. Concurrently, the study sought to affirm the connection divided in the African concepts of idealism and realism to both reveal and realize such roles. The intentions implicated in the functions of the mythical oral performances were perceived by this study as the end mark of community’s expectation. Therefore, the study appreciated what happens in the behaviour of the community members after interacting with oral mythical tales. It did this by taking a position that listening the audience shares with the text, and each party contributes to formation of new knowledge or manner of acting. The study was fully accomplished by in-depth exploration of the Wasukuma socio- cultural and economic conducts. This principal paradigm guided the study in the views of such methods as content analysis, observation and documentary review for data collection, and purposive selection of participants as a sampling procedure. Two key dimensions can be derived out of the findings of this study : the roles and purposes of Wasukuma mythical narratives are attributively attached to the primary activities and beliefs of the society. This means that mythical oral performances are a reflection of people’s life indicated between their indulgement in the actual world and their’ perception of the metaphysical experience. The other dimension is that the portrayed roles have impacts both in the physical and ideological actions of a people and the literacy devices are the tools that shape and accompany such a portrait. To this end the study recommends that more studies can be carried out to examine on what people do with other genres of oral narratives in the Wasukuma community or in any other African society.