Narratological significance of journey motif in Severine Ndunguru’s a Wreath for Fr. Mayer.

This study examines the journey motif in Severine Ndunguru’s A Wreath for Fr. Mayer. It specifically explores the literal and metaphorical meaning of journey in the context where the protagonist travels across socio-cultural, political and geographical borders in search for alternative solution to problems affecting his society. Using the Proppian narratological approach, the study argues that the existing reciprocal relationship between form and content in literary works, in general, and the journey motif in A Wreath for Fr. Mayer, in particular, justifies the significance of journey motif in narrativity. This technique organises the plot of the text in describing human conditions including poverty, ‘bad’ traditional beliefs, theft, and diseases. These conditions expose the dimensions of the journey as a narratological technique. Also, the study found that the journey motif as presented in this work is a nuanced African folkloric expression which is not only significant in framing the narrative, but also serves as a means to find solution to socio-cultural problems. The journey in this particular text suggests pathways an individual can take in rescuing the society from danger. In examining the journey motif, some literary devices were analysed as additional narrative strategies. The study, therefore, recommends that scholars or researchers study other folkloric materials used in written literature (Tanzanian) to question the current realisms of globalization.