The Performance Phenomenon In
African Oral
Literature:
A case study of Emperor
Shaka the Great
By
Jide Balogun, Ph.D
Department of English
University of Ilorin
Introduction
Performance is a term that is commonly used indiscriminately by
man to describe the phenomenology of certain human activities in
society. This indiscriminate usage is a product of the trivial
portraiture of the concept by its users at different levels. For instance,
the mention of performance to the sensualist connotes the sexual
habit of a male figure, which is often described in that context in
terms of weak or strong performance. In studentship, performance is
described as the outcome of an academic exercise with particular
reference to examination and other measurement and assessment
methods in the school system. Little wonder then, the saying among
students that a student’s performance is poor or good.
Literally, performance connotes “how well or badly, you do
something; how well or badly something works”. (Wehmeier,
2000:865). There is a sense of judgement in this connotation of the
term resulting from a critical mind. Be that as it may, none of the
sentiments expressed in the above descriptions and definitions
adequately represents what performance means in literature-oral or
written. Perhaps the closest interpretation of the concept in the
context of its perception in this paper could be drawn from the
theatrist or dramatist perspective. The theatrist or dramatist perceives
performance as “the act of performing a play, concert or some other
form of entertainment, the way a person performs in a play, concert
etc.” (Wehmeier, 2000:865).
2
The rendition of a work of art in oral form is the artistic and
aesthetic essence of performance. Thus, because performance in
drama and theatre entails the act of performing a play, there is a
correlation between this interpretation of the term and our perception
of it in this paper. However, its idiosyncrasies as demonstrated in
oral literature distinguish it as a phenomenon distinct from its
perception and usage in drama or theatre as a specialized genre of
literature.
The essence of performance in orature is succinctly put by
Bronislaw Malinowski that:
The interest of the story is vastly enhanced
and it is given its proper character by the
manner in which it is told. The whole nature
of the performance, the voice and the
mimicry, the stimulus and the response of the
audience mean as much to the natives as the
text; and the sociologist should take his cue
from the natives. The performance, again, has
to be placed in its proper time setting-the hour
of the day, and the season, with the
background
of
the
sprouting
gardens
awaiting future work, and slightly influenced
by the magic of the fairy tales. (Malinowski,
1926:24).
3
It is against the above background, that this paper is set to
explore the performance phenomenon in African oral literature. The
choice of African oral literature for our discussion is necessitated by
its oralness vis-à-vis the oral nature of performance phenomenon
itself. Again the epic genre as epitomized in this context by Emperor
Shaka the Great (1979) more than any genre of literature is vulnerable
to the oral quality of performance.
More fundamentally is the fact that, performance is truly and
dynamically demonstrated in the epic genre because of the nature of
its modus operandi. The rhythm of the epic genre hinges on bardry,
griothood, minstrelsy, songs, dances, musical accompaniments,
poetry etc all of which are orally engaging and transmitted. The
thrust of this paper is to discuss performance as the essence of
African oral literature. The polemics is that performance is germane
to African oral literature and in particular, the African epic. Four
aspects are distinctively distinguished in this discourse; the general
introduction, the concept of performance, a critique of African oral
literature and an analysis of Mazisi Kunene’s Emperor Shaka The Great
(1979) from a critical perspective.
The Concept of Performance
The concept of performance in the context of orature transcends
a mere matter of definition. It however suffices to say that a proper
understanding of the concept of performance is possible within the
frame of its nature. The nature of performance is oral, verbal and
dependent on a performer “who formulates his words on a specific
4
occasion” (Finnegan, 1970:2) and who composes in performance.
Okpewho (1990:6-7) commenting on Bauman’s discussion of
Sherzer’s study of verbal arts argues that conventional, operative and
ritual types of performance could be distinguished. In the
conventional performance a model anchored on paradigms like an
event, act, role and genre (Okpewho, 1990:6) are established. The
operative and ritual types of performance both emphasize imitation
and creativity of some kind and spiritual explorations respectively.
The implication of this typology from the purview of our
variable in this paper (The African epic) is that the viability of the trio
is the function of the African epic in general and Emperor Shaka The
Great in particular. The point that is being made is that the
phenomenology of the trio is sociological and historical. Thus, the
performance of the African epic depends on the existence of a
particular society featuring a particular epic. Since the epic genre is
essentially a recreation of historical and socio-cultural events, the
effects of performance are informative, communicative, instructive
and educative. All of these effects are pungently exemplified in the
epic of Emperor Shaka the Great.
African oral literature and performance
It is our concern in this section of the paper to elucidate the
implication of performance in African oral literature.
What then is performance in African oral literature?
Performance in the context of African oral literature means the
delivery by a bard, a griot, a minstrel or a marabout of the verbal
5
materials and verbal arts of the African traditional people. The
rhythm of African oral literature is the function of performance. The
phenomenon is expressive, dramatic and gesticulative. Okpewho
(1979:40) aptly summarises the essence of performance as follows:
”music, dance, narration and gesture- all of these elements are
combined in the performance of an African heroic tale”. Again, the
bard possesses the elements for performance. The implication of
Okpewho’s submission is that oral performance is very germane to
the aesthetics of African oral literature. In fact, without performance,
meaning cannot be derived from an oral text. In other words,
performance is the means of decoding the phenomenology of African
oral literature. It is in agreement with this view that Finnegan
(1990:15) quickly observes, that “the bare words cannot speak
themselves”. In this phenomenon, the bard is a musician, a dancer
and a narrator. He adopts a lot of historical resources in his
performance to create and recreate some specific effects. Contained in
the performance is the bard’s facial and body expressions coupled
with occasional drumming.
Music plays a significant role in the performance of an African
oral tale. This assumption does not rule out the importance of words
in the same phenomenon. Therefore, an oral performance devoid of
words undermines its aesthetics and cultural value. It is suffice to say
that each performs its unique role and there is no reason why one
should be relegated as the substratum of the other. None is superior
to the other. The two kinds are different.
6
In the performance of an African oral tale, nothing
distinguishes its uniqueness like its musical accompaniments.
Observing the indispensability of music in oral performance among
the African bards, Nettl (1975:21) argues that, “the native singers
ordinarily give either text or music alone without difficulty”.
Buttressing the same view, Okpewho (1979:45) says of music in oral
performance, “once the music is removed something strange begins
to happen to the words of the tale”.
In the African mythology, the bard combines the dual function
of providing music with the telling of his tales. These include the role
of compassing the bard when he gets lost in his composition or
performance. Music is thus the “main thing” and this is succinctly
put by the Madingo griot when he says, “music is the griot’s
soul”.(Innes, 1974:35)
Also, in the African cosmology, music is a combination of many
traditional musical instruments, which in diverse musical forms
provoke varieties of aesthetic pleasure. Music in oral performance
could be by means of rattle as we find among the Nyanga bards of
East Africa. It is a commonplace musical phenomenon among the
Nyanga for the bard to manipulate and rattle with percussion stick
beaten with small drumsticks by some young men. Simultaneously,
the audience and people beating the percussion stick hum as the bard
sings. The effect of this in the performance process is to allow for the
sustenance and the stabilization of the tempo of the performance.
Parts of the traditional musical instruments in the African cosmology
7
popularly used by bards are “six stringed harp flute as well as a
ridged metal pipe which is scraped by an iron rod” (Okpewho,
1979:80). Also, among the Fang “a stringed wooden bar (sometimes
curved into a bow) to which is attached an assembly of three to five
semi calabashes are used as resonator”. (Okpewho, 1979:80). In
addition to this, in the above setting the bard is supported by a
retinue of musicians echoing the original music by the former.
In the African world, it is interesting to note that various
instruments are adopted and adapted by the bard as musical
accompaniments. It therefore follows that any material could be
converted to serve as a musical instrument depending on the creative
ability of an artiste in a giving setting. This explains the use of
percussion stick and other sticks by the Nyanga griot as observed
earlier. Whatever object the bard stumbles on in the process of his
performance, even the stood he sits on, he employs as a tool for his
artistry.
The importance of drum in oral performance is expressed in
drum literature. Drum is a subsidiary of music in African oral
performance. For instance, among the Yoruba speaking people of
Nigeria and the Akan of Ghana, the talking drum substitutes
considerably the use of words in oral performance. On several
occasions, a lot of messages are put across to the audience through
the talking drum without the drumming bard necessarily uttering
any word.
8
Performance in Emperor Shaka the Great
Emperor Shaka the Great is a historical account of Zulu land
under Shaka. Performed in three nights, the tale demonstrates the
various developments in that ancient nation before and in the era of
Shaka, who is historically known as Shaka the Zulu or Shaka the
Great. Also, all the names in the tale are ancient names of the citizens
of that land pointing to the fact that the epic is historical and
legendary.
In terms of length, the text has seventeen books with the least
and the highest books having eight and forty-eight pages
respectively. The translated version of the text has four hundred and
thirty-three pages. Thus, length is a fundamental feature of the epic
genre. The relevant of the length of the epic to the performance
phenomenon is reflected on the number of days (three) spent for its
performance.
Emperor Shaka the Great (1979) like The Ozidi Saga (1977) and any
other African epic employ variety of literary forms or genres. There
are allusions (Biblical and historical), songs and metaphors in the tale
to achieve obvious and positive effects.
This epic genre is another material demonstrating the rich cultural
values the Africans possess in their literature. Narrated in
performance, the epic recalls the heroic contributions of Shaka who
grew from paternal abandonment to a national figure in the Zulu
kingdom of the Southern part of Africa. The epic, which is
punctuated by songs and other musical accompaniments, is a truism
9
of the availability of epic in Africa. There is no other way one could
classify the epic under study than oral literature. The oral narration
of the cumulative and glaring contributions of the man Shaka is a
clear testimony to the oral nature of the epic and in particular the
African epic.
Perhaps, it is very logical to assert that the epic on Shaka
demonstrates to a very great extent the ancestral linkage of the living
Africans with the dead ones. Repeatedly, the characters make
allusions with awe to their ancestors in all their relationships and
interactions with one another. The dependence of the living in the
Zulu land on the dead (ancestors) is evident in the composition
below:
I can still hear the vibrations of my father’s voice.
It is only the Ancestors who know how to guide us.
It is to them that I shall humble myself.
The Ancestors, sons of my father, feed those who feed
themselves.
They are like a ceremonial staff from which our strength
issues;
With it we cross the deep and treacherous rivers.
The beginnings and endings of our actions.
Issue from where we light the flames of our power.
I do not ignore the words of our forefathers. (Kunene,
1979:34) (From henceforth all references from this edition
shall be by page only).
10
In the above quotation, Senzangakhona, the king himself did not
underrate the influence of the dead on the living. To the traditional
Zulu, existence is meaningless without the support of the dead
typified in the ancestors. This explains the dominance of ancestral
linkage in the epic. There are ample demonstrations of this
interdependence in the performance of the epic text being
considered. For instance, in the text, there was the invocation of the
spirit of ancestors in songs by the poet each time a battle was to
begin. It is a commonplace phenomenon in the epic for warriors to
sing the praises of the great heroes of the Zulu ancient times. Let us
listen to this song:
The poets of the land sang their new songs,
Each declaiming the great episode of battles
They commented in turn in the epic-histories of the Zulu
nation;
They sang the old poem of Jubauiqwanga,
Yet none could surpass in skill Magolwane,
Who was the beautiful voice of Ancestral spirit. (P.174)
The positive influence of such reference to the ancestry by the
Zulu progeny is visible in the success that accompanied them in the
many wars they fought. It must be that the above song was sung as a
war prelude to one of the three battles the Zulus fought with Zwide
and his troop. The truth in the matter is that the awe with which the
Zulu progeny revered their forefathers finds explanation in the
symbiotic benefits they derived from such. Therefore, to the Zulus,
11
idolising their forefathers is a desirable and national daily patriotic
process if the joy of the people is to be complete.
Apart from ancestral spirit as an element of African oral literature
as epitomized in the epic being studied, performance is essentially
the oral vehicle with which every element is fulfilled. It is to be stated
that performance as a traditional method in the oral epic is enhanced
in Emperor Shaka the Great by its different elements such as songs,
dances, drumming, musical accompaniment etc. Apart from the
intermittent rendering of songs by characters in the epic at victories,
the celebration of Shaka’s greatness initiated by his mother is an
important
element
of
performance
that
adds
colour
and
beautification to the epic. The ceremony was a three-day
uninterrupted celebration whose aesthetic significance as an element
in African oral literature is real.
There is no other plausible description than performance to be
given to the dance episode in which Shaka danced so much that his
father Senzangakhona could not recognise him and took him for
someone else. Such an occasion was a popular one among the Zulus
that occurred regularly to ease the society and her people of all
tensions- political, economic and even social.
Feast, festival and funfair accompanied performance in this
epic text. Shaka regularly slaughtered herds of cattle for people to
feed on. It was in such performance that the generals who excelled in
battles
were
decorated.
Resulting
from
such
performance
characterized by feast, festival and funfair is the ecstasy experienced
12
by the people and the glee visible in Shaka himself. Therefore,
performance as a significant element of African oral literature is not
relegated in this epic. As a matter of fact, it was a popular medium
adopted by Shaka to create the sense of belonging for the citizens and
to enable the people especially the military men to recreate. Part of
performance exhibited in the on going discourse is visible in the
celebration of victories at each battle fought by the Zulu army. It was
a popular method for the Zulu army of emperor Shaka to sing victory
songs after each of their wars. Dancing, drumming, feasting and
other festivities associated with victory also accompanied this.
Occasioning such songs and celebration was the ignominious defeat
of Matiwane who was a victim of Shaka’s vengeance quest. This
element is aptly demonstrated in the composition below:
The regiments of the Mthethwa army returned home
They sang alongside the brave regiments of the Zulus.
For each other they sang their ancient songs.
Only Shaka was reserved as others frolicked and danced
to victory. (p.112)
Perhaps, the most aesthetic element of performance in Emperor
Shaka the Great that portrays it succinctly as a true property of African
oral literature is its poetic nature. The poet through Shaka himself
and other characters emitted utterances that aroused the emotional
sensibilities of the audience and the other characters alike. This
literary method was commonly adapted to express grief, gratitude
and gesture on different occasions.
13
Lamenting the sickness of the Queen Mother, the poet emitted
utterances that appealed very much to the emotions of the audience.
Let us assess critically the poetic components of this:
He thanks you for uprooting the troublesome weeds.
He thanks you for silencing the tedious sounds of barking
hyenas.
He thanks you and says through you he will sleep in peace;…
Has the king emerged from the shadows of the night?
The whole nation suffers a great sadness.
The illness of our beloved Mother haunts the whole nation.
The children of Zululand have abandoned their songs of joy;
The nourishment of our lives has been bitten
by a poisonous snake. (p 240)
After studying and listening to this in performance, the audience
could not but feel concerned about the state of mind of the poet and
the people affected. With this instance and others, poetry as a
performance quality is unequivocally embellished in this epic text.
From the foregoing discussions, there is no doubt that Emperor
Shaka the Great is essentially another indisputable genre of African
oral literature in which performance is richly and lavishly
accentuated. As a legendary account of the past enviable
contributions of Shaka to the socio-political-military uplift of the
Zulu kingdom, there is no doubt, that the Zulu nation witnessed a
tremendous and unparalleled glory during his tenure. Little wonder
14
then, the many celebrations through performance that accompanied
his various victories.
The audience and performance are essentials for classifying and
comprehending Emperor Shaka the Great as an epic text. Music, dance,
feast and song accompany the narrative. The audience is employed to
fight by all the warring factions in the tale as soldiers and military
officers. Among the many occasions where the audience and
performance feature prominently in the text was the occasion when
the Queen mother, princess Nandy treated her son-Shaka to a great
feast. The feast was in recognition of victories, which had attended
the many wars fought by the hero. In the epic text, celebration of
victory in form of feasting was a very popular medium adopted by
the hero himself in motivating his men and officers. In order to make
his officers and men relax after any battle, Shaka also used feast. His
mother as contained below treated Shaka himself to a great feast:
Nandi looked aside and said to her councilor;
I want the king to be feasted with a hundred heads of
cattle.
Let the arena be filled with celebrations.
Let this be a great moment of rejoicing. (p 100)
The philosophical implication of the above is that Shaka who was
already immersed in the spirit of war to the detriment of some of his
personal commitments (like marriage, security etc) was made to relax
and ponder on other issues. Of course the entire episode above
15
couldn’t have been realized without the audience in place. Therefore,
audience and performance are conglomerates in the African epic as
demonstrated in the epic text being studied.
Among the multifarious elements, issues and values expressed
and celebrated in the performance of Emperor Shaka the Great are
politics, history, culture, discipline, courage, affluence, patriotism,
heroism etc. Though these are values specifically recognized in this
epic by extension and by implication too, they are issues epitomised
by the other genres of African oral literature vis-a-vis any other
performance inclined discipline.
A major corpus in the epic of Emperor Shaka the Great is the
historical account of the battle between the Zulu Kingdom under the
leadership of Emperor Shaka the Great and the neighbouring
Ndwandwe nation led by king Zwide. Shaka’s victory in this battle
brought him to a full-blown heroic figure and asserted the authority
of the Zulu nation over her neighbouring states. It is this view that
Omer-Cooper, the renowned African historian expresses when says:
This battle was a turning point in Shaka’s career
and in the whole history of the Mfecane.
Though he has not succeeded in riding himself
of the Ndwandwe threat completely, Shaka had
for the time being eliminated all serious rivals
in Zulu land and could not continue to build up
the power with little serious resistance.
(Omer-Cooper, 1966:62)
16
The above is an epitome of international politics, social
integration and enhancement, history and the making of a great
political leader and a heroic figure whose emergence was not
circumstantial but rather through his commitment (Patriotism) to the
cause of his people.
The transformation of Zulu to greatness was based on Shaka’s
military innovations and his political organization and manipulation.
His integration of every defeated army in to the Zulu kingdom was
an unprecedented approach neglected by his predecessors especially
Dingiswayo. Profitably, his adoption of this method was a perfect
political strategy of consolidating and ascertaining the sovereignty of
Zulu as a political entity. Furthermore as a way of consolidating this
approach, he amalgamated kings, princes and other regions into the
Zulu nation. Let us consider this:
Kings and princes were seeking amalgamation
into the Zulu nation.
Even quarrels of distant princes were settled in
Zulu courts.
Such was the case with prince Sibayo of the Nyswa
clan.
He came to protest against his brother.
Prince Mgabi has usurped the authority due to me.
(p. 184)
Emperor Shaka the Great himself is an epitome of great
qualities such as discipline, heroism and patriotism. Mbikwane one
17
of Shaka’s subordinates testifies to this in his valedictory statement
below:
You of my family and nation know the time
has come for me to depart.
I leave you with the greatest king that ever
lived.
I have known many kings and princes in my
life.
I myself am the son of the great king Khayi.
But he never shall rise above the shadow of
my king.
He never shall equal the legend of Shaka the.
Great.
Shaka the warrior, Shaka the thinker, who
unravels all secret!
Forever he shall live on the lips of nations.
(pp. 293-294)
Instances of Shaka’s indefatigability and dynamism abound in
the epic being analysed. Since the emphasis in this discourse is not
too much on his rise to heroism but the performative essence of the
epic, we want to subject more discussions on the issue of heroism to
further research work. Be that as it may, performance is a
phenomenon in the analysis of Emperor Shaka the Great without which
the epic would be meaningless. More importantly without the
18
performance phenomenon in focus, the epic would be mere historical
and anthropological chronicles.
Conclusion
In this paper, we have been able to present performance as an
exalted instrument of edification in literature and in particular oral
literature. As earlier noted, performance is being trivialised and
commonised in its daily usage in society. This paper has succeeded in
debunking this belittleness of the concept of performance.
To achieve the above, what we have done in this paper is to
establish that without performance, African oral literature and in
particular, the epic genre is illusive. This presupposes that
performance is the core of African oral epic. Every bit of it needs to be
performed for its proper understanding and enjoyment.
The case of Mazisi Kunene’s Emperor Shaka the Great is desirable
because that is a faithful immortality of true heroism, which the epic
genre epitomizes. In addition to its desirability drawn from the hero’s
unparalleled contributions to the Zulu society, the medium of
actualizing this historical-social phenomenon (performance) is a
corpus and an entity that has not been fully explored in the context of
the text being studied.
As revealed in this epic, through its performance, African oral
literature is not a mere fiction or imaginative reasoning or thinking
but a true description and narration of historical and socio-cultural
events of the African people. Also, this paper establishes the fact that
these historical and socio-cultural events are ancient, yet they are
19
very viable in sensitizing the people towards a more plausible
attitude to their cultural essence. In pragmatic terms, performance as
a phenomenon symbolizes this essence.
In view of the efficacy of oral literature through the vehicle of
oral performance in recreating the African past, it is expedient to
reposition the status of performance by the dramatist and theatrist on
the one hand and the bard himself on the other hand. The temptation
was there for the two entities above to perceive and pursue
performance
as
a
mere
entertainment
industry.
Beyond
entertainment and in particular in the context of orature,
performance is an embodiment of didacticism, rich cultural
endowment, reincarnation and a link-force between the past and the
present.
It is therefore being suggested that the professionals in the
theatre and dramatic industry should see oral literature and in this
case the epic as performance in singing, narrative and verse within
which other elements of drama and theatre such as acting, dancing,
drumming etc. feature. The practitioners of drama and theatre should
prioritise the performance phenomenon as an indispensable entity in
the sustenance of the theatre and dramatic industry.
Furthermore, the bard himself should de-emphasise the
entertainment essence of orature but rather he should extol the
performative essence of oral literature in general and the epic genre
in particular as depicted in the total essence of orature previously
discussed in this paper. These recommendations become imperative
in the sense that it is within the above framework that the total
20
essence of performance identified earlier in this concluding aspect of
the paper could be accomplished.
The relevance of the present discourse to the performing artist
or the dramatist is quite obvious. Basically, this view is embedded in
the performative role of the African epic vis-à-vis drama or theatre.
The explanation here is that it is through performance that the
African epic in particular and African orature in general could be
enjoyed and its beauty could be truly appreciated. Thus, as the
performing artist or the dramatist could not be able to survive
without performance, the African oral artist might only be telling
fables without performance.
21
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Finnegan, R. 1970. Oral Literature In Africa. Oxford: Clarendon.
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Ododo, S. E (Ed.) 2002. The Performer Ilorin Journal of the Performing
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