Folklore and History as Twin Rivers of World Heritage: A Personal Narrative

Abstract

This paper, originally presented at an International Conference on Folklore, National Integration and Development, held in Nigeria, appraises Tatsuniya (Hausa word for “folktaleâ€) as a richly-endowed form of folkloric expression in many African and non-African societies. It reveals that comparative study of the folklore of the Babur-Bura in north-eastern Nigeria and those of other countries, including the U.S, UK, Croatia, Jamaica, China and Sri Lanka, shows that folklore is a worldwide tradition whose roots could be empirically traced in history. Current studies in oral literature – or what the Ugandan scholar, Pio Zirimu, termed orature – have underscored the fundamental role folktales play as the earliest school of the child in many African communities. Tatsuniya is told both for its thrilling entertainment worth and for its educational values that further enrich the child’s appreciation of the culture and history of his community and those of others. This study presents folklore as a treasured world tradition that ought to be explored with the same vigour and interest archeologists and historians employ in digging deep into our distant past. After all, the often inseparable linkages between folklore and history tend to suggest that both are twin rivers that flow into the same sea.