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 Periodical article |
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| Title: | The world of the lullaby: the Igbo example |
| Author: | Ebeogu, Afam |
| Year: | 1991 |
| Periodical: | Research in African Literatures |
| Volume: | 22 |
| Issue: | 2 |
| Pages: | 99-117 |
| Language: | English |
| Geographic term: | Nigeria |
| Subjects: | Igbo oral poetry children's songs |
| External link: | https://www.jstor.org/stable/3819827 |
| Abstract: | Beginning with a definition of the lullaby as a genre of folk poetry, this paper argues that, although the occasion for the performance of lullabies and the mode of their rendering may suggest a qualitatively low grade of poetry, they actually constitute a serious oral repertoire. On the basis of motif-content, the author distinguishes two types of lullabies: the overt and the covert. These two types are governed by two forms of rhythmic format: the fast-rocking rhythmic lullaby and the slow-rocking type. Both rhythmic formats are related to the function of the lullaby as a melodious form of poetry that lulls the baby to sleep. The paper then proceeds to discuss the standard motifs, the characteristic images, and the philosophical or cosmological content of the lullabies in relation to the Igbo world, its heuristic and pedagogic values, and certain attributes of the Igbo language, especially insofar as these attributes reflect the philosophy of the Igbo people. The conclusion is that these lullabies constitute a linguistic repertoire that offers an enlightening test case for the study of many aspects of the Igbo language. The lullabies discussed in the essay were collected in various areas of Igboland, Nigeria, in 1987. Bibliogr., notes, ref. |
