There is a distinct conceptualization of the problematic of resilience emerging from cultural narratives and ontologies/epistemologies in considering the possibility of surviving in our precarious present and uncertain futures. This article engages with the distinct narratives of Frafra and Akan Indigenous people for whom the narrative of…

This article explores the African religious, cultural and philosophical dimensions of peace, conflict and conflict transformation. It seeks to examine African traditional religious and philosophical ideas as resources for the promotion of peace and justice and their implications for intra-state and inter-state conflict resolution activities.…

Sceptics of an Africanisation of education have often lambasted its proponents for re-inventing something that has very little, if any, role to play in contemporary African society. The contributors to this issue hold a different view and, through the papers included in this issue, arguments are proffered in defence of an Africanisation of…

Every aspect of a community's life and values in indigenous Africa provide the theoretical framework for education. The holistic worldview of the traditional system places a strong emphasis on the centrality of the human element and orature in the symmetrical relationship between life and learning. This article focuses on proverbs and the words…

This paper discusses an attempt to establish community literacy procedures in an Eastern Cape community school. The school hosts the Additive Bilingual Education (ABLE) project, a cooperation between UK and South African universities and the school trust. The community literacy strand of the project encourages family members to contribute oral…

Pre-colonial traditional societies in Sub-Saharan Africa were mostly oral societies whose languages were not written. In the African context, especially, it was clear that the mostly oral traditions of these societies' languages were neither being appreciated nor promoted as media of communication, or means of education by the invading Europeans.…

Two-thirds of the world's conflicts are in Africa. In particular, the Great Lakes region (Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and Tanzania) continues to see conflicts that are complex, extreme and seemingly intractable. By exploring the narrative experiences of those most affected by the conflicts in the region--specifically…

Examines the challenges accompanying inserting Francophone literatures of the Caribbean and sub-Saharan Africa into the curriculum. This article suggests additions to the syllabus and discusses three theories useful in weaving together all Francophone literatures--a process duplicating the "metissage" of cultures. (31 references)…

Explores the role of language and the related linguistic skills (oracy) in traditional, indigenous African education, addressing the role and nature of proverbs, riddles, word games, arithmetic puzzles, dilemma tales, and fables, myths, and legends as well as the use of praise songs and praise poems in traditional African communities. (Author/SM)

This book features more than 70 stories about the wide range of the Black experience, including traditional tales from Africa and the West Indies. Collected in the book are family stories and moral fables, ghost stories and tales rich in humor, as well as raps and rhymes, memoirs and songs, recipes and riddles, and stories and poems about freedom,…

Describes an initiative to incorporate folktales and legends from francophone West Africa into a college-level advanced French literary and cultural studies course. Students recorded their reactions to various texts taken from France and West Africa in reading journals. Analysis of the journals shows that critical competencies in Western culture…

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that oral literature, which is an aspect of the oral tradition, has functioned historically as a vital medium of moral and civic education in non-literate societies the world over. Through the ages, oral literature has performed this function by presenting its various genres as forms of entertainment…

Pentecostalism is the result of an interesting amalgamation of different traditions: black and oral cultures, middle-class and proletarian languages, catholic and evangelical spiritualities. These traditions are contextualized in Western, Latin American, Asian and African contexts which produce a bewildering pluralism. This "post-modern…

In today's interconnected and global society, socially responsive learning is an integral part of educational excellence. This book encourages socially responsive learning by showing the reader how to use traditional African folk tales and quality children's books, young adult novels, classic literature, and film media about Africa as the mode for…

Indigenous knowledges encompass the cultural traditions, values, and belief systems concerned with the everyday realities of living in a particular place. They are imparted to the younger generation by community elders or are gained through direct experience of nature and its relationship with the social world. This collection of essays discusses…