Previous page | New search |
The free AfricaBib App for Android is available here
Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Is Tortoise a Trickster? |
Author: | Lawuyi, Olatunde B. |
Year: | 1990 |
Periodical: | African Languages and Cultures |
Volume: | 3 |
Issue: | 1 |
Pages: | 71-86 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | Nigeria |
Subjects: | Yoruba folk tales Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups) |
External link: | https://www.jstor.org/stable/1771743 |
Abstract: | This paper argues that, while many studies on Yoruba folktales present the tortoise as a trickster, there is no epistemological justification for this interpretation. In order to demonstrate this argument, the paper examines the activities of Tortoise in terms of certain epistemes or epistemological categories within Yoruba thought. Rather than speculate abstractly about whether a figure is a trickster or not, the paper takes a concrete example, analysing the Yoruba world view. These epistemes include 'orí' (destiny, or the head), symbolizing the individual potential of becoming; 'ayé' (the world), the enigmatic aspect of life, which is characterized by uncertainty, roughness, and protection against danger; and 'esè' (the leg), representing the dynamic element in human relations. The analysis shows that Tortoise is in fact a metaphor for life. Bibliogr., notes. |