Content and form of selected Ukwuani lullabies

Abstract

This paper examines the content and form of selected Ukwuani lullabies. Lullabies have been studied by various scholars over the years for their sociological, literary and linguistic values. However, not much attention has been paid to Ukwuani lullabies by oral literature scholars. This study engages some Ukwuani lullabies with the intent of identifying some of its themes and technical qualities. The songs selected for this research were sourced in the course of a fieldwork where those interviewed were made to perform some of the songs. The researcher recorded the songs and transcribed them for analysis. Formalism was adopted as the theoretical fulcrum for this research with its focus on literary texts as independent aesthetic entities. The findings of this paper reveal that Ukwuani lullabies reflect various universal truths and lessons, with themes such as infertility, fear of leaving home, fear of not being loved or giving love, happiness, kindness, friendship, generosity, and merits of hard work. These themes are conveyed using techniques such as metaphor, imagery, repetition, proverbs, symbolism, personification, hyperbole, etc.