An Akan oral artist- the use of proverbs in the lyrics of Kwabena Konadu

Abstract

The paper examines the notion of oral artist and discusses the relationship between context and text in oral literature. The paper highlights the concept of oral artists by discussing one of the songs of a renowned artist in Ghanaian high-life songs. The paper concentrates on the theme, the socio-cultural implication and the language and style of the song. The major aspects of the language discussed are the multiple proverbs, linguistic parallelism and allusions. The song is a social commentary on morality and depicts the culture and philosophy of the Akan people.

Keywords: oral artist, composition, context, theme, text, style

Institute of African Studies: Research Review 2005, Vol. 21(1): 1-17