Technical Devices in African Oral Literature: The case of Agbarha-Otor Dirges

Abstract

The people of Agbarha-Otor in the Niger-Delta Region to be precise, Delta State, have a flourishing tradition of dirges which are yet to be subjected to critical literary scholarship. These funeral poems are subjected to critical evaluation anchored on a sociological framework with a tinge of formalistic analysis. The study unveils that the dirge form of Agbarha-Otor is a rich mine of artistic appurtenance in terms of the aesthetics of morality. This paper therefore, is an attempt at excavating some of the technical devices employed in Agbarha-Otor funeral poems which are many and variegated as they contribute to the genre of poetry. This paper goes further to engage these devices as they confer literariness on the dirges.