African Folklore: An Encyclopedia - Marshalls University

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based on past performances? A simple example can be seen in the performance of the
epic Sunjata among the Mande people of the Gambia. One bard performed the epic in the
framework of 1305 lines, while another extended the same basic plot and events into an
exposition of 2065 lines (Innes 1974). Some people opt to chant rather than sing their
performances, while others avoid the poetic genre entirely in favor of songless narratives
or the more concise, more compact genres of proverb and riddle.
Another dimension of performance is the methods by which performers learn their
skills and shape them into individual styles. Basically, performers learn in two ways:
formal and informal. The latter is by far the most common for most types of oral
performance. The most common genre of performance is probably song, and songs are
sung at many occasions, from solemn rites to boisterous beer-drinking gatherings.
Singers simply learn from hearing certain songs repeatedly sung over time. Since some
individuals are creatively gifted or inspired, they become singers and composers of songs.
A similar process holds true for storytellers, who learn tales by listening and participating
in the various contexts that spur performances. Most storytellers have heard narratives
performed since birth and begin by repeating tales, some going no further than telling the
same few stories they know over and over. Other performers move to more intricate
manipulation of tales by adding new scenes or episodes and altering them to fit certain
occasions or conditions of performance.
The formal education of oral performers is not common in all African societies, but
the instances of such education are not rare. Often this kind of education is dictated by
the nature of the art form or genre. For example, the singer of Yoruba Ijala poetry often is
apprenticed to an experienced bard. The apprenticeship begins with the student listening
to and learning to repeat what the master sings. After a while, the student is allowed to
perform in concert with the bard, singing along during performances. The final stage is
reached when the student is allowed, or decides, to go out on his or her own (Okpewho
1992). This kind of training is most often tied to the more esoteric forms of oral
traditions: genres such as divination, epic singing, forms that require instrumental
accompaniment, or specialized ritual performances.
The question of audience response and interaction is vitally tied to the notion of
performance dynamics. The oral performer must share the art, or there is no performance;
and part of the sharing is in the response of the audience and the counter response of the
performer. Some generic forms by definition require immediate and continual response.
This includes songs that employ the well-known call-and-response pattern, in which the
singer depends on a chorus to either repeat or augment the lyrics he or she sings. There
are narrative genres that often employ antiphonal cooperation between storyteller and
audience. The riddle and proverb genres depend almost entirely on responses to initial
statements or problems set out by the performer. In fact, in these particular art forms, the
distinction of who is a performer and who is the audience is almost completely blurred.
Further, audiences respond to performers in widely varied ways. This again depends on
the context of the situation and the relationship between the individuals involved.
Sometimes audience support for the performer is strong and encouraging, egging him or
her on with positive comments. On other occasions, the performer is discouraged from
continuing in no uncertain terms.
Although the term oral performance suggests a verbal activity, there are important
nonverbal techniques employed by performers. These are termed by some “histrionics,”