Master’s Thesis from the year 2023 in the subject African Studies – Literature, grade: A, University of Education (Foreign languages), course: English language, language: English, abstract: This thesis was based on an ethnographic study of the Sisaala Bayira performance in context. The research was conducted in the Sisaala east, located at the north-eastern part of Ghana. The data was gathered through fieldwork on live Bayira performances during funerals at Walembelle and Tumu using participant observation and interviews as main research tools. The main objective of the study was an exploration of the role of the historical, cultural context and the aesthetic features embedded within Bayira performances and their contributions to African oral literature.
The theories which grounded the study were Tedlock’s and Schechner & Turner’s Performance Theories. Bayira performances were captured by audiovisual recordings, which were then translated from Sisaali into English using Peter Newmark’s Theoretical ideas on translation. They were coded and used for critical analysis. The results reveal that Bayira performances are embedded with aesthetic and symbolic representations, whereby Bayira performers use figurative language, histrionic gestures and other paralinguistic features as effective performance skills. The art of Bayira performance is tantamount to warfare whereby performers use pithy expressions to demonstrate panegyric skills, exhortation, admonition and trade in diatribes. The use of symbols ushers realism into the art of Bayira performance. Bayira performance has several pedagogical implications apart from moral lessons. Bayira songs teach communal and traditional values and comment on issues affecting the community and individuals in society. They teach people extended knowledge and wisdom by praising good behaviour and condemning unacceptable acts which are inimical to society.
Despre autor
Abdulai Seidu hails from Wa ( Dondoli) in the Upper West Region , Ghana. He had his elementary school education in Walembelle, in the Sissala East District. He proceeded to Kanton SHS and Tumu College of Education respectively. After completion, he taught for a while before enrolling at the University of Cape Coat, Ghana, where he majored in English and Religious studies. He still did not rest on his laurels so he enrolled again at the University of education, Winneba and read a Master of Education in English Language. Currently , he lectures as a part-time tutor at the College Of Distance Education, University of Cape Coast, Ghana and Wa SHTS respectively.
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