Joseph Muleka

Images of Women in African Oral Literature: a Study of Abakhayo Marriage Oral Poetry Joseph Muleka

This book explores the images of women in African oral literature. For girl children in particular, the images of women are seen as performing the role of training the girl child into patriarchal society's ideal woman-described in this book as "the virtuous woman." This is the kind of woman who is not aggressive but coy; not boisterous but quiet;not assertive but compromising, therefore easily contained within the male armpit. Using Abakhayo oral poetry as its case study, this work lays bare society's view of women and girl children. In particular, the work serves as an eye-opener to the patriarchal society's expectations of women and the attempt to nurture them towards the very expectations. After reading through this book one learns that women in a patriarchal African setup are as a matter of speaking, stateless. The book is recommended for scholars, students and researchers in Oral Literature, Sociology, Gender Studies and Anthropology at universities and other tertiary institutions.