Opinion: Promote oral literature in schools

Good educationists never underestimate the power of highly expressive disciplines in building good educational practices. Orature as commonly known, is a subject that tackles the neglected and slowly dying art of acute oral expressions and active listening deeply founded within our cultural setup. Orature as a word comes from the fusion of two literal words of oral literature, a form of performed utterances creatively expressed by word of mouth. This form of ancient literature contains a number of varieties, some conventional and others unconventional and a bit modern. But the most popular are the traditional categories that include prose narratives — myths, legends and folktales, oral poetry including songs, chants and recitations and finally the short formulaic forms made up of proverbs and riddles. Although orature represents the biggest part of our cultural dynamics, it overwhelmingly sad that as a field of study, it is facing huge challenges through competition for slots within our national curriculum. This is manifested in the actions of scholars and educationists that have little regard for its relevancy in society. Maybe we should look at its merits over a large population of a people who call ourselves Rwandans. As a mono ethnic state, orature can best be used as a platform to promote understanding and appreciation of not only national identity but also cementing the values of national unity, patriotism and cultural heritage. Its mere existence is the foundation of programmes like the “Ndi Umunyarwanda” Its reflection on standardized ethical, moral and spiritual values evoke issues of self discipline, personal integrity, tolerance and appreciation of human fellowship which values are much more needed in a country on the road to rebuilding and unity. It is not surprising that wherever there is great change and great civilization, oral literature sits at the heart of it all. Therefore, as we look to transform our society, our country and our people let us look at bringing the original arts of our forefathers to the new generation massively collected within our schools. Finally, as a performed art, teachers should be empowered in its teaching through the development of materials that cater for all involved, that is to say the trainer/teacher, the performer and the audience, hence creating an atmosphere of entire class involvement which is a much needed skill in the prevailing change to learner-centered learning. The writer is school-based mentor