Pre-colonial Oral Traditions Literature
Explore works from the Pre-colonial Oral Traditions era
First book of poetry published by an African American, written while Wheatley was enslaved in Boston.
Douglass's first autobiography detailing his life as a slave and his escape to freedom, becoming a powerful abolitionist text.
Douglass's expanded second autobiography with deeper analysis of slavery and his development as an intellectual.
Final autobiography covering Douglass's entire life including post-Civil War period and diplomatic career.
Jacobs's account of her life as a slave and her escape, focusing on sexual exploitation of enslaved women.
The epic of Mwindo, the Nyanga culture hero who is born against his father's wishes, descends into the underworld, battles supernatural enemies, and returns to establish a just kingdom. Transcribed from the bard Candi Rureke's performance in 1956.
Three hunters journey to the underground kingdom of Kaidara, god of gold and knowledge. Only the one who grasps that wisdom must be earned escapes transformed. A Fulani philosophical poem on greed, patience, and sacred knowledge.
The epic of Sundiata Keita, founder of the Mali Empire, as told by the griot Djeli Mamoudou Kouyaté to D.T. Niane in the 1950s. Sundiata overcomes physical disability, exile, and enemies to unite the Mandinka people.
The Ijo oral epic of Ozidi, performed over seven nights, following a warrior's posthumous son who avenges his father's murder through supernatural power. Clark-Bekederemo filmed and transcribed a complete performance.