Olúkẹ́rmi A. Adégbóyè
1. Introduction[1]
The library as an organisation is primarily charged with the
responsibility of selecting, acquiring,
processing, preserving and disseminating different forms of information. Over
the years, the scope of the work of
librarians and library series :in general are becoming vast in nature. The world is in the age of information
explosion, hence, the need for information to be classified and stored in a way that could
facilitate easy retrieval and utilization by potential users.
The explanation above throws a great
deal of light on the cross-disciplinary nature of the library profession in
general. The central concern of the librarians is information management, irrespective of the
form or area of knowledge. He, therefore, stands as a ‘specialist’ in
information management and as a 'generalist', he tries to befriend all areas of
knowledge.
Apart from dealing in the printed and
conventional form of information, the training of librarians has catered for their
involvement in the gathering of oral evidence and cultural studies2 while literature has also revealed that academic
libraries have a. cultural role to play in the society3. To this end, the role of libraries in the
collection of oral tradition cannot be over-emphasized. The African society in general and the Yoruba
community in particular are essentially oral ones because traditions in the pre-literate Yoruba society were
transmuted from mouth to mouth4. This has been responsible for some queries raised by European
scholars against the use of oral evidence as good research material. The questions raised were that
of reliability and validity5. However, African Studies have, over the years, proved and adopted
oral evidence as a dependable source of information. Even though much attempts had been made to collect and
preserve this form (writing and
documentation are parts of the efforts), much is still being left undone. The
intervention of librarians is
therefore one of the ways evolved by scholarship in solving the problems stated
above.
In line with the explanation above, this
paper seeks to take an overview of the role of library services in the collection
and preservation of Yoruba oral traditions with emphasis on three literary forms,
namely, folktales, riddles and proverbs.
2 The
Nature of Yorùbá Literary Forms
Prior to the period when conscious
efforts were made in the area of documenting oral traditions, the African continent had been
criticised as having no form of literary tradition at all. This is evident in the statement ascribed to
Burton as cited in Finnegan. He states that the 'savage custom of going naked, we are told, has derided
the mind and destroyed all decorum in the language, poetry, there is none.... There is no metre, no
rhyme, nothing that interests or soothes the feeling or arrests the passion...6. A Finnegan's
comment on this was that:
The concept of an oral literature is an
unfamiliar one to most people brought up in cultures which, like those of contemporary
Europe, lay stress on the idea of literacy and written tradition. In the popular view,
it seems to convey, on the one hand, the idea of mastery, on the other, that of crude
and artistically underdeveloped formulations7.
However, the myth about African oral
traditions has gradually been removed as the collection of these literary forms
increased. European collectors viz: missionaries, linguists and ethnographers came to
the recognition that the 'texts they recorded could truly be regarded as a type
of
literature fundamentally analogous to the written fiction, history and poetry
of European nations8.
Having ascertained the African oral
literature as literature indeed, the Yoruba literary forms, therefore,
are no exceptions. They fulfill and serve the same purposes literature is
expected to serve in a society. Ogunba states that literature 'is the vehicle for
societies to give sensitive expression to the innermost thoughts and feelings of
individuals as well as the community. It is often used to advertise ideas,
and sometimes even to persuade the generality of the people to new directions’9.
The Yoruba society, in general, is
rich in oral literary forms which could equally be divided into the three basic
genres of literature viz: poetry, drama and prose as in written literature. As
earlier
mentioned, these various forms serve as the mirror of the Yoruba society and
perfectly fit into Mbiti's perception of the study of literature. According to
him, to "know the literature of any
people
is to know them well. It is the precipitation of their mentality, their
customs, their habits, their hopes and ideas about life itself 10.
It is within this context that this
paper will now proceed to make a review of the relevance Yoruba folktales,
riddles and proverbs to the society and scholarship at large.
3 Yorùbá Folktales, Riddles and Proverbs:
Relevance in Society and Scholarship
3.1 Introduction
Before proceeding to
review the three literary forms one by one, it is important to stress the fact that there is a
common denominator among the forms in discourse. They all play important roles in the Yoruba
mode of communication and they are very significant in the collection of Yoruba
oral literature on which the written
forms are built.
3. Yoruba
Folktales
The Dictionary' of World Literary Terms has
defined folktales as 'traditional stories or narratives with creative and aesthetic
values, which are transmitted from generation to generation11.
The Yoruba folklore is popularly referred to
as 'àlọ́ àpagbè', that is, a story being told with accompaniment of a chorus.
This idea comes from the fact that there has to be a narrator, and the
audience, which serves as the chorus. The authorship of those tales could not
be traced to a particular person; they are, however, taken to be as old as the
existence of such societies in which they are told.
Ordinarily, the telling of the tales serve
as a form of entertainment, as they usually take place in the evenings and are otherwise referred to
as 'moonlight entertainment'. However, the entertainment
role is just an 'icing on the cake'.
Folktales play an important role as a
medium of transferring the social values of the society from generation to generation. This is
made obvious in the satiric, allegorical and didactic purposes for which they are
used. There is always a theme in each folktale to either extol and reward
virtues and
punish vices. The virtues that are encouraged include, among others, love,
truth, justice,
humility, patience, cleanliness and service while the vices debunked include
wickedness, theft, pride, jealousy, hatred, laziness and so on. Some popular stones
that are used to communicate these societal values and vices are built around the
Tortoise' (Ìjàpá)12. The tortoise is known in Yoruba folklore to be
a symbol of cunning and at the end of the story, he is always punished for evil perpetrated.
This educative role has further
buttressed the Yoruba concept of ‘àbíìkọ́’ (an untrained child or person) and
àkọ́ọ̀gbà' (a child or person who is impervious to the societal values being
taught). Societal
training and discipline are so important that whoever behaves wantonly would be
rebuked with
such derogatory terms.
On another plane, Yoruba folktales
have been found to be very rich cultural background materials for Yoruba
written literature and on which such works like that of Fágúnwà and Tutùọlá were based13.
a canvass of literature has
revealed that the study of plot, characterization, narrative technique and
language of these stories proved them to be favourable research materials for
literary criticism14.
Finally, Yoruba folklores have also
been identified as a good
source for the study of Yoruba folk music15. Familiar titles of such
songs include, among others, Erin, ká relé o wá jọba' (Elephant, come home
and become king) and 'Ọmọdé mẹ́ta n seré ' (Three children are playing).
3.3 Yorùbá
Riddles
Riddles have been defined as 'a
question or statement intentionally worded in a dark or puzzling manner, and
propounded in order that it may be guessed or answered especially as a form of pastimé6.
From this definition, the obvious primary role of riddle is that of
entertainment. However, like folktales, there are other functions inherent in riddle
solving in the society.
One striking function is that they also serve as a medium of education.
During performance,
there is always a 'questioner' or 'interrogator' who expects answers from any
member of
the audience or listeners as exemplified in such riddles as in 'Àlọ́: Kí ni ó
bọ́ somi tí kìí ró tálo?' Ìdáhùn: Abẹ́rẹ́' (Riddle: What object drops
into the water without making a noise? Answer: A needle). The image
created here is that of a lightweight object that will not make a noise when dropped into the
water.
The illustration above proves Hamnett's view
that riddles play an indirect educational role by training children in quick
thinking, in intellectual skill and in classification17. There is
also a deduction
from the above analogy which could be corroborated with the modern day view of scholarship as
specified in the educational objective of learning:
The
curriculum of a school or college may conveniently be considered as encompassing three areas of learning: Cognitive,
Affective and Psychomotor. Cognitive
learning consists of not only the acquisition of knowledge but also mental qualities and skills which enable a student
to use his knowledge in problem solution.
Affective learning comprises the attitudes, values, interests and appreciations
that a student acquires. Psychomotor learning is the control of physical movements to solve a problem or reach a
goal, frequently in the service of a cognitive activity or as an
expression of an affective interest (for example, learning to write or learning to use a …knife to add texture to a
picture in order to express a mood)18.
The above definition of the cognitive affective and psychomotor
objectives of learning could be projected to
the Yoruba educational system. It could be said that the system caters for the subject objectives. An intensive and progressive
exploration of the values inherent in the various subjects therein will continually help in
fashioning a functional educational system for our society. For instance, in the riddle, 'Àlọ́: Kí ni ń kọjá
níwájú ilé ọba tí kò kọ́ba? Ìdáhùn: Àgbàrá' (Riddle: What passes by the
king's palace without paying any homage to king? Answer: Torrent), the question 'what?'
caters for the cognitive objective. The idea of what passes by the king's
palace without greeting is
making a reference to the value the society places on respect of elders and therefore, for the affective objective. At the
end of the learning exercise, the students would have imbibed the habit of physically respecting elders
through acceptable norms of kneeling down, in case of a female or prostrating, in case of a male This caters for the
psychomotor objective.
Finally, riddles could be said to be a vehicle of cultural-
transmission. They contain a wide range of subjects and societal perceptions
that are worthy of transfer from generation to generation.
3.4 Yoruba Proverbs
A canvass of literature has revealed
consensus in the definition of a proverb. It is defined by the Dictionary of
World Literary Terms as 'a gnomic form of folk literature; a short pregnant
criticism of life, based upon common experience. It is usually the product of
the popular mind. It was important as reflecting prevalent attitudes'19.
On the other hand, Finnegan describes it as 'a saying in more or less fixed form marked by shortness, sense and salt
and distinguished by the popular
acceptance of the truth tersely expressed in it'20.
Like the other two forms earlier
discussed, proverbs serve as an instrument of communication in the Yoruba society.
However, unlike folktales and riddles, they are not used in any form for
entertainment. They are used 'to embellish speeches and drive home points in a
way admired
and appreciated by their audience '21. This idea is in conformity
with a proverb which says ‘òwe lẹsin ọ̀rọ̀, bọ́rọ̀ bá sọnù, òwe la fií wá a'
(proverbs are like horses for searching for the truth, when
the truth is missing, proverbs are used to discover if22.
One important principle worth of note in the use of
proverbs is the issue of seniority23. Traditionally, they are identified with the speeches of elders. Whoever
quotes a proverb is referring to the elders in the distance past. The
person who uses it in the present time just serves as 'the instrument through which the proverb speaks to the
audience'24. A small child is forbidden to quote a proverb in the presence of an elder. If he has to,
it must be accompanied with an apology or tribute, 'tótó, ó ṣe bi òwe' (with due respect, I am quoting a
proverb).
The subject and occasions in which proverbs
are used as salt are diverse. First, Yoruba proverbs have an educational function.
They constitute a medium of transferring the social customs and values. Second,
like in other African societies, Yoruba proverbs have oratorical and judicial uses25.
Allusions are drawn to precedence of such matters. The citing of precedence in
the traditional
judicial system could be said to be at par with the judicial process adopted by
our European counterparts. Thirdly, proverbs are also
used in counseling procedures. On the fourth plane, literature has shown that
Yoruba proverbs are fertile materials for linguistics and literary studies26. The work of Bamgbose in
which he opined that 'the feature of form which are particularly important in the study of Yoruba
proverbs are grammatical, lexical and to some extent dialectal'27. Finally, Yoruba proverbs
contain materials that could be depended on as good historical sources. Even though the reason for the quotation
of such proverbs at a point in time might not be historical, the allusion to a
particular event do reveal a great deal of historical truth. For instance, 'a kí nií jákíni, a fini hàn án jáfini hàn, èwo ni ti
ara Ìjàyè ti ń lọ lójúde Ògúnmọ́lá28 (if
one wishes to great, it's okay, if one wishes to expose, it's okay, there is no
point in calling the Ìjàyè man passing through the premises of Ògúnmọ́lá). Ideally, this
proverb is used to indict somebody who wants to reveal a secret about the
personality of another person or somebody who acts as a tale bearer. However, it
is sufficient to know the truth about the hostility between Ògúnmọ́lá of Ibadan and Kurumi of Ìjàyè
at a particular time in history29. a
search into the origin of these proverbs will reveal such truths.
4 The Librarian's Intervention
4.1 Introduction
Having enumerated the relevance of Yoruba folktales, riddles and
proverbs in society and scholarship, the role of library services in the perpetuation
of these literary forms could not be over-emphasized. For the purpose of this paper,
these roles would be viewed from two angles, viz: (a) the librarian's basic
function and (b) the derivative roles.
4.2 The Librarian Basic Function
4.21 Selection Process: The Librarian's
'Quarantine30
One of the basic functions of the librarian
is the selection31 of the materials to be acquired into a library. This he does with much
care taking into cognisance the needs and value of the environment he is serving.
The librarian is involved in selecting all
kinds of information materials ranging from the print such as books, journal
articles, seminar/conference papers to non-print formats, viz: audio-visual materials.
As a matter of practice, librarians have been
having cause to select printed forms of materials relating to folktales, riddle and
proverbs while the oral forms of these materials have been neglected. A step
has to be taken further into locating and identifying source persons who are custodians of these
invaluable aspects of the Yoruba folklore, otherwise, they would be lost to posterity.
As earlier mentioned, the librarians seek to
discharge this duty of selection with great care and control. This paper will,
therefore, refer to a debate in a Library Association record from 1968 to March, 1969 which
says that:
the argument for this type of control rests mainly on three grounds,
first, that it is a professional duty to select materials according to
policies which exclude what is regarded as 'bad', second, that the public librarian and
his committee are wholly responsible to a local community which might object to
certain types of literature, third, that the library may need to protect the young and
the unstable from evil or from disturbing influences which they might not
otherwise encounter32.
The summary deduced from the above is
that the selection process is opposed topornography, violence and crime33.
The report of the Constitutional
Conference recently held in Nigeria has something to say on this issue of
control. Even though the promotion of various indigenous cultures is
encouraged, it however states that 'Censorship of films and literature should be
strengthened especially to shield the society from violence and indecency’34.
Irrespective of the dynamism of culture, the librarian has a societal
obligation in protecting the environment. His role is, therefore, geared towards
gathering such information that should be described as 'worthy legacy'’.
4.22 Acquisition: The Librarian's
Sickle35
To the librarian, acquisition process has to
do with collection of information materials through actual purchase, gifts and
exchanges or social research as in the case of the subject under discussion.
Since the introduction of printing,
libraries have had cause to acquire the literary forms in printed forms viz:
compilation of folktales, riddles and proverbs or analytical write-ups in
journal articles.
However, not much has been done in the collection of literary forms in their
oral forms. Armstrong’s36
point of view is still relevant today. He opined that
One of the sources for the history of Africa is certainly the oral
tradition of the various people. Over the last two centuries a great deal of such tradition
has been collected,
with all degrees of care or lack of it But the whole body of what has been collected is a tiny
fraction of what remains to be collected or studied. The debate as to the truth value
of oral tradition for history is a lively one and seems likely to get livelier
as time goes on37.
The actual collection of these oral materials will, therefore, involve
the librarians in field work. If there is any other time to build on the past,
it is now. This paper will like to advocate that the Yoruba socio-cultural area be
delineated to libraries and social researchers for effective coverage.
This will serve as a potent strategy for the acquisition of these traditions.
Academic and Public
libraries should be zoned and made responsible to acquire these traditions in
their respective zones. It should be noted that there are dialectal differences. This will
give room for comparative studies as
shared by Armstrong when he says that one 'important rule is that as many
traditions and as many versions of a
particular tradition should be collected as possible, so as to permit comparative studies39.
In addition, this service will include live
recordings, transcription, translation and interpretation of the information collected from the various
sources. This exercise will result in what
Armstrong again describes as 'the quality of scientific and scholarly studies:
repeatability (By ‘repeatability ', I
mean the probability that another investigator using the same materials would
arrive at a substantially similar
result)'39
There is one important thing yet that is
obviously lacking, and this is the non-availability of reference materials
in these areas of study. Armstrong further says that we 'must build a scholarly
tradition and a body of dictionaries, grammar and annotated texts, so that in
time the various texts may elucidate each other"40.
There is need for librarians and scholars in
these fields to intensify efforts in producing subject-oriented dictionaries,
indexes, abstracts and bibliographies in their areas. This segment of the paper will not be complete without
stressing the need for a strong friendship between the librarian and scholars in the cognate areas of these studies. The time
is now very ripe.
4.3 Organisation and
Presentation: The Librarian's Barn41
The search for information in libraries would have been cumbersome if
materials are not well organised and preserved. The experience would have
resulted in a high degree of confusion analogous to that of looking for fruits in a
textile shop'. Library materials are usually classified and catalogued42.
The purpose of this is to facilitate easy and quick retrieval of information.
The same principle applies to the literary forms being discussed.
Commonly, libraries do keep the non-print materials apart from the
printed forms. However, this paper will advocate a multi-media approach to the
treatment of these literary forms and other cultural materials. Hicks opined that in
'many instances, the integration of print and non-print resources is more
beneficial for the user than their separation43. While this is not
practicable in some cases, the nature of the kind of information in discourse calls
for a great deal of corroboration and substantiation in research hence the
advocacy for a cultural resource centre within the library system. In this kind
of system, it will be easier for the user to go from the original recorded form
(i.e. audio-visual) through the transcribed form, the transliterated form, the
interpreted form to the printed form and vice-versa.
Also, with information explosion, the
need for the use of computer and satellite communication systems could not be
over-emphasised44&45. These also need to be employed in the
storage of folktales, riddles and proverbs.
4.3 Information Dissemination: The Librarians
'Menu46
The ultimate concern of the librarian
is the final consumption of his carefully processed information. To
achieve this end, librarianship and communications technology had done and would continue to do
much in facilitating easy retrieval and dissemination of information.
The primary conventional tool of information
dissemination in the library is the card catalogue. This serves as an index to the
holdings of any library in the various areas of knowledge, the literary forms
in discourse inclusive.
Secondly, there are reference sources often
popularly tagged as 'bridges to information'. Such sources include indexes, abstracts and bibliographies.
There is, however, the need for librarians
and researchers to intensify efforts in the making of these invaluable sources
as far as the Yoruba literary forms
are concerned.
Thirdly, Àjàyí opined that 'the emergence of
satellite communications has reduced the world to a global village whilst the use of
computers in communication has led to an unimaginable revolutionary trend
in communications'4'. Furthermore, Hicks has this to say:
The value of computer for the storage and retrieval of information also
appears limitless. With the computer, local, regional and even national
communications networks can be connected to instantly tap the widest possible knowledge reservoirs, and the
person's search for immediate enlightenment need no longer be limited by the
availability of resources in his own library. While the use of computers is not a
current possibility for many resource centers, librarians should be aware of
its rapidly increasing feasibility and plan for its future inclusion48.
Universities and Public libraries and the
resources centres that would be delineated to cover specific Yoruba
geographical areas could therefore exploit the possibility of the use of
on-line computer
and data bases49.
Fourthly, the librarians should also make use
of current awareness services such as exhibitions to disseminate information
available in their holdings on these subjects.
Finally, the importance of reference
services in libraries could not be over-emphasised. The librarian serves as a guide to the collections
and also helps to identify sources of relevant information all over the world. One of the true tests of a good
librarian lies in the reference services he is able to pro vide.
In the case of these oral literary forms, it
would be an added advantage if the library could assist in identifying source persons
in these areas of study and compile a directory of their names i-"d addresses
in order to link researchers with them when such needs arise.
5. The Derivative
Holes
Much has been said about the basic
functional role of librarians and libraries. It is however, evident that
advantages are inherent in these basic roles in relation to the Yoruba literary
forms in discourse.
First, the library has served as an
effective instrument of preservation. It thus helps to solve the question of lack
of authenticity and validity raised against oral tradition to a great extent.
Secondly, the library will continue to be a
citadel of learning and research. As an information centre, it will through the
proper processing of the oral literary forms be made to provide the
information needs of a wide range of scholars and researchers. The groups
.being catered for in this case include among others: Yoruba
literature writers, linguists and literary critics, historians, anthropologists, ethnologists,
sociologists, dialectal geographers, educationists and so on. In
addition, the wide of range of subjects and content of the Yoruba folktales,
riddles and proverbs make them invaluable
source of materials for nation building and comparative cultural studies.
Finally, if the intensive study of those
literary forms could be projected to other major languages in Nigeria, perhaps Nigeria
as a nation would be able to evolve a lingua franca desirable and if possible.
6. Conclusion
The need for the flow of information is very
crucial to the development of the society, the Yorùbá society not exclusive.
There is also an urgent need to preserve the valuable aspects of our traditions
particularly those that could easily be lost as ages run. The oral nature of
these traditions also need to be kept in order to maintain their
aesthetics. The past needs to be understood, in order to build the present; the present needs to be well
kept in order to have a tool with which to project in to future.
In order to achieve all these, the
role that the library plays is very crucial particularly in the preservation of
Yoruba oral traditions. However, in doing this, the friendship between librarianship and
other cognate areas of learning should be seen as an indispensable one. This
bond needs to be well nurtured in order to enhance scholarship as a proverb
says, 'ọwọ́ ọmọdé kò tó pẹpẹ, Ọwọ́ àgbà kò wọ kèrègbè; iṣẹ́ àgbà bá bẹ
èwe, ki ó má ṣe kọ̀ ọ́; gbogbo wa la ní ohun tí a ń se
fún 'ra wa50. (The hand of a child cannot reach the high shelf, nor
can that of the older person enter a calabash. A child should not refuse when sent
on an errand by an older person for everyone has his own way of helping
another51).
References
1.
Ronald C Benge (1970: 48), Libraries and Cultural
Change.. London: Clive Bingley.
2.
LSE 791 - Oral Evidence and Cultural Studies (Being an
official description of a course offered in the Department of Library Archives and
Information Studies, University of Ibadan, 1985/86 Session).
3.
Ronald C Benge (1970: 240), op cit.
4.
O A Adégboyè (1986: v), Yorùbá Oral Traditions: A Case
Study of Ìjàyè Orílẹ̀', An Unpublished Paper.
5.
Ibid, p v.
6.
RTBurton (1865: xii), Wit and Wisdom from West Africa,
or A .Book of Proverbial Philosophy, Idioms, Enigma and Laconims. London, as cited by
Ruth Finnegan (1976: 26), Oral Literature in Africa. Nairobi: Oxford
University Press.
7.
Ibid.pl.
8.
Ibid, p 30.
9.
Oyin Ògunbà (1979: 1), Literary Art and Literary
Creativity in Contemporary Africa. (Inaugural Lecture Series No
36). He-Ife:
University of Ife Press.
10. J S Mbiti (1959: 1),
"Reclaiming the Vernacular Literature of the Akamba', Presence
Africanne (Special Edition: 2nd Congress of Negro Writers and Artists), pp
244-261.
11.
JT Shidley (1970: 124), Dictionary 'of World Literary
'Terms. &oston: The Writer Inc.
12.
Margaret IBaumann (1959), Ajapa the Tortoise: A £ook
of Nigerian Fairy Tales. London: A & C Black Ltd.
13.
Ayo Bamgbose (1969), Yorùbá Folktales', Ìbàdàn 27: 6-12.
14.
Ibid, pp 7-12.
15.
Gerhard, Kubik (1968), 'Alo - Yoruba Story Songs
(Excerpts from Material Collected in Nigeria)', African Music Society'
Journal^ (2): 10-28.
16.
W Little, HW Fowler and J Coulson (1973: 1829), The
Shorter Oxford English Dictionajy (on Historical Principles)?x& ed, Vol II. Oxford:
Clarendon Press.
17.
1 Hamnett (1967), 'Ambiguity, Classification and Change:
The Functional Rifles', Man NS 2.3, (as cited by Ruth Finnegan, op cit, p 442).
18.
C Lee Deighton (ed) (1971: 196), The Encyclopedia of
Education Vol 2 Deighton, New York: Macmillan & Free Press.
19.
JT Shidley, op cit,p258.
20.
Ruth Finnegan, op cit, p 392.
21.
J O Ajibola (1971: 71), Owe Yoruba (Pelu Jtump si Ede 6jy#ibadan:
Oxford University Press.
22.
Ibid, p 415.
23.
E Ojo Arewa and Alan Dundes (1964: 94), Proverbs and the
Ethnography of Speaking Folklores', American Anthropologist66 (6) 2.
24.
Ibid, p 20.
25.
Ruth Finnegan, op cit, p 405.
26.
Ayọ̀ Bámgbóṣé (1968), The Form of Yoruba Proverbs', Odu
4,2: 74-86.
27.
Ibid,
p 74.
28.
S O Bada (1970: 6), Owe Yoruba'atiIsedale B>2wLondon:
Oxford University Press.
29.
Ibid, p 6.
30.
The term, 'quarantine', is used as a figurative
expression. It lends weight to the understanding of the selection process,
giving a picture of quality control.
31.
SO Qlanlokun and T M Salisu (1985: 26), Understanding
the Library: A Handbook on Library Use. Lagos: Concept Publication.
32.
Ronald C Benge, Op cit, p 84.
33.
Ibid, p 87.
34.
Federal Republic of Nigeria (1995: 163-164), JReportofthe
Constitution Conference Containing the Resolutions and Recommendations Vol. II
35.
The term, 'sickle', is used as a figurative expression.
It is an agricultural implement used for harvesting and it symbolises the processing
of information materials. :
36.
Robert C Armstrong (1969), The collection of Oral
Tradition in Africa (Research Reports)', African Notes 5,2:12-16.
37.
Ibid, P 12.
38.
Ibid, p 13.
39.
Ibid, p 14-15.
40.
Ibid, p l5.
41.
The term, "barn1, is used as a figurative
expression lending weight to the understanding of the organisation and
preservation process in the library.
42.
SO Ọlanlokun and T M Sálísù, op cit, p 26
43.
Warren D Hicks (1970:5), Developing Multi-Media
Libraries. NY: R R Brawker Co.
44.
Ibid, p 7.
45.
Ọlálérè C. Àjàyí (1994: 2), 'Communication in The Rain',
(Inaugural Lecture Mimeograph), Delivered at Odùduwà Hall, Ọbáfẹ́mi
Awólọ́wọ̀ University, Ilé-Ifẹ̀, Feb 8,1994.
46.
The term, ‘menu’, is used figuratively to lend weight to the
description of the variety of information materials supplied by libraries.
47.
Ọlálérè C. Àjàyí, op cit, p 2.
48.
Warem B Hicks, op cit, p 7.
49.
S.O. Ọlánlókun and T M Sálísù, op cit, pp 87-88.
50.
J.O. Ajibola, op cit p 37
51.
Ibid, P 98.
[1] This
paper was published as Adegboye, Olukemi A. (1998), ‘Library and Literary Forms
of Yoruba Oral Traditions’, Journal of
Nigerian Languages and L iteratures (edited by L.O. Adewole) 6: 12-21.
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