Àlùkùránì Mímọ́ Núhà

Introduction

S.M. Raji, the writer of this book, is a prolific writer who has given the various prophets and characters a prospect by bringing them in in his various short stories written in Yoruba one of which is the account of Nuha’s story which he titled, Ìtàn Inú Àlùkùrání Mímọ́ Núhà. Although this work of art is narrative and expository in nature, it however discusses some issues which are derived from the Quran and are relevant for the teaching of morals and bringing people closer to God and it is therefore, didactic.

Within this text, the various literary and linguistic aspects of the text can be discussed and can be divided into three categories: analysis of the literary techniques and devices employed by the writer, the subject matter (theme) and a more holistic analysis of the text which is the stylistic analysis of the text (rather, a linguistic analysis of the text).

Synopsis of the Short Story

Based on this story, Raji re-counted how Nuha's mission was to save a wicked world plunged in decadence and sin. The literary text narrates that in the generation of Adam, many men and women continued to follow Adam's original teachings, worshiping God alone and remaining righteous. Among Adam's descendants, there were many brave and pious men, greatly loved and revered by their respective communities.

Raji goes on to narrate that, upon the death of these elders, people felt enormous grief and some felt prompted to make statues of these people in remembrance of them. Then gradually, through the generations, many forgot what such statues were for and began to worship them, (as Satan slowly deceived each generation) along with many other idols. In order to guide the people, God appointed Nuha with the duty of being the next prophet to humanity. God charged Nuha with the duty of preaching to his people to make them abandon idolatry and to worship only the One Creator and to live good and pure lives.

Although he preached the Message of God with zeal, his people refused to mend their ways, leading to his building of the Ark and the Flood, the Great Flood in which all the evil people of his time perished. Nuha's preaching and prophet-hood spanned 950 years (page 21).

Núhà papò dà lẹ́hìn tó gbé ẹgbẹ̀run ọdún dín ní àádọ́ta nínú hila hílo ilé ayé àti ọ̀pòlọ̀pọ̀ sùúrù

Nuha's mission had a double character. He had to warn his people, asking them to call for repentance and, at the same time, he had to preach about God's mercy and forgiveness, promising them the glad tidings God would provide if they led righteous lives. (Page 4)

Ẹ̀yin ènìyàn mi, Ọlọrun ti yàn mí fún ìmọ̀nà àti ìtọ́sónà yín láti fún ẹni bá gbàgbọ́ nínú yín ní ire ìdùnnú pẹ̀lú ẹ̀san rere.

Little is known of Nuha's personal history before his call to prophecy. However records have it that he was one of the patriarchs from the Generations of Adam. Nuha was neither the leader of the tribe nor a very rich man but, even before being called to prophecy, he worshiped God faithfully and was, in the words of the Qur’an, "a devotee most grateful"

Nuha was married to a woman whose name is not mentioned in the story. According to the story, one of Nuha's sons was an unbeliever who refused to come aboard the Ark, instead, he preferred to climb a mountain, where he drowned.

The story states that Nuha's wife was not a believer with him so she did not join him; neither did one of Nuha's sons who was secretly an unbeliever but had pretended faith in front of Nuha. The sons of Nuha are not expressly mentioned in the story, except for the fact that one of the sons was among the people who did not follow his own father, not among the believers and thus was washed away in

the flood. Also the story indicates a great calamity, enough to have destroyed Nuha's people, but to have saved him and his generations to come.

Themes of the story

- Rewards for those who do good and punishment for evil-doers.

- Duality of God’s Nature; God as a loving God, God as a judge.

- Refutation of polytheism.  

- The new beginning (A second chance to everyone who believes in God).

Literary devices

Parallelism

Parallelism involves two sets of literary elements where the first element of the first set corresponds to the first element of the second set and similarly the second element of the first set corresponds with the second element of the second set. For example (page 4)

Nuha!

Ṣé o fẹ́ máa fi Ọlọ́run wa ṣẹ̀fẹ̀ n?

Ṣé ó fé máa fi àwa náà pa mìn-ín-dìn ni?

Chiasmus

This can also be regarded as the mirror construction. (page 6)

Èmi yóò tẹ̀ lé ọ nítèmi

Nítèmi, n ó tẹ̀ lé ọ.

Imagery

Imagery is associated not only with our senses but also with our psychology and thus often evokes an emotional response. It is almost a universal phenomenon employed in literature and is not restricted to a particular language or culture. Although this story makes heavy use of visual imagery, it also relies on non-visual

imagery, which is most profoundly employed for a realization of the plot. (page 20)

Núhà sílẹ̀kùn. Ilẹ̀ ti gbẹ fúrúfúrú. Ó ti ṣeé rìn. Ó sì ti lè ṣeé tè.

Other literary device employed in this text includes metaphor, simile and Rhetorical questions. Metaphors as used by Raji, in the text, are a target of more intense discussion because, by their nature, metaphors can be hard to determine as compared to similes since the latter begin with an explicit word or particle identifying it. There are some examples though which easily stand out in the text.

Reference

Raji, S.M. (n.d.), Ìtàn Inú Àlukùránì Mímọ́ Núhà. Ondo: Lekoba Publishers.