There exists a strong tendency within Western literary criticism
to either deny the existence of epics in Africa or to see African
literatures as exotic copies of European originals. In both cases,
Western criticism has largely failed to acknowledge the
distinctiveness of African literary aesthetics. This book revises
traditional literary canons in examining the social, cultural and
emotional specificity of African epics. Mariam Konate Deme
highlights the distinguishing features that characterize the
African epic, emphasizing the significance of the fantastic and its
use as an essential element in the dramatic structure of African
epics. As Deme notes, the fantastic can be fully appreciated only
against the cosmological background of the societies that produce
those heroic tales. This book not only contributes to the
scholarship on African oral literature, but also adds reshapes our
understanding of heroic literature in general.
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