Medical Themes and Metaphors in Urhobo Oral Song-Poetry

Peter Emuejevoke Omoko

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijla.20210904.13

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Medical Themes and Metaphors in Urhobo Oral Song-Poetry

Peter Emuejevoke Omoko

Published in International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 9, Issue 4)

Received: 9 June 2021 Accepted: 26 June 2021 Published: 22 July 2021

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Abstract

The discourse on the therapeutic function of literature has, in recent years, been given critical attention in Nigeria. However, little interest has been paid to the representation of illnesses and healing in the field of African oral literature. Oral texts like songs, folktales, myth and incantation, foreground physical and mental conditions. In such autochthonous societies, the totality of the people’s belief about different ailments, social disorders, death, life and the afterlife, constitute the entire gamut of the ingredients of their oral and artistic productions. They represent an essential aspect of the people’s indigenous knowledge system handed down from generation to generation. This is because the African people express the depth of their feelings and emotions in their oral composition and cultural practices. The aim is to help younger generation to be conscious of their mental health and spiritual wellbeing. This work is therefore motivated by the need to interrogate the nexus between oral poetry and medicalisation, which falls within the domain of the medical humanities. It undertakes a close investigation of the diverse spheres of metaphorical representations, allusions and themes inherent in selected oral texts in connection with Psychiatry, ill-health and well-being in Urhobo oral song-poetry. The work relies on the sociological approach to literature that emphasizes the extrinsic relationship between art and society to determine the formal structure, themes, and images of ill-health, disease, pathological disorders and wellness that have endeared the people to their environment for many decades. The work argues that the mental health of the individual relates significantly to the overall wellbeing of the society; it engenders the maintenance of the cosmic order, the relationship between the individual and other segments of the psychic environment – the physical and spiritual.

Published in	International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 9, Issue 4)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijla.20210904.13
Page(s)	161-167
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Urhobo, Song-poetry, Medical Humanities, Psychiatry, Ill-health and Wellbeing

References

[1]	Onukaogu, A. A. and Ezechi O. eds. (2009). 21^st Century Nigerian Literature: An Introductory Text. Ibadan: Kraft Books Limited, p. 22.
[2]	Kekeghe Stephen Ese (2018). Psychiatric Conditions in Selected Nigerian Literary Texts, PhD Thesis, University of Ibadan, Department of English, Ibadan, p. 1.
[3]	Omobowale, E. B. (2018). Healing with the Pen: Literature and the Quest to Humanise Medical Practice in Nigeria. An Inaugural Lecture. Ibadan: Ibadan University Press, p. 13.
[4]	Beveridge, A. (2009). “The Benefits of Reading Literature” in Mindreading: Literature and Psychiatry. Femi. Oyebode (ed.) London: RCPsych Publications, p. 13.
[5]	Omobowale, E. B. (2018). Healing with the Pen, op. cit.
[6]	Oyebode, F. ed. (2009). “Poetry and Psychiatry” Mindreading: Literature and Psychiatry. London: RCPsych Publications, p. 55.
[7]	Kermode, Frank. (1973). The Oxford Anthology of English Literature Volume II. New York: O U P, p. 1999.
[8]	Oyebode, F. ed. (2009). “Poetry and Psychiatry”, op. cit.
[9]	Soyinka, W. (2012). Harmattan Haze on an African Spring. Ibadan: Bookcraft, p. 100.
[10]	Kekeghe Stephen Ese, (2020). “Medical Episodes and Pathotextualism in Urhobo Folktales”. International African conference on current studies, Ed: Srivastava, Viranjay M. Turkey: Farabi Publishing House [www.africansummit.org]. p. 434, 436.
[11]	Okpako, T. D. (2019). Wellness: Urhobo Emuerivwin An African Holistic Health Ideology. Ibadan: Books Builders, p. 167.
[12]	Igboanusi, p. 219, 220.
[13]	Skelton, John (2009). “Death and Dying in Literature” Mindreading: Literature and Psychiatry. London: RCPsych Publications, p. 80.
[14]	Nabofa, M. Y. (2011). “Erhi and Eschatology.” The Urhobo People. 3^rd ed., Onigu Otite (ed.) Gold Press Limited, p. 378.
[15]	Ubrurhe, J. O. (2001). Urhobo Traditional Medicine. Ibadan: Oputoru Books, p. 18.
[16]	Okpako, T. D. (2014). “Speculations on the Origin of ideas in Traditional African Medicine: An Urhobo Perspective” in Aridon: The International Journal of Urhobo Studies. Number 1, p. 97.

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Peter Emuejevoke Omoko. (2021). Medical Themes and Metaphors in Urhobo Oral Song-Poetry. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 9(4), 161-167. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20210904.13

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ACS Style

Peter Emuejevoke Omoko. Medical Themes and Metaphors in Urhobo Oral Song-Poetry. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2021, 9(4), 161-167. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20210904.13

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AMA Style

Peter Emuejevoke Omoko. Medical Themes and Metaphors in Urhobo Oral Song-Poetry. Int J Lit Arts. 2021;9(4):161-167. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20210904.13

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@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20210904.13,
  author = {Peter Emuejevoke Omoko},
  title = {Medical Themes and Metaphors in Urhobo Oral Song-Poetry},
  journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
  volume = {9},
  number = {4},
  pages = {161-167},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20210904.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20210904.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20210904.13},
  abstract = {The discourse on the therapeutic function of literature has, in recent years, been given critical attention in Nigeria. However, little interest has been paid to the representation of illnesses and healing in the field of African oral literature. Oral texts like songs, folktales, myth and incantation, foreground physical and mental conditions. In such autochthonous societies, the totality of the people’s belief about different ailments, social disorders, death, life and the afterlife, constitute the entire gamut of the ingredients of their oral and artistic productions. They represent an essential aspect of the people’s indigenous knowledge system handed down from generation to generation. This is because the African people express the depth of their feelings and emotions in their oral composition and cultural practices. The aim is to help younger generation to be conscious of their mental health and spiritual wellbeing. This work is therefore motivated by the need to interrogate the nexus between oral poetry and medicalisation, which falls within the domain of the medical humanities. It undertakes a close investigation of the diverse spheres of metaphorical representations, allusions and themes inherent in selected oral texts in connection with Psychiatry, ill-health and well-being in Urhobo oral song-poetry. The work relies on the sociological approach to literature that emphasizes the extrinsic relationship between art and society to determine the formal structure, themes, and images of ill-health, disease, pathological disorders and wellness that have endeared the people to their environment for many decades. The work argues that the mental health of the individual relates significantly to the overall wellbeing of the society; it engenders the maintenance of the cosmic order, the relationship between the individual and other segments of the psychic environment – the physical and spiritual.},
 year = {2021}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Medical Themes and Metaphors in Urhobo Oral Song-Poetry
AU  - Peter Emuejevoke Omoko
Y1  - 2021/07/22
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20210904.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijla.20210904.13
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JF  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JO  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
SP  - 161
EP  - 167
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2331-057X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20210904.13
AB  - The discourse on the therapeutic function of literature has, in recent years, been given critical attention in Nigeria. However, little interest has been paid to the representation of illnesses and healing in the field of African oral literature. Oral texts like songs, folktales, myth and incantation, foreground physical and mental conditions. In such autochthonous societies, the totality of the people’s belief about different ailments, social disorders, death, life and the afterlife, constitute the entire gamut of the ingredients of their oral and artistic productions. They represent an essential aspect of the people’s indigenous knowledge system handed down from generation to generation. This is because the African people express the depth of their feelings and emotions in their oral composition and cultural practices. The aim is to help younger generation to be conscious of their mental health and spiritual wellbeing. This work is therefore motivated by the need to interrogate the nexus between oral poetry and medicalisation, which falls within the domain of the medical humanities. It undertakes a close investigation of the diverse spheres of metaphorical representations, allusions and themes inherent in selected oral texts in connection with Psychiatry, ill-health and well-being in Urhobo oral song-poetry. The work relies on the sociological approach to literature that emphasizes the extrinsic relationship between art and society to determine the formal structure, themes, and images of ill-health, disease, pathological disorders and wellness that have endeared the people to their environment for many decades. The work argues that the mental health of the individual relates significantly to the overall wellbeing of the society; it engenders the maintenance of the cosmic order, the relationship between the individual and other segments of the psychic environment – the physical and spiritual.
VL  - 9
IS  - 4
ER  -

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Author Information

Peter Emuejevoke Omoko

Department of English, University of Africa, Toru-Orua, Nigeria

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Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Peter Emuejevoke Omoko. (2021). Medical Themes and Metaphors in Urhobo Oral Song-Poetry. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 9(4), 161-167. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20210904.13

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ACS Style

Peter Emuejevoke Omoko. Medical Themes and Metaphors in Urhobo Oral Song-Poetry. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2021, 9(4), 161-167. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20210904.13

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AMA Style

Peter Emuejevoke Omoko. Medical Themes and Metaphors in Urhobo Oral Song-Poetry. Int J Lit Arts. 2021;9(4):161-167. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20210904.13

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20210904.13,
  author = {Peter Emuejevoke Omoko},
  title = {Medical Themes and Metaphors in Urhobo Oral Song-Poetry},
  journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
  volume = {9},
  number = {4},
  pages = {161-167},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20210904.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20210904.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20210904.13},
  abstract = {The discourse on the therapeutic function of literature has, in recent years, been given critical attention in Nigeria. However, little interest has been paid to the representation of illnesses and healing in the field of African oral literature. Oral texts like songs, folktales, myth and incantation, foreground physical and mental conditions. In such autochthonous societies, the totality of the people’s belief about different ailments, social disorders, death, life and the afterlife, constitute the entire gamut of the ingredients of their oral and artistic productions. They represent an essential aspect of the people’s indigenous knowledge system handed down from generation to generation. This is because the African people express the depth of their feelings and emotions in their oral composition and cultural practices. The aim is to help younger generation to be conscious of their mental health and spiritual wellbeing. This work is therefore motivated by the need to interrogate the nexus between oral poetry and medicalisation, which falls within the domain of the medical humanities. It undertakes a close investigation of the diverse spheres of metaphorical representations, allusions and themes inherent in selected oral texts in connection with Psychiatry, ill-health and well-being in Urhobo oral song-poetry. The work relies on the sociological approach to literature that emphasizes the extrinsic relationship between art and society to determine the formal structure, themes, and images of ill-health, disease, pathological disorders and wellness that have endeared the people to their environment for many decades. The work argues that the mental health of the individual relates significantly to the overall wellbeing of the society; it engenders the maintenance of the cosmic order, the relationship between the individual and other segments of the psychic environment – the physical and spiritual.},
 year = {2021}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Medical Themes and Metaphors in Urhobo Oral Song-Poetry
AU  - Peter Emuejevoke Omoko
Y1  - 2021/07/22
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20210904.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijla.20210904.13
T2  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JF  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JO  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
SP  - 161
EP  - 167
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2331-057X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20210904.13
AB  - The discourse on the therapeutic function of literature has, in recent years, been given critical attention in Nigeria. However, little interest has been paid to the representation of illnesses and healing in the field of African oral literature. Oral texts like songs, folktales, myth and incantation, foreground physical and mental conditions. In such autochthonous societies, the totality of the people’s belief about different ailments, social disorders, death, life and the afterlife, constitute the entire gamut of the ingredients of their oral and artistic productions. They represent an essential aspect of the people’s indigenous knowledge system handed down from generation to generation. This is because the African people express the depth of their feelings and emotions in their oral composition and cultural practices. The aim is to help younger generation to be conscious of their mental health and spiritual wellbeing. This work is therefore motivated by the need to interrogate the nexus between oral poetry and medicalisation, which falls within the domain of the medical humanities. It undertakes a close investigation of the diverse spheres of metaphorical representations, allusions and themes inherent in selected oral texts in connection with Psychiatry, ill-health and well-being in Urhobo oral song-poetry. The work relies on the sociological approach to literature that emphasizes the extrinsic relationship between art and society to determine the formal structure, themes, and images of ill-health, disease, pathological disorders and wellness that have endeared the people to their environment for many decades. The work argues that the mental health of the individual relates significantly to the overall wellbeing of the society; it engenders the maintenance of the cosmic order, the relationship between the individual and other segments of the psychic environment – the physical and spiritual.
VL  - 9
IS  - 4
ER  -

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