Adeyemi ADEGOJU
Department of English, Obafemi Awolowo University
RHETORIC IN CONFLICT-RELATED YORUBA PROVERBS: GUIDE TO CONSTRUCTIVE CONFLICT RESOLUTION IN AFRICA
ABSTRACT
Africa has been a continent enmeshed in violent conflicts. This paper
explores the possible place of Yoruba proverbs in the resolution of social conflicts. Drawing
on proverbs that touch on conflict and strategies of conflict resolution, it demonstrates that the
wisdom of the proverbs does not consist only in the cultural values they carry but also in the
underlying rhetorical strokes that give pragmatic force to their interpretation in the context of
use. To this end, the paper analyzes and discusses the linguistic-cum-rhetorical devices that
underscore the wittiness and persuasive effectiveness of the proverbs toward understanding
conflict situations and devising strategies for resolving them.
Key Words: Conflict; Conflict resolution; Rhetoric; Yoruba proverbs; Communication.
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Nelson O. FASHINA
Department of English, University of Ibadan
OF WHAT SEX IS THE TEXT? A NEW READING OF GENDER CHARACTERIZATION AS A TROPE OF HARMONY, COOPERATIVE PRINCIPLE AND JOINT HEROISM IN GABRIEL OKARA'Ｓ THE VOICE
ABSTRACT
This paper is a new reconstruction of gender meanings on Gabriel Okara’ｓ
post-colonial African fiction, The Voice. While it is common to ascribe masculine
interpretations to most early post colonial writings, this author argues that Okara’ｓ agenda
in this novel is to propagate a bisexual, co-sexual and joint gender heroism thesis as the best
and most harmonious approach to a true post-colonial African nationalism. The search for
"it"(the neuter pronoun as metaphor for the essence of truth, justice, gender equality and
fairness) by the male messiah-hero is invigorated by the physical, logistic and spiritual
support of the misunderstood female mother figure. In the tale of a strong bond between
the two main characters to search "it"and "The thing between us," Okara uses a genderless
pronoun and a generic noun, respectively. This desexation in language, style and themes in
The Voice can be understood and appropriated for the contemporary search for an African
epistemology.
Key Words: Gabriel Okara; Post-colonial; Bisexual; Mother-figure; Genderless pronouns; Desexation in language; African epistemology.
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Hirokazu YASUOKA
Faculty of Humanity and Environment, Hosei University
The Variety of Forest Vegetations in Southeastern Cameroon,with Special Reference to the Av ailability of Wild Yams for the Forest Hunter-Gatherers
ABSTRACT
Annually reproducing wild yam species (Dioscorea praehensilis and D.
semperflorens) are considered to be the most important food for hunter-gatherer subsistence
in terms of energy sources in the central African rainforests. Despite their importance in the
rainforest hunter-gatherer's diet, annual yams are not widely distributed over the forest but
locally concentrated in particular areas. In this study, I carried out vegetation censuses in two
areas, one with abundant annual yam patches and one with few in southeastern Cameroon.
The results indicate that the area with abundant annual yam patches is closely associated with
the semi-deciduous forest, while the area with few patches was associated with the evergreen
forest. Thus the difference in vegetation seems to affect the distribution and the availability
of annual yam patches. However, recent studies have found evidence of historical human
interventions that may have influenced the formation of semi-deciduous forest over the Congo
Basin. Therefore, the degree of human influence on the distribution of the semi-deciduous
forest itself, as well as that of annual yam patches, should be carefully examined to explain
the abundance of annual yams.
Key Words: Annual yam; Baka hunter-gatherers; Food availability; Forest landscape; Vegetation; Semi-deciduous forest.