Cultural Riddles and Performance in Modern African Societies

Abstract

Several forms of performance arts are underutilized in the past few decades and the Urhobo riddles are not left out. This research therefore examines various methods of preservation and transfer of riddles in traditional society. This study adopted the survey-descriptive approach as the data and information were collected from natural environment and analysed. It is underpinned by Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory that focuses on the unconscious mind of people which can be activated and its latent materials brought to their conscious awareness. The data were collected with audio recordings which were later transcribed and translated from the Urhobo language into English. In-depth interviews were also conducted to obtained first-hand information from respondents. The respondents were purposively selected and interviewed. The data collected in the field were qualitatively analyzed using descriptive and analytical methods. Findings reveal that riddles perform utilitarian functions like entertainment, education, knowledge transfer, coping and distractive strategies and so on. Riddles as linguistic resources should be preserved and documented due to their cultural values. Though there are problems hindering the growth of riddle performances in contemporary societies, orators have devised the use of popular music as new way of preservation and transferring of oral traditions like the riddles to successive generations.