REVITALISATION OF FOLKTALES AS AGENT OF SOCIAL CHANGE AMONG THE IGBO YOUTHS

Abstract

Folktales, rich in cultural heritage, were channels of moral instruction, community values, and historical consciousness. This paper premised on historical approach and development theory, discusses the revitalisation of folktales as agent of social change among Igbo youths. In the past, folktales, as part of oramedia, noticeably served important communication and entertainment functions to youths in Africa, including those in Igbo land. Time was, when elders in Igbo land would gather children by moonlight to tell stories that teach morals. These folktales were either based on fiction or real-life events. Sometimes, the stories involved natural or supernatural elements displaying interactions of animals, humans, or spirits. In the 1980s, folktales were aired on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) through a programme known as ‘Tales by Moonlight’. This programme had children gathered around the storyteller, and at the end, the children shared the moral lessons learnt from each tale. Today, amidst new media-induced globalisation and cultural dilution, this system of folktales seems to have been eroded, perhaps, leading to the numerous social ills plaguing Igbo land. There is therefore a need for Igbo youths to reclaim and reinterpret these folktales to strengthen their cultural identities, combat societal malaise, and reawaken social consciousness. Hence, this paper advocates for the revitalisation of folktales through intentional radio, television and social media programming to recreate folktales.