Oral Storytelling and Intergenerational Learning Among Abam People

A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Adult Education, University of Regina. vi, 111 p. This study explored oral storytelling and intergenerational learning among the Abam (Indigenous people of the Igbo tribe of Nigeria). I embarked on this study based on my experience with the Abam people and because of my concerns that oral storytelling traditions seemed to be less prevalent these days. This study was guided by postcolonial theories by Frantz Fanon and Paulo Freire. These theorists portray formally colonized people as living in the ideals of the colonizers even after they achieved independence. An Indigenous qualitative research approach was used in data collection. In line with the epistemologies of Abam people, I adopted Ikparita uka ihu r’ihu and igba izu as methods of collecting data. These methods are similar to focus group discussions and interviews. I followed a thematic approach to analyse the data. The research findings suggested that there is a disruption in the oral storytelling traditions and intergenerational learning among Indigenous people of Abam. I observed that global restructuring was a factor in the disruption. The study identified that the Indigenous people of Abam still live in the ideals of the colonialists which Paulo Freire (1970) called a “prescribed” (p. 31) life. This study also found that the disruption of oral storytelling traditions has negatively affected the ways Abam people train their young ones. Findings indicated the need to revitalize the oral traditions of storytelling. This study suggests campaigns and advocacies through mass media and formal institutions as ways to revitalise the oral storytelling traditions of Abam people.