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other oral traditions. The paper did a textual analysis of the play 
using primary data from the texts (plays mentioned) and 
secondary data from textbooks, journals, magazines and 
documentaries. The theoretical framework for the study is cultural 
criticism, which is the study of literature at a work in a social 
context. The study concludes on the various aspect of oral 
tradition in order to portray the unique quality of being African in 
the use of proverbs and creates deep meaning and exploration of 
African situation in the worldview.
Keywords: folksong, music, Oral tradition, culture, folklore.

Introduction
 The literary works that were written in African languages 
as well as the traditional oral texts went virtually unacknowledged 
until the late 20th century. This situation increased the recognition 
of oral traditions in African literature. Akin to this fact, the use of 
African oral traditions such as proverbs, riddles, anecdotes, songs, 
tales, mythological narratives and poetry persisted and generally 
influenced contemporary African literature (drama, prose and 
poetry). Rems Umeasiegbu, a folklorist, once remarked one 
cannot talk meaningfully of African literature without mentioning 
the oral tradition.

Until comparatively recent times, most of the literature of 
black Africa, South of Sahara, was oral, that is 
transmitted by word of mouth. Storytelling was popular 
and was at the time perhaps, the most widespread form of 
entertainment. (25)

 Certainly African literature consists of the orality of verbal 
communication and absorbs extensively, several cultural elements 
to communicate and to give African literature a local content. 
Interestingly too, this consciousness exhibited by most African 
writers shows the need in the use of African oral traditions such as 
proverbs in creative works. Again, Ezenwa-Ohaeto in 

Reaffirming Cultural Identity: Igbo Folksongs as Imperative 

Tools in Ikechukwu Asika's Omalinze

Ezennadiri Chukwudi Samuel
Department of English,

Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojuwku University,
Igbariam Campus, Anambra State.

samuelschukwudi@gmail.com
07031312879

And
Nnemtem Olanikke Tony-Ugbejie

School of General Studies, Department of Languages, Delta 
State Polytechnic, Ogwashi-uku

Email Address: temugbejie@gmail.com
Phone Number: 08037743939

Abstract: 
This paper explores the use of Folksongs in Storytelling as a way 
of engendering perspectives in text and reaffirming cultural values 
in Ikechukwu Asika's Omalinze. The study discovers that the 
playwright uses his artistic power through folksongs to give an 
insight in what the culture of Igbo was, through the dramatic 
setting of Iduu Kingdom and other settings in the plays. African 
literary artists create beautiful African works by incorporating 
African oral traditions such as folksongs into their works. African 
folksongs remain valid ways of engaging the audience and passing 
coded thematic messages that function together with the entire 
idea of a literary piece. Therefore, it is considered a worthwhile 
effort to examine Igbo folksongs, or put differently, songs knitted 
with storytelling with the belief that this effort would probably 
further lead us into having a clear view of how music being the 
vortex of African creativity can help explain other phenomena 
which are accompany with it. Aesthetics is highly portrayed in 
Asika's Omalinze in their constant use of songs, proverbs and 

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Ezennadiri Chukwudi Samuel & Nnemtem Olanikke Tony-Ugbejie: Reaffirming

 Cultural Identity: Igbo Folksongs as Imperative Tools in Ikechukwu Asika's Omalinze

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mailto:samuelschukwudi@gmail.com


wrong cannot escape the conclusion that the past needs to be 
recreated not only for the enlightenment of our detractors but even 
more for our education first (Killam ed. 9) Chinweizu, 
Madubuike, and Onwuchekwa remark thus: 

The artist in the traditional African milieu spoke for and 
to his community. His imagery, themes, symbolism, and 
forms were drawn from a communally accessible pool. 
He was heard. He made sense. And again for the function 
of the artist in Africa, in keeping with our traditions and 
needs, demands that the writers, as a public voice, assume 
a responsibility to reflect public concerns in his writing… 
Because in Africa we recognize that art is in the public 
domain, a sense of social commitment. (74) 

  These three writers are in support of the view that an 
African writer should incorporate African oral lore into his work, 
to give it an African identity. This viewpoint led Isidore Okpewho 
to admit that traditional African art did in many instances aspire to 
the beautiful. That it often existed for its own appeal to the eye and 
that many a time it had no known ritual origin or societal, inspired 
functional value. In his article “The Aesthetic of Old African Art”, 
he asserts that “The urge to create beauty will remain an integral 
impulse whatever the level the African artist may be involved in” 
(39). Having the background of African oral lore in their works, 7 
African literary artists created beautiful African works by 
incorporating African oral traditions such as proverbs into their 
works; they spoke a private language of their own and they 
expressed their individuality in their creative works. 

 Any song that originates among the people of a society or 
area, passed by oral tradition from one generation to the next, 
often existing in several versions, and marked generally by 
simple, modal melody and stanza narrative verse can called a 
folksong. Folksongs are songs verbally passed down from 
generations to generations. These songs usually carry the cultures 

Contemporary Nigerian Poetry and the Poetics of Orality: 
Bayreuth; Bayreuth African Studies argues that  

The younger generation of Nigerian poets who started 
writing after the Biafran War deliberately situated their 
poems within the cultural tradition of their home regions. 
Themes and modes of the oral tradition of the Yoruba, 
Igbo, the Niger Delta or the Plateau people are recorded 
and transformed into modern intertextual poetic idioms 
(Back cover of Contemporary Nigerian Poetry and the 
Poetics of Orality).  (57)

 In the same vein, Nwachukwu-Agbada explains that “to 
understand a culture, particularly, one in which orality is still a 
predominant form of recording history and phenomena, one 
requires some acquaintance with its oral forms” (194). One of the 
most compelling trends in African literature today remains the 
constant use of African oral traditions by literary artists. With 
particular reference to Nigeria, many Nigerian creative works so 
far produced are steeped in the oral traditions of their indigenous 
communities, with a strong emphasis on oral performance. 
Chinua Achebe in his article “The Role of a Writer in New 
Nation”, Achebe buttresses his critical view when he states … As 
far as I am concerned, and the fundamental theme must be 
disposed of. This theme – put quite simply – is that the African 
people did not hear of culture for the first time from Europeans, 
that their societies were not mindless but frequently had a 
philosophy of great depth and value and beauty, that they had 
poetry and, above all, they had dignity. It is this dignity that many 
African people all but lost during the colonial period and it is this 
that they must now regain (Killam ed. 8) 

 In his effort to make people regain their lost dignity and 
identity, Achebe intends to expose to Europeans that Africans had, 
and still have, culture, literature and religion of great value. 
Achebe explains further “a writer who feels the need to right this 

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Ezennadiri Chukwudi Samuel & Nnemtem Olanikke Tony-Ugbejie: Reaffirming

 Cultural Identity: Igbo Folksongs as Imperative Tools in Ikechukwu Asika's Omalinze

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people, race, region or nation handed down orally from generation 
to generation' (115). According to Microsoft Encarta Premium, 
folk song is the traditional song that has been passed down orally. 
Oxford Advanced learners' Dictionary (2006) defines folk song as 
'a song in the traditional style of a country or community' (p. 576). 
In the same vein, Nzewi in Agu (1990) submits that: 

Folk music (song) …in all its elements and application 
has latent psychological, psychical and spiritualizing 
essence; it is an ethnic community that portrays group 
spirit, thought, myths and aspirations. At the same time, it 
is a bond, the umbilical cord that links the group with the 
ultra-terrestrial forces whose potencies are made 
manifest in various awe-inspiring phenomenal and 
unpredictable ways in their lives (p. 80).

 According to Collins‟ dictionary, a folksong is a song 
originating among the people of a country or area, passed by oral 
tradition from one singer or generation to the next, often existing 
in several versions, and marked generally by simple, modal 
melody and stanzaic, narrative verse. It adds further that it is a 
song of which the music and text have been handed down by oral 
tradition among the common people. Within the ambit of this 
presentation, African folksong could be defined as that song which 
is associated with the people in terms of text and other musical 
features, which is oral in nature and therefore passed from 
generation to generation aurally, whose origin and composers are 
indeterminable. Such songs are often reflective of the people's folk 
lives in that it could tell of the people's sense of history, spirituality, 
culture, morality, security, political structure and gender role 
definitions and other peculiarities. 

 The need to study folksongs, folklore and folk lives of the 
African cannot be over stressed. From a given landscape and its 
associated sonic space, many musical inferences could be drawn 

and customs of the place they originate from and authorship is not 
tied to a particular individual most often, but rather belongs to the 
community. Euba in his work, Music a Symbol of Royalty. The 
Heritage African Guardian defines folksong as “the pivotal tool 
that connects the past to the present by giving a clear opportunity 
of understanding the past in the present; so as to have a better 
understanding of the present from the past”(475). Folk songs are 
usually historical narratives and also a form of documentation of 
events or a way of life. Our forefathers documented those songs as 
a way of cultural acceptance that unified the communities. 
Folksongs tell their history and capacity. The performance of most 
folk songs never passed the stage of rehearsals, yet the community 
identifies the lines and the sound, this deep understanding also 
downplay any authorship to a collective memory managed and 
sustained by and for the community.

 From the above definitions, it is obvious that folksongs are 
closely bound to a culture which integrates, reflects and addresses 
the customs and practices of the community, and in addition must 
have been passed down through generations using the oral 
medium. An expressed performance usually composed and 
transmitted through the words of mouth. In African societies, 
folksongs are a part of the people's culture. Traditional folksongs 
in Nigeria derive their materials from indigenous sources that 
reflect the norms, values and beliefs of the community which 
permit the community at large to participate in the performance of 
these songs. Folksong practice is therefore structured around 
community, which is meant to contribute to the survival of the 
society. 

 Folk songs refer to the traditional or indigenous songs of a 
particular community handed down orally from one generation to 
the next. Agu in Traditional African music contributions to 
contemporary music creation and performance techniques 
defines folk songs as 'the spontaneous and traditional music of the 

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Ezennadiri Chukwudi Samuel & Nnemtem Olanikke Tony-Ugbejie: Reaffirming

 Cultural Identity: Igbo Folksongs as Imperative Tools in Ikechukwu Asika's Omalinze

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forms were drawn from a communally accessible pool. He 
was heard. He made sense. And again for the function of the 
artist in Africa, in keeping with our traditions and needs, 
demands that the writers, as a public voice, assume a 
responsibility to reflect public concerns in his writing… 
Because in Africa we recognize that art is in the public 
domain, a sense of social commitment. (74)

The writer is in support of the view that an African writer should 
incorporate African oral lore into his work, to give it an African 
identity.

Nnolim, on his part, in Issues in African Literature brilliantly 
argues that: 

To whatever society (secret or communal) that our 
traditional folkways and oral tradition appealed, they did 
have the appreciation of the beautiful in mind - beauty 
surprised at its own arrival, in addition to performing the 
following functions: Impart practical wisdom… Provide 
some didactic purpose by teaching lessons in prudence, 
generosity, patience, wisdom, and common sense… Point 
to moral through songs, sayings, legends, myths and 
proverbs… Make people, especially younger members of 
the society, aware of their ethos, their cultural heritage, 
tribal history, mores, laws… African folkways and their 
oral tradition dealt with man's dilemma in his existential 
being and tried to grapple with man's dilemma and 
adventures in life. (110)

 Nnolim's submission above is valid in all ramifications. 
This is because for the Nigerian writer, Africa has the tradition he 
needs. He, thus, tries to put together the relevant ideas and 
thoughts in his writing. He sees, essentially, the same African 
people, the similarity of ideas, of patterns, of thoughts, of modes 
of behaviour. Ngozi Chuma- Udeh in Trends and Issues in 

and since music is very eclectic in Africa, data which go far 
beyond music could always most probably be elicited.

Rems Umeasiegbu, in „African Literature and the Oral 
Tradition‟.UNIZIK Journal of Arts and Humanities (UJAH) ix, 
2007. 19 – 28.  A folklorist, once remarked 

One cannot talk meaningfully of African literature without 
mentioning the oral tradition. Until comparatively recent 
times, most of the literature of black Africa, South of 
Sahara, was oral, i.e transmitted by word of mouth. 
Storytelling was popular and was at the time perhaps, the 
most widespread form of entertainment. (25) The literary 
works that were written in African languages as well as the 
traditional oral texts went virtually unacknowledged until 
the late 20th century. This situation increased the 
recognition of oral traditions in African literature. Akin to 
this fact, the use of African oral traditions such as proverbs, 
riddles songs, tales, and poetry persisted and generally 
influenced contemporary African literature such as (drama, 
prose and poetry). 

 Certainly African literature consists of the orality of verbal 
communication and absorbs extensively, several cultural elements 
to communicate and to give African literature a local content. 
Interestingly too, this consciousness exhibited by most African 
writers shows the need in the use of African oral traditions such as 
proverbs in creative works. The absence of any semantic 
vocabulary of musical signs has created great impediments in the 
way of progress. Investigating the relationship between language 
and music in Africa might throw some light on the problem of 
meaning in music.

Chinweizu, Madubuike, and Onwuchekwa remark thus: 
The artist in the traditional African milieu spoke for and to 
his community. His imagery, themes, symbolism, and 

COOU JOFOCUS: COOU Journal of Folklore and Cultural Studies, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2024
Ezennadiri Chukwudi Samuel & Nnemtem Olanikke Tony-Ugbejie: Reaffirming

 Cultural Identity: Igbo Folksongs as Imperative Tools in Ikechukwu Asika's Omalinze

93 94



inner characteristics of our culture, beliefs, philosophies about life 
and living, etc. Our traditional music, if fully explored, is a school 
of its own. Within it are configurations of learned behavior and 
results of behaviour whose component elements are shared and 
transmitted by the members of a particular society (p. 3-4).

 Story telling is a very important way of spending leisure 
and pastime among the Igbos both young and old. The .practice of 
storytelling has drastically changed and many children and young 
people are ignorant of the folktales their people used to instruct 
and entertain children in the past. Many of these folktales are 
accompanied with melodious songs or refrains which children 
find interesting and entertaining. They can be taught the songs and 
they can' participate in the performance by singing along or by 
simply repeating the chorus as the mother, father or grandparent 
tells the story. The choruses are intended to make everybody take 
part in the story and also for keeping children/people awake when 
stories are told around the house hold fires. As they enjoy the story, 
they also imbibe the core values of the Igbo people which are 
embedded in the story. Stories should be told and performed in the 
children's ethnic language (Igbo) so that they can learn to 
appreciate and speak the language. The beauty, rhythms, sounds 
and tonal inflections of the language will create permanent 
impressions in the minds of the young ones. By so doing, the 
cultural traditions of the Igbos are being transmitted to the 
younger, generations through the language in storytelling. This 
can be achieved through story telling in Igbo language.

 The theoretical framework for the study is cultural 
criticism, which is the study of literature at a work in a social 
context. They believe that cultural studies must be inter-
disciplinary in its tendency. Making use of insights from 
anthropology, history, sociology, psychology, philosophy and 
other field. The cultural critics typically make no distinction 
between high and low culture. The study concludes on the various 

Nigerian Poetry supports this assertion, she states that:
The traditional poetry is also an avenue through which 
morals and societal etiquettes are imbued to the 
younger generation. Old sages relay ancient wisdom to 
the new generation through poetry. Religious belief and 
didactics are also spread and fostered through 
traditional poetry.  This kind of poetry includes 
incarnations, divination, invocation and prayers as well 
as ritual or chants. (2) 

 African Poetry or music becomes a means of promoting 
cordiality and peaceful Co- existence between people of same 
culture.  In African traditional society, it is not uncommon to see 
local bards entertaining mixed audience of old and young men and 
women with music that educates and rendering the history of the 
society is perpetuated and preserved.  She further states that: 

As a tool for entertainment, the Nigerian traditional 
poetry enlightens and satisfies man intellectual and 
emotions. The local bards use poetry to playful and 
tactfully checkmate the society. One special aspect of 
Nigerian traditional poetry is that it can be composed 
without much formality. The local and some obnoxious 
brats make use of the quality to extremities. (3)

 From the foregoing comments, it is clear that the use of 
oral traditions in African literature has made a considerable 
scholarly progress over the years. However, one enormous and 
urgent responsibility persists, namely, that of the preservation of 
the oral material itself. The writers/ poets emanating from the 
African cultural setting could be said to be adequately responding 
to the exigencies of the period; in other words, asserting the 
humanity of the African and the validity of his culture, especially 
for the years of denigration by others. Ude (2009) emphatically 
states: Nigerian traditional music is music associated with the 
people of Nigeria in their ethnic settings. This music reflects the 

COOU JOFOCUS: COOU Journal of Folklore and Cultural Studies, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2024
Ezennadiri Chukwudi Samuel & Nnemtem Olanikke Tony-Ugbejie: Reaffirming

 Cultural Identity: Igbo Folksongs as Imperative Tools in Ikechukwu Asika's Omalinze

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The people we are stronger than are challenging us. 
The people we are stronger than!

 From this assertion, one can vividly say that the 
playwright is talking about war. Traditional music plays a great 
role in character moulding. It is the type of music associated with 
the people in their community settings and the expression of their 
culture and values.

  This music is an integral part of Igbo culture and it plays a 
very significant role in every aspect of Igbo traditional life ranging 
from birth to death. Whenever one hears this music it signifies that 
one party is waging war against the other. The Igbo nation has 
many folk music that identify particular situation in the society. 

 At various developmental stages of an Igbo child, he/she is 
introduced to various rhythmic experiences until the child begins 
to acquire these experiences by himself/herself through 
observation and participation.  The Igbo who are located at the 
Southeast part of Nigeria are very musical considering the wide 
variety of their musical instruments and the complexity of their 
musical rhythm. Igbo people are no strangers to the rhythm of 
music. Music, its organization and movement are at home in Igbo 
land. Music serves as a mode of conveying culture, values, 
experience and as a means of transmitting knowledge, wisdom, 
feelings and attitude orally in Igbo community. The playwright 
through the use Igbo folksong expressed the aesthetic creativity in 
the Nigerian literature.  This can be seen in Omalinze singing a 
folksong:

Anunu bialu be m o	 	 	 	 ngene
Anunu bialu be m o	 	 	 	 ngene
Si m kunye ya mmiri	 	 	 	 ngene
M welu iko nwa mmuo	 	 	 	 ngene
Anunu anwu o, nwu o, nwuo, nwuo, nwuo 	 ngene 

aspect of oral tradition in order to portray the unique quality of 
being African in the use of proverbs and creates deep meaning and 
exploration of African situation in the worldview. 

Aspects of Folk Music in Ikechukwu Asika's Omalinze 
 In Asika's Omalinze, the story is embedded with oral 
songs/ music.  Culture is the totality of a particular people's way of 
life and identity which includes their tradition, behaviour, 
costumes, religion, language, art, science, music etc. It is an 
indicator and parameter for ethnic and social differences and 
demarcation. In the play, the playwright through his aesthetic 
creativity has explored the richness in Igbo culture. In other 
words, through his use of folk song in the play, he showcase the 
melody of Igbo music that rehabilitates the Igbo culture. Also 
every song in the play, expressed the story the playwright wants to 
tell to his audience. In the opening of the play, there was folk song 
that introduced war in the story.

(footsteps approaching, narrator steps aside and hides 
at a safe corner of the stage. Enter Opuluiche, the leader 
of the Aro rebel forces flank by his warlords.) 

Onye akpakwana agu aka n' odu
Ma odi ndu ma onwuru anwu
 Onye akpakwana agu aka n' odu

No one should touch the Lion by its tail 
Whether dead or alive.
No one should touch the Lion by its tail. (12)

Ndi anyi ka aka na abala anyi mba. 
Ndi anyi ka aka 
Kwenu ndi anyi ka aka na- abalu anyi mba,.
Ndi anyi ka aka!
The people we are stronger than are challenging us
The people we are stronger than 

COOU JOFOCUS: COOU Journal of Folklore and Cultural Studies, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2024
Ezennadiri Chukwudi Samuel & Nnemtem Olanikke Tony-Ugbejie: Reaffirming

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Anya miri bere bere ga eme ka nne nwa puta
Ayolo 
Take my own share
Ayolo 
And kept it far away in the cup above
Ayolo 
Take that of his child and kept it on the ground
Ayolo  
My hand cannot reach the cup above
Ayolo 
My leg cannot reach the cup above
Ayolo 
An overflow of tears can the mother of the  
motherless child appear.
Ayolo
An overflow of tears can the mother of the
 motherless child appear.
Ayolo. (33- 34)

 Rhythm had been at the heart of conceptions of race, 
culture and identity. There is a connectedness between the world 
of any group of people and their rhythm. The Igbo culture has a 
deep connection to rhythm. The folksong in the play is 
characterised by its aesthetic and high rhythmic expressions. This 
characterized folktale song. The playwright embellishes his story 
with folksong as means of didactic or rhythmic expression to the 
younger generation which rehabilitees the understanding of 
African identity. A family supplements for any deficiency that any 
elderly family members discover in children's values and 
characters through the use of folktales, folksongs as strategic 
tools. Parents, especially the mothers in the traditional families 
could be seen in their use of folktales, folksongs and riddles. These 
folksongs and their interpretations are based on how the people 
perceive and construe their world. Many Nigerian youths and 
children have lost touch with their ethnic folksongs. These days it 

Nwuo, nwuo, nwuo, nwuo, nwuo	 	             ngene
Welu nku felega	 	 	 	 	 ngene
Anunu came to my house 		 	            ngene 
Anunu came to my house 		 	            ngene
It said I should give him water	 	 	 ngene 
I use the spirit's cup	 	 	 	 ngene
And gave Anunu water	 	 	 	 ngene
Anunu drank, drank, drank and drank	 	 ngene
Drank, drank, drank and drank	 	 	 ngene
And it flew away	 	 	 	  ngene
Onye nke mbu, nay a dum aga	 	 	 ngene
Onye nke abuo, na ya dum aga	 	 	 ngene
Ka isi n' eyili m oo		 	 	             ngene
Ka afo n' eyili m oo		 	 	             ngene	
Ah ah ah	 	 	 	 	 	 ngene

The first person is leading me 	 	 	 ngene
The second person is leading me	 	             ngene
As the head assists me	 	 	 	 ngene
As the stomach assists me	 	 	             ngene
Ah ah ah	 	 	 	 	 	 ngene

Hamachi: (sings a folksong)
Welu nke m oo
Ayoloe 
Dobe n' iko
Ayolo
Welu nke nwa nwanu omutara dobe n' ala
Ayolo 
Aka elu n' iko
Ayolo
Okpa elu n' iko
Ayolo
Anya miri bere bere ga eme ka nne nwa puta
Ayolo 

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Ezennadiri Chukwudi Samuel & Nnemtem Olanikke Tony-Ugbejie: Reaffirming

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Obodo anyi ga- akwa o	 	 	 	 Samala 
Anyi di n' out	 	 	 	 	 Samala 
Anyi bu nwanne o	 	 	 	 Samala 
Eze egbuna egbuna	 	 	 	 Samala  
Igwe Anayo Egbuna egbuna	 	 	 Samala 
Igbuo ya	 	 	 	 	 	 Samala  
Umuaka ga- ebe o	 	 	 	 Samala 
Okorobia ga- ebe o	 	 	 	 Samala 
Igbuo ya		 	 	 	 	 Samala  
Umuagboghobia ga- ebe o	 	 	 Samala 
Igbuo ya		 	 	 	 	 Samala  
Ndi okenye ga- akwa	 	 	 	 Samala  
Igbuo ya		 	 	 	 	 Samala  
Isioma ga- akwa oo	 	 	 	 Samala 
Okpara igwe ga- ebe oo		 	 	 Samala 
Eze egbuna egbuna	 	 	 	 Samala 
Eze egbuna egbuna	 	 	 	 Samala 
Anyi di n' otu o	 	 	 	 	 Samala 
Anyi bu ofu o	 	 	 	 	 Samala 
Igwe! Igwe! Igwe!	 	 	 	 Samala 
Anyi nayo gi 	 	 	 	 	 Samala 
Omalinze bu nwa oma	 	 	 	 Samala 
Omalinze bu nwa anyi o	 	 	 	 S a m a l a 
Isioma bu nwa gi		 	 	 	 Samala
Igbuo ya		 	 	 	  Samala 
Owute anyi	 	 	 	 	 Samala 
Obodo ga- ebe oo!	 	 	 	 Samala 
Obodo anyi ga- akwa o		 	  Samala 
Igwe, igwe, igwe	 	 	 	 Samala 
Igwe Anayo	 	 	 	 	 Samala 
Okwu maka ifunanya,	 	 	  Samala 
Ifunanya ofulu nwanne ya	 	 	 Samala 
Ifunanyi nwanne oo	 	 	 	 Samala 
Igwe, igwe, igwe	 	 	 	 Samala 
Igwe Anayo oo	 	 	 	  Samala 

is uncommon-place to find people gathered around a village 
squares or under the tree eagerly listening to these folksongs, 
folktales, proverbs and riddles and other form of traditional 
literature which are reeled out by his sonorous voice. Ngozi 
Chuma- Udeh in Trends and Issues in Nigerian poetry expressed 
this thus: 

The modern poets of Nigerian extraction felt the 
necessity of putting down in black and white, the 
traditional Nigerian poetry, which was fast growing 
extinct. The emancipation of Christianity had 
disrupted the market square school where traditional 
poetry used to hold sway. The pursuit for western 
education hindered the moonlight outings, games and 
tales where traditional poetry fostered. (12)

 The modern Nigerian poets has taken over the job of the 
local bards. It is apparent that their works are simply the adoption 
of the indigenous Nigerian philosophy, this means that they put 
down their indigenous Nigerian experiences using the English 
language as a medium for expression. In the Act 3 scene 1, another 
example, the playwright through the singing chorus expressed the 
folksong in the story trying to restrict king from killing Omalinze 
as thus:

Eze   egbuna  egbuna		 	 Samala 
Eze eguna eguna		 	 	 	 Samala 
Igbuo ya 		 	 	 	 	 Samala 
Oga ewute anyi	 	 	 	 	 Samala 
Obodo anyi ga- ebe o!	 	 	 	 Samala 
Obodo anyi ga- akwa!	 	 	 	 Samala 
Eze egbuna egbuna 	 	 	 	 Samala 
Igwe Anayo egbuna	 	 	 	 Samala 
Igbuo ya	 	 	 	 	 	 Samala  
Owute anyi	 	 	 	 	 Samala 
Obodo ga- ebe o!		 	 	 	 Samala 

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Ezennadiri Chukwudi Samuel & Nnemtem Olanikke Tony-Ugbejie: Reaffirming

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King, king, king	 	 	 	 Samala
King, king, king	 	 	 	 Samala
We are pleading with you	 	 	 Samala
Omalinze is a good child	 	 	 Samala
Omalinze is our child    Samala
Isioma is your daughter	 	 	 Samala

 Asika used the folksong as a local bard to warn the king 
against his evil decision that he wants to take on Omalinze.   Story 
telling is a very important way of spending leisure and pastime 
among the Igbos both youngand old. The .practice of storytelling 
has drastically changed and many children and young peopleare 
ignorant of the folktales, legendary and epic stories their people 
used to instruct and entertain society in the past. Manyof these 
folktales, legendary and epic stories are accompanied with 
melodious songs or refrains which society find interestingand 
entertaining. They can be taught the songs and they can participate 
in the performance bysinging along or by simply repeating the 
chorus as “Samala” the local bard tells the story. He continues

Our town is a peaceful town	 	 	 Samala
It will pain us 	 	 	 	 	 Samala
Our town will cry	 	 	 	 Samala
Our town will weep	 	 	 	 Samala
King, king, king	 	 	 	 Samala
King Anayo	 	 	 	 	 Samala

It is because of love	 	 	 	 Samala
The love she has for brother	 	 	 Samala
The love of a brother	 	 	 	 Samala
King, king, king	 	 	 	 Samala
King Anayo	 	 	 	 	 Samala
Do this because of town	 	 	 Samala
Do this because of us	 	 	 	 Samala
King don't kill, don't kill	 	 	 Samala
There are tears in our eyes	 	 	 Samala

Eze egbuna egbuna	 	 	 	 Samala 
Anyi ji anya mmiri	 	 	 	 Samala 
Ezigbo igwe k' ibu	 	 	 	 Samala 
Nwenu obi omiiko	 	 	 	 Samala 
Igwe, Igwe, Igwe	 	 	 	 Samala 
Igwe, Igwe, Igwe	 	 	 	 Samala 

Igwe Anayo oo	 	 	 	 Samala 
King don't kill, don't kill 	 	 	 Samala
King don't kill, don't kill	 	 	 Samala
If you kill her	 	 	 	 	 Samala
It will hurt us	 	 	 	 	 Samala
Our town will cry	 	 	 	 Samala
Our town will weep!	 	 	 	 Samala
King don't kill, don't kill 	 	 	 Samala
King don't kill, don't kill	 	 	 Samala
Our town is a peaceful town 	 	 	 Samala
It will pain us	 	 	 	 	 Samala
Our own town will cry! 	 	 	 Samala
Our town will weep	 	 	 	 Samala
We are one	 	 	 	 	 Samala
We are brothers	 	 	 	 Samala
King Anayo don't kill, don't kill 	 	 Samala
King Anayo don't kill, don't kill	 	 Samala
If you kill her	 	 	 	 	 Samala
Children will cry	 	 	 	 Samala
Boys will cry	 	 	 	 	 Samala
If you kill her 	 	 	 	 	 Samala
Maidens will cry	 	 	 	 Samala
If you kill her	 	 	 	 	 Samala 
Elders will cry		 	 	 	 Samala
If you kill her	 	 	 	 	 Samala
Isioma will cry		 	 	 	 Samala
The Prince will cry	 	 	 	 Samala
King don't kill, don't kill	 	 	 Samala
We are together	 	 	 	 Samala
We are one	 	 	 	 	 Samala

COOU JOFOCUS: COOU Journal of Folklore and Cultural Studies, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2024
Ezennadiri Chukwudi Samuel & Nnemtem Olanikke Tony-Ugbejie: Reaffirming

 Cultural Identity: Igbo Folksongs as Imperative Tools in Ikechukwu Asika's Omalinze

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Refrain:
Obu dike, dike, dike, obu dike
Oputaosu.

Refrain:
Obu dike, dike, dike, obu dike
Mgbedike

Refrain:
Obu dike, dike, dike, obu dike
Akidi.

Refrain: 
We have a warrior, warrior, warrior
We have a warrior, warrior, warrior
King Kanayo.

Refrain:
He is a warrior, warrior, warrior, he is a warrior.
We have a warrior, warrior, warrior
We have a warrior, warrior, warrior
King Etochukwu

Refrain: 
He is a warrior, warrior, warrior, warrior
He is a warrior.
Mkpume

Refrain: 
He is a warrior, warrior, warrior, warrior
He is a warrior.
Oputaosu.

You are a good king	 	 	 	 Samala
Please have a merciful heart	 	 	 Samala (48)

 The choruses are intended to make everybody take part in 
the story and also for keepingpeople awake when stories are told. 
As they enjoy the story,they also imbibe the core values of the Igbo 
people which are embedded in the story. Stories shouldbe told and 
performed in the people's ethnic language (Igbo) so that they can 
learn to appreciateand speak the language. The beauty, rhythms, 
sounds and inflections of the language willcreate permanent 
impressions in the minds of the young ones. By so doing, the 
cultural traditionsof the Igbos are being transmitted to the 
younger, generations through the language in storytelling. As the 
playwright insinuates that the most powerful gift a parent cangive 
their children is to pass their language and culture to him/her. This 
can be achieved throughstory telling in Igbo language.

 In the play also, Asika applied panegyric poem, poem of 
praise as a means of appreciation and eulogizing the capacity of 
one in a given society. This was seen among the villagers when 
they were praising king Kanayo. They all sang as thus:

Anyi nwere dike, dike, dike
Anyi nwere dike, dike, dike
Igwe Kanayo.

Refrain:
Obu dike, dike, dike, dike, obu dike.
Anyi nwere dike, dike, dike
Anyi nwere dike, dike, dike
Igwe Etochukwu

Refrain:
Obu dike, dike, dike, obu dike
Mkpume.

COOU JOFOCUS: COOU Journal of Folklore and Cultural Studies, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2024
Ezennadiri Chukwudi Samuel & Nnemtem Olanikke Tony-Ugbejie: Reaffirming

 Cultural Identity: Igbo Folksongs as Imperative Tools in Ikechukwu Asika's Omalinze

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music is known; and as the society indulge in these songs, they 
imbibe the rhythmic culture of his people. Indulging in rhythmic 
activities at home by the other elderly members of the community 
not only help the younger generation to manipulate different 
rhythmic patterns in other to improve their learning ability but also 
enables them to learn to follow rhythms and create their own 
indulging in such activities like clapping, tapping, dancing, or 
playing instruments.

By so doing, the cultural traditions of the Igbo are being 
transmitted to the younger generations through the language in 
storytelling.

Works Cited
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. Heinemann, 1958.
---. The Role of a Writer in a New Nation G.D. Killam (ed.) African 

W r i t e r s  o n  A f r i c a n                                              
Writing.Heinemann, 1973.

Akporobaro, F.B.O: Introduction to African Oral Literature. 
Princeton Publishing, 2012.

Asika, Ikechukwu. “  Folklore, Culture and the Nexus Between:
Perspectives on 'Egwu Onwa' among the Igbo People”. 
Ogbazuluobodo: University of Nigeria Journal of 
Multidisciplinary Studies, Vol.2, No.1, 2020. 

---. Omalinze (An Igbo Antigone).Noirledge Publishing, 2023.
---. “Resurrecting Igbo Cultural Values Through Folklore: 'Egwu 

Onwa'  And Its  Commitment  Towards Societal 
Ethos.”Nigerian Journal of African Studies, Vol. 2 No. 2, 
2020. pp 1-14. 

Refrain: 
He is a warrior, warrior, warrior, warrior
He is a warrior.
Mgbedike

Refrain: 
He is a warrior, warrior, warrior, warrior
He is a warrior.
Akidi. (15)

 In understanding the relationship of this folksongs and 
storytelling to social development, one must adequately account 
for the variables thrown up by the story. The agreement of the two 
to form a working alliance is precipitated on a shared goal of 
overcoming their mutual sense of isolation from the horned 
animals' party. More so the alliance formed, rests on two crucial 
ingredients of social development: trust and honour. The most 
frequent subject of panegyric are human beings, especially kings 
and noble men. Much panegyric is formalized, thus less variable 
than many other type of oral literature. Indeed, sometimes it varied 
from recitation to recitation, or follows the particular version 
approved by the individual or local bard as in the case of the play. 
Praise poetry often plays an essential part in the rites of Igbo 
culture: when an individual or group moves from one position to 
another in the society, the transition is celebrated by praises 
marking the new status. Asika applied this on King Kanayo as he 
became the king of Iduu kingdom after the war in the kingdom.

Conclusion
 Igbo storytelling, apart from the amusement they give, are 
very useful for they are mostly didactic. The folksongs in 
storytelling have meanings and direction and serve as means of 
transmitting their cultural values and identity from one generation 
to the next. These songs are characterised by the fascination of 
their high rhythmic and aesthetic expressions for which African 

COOU JOFOCUS: COOU Journal of Folklore and Cultural Studies, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2024
Ezennadiri Chukwudi Samuel & Nnemtem Olanikke Tony-Ugbejie: Reaffirming

 Cultural Identity: Igbo Folksongs as Imperative Tools in Ikechukwu Asika's Omalinze

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Obiechina, Emmanuel. “Transition from Oral to Literary 
Tradition”.Presence Africaine 63, 1967. 141 – 161.

Okoh Nkem: Preface to Oral Literature. African First Publishers, 
2008.

Onuekwusi, Jasper: Fundamental of African Oral Literature. 
Alphabet Nigerian Publisher, 2001.

Templeton, Alice: Cultural Studies: Theory Praxis Pedagogy. Vol 
19, No 2.PP 19- 30 John Hopkins University Press, 1992.

Udenta O. Udenta. Revolutionary Aesthetics & the African 
Literary Process. Fourth Dimension Publishing Co. Ltd, 
1993.

Umeasiegbu, Rems N. Ask the Storyteller: Tales from Northern 
Nigeria. Koruna Books Publishers, 2008.

---.The Palm Oil of Speech: Igbo Proverbs.Koruna Books, 2003.

---. “Telling the African Side of the Story: Proverb as a Crucial 
Element of Story Telling in Uchenna Nwosu's The Rejected 
Stone.” UNIZIK Journal of Arts and Humanities UJAH, 
Volume 13 No 1, 2012. pp 14-33. 

Bascom, William R. “Verbal Art”. Delivered at the Sixty-Six 
Annual Meeting of the American Folklore Society, 29 
December 1953.

Chuma- Udeh, Ngozi: Trends and Issues in Nigerian Literature 
(poetry). Base 5 Press. 2007.

Copper, et al:  Timeless Voices and Themes Literature of Finnegan 
Ruth. Oral Literature in Africa.Ruthledge Press, 1992.

Egudu, Romanus N. “Nature and Function of Igbo Anecdotes” in 
Onwuejeogwu, Angulu M and Manfredi, Victor B. (eds). 
Odinani. Tabansi Press Ltd: 1977.

Ezenwa-Ohaeto.Contemporary Nigerian Poetry and the Poetics 
of  Orality: Bayreuth African Studies Breitinger, 1998.

Finnegan, Ruth. Oral Literature in Africa.Oxford University 
Press, 1970.

Nnolim, Charles: Approaches to the African Novel: Essay in 
Analysis. Ihem Davis Press, 1992.

--. Ekwusiaga. Issues in African Literature. Treasure Resources 
Communication Limited, 2009.

Nwafor, John and Emma- Agbiri, Nneka:  Embellishing 
Language in Oral Tradition through the Use of Proverbs in 
Akachi Adimoral-Ezeigbo's The Last of the Strong ones, 
Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Journal of Folklore 
and Cultural Studies Vol 2, no 1, 2022, PP. 106- 124.

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Ezennadiri Chukwudi Samuel & Nnemtem Olanikke Tony-Ugbejie: Reaffirming

 Cultural Identity: Igbo Folksongs as Imperative Tools in Ikechukwu Asika's Omalinze

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