Oral and Written Literature in Khoekhoegowab
What the literature paper tests
Literature tests knowledge of genres, themes, character, style and the relationship between text and community. Khoekhoegowab literature includes oral forms such as folktales, praise songs, proverbs, riddles and songs, and written forms such as poetry, short stories, drama and the novel. Oral texts are judged partly by performance features: formulaic openings, repetition, call-and-response, ideophones and praise epithets. Written texts are judged by narrative voice, structure, imagery and thematic development.
Core rules
- Identify the genre first, then the features expected of it. A praise poem and a folktale do not use the same opening or the same kind of repetition.
- Distinguish author, narrator and character. A first-person narrator is not automatically the author.
- Analyse, do not retell. A plot summary earns little; a claim about theme supported by a short quotation earns marks.
- Link oral features to meaning: repetition may build emphasis, call-and-response may include the audience, and an ideophone may sharpen a description.
- Comment on values and context where relevant, but avoid unsupported generalisations about 'the culture'.
Worked example
Question: how does a praise poem honour its subject? Reasoning: first identify the addressee and the epithets used; then note hyperbolic imagery, such as comparing the subject to a powerful natural force; then show how rhythm and repetition build praise. The conclusion should state that the poem creates public honour through accumulated epithets, not merely that the person is praised. Each step uses evidence from the text.
Traps that cost marks
- Retelling the story without analysing theme, character or style.
- Ignoring oral performance features in a folktale or praise poem.
- Confusing the narrator's view with the author's view.
- Quoting a long passage without explaining its effect.
- Making a claim about culture that the text does not support.