THE SPACE OF INTERNET IN TRANSPOSING MWAGHAVUL ORATURE

^1*Peace Sorochi Longdet, ²Uwemedimo Enobong Iwoketok, and ³John Akosu Adeiyongo

Department of English,

 University of Jos, Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria.

Email: peacelongdet2011@gmail.com, .iwoketok@yahoo.com, ³jadeyongo@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

The ever-changing and widening arc of human society brings about innovation in the retrieval, production, transmission, and performance of cultural elements. The technological advancement in the 20^th and 21^st centuries has given new impetus to discourses on the Africanverbal art (with a particular interest in Mwaghavul Childlore).  Thus, this work examines the role of the cyberspace in preserving and disseminating Mwaghavul oral culture as observed in their Childlore. Every district of Mwaghavul land abounds with a rich oral tradition of folktales, oral songs, riddles, jokes, and local myths and legends related to the local history, place, and nature formations. These oral traditions have been a source of value education as well as entertainment in the Mwaghavul African traditional rural societies, and they hold the essence of our unique culture and tradition. Sadly, is the fear that these invaluable oral traditions are in danger of extinction due to the sweeping forces of globalization, Christianity and commercial entertainment which have already flooded even the rural areas of Mwagahvul communities. With the help of examples limited to folktales, this paper provides a brief analysis of the traditional values transmitted by Mwaghavul folktales and the functions these tales serve in Mwaghavul society. Conclusively, this paper offers some practical recommendations for collecting our folktales in the form of text, audio and video using the currently available digital technology to create the first comprehensive and dynamic ‘Mwaghavul Folktales Online Database’. The ethnographic collection and expository of translated Mwaghavul folktalesform the data and basis for explaining certain salient issues concerning children. The interpretation of the symbolic undertone of these folktales provides a basis for understanding the need to leverage technology and preservethe African Childlore in general and the Mwaghavul Childlore in particular in the digital world.

Keywords: Internet, Ethnography, Childlore, Culture, Mwaghavul, Orature, Digital World, Cyberspace