The Relevance of Tselane le Dimo Folktale in the Life of the Current Generation

Abstract

Before the origin of writing, oral literature was used by many African families to pass down values and impart knowledge and good morals from one generation to the other and to pass knowledge from one generation to the other. However, modern families hardly see value in narrating these folktales to their children as they claim that they have no time to narrate stories. This paper aimed to demonstrate the relevance and significance of Tselane le Dimo folktale in the current space and time. The study was guided by a functionalism theory which postulates that society is more than the sum of its parts; rather, each aspect of it works for the stability of the whole. The study is descriptive, and a qualitative approach was employed. Content analysis methods and secondary sources in the form of books and articles were used as data collection methods. The findings of this paper indicated that narrating folktales is still necessary and Tselane le Dimo folktale is still relevant in the current space and time, to the younger generation. This paper concluded that modern African families should get back to their roots and narrate stories to their children to impart knowledge, values, and morals to them. Keywords: Folktale, Modern families, Morals, Oral literature, Values