SATIRICAL SONGS AS A FORM OF NARRATIVE TECHNIQUE IN AFRICAN INDIGENOUS NOVELS: A STUDY OF SAWOROIDE

• Emmanuel Akinyinka Ilori PhD

  National Open University of Nigeria, Jabi, Abuja

  Author

Satire is a literary technique (or a form of expression) used to criticise, mock, or expose the flaws, vices, and foolishness of individuals, institutions, or society – often to promote change or self-reflection. While much scholarship on Saworoide (Brass Bell Drum) emphasizes its political satire and cultural allegory, the role of satirical song as a narrative technique remains underexplored. This study fills that gap by foregrounding the satirical songs as essential mechanisms for storytelling and socio-political commentary. This study, therefore, examines the use of satirical songs as a form of narrative technique in Akinwumi Isola’s Saworoide (Brass-Bell Drum), exploring how music functions as a medium for political commentary, moral instruction, and resistance.  Drawing on sociological and Postcolonial Literary Theories, the study demonstrates that satirical songs in Saworoide operate beyond entertainment; it also reflects how Isola integrates Yoruba oral traditions, particularly satirical praise songs, into storytelling to critique corruption, corrupt leadership, abuse of power, and moral decadence in postcolonial Africa, Nigeria in particular. The study adopts a qualitative, textual, and interpretive analysis as its research method for the analysis of Saworoide (Brass Bell Drum). The study identifies how the songs advance plot, mediate thematic concerns of corruption and resistance, and bolster readers' engagement through cultural resonance. The songs are identified and interpreted as embedded in the narrative.  A distinctive feature of the novel is its satirical songs, which serve both artistic and narrative functions. The satirical songs in Saworoide (Brass-Bell Drum), a Yoruba indigenous novel, do not merely entertain; they serve as narrative devices that drive the plot, express communal consciousness, and reflect the moral pulse of society. Through textual and interpretive analysis, this study highlights the significance of satire in reinforcing indigenous modes of expression and preserving socio-political accountability in Yoruba cosmology.

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