The the following piece of oral literature and answer the questions that follow.

      

The the following piece of oral literature and answer the questions that follow.

NJABALA

Once upon a time, a man and his wife had a daughter. The girl’s name was Njabala and she was stunningly beautiful. But she was badly brought up, that girl. She was spoilt. She did not want to do any work in the shamba or around the house. All through her childhood, it was her mother who cooked for her, washed and ironed her clothes for her, did everything for her. But Njabala’s beauty was beyond words.Anyway, Njabala grew up and was soon ready for marriage. She married a young man who took her to his home. But of course she couldn’t do any work. When the time came for her to go and work in the shamba, she didn’t know what to do. She put both her hands on her head and cried out:.
Mamma, mother-of-twins!
It’s you who used to spoil me
Come and dig.
Whereupon the skeleton of her mother, who had died, suddenly appeared. It took the hoe and started clearing the shamba as it sang:
Njabala, this is the way women dig,
Njabala!
Njabala, this is the way women dig,
Njabala!
Don’t let me be caught by my in-laws.
And it cleared a large patch of the shamba, from here to way, way out there. Then it disappeared back to the grave. This went on for quite some time. Every time Njabala went to the shamba, she would call out:
Mamma, Mother-of-twins!
It’s you who used to spoil me
Come and dig.
Then the mother’s little skeleton would come and clear the shamba, singing;
Njabala, this is the way women dig,
Njabala!
Njabala, this is the way women dig,
Njabala!
Don’t let me caught by my in-laws.
One day, however, a relative of Njabala’s husband saw what was happening. She went and said to the husband. 'You know what? The food we eat in this house is grown by skeletons'.
The husband said, 'Oh dear, Oh dear!' The next day, he went and hid in the shamba. When Njabala arrived, she called out as usual.
Mamma, Mother-of-twins!
It’s you who used to spoil me
Come and dig.
The skeleton came and began to dig as it sang:
Njabala, this is the way women dig,
Njabala!
But suddenly, the man leapt out of his hiding and dealt his mother-in-law’s skeleton a big blow with his stick. The skeleton disappeared immediately. Njabala was almost fainting with shame and shock. Her husband said to her angrily, “So this is what’s been happening? You’ve been feeding us on food grown by skeletons?”
From that day on, Njabala learned to work saying, “What else can I do now that my mother has been beaten and driven away?” And so she became a hard-working woman.
I left her happy with her husband and the rich crop she was harvesting from her shamba, and I came back here. That is what I saw.

i) Which audience would this narrative be most appropriate for? Justify your answer. 2mks

ii) State and explain three functions of song as an aspect of style in this narrative. 6mks

iii) Apart from the song, identify three typical features of oral narratives evident in this narrative. 6mks

iv) Using at least two expressions from the narrative, show evidence that the recorder remained true to live performance of the narrative. 4mks

v) Cite and explain a proverb from any community you are familiar with that comments on either beauty or work

  

Answers


Martin
Answers
Young women ripe for marriage. The narrative teaches young ladies to prepare themselves well to handle marriage responsibilities before they get married

OR

Young men ready for marriage. They should choose well before marrying

i) Breaks the monotony of pure narration thus making the story interesting.

ii) Brings out the character traits of the mother, Njabala e.t.c. E.g. mother as irresponsible person/ “It is you who used to spoil me'

iii) Plot development -join one episode to the other.

iv) Entertainment/ in live performance. The song would entertain audience

iii) -The opening formula –Once upon a time

-The closing formula –I left her happy-----------
-Fantasy- skeleton digging
-Timelessness- Once upon a time.
Simple plot
Dialogue between husband and wife

iv) It cleared a large patch of the shamba, from here to way, way out there.
------- I came back here
------ That is what I saw
You reap what you sow
Beauty is skin deep
Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder
All that glitters is not gold
Unity is strength
marto answered the question on March 21, 2019 at 07:35


Next: Early millennium, there was widespread use of 'simu ya jamii' amongst Kenya. Explain 5 reasons that have led to their decrease in use today....
Previous: Read the following proverbs and answer the questions after each.

View More English Literature Questions and Answers | Return to Questions Index


Exams With Marking Schemes

Related Questions


  • Read the following oral poem and answer the questions that follow(Solved)

    Read the following oral poem and answer the questions that follow
    The Timi of Ede.
    Huge fellow whose body fills an anthill

    jk32120191221.png

    (Source: Ulli Beier(ed), African Poetry, Cambridge University Press, 1966)

    (a) Classify the above poem. 1 mk

    (b) What images does the poet use to build up the character of Timi? 6 mks

    (c) What is the attitude of the speaker towards Timi? 2 mks

    (d) Identify the themes of the poem. 4 mks

    (e) Describe the mood of the poem. 2 mks

    (f) Mention any three aspects of performance that can be lost if this song is written down. 3 mks

    (g) State any four functions of this song. 2 mks

    Date posted: March 21, 2019.  Answers (1)

  • Read the poem below and then answer the questions that follow.(Solved)

    Read the poem below and then answer the questions that follow.
    james32120191213.png
    tg32120191215.png

    a) What event is the speaker describing? Illustrate. (2 mks)

    b) Explain how the person gets involved in the event he describes. (4 mks)

    c) What is the relationship the persona and the ‘you’? Illustrate. (4 mks)

    d) Identify and illustrate any 2 stylistic features in this poem. 4 mks)

    e) Explain ‘you catapulted’ 1mk

    Date posted: March 21, 2019.  Answers (1)

  • Read the following poem and answer the questions that follow.(Solved)

    Read the following poem and answer the questions that follow.

    po132120191204.png
    poe32120191206.png

    While outside
    The mourners cried
    Louder than the Orphan.

    By Grace Birabwa Isharaza.

    1. What is the poem about? (3mks)

    2. Comment on the title of the poem. (2mks)

    3. What is the attitude of the persona towards the mourners? Explain your answer.(4mks) 4. Paraphrase the message in the fourth stanza. (3mks)

    5. Explain the following lines as used in the poem (2mks)
    (i) They cried dutiful tears for the deceased.
    (ii) And there was Light in the darkness of the hut

    6 Comment on the tone of the poem (2mks)

    7. Identify and illustrate two stylistic devices used in the poem. (4mks)

    Date posted: March 21, 2019.  Answers (1)

  • Read the poem and answer the questions which follow.(Solved)

    Read the poem and answer the questions which follow.

    THE MARKET WOMAN
    The market woman
    Strong sun
    and the market woman in the shade
    of the mulemba
    - Orange, my lady
    a nice little orange!
    Light plays in the town
    its burning game
    of brightness and shade
    and life plays
    in worried hearts
    its game of blind-man’s buff.
    The market woman
    who sells fruit
    sells herself.
    - My Lady
    orange, nice little orange!
    Buy sweets oranges
    buy from me too the bitterness
    of this torture
    of life without life
    buy from me the childhood of the spirit
    this rosebud
    that did not open
    start still impelled to a beginning.
    Orange, my lady!
    I exhausted the smiles
    with which I cried
    I no longer cry.
    And there goes my hopes
    as did the blood of my children
    mingled with the dust of roads
    buried on plantations
    and my sweat
    soaked in the cotton threads.
    As effort was offered to
    the security of machines
    the beauty of tarmac roads
    of tall buildings
    comfort or ricy gentlemen
    happiness dispersed in towns
    and I
    became a part
    of the very problems of existence.
    There go the oranges
    as I offered myself to alcohol
    to anaesthetize myself
    and stupefied myself to live.
    I gave all.
    Even my pain
    and the poetry of my naked breasts
    I gave to the poets.
    Now I myself am selling me
    Buy oranges!
    my lady!
    Take me to the markets of life
    My price is only one: - Blood.
    Perhaps selling myself
    I posses my self
    - Buy oranges!

    From Scared Hope by Agostino Neto,
    Tanzania Publishing House, 1974, 12 - 14

    QUESTIONS

    (a)Identify the three voices in this poem. 3mks

    (b) What is the Poet’s attitude to the market woman? 2mks

    (c)What is the theme of the poem? 3mks

    d) Describe the feeling of the market woman. 3mks

    e) Identify the lines spoken by the persona in his role as an observer. 3mks

    f) Explain the meaning of the following lines. 6mks

    (i) I exhausted the similes
    With which I cried
    I no longer cry

    (ii) Even my pain
    and the poetry of my naked breasts
    I gave to the poets
    ……………………………………………………………………………………………My price is only one: - Blood

    Date posted: March 21, 2019.  Answers (1)

  • Outline the technical devices in poetry.(Solved)

    Outline the technical devices in poetry.

    Date posted: March 21, 2019.  Answers (1)

  • Define Mood and tone(Solved)

    Define Mood and tone.

    Date posted: March 21, 2019.  Answers (1)

  • Define the term Sarcasm.(Solved)

    Define the term Sarcasm.

    Date posted: March 21, 2019.  Answers (1)

  • Define the term Irony.(Solved)

    Define the term Irony.

    Date posted: March 21, 2019.  Answers (1)

  • Define the term attitude in poetry.(Solved)

    Define the term attitude in poetry.

    Date posted: March 21, 2019.  Answers (1)

  • Discuss the distinctive features of wole Soyinka's poems ..I think it rains.. Night.. In respect to modern African poetry. (Solved)

    Discuss the distinctive features of wole Soyinka's poems ..I think it rains.. Night.. In respect to modern African poetry.

    Date posted: March 12, 2019.  Answers (1)

  • Write an essay to show how rhetorical questions have been used in the Blossoms of Savannah(Solved)

    Write an essay to show how rhetorical questions have been used in the Blossoms of Savannah.

    Date posted: February 3, 2019.  Answers (1)

  • What are literary devices in work of art?(Solved)

    What are literary devices in work of art?

    Date posted: December 10, 2018.  Answers (1)

  • Identify all the morphemes in the following sentence and classify them according to types. In schools, we usually use English while communicating with our teachers and...(Solved)

    Identify all the morphemes in the following sentence and classify them according to types.
    In schools, we usually use English while communicating with our teachers and friends.

    Date posted: December 6, 2018.  Answers (1)

  • Your school is organizing the staging of the river and the source by Margaret Ogola.as the secretary of the drama club write an internal memo...(Solved)

    Your school is organising the staging of the river and the source by Margaret Ogola. As the secretary of the drama club write an internal memo inviting them to a meeting to plan for the function.

    Date posted: November 6, 2018.  Answers (1)

  • What are dirges.(Solved)

    a)What are dirges.

    Date posted: October 16, 2018.  Answers (1)

  • Akawala akawala kaawa akaawa ka wa (Buganda) A girl who gave kaawa bitter coffee;where did she come from?(Solved)

    Akawala akawala kaawa akaawa ka wa (Buganda)
    A girl who gave kaawa bitter coffee;where did she come from?

    a)Identify the genre above.

    b)With illustrations identify any aspect of style used in the above genre.

    c)Give your own example of the genre above.

    d)briefly explain any two functions of the genre.

    Date posted: October 5, 2018.  Answers (1)

  • Read the following excerpt and answer the questions that follow “My sister Vera and I have had differences, but I have no doubt....(Solved)

    Read the following excerpt and answer the questions that follow
    “My sister Vera and I have had differences, but I have no doubt that she would have made an excellent mother - much than I ever was. The children love her. So it is with confidence that I leave every aspect of their care in her capable hands with
    the assistance of whichever family members she chooses for I appreciate that the nature of her calling may not allow her to
    establish her own home. I want her to know that I love my children though my way of expressing it may not have satisfied
    her. I expressed it by making sure that they will never lack in the things I believe in. it is true that money cannot buy
    happiness or I would have been happy; buy it can buy pretty well everything else. OK, it cannot buy life either - for I am
    dying and will die in the slowest most painful way possible, but I am not sorry for the way I have lived; for I found out
    however late, that everything, everything has a price. This is the price of living the way I have lived. So be it; I will pay it”

    Vera wept afresh when the will was read out. What could make anyone so bitter? They had had good loving parents and all
    her brothers and her other sister were happy warm-hearted people with ordinary faults, but not with such bitterness - the
    bitterness of gall - and that in someone so beautiful! She had been only thirty- three and until the last six months of her illness
    she had still been the loveliest person Vera had ever seen.

    Questions
    1. Place this excerpt in its immediate context. (4mks)
    2. What is Becky?s attitude towards the life she lived according to the excerpt? (3mks)
    3. From your knowledge of the text, who are Becky?s children referred to in the excerpt? (2mks)
    4. State and illustrate the character trait of:
    · Becky (2mks)
    · Vera (2mks)
    5. Identify and illustrate two stylistic devices used in the excerpt (4mks)
    6. State and illustrate two thematic concerns brought out in the excerpt (4mks)
    7. From your knowledge of novel, write in note form three things that Becky believed in. (3mks)
    8. Rewrite the following sentence according to the instructions given, (l mk)
    Vera wept afresh when the will was read out (Add a question tag)

    Date posted: October 3, 2018.  Answers (1)

  • "The educated play a major role in salvaging countries affected by poor governors". Support the statement from betrayal in the city(Solved)

    "The educated play a major role in salvaging countries affected by poor governors". Support the statement from betrayal in the city.

    Date posted: October 2, 2018.  Answers (1)

  • Discuss how contemporary social media forms such as Viusasa and YouTube have transformed oral literature in Kenya.(Solved)

    Discuss how contemporary social media forms such as Viusasa and YouTube have transformed oral literature in Kenya.

    Date posted: August 17, 2018.  Answers (1)

  • State main features common to all short forms (Solved)

    State main features common to all short forms

    Date posted: August 13, 2018.  Answers (1)