Yorùbá Worldview on Family Institution Encapsulated in D.O. Fágúnwà’s Novels

Abstract

A distinctive characteristic of D.O Fágúnwà’s novels is the manner in which they invoke the framework of ideas and beliefs through which the Yorùbá interpret the world. Previous works on D.O. Fágúnwà’s novels dealt with themes, styles, characterization and the use of symbols and language with little reference to the Yorùba worldview about man, nature and the society. The paper, therefore, examined Yorùbá worldview on the family institution as encapsulated in D.O Fágúnwà’s novels in order to expose the influence of Yorùbá philosophy on his work, which has not been much discussed in literature. The paper adopted textual analyses of data. The five novels of Fágúnwà, namely: Ògbójú ?d? nínú Igbó ìrúnm?l??, Igbó Olódùmarè, Ìrèké Oníbùdó, Ìrìnkèrindò nínú Igbó Elégbèje and Àdììtú Olódùmarè, constitute the primary sources of data, while library and archival materials were used as secondary data to complement the texts. Explorations were made into a wide scope of general philosophy as a guide to unveiling the relationship between the philosophical impressions in the novels and the conventional philosophical concepts. The paper established the interrelationship between literature and philosophy. It revealed the Yorùbá worldview as regards the family institution portrayed in Fágúnwa’s presentations of family settings, kinship, and co-wife rivalry.

KEYWORDS: Yorùbá worldview, Yorùbá family, philosophy and literature, worldview idealism, D.O Fágúnwà’s novels