Ku Nseke and Ku Mpèmba: The Dikènga Theory as Evinced Through Content and Function of Akan Ananse Stories and Yorùbá Ìjàpá Tales

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to highlight parallels between Akan Ananse stories and Yorùbá Ìjàpá tales. In this article, connections are made with regard to function and content of Akan and Yorùbá stories using Dikenga, the cosmogram of the Bakôngo, as a tool for oral literary analysis revealing intertextual parallels (O_ Kambon, 2017). We highlight six (6) sets of stories common to both Akan and Yorùbá people differentiated primarily by the main character being the spider or the tortoise. Further, we show how the stages of transformation of any story can be gainfully analysed using the proposed Dikenga theory of literary analysis.