ORAL TRADITION AND STORYTELLING AS FORMS OF CULTURAL INHERITANCE IN ENEWARIDIDEKE EKANPOU'S 'THE TURBANED VILLAGE BOY'

By Ebikabowei Kedikumo


Oral tradition and storytelling are central cultural inheritances in Enewaridideke Ekanpou’s poem, “The Turbaned Village Boy”. The poem presents storytelling not merely as entertainment, but as a sacred inheritance passed from mother to son, from the living to the dead, and from one generation to another. Through the voice of the poet, the reader enters a world where memory, ancestry, grief, achievement and communal identity are woven together like a traditional mat. The poem shows that stories are not lifeless words; they are living spirits that travel through families, villages, kingdoms and generations.

At the heart of the poem is the poet’s mother, Timiebi Maika, who represents the ancestral source of oral tradition. She is not presented simply as a biological mother, but as a cultural fountain from which the poet drank the water of stories. When the poet says, “that your son you spoon-fed with folktales has been turbaned by UNN,” he reveals that his education did not begin in the classroom. It began at home, beside his mother, where folktales were given to him like food. The image of being “spoon-fed with folktales” is deeply significant. It suggests that storytelling nourished him as milk nourishes a child. His mother’s stories formed his imagination, sharpened his memory and prepared him for the intellectual journey that later crowned him as an academic doctor.

Furthermore, the poem suggests that oral tradition is a bridge between the past and the present. Although Timiebi Maika has died, her voice has not disappeared. Her stories continue to breathe through her son. In the poem, death is not an end but a journey from one home to another. The poet repeatedly describes death as a “homeward journey”, thereby softening the terror of death and giving it cultural meaning. This reflects the African belief that the dead remain connected to the living. They may be physically absent, but their words, values and stories continue to walk among their descendants. In this sense, oral tradition becomes a lamp lit by the ancestors to guide those still travelling through life.

In addition, storytelling in the poem is presented as a spiritual possession. The poet calls on his mother to “shower” her storytelling spirit on Izonebi Alfred and to allow him to tell her stories and his own stories. This prayerful appeal shows that storytelling is not treated as an ordinary skill. It is seen as a gift, a spirit, and a form of ancestral power. The reference to Elijah’s garment descending upon Elisha strengthens this idea. Just as Elisha inherited prophetic power from Elijah, the storyteller inherits narrative power from the mother and the ancestors. Therefore, storytelling becomes a sacred mantle placed upon the chosen bearer of memory.

Moreover, Ekanpou’s poem shows that oral tradition is closely tied to communal identity. The poet calls the names of respected individuals, chiefs, doctors, professors, kingdoms and communities, urging them to celebrate “this turbaned village boy”. This repeated call resembles the style of oral performance, where names are chanted, praised and invoked before an audience. The repetition gives the poem the rhythm of a town crier’s voice moving through the village square. It also reflects the communal nature of African storytelling. A story does not belong to one person alone; it belongs to the family, the clan, the kingdom and the people. By calling these names, the poet gathers his community around his achievement, as though inviting them to witness a cultural ceremony.

Besides, the title “The Turbaned Village Boy” itself carries symbolic meaning. The word “turbaned” suggests honour, coronation and public recognition, while “village boy” suggests humble origins and deep roots in local culture. The poet presents himself as one who has travelled from the village to the university without abandoning his cultural soil. His academic achievement at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, does not erase his village identity. Rather, it crowns it. He is a doctor, but he remains a village boy. He has crossed the difficult road of scholarship, yet the dust of his homeland still clings proudly to his feet. In this way, the poem rejects the false idea that modern education must separate a person from oral tradition.

Also, the poem connects personal history with cultural memory through the months of July and August. These months become more than points on a calendar; they become living companions in the poet’s journey. July is associated with his mother’s announcement of her coming death, while August is linked to her passing and his later academic recognition. The poet gives these months human qualities, saying that they chose to dwell in the best part of his life. This use of personification gives the poem an oral quality, because in traditional storytelling, time, rivers, animals, spirits and seasons often behave like living beings. Through this style, Ekanpou turns memory into myth and personal experience into communal song.

The poem also shows that oral tradition preserves pain as well as joy. The poet remembers his mother’s final embrace in a dream and his tears when he awoke. He compares his weeping to that of Jesus Christ, thereby giving his sorrow a sacred depth. He also recalls the difficult period when money was “on a rebellion strike” against him. This figurative expression turns poverty into a stubborn rebel refusing to obey him. Yet, even this painful memory becomes part of the story he must tell. Oral tradition does not preserve only victories; it also preserves wounds, fears, prayers and struggles. Like a river carrying both clear water and broken leaves, storytelling carries the full weight of human experience.

In the same vein, the poem presents the mother as both memory and muse. Timiebi Maika is the one who gave the poet stories, and she is also the one he asks to release more stories through others. She becomes a spiritual archive, a living library in the world beyond. The poet’s repeated appeals to her show that cultural inheritance depends on remembrance. If the living forget the dead, stories die like unwatered plants. However, if the living continue to call their names and retell their stories, the dead remain present in the moral and cultural life of the community. Thus, the poem becomes an act of remembrance and resurrection.

Additionally, the oral character of the poem is seen in its repetition, direct address and ceremonial tone. The repeated phrase, “you are not... if you don’t celebrate this turbaned village boy,” sounds like a chant. It gives the poem the force of performance rather than silent reading. One can almost hear drums behind the words and see people gathered in celebration. This technique links the poem to African oral poetry, where repetition is used to create rhythm, emphasis and communal participation. The poet does not merely write; he performs. His words move like dancers in a festival arena.

More importantly, the poem suggests that storytelling is a form of immortality. Timiebi Maika may have left “her home to another home”, but through stories she continues to live. Her son’s academic success becomes an extension of her legacy. The folktales she told him have grown into scholarship, literature and public honour. In this sense, oral tradition is like a seed planted in childhood, which later becomes a tree of wisdom. The mother may not be physically present to witness the son’s “turbaning”, but her stories stand beside him like invisible witnesses.

Finally, Ekanpou’s “The Turbaned Village Boy” celebrates oral tradition and storytelling as precious cultural inheritance. The poem shows that stories connect the child to the mother, the living to the dead, the village to the university, and the individual to the community. It teaches that a person’s greatness is not complete without memory of the hands that shaped him. Through the figure of Timiebi Maika, the poet honours the mother as a keeper of stories and a giver of cultural life. Through his own voice, he becomes the heir who must carry those stories forward. Therefore, the poem is not only about academic success; it is also about ancestral blessing, cultural continuity and the power of the spoken word. Like a drumbeat travelling across the creeks, the poem reminds us that stories are the breath of a people, and as long as they are told, the culture will not die.

Kedikumo writes from Ayakoromo, Delta State.