Basotho family odes (diboko) and oral tradition

Abstract

Basotho family odes (diboko) form part of oral literature, and refer to names of families, clans or totems. They constitute poetic compositions conveying information about clans' historical origin, philosophy and ancestors.

The performance of this oral art form makes use of formulaic techniques such as linking, parallelism, alliteration, etc., which are commonly used in praise poetry.

As basis to the content of these oral art forms, the genealogies of the various Basotho clans are discussed to show the reflection of the progenitor names in the clan praises.

The functions of family odes are of educational, social and religious nature. Other functions include their use in compositions of other genres, such as, praise poems, mine workers' chants, traditional doctors' falls (mawa) and songs.

The recitation of this oral art form is characterised by the instability of the texts, which takes the form of extensions, additions, truncations, improvisations and genre transitions.