Mwingiliano Matini Wa Maumbo Ya Fasihi Simulizi Ya Kiafrika Na Matini Teule Za Biblia

ABSTRACT

The Holy Bible has its major pillars in the traditions of the Jews, thus, it is a collection of books that have genres of oral literature. Though a lot of research has been done on the genres of oral literature, very little has been done on the intertextuality of the genres of oral literature in the Bible. This study intended to evaluate the genres of oral literature in selected books of the Bible so as to fill this gap. The research aimed at analyzing the interxtuality nature of oral literature and the Bible. The objectives of this research were to: analyse the genres of oral literature found in the Bible; establish the intertextuality nature of oral literature genres in selected texts of the Bible; evaluate the contribution of the Bible in the growth of oral literature. The scopes of the research were the forms of oral literature in the New International Bible version. This research was guided by the theory of intertextuality which was coined by Julia Kristeva in 1969. The three tenets of this theory are; literary works intermingle and relate with each other; all literary work is re-written; any text is the absorption and transformation of another. The research design was descriptive. The study areas were the sixty six books of the Bible. To get the right sample, purposive sampling was done. Data collection was done in the library by reading and identifying the genres of oral literature in line with the objectives using the observation schedule. Textual analysis was done. Data was presentated descriptively. The results were interpreted according to the problem statement of research, tenets of the theory and objectives of the research. The results of this research were as follows; First, the four major genres of oral literature were identified; second, the intertextuality of oral literature genres in selected texts of the Bible were established; Third, the Bible contributes greatly to oral literature there by expanding its field. The study concluded that there is intertextuality between oral literature and the Bible. The intertextuality was established in the way the genres of oral literature were identified in the Bible. This research suggests that the Bible be used as a reference book for genres of oral literature. It is hoped to expand the field of oral literature and show the intertextuality nature of oral literature and other disciplines and so challenge literature scholars, analysts and researchers to read the Bible as a literature book, especially when analyzing the genres of oral literature.