Emmanuel Iniobong Archibong (Ph.D.)
Abstract
African literature is replete with stories about the tortoise as a major character. The tortoise as an allegory symbolizes several moral and epistemic universals such as’ truth’, ‘wisdom’, ‘knowledge’, ‘ego’ and so on. Stories about the tortoise are always captivating and enchanting to children in their naïve years. The continual representation of the tortoise in a particular cast leaves an indelible impression in the formative minds of children, especially with regard to such virtues as’ knowledge’, ‘wisdom’, and ‘truth’. Such vices as “self-centeredness” and “being cunning” are another worrisome narrative associated with the character of the tortoise. One implication in all of these is that children begin to come to terms with certain virtues or vices that the tortoise depicts in its behaviour. This goes a long way to affecting either positively or negatively, children’s experiences of the self and others in the environment. This study attempted a phenomenological exposition of how stories found in folklore about animal characters, like the tortoise can implicitly or explicitly help to create a sense of virtue or vice in the formative minds of children towards the other as well as the environment. The major finding of the study is that the phenomenology of the human experience of the self and others is being shaped by cultural affinity to a society. Hence, this can be better harnessed in the right direction for the educational pedagogy of young children in their understanding, appreciation and application of core universal concepts as well as the preservation of the ecosystem.
Keywords: tortoise, phenomenology, experience, virtue, vice, allegory, folklore, education.
