Symbols and Meaning in Tiv Oral Poetry: Amee Yongo in Performance

Oral poetry k part of the great heritages of imaginative verbal creative songs of pre-literate societies, which have evolved and passed on from generation to generation. The oral poetry form is used for either the symbolic or realistic representation of human behaviour, thought and beliefs as experienced and shaped by the society and culture that produces it. The oral poetry form therefore constitutes authentic expression of the creative intelligence and world view of the traditional African societies as it provides an invaluable insight into the cultural life, beliefs, customs, values and aspirations of a people. It also represents the strengths and weaknesses, successes and failures and the general perceptions of life and living as viewed by a community. The intention of this paper is to look at the Tiv oral poetry with particular attention on symbols and their meanings as employed by the Tivoral poet in performance. Therefore, two songs, taken from a tape-recorded live performance ofa Tiv oral poet, Mr. Amee Yongo, are transcribed, translated and analysed for this study.