been told to them in the family setting. Th ey also judged the
performance based on their perception of how well the story-
tellers portrayed the contribution made by their ancestors
to the events in the story. Oral tradition is performance art
in which the storyteller or historian used prose, verse, song,
dance, and accompaniment by instruments such as drums,
harps, or xylophones. While the oral historian’s performance
had to be compelling, it also had to maintain a delicate bal-
ance between the facts and the portrayal of the contributions
by the ancestors of the local audience. Th e audience or the
performer may have changed, but the factual content re-
mained the same.
WRITTEN LITERATURE
Written literature existed in the ancient African world since
the founding of the state of Egypt by King Menes around
2920 b.c.e. In fact, more is known about ancient Egyptian
civilization than any other because of the extensive writings
on papyri preserved in the library at Alexandria built in 283
b.c.e. by Ptolemy II Philadelphus (r. 285–246 b.c.e.). Follow-
ing this invention, most written literature in indigenous writ-
ing systems occurred in the upper Nile kingdom of Kush and
in the Red Sea kingdom of Axum. Other written literature
was brought to the North African Maghreb by Christians us-
ing Greek written in the Greek alphabet and Latin written
in the Roman alphabet to teach and copy the Bible and write
important doctrines for the Christian world.
Written literature in prose along the upper Nile and the
kingdoms of Kush and Meroë included literature that used
adopted Egyptian hieroglyphics. Th is writing system was
adapted from the eighth to the fourth centuries b.c.e., the
Napatan period, using a form of hieroglyphic writing for
texts. Aft er Kush under the rule of Kashta and later Piye con-
quered Egypt, the Nubians ruled as the pharaohs of Egypt’s
Tw e n t y- fi ft h Dynasty. Piye ruled from 750 to 712 b.c.e. “Th e
Stele of Victory,” the Piye stella, is the longest and most de-
tailed text about ancient Egypt. Written in Egyptian hiero-
glyphics, the text is inscribed on a stele of pink granite with
159 lines describing Piye’s military prowess and his delibera-
tions as king. Th e Nubian pharaoh Shabaka, who ruled Egypt
from 712 to 698 b.c.e., inscribed theological issues shared by
the Egyptians and the Nubians on a black stele known as the
“Memphite Th eology.” Th e tomb of Queen Shanakdakhete (r.
170–160 b.c.e.), the fi rst female ruler of Kush’s Meroitic pe-
riod, is inscribed with the oldest known Meroitic hieroglyphs.
Adapted from Egypt hieroglyphics, these hieroglyphs were
changed to meet Nubian needs. While the writing has been
deciphered, the Meroitic language has not, so understanding
this document is diffi cult. In addition there are more than
800 funerary texts that cannot be deciphered. Under King
Ta n iyd a ma n i (fi rst to second century b.c.e.) two stelae of fu-
nerary texts provide the fi rst long Meroitic texts. In the sixth
century c.e. the Nubian kingdoms converted to Christianity,
and written records of their Christian religion include frag-
ments of scripture, liturgical texts, and lives of saints.
Written literature in prose from Axum includes Ge’ez
inscriptions from the feudal empire as early as the fi ft h cen-
tury b.c.e., though some of these inscriptions are also in verse
similar to folk poetry. While many of these inscriptions were
religious, some provided detailed accounts of battles fought
and won, like those fought by King Ezana in defeating the
failing kingdom of Kush at Meroë. A body of literature does
not begin until King Ezana accepted Christianity and made it
the state religion in the fourth century c.e. Biblical scripture
and religious texts were translated into Ge’ez from the Greek
language and alphabet, preserving texts that date to before
the schism in the Christian Church that created Western Ro-
man Christianity and Eastern Roman Christianity. Th ese
translations preserved entire books of biblical text, such as
the book of Enoch, the book of Jubilees, and the Ascension of
Isaiah. Monasteries were the repositories for the Ge’ez manu-
scripts and also acted as schools that educated those who be-
came Axumite writers. Secular literature existed in the form
of history and the recording of the founding myths of the
kingdom.
Written literature in poetry was important in the re-
ligious world of Axum. Hymns provide the bulk of Ge’ez
poetic literature, and a large book of Ge’ez hymns, Diggua,
is a collection of songs that rhyme. Th e compilation of this
book is credited to the sixth-century priest from Axum who
later became Saint Yared. As a part of the liturgy, ceremonial
singers participated by singing these religious hymns. Ge’ez
hymn poetry includes qine hymns that were a form of praise
poetry. Diff erent from the ceremonial singers, the composer
of the qine hymn observed rules concerning length and num-
ber of rhyming lines and the rhythm of the grammar. Th e
composer also chose eff ective fi gures of speech to create a
powerful statement. Th e qine hymns eulogized political and
religious leaders or admonished them for their mistakes. Th e
qine hymn was verse that could be used only once at a par-
ticular church for one particular event.
Written literature in prose in the North African Mahgreb
concerned Christian religious texts. In the area previously
known as Carthage, Latin written in the Roman alphabet was
established as the language of the Western Roman Christian
Church. In the second century c.e. Quintus Septimus Florens
Tertulianus (born ca. 155–160) played an important role in
the development of early Christianity. He composed works
defending Christianity against corrupting beliefs, includ-
ing “Against Valentinus,” “Against Marcion,” and “Against
Hermogenes.” Aurelius Augustinus of Hippo (354–430 c.e.)
became Saint Augustine, the Western Christian bishop of
Hippo (Algeria). Saint Augustine was an important contribu-
tor to the institutionalization of the Western Roman Chris-
tian Church. He was instrumental in clearly articulating the
relationship between the concepts of predestination and free
will and grace and good works. Aft er his conversion to Chris-
tianity he wrote a spiritual biography, the Confessions (397
c.e.), which is a prose poem. His work Th e City of God (410 –
426 c.e.) is an epic that vindicates Christianity against those642 literature: Africa