Digitalising Narration of Sesotho Folktale: Analysing the Impact of Power Dynamics as Depicted in the Folktale “Phakwe le Mokoko”

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25159/2663-6697/17710

Keywords:

African societies, digitalising, folktale, “Phakwe le Mokoko”, power dynamics

Abstract

Folktales are literary texts utilised by diverse African tribes aimed at inculcating educational values, attitudes, and knowledge. African societies are immersed in the practice of narrating folktales from one generation to the next, with an educational objective explicated from folktales. A variety of factors such as socio-economic, technological, and political factors contribute to the complexities of life in societies. Despite these complexities, research outputs are minimal in respect to generating insights on the nuances of the African context that can shed light on traditional measures and knowledge of socially orientating people into conventional methods of power dynamics. As a result, the article aims to demonstrate the effects of digitalising the narration of folktales to distil the central themes of power dynamics between protagonist and antagonist characters. The article enlists critical pedagogy as a conceptual framework and on the auspices of the qualitative approach, questionnaires are used to collate responses and comments in respect to the aftermath of Sesotho folktales. The thematic analysis technique was employed to describe and interpret spoken and written texts. Moreover, emancipatory research underpins the research paradigm to synthesise the meanings of these effects. The findings infer that digital technology harnesses narrative structure, invokes the audience’s attention and engagement, retains cultural conceptualisation, and leverages heritage.

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Published

2025-05-13

How to Cite

Masowa, Aaron Mpho, and Tshepang Moloi. 2025. “Digitalising Narration of Sesotho Folktale: Analysing the Impact of Power Dynamics As Depicted in the Folktale ‘Phakwe Le Mokoko’”. Southern African Journal for Folklore Studies 34 (1):10 pages . https://doi.org/10.25159/2663-6697/17710.

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Articles