TYPES OF SONGS STUDIED IN ORAL LITERATURE.

• CRADLE SONGS.

         Basically performed to mark child birth. In many African societies, childbirth called for celebration because it was a sign of continuity of generation.

• LULLABIES.

        Songs sung by immediate caretakers for the baby, using smooth or pleasant sounding words, to send it to sleep.

• INITIATION SONGS.

        Traditional songs that were and are still sung and performed during initiation ceremonies to transform one from childhood to adulthood.

• PRAISE/HEROIC SONGS.

       Songs sung to give praises to people who have been victorious in the society. They might have done something which was hard to come by and was good to the society as a whole.

• RIDICULE SONGS.

            They are the opposite of praise songs. They are songs sung to make fun of somebody because of his wrong doing to make him appear silly or foolish.

• ENTERTAINMENT SONGS.

         Songs sung for enjoyment during leisure time, rural gatherings or beer parties.

• WORK SONGS.

         They were sung mostly in traditional African societies to accompany various chores in the society. They were sung to make work easier and ridicule lazy people

• POLITICAL/PROPAGANDA SONGS.

        These were sung to create political awareness or for political mobilization, for social protest against social inequality based on racial discrimination and also for political uniformity/indoctrination.

• MEDICINAL SONGS.

         Songs sung by medicine men in the course of performing magic related chores to his/her client to seek magic solutions to the problems of the client.

• EXORCISM SONGS.

        They were sung to derive demons away from a home or a community at large which were believed to bring curses to the community.

• MARRIAGE SONGS.

        They can be divided into courting and wedding songs. Courting songs were sung during the process of trying to win affection of a loved one whereas wedding songs were sung during the actual day of the wedding.

• LOVE SONGS.

      Songs sung in words of extreme beauty and romance to express happy feelings to the loved one. They may also be sung during the loss of a loved one.

• DIRGES/FUNERAL SONGS.

         These are songs performed during funeral ceremonies and memorial rites.

• SACRED SONG.

         Songs sung to praise God or gods for the fortunes brought to the society or to ask for blessings.