SECONDARY ORALITY IN THE DIGITAL ADAPTATION OF IGBO FOLKTALES

Abstract

The rapid expansion of digital communication technologies has created new opportunities for the preservation and transmission of indigenous oral traditions. Although traditional storytelling practices have declined in many African communities due to social and technological transformations, digital platforms have emerged as alternative spaces through which oral narratives are performed, preserved, and disseminated. This study examines the manifestation of secondary orality in the digital adaptation of selected Igbo folktales. Anchored in Walter J. Ong's theory of secondary orality, the study investigates how the defining features of traditional oral performance are reconstructed within contemporary digital storytelling environments. The study adopts a qualitative research design and draws data from three digitally narrated Igbo folktales: Ihe Mere Ọkụkọ Ji Abọ Ala, Ihe Mere Nwologbo Ji Egbu Oke, and Ihe Mere Mbe Ji Nwee Okpokoro Mpekele Mpekele. Data were collected through observation, translation, and textual-performance analysis. Particular attention was given to narrative structure, formulaic expressions, repetition, song performance, linguistic creativity, symbolic representation, and other features associated with traditional oral performance. The findings reveal that the selected folktales retain significant elements of Igbo oral tradition despite their adaptation to digital media environments. The narratives preserve conventional storytelling formulas, direct speech, repetition, musical performance, indigenous symbolic systems, and culturally embedded communicative practices that have historically characterized Igbo oral storytelling. The study further demonstrates that digital storytelling platforms function as contemporary sites of oral performance, where traditional narrative techniques are reconstituted through technologically mediated communication. The study concludes that the digital adaptation of Igbo folktales represents not merely.