AFRICAN INDIGENOUS MASS MEDIA: CONTINUITY AND CHANGE

Abstract

Communication is as essential to human beings as air and water. Human beings
cannot but communicate. Even when one decides not to communicate the person
is implicitly communicating for such is itself a kind of communication. Beside
communication at intrapersonal level, human beings are capable of interpersonal,
group and mass communication. Each species of communication has certain
means of disseminating it. For intrapersonal, interpersonal and group
communication the means can be through body language of all kinds. Likewise,
mass communication can take the form of traditional and modern/digital means of
communication. Nonetheless, the focus of this research is on African indigenous
mass media. It investigates the various media systems used in the traditional
African society. It does this study against the backdrop of the digital system in
vogue now. So this research attempts to unravel the fate of the African
indigenous mass media in the face of technological changes in the world today. It
raises questions concerning the possible effects of this African indigenous mass
media today vis-à-vis the contemporary urge to abandon the past. The work, thus,
argues that though digitalized mass media system is a welcome development, yet,
African indigenous mass media still hold sway. Beside informative and archival
roles, they also perform entertainment, religio-cultural, socio-political and
philosophical functions.