D. O. Fagunwa and the Dynamics of Ethnographic Realia: Contemporary Translatory Cultural Communication Exemplified

Abstract

Realia, words and expressions for culture-specific elements, often perceived in material object or abstract concept terms, have been important subjects of scholarly attention in global term. Extant studies have largely concentrated on various contents of translation studies with sparse consideration for Culture- bound items (CBI) or Culture-Specific Terms (CST) indexing the flow of traditional experiences into the contemporary world of cultural perceptions. This study, therefore, explored D. O. Fagunwa’s Yoruba ethnographic realia in Ogboju Ode ninu Igbo Irunmole with a view to examining the stimulative force of the contemporary translatory cultural communication displayed in The Forest of a Thousand Daemons: A Hunter’s  Saga.  Nida’s Dynamic  Equivalence  theory  was  complemented  with  Venuti’s  Foreignizing Approach in analysing the text-based data sourced from both the Source Language (SL) and the Target Language (TL). The data were subjected to textual analysis and thematic coding of Qualitative Content Analysis  (QCA).  Translation  processes  and  strategies  reflected  the  skilfulness of  a  master-cultural castrator, carving new but not far-fetched Yoruba traditional concepts into the flesh of an enslaving medium (English), to achieve a cultural onslaught of a universal reach. Culture-bound items include such words  as  Ifa,  Oso,  Esu,  Olodumare,  ghommids,  kobolds,  sand-elves,  sixteen-eyed  dewild,  Agbako, Iranlowo, Helpmeet, Iwapele, and others to establish the onomastic relevance of linguistic signaling of cultural sensitivity in representing Yoruba beliefs and practices. Such expressions as Onibode orun, (Gatekeepers of heaven, ogbun ainisale, (Bottomless Bog), ekun oloju kan, (one-eyed leopard), Olojo oni, (Owner of this day), Alewilese, (the One Who makes good His words), Alakoso ohun rere gbogbo (the Sower  of  all  good  things),  and  others,  exemplifying  Soyinka’s  shrewd  and  strategic  translatory manoeuvrings of borrowing, literal translation, adaptation, modulation, and equivalence respectively. These  were  essentially  reflective  of  the  translator’s  authentic  representation  of  Yoruba  culture, preserving  the  dynamics of  the  Yoruba  ethnographic  realia,  and  avoiding  stereotypes  and  cultural appropriation. Translation of The Forest of a Thousand Daemons: A Hunter’s Saga is a mastery and a creative rendition that preserves the cultural essence and poetic beauty of the original Yoruba text. Soyinka's skilful handling of Yoruba ethnographic realia, cultural sensitivity, and poetic language setting a high standard for cross-cultural literary exchange, demonstrating the importance of cultural sensitivity, authenticity, and poetic nuance in translating cultural heritage texts, and affirming D. O. Fagunwa’s Ògbójú ?d? nínú Igbo Irunmole as a masterpiece of Yoruba literature and philosophy.