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2025 - Volume 8 - Number 1

Dimensions of Justice in the African Epic: The Normative Imperative

Galadima Moses Pyefa * ORCID: 0009-0003-1414-6926
Plateau State University, Department of English, Bokkos, NIGERIA

Lomka Iliya Kopdiya
Plateau State University, Department of English, Bokkos, NIGERIA

Open Journal for Studies in Arts, 2025, 8(1), 11-24 * https://doi.org/10.32591/coas.ojsa.0801.02011g
Received: 2 December 2024 ▪ Revised: 30 June 2025 ▪ Accepted: 5 November 2025

LICENCE: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

ARTICLE (Full Text - PDF)

ABSTRACT:
The focus of the African epic points to the domains of power and influence. This makes the concept of justice an imperative consideration because power and influence require legitimization and restraint for the good of any society. Unfortunately, scholarly scrutiny into the dynamics of justice in the African epic and heroic tales is minimal. This study, foregrounded on the normative theory, examines the concept of justice as it intertwines with other aspects of traditional African life. Through textual analysis the study examines the place of justice in the interactions between the personalities of epic heroes and their contemporaries. It also studies how the epics highlight justice in the attainment of social cohesion and foster the health of their societies. The African epic tales artistically articulates the principles related to justice.

KEY WORDS: dimension, justice, normative, epic.

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR:
Galadima Moses Pyefa, Plateau State University, Department of English, Bokkos, NIGERIA.

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