This unit is an introductory course whose main aim is to broaden your understanding and perspective of oral literature through studying the oral literature of your community and that of other East African communities. I am aware that, by now, most of you are exposed to some oral literature both through formal education and also through contact with the material as is practiced and performed within your own communities. However, I am also aware that due to various influences, students are not able to fully appreciate the multidimensionality of the oral literature discipline and more so its significance in literary studies. This course is thus designed so that your understanding of the subject becomes broadened and that you are able to appreciate: (a), the place of oral literature within the wider literary studies and African literature in particular. Oral literature needs to be recognised as a unique form of literary expression, exhibiting imaginative and creative dimensions that enrich the study of African literature; (b) the place of oral literature within the rich heritage of the African Oral traditions; (c) the place of oral literature in the rediscovery of African cultural heritage eclipsed by unfavorable historical circumstances and (d) the place of oral literature within the Contemporary written African literary tradition