An Application of Axel Olrik’s Epic Laws in Imbiza Eyayingavulwa

An Application of Axel Olrik’s Epic Laws in Imbiza Eyayingavulwa

Sizwe Zwelakhe Dlamini & Onelisa Nomfundo Mbathu

Issue: Vol.6 No.15 Article 8 pp. 4327 – 4338
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20256158| Published online 30th December, 2025
© 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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ABSTRACT

The aim of this article is to apply Axel Olrik’s epic laws in Imbiza eyayingavulwa, one of the traditional isiZulu folktales. Even though these laws have been widely applied to non-African folktales, there seem to be fewer studies that have evaluated the relevance of this approach to folktales of the South African indigenous languages. This study sought to determine if Olrk’s epic laws are applicable or not by focusing on isiZulu as one of the South African indigenous languages. The folktale analysed was derived from a published isiZulu volume of folktales titled ‘Phinda Ungixoxele’. The study adopted the qualitative method as a research technique and textual analysis as a data collection technique. Olrik’s epic laws for folk narrative were considered the main theoretical base for the analysis of the textually analysed data. The findings revealed that these laws can be successfully applied to the folktale Imbiza eyayingivulwa. However, as argued by some scholars of the South African indigenous languages, it was discovered that these laws do not occur in the expected sequence and that not all of them may comprehensively appear in a single folktale of the isiZulu language. The law of the importance of final position and the law of twins, for instance, in the analysed folktale, are two examples of laws that do not appear in the analysed folktale. The study is significant as it contextualises Olrik’s epic laws from a South African languages perspective.

Keywords: Folklore, folktale, Olrik’s epic laws, Imbiza eyayingavulwa

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ABOUT AUTHOR(S)

Sizwe Zwelakhe Dlamini is currently a Senior Lecturer in the Department of African Languages, under the Faculty of Humanities, at the University of Johannesburg. He holds a Bachelor of Education degree in Senior and FET Phase, a BA Honour’s degree in African languages (both obtained with distinctions), a Master’s degree and a PhD (both in African Languages). Sizwe received the National Research Fund (NRF) (for Honours in 2018), the Global Excellence Scholarship (for Masters in 2019), and the NIHSS-SAHUDA Doctoral Scholarship (from 2021-2023). He has published several research articles in local and international journals, with some of these articles having been presented in local and international conferences in countries like Switzerland and Indonesia. Sizwe’s research interests include African literature, creative media, visual language, and stylistics.

Onelisa Nomfundo Mbathu is a Lecturer in the Department of African Languages and Culture at the University of Zululand. She obtained her Bachelor of Humanities in 2015 from the University of Johannesburg. Onelisa enrolled for a Bachelor of Honours in African Languages in 2016, and for a Master’s degree (2018) in African Languages with the University of Johannesburg. She graduated in 2016 and 2019 respectively. In 2021, she enrolled for a Doctor of Philosophy in African Languages at the University of Johannesburg, which she completed in 2023. Onelisa also holds a Post-graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) which she completed with the University of South Africa (UNISA) in 2022 and obtained with distinction. She is a member of the Golden Key International Honour Society (UJ). She is former beneficiary of ZADNA and Duke scholarship. Her research interests are in African literature, onomastics, morphology, phonology, semantics, and sociolinguistics. She has presented some of her research at local and international conferences.

TO CITE ARTICLE

Dlamini, Sizwe Zwelakhe, and Onelisa Nomfundo Mbathu. “An Application of Axel Olrik’s Epic Laws in Imbiza Eyayingavulwa,” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 6, no. 15 (2025): 4327 – 4338, https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20256158.