Technological speculations for african oral storytelling: implication of creating expressive embodied conversational agents

Works of African orature, owing to their performative and participatory nature, are challenging to reproduce in written text, or as linear media in audio or video formats (animation or live action). This has created a research gap in virtual heritage research where emphasis has been placed on digitalization of tangible culture. In my dissertation, I examine the implication of bodily, expressive non-verbal characteristics of performance in traditional African oral storytelling to position their mediation in digital media formats using Embodied Conversational Agents (ECAs). Using the iconic Song of Lawino [2] as a research example for reenactment using ECAs, I illustrate that applying these performance elements and techniques can result in a new digitally embodied oral narrative that mimics the unique relationship in traditional African orature between a storyteller, the space in which the story is told and the audience.