IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science (IOSR-JHSS) Volume 23, Issue 8, Ver. 9 (August. 2018) PP 25-33 e-ISSN: 2279-0837, p-ISSN: 2279-0845. www.iosrjournals.org DOI: 10.9790/0837-2308092533 www.iosrjournals.org 25 | Page An Examination of the Potency of Mwaghavul Folktales in Conflict Resolution Peace S. Longdet 1 Department of English, Faculty of Arts, University of Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria. Abstract:It has been observed that although the African continent is steeped in various forms of conflict, there is inadequate scholarly interest on conflict resolution; peace building and development in Africa particularly with regards to Literature and Oral Literature. This paper is based on the hypothesis that Mwaghavul indigenous peace promoting and sustaining methods are still a thriving arsenal which has gone into oblivion due to urbanization. Therefore, the paper utilises perspectives from Mwaghavul folktales to explore conflicts in society and how they can be resolved through indigenous methods. The paper emerges from the conviction that imbedded in our folktales are values that can be explored to navigate peace among conflict-torn regions in modern Nigeria. The data for the study is based on a sample of folktales, existing literature on folktales and insider participant observations. It establishes that folktales are concerned, among other things, with conflict and its resolution, maintaining positive relationships, tolerance and inculcating peaceful co-existence. The paper, therefore, concludes that modern peace building activities should blend with indigenous peace promoting and sustaining frameworks. The role of folktales as a violence deterring mechanism among the Mwaghavul communities, though at a micro level, seems to be an asset; yet current peace building activities in modern Nigeria tend to work independently and outside the traditional parameters. Keywords: Folktales, Mwaghavul, Peace building, and Conflict Resolution --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date of Submission: 14-08-2018 Date of acceptance: 31-08-2018 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. INTRODUCTION Despite the many years of conflict bedeviling the world in general and the African society in particular, academic coverage of issues related to conflict resolution, peace building and development in Africa rarely pay attention to Literature, let alone Oral Literature.There is a growing urgency to stem the incessant conflicts that many African countries are brewing in, hence, the efforts of political scientists, legal experts and civil society activists, to theorize steps to building peace in post-conflict societies. This paper avers that Mwaghavul folktales are essential tools that can be explored to comprehend the various conflicts in Nigerian society and how they can be resolved. The paper argues that embedded in our indigenous literature are treasures capable of creating a peaceful society with guiding values and principles. Creative writers have long been associated with the vision and quest for social transformation. One of Africa‟s foremost creative writers, suggests that African creative writers have the responsibility to inform their societies of the wrong choices they have made 1 . They also have the task of prescribing solutions to social ills. Of course, this suggestion emanates from Achebe‟s foreground knowledge on the roles of folktales in African communities. The marginalisation of Oral Literature has prevented scholars and other members of society from appreciating its potential as a resource for peace- building. The marginalisation of Oral Literature scholars observe is sequel to the influence of the technology- driven 20 th and 21 st centuries. Violence in Nigeria in its various forms has evolved over the decades. From use of traditional weapons, charms and amulets, Olawale Rotimi 2 observes that violence in Nigeria has taken sophisticated dimensions. Political, electoral, religious, ethnic/tribal, cultism and other forms of violence are dominant in the Nigerian society, in varying degrees. No region in Nigeria is the exclusive preserve of violence as each region has its peculiar form of it. In northern Nigeria, religious violence and extremist attacks are peculiar, in the South- South, militancy is popular and like extremist attacks in northern Nigeria, it has received global attention. In the South-East, cultism ferocity and robbery attacks are common forms of violence, while in the South West, political violence and thuggery are intrinsic. However, other forms of such as gender-based violence (rape, abuse, intimidation), tribal clashes, among others, still exist across the regions of Nigeria. Incessant violence has threatened Nigeria‟s peace, stability and unity as a nation. With the coming of democracy, the negative impact of violence on social relationships seems also to have continued unabated. Reports by Nigeria Watch indicate that in 2016 alone, the main causes of violence in