“Verbal Arts, Folklore and Literary Imagination in non-Western Pre-colonial Societies: the Evolution and Development of the Novel in African Languages.” The research investigates the trends in the evolution and development of literature written in African indigenous languages from its antecedents (oral performances---folklore, epics, legends, myths etc.), to the emergence of the novel. The focus is on the historic emergence of OMENUKO, the first ‘African Language Novel’ (ALN) in Nigeria and possibly, West Africa, written in Igbo language and published in London, in 1933. The final outcome of the project is the production of a publication, A Literary History of the Novel in African Languages, 1900—Present. How did the novel in African languages evolve? How was it different from novels elsewhere? What were the trends of its development? What factors helped or impeded its development? Did it possess any linguistic or stylistic features? What made it African?