Valorization of Cultural Identity in Postcolonial Literature
You know how a big justification for colonialism was, basically, that the cultures of colonized peoples were inferior to those of Europeans? Well, postcolonial writers challenge this idea, and they do this by valorizing their own indigenous cultures. "You've got religion?" they say to the colonizer. "So do we. You've got culture? So do we. We've got our own literature and our own art, from sculpture to painting to body painting, dudes."
In postcolonial literature, you'll also see this valorization of cultural identity reflected in the narrative style of a literary work. For example, a lot of African postcolonial literature resembles spoken language. That's because, prior to colonialism, much of African literature was oral literature. People told stories. They sang poetry to each other. So, one way that African writers valorize their indigenous heritage is by turning back to these oral narrative forms that predated colonialism for inspiration.
Chew on This
Check out how Chinua Achebe emphasizes and valorizes indigenous culture in these quotations from Things Fall Apart.
See the clash between indigenous Yoruba and colonial beliefs unfold in Wole Soyinka's play Death and the King's Horseman.