Sources and methods in african history ut liberal arts. The tradition of african storytelling is one of the oldest in african culture, across the continent vambe. Abstract an archaeological reconstruction of the history and aspects of the culture of the. The grains represent the truths that remain after the winnowing. This exercise explores the continuum of the oral tradition, asking students ultimately to consider how blues music is a legacy of african tradition.
Oral history and oral tradition are dramatic and enjoyable than written records because they are in sense of folk tellers. African oral and written traditions african studies. Africa is a continent known for its rich oral traditions. So, for example, early issues of oral history carried articles. It has therefore, the debunked statement credited in by europeans writers that african has no history. Existing independently of writing for centuries yet interwoven with such technologies to the present day is a wide variety of oral traditions passed down from generation to generation through live performance, and widely. Although african historiography has been in existence for only a short time, it is already rich and diverse. Substantial works on east african history have also depended on the collection and use of oral traditions following the pioneering works of b. An introduction to african history university of nairobi.
It is axiomatic that historians should use all available sources. African historiography and the challenges of european. Origins of african history 1 concept of two africas 2 the relationship between african history and world history 2 sources of african history 4 oral traditions 5 written sources 11 historical linguistics 14 anthropology 17 archaelogy 24 origins and evolution of man 25 the aspects of human evolution influence of the environment on human life. Oral history must be preserved in proper archives of oral history.
African literature african literature the influence of oral traditions on modern writers. He is the social memory of the community and the holder of the word. Since historical archaeology gained a foothold in africa during the late colonial era, the use of oral traditions and oral histories has been a hallmark of african archaeology. This is something that has distinguished us from other species. Africa was regarded by european historians and historical writers as a. Having said that, historiography in the narrower sense of intentional attempts to recover knowl. The importance of oral traditions in african history bartleby. The african oral arts are part and parcel of the continents longstanding tradition of folk culture. The significance of performance in actualization, transmission, and composition. Written by linda shopes, this guide presents an overview of oral history and ways historians use it, tips on questions to ask when reading or listening to oral history interviews, a sample. Oral tradition the oral tradition was the basis of african culture. Employment experiences for african communities in new zealand. Afterthoughts on the historiography of oral tradition jan vansina part three.
Jewsiewicki and newbury 1986 examines the sociopolitical conditions that shaped the development of historical writings in africa. Oral tradition and memory of individuals supply considerable data for such writings. While some criticisms were obscurantist in their approach. Together, the essays in this cuttingedge volume represent the current state of the art in african historical. The transmission is through speech or song and may include folktales, ballads, chants, prose or verses. One is oral history what, when and why things happened to a person or a. As is the case with the oral tradition, written literature is a combination of the real and the fantastic. Oral tradition is an important resource of history in africa history of our ancestors and the society they lived in was usually remembered by people and kept alive by word of mouth. Reaching a diverse and global audience, oral tradition publishes articles that explore the vitality of words spoken, sung, or performed, and the traditions of creative expression in which they thrive. But as an important communication strategy in most african societies up to now, oral traditions cannot. Jan vansinas 1961 book, oral tradition, was hailed internationally as a pioneering work in the field of ethno history. Many of them have been buried beneath the sands of time, and archaeologists continue to uncover more clues about ancient african civilizations.
African history, eurocentric view, african historians, oral tradition. African historians have professed the value and reliability of oral traditions for the construction and reconstruction of the african peoples history. Vansinafs classic oral tradition a study in historical methodology, first published in. Sudanese historiography and oral tradition history in. I argue that this identity crisis in african philosophy is traceable to only one cause. It combines, on the one hand, the real the contemporary world and history the realistic world of the past and, on the other, myth and hero, with metaphor being the agent of transformation. Afolayan 2005 provides us with a succinct chronological overview. A great oral tradition assignment doc pdf the nok assignment doc pdf the phoenicians and carthage assignment doc pdf trade in ancient west africa assignment doc pdf ghana assignment doc pdf timbuktu assignment doc pdf mansa musa assignment doc pdf aksum assignment doc pdf the zimbabwe ruins assignment doc pdf prince henry the navagator assignment doc pdf. Historiography and methods of african history african. It cannot be changed although the narrator might embellish it.
Letters, diaries, and even old shopping lists can tell us a lot about how people lived, what they thought and how they felt about what happened around them. Until the late colonial period, it was widely believed among western historians that africa, south of the sahara, had no civilization and thus no history. African historiography in africa cairn international. The african oral tradition paradigm of storytelling as a. Jan vansinas seminal theoretical work, oral tradition. Trade and politics in the niger delta 18301885, 1956. For african indigenous religion, scholars have been rather very slow, in developing an adequate. Disadvantages of oral traditions in history free essays. Since time immemorial the indigenous communities in kenya lived by knowledge that was passed to them through their oral tradition.
Oral tradition stories are told by word of mouth, riddles, storytelling, and songs. Oral tradition is the passing of knowledge from one generation to the next orally by speaking. Vansina obtained his doctorate in history from the catholic university of leuven in belgiumborn and educated, jan vansina vnasina known internationally for his many contributions to social anthropology and to african. From colonial historiography to unescos general history ofafrica bethwell a. The chaff arises from errors of omission and commission. An overview of the role of oral arts in africa africa is a continent known for its rich oral traditions. Archaeologists in many other regions of africa soon turned to oral testimonies, both traditions and direct historical accounts, to supplement and question documentary records pertaining to the african past of the last. Oral traditions as sources oxford research encyclopedia. Thus oral historians compose oral tradition which can thus be called either oral or traditional history, while literate historians write literate history.
The upholding of societal norms and values is a sacred affair. One of the most crucial aspects of the development of philosophy of african history has been a realization of the importance of the spoken or oral traditions in the framing and interpretation of african history. The oral tradition is clearly evident in the popular literature of the marketplace and the major urban centres, created by literary storytellers who are manipulating the original materials much as oral storytellers do, at the same time remaining faithful to the tradition. The former are relatively well knownat any rate the recent writings in european languages much work remains to be publicized on earlier arabic and local written. Oral tradition and indigenous knowledge south african. Oral tradition an openaccess journal devoted to the study of the worlds oral traditions, past and present. Today, historians recognise how important oral traditions are. The african incorporated the everyday rhythms of life into his expression. Besides the two major sources of african history written documents and archaeology, oral tradition takes its place as a real living museum, conserver and transmitter of the social and cultural creations of peoples purported to have no written records. Making sense of oral history offers a place for students and teachers to begin working with oral history as historical evidence. In addition to methodological innovations in the use of oral traditions along with linguistics, ethnography, and archaeology, the historiography of african kingship intended to demonstrate that africans developed complex political institutions, combating racist notions that viewed political complexity inspired by outside influences, such as. Thus academics of the colonial african historical consciousness need to use orature and oral traditions as a source and method for our historical renaissance.
The use of oral tradition is a distinctive and essential element in many fields of african studies. The importance of oral tradition in african history. Jan vansinas 1961 book, oral tradition, was hailed internationally as a pioneering work in the field of ethnohistory. Apr 11, 2019 his first publication was a magnum opus titled. The oral tradition is not only the sources of histories but itself a h istory of language, culture, society and tradi tion. From the precolonial to the modern day toyin falola and tyler fleming encyclopedia of life support systems eolss people have lived in africa for more than three million years, and thus it possesses a rich and varied history. Social scientists, archivists and broadcasters, as well as museum and library staff, were becoming interested in the potential uses of oral history. Falade, adeoye dennis september, 20 abstract a lot has been said about the slow death of the oral tradition aspect of indigenous communication. But oral historians were also considering the different ways historical consciousness developed as a result of life history experiences. Often a griot will memorize the genealogy, or family history, of everyone in a village going back. African intellectual history and historiography oxford.
Oral traditions as heritage informed by the thinking that the message is as much a product of society as it is a byproduct of human memory and thus a text subject to interpretation. Oral tradition delivers explanations to the mysteries of the universe and the meaning of life on earth. Newton, who was a distinguished british historian in the early 20th century, believed that there was no african history because most of the african society was. Reviewers were unanimous in their praise of vansinas success in subjecting oral traditions to intense functional analysis. The oral tradition is a living, and dynamic organism within the african community, and the original element of oral traditional is djembe. Prospects and challenges of oral traditions and ethnography for archaeological reconstructions a case study of tivland, nigeria by samuel oluwole ogundele, ph. In african religion, it is the guiding principle in which to make sense of the world. It is one of the only ways to know what happened in these societies.
Africa possesses both written and unwritten traditions. Oral history and oral tradition are therefore very important particularly in africa where written sources are scanty and mainly written by arabs and european writer who wrote out of bias. Archaeology and oral traditionsa case for zimbabwe. African american history and the oral tradition darwin t. It tells us what people speak, how they behave, h ow they speak or what they. Oral tradition does not maintain the same value of the oral history. Ugwukah abstract despite the fact that oral traditions have been treated with contempt and intellectual disdain by eurocentric scholars and writers in the past, evidences available and utilized by african scholars have shown that the use of. Finally, i shall try to summarise some of the results of oral history in africa. The importance of oral traditions in african history 1058 words 5 pages. Themes in the literary traditions of contemporary africa are worked out frequently within the strictures laid down by the imported religions christianity and islam and within the struggle between traditional and modern, between rural and newly urban, between genders, and between generations. Pdf the intersection of archaeology, oral tradition and history in.
The steady incursion of foreign media content and values which were once alien to africans but are now being assimilated and exhibited. It showed that the statement are arose from progides, ignorance, racial begottory and intellectual strength jacket. Assess the significance of oral tradition in bantu religion. Oral and written storytelling traditions have had a parallel development, and in many ways they have influenced each other. Many ancient scholars believed africa had no history prior to colonialism because there was no documented evidence. Historically, most african societies did not have an. Oral tradition as a reliable source of historical writing. The griot pronounced greeoh is a storyteller and oral historian in west afri can culture.
Pdf the danger in the thought that oral traditions are not a reliable history. The significance of oral tradition is due to the stories holding so much information and knowledge. Oral tradition, apart from being a source and resource for research on the african past, has a long history of its own in the historiography of the continent. African literature oral traditions and the written word. It consisted of history, religious practices, cosmology, rituals, folktales, proverbs, riddles, games, songs, dance, magic, epic tales, myths and narratives. The greek father of the western historiographical tradition was himself a practitioner of oral tradition and oral history.
Steven feiermans work opened new possibilities for rethinking what derek peterson and giacomo macola have called homespun historiography, a nomenclature that they use to describe the attempt to move the discipline of african history outside the narrow confines of the written and oral archive. The skills for survival such as hunting, building houses, making clothes. From about 1885 to the end of the second world war, most of africa was under the yoke of colonialism. Oral tradition as a historical source by kizerbo, joseph. The roots of ethiopian historical writing can be traced back to the ancient kingdom of aksum c. Africa s long tradition of oral artistry still wields a remarkable in.
Development of african historigraphy 19001975 by bokunrawom. Ogot since the later 19th century, the study ofafrican history has undergone radical changes. African literature african literature oral traditions and the written word. Start the exercise by introducing students to the concept of the griot. As well as labour historians and collectors of oral tradition, the development of the new oral history in the late 1960s was attracting a range of diverse interests. Technologies such as writing and printing play a vital role in transmitting history, thought and creativity, and such technologies have a long history in west africa. It is the task of the storyteller, in both the oral and written traditions of africa, to forge the fantasy images of the past into masks of the realistic images of the present, enabling the performer to pitch the present to the past, to visualize the present within a. African historiography has been on the cutting edge of methodological innovation for the last three decades, utilizing written sources, oral traditions, archeology, linguistics, ethnography, musicology, botany, and other techniques to bring respect and maturity to the field. In your view, does oral tradition have a future in the midst of modernity and social change. The fifth section is devoted to essays that present innovative sources and methods for african historical research.
The nature, dynamic, and development of the subject of african historiography have attracted the attention of many scholars. Historiography since very early times, human beings have had some sense of the past, both their own and that of their community or people. The african oral tradition paradigm of storytelling as a methodological framework. In this way, african philosophers manifest the same. Indeed, oral traditions are a combination of chaff and grains. A wide range of oral traditions are composed within the oral genre, just as numberous kinds of histories are written within the literate one. The value of oral tradition to a researcher of african. Oral tradition as a reliable source of historical writing citeseerx. The african american oral tradition and its rhetorical impact on american popular culture by janice d.
Oral tradition is nonwritten history, it is spoken word only. As an illustration, in traditional history of africa, accurate chronology was hardly taken seriously as emphasis was on specific events. This is possible because of nature of transmission itself. These early texts were written in either the ethiopian geez script or the greek alphabet, and included a. Others insisted that even if there were events of a historical nature, such a history was unknown and unknowable, since african societies, for the most part, were nonliterate and as such left no records that historians could study. Ethiopian historiography includes the ancient, medieval, early modern, and modern disciplines of recording the history of ethiopia, including both native and foreign sources. Oral tradition and african theatre by mineke schipper the theatre is always a mirror of human existence, and theatrical expression is always linked to a specific time and place and culture. Oral tradition benefits transmission of cultural values and firsthand historical events in a way that makes listeners more active participants in receiving information.
A study in historical methodology, articulated the major theoretical advances for the defense of the use of oral traditions in historical. Oral tradition and indigenous knowledge written documents are very important sources of history. Development of african historigraphy 19001975 education. The importance of oral tradition in african history free. World civilizations and history of human development african civilizations. Song as oral tradition in west africa the british library. The conventional narrative would hold that when faced with a dearth of written documentation representing african points of view, the elders of african historical studies, like the. In this way, it is possible for a society to transmit oral history, oral literature, oral law and.
This article offers the text of remarks given by professor turner on march. Originally published in french, it was translated into english, spanish, italian, arabic, and hungarian. Oral tradition and african theatre universiteit leiden. Pdf a study on oral tradition as a communication tool. Thus, the writing of family history is an absolute necessity in the reconstruction of regional or local history. Africas long tradition of oral artistry still wields a remarkable in. In most ancient societies including those of africa, legacies, culture and traditions were passed from one generation to other by this oral tradition.
However, due to time constraints and inadequate knowledge, we will restrict ourselves here to historical literature published in french and english, especially in west africa. Email citation examines the importance of oral tradition as a historical source and explores pertinent issues in the development of yoruba, christian missions, and west african historiographies. Oral tradition have thrown to height ribh cultural heritage and historical past. The middle ground was held by those who accepted the 1 henige, oral tradition as a means of constructing the past in philips ed, writing african history, p. It features useful studies of traditional historiography, both official and private, from the han to qing times, as well as of individual authors such as liu zhiji b. Abstract a lot has been said about the slow death of the oral tradition aspect of indigenous communication. The value of oral tradition to a researcher of african historiography alexander c. The idea of creating history from below which can be traced to the annales school meant thinking in part about who was hidden from history. One of the most curious aspects of sudanese historiography is that it has almost completely ignored the ongoing attempts to apply the methods of historical criticism to oral tradition in reconstructing the african past. In regional or local history, the families play a predominate role. Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas and cultural material is received, preserved and transmitted orally from one generation to another. The importance of oral traditions in african history.
The value of oral tradition to a researcher of african historiography. African literature the influence of oral traditions on. As recently as fifty years ago, some western historians considered african historiography nothing better than ethno history or folk history, worthy of the attention of. African concept of ubuntu traditional oral stories of african people have been woven out of the substance of human experience, struggles with the land and the elements, movement and migrations, wars. For african indigenous religion, scholars have been rather very slow, in developing an adequate methodological frame work, peculiar to the discipline, in harnessing the rich oral traditions, which still remain. Changes in societies generally lead to new forms of dramatic expression. A griot is a learned storyteller, entertainer and historian. Meaning of oral tradition oral tradition is a story, tradition or practice that is shared orally or through speech usually handed down from generation to generation. The african american oral tradition has roots in africa and a legacy in the blues. In african traditional religion, morals, values, beliefs and culture among other things play a critical role in society. I categorize the substance of african philosophy as a debate as to whether there exists at all any animal bearing that name. Ancient egyptian scribes, early hausa and swahili copyists and memorizers, and contemporary writers of popular novellas have been the obvious and crucial transitional figures in the movement. Oral history, oral traditions, and archaeology oxford. Oral history provides a fuller, more accurate picture of the past by augmenting the information provided by public records, statistical data, photographs, maps, letters, diaries, and other historical materials.