African oral tradition pdf

The oral tradition 26 chapter 3 the supreme being 36 chapter 4 the spirit world 46 chapter 5 rites and ritual in african religion 64 chapter 6 sacred spaces and places 88 chapter 7 mystical forces 96 chapter 8 african religion in todays world 104. The last quarter of the nineteenth century witnessed the outward and inordinate expression of europeans quest for territorial occupation of africa in order to massively control and brutally exploit african resources for their benefits. It was in order to nurture such oral creativity that the world oral. Oral history, oral traditions, and archaeology oxford. African oral traditions and literature harold scheub there is an unbroken continuity in african verbal art forms, from interacting oral genres to such literary1 productions as the novel and poetry.

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. Many ancient scholars believed africa had no history prior to colonialism because there was no documented evidence. Pdf archived 20080529 at the wayback machine oral tradition 21 2 2006. Oral history is a form of west african oral tradition. African oral tradition is never simply a spoken art.

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. African literature oral traditions and the written word. Many of them have been buried beneath the sands of time, and archaeologists continue to uncover more clues about ancient african civilizations. What authur said about the lower niger, applies to most african societies. The tradition of african storytelling is one of the oldest in african culture, across the continent vambe. Historically, most african societies did not have an. In african religion, it is the guiding principle in which to make sense of the world. Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas. African history, eurocentric view, african historians, oral tradition. Their african eve conclusion may be supported by linguistic observations.

In medieval times, written traditions also became important. The oral tradition is a living, and dynamic organism within the african community, and. Iyaseres article oral tradition in the criticism of african literature. The african oral arts are part and parcel of the continents longstanding tradition of folk culture. They saw africa as a vast and dangerous place filled with savage people, but africa has been home to many advanced, exotic civilizations. A study in oral hermeneutics, in african independent churches. The importance of oral traditions in african history. 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. 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.

The people from africa included unique characteristics in their folklore, showing their way of life and the animals and plants that surround them. In african traditional religion, morals, values, beliefs and culture among other things play a critical role in society. 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. Historiography and methods of african history african.

Another important source of african history is oral tradition. The perception of african oral literature 29 nineteenthcentury approaches and collections. The oral nature of african unwritten literature 3 the significance of performance in actualization, transmission, and composition. The impact of african traditional religious beliefs and. Oral tradition delivers explanations to the mysteries of the universe and the meaning of life on earth. 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. The message transmitted orally, were preserved by memory. Oral sources and the study of african traditional religion george i. As we do this, well focus on folktales, proverbs and griots. These latter, though often influenced by europe and asia, nevertheless occur within the context of the oral traditions. The steady incursion of foreign media content and values which were once alien to africans but are now being assimilated and exhibited. The modern african writer is to his indigenous oral tradition as a snail is to its shell. The oral tradition 26 chapter 3 the supreme being 36 chapter 4 the spirit world 46 chapter 5 rites and ritual in african religion 64 chapter 6 sacred spaces and places 88 chapter 7 mystical forces 96 chapter 8 african religion in todays world 104 chapter 9 african religion past, present, and future 116 fact file and bibliography 2.

Key terms in the study are oral praises, written praises, critical evaluation, historical record, compositional techniques, traditional praises, modern praises. Oral tradition and indigenous knowledge south african. The earliest humans we know of are discovered in africa. In the san, black and afrikaans traditions, people knew how to treat certain illnesses or wounds from what their elders told them.

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. Unlike most euroasian civilizations, african societies favored oral tradition and few possessed written languages. Africa and its people 8 chapter 2 the beginning of time. Africas long tradition of oral artistry still wields a remarkable influence on the contemporary life of its society zewde, 2000. Cavallisforza, piazza, menozzi, and mountain 1988 have shown that considerable similarity exists between canns tree of genetic relationships and the tree of language groups, which hypothesizes that all the worlds languages can be traced to africa. Stone tools, pottery vessels and jewellery are examples on these remains, studying them can give us a hint on how they looked, worshipped and what they ate. Assess the significance of oral tradition in bantu religion.

The strength of the oral tradition seems not to have abated. Oral tradition is nonwritten history, it is spoken word only. Stories and oral histories documented the past, and were handed down from generation to generation. Achebes things fall apart and the african oral tradition. Abstract a lot has been said about the slow death of the oral tradition aspect of indigenous communication. Pdf african literature from the oral tradition to current trends. African literature african literature oral traditions and the written word. Africa possesses both written and unwritten traditions. The oral tradition as a source of african history sage journals. Since there are no sacred books on which to base the study of african traditional religion except on the proverbs, folklores, oral tradition, ethics and morals of african societies, we shall, in this study, critically analyze some major concepts of african traditional. 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. The transmission is through speech or song and may include folktales, ballads, chants, prose or verses. African moral values are expressed in art, institutions and oral traditions in the absence of codified western values. Literature project was established at the university.

In this section, well look at the oral and written traditions of west africa. The oral traditions of african societies were thriving for centuries before the introduction of literary traditions. The oral tale is not the childhood of fiction macculloch, 1905, but the early literary traditions were beneficiaries of the oral genres, and there is no doubt that the epic and its hero are the predecessors of the african novel and its central characters. Objectives to introduce students to the african american oral tradition, beginning with preslavery and continuing to contemporary life. In your view, does oral tradition have a future in the midst of modernity and social change. African novels, especially achebes, became the new proponents of african oral culture. Africa s long tradition of oral artistry still wields a remarkable in. 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. While some scholars admitted that the whole of africa could not be a spiritual vacuum, they raised doubt as to whether the god that the africans believed in was the real god or their own 4 e.

This paper primarily addresses the controversy among scholars on whether oral traditions such as myths, songs, wise sayings, incantations, invocations, legends, etc. Song as oral tradition in west africa the british library. A case study of nkusukumekumfienyan area of the central region. Disadvantages of oral traditions in history free essays. African literature african literature the influence of oral traditions on modern writers. African oral and written traditions african studies. African literature the influence of oral traditions on. Oral tradition and african theatre universiteit leiden. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that oral literature, which is an aspect of the oral tradition, has functioned historically as a vital medium of moral and. 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. 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. Interactions and intersections edited by daniela merolla leiden university, the netherlands introduction the studies of oral literature are countless, and the educational function of storytelling is certainly one of recurring topics. The significance of performance in actualization, transmission, and composition. Changes in societies generally lead to new forms of dramatic expression.

This article offers the text of remarks given by professor turner on march. Since the oral traditions of africa are so plentiful, well start with them. Here the information is obtained by talking and listening to people with historical information especially elders. Submitted by francis acquah to the university of exeter as a thesis for the degree of doctor of philosophy in theology in december 2011. In the san and black cultures it was usually the medicine men that knew this, but in afrikaans it is called boererate, and anybody was allowed to use them. Oral and written storytelling traditions have had a parallel development, and in many ways they have influenced each other. They serve as standard values in terms of established norms, rules and traditional values.

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. An overview of the role of oral arts in africa africa is a continent known for its rich oral traditions. 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 impact of african traditional religious beliefs and cultural values on christian muslim relations in ghana from 1920 through the present. It is only in the late twentieth century, with the rediscovery of oral communication and oral literature, that african religious thinkers have been allowed to express their beliefs and world views on their own terms. 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. Africa is the second largest continent in the world. African literature is literature of or from africa and includes oral literature or orature, in the term coined by ugandan scholar pio zirimu as george joseph notes in his chapter on african literature in understanding contemporary africa, whereas european views of literature often stressed a separation of art and content, african awareness is inclusive. Oral tradition is culture, traditions, events and stories passed on from generation to generation. Oral tradition, european modernity and african philosophy emevwo biakolo, phd school of media and communication pan african university, lagos, nigeria email. Oral tradition and civic education in africa clement a.