What Impact Did Oral Traditions Have On Africa’S History

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What Impact Did Oral Traditions Have On Africa’s History?

The most successful of the early African writers knew what could be done with the oral tradition they understood how its structures and images could be transposed to a literary mode and they were able to distinguish mimicry from organic growth.

Why was the oral tradition important in Africa?

There is a rich tradition throughout Africa of oral storytelling. … So the transmission of knowledge history and experience in West Africa was mainly through the oral tradition and per- formance rather than on written texts. Oral traditions guide social and human morals giving people a sense of place and purpose.

What impact did oral traditions have on Africa’s history quizlet?

Griots shared oral traditions in African culture oral traditions helped people make sense of the world and used to teach adults and children about the aspects of their culture.

Why is oral history important to historians of Africa?

West Africa’s oral histories tell us a more complete story than traditional post-colonial narratives. … With recollections of the past often told through idioms and long enthralling storytelling oral histories are the vessel between the present and the past and in many ways act as a tool of cultural preservation.

What role did oral storytelling tradition play in African culture?

Many cultures in Africa have rituals of oral storytelling. … Storytelling in Africa has been manifested in many ways and was used to serve many purposes. It was used to interpret the universe resolve natural and physical phenomena teach morals maintain cultural values pass on methods of survival and to praise God.

Why are oral traditions important?

Oral tradition is important in all societies despite the reliance of some cultures on written records and accounts. These traditions account for the ways things are and often the way they should be and assist people in educating the young and teaching important lessons about the past and about life.

What is the significance of oral tradition in our culture?

Oral traditions and expressions are used to pass on knowledge cultural and social values and collective memory. They play a crucial part in keeping cultures alive.

Why did some historians believe that Africa had no history?

It was argued at the time that Africa had no history because history begins with writing and thus with the arrival of the Europeans. Their presence in Africa was therefore justified among other things by their ability to place Africa in the ‘path of history’.

What can we learn about West African history from the Epic of Sundiata?

As an oral historical epic Sundiata conveys information not only about the history of the Mali Empire but also about the culture of the Mande ethnic group. Mande family structures had two elements—constructive (badenya) or destructive (fadenya).

How might the West African oral tradition be different from the written tradition?

how might the west african oral tradition be different from written tradition? have a greater sense of community cause they gather together. Member of society w/written tradition could read the tradition in isolation.

Why were oral traditions important in West Africa?

There is a rich tradition throughout Africa of oral storytelling. So the transmission of knowledge history and experience in West Africa was mainly through the oral tradition and per- formance rather than on written texts. Oral traditions guide social and human morals giving people a sense of place and purpose.

What is oral tradition in history?

Oral tradition is the cultural knowledge and information that has been passed down through speech from one generation to the next. Oral tradition can also refer to this mode of communication. Tradition means something that is handed down from generation to generation.

Why is the oral tradition the most valued source in the study of African history?

Oral tradition is therefore a reliable source because African non-literate societies have always from time immemorial used the oral mode of which oral tradition is an integral part for the transmission of their history-customs traditions folklores etc from one generation to another.

How did African history contribute to the development of its literature?

Sub-Saharan Africa developed a written literature during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This development came as a result of missionaries coming to the area. The missionaries came to Africa to build churches and language schools in order to translate religious texts.

What role does oral history play in modern studies of life in West Africa?

West Africans passed on their history and culture through stories and oral history. … professional storytellers and oral historians were called “griots.” They worked for kings and nobles. They memorized and recited stories of famous people and events.

How do West African written and oral traditions influence life today?

How do West African written and oral traditions influence life today? The writings tells us about the heritage and culture. Modern writers us the stories for inspiration. … West African music has influenced gospel jazz blues rock and roll and rap.

What is the importance of using oral tradition as a source of history?

Oral tradition helps the historian to determine historical trends and events. Through the comparison of several oral traditions the historian can eliminate biases inconsistencies or inaccuracies in the written records they are using to come out with an accurate historical account of the past.

What is the purpose of oral history?

Oral history is a method of conducting historical research through recorded interviews between a narrator with personal experience of historically significant events and a well-informed interviewer with the goal of adding to the historical record.

What are oral tradition How do they provide useful historical information?

Oral tradition is information memories and knowledge held in common by a group of people over many generations it is not the same as testimony or oral history. In a general sense “oral tradition” refers to the recall and transmission of a specific preserved textual and cultural knowledge through vocal utterance.

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What is performance in African oral literature?

According to Tala in Orature in Africa performance is “The delivery of an oral text that is the recitation of a poem the rendition of a song or the telling of a tale on a specific occasion… any oral piece can be perceived and observed only while it is being performed” (14).

What are examples of oral history?

Examples of Oral History
  • After the Day of Infamy: “Man-on-the-Street” Interviews Following the Attack on Pearl Harbor. …
  • Black Oral History Collection. …
  • Civil Rights History Project at the Library of Congress. …
  • Civil Rights in Mississippi Digital Archives.

Do you think Africa had history?

Africa has a rich and complex history but there is widespread ignorance of this heritage. A celebrated British historian once said there was only the history of Europeans in Africa. … Kush was an African superpower and its influence extended to what is now called the Middle East.

How did African history begin?

Africa’s written history starts with the rise of Egyptian civilization in the 4th millennium BC and in succeeding centuries follows the development of the many diverse societies beyond the Nile Valley. … The rise of Islam led to an increase in the Arab slave trade that would culminate in the 19th century.

What historical events happened in Africa?

Timeline of historical events — The prehistoric past: the evolution of homo sapiens sapiens 40 000 B.C. — The agricultural revolution 5000 B.C.+ — The civilization of ancient Egypt 3100 B.C.+ — The iron age and the spread of Bantu speakers 730 B.C.+ — The rise of Kush and Aksum 730 B.C.+ — The Greeks and …

What did Sundiata Keita accomplish?

Sundiata Keita founded the powerful Mali Empire. Known for its progressive values and their wealth it followed the Ghana as the next great west African empire.

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How do you pronounce Sundiata?

What do the other wives do to Sogolon after she becomes pregnant?

What do the other wives do to Sogolon after she becomes pregnant? The other wives give her a potion to cause miscarriages. Maghan’s other wives are jealous that Sogolon has conceived a child so they decide to “(m)ake miscarriage medicine anything that will spoil the belly with a touch.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of oral tradition?

Advantages and disadvantages of oral traditions as a source of information. – It can provide information where there are no written sources. – It is suitable for even the illiterate in the society. – A narrator can conceal/hide important information.

What are oral traditions in West Africa?

Folktales West Africa’s oral tradition includes hundreds of old stories called folktales. West Africans used folktales to pass along their history and to teach young people morals and values. Many traditional folktales were brought to the Americas by West Africans who were sold into slavery beginning in the 1500s.

What did the legacies of West African society and culture influence the way African Americans lived?

What did the legacies of West African society and culture influence the way African Americans lived? They were farmers that lived in hamlets or village called lineages. … How did the slave trade in Africa differ from the Atlantic slave trade? West Africa Sudanese horsemen conducted the Islamic slave trade.

Why was the oral tradition important in Africa quizlet?

Why has the oral tradition been so important in west Africa? Oral tradition is important in west Africa because modern writers add to the oral legacy some have turned oral traditions to novels.

Why are folktales important to African culture?

Africans like people elsewhere in the world have a set of values which they consider worthwhile and necessary for the preservation and wellbeing of their culture. … As a result folktales are often used as a vehicle for transmitting and preserving shared values and collective experience.

What role does oral history play in teaching us about culture?

Oral histories play an integral role in Indigenous cultures. They transmit important histories stories and teachings to new generations. Oral histories — a type of primary source — let Indigenous peoples teach about their own cultures in their own words. … An Indigenous elder shares a story with others.

How is oral history different from written history?

Oral history is often one person’s point of view unless someone gathers a series of interviews on the same issue together in a volume. … A traditional written history by contrast uses a variety of sources which may include oral interviews government reports newspaper articles letters diaries and personal papers.

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