WHAT ARE THE ORAL SOURCES OF HISTORY


Oral source or oral data are testimonies handed down to us by word of mouth from one generation to another over time. According to Janvansina “oral tradition are all testimonies concerned past which are transmitted from one generation to another”.  Oral tradition or oral data comes in many forms and serve variety of functions.
Professor E.J Alaoga has defined oral tradition as historical information transmitted orally by processes peculiar to each community, and which should be studied first in the content of its culture before being made available for cross cultural analysis and compares on. However, there
are two forms of oral data 
a.      Oral history
b.      Folklora
Oral history tradition: It present accounts of past events and activities rendered  by persons who were direct actors or participates  or eye witness to the events . There is also the    oral history tradition which is the same  of account of past events and  activities, but revived by persons  who were not direct actors or  participants to the events.
Folklora:  This is as a form of oral tradition is the  blanket term for myth, legend, song, poem, drama, literature, riddles, ritual formlae  proverbs, belief and cosmology
Myth:  The English word derived from the Greek mythos meaning that branch of knowledge which is indisputable not subject to rational argument. The content of myth is supposed to be the about past events including concept and  belief about the early history  of a  particular group of people. Such  history is  held to true and unreliable.
Myth explains the origin of things and how things happened  and the way they be and set down rules for human behaviour . Myth thus beliefs in the law of  cause and effect, and the law of  nature.
Myth have been also defined  as the stories concerned   the super natural of the activities of  deities, spirits and ancestors  semi –divine of  heroes and origin of the world and  mankind . Finally, myth determines its meaning of the past and  argued  the present ought  to be reflected its view of the past.
Legend:  Legend  have been described as story handed down  from the past but which could be of doubtful truth. As a  result, legend have been defined as the stories are partly true and partly false.  However, this definition does not diminished as the source of history legend usually speak of time since the beginning, after original founder, had departed their earthly lives, 
Legend deal  with real  personages and not  animals and also deal with real places. Legend are  not seriously regarded as  historical fact but are all acceptable for  historical construction especially when cross channeled with other sources.
Ritual formula : 
Ritual utterances incantation and formule can all subsumed under myth. They are all important to customs because with them the historians can interpret the people beliefs and cosmology. For example, the pouring of liberation land in some African counties is symbolic and signifies the supernatural and importance in the human affairs. The peoples cosmological and philosophical beliefs usually embedded in such ritual utterances.

PROVERBS AND RIDDLES

Proverbs and riddles do not only depict the peoples norms and philosophy but also exposes the depth their wisdom.  Proverbs  are defined as a popular short saying with  words of  advice or  warning  (for  instance look before you  reap  while  riddles are  described as pushing question or  statement  intended to make person implore his  intelligent or  wits  proverbs  riddles and feables are non formal types oral sources
Folk –tales many belong to the same type of the beginning as the myth. In most cases, the same gods and heroes may appears but the principal actor may be animals.
Folk –tells may often offer explanation of peculiarity that can be found in animal and  human behavour. Folk –tell are usually told by old people especially women to children around the fire place or kitchen in the moonlight. Such tells   often contains moral /lessons  and  express value to be drawn or emulated folk tell are good for character formation and offers useful  recreational period to children who might have engaged in mischievous act folk –tell provide historian with an insight into the peoples  expectation of their present  generation and quality of their  code of  conduct
SONGS, POEM, DRAMA AND MUSIC
These are varieties of utterances which constitutes types of   oral source outside  the formal historical category. Thus, songs, poem music and drama may be placed in general  category of literature. These forms could be used to give a vivid description of their exploits heroes. They could be spoken through song, it could be chanted even rendered through the talking  of drum. The account be rendered in the form of an epic  which is  poetic account of the deed of one or more people of their great heroes of their nation past history eg . Homerville.  Such a poem is regarded as praise poem. Songs could be  therefore, also epics of poetry .
Songs are generally used for recording special campaign and important individuals achievement
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