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
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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