Modern archaeology has been unveiling evidence of the human efforts to preserve and transmit arts and knowledge that depended completely or partially on an oral tradition, across various cultures: History Īccording to John Foley, oral tradition has been an ancient human tradition found in 'all corners of the world'. A folklore is a type of oral tradition, but knowledge other than folklore has been orally transmitted and thus preserved in human history. Oral tradition is also distinct from the study of orality, defined as thought and its verbal expression in societies where the technologies of literacy (especially writing and print) are unfamiliar to most of the population. The study of oral tradition is distinct from the academic discipline of oral history, which is the recording of personal memories and histories of those who experienced historical eras or events. As an academic discipline, it refers both to a set of objects of study and the method by which they are studied. In a general sense, 'oral tradition' refers to the recall and transmission of a specific, preserved textual and cultural knowledge through vocal utterance. 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. Religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Catholicism, and Jainism, for example, have used an oral tradition, in parallel to a writing system, to transmit their canonical scriptures, rituals, hymns and mythologies from one generation to the next. In this way, it is possible for a society to transmit oral history, oral literature, oral law and other knowledge across generations without a writing system, or in parallel to a writing system. The transmission is through speech or song and may include folktales, ballads, chants, prose or poetry. 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. A traditional Kyrgyz manaschi performing part of the Epic of Manas at a yurt camp in Karakol

Oral history lee smith sparknotes