Oral Traditions: The Debate

Oral traditions in the form of stories have been the life source for cultures all over the
world for hundreds of years. These traditions and stories have allowed audiences to understand
the world around them in their own way. For Native Americans, creation stories are retold in
sweat lodges in order to urify! the soul and mind
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. The Naga eole of #ndia emloy oral
tradition for more than establishing mere cultural identity and, instead, use it to shae their
religion and entire social life!
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. Or, consider how %est Africans utili&e oral traditions for the
reconstruction! of ethnohistory! in resonse to the disersing of Africans by the transatlantic
slave trade
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. There are countless e(amles that testify to the imortance of oral traditions around
the world. )y maintaining these oral traditions, different cultural grous are able to reserve their
cultural mythologies, rituals, values, and histories.
*owever, desite all the aarent benefits of assing ancestral stories on and down, their
telling can generate controversy. For e(amle, because these stories can be situated in conte(ts
that have become culturally divisive, contemorary audiences can find them startling or even
offensive. For some, because these stories can be situated in controversial conte(ts, their telling
can be offensive to contemorary audiences. +et at the same time, those same stories that ,ar
audience-s attention serve as seeds ready to be lanted in fertile ground as many who hear them
ta.e away a moral, ethical or ractical lesson that wor.s to shae the way they encounter and
view the world around them. /ome scholars suggest that the role of oral traditions is sub,ective
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0one*ill, 1aren. 23hater ": Oral Traditions.2 Sioux (1-59084-678-8) 4$55'6: "5. Book Collection: Nonfiction.
%eb. "7 8une $5"9.0ong.umer,
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0ong.umer, 0anusashi. 2Oral Tradition #n 3ontemorary 3onflict :esolution: A Naga ;ersective.2 Indian
olklife '' 4$55<6: ""="'. !u"anitie# Inte$national Co"%lete. %eb. "7 8une $5"9.
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Fergus, 3laudius. 2Negotiating Time, /ace, And /irit: A 3ase /tudy Of Oral Tradition And The
3onstruction Of 0ineage #dentity #n %est Africa.2 &e#ea$c' In (f$ican )ite$atu$e# " 4$55<6: >9. *$o+ect
,-S.. %eb. "7 8une $5"9.
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in that it is utterly deendent on social understanding!
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. %hat this means for audiences is that
many of these oral traditions are resonding to societal standards that are relevant to the time in
which they were romulgated. ?oreover, as those stories continue being told, whatever social
climate e(ists often negates or maniulates the stories- meanings. This allows for multile
interretations and understandings of a given te(t. A stri.ing e(amle of the negation and
maniulation of te(ts can be seen in the retelling of the )rer :abbit tales by *arris and other
storytellers.
For many contemorary thin.ers, the tales of )rer :abbit and @ncle :emus are
e(loitive and insensitive to a eole grou 4African Americans6 that some would argue have
been e(loited enough. *owever, there are some storytellers who disagree with the censoring of
these tales. A.bar #mhote is one of them. *e believes that the .ey oint that is neglected in the
debate for or against retelling the @ncle :emus stories is that regardless of the meaning behind
the stories, audiences bring their own e(eriences to the tales and, in turn, ta.e from them
different things. For #mhote, it is his resonsibility to tell the tales, not determine their meaning.
#n a recent interview he made clear ,ust what his role is as storyteller: # get to ste out of the
eAuation and tell the story.! *e goes on to tell the tale of how the Terrain learned to fly. #n the
story, Terrain and )u&&ard are the best of friends and, eventually, )u&&ard agrees to ta.e
Terrain flying. After flying for a while, )u&&ard releases Terrain and Terrain en,oys the
feeling of flying. )ut, when he finally hits the ground he is distraught, not because he never
really flew, but because )u&&ard did not teach him how to land. #mhote fights the urge to tell
audiences what the story means to him and instead offers this wisdom: #-m $55B invested in
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Ton.in, Cli&abeth. 2#nvestigating Oral Tradition.2 /ou$nal 0f (f$ican !i#to$1 $>.$ 4"<DE6: $5'=$"'.
!u"anitie# ull 2ext (!343 4il#on). %eb. "7 8une $5"9.
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the storyF # don-t li.e telling the audience what it means because it only means that to me.!
;erhas he is on to something. %hile scholars go bac. and forth over the aroriateness of
*arris- @ncle :emus tales, maybe the interretation is found in audiences. ;erhas listening to
these stories will tell audiences more about themselves than the storyteller, and erhas it is the
ris. of self=reali&ation that ma.es the telling of these tales such a troubling thing.
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%or.s 3ited
Fergus, 3laudius. 2Negotiating Time, /ace, And /irit: A 3ase /tudy Of Oral Tradition And
The 3onstruction Of 0ineage #dentity #n %est Africa.2 &e#ea$c' In (f$ican )ite$atu$e# " 4$55<6:
>9. *$o+ect ,-S.. %eb. "7 8une $5"9.
#mhote, A.bar. 2:etelling :emus.2 ;ersonal interview. "9 8une $5"9.
0ong.umer, 0anusashi. 2Oral Tradition #n 3ontemorary 3onflict :esolution: A Naga
;ersective.2 Indian olklife '' 4$55<6: ""="'. !u"anitie# Inte$national Co"%lete. %eb.
"7 8une $5"9.
0one*ill, 1aren. 23hater ": Oral Traditions.2 Sioux (1-59084-678-8) 4$55'6: "5. Book
Collection: Nonfiction. %eb. "7 8une $5"9.
Ton.in, Cli&abeth. 2#nvestigating Oral Tradition.2 /ou$nal 0f (f$ican !i#to$1 $>.$ 4"<DE6:
$5'=$"'. !u"anitie# ull 2ext (!343 4il#on). %eb. "7 8une $5"9.
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