Oral Traditions as History
Oral tradition is one of the primary traditions of African culture. We find orature as tradition among the Yoruba (Ogunyemi, 2010) of West Africa, the Bakuba (Vansina, 1960) of central Africa, the Baganda (Kizza, 2010) of East-central Africa, and the Masai (Daaku, 1971) and Kikuyu (Kenyatta, 1965, p. 115) of East Africa, just to name a few. Much of these societies pass down their oral tradition during elaborate festivals and ceremonies that initiate age-sets and generation groups (Daaku, 1971, p. 115). Oral tradition in the African context goes beyond mere orality, as they utilize many aesthetic devices in order to produce a holistic cosmological experience for the next generation. In Ghana, the Akan are known for festivals that are used to pass down oral tradition to future generations. Ghanaian scholar Kwame Yeboa Daaku (1971) presents an example from the Akan:
Among the several devices adopted to preserve their history and tradition may be mentioned the pouring of libations, the music of the drums and horns, the creation of special linguist staffs, oaths, songs, proverbs, and funeral dirges. To a people who settle most disputes by having recourse to history it is of supreme importance that members of the various families and clans tell their stories to their young for, as they aptly put it, “Tete ka asom ene Kakyere,” that is, ancient things remain in the ears, which means traditions survive only by telling them. Again their respect for history is made explicit in the frequent assertion that ”Tete are ne nne,” i.e., the very same ancient things are today, or history repeats itself (p. 117).
Jomo Kenyatta, father of modern Kenya and scholar of Kenyan history, provides another example from the East-African Kikuyu people. Kenyatta, in his text Facing Mount Kenya (1938/1965), provides his readers with the legendary history of his great people who live east of Lake Victoria, the largest headwater of the Nile River. Kenyatta states that the legend is from the “beginning of things, when mankind started to populate the earth” (p. 3). Within the legend of Kenyatta’s native Kikuyu we find that their original family group was named Mbari ya Moobi out of respect for the founding matriarch of the clan who was named Moobi. The founding patriarch of the clan was named Kikuyu.
Moobi and Kikuyu had nine daughters, of which they found nine young men for the daughters to marry. After the death of Moobi and Kikuyu, the daughters formulated nine clans under the collective name of Rorere rwa Mbari ya Moombi, namely, children or people of Moombi. Each new generation of Kikuyu are introduced to this narrative. Naturally, the narrative may not be told exactly the same from one generation to the next, but that doesn’t seem to matter to the Kikuyu. This tradition serves a cosmological importance that the Kikuyu value above whatever possible lost detail that may lend more accuracy to the events as they were. Oral tradition for the Kikuyu is passed down during rites of passage ceremonies involving circumcision, or irua as it is known to the Kikuyu. Dances and songs that make up the rituals and “divine services” are known as mambura . Kenyatta describes the meaning of these traditions for Kikuyu people:
Without this custom a tribe which had no written records would not have been able to keep a record of important events and happenings in the life of the Kikuyu nation. Any Kikuyu child who is not corrupted by detribalisation is able to record in his mind the whole history and origin of the Kikuyu people through the medium of such names as Agu, Ndemi and Mathathi, etc., who were initiated hundreds of years ago. (p. 135)
Throughout Africa oral tradition is a primary vehicle for the recording and telling of history, and the maintenance of cosmology. In fact, it can be argued that little can be gained from any inquiry into the transgenerational social histories of African people unless it is gained through an engagement with oral tradition. The Africanist scholar Jan Vansina wrote extensively on oral tradition and its use as history. However, Vansina often fails to understand the African cosmological factors that shape oral tradition. Vansina (1985) argues that, “Historians who work with the written sources of the last few centuries in any of the major areas of literacy should not expect that reconstructions using oral materials will yield as full, detailed, and precise a reconstruction, barring only the very recent past” (p. 199). Vansina doesn’t necessarily denigrate oral tradition, however, he still elevates writing as more useful juxtaposed to being a complementary reconstructive tool. However, both writing and orature are still largely based on the interpretation, perspective, and recognition of those who record and pass along information. In terms of reconstructing historical reality, there is much that can be lost in the dullness of written record that can only be gained through the experience of orature. As Jacob Curruthers (1995) places it, “living oral tradition… is a modern extension of the wisdom of ancient African thought” (pg. 6).
Africologists must also consider the concept of nommo when dealing with African orature. Adapted from Dogon cosmology for Afrocentric discourse, nommo is “the generative and productive power of the spoken word” (Asante, 1998, p. 22). As aforementioned, when Africans pass on oral tradition it is not simply the telling of stories from one generation to the next. The elaborate festivals, initiations, and ceremonies that accompany them provide a holistic experience. Therefore, cosmology is secured within an unbroken, organic link of tradition. As Asante (1998) posits, “…creative production is ‘an experience’ or a happening occurring within and outside the speaker’s soul” (p. 90). Therefore, Africologists tasked with the writing of African history must embody this principle. In the telling of African history there must be a sense of plurality without hierarchy, a conceptual device which facilitates the telling of one cultural experience shared by many ethnic interpreters. Asante further clarifies, stating, “…the African seeks the totality of an experience, concept, or system. Traditional African society looked for unity of the whole rather than specifics of the whole… considerations of the whole were more productive than considerations in detail” (p. 90).
Further, in consideration of the “unity of the whole” in terms of Afrocentric scholarship and knowledge production, Africologists must never be so irresponsible as to intentionally allow any research to subvert contemporary African cosmologies in efforts to simply gain further context that may or may not be useful to praxis. An example of such unethical behavior would be the attempt to use material culture to “disprove” oral tradition. One may document their findings, conflicting or not, but do not attempt to force the particular African ethnic group to accept the data. Another example would be to document cultural phenomena that is shared by African people with the implication that it should be kept secret. Not all cultural-historical information valuable to African people is meant for publication, for publicizing can be harmful to traditions that have a necessity of secrecy in order to remain effective.