Joanne R. Pompano
Oral traditions, throughout the ages, have provided societies with a means of conveying
and preserving their history, values, rituals, traditions, spiritual practices, genealogy and other important collective knowledge and experience. Oral Traditions helped societies make sense of the world and were used to teach children and adults about the important aspects of their culture. In addition, storytelling provided entertainment, developed the imagination, taught important lessons about everyday life, and passed on this information to the younger generation.
Oral traditions were important in all societies, but for some societies they became the preferred means for conveying this information to the community for various reasons.
Storytelling developed in oral cultures because it was easier to remember information as a series of events instead of as a set of facts
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Without libraries or archives it was the responsibility of the oral historians to keep records and orally pass on the information to the younger generations.
Oral traditions are highly structured and the storyline is repeated over generations with only small details changing. On the other hand, because they are oral texts, they are not static or unchanging. Therefore, the oral text may evolve somewhat with time, place, regional style, performer and audiences in order to keep the ideas relevant. Also, the narrative may slowly change as the values and conditions of the society change.
And additional scenes or descriptions may be added to improve the story or make it more meaningful.
The Art of Storytelling and Storytellers
Storytelling is an art. The storyteller's tools are words assisted by gestures, singing, facial expressions, body movements and acting to make their stories more memorable and interesting and to express moods and feelings. The storyteller begins the presentation slowly, building up the tension and emotion, until he reaches a dramatic climax. They perform epics that are sometimes hours or even days long that relate the history and genealogy, battles and political uprisings of a community.
Storytellers relayed this information using a variety of formats such as narratives, folk tales, proverbs, riddles, and myths to educate and entertain the community. In addition, skilled storytellers or wordsmiths used songs, dances, poetry, praise-songs and dramas along with gestures and facial expressions; masks and costumes; and other devices to enhance their presentations.
For many cultures, storytelling was an important communal event. The communities sat together and listened, responded and were entertained with accounts of past deeds, beliefs, taboos, myths and tribal histories
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The storyteller also played an important part in how the stories were presented. The storyteller's interests and creativity provided opportunities for improvisation. Gifted or well-known storytellers often repeated the story with the same words and same expressions in each performance as they traveled or met other storytellers they added to their repertoire. They may, at times, also have added new material to an old story to make it more interesting or meaningful to the times and audiences.