Oral Tradion

How Can A Historian Use Oral Tradition When Writing History

Oral tradition is a history or a story passed down from generation to generation through word of mouth. The story is usually the history of a civilization or culture.

A griot or Djeli is the oral historian or storyteller. You can tell a griot by its last name. If they have a name like “Kouyate” or “Dioubate”, or any name ending with “ate” then you know that person is a griot. There are male and female griots. Male griots tell the family history of the male side and females tell the female side. Griots only marry other griots. When the griot tells the history of a certain family, they use instruments, they sing and dance. It’s more like a performance, than just a person telling a story.

Oral tradition is significant in all cultures and societies. The oral tradition tells stories of the past and of how things use to be. Oral tradition also helps to educate the young and to teach important lessons about the past and about life. Since many oral traditions are well put together and are told often without any change, they are as dependable as any history books or as any recordings about a certain cul

When reading the epic of Sundiata I found that a lot of the epic was true according to the history of Mali. The epic tells that Sundiata made major changes in the organization of the Manlinke government and society. His “division of the world” assigned specific occupations, such as, warrior, ironsmithe, djeli, and more. (Mali- formation of Empire) These occupations were designated to kin groups, leaving the position of mansa (king) for Sundiata’s own dynasty, Keita. History also says that Sundiata set up administrative system based on provinces, which accommodated regional desires for a degree of self- government while allowing the mansa to retain ultimate control over what was becoming the empire of Mali. (Mali- formation of empire)

Oral traditions in every society are a great way for historians to learn and reconstruct history. Whether it is in an African society of Native American society, oral traditions and storytelling is a great way to get the facts in detail of different cultures and civilizations. Griots seem to know the history of their people in great detail and they tell the story with great amusement. When I become a historian I would try to study oral traditions and history passed down by word of mouth, before I rely on recordings.

Through the words of a griot historians can get the real truth of a civilization with out any other outside references, like recording of explorers, European conquers etc. With griots historian can reconstruct a civilization truthfully. Historians can learn the rises and falls of the civilization and how it came to be a civilization. “Listen to my word, you who want to know; by my mouth you will learn the history of Mali. By my mouth you will get to know the story of the ancestor of great Mali, the story of him who, by his exploits, surpassed even Alexander the Great; he who, from the East, shed his rats upon all the countries of the West.” (Niane, 1-2)

Another thing that the epic tells us about the history of Mali is about t

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