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The collection of oral traditions
ht. Libr. Rev. (1980) 12, 71-77
The Collection of Oral Traditions IYABO
MABAWONKU
*
One of the major sources for the history of Africa is the oral tradition. Vasina (1960) defines oral tradition as “testimonies of the past, which are deliberately transmitted from mouth to mouth”. Oral traditions. are purely oral, and they are passed from one generation to another. Quite a lot of African traditions have been documented over the last two centuries. Yet according to Armstrong (1969), “the whole body of what has been collected is a tiny fraction of what remains to be collected and studied”. Documentation and preservation of oral tradition in Africa have been limited by various factors among which are lack of manpower, and the inability to adapt modern technologies, either as a result of lack of funds or the dearth of knowledge of available technologies and the invaluable use to which they can be put. Studies on oral tradition will rely more for authenticity on recorded experience (audio and visual) than on printed judgements alone, because the true dimension of African culture and modes of living are best captured audio-visually. The various aspects of the African culture that could be recorded audiovisually include rituals, festivals, worships and religions, arts and crafts, customs, songs, dances, music, poetry, tales and cults. Among the technologies available for documenting oral history are slides, filmstrips, motion pictures, television, charts, illustrations and tape-recordings. Slides, filmstrips, illustrations like photographs, pictures, charts and postcards are visuals. They do not portray motion pictures of objects, or process. They are useful only in recording hairstyles, costumes, dressing modes of various tribes, tribal marks, etc. These media are of no significant value in documenting stories, poetries, songs, rituals, and various other forms in which many traditions of Africa are embedded. * Lecturer in Educational Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. 0020-7837/80/010071+07$02.00/0
Technology,
Department 0
of Library
1980 Academic
Studies,
Press Inc.
University
(London)
Limited
of
72
I.
MABAWONKU
Motion pictures, (especially when accompanied with sound) television and the video tape recording could be highly useful in describing motion, showing relationships, and for capturing pictorially the African lifestyle and culture. They are very useful for recording festivals, rituals, ceremonies and dances. However, the cost of purchasing the equipment as well as producing and processing the materials make their use of relatively limited significance, especially, where funds are limited. One of the audio-visual technologies that have come to gain wide acceptance in documenting the African oral traditions is the taperecorder. Tape-recordings are easy to make with regular tape-recorders. They can provide applications in most subject areas. The equipment for use is easy to operate and cheap. The materials (tapes) are reusable and quite easy to handle. Another advantage to the medium is that it gives the exact wording of the testimony and allows the informant to speak at the speed, the rhythm and the dialect natural to him, without any interruptions. As described by Armstrong (1969), “the modern high-fidelity, portable tape-recorder has introduced new dimensions into the study of oral tradition. Quantity and quality of text, directness of derivation from original sources, musical expression, and instrumental accompaniments are all now on an entirely new level”. Nevertheless, even tape-recording has its inherent problems as a medium for collecting oral tradition. Research and experience have shown that given the Nigerian context, there exists lots of difficulties that can be encountered in documenting information, live, or by interview, using the tape-recorder. In order to identify some of these problems, the writer has embarked on a research project with the Undergraduate Diploma students (1977-78 and 1978-79 sessions) of the Department of Library Studies of the University of Ibadan. In the course being offered on audiovisuals, the students were introduced to the various media, their characteristics and utilization, as well as their uses, in collecting valuable local information for the library clientele. Perhaps one should hereby say that the recent trend in Nigerian libraries is to be able to provide information to the clientele in any useful form. Since the Nigerian tradition is still purely oral, the importance of the tape medium cannot be over-stressed. After reviewing the literature of their areas of interest, the students were asked to do their field work. They were to take note of all the problems they encountered in the process of locating, collecting, recording, analysing, and assessing the testimonies collected. From their findings, an analysis of the recurrent problems was made.
COLLECTION
OF
ORAL
The areas of the Nigerian tradition could be broadly grouped as:
TRADITIONS
73
that are covered by the students
(a) Festivals: Recordings were made on festivals in selected towns in Nigeria, e.g. Odun Ogun ni Ilu Ij,ro-Ogun festival in Ijero town (Ondo State). Odun egungun ni ilu Ibadan (Egungun festival in Ibadan town) ; Jvsi festival in Eke, Anambra State, Ajiaolu (Ujio$oku) festival in Nnewi, Ajagbo festival in Araromi-IyeAkoko and so on. (b) Custom: In this category are a series of interviews and discussions on the installation ceremonies of Chiefs, Obas and Obis in certain towns of Nigeria. There are three recordings on marriage customs among Yorubas and Ibos of Nigeria. Recordings (5) on folk tales are grouped along with customs as they are often reflections on the customs of the people. (c) Histories: These are 14 recordings on the histories of some townsItan ilu Ilara Mokin (the history of Ilara Mokin)-and villages. Some of the recordings are on sacred forests and lands in the country. (d) Worship and Beliefs : R ecordings were made on the Orisa Osanyin, and the Ifa oracle among others. (e) General: Included are recordings on weaving, arts and crafts, in Yoruba land, and interviews on cultural organisations. The problems that the field workers encountered in recording oral tradition could be classified by the type of tradition they have worked on. The major problems have therefore been described under the five types of tradition. Nevertheless, some problems are basic, and recurrent, regardless of the type of tradition. First, is the problem of finance. In the Nigerian situation, the field worker has to budget for transportation, the hardware and software required, as well as for other incentives that he may need to provide for the informant(s), who otherwise might not be very co-operative. Experience has shown that many local resource persons would be very reluctant to give out information free of charge. Another problem is the environment for recording. If reliable information is to be obtained, one must first get to know the environment in which the traditions have arisen. Vasina (1965) explains further that “every tradition arises and is preserved within a particular environment, and is modelled after the cultural pattern. It is part and parcel of the culture, and the removal of a tradition from its context is To understand a tradition, therefore, it is necesa form of amputation”. sary to know the culture which gives rise to it.
74
I.
MABAWONKU TABLE
Distribution
Type
of oral
I
of recordings by type of oral tradition and problems
tradition
Festivals
No. of recordings
20
Problems
(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f)
Customs
(a) (b)
Withholding information. Inadequate explanations customs by the informants.
14
(a) (b)
Scarcity Validating collected.
20
(a)
Taboos that discriminate which sex should have which information. Suspicion of the “outsider”.
13
History
Worship
and
beliefs
(b) General (a) (b)
Several traditional rites still not discussed for taping. Taboos are not discussed. Women tabooed from hearing and seeing some rites and oracles. Rituals often performed before certain information is given. Organising various participants in the festival for testimonies. Logical editing of the recording.
of
some
of informants. the information
as access
to to
: Arts and Cultural Total
crafts organisations
12
Dispersed nature be collected.
of information
to
79
Many towns and villages of Nigeria are still rural, without the necessary infra-structures (like lighting) for advanced recording. Because of this, many students used small portable battery operated tape-recorders and submitted low quality recordings. Extra batteries and tapes could not be easily obtained in many villages, so, they had to be taken along when travelling to the villages. In most cases, the student has to be very familiar with the towns, the ways of the people, and with some of the resource persons. The
COLLECTION
OF
ORAL
TRADITIONS
75
amount of information obtained depends largely on the degree of familiarity between the field worker and the resource person. A knowledge of the language in which the information is to be conveyed is also important. It is not possible to collect information accurately in any language other than that in which it was transmitted. Translation by the informant, or any third party will merely detract from the accuracy or authenticity of the testimonies collected. This explains why the students went to their home towns or to their tribesmen for testimonies. Another problem generally encountered by the students is the control of the flow of information from the informant. Most informants are afraid or sceptical about having their voices recorded on the tape. It is essential to let the informant know why the information is being collected. The informant should also be at his ease, so that he will feel neither afraid nor over-confident while giving testimonies. It is sometimes difficult to get a good place for recording the testimony. Those who went out to interview specialists or other resource persons found out that the homes were too crowded, and it was quite an effort not to have background noise and distractions on the recordings. When a group testimony has to be recited, the students have to spend much time ahead, organising the people to present themselves. Yet, it is very essential to collect as many testimonies as possible in order to arrive at a more accurate conclusion. In fact, there have been occasions when some informants have refused to give testimonies until the others in the group are around. This was the experience of the student who recorded the history of Ihru M&in in Ondo State of Nigeria. Many informants can give testimonies speaking only in their local dialects. There often occurs the problem of understanding the recording without a previous knowledge of the dialect. Also, some ofthe informants are too old, or too loud for their voices to be clearly audible on tape. Some have made unnecessary digressions in their narrations, that the students have to completely erase some parts of the recording when they return to the laboratory. That leads to the last problem, which is editing the information collected. If there are many informants or there is a live coverage of some activities or events, it is often necessary to edit or re-record. As could be seen in Table I, some problems are peculiar to some types of oral tradition. For instance, the observations of the students reveal that local resource persons still do not want to discuss rites performed at festivals for recording. Similarly, taboos are not discussed for tape-recording. Women are also tabooed from seeing some rights
76
I.
MABAWONKU
performed. It is equally difficult for women to make adequate recordings of some festivals. For instance all over Yoruba land, women are forbidden from participating in or documenting the Oro Festival. Similarly, a female student cannot document the Ololu masquerade festival in Ibadan, Oyo State. In collecting facts on Nigerian customs, a lot of information is still being withheld, just as very many resource persons are still not able to provide adequate explanations about the origin of some customs. While collecting the history of most of the towns, the problems encountered are twofold: the scarcity of informants and validating the information collected. There are usually very few people in any locality who can be very precise about dates and some other information. On worship and beliefs, the students found that there are lots of taboos that discriminate as to which sex should have access to certain information. There also exists a high degree of suspicion for the “outsider”. The dispersed nature of the information to be collected on the African music, dances, songs, arts and crafts was also a problem to the students. It is therefore necessary to concentrate on just one area. Most of the problems listed above can be solved by educating the people. As more people are educated, and they know the benefits of documenting the African oral tradition, the researcher would enjoy more cooperation from the resource persons. Another reason why many informants are not very cooperative initially is lack of confidence in the researchers or interviewers. This can be offset by making an appreciable contact with the local people and the environment before the recording. In many cases, it is necessary to have more than one source of information, for the purposes of details and validation. At times, one would need more than one tape-recorder for simultaneous coverage. The need for a recording assistant thereby arises. Other problems like having to perform some rituals before obtaining the required information, and tabooing women from collecting certain information would still stay for much longer. Finally, it is about time that there exists a depository law for audiorecordings on Nigerian tradition. An advantage to this is that research could be coordinated and easily updated. The writer thinks that the National Library could work along with the Universities in this regard. In conclusion, audio-visuals-projectuals, non-projectuals and audiorecordings are of immense value in documenting oral traditions. The visuals give authenticity to what is collected, as well as pictorial
COLLECTION
OF ORAL
77
TRADITIONS
explanations to various aspects of the African culture. Tape-recording is by far the most useful, as it is essentially oral, cheaper and easily available. However, there are several problems associated with audiotaping oral traditions. Some of these would gradually disappear as more people are educated, some could be offset if the researcher is more familiar with the environment while a few others would have to be endured for much longer. BIBLIOGRAPHY Armstrong,
Robert
G. (1969). The collection
of oral tradition
Africa.
African Notes
5 (Z), p. 12. Ibid., p. 15. Vasina, J. (1960). Recording the oral history of the Bakuba. I. Methods. Journal of African History 1 (I), p. 46. Vasina, J. (1965). Oral Tradition: A Study in Historical Methodology. London : Routledge, Kegan Paul, p. 188.
The Collection of Oral Traditions IYABO
MABAWONKU
*
One of the major sources for the history of Africa is the oral tradition. Vasina (1960) defines oral tradition as “testimonies of the past, which are deliberately transmitted from mouth to mouth”. Oral traditions. are purely oral, and they are passed from one generation to another. Quite a lot of African traditions have been documented over the last two centuries. Yet according to Armstrong (1969), “the whole body of what has been collected is a tiny fraction of what remains to be collected and studied”. Documentation and preservation of oral tradition in Africa have been limited by various factors among which are lack of manpower, and the inability to adapt modern technologies, either as a result of lack of funds or the dearth of knowledge of available technologies and the invaluable use to which they can be put. Studies on oral tradition will rely more for authenticity on recorded experience (audio and visual) than on printed judgements alone, because the true dimension of African culture and modes of living are best captured audio-visually. The various aspects of the African culture that could be recorded audiovisually include rituals, festivals, worships and religions, arts and crafts, customs, songs, dances, music, poetry, tales and cults. Among the technologies available for documenting oral history are slides, filmstrips, motion pictures, television, charts, illustrations and tape-recordings. Slides, filmstrips, illustrations like photographs, pictures, charts and postcards are visuals. They do not portray motion pictures of objects, or process. They are useful only in recording hairstyles, costumes, dressing modes of various tribes, tribal marks, etc. These media are of no significant value in documenting stories, poetries, songs, rituals, and various other forms in which many traditions of Africa are embedded. * Lecturer in Educational Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. 0020-7837/80/010071+07$02.00/0
Technology,
Department 0
of Library
1980 Academic
Studies,
Press Inc.
University
(London)
Limited
of
72
I.
MABAWONKU
Motion pictures, (especially when accompanied with sound) television and the video tape recording could be highly useful in describing motion, showing relationships, and for capturing pictorially the African lifestyle and culture. They are very useful for recording festivals, rituals, ceremonies and dances. However, the cost of purchasing the equipment as well as producing and processing the materials make their use of relatively limited significance, especially, where funds are limited. One of the audio-visual technologies that have come to gain wide acceptance in documenting the African oral traditions is the taperecorder. Tape-recordings are easy to make with regular tape-recorders. They can provide applications in most subject areas. The equipment for use is easy to operate and cheap. The materials (tapes) are reusable and quite easy to handle. Another advantage to the medium is that it gives the exact wording of the testimony and allows the informant to speak at the speed, the rhythm and the dialect natural to him, without any interruptions. As described by Armstrong (1969), “the modern high-fidelity, portable tape-recorder has introduced new dimensions into the study of oral tradition. Quantity and quality of text, directness of derivation from original sources, musical expression, and instrumental accompaniments are all now on an entirely new level”. Nevertheless, even tape-recording has its inherent problems as a medium for collecting oral tradition. Research and experience have shown that given the Nigerian context, there exists lots of difficulties that can be encountered in documenting information, live, or by interview, using the tape-recorder. In order to identify some of these problems, the writer has embarked on a research project with the Undergraduate Diploma students (1977-78 and 1978-79 sessions) of the Department of Library Studies of the University of Ibadan. In the course being offered on audiovisuals, the students were introduced to the various media, their characteristics and utilization, as well as their uses, in collecting valuable local information for the library clientele. Perhaps one should hereby say that the recent trend in Nigerian libraries is to be able to provide information to the clientele in any useful form. Since the Nigerian tradition is still purely oral, the importance of the tape medium cannot be over-stressed. After reviewing the literature of their areas of interest, the students were asked to do their field work. They were to take note of all the problems they encountered in the process of locating, collecting, recording, analysing, and assessing the testimonies collected. From their findings, an analysis of the recurrent problems was made.
COLLECTION
OF
ORAL
The areas of the Nigerian tradition could be broadly grouped as:
TRADITIONS
73
that are covered by the students
(a) Festivals: Recordings were made on festivals in selected towns in Nigeria, e.g. Odun Ogun ni Ilu Ij,ro-Ogun festival in Ijero town (Ondo State). Odun egungun ni ilu Ibadan (Egungun festival in Ibadan town) ; Jvsi festival in Eke, Anambra State, Ajiaolu (Ujio$oku) festival in Nnewi, Ajagbo festival in Araromi-IyeAkoko and so on. (b) Custom: In this category are a series of interviews and discussions on the installation ceremonies of Chiefs, Obas and Obis in certain towns of Nigeria. There are three recordings on marriage customs among Yorubas and Ibos of Nigeria. Recordings (5) on folk tales are grouped along with customs as they are often reflections on the customs of the people. (c) Histories: These are 14 recordings on the histories of some townsItan ilu Ilara Mokin (the history of Ilara Mokin)-and villages. Some of the recordings are on sacred forests and lands in the country. (d) Worship and Beliefs : R ecordings were made on the Orisa Osanyin, and the Ifa oracle among others. (e) General: Included are recordings on weaving, arts and crafts, in Yoruba land, and interviews on cultural organisations. The problems that the field workers encountered in recording oral tradition could be classified by the type of tradition they have worked on. The major problems have therefore been described under the five types of tradition. Nevertheless, some problems are basic, and recurrent, regardless of the type of tradition. First, is the problem of finance. In the Nigerian situation, the field worker has to budget for transportation, the hardware and software required, as well as for other incentives that he may need to provide for the informant(s), who otherwise might not be very co-operative. Experience has shown that many local resource persons would be very reluctant to give out information free of charge. Another problem is the environment for recording. If reliable information is to be obtained, one must first get to know the environment in which the traditions have arisen. Vasina (1965) explains further that “every tradition arises and is preserved within a particular environment, and is modelled after the cultural pattern. It is part and parcel of the culture, and the removal of a tradition from its context is To understand a tradition, therefore, it is necesa form of amputation”. sary to know the culture which gives rise to it.
74
I.
MABAWONKU TABLE
Distribution
Type
of oral
I
of recordings by type of oral tradition and problems
tradition
Festivals
No. of recordings
20
Problems
(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f)
Customs
(a) (b)
Withholding information. Inadequate explanations customs by the informants.
14
(a) (b)
Scarcity Validating collected.
20
(a)
Taboos that discriminate which sex should have which information. Suspicion of the “outsider”.
13
History
Worship
and
beliefs
(b) General (a) (b)
Several traditional rites still not discussed for taping. Taboos are not discussed. Women tabooed from hearing and seeing some rites and oracles. Rituals often performed before certain information is given. Organising various participants in the festival for testimonies. Logical editing of the recording.
of
some
of informants. the information
as access
to to
: Arts and Cultural Total
crafts organisations
12
Dispersed nature be collected.
of information
to
79
Many towns and villages of Nigeria are still rural, without the necessary infra-structures (like lighting) for advanced recording. Because of this, many students used small portable battery operated tape-recorders and submitted low quality recordings. Extra batteries and tapes could not be easily obtained in many villages, so, they had to be taken along when travelling to the villages. In most cases, the student has to be very familiar with the towns, the ways of the people, and with some of the resource persons. The
COLLECTION
OF
ORAL
TRADITIONS
75
amount of information obtained depends largely on the degree of familiarity between the field worker and the resource person. A knowledge of the language in which the information is to be conveyed is also important. It is not possible to collect information accurately in any language other than that in which it was transmitted. Translation by the informant, or any third party will merely detract from the accuracy or authenticity of the testimonies collected. This explains why the students went to their home towns or to their tribesmen for testimonies. Another problem generally encountered by the students is the control of the flow of information from the informant. Most informants are afraid or sceptical about having their voices recorded on the tape. It is essential to let the informant know why the information is being collected. The informant should also be at his ease, so that he will feel neither afraid nor over-confident while giving testimonies. It is sometimes difficult to get a good place for recording the testimony. Those who went out to interview specialists or other resource persons found out that the homes were too crowded, and it was quite an effort not to have background noise and distractions on the recordings. When a group testimony has to be recited, the students have to spend much time ahead, organising the people to present themselves. Yet, it is very essential to collect as many testimonies as possible in order to arrive at a more accurate conclusion. In fact, there have been occasions when some informants have refused to give testimonies until the others in the group are around. This was the experience of the student who recorded the history of Ihru M&in in Ondo State of Nigeria. Many informants can give testimonies speaking only in their local dialects. There often occurs the problem of understanding the recording without a previous knowledge of the dialect. Also, some ofthe informants are too old, or too loud for their voices to be clearly audible on tape. Some have made unnecessary digressions in their narrations, that the students have to completely erase some parts of the recording when they return to the laboratory. That leads to the last problem, which is editing the information collected. If there are many informants or there is a live coverage of some activities or events, it is often necessary to edit or re-record. As could be seen in Table I, some problems are peculiar to some types of oral tradition. For instance, the observations of the students reveal that local resource persons still do not want to discuss rites performed at festivals for recording. Similarly, taboos are not discussed for tape-recording. Women are also tabooed from seeing some rights
76
I.
MABAWONKU
performed. It is equally difficult for women to make adequate recordings of some festivals. For instance all over Yoruba land, women are forbidden from participating in or documenting the Oro Festival. Similarly, a female student cannot document the Ololu masquerade festival in Ibadan, Oyo State. In collecting facts on Nigerian customs, a lot of information is still being withheld, just as very many resource persons are still not able to provide adequate explanations about the origin of some customs. While collecting the history of most of the towns, the problems encountered are twofold: the scarcity of informants and validating the information collected. There are usually very few people in any locality who can be very precise about dates and some other information. On worship and beliefs, the students found that there are lots of taboos that discriminate as to which sex should have access to certain information. There also exists a high degree of suspicion for the “outsider”. The dispersed nature of the information to be collected on the African music, dances, songs, arts and crafts was also a problem to the students. It is therefore necessary to concentrate on just one area. Most of the problems listed above can be solved by educating the people. As more people are educated, and they know the benefits of documenting the African oral tradition, the researcher would enjoy more cooperation from the resource persons. Another reason why many informants are not very cooperative initially is lack of confidence in the researchers or interviewers. This can be offset by making an appreciable contact with the local people and the environment before the recording. In many cases, it is necessary to have more than one source of information, for the purposes of details and validation. At times, one would need more than one tape-recorder for simultaneous coverage. The need for a recording assistant thereby arises. Other problems like having to perform some rituals before obtaining the required information, and tabooing women from collecting certain information would still stay for much longer. Finally, it is about time that there exists a depository law for audiorecordings on Nigerian tradition. An advantage to this is that research could be coordinated and easily updated. The writer thinks that the National Library could work along with the Universities in this regard. In conclusion, audio-visuals-projectuals, non-projectuals and audiorecordings are of immense value in documenting oral traditions. The visuals give authenticity to what is collected, as well as pictorial
COLLECTION
OF ORAL
77
TRADITIONS
explanations to various aspects of the African culture. Tape-recording is by far the most useful, as it is essentially oral, cheaper and easily available. However, there are several problems associated with audiotaping oral traditions. Some of these would gradually disappear as more people are educated, some could be offset if the researcher is more familiar with the environment while a few others would have to be endured for much longer. BIBLIOGRAPHY Armstrong,
Robert
G. (1969). The collection
of oral tradition
Africa.
African Notes
5 (Z), p. 12. Ibid., p. 15. Vasina, J. (1960). Recording the oral history of the Bakuba. I. Methods. Journal of African History 1 (I), p. 46. Vasina, J. (1965). Oral Tradition: A Study in Historical Methodology. London : Routledge, Kegan Paul, p. 188.