Answer to Question #270622 in History for little dinny

Question

Explain the significance of oral tradition in the study of African History.

Answer 1

Oral storytelling has a long and illustrious history in Africa. As a result, rather of written texts, oral tradition and performance were used to transmit knowledge, history, and experience in Africa. Oral traditions provide people with a feeling of location and purpose through guiding societal and human morals. Oral history aids historians in identifying historical trends and occurrences. The historian can eliminate biases, contradictions, or mistakes in the written documents they are employing by comparing several oral traditions, resulting in an accurate historical portrayal of the past. Because African non-literate communities have traditionally employed the oral mode, of which oral tradition is an inherent element, for the transmission of their history, customs, traditions, folklore, and so on from one generation to the next, oral tradition is a credible source.