Orality and Historiography: A Perspective on the Changing Contours of African History
Keywords:
African historiography, orality, oral traditions, postcolonial studies, memory studiesAbstract
In this article, the methodological role of Orality in African historiography will be re-evaluated to ascertain how colonial conceptualisations of historical legitimacy (ontological truth) were grounded in the existence of written documentation. As such, African oral traditions have often been relegated to myth, folklore, or some other form of non-historical knowledge. By utilising the works of Jan Vansina, Paul Thompson and Walter Ong, this article tracks the development of oral tradition from a contested source to an accepted form of historical methodology. The paper claims that oral narration does not only fill gaps in archival sources, but also fundamentally challenge the textual biases that are embedded in existing historical practices. The paper also argues that through an emphasis of community memory, performative action and interpretive fluidity, orality has redefined the boundaries of African historical knowledge. The combination of oral and written forms of historical knowledge provides a more inclusive historiographical framework through which to challenge the colonial epistemologies of history and broaden the overall global discourse on history.
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