Essay on the function of oral storytelling in the transmission of knowledge in Amerindian societies
Oral storytelling has occupied a central place in human culture. Although often considered as an activity centred around children, oral storytelling in one form or another is at least as much a part of adult life and performs many functions from entertainment to a negotiation of identity, with the listener taking an active role in each unique storytelling event (Georges 1969). This essay is concerned with how it functions in the transmission of knowledge in Amerindian societies and will use two cases studies: the first concerning historical tales of the Western Apache and the second the migration stories of the Hopi. Firstly, however, it is appropriate to define terms.
Knowledge can be a difficult term to define and to some extent it is bounded by cultural specificity. Vansina (1985, 91-92, 129) identifies the notion of one type of knowledge, historical truth, as culture specific and suggests that of all human societies, only professional historians produce texts exclusively intended to inform people about the past. Wilson (1998, 4) has observed that many Amerindian stories have been labelled simply as ‘myths’ that do not distinguish clearly between story and history whereas Even and Pavich (1987, 13) emphasise that many distinctions are made.
There is thus much debate about how Amerindian oral narratives can be understood in relation to western academic paradigms such as history or archaeology (Whitely 2002). Knowledge is perhaps best considered as quite a loose category and in this essay the knowledge to be transmitted will, as far as is possible, be specified for each example, although it should be remembered that knowledge may include not just ‘facts’ but also reinforce social bonds and norms. It is also necessary to consider that Amerindian societies themselves are not homogeneous, despite the term, neither are they static entities but diverse peoples possessing…
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Tags: American Indian, Amerindian, cultural landscape, oral storytelling, religious ceremonies, storytelling
