Running head: MUSIC AND ORAL TRADITION

Atuel 1

Why are music and oral tradition significant in preserving

culture in Africa and the Pacific Islands?

Aira Atuel
Global Studies and World Languages Academy
Tallwood High School
December 2016
MUSIC AND ORAL TRADITION Atuel 2

Table of Contents
Abstract3
Introduction..4
Literature Review.5
Westerners View on Oral Tradition....5
Conflict Between Oral and Written Transmission...5
Music and Oral Tradition in Everyday Lives...6
Current Strategies for Preserving and Showcasing Oral Tradition..7
Limitations....8
Body..9
Conclusion...15
References...16
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Abstract

This paper examined the significance of music and oral tradition in areas in Africa and Pacific

Islands. It is found that more developed countries are characterizing music and oral tradition as

less necessary of importance since they are not prominently reliant on these in relation to their

ways of preserving culture. This is due to the current era of modern technology. However, in the

specified areas of the study, music and oral tradition are not only deemed as important, but also

crucial in preserving their culture. Music and oral tradition are tied to almost all aspects of their

culture: environment, life lessons, history, and genealogies. The fact that more developed

countries are tipped away from these concepts, the result is that the general perspective on music

and oral tradition are also degrading. In a world where global citizens are necessary, the need to

bring awareness to the essence of music and oral tradition is more prominent in order to

understand, value, and support each others traditions and customs.

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Introduction
Before people were able to post their statuses and selfies on social media, humans had

nothing but their eyes, mouths, and ears to share their stories, beliefs, and artistic values. Today,

people can post stories online, have the entire world read it, and have it secured on the internet

forever. In history, people told stories to their kin, have their kids listen to them, and then wait

for the next generation to share them. In the past, people relied on oral tradition for knowledge.

Today, people have to have a written work in order to consider it a resource for knowledge.

Music was a part of identity and lifestyle; today, music is classified as more for entertainment.

At one point or another, all cultures relied on just oral traditions and music as a basis for

their identity and beliefs. According to Random House Dictionary (2016), the definition of oral

tradition is a communitys cultural and historical traditions passed down by word of mouth

generation to generation with the absence of written works. Therefore, in order to preserve this

tradition, people will continually tell their stories and beliefs by word of mouth. In todays

generation, people who live in more developed countries do not have to worry about preserving

their stories because of the presence of modern technology. Music plays the same role with

preserving culture as well. In the modern era, people have considered music as an object of

entertainment and leisure. This means that they can choose to like or dislike a certain type of

music, or they can choose to not listen to it at all. However, in some areas in this world,

specifically areas along the pacific islands and in some places in Africa, music is an environment

and identity they cannot separate from. To some, it is their way of participating in a global

spanning conversation (Casey, 2015). A way to show the world their distinguished culture and
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lifestyle. Music and oral tradition do not only act as a form of entertainment to several cultures

located in some African cultures and Pacific islands, but instead, these are considered important

in preserving the cultural identity in these areas.

Literature Review

The concept of Music and Oral Tradition has been approached through several different

ways by researchers because it contains several aspects that relate to a bigger picture. In order to

fully understand the significance of the topic, it is more important to comprehend the differing

aspects that surround it.

Westerners View on Oral Tradition

According to the University of British Columbia (2009), Western discussion is now

leading to a mindset that current people in oral societies are to be peoples without history, and

that written works are the dominant form of record keeping. Therefore concluding that

information through oral transmission is unreliable. In an article by Patterson (2015), musicians

of the modern era have come to a notion that oral transmission is the weaker, outdated

version of the advanced written music notation, and this will indeed affect the future

generations view on music history. However, she proposes that oral transmission is still

prominent in todays era and that it is, in fact, an inseparable part of music.

Conflict between Oral and Written Transmission

According to UBC (2009), discussions regarding oral and written history often lead to a

series of contrasting oppositional binaries. Oral history is described as uncivilized and

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subjective. On the other hand, written works are civilized and objective. However, this easily

disregards the fact that the primary authors of any written book deliver their own experiences

and biased opinions to their work. In a book written by Peter Wasamba (2015) called

Contemporary Oral literature Fieldwork, he addresses how several artists in Africa are currently

recovering the oral mode of their living art. However, he also notes to the readers that the

context of the argument is not meant to downgrade the role of written technology, but instead,

it is addressed to affirm that written literature is not meant to replace oral performances. In

fact, according to UBC (2009), writing and orality are complementary to each other. In other

words, they both have strengths that enrich the other, yielding to a better result. In Pattersons

article regarding modern musicians view on music history, she highlights the false belief that the

conflict between oral and written traditions eventually leads to the notion that music must have

been passed down imperfectly through oral transmission and therefore perfectly through

written transmission. In conjunction with that notion, she states that these two concepts should

be more appropriately viewed as slightly varying, intricate, and linked traditions because the

general process of passing down music involves the roles of both oral and notated traditions

(Patterson, 2015).

Music and Oral Tradition in Everyday Lives

In this societys history of slavery, Africans often used their musical and oral traditions in

the fields to lighten their task (2003). To them, this was their way of preserving the culture

that they were separated from, as they were sold into slavery. In an interview conducted by

Derek Beres to a girl named Salem from the tribe of Waliwa, located in Madagascar, Salem
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utilizes her entrancing voice to her tribes workers with the purpose of keeping the laborers

minds occupied for long periods of time (Beres, 2006). Salem stated that as she sings to them,

they become so absorbed that the work and music become the same thing. In an article written

by Madronna Holden, she refers to folklore as a tool that is used to strengthen bonds of their

community (Holden, 2008). Holden goes on to explain that in several African societies, the

storytellers have to be supported, or fortified, by the audience. She refers to the audience as a

midwife to the storyteller and to the stories. The audience would give spontaneous responses

and even share their own personal experiences to encourage the storyteller.

Current Strategies for Preserving and Showcasing Oral Tradition

In an article by Terava KaAnapu Casey (2015), he writes about the annual festival of

Heiva in French Polynesia. This festival is held to celebrate their cultures legends, Pipira and

Rehua. The performances in this festival is captured in a package of books, CDs, and DVDs.

The purpose of this is to showcase their culture to mainstream accessibility (Casey, 2015).

According to NASA, Native Americans have been known for their oral storytelling as a

means to preserve their culture. A popular legend is the tale of Crazy Horse which delivers a

message about climate change. With this in mind, NASA had decided to collaborate with several

Native Americans to merge the information confined in their oral history with the information

they have at NASA regarding climate change. In the end, Adamec, a NASA employee who took

initiative of the project, visited the Crazy Horse monument and produced a documentary

(Dunbar, 2010).
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In an article by Emma Johanningsmeier (2015), she states that a return to poetrys

origins as an oral tradition was the focus at the Poetry Out Loud competition After a POL

competition, Johanningsmeier interviews Amanda Licato, an English Ph.D. During the

interview, Licato indicates that poems are all created to be spoken aloud. Through this

competition, the roots of poems are brought back to life by the younger generation. In an article

by Heather Inwood (2009), she denotes John Crespis book, Voices in Revolution: Poetry and the

Auditory Imagination in Modern China, that stated that the history of every written poem, has

also been heard. No matter varying ways poems have been delivered, by narration,

dramatization, or just simply read, poems are created with the mentality that these words are

bound to become sound.

Limitations

The focus of this research paper is to bring awareness to the significance of music and

oral traditions in certain areas, specifically in the tribes of Africa and the Pacific Islands. This

research also requires an evaluation of the present and what may be the future status quo

pertaining to music and oral tradition in these areas. This requires an intimate understanding of

the cultures and lifestyles of their people. Ideally, to reach this type of understanding, it would

require fieldwork conducted personally by the researcher. However, due to geographical and

time restraints, the research is only conducted within the borders that the researcher is currently

situated. To compensate for these restraints, the researcher interviewed people from the

Philippine Cultural Center about their views on music and oral tradition. The Philippine Cultural
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Center educates kids from ages 3 and up about the music, language, and culture of the

Philippines to preserve the culture for kids who were born in the United States.

A biased view may also be present in this paper as the person conducting this study

resides in a Western country, contrary to the specified areas in this research. The researcher is

accustomed to its cultures that does not rely heavily on music and oral traditions for the

preservation of its culture. However, the researcher will strive to be unbiased during the course

of this investigation in order to successfully deliver the primary purpose of this paper.

Body

More often than not, when people from more developed countries are asked questions

regarding music, they often take it as a matter of preference . One can talk with burning passion

about their preferred music; some may even consider music as one of their distinct

characteristics. Nevertheless, as someone who belongs in a culture, music is not one of the things

that cultures from more developed countries rely on to preserve their culture . Granted that more

developed countries are exposed to wider genres in music and entertainment, it is inevitable for

them to have diverse opinions about music. When the geographical area is also taken into

consideration, it is even easier for such varying opinions to occur. In areas including the Pacific

Islands and Africa, music and oral tradition are not just matters of preference, their roles are

actually in the center for these cultures . Cultures among the Pacific Islands and Africa rely on

music and oral tradition to preserve their cultural identity.

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Defining cultural identity in its most basic form, is a sense of belonging (2016) .

According to previously cited website, a cultural identity includes a sense of companionship,

beliefs, interests, and basic principles of living . Areas along the Pacific Islands and Africa are

composed of societies where they have the same interests, beliefs, and basic principles of

living. This means that all the people in one culture are homogeneous and often rely on things

that are common to preserve their cultural identity . In Hawaii, their music and chants have

always been the central part of their culture . According to Smithsonian Folkways, a term used

for their chant is mele (2016). Mele is a significant way of portraying mythological stories of

their gods and the great works of their aspired individuals . This article talks about the prevailing

use of music to define the Hawaiian culture and to celebrate their love of land, or aloha

aina. When one is asked to describe Hawaiian culture, a distinct picture of people in grass

skirts dancing to a unique sound of drumbeats and voice rifts come to mind . However, the music

and dance are more than just the entrancing drumbeats and wavy moves done by the dancers .

Polynesian dance began as an auxiliary to the oral traditions of the islands while portraying

individual aspects of those islands (2009, June 24) . Every movement and sound actually

signifies an important aspect of the environment of the cultures.

In an interview with Rachel Lizan, a Library Media Specialist at Tallwood High School

and an instructor of Filipino and Polynesian traditional dance, when asked the question, Is there

any significance behind traditional Filipino or Polynesian dances and music? Is there any relation

between the dance and music with other aspects of their cultures such as the environment or their

beliefs? she answered, The reason why we learn Filipino folk dances is because of the folklore
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and stories that are told and shared. The stories she indicates are ones that are not written in

books. However, this does not make these stories any less significant than the ones that are

written. Throughout Mrs. Lizans experience in dancing, she now sees the significance of music

and dance to understanding culture. Every move in these traditional dances holds a symbol that

is significant to the culture. In a video from Smithsonian website, it showed that the meaning

behind the hula dance actually symbolizes the islands themselves (Reed) . The hand waves and

the grass skirts portray the palm trees and grass that sway back and forth from the wind, and the

hip movements portray the body of water splashing across the shore . The music itself describes

the atmosphere of the island. There are still several cultures that lack written language, and Mrs.

Lizan also indicates that through music and dance, the stories are told.

Another important thing to note about oral tradition, is that they hold significant events in

a cultures history. In an article by Donald Swanson (2008), he writes about Pele, a Hawaiian

volcano deity, and Hiiaka, Peles younger sister . The article talks about how the oral stories

about Pele and Hiiaka are consistent with the two most massive volcanic eruptions that ever

occurred since the beginning of human settlement in Hawaii . The significant event behind Pele

and Hiiaka are the eruptions that occurred during the 15 th century in Ailaau and Kilaueas

that lasted for approximately 60 years (Swanson, 2008). According to this article, the eruption in

Ailaau and Kilauea have always been two of the most intensively studied volcanic eruptions .

Rev. William Ellis and three others visited the erupted site in 1825 and were told about the

stories regarding Pele and Hiiaka. Ever since their visit, they had brought attention to the

significance of the oral traditions in the culture . Only recently have geologists settle that the oral
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traditions indeed held essential value about the volcanic activity in Hawaii (Swanson, 2008) .

Now, scientists are becoming more interested about examining other Hawaiian chants and

stories to obtain more information about these massive events.

Similar to Pacific Islanders, African culture also centralizes oral tradition within their

society. African culture, in its most basic form, will not be fully understood unless one studies

the oratures of the culture. A quote utilized by Agatucci in her website (1997) said, The story is

our escort; without it, we are blind . Does the blind man own his escort? No, neither do we the

story; rather it is the story that owns us and directs us . This was a quote written by Chinua

Achebe in Anthills of the Savannah. A primary purpose for African oratures is to transmit

wisdom, knowledge, moral lessons about life in general . Their children primarily learn their

manners and customs not only through their parents actions, but also through the stories that

they see and hear every single day. When parents need to teach something to their kids, they

would then start telling a folktale that teaches the lesson (Agatucci, 1997) . This article talks

about one of their popular folktales that talks about greediness . An Igbo folktale titled, Nnabe

and Chineke or in English, The Tortoise and the Lord, portrays a justification of why tortoises

have cracked shells. The story describes the tortoise as someone who is cunning and witty, but

one day abuses his knowledge. The story is set in the sky where birds are feasting . The tortoise

somehow tricks all the birds out of the feast, and he feasts by himself . However, because of his

greediness, he was pushed out of the sky and broke his shell into pieces . In the end, he got put

back by a medicine man and eventually came back into the society (Agatucci, 1997) . Countless
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folktales have been passed down generation to generation to preserve the ways of the culture in

teaching their kids the things they have to learn in life.

These types of folktales are also prominent in the Philippines . Legends such as where the

eyes from a pineapple came from. The story teaches about children being obedient to their

parents and being hardworking. These tales not only serve as moral lessons and entertainment

for the listeners, but they are also what makes these cultures distinct or unique from the others.

In African culture, music is also another crucial tool in preserving their traditions and

customs. According to New World Encyclopedia, music plays several roles in the culture such

as expressing life, helping mark significant stages moments in someones life, connecting people

in various ways, strengthening the bonds of the community, and communicating through modes

of drums, songs, and tales (Music of Africa, 2015) . From this same article, it points out how

the music indeed adjusted to some newer types of form after the colonialism in Africa . Their

music have influenced music across the world, specifically in the Caribbean and Latin America.

According to a databased article, a Harare-based traditional music group from Zimbabwe

called, The Percussionists, boarded on a journey in where they collaborated with several artists

from varying cultural backgrounds in Africa (2011, April 18). Rumbidzai Tapfuma, the leader of

the group, said that the unique pattern of playing traditional drums and singing folk was meant

to safeguard cultural identity. Throughout the groups journey, they were able to showcase their

culture to others, and in return, they came to appreciate and enjoy other cultures as well . Among

one of Tapfumas encounters, he came across a lady who claimed that her identity is determined
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by the drum. In fact, she also said that she could actually communicate through the different

patterns of beats produced by the drums . It may seem silly or impossible to those who are

foreign to the culture or to this type of music in general . But one may assume that

communicating through music and drumbeats could mean that the messages being sent are

through the feelings and emotions resonated from the percussions and the performers . In

Guinea, a significant instrument that is valued among the Manding griots is the Balaphone (The

Balaphone). This musical instrument actually holds foundation to the history of the culture .

The tale of the Sosso Balaphone delivers a tale about how King Sunjata Keitas came to reign

in the Manding Empire during the early 13th century. The tale states that spirits gave Soumaoro,

Sunjatas main rival, the first Sosso Balaphone, and he never allowed anyone else to play it .

After capturing Sunjata, his close friend, and griot, the griot came to play the Balaphone . To

summarize the story, Soumaoro appoints the griot as the balaphone player . After Soumaoros

death, griot passed along the ritual, and around 1965-1969, one of griots descendants came to

introduce the balaphone to the rest of the world . His descendant travelled across Europe and

North America accompanied by other griot artists (The Balaphone) . Music holds such a

crucial role in the culture and the history, that it would be deemed highly inappropriate and

disrespectful to merely conclude music as something minor within the culture.

Another oral tradition that a society with oral persons take pride in are the oral

genealogies. In these cultures, having the right to recite the genealogies within that society

indicates a highly valued privilege (Sperry). These genealogies actually lists records of families

in major tribal lands. According to the Religious Studies Center website, very few individuals
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are left who know the complete oral genealogies in the Pacific Islands . In fact, the genealogies

saved in databases are still incomplete. Experts may be hesitant in relying on these orators

because the genealogies had to be merely memorized and could have possibly been manipulated .

However, several distinguished and qualified experts agree that these oral genealogies are

reliable. Considering the fact that these lineages hold a meaningful and respected heritage within

the tribes (Sperry).

Conclusion

In todays generation, music and oral tradition have been deemed as lesser in value within

a culture in general terms. Oral tradition is more popularly considered as inferior to written

works. Music is now more popularly accepted as merely for entertainment and leisure.

However, areas in Africa and the Pacific Islands think otherwise. They consider music and oral

tradition as the central part in their culture and preserving it. Regardless whether one accepts it

or not, more developed countries tend to be more influential in a global scope. Therefore, it is

important to bring awareness on how essential music and oral tradition are to ones culture,

because since more developed countries are less reliant on music and oral tradition in their

culture, the trend is also leaning away from their music and oral roots. It would not take long

until oral tradition is merely forgotten. One may argue that the opinion from the rest of the

world do not really matter in how a culture decides how to preserve its traditions and customs.

In response to that, this world actually needs global citizens for the sake of preserving the
MUSIC AND ORAL TRADITION Atuel 16

morality of the world the people live in. In order to achieve this, every culture must learn to

understand, value, and support each other regardless whether it directly affects them or not.

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