THE CONTINUED RELEVANCE OF ORAL DOCUMENTATION IN THE STUDY OF AFRICAN CULTURES

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dc.creatorOnwumah, Tony
dc.date2012-04
dc.date.accessioned2025-03-28T17:03:52Z
dc.descriptionThere is a growing debate on the usefulness or otherwise of oral documentation in the study of African cultures. This debate is borne out of the fact that, methods and media of information gathering, storage, and documentation have grown in . sophistication and complexity. This has made it possible for an incredibly large volume of data to be stored in simple devices with an equally incredible amount of efficiency. The urge therefore is to discourage oral documentation in the light of the many draw backs associated with it. For instance, there is a limit to which large volume of data could be stored in the human memory and transmitted to future generations over a long period of time. Other associated problems include: issue of bias and deliberate manipulation, establishing a reliable chronological and dating framework, quantification and language shift. These notwithstanding, the usefulness of oral documentation in the contemporary study of African cultures cannot be glossed over. It helps Africans to tell their own story by themselves, it has been found useful in refuting some euro centric views about African history e3:nd culture. In addition to assisting in finding solutions to political problems such as chieftaincy disputes. and land matters it has equally been found useful by the present generation of African's political leaders as veritable instruments of teaching the youths about their past. The paper ends on a note of caution. Those who are interested in oral documentation must do so with caution, if the data obtained will be reliable.
dc.formatapplication/pdf
dc.identifierhttp://eprints.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/5698/
dc.identifier.urihttps://repository.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/handle/123456789/35069
dc.languageen
dc.publisherCultural Research Publishers (A division of Cultural research consults) P. 0. Box 157 Issele-uku. Delta State. Nigeria And P. 0. Box 2302 Uyo, Akwa Ibom State Nigeria
dc.subjectHM Sociology
dc.titleTHE CONTINUED RELEVANCE OF ORAL DOCUMENTATION IN THE STUDY OF AFRICAN CULTURES
dc.typeArticle

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