Winnie Wu, Period 6, 2/12/2024

Winnie Wu, Period 6, 2/12/2024
Modern Mythology 2024
Research Paper: Oral Tradition



In class, we learned about the origin of Beowulf, an Anglo-Saxon poem that had been passed down orally for generations before being penned down by a Christian monk. Then, we watch Benjamin Bagby’s rendition of the poem, traditionally sung to the song of a harp.

Although I learned about oral tradition and storytelling in AP World History, I always thought it’s similar to a lecture—one person narrating while others listened. However, watching Benjamin Bagdy’s performance shattered this perception, revealing to me that oral tradition is not a lecture but a form of art. Bagby remains sitting with little movement, yet his words capture the audience’s attention. With the use of music and gestures, he manages to bring the story to life. Captivated by the performance, I decided to take a deeper dive into the significance of oral traditions throughout history.

Oral tradition is the oral transmission of knowledge, ideas, and art that is passed down orally from generation to generation. Before the invention of writing, oral tradition served as the only way to preserve stories, culture, and history and bring communities together. In many cultures, oral tradition performers are highly respected, known by many different titles like poet, griot, and bard.

Oral tradition appears in diverse forms: poems, epics, legends, myths, nursery rhymes, songs, and more. Beowulf is only one example of the many famous works of literature that were borne from oral tradition. The ancient Greek epics, Iliad and Odyssey, were passed down orally for centuries before Homer wrote them down. Other works with roots in oral tradition are the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Bible.

Despite the proliferation of literacy, oral traditions continue to be widely practiced today, serving a variety of purposes. Native Hawaiians honor their culture through song (mele), chant (oli), and dance (hula), and the Jewish people celebrate Passover with a storytelling tradition called the sedar. In Aboriginal Australian tribes, a series of short songs, called songlines, is used to navigate the territory, while South African singers sing songs criticizing or praising public figures. In the US, hip-hop and rap artists incorporate story-telling events in their lyrics to share ideas and experiences, and slam poetry competitions reward competitors for both the content and delivery of their oral performances.

With the rise of urbanization and globalization, oral tradition is both negatively and positively impacted. Mass media, like books and television, replaces or distorts oral performances. Written adaptation shortens or alters original stories, as shown by the Christian influences in Beowulf. However, the media also play a role in preserving and revitalizing oral tradition by recording oral performances and broadcasting them to a wider audience.

Work Cited

UNESCO. “UNESCO - Oral Traditions and Expressions Including Language as a Vehicle of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.” Unesco.org, 2019, ich.unesco.org/en/oral-traditions-and-expressions-00053.

‌Foley, John Miles. “Oral Tradition | Communication.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 2019, www.britannica.com/topic/oral-tradition.

‌National Geographic. “Storytelling and Cultural Traditions | National Geographic Society.” Education.nationalgeographic.org, 2 Dec. 2022, education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/storytelling-and-cultural-traditions/.