**********By Aman Makoye***********
Topic 1. Basic definition and identification of
typologies
Defining history
•
The definition
of history has changed depending on the point of view, objectives,
place and time.
•
Historically,
the term history was derived from Greek word “historia” which
means, an interview/ interrogation/ inquiry.
•
Generally,
several definitions have been advanced to define the term history, for example:
– History is the totality of past events
– History refers to the formal written accounts
of related natural phenomena
– History is the continuum (variety) of
events in succession / sequence leading from past,
present, to future.
– History is all that is remembered of the
past as preserved in writings.
– A Greek historian, Herodotus (484-425 BC) defined
history as direct observation, researching about the past
and the resulting report.
• Tosh (2009)
adds that,
to the Greeks, the one who was writing about history was known as a
“ Histor” meaning a judge or referee.
Therefore, according to the Greeks, history does not only mean the past,
but also direct observation. Hence, some historians, particularly
early Greek historians separated history from what they did not see.
•
In broader
terms, history is the endless dialogue between the historian
and historical facts. Therefore, historians have a function of selecting
information and interpreting them so that the past
can speak to the present. In other words, without the
intervention of historians, the facts are speechless, that is,
facts can not speak by themselves.
•
Therefore, it
can be concluded that history has evolved from different concepts to the
principle idea centered on the collection of past events whether witnessed
or recorded from narratives.
History in Non-Literate society
•
The past has
left many traces (hints) which include traditions, folk
tales, work of arts such as cave paintings, archaeological
objects like tools and earthworks (pots) and some written records.
These traditions, drawings, and artifacts creates the basis of oral histories. Why?
•
The history of
man in Africa is very long. It goes back to the very first human beings. But
most of that history is unknown to us today, since the art
of writing came later.
•
It is therefore
important to argue that the nature of history in non literate
society was oral tradition as the world book encyclopedia
comments “ this early history was preserved through oral tradition genres
(types), and when people put their efforts into writing, oral tradition
created the basis of early written
histories.
•
Ancient Greek
historians such Herodotus ( the father of history) and Thucydides based their narratives primarily on oral
traditions and oral testimony. For example, In compiling
his materials for his histories, Herodotus depended mainly on:
–
His own eye
observation ( direct observation)
–
Accounts of eye
witnesses
–
Oral
traditions for the earliest
events
•
In compiling his
materials for his histories, Herodotus depended mainly on:
–
His own eye
observation
–
Accounts of eye
witnesses
–
Oral
traditions for the earliest
events
•
Modern
historical findings indicates that:
– Herodotus was a remarkably accurate reporter of
what he saw himself.
– But when he depended on others for information,
he was not always accurate and critical enough in
deciding what was reliable and what was not.
•
It is important
at this point then, to establish the fact that, most African
societies before colonial intrusion were non-literate
societies, nevertheless, this situation can not alienate such
societies from having their own histories.
•
To be specific,
in Eurocentric historiography, European scholars ( Roper, Seligman, Hegel,
Newton, etc) used all kind of myth and prejudice to
distort African history. To these scholars, African societies were looked at as
societies without history simply because they lacked written
sources.
•
However, African
scholars such as Mbiti (2003) raised two important arguments regarding the
nature of history in African non literate societies:
–
Most pre
colonial African societies did not invent an alphabet for the art of recording
or writing, therefore, they could not keep written records of their own
history, instead; they passed on information from one generation to the other
by word of mouth
– He goes on arguing that, in some societies there have
been special keepers of oral traditions ( Griots in Nigeria),
whose duty was to memorize and recite (narrate)
historical and other relevant information up to when that history would be collected,
written down, and published.
•
In pre-colonial
African societies, writings could be spotted in few societies such as Egyptian
who used hieroglyphics, the Ethiopians who used Amharic,
and the coastal societies in the Eastern part of the continent
where by societies had been in constant contacts with people from Arabia,
Indonesia, and the Far East.
•
Even in these exceptions,
only a few individuals could read and write. The rest of African
societies remained a non-literate society and stored their past through oral
traditions.
•
ORAL HISTORY
•
Defining
oral history:
•
Oral
history is identified
as an activity and academic process of inquiry
into the memories of the people who have experienced
the recent past directly (the past that does not go beyond a generation). Oral
history deals with accounts about events and situations
which are contemporary, that is, which occurred during the life
time of the informants.
–
Oral history
differs from oral traditions in that, oral traditions are no longer
contemporary. They have passed from mouth to mouth for a period beyond
the life time of the informants. Thus, Oral history deals with
the past within the life time of the informants where as oral
traditions deals with the past beyond the lifetime of the
informants. It an also be said that where as oral history deals with recent
past, oral traditions deals with the remote past.
– Oral historians typically interview
participants in recent events, when historical consciousness in
the communities involved is still influx. Some historians call
oral histories “immediate history
•
Oral history is
an academic process of recording, preserving and interpreting historical information based on the personal
experiences and opinions of the speaker / informant.
•
Oral history is
a verbal description or reminiscence of the past events or experiences usually
recorded in planned interviews. Reminiscence may mean spoken stories about past
events that one remembers.
•
From these
definitions then, it is clear that oral histories relies heavily on a recording
devices whether manual or electronic.
•
Generally, oral
histories deals with accounts about events and situations which are contemporary,
that is, which occurred in the society during the life time of the informants.
•
Thus, oral
histories became necessary at least in part because many historians came to
believe that written records were excessively limited to the documentation of ruling
government or elite class.
•
Sources of
oral history
•
There are
various sources that can be used to obtain oral history. The most important
are:
•
Reminiscence : these are spoken stories about past events
that one remembers. These are perhaps the most typical product
of human memory. They are the recollection
(memories) of past events or situations given by the participant long after the
events. Reminiscence are bits of life history. Thus, Every
body holds such reminiscence.
– Reminiscence
are the images of oneself one cares to transmit
to others. Some events and situations are forgotten when they are
irrelevant or inconvenient.
Others are retained and re-ordered, reshaped
or correctly remembered according to the part they play in the
creation of this mental self portrait (mental image/picture).
– Parts of such portrait are too intimate
(private) or too contradictory ever to be revealed or explained
to others. Others are private, but depending on mood, can be told
to the very near and dear. Others can be told to
other people for public consumption.
•
Hearsay or
rumors: these refers to stories
that you heard form somebody, but you
are not very sure whether that thing or issue really happened, because you were not there.
–
They are usually
transmitted from ear to mouth
–
Many rumors have
a basis in fact, especially in a society without writing or mass
media or where speech is the medium of information.
– Most rumors tend to die out as the
expected consequences of the rumors do not occur. They are then
replaced by new rumors.
– Rumors that are not contradicted survive
and become first part of the store of oral history.
– Generally, hearsay or rumor can be a useful source of
information but not reliable source of information.
•
Eye witness
account: these are stories or
information which are based on actual observation, information
that belongs from a person who actually witnessed the event(s)
happening. They are generally reports or testimonies which are given by a
person who actually witnessed an event happening. It is important that, in
order for the eye witness accounts to be reliable :
– An eye witness should have been able to see
what was happening.
– An eye witness should have been able to
understand what he or she saw
– An eye witness should not have been so involved
that his or her parti-pris would have completely altered what he or she saw.
For example: reports of soldiers in the battle are often deficient on both
these grounds. They saw only a fraction of what was happening in the battle,
why?. They did not really understand what was happening due to general
confusion and their own position prevented them from
observing at leisure the development of the whole battle.
•
Stories: these are generally information told to the young
people by elders.
•
Living
dreams and hallucinations: these are
visions which may spread as rumors, but later became true. For example the
coming of Europeans in Africa was told earlier even before the white men made
their first appearance in Africa.
•
Oral
accounts: these are testimonies
which gives some of the past experiences, not necessarily for the
informant to have an eye witness.
Strength of oral history
•
Oral histories
can give a voice to individuals and groups who are sometimes marginalized
in conventional (usual) histories, like the working classes, women,
mad people, prisoners, peasants, children,
etc.
•
It can provide new
information, alternative explanations, and different
insights (understanding) which are potentially of enormous value about
a particular event.
•
Spoken words can
convey feelings and emotions with an immediacy and
an impact that the written words can not match.
•
It allows
historians to ask questions of his or her informants to be present at the
creation of a historical source, rather than relying completely on those
created by others.
Weaknesses of oral history
•
Oral histories
needs to be treated with great care because they might not
be true on one hand and on the other hand might be true.
•
There is a lot
of exaggerations in oral histories, and at some points, even distortions.
Oral testimony
Defining oral testimony:
•
Oral testimony:
these are historical information handed down through a word of mouth by a
person having experience (eye witness) with all he or she is
narrating.
– It consist of all statements made by an informant
about the topic or event in which the
person was an observer or participant.
– It is the first hand account of events
as provided by a witness. For example: most of Ibn Batuta’s
accounts could be subjected to as oral testimonies of his travels in Africa,
Europe and Asia though some scholars have denied the possibility of Batuta to
have traveled and visited the areas given out in his oral testimonies.
•
Oral
traditions
•
Defining
oral traditions
– These are stories about the past that local people
generally produces and reproduces through oral performative
transmission as a means of preserving their histories. It
includes stories, narratives, proverbs,
riddles, myths, and songs which are
handed down orally. Some are records of actual historical events,
some are created by people’s imagination.
– In other words oral traditions is a testimony
verbally transmitted from one generation to the other.
– If a real Africanist was asked what is oral
traditions? His final reply might be is the “total knowledge” .
•
Oral tradition
is not confined to tales, legends (old-well known story often about brave
people, adventures or magical events), or historical narratives recounted by a griot
or old story tellers. Oral tradition is the great school of
life: It deals with religion, natural sciences
(mineralogy, medicine, pharmacopoeia), it also deals with history,
games, love and death.
•
According to the
Longman contemporary dictionary; a tradition is a belief or a way of doing
something that has existed for a very long period of time. Thus traditions are
part of history as they usually tell the history of the society.
•
Oral traditions
is featured by :
– They are handed down verbally or orally
from one generation to another.
–
They are based
on either oral account, hearsay or rumor
– It is certainly more fragile (easily
damaged) than written records, which are embodied in objects such as
manuscripts, for instance.
– They would exist, and indeed have existed in the
absence of written notes or other sophisticated recording devices.
– They are not direct experiences of the
narrator and they must be transmitted by word of mouth to qualify
as oral traditions.
•
Oral traditions
are to a large extent identified with societies lacking a written
tradition. Oral traditions have been most important in documenting
those societies without written records, throwing light on the historical,
social, economic and cultural development of such societies.
•
As already
mentioned, oral traditions may take different forms. The following are some of
the forms of oral traditions:
– Narratives/memorized speech: is any account of
connected events presented to listener
in a sequence of spoken words. Some narratives are true
facts while others are fictions or imaginary in their
character.
• For example the myth of Mbegha among the
Shambaa. Mbegha who was an ill fated hunter was later enthroned to be a king
after killing a lion in Uzigua. Such a narrative could be a fact or myth.
– Proverbs/sayings: sayings in general use, express
commonly held ideas and belief. Some proverbs and sayings may be used to
conceal (cover/mask) information, hence the meaning of
information is grasped by the targeted person or
group alone.
• For example in this Kisukuma proverb: “Wamasala
atabunagwa nigo”, meaning a clever person can not carry a heavy burden.
– This Sukuma proverb gives a natural phenomena in life
that clever people will always escape blames or demanding responsibilities. The
Sukuma were knowledgeable of this for many years.
– Tales: is an imaginary story created by a performer.
They are considered to be fiction. In most cases, children
appreciate them. Among the Sukuma there is a prominent tale of the
Shing’weng’we. This was a monster which at one incidence swallowed the whole
village.
•
Importance of
oral traditions
– Oral traditions provides a means of reconstructing
histories of the masses as many societies are literate.
– Oral traditions integrates the
activities of heroes and heroines and those of the
rest of the society.
– Oral traditions provides more information compared to
those found in books.
– Oral traditions provides us with historic knowledge of
the last 500 years.
– Oral traditions are the basis of the early written
sources, they are a useful complement to the other sources of African history.
•
Challenges of
oral traditions….
– Date are relative, there are few oral
traditions which are useful before 1500.
– Oral traditions are conditioned by the
society in which they flourish, the information is therefore of limited nature
and certain bias.
– Oral traditions are difficult to collect
and interpret and therefore, the historian using them should be trained
and accompanied by a sociologist and a linguist.
– Historians like Jan Vansina have seen oral traditions
as the ultimate source of human knowledge. This is one of the
modern lies in the study of mankind.
– It is too fragile compared to other
sources of historical information.
Functions of oral traditions in non literate society
•
The most obvious
functions of oral traditions in African societies are as follow:
– The African oral traditions facilitate a transmission
of knowledge from one generation to another. The social value, skills,
and culture are preserved and transmitted through oral arts.
Africa’s long tradition of oral art still wields a remarkable influence on contemporary life of its society today.
Each society has songs about marriage, social conflicts
and funeral rites as observed in this Kisukuma song:
•
Jalila
eng’hungwi, jalila wa ng’wise
•
Jalila
eng’hungwi, bana bane
•
Li lufu
lise lya munyanza
•
Mwakucha
gete linyamkolo
– Wailing, wailing dear
– Wailing my sons
– Our death is in the lake
– You die like a hawk
• The message in
this song gives an understanding on the pattern of death the fishermen face
when they are in deep water of the lake. The fishermen usually die without a
help when their canoes capsized. The canoes in those days carried one or two
persons of which it was not possible to serve more people in time of danger.
– Oral traditions provides an understanding of a
society’s myths/legend of creation and the origin of the society. In the
interlucustrine region, the Chwezi claimed to be descendants of
the Tembuzi- the gods.
• According to Bunyoro and Ankole traditions , the first
inhabitants of the region after creation were the Tembuzi- the
gods. As gods, the Tembuzi, did not die, so it is said
that they either disappeared or went back to heaven
at the end of their earthly life.
• A myth like this aimed to create a divine
originality of the society. An idea like this helped the rulers to be
regarded not only divine rulers but semi gods. In
most African societies, rulers supervised religious ceremonies and conducted
sacrifice on behalf of the society.
– The construction of social cultural history of the
society. Since early periods, the nature of human history is known to be oral.
However, some societies used oral traditions to maintain their dominance over
other societies, for example the Chwezi who are the Hima (Tutsi) in the
Interlucustrine region. Through their oral tradition and material culture, the
Chwezi were able to assert /exercise control on the agricultural population of
the region particularly upon the Hutu.
– Oral traditions presumes the existence of links
between the past and the future by suggesting comprehension of what has taken
place, might as well prepare people for what will come bout. George Santayana,
a Harvard philosopher asserted early in the twentieth century that people who
forget about the past are condemned to repeat it.
• It is under this consideration African societies had
taken their Endeavour to preserve their past histories through songs, epics,
narrations, and myth among many others, so as to learn from their past mistakes
and benefit from their earlier achievements.
– Oral tradition in non literate society can be used as
an ethical tool to maintain and perpetuate morality among social members
through tales, proverbs and narrations. The African society have many tales and
proverbs which highlight the importance of respecting elders. This culture of
respecting elders is portrayed in a proverb like “asiye sikia la mkuu
huvunjika guu”. Meaning that the one
who is not heed to the elders is likely to break his leg.
• This proverb aims at arousing commanding ethical
values to the elders as one of the function of oral tradition.
– Oral traditions especially in non literate society is
useful in the reconstruction of written history in African societies. Most of
the written history on Africa is a European or Arabic history because these
authors wrote the history of colonial societies to be ready by their fellow
Europeans taking the advantage that most of the African societies were non
literate.
• In order to re-write the history of Africa precisely
one has to visit oral sources as the world book Encyclopedia comments “all the
traditional genres of history plus some new varieties are acquired to achieve a
narrative encompassing through various eras of
human activities on this continent. It is also important to know that
the very earliest human history begins in Africa.
Topic 2. METHODOLOGY OF HISTORY AND THE PLACE OF
NARRATIVES
•
Historical
methods comprise the techniques and guidelines by
which historians use primary sources and other
evidence, including the evidence of archaeology to research and
then to write histories in the form of
accounts of the past.
•
Recently in the
field of African history, oral histories has taken a special position among
African historians as one of the basic source and methodology
for the reconstruction of African history. Thus the practice of oral histories
has been a foundational component of African history since post colonial
period.
•
At the time
(1960s) historians became concerned with recovering a usable-past,
history that would demonstrate African agency and establish an
autonomous sense of identity apart from the preceding period of
colonial rule.
•
Continuation….
•
Depicting
Africa's pre-colonial past consequently became a central goal after 1960s,
although written evidence proved to be scarce. With
the exception of Islamic states and communities,
African societies did not use written languages. Collecting oral
histories became a necessity, and indeed, the ambiguity
and richness of African oral traditions that had developed aver
centuries in place of written documents/records aided in this effort of
reconstructing African history.
•
Vansina . J
(1965), in his work Oral traditions: A Study in Historical Methodologies
raises important arguments about the position of oral histories as a methodology for reconstructing African history:
– In contrast to prevailing perspectives of the time
that emphasized the objectivity and fundamental importance of
written records, Vansina argued for the equal values of oral
sources of history. He maintains that they too could be gleaned/collected for
verifiable factual content.
– For Africa, such evidence from oral sources offered
new perspectives that challenged the distortions of euro-centrism found in
colonial records.
•
The place
of oral tradition in historical reconstruction.
•
Oral tradition
is a communal activity which informs as well as embodies/represents the percepts
of and values that are permanent including those
that are changing in that society. It contains the society’s wisdom
and achievements in arts, politics, religion, healthcare and so
on. It usually tend to capture cultural reality.
•
Oral history as
source of history does not express emotions only, but also pass
across knowledge, records, and represents the various social
institutions. Thus historians, archaeologists, linguists, and sociologists
studies about the lives of ordinary people
and legends alike through spoken stories and tales.
•
Oral historical
materials provides important historical evidence about people especially minority
groups,(women, peasants, children, prisoners, etc) who were excluded
from the main stream publications.
•
Oral traditions
is as old as human beings, for before the invention of writings, information
was passed from generation to generation through spoken words. Therefore it lay
a basis for most of the written accounts
•
However, Gilbert
Garraghan maintains that oral tradition may be accepted if it satisfies either
two "broad conditions" or six "particular
conditions", as follows:
•
Broad
conditions stated.
– The tradition should be supported by an unbroken
series of witnesses, reaching from the immediate and first reporter of
the fact to the living mediate witness from whom we take it up, or to the one
who was the first to commit it to writing.
– There should be several parallel and independent
series of witnesses testifying to the fact in question.
•
Particular
conditions formulated.
– The tradition must report a public event
of importance, such as would necessarily be known directly to a great number of
persons.
– The tradition must have been generally believed,
at least for a definite period of time
-During that definite period it must have gone without
protest, even from persons interested in denying it.
– The tradition must be one of relatively limited
duration. [Elsewhere, Garraghan suggests a maximum limit of 150 years,
at least in cultures that excel in oral remembrance.]
– The critical spirit must have been
sufficiently developed while the tradition lasted, and the necessary means
of critical investigation must have been at hand.
– Critical-minded persons who would surely have
challenged the tradition — had they considered it false — must have made no
such challenge.
•
Other methods of
verifying oral tradition may exist, such as comparison with the evidence of
archaeological remains.
•
Continuation…….
2. The place of narratives in historical
reconstruction.
•
History has its origin from a Greek word “historia”
meaning inquiry, knowledge acquired by investigation. It is the study of the
past, specifically how it relates to human beings. It is an umbrella term that
relates to past events as well as the discovery, collection,
organization, and presentation of information about
these events.
•
History is an
academic discipline which at some points use narrative to reflect
what actually happened in the past. A narrative is any account of connected
events, presented to the reader or listener in a sequence of written or spoken
words or in a sequence of moving pictures.
– Narrative is found in all forms of human creativity
and art including speech, songs, games,
visual arts such as paintings that describes a sequence of
events.
– In historical narratives, the content of the narrative
is real events, events that they really happened rather than imaginary
events, events invented by a narrator.
– A true narrative account is not a product of the historian’s
poetic talents as the narrative account of imaginary event is
conceived to be, but it is a necessary result of proper application
of historical method.
– The presentation of the historical narrative resembles
the really event itself because the narrative is taken as a true account.
– Historical narrative is essentially the story of an
historical event.
– Historical narratives often focuses on specific
events in a time period and presents some of the actual events at that
time through the presumed voices of people (using diaries, journals,
illustrative and secondary sources) and offering a particular point of view of
people living in the period.
•
A historical
narrative usually tells about a historical event, blending facts
with imagined characters and situations. Thus a historical narrative describes people who actually
lived and events that actually happened.
•
A historical
narrative should have the following
characteristics
– Accurate historical events and details of actual
places
– One person’s point of view
– Some characters and circumstances invented by the
writer
– Chronological organization.
•
In the process
of writing a historical narrative the following procedures are involved:
•
Continuation…..
•
1.
Pre-writing a historical narrative
(A) Choose a historical event and central character : Begin by deciding on the historical event you will
narrate. Then choose a real or fictional person to place at the center of your
narrative. See questions below that will guide the selection of events and
people:
– For real people/character you will have to ask
yourself the following questions;
• What individuals were actually involved in this
historical event?
• In what way was each involved?
– For fictional
characters;
• What other types of people might have participated in
or witnessed the event?
– For fictional and real;
• Of all these people, real and fictional, who would
have the most interesting perspective on the story?
• Which one would I most enjoy writing about?
(B) Brainstorm
for and research background details about historical event: in order to write a convincing historical narrative,
you need to learn as much as you can about the event you are narrating. Use libraries
and the internet to gather information. Use the points
highlighted below to guide your library research:
•
Researching
a historical narrative:
•
Historical
event:
– What exactly happened?
– When, why and where did it happen?
– Were the surrounding urban or rural?
– What did the scene of the event look like?
– What details about the event are known?
•
Current event;
– What year is that?
– What was happening at home and abroad?
•
Values;
– What did people of that time and culture believe in?
– What were they concerned about?
•
Economics;
– What was it like to be a wealthy person?
– What was it like to be a poor person?
– What kind of jobs did people have?
– Daily life/culture
• How did people dress?
• What did they eat?
• How were they entertained?
• What did they need?
– Imagine yourself living in that time and place;
• How do you think you would have fit into that world?
Would you have liked living there? Why or why not?
(C) Describe
your central character and his or her surrounding:
•
Write a few
sentences in which your central character describes himself or herself in the
first person ( ‘I’, ‘Me’, ‘My’, etc). Then have your central character describe
the setting of the historical event, the time
and place in which he or she lives.
(D) Chart your narrative’s sequence:
•
Most historical
events use chronological order organization. Decide at which point your
narrative will start and when it will end. Then list the series of events that
you want to cover.
2. Drafting
•
Open the
narrative: in the first
paragraph of your narrative, introduce your main character and his or her world
to your readers. As you write think about the following questions;
–
What details
roots this person in a particular time and place?
–
How does he/she
feels about the historical event?
–
Why is the story
being told? Is your storyteller relating this narrative to a friend? Talking to
a group of strangers?
(B) Develop the
narrative:
– After you have introduced your storyteller/main
character and setting, relate the series of events that make up the narrative.
Keep the narrative in the first person. Use transitions such as first,
before, latter on, after, the
next day and so on to help your audience keep track of time.
– Narrative should progress until it reaches a high
point. As you build up to that point, increase reader’s interest. Use powerful
and vivid language to intensify the storyteller’s emotions and to show his/her
reactions to what happens.
(C) Close the narrative: the final
paragraph of your historical narrative should wind up the action.
3. Revising: After
completing your draft read it again carefully to find ways to make your writing
better. Here are some questions to ask yourself.
•
Revise for
clarity;
–
Is the event
portrayed accurately and clearly, with details?
–
Does the
narrative establish a clear impression of the story teller and his or her
world?
–
Does the
narrative includes transitions to help readers?
(b) Revise for tone/quality and style;
–
Does your story teller’s language sound
convincing?
–
What impression
of the story teller does your writing creates?
–
Does your
narrative convey the emotions you wanted?
(c) Revise to
meet written English language conversations:
– Are all the sentences complete with a subject and a
verb?
– Are all the words spelled correctly?
– Are all proper nouns capitalized?
– Are all sentences punctuated correctly
Value of oral
sources and their limitations
Values of oral sources:
•
Historians
and history teachers have a wide range
of primary source upon which to draw when approaching the past. Newspapers,
census data, diaries, letters, photographs,
memoirs, and other documents all
surely have their place in both the historian’s research and the classroom.
But all oral history has unique benefits that no other historical source
provides. Some of these benefits are :
1. Oral sources has the ability to bring to life the
various voices and experiences of common individuals,
many of whom might otherwise have been forgotten. It is in this background that
some historians have argued that history is written is by the winners,
generally it is written form the perspective of the rich, the powerful
and the great men. Thus history of the masses, their individual,
social and class histories are often unavailable
in textual documentation.
– Hence oral histories attempt to rewrite
history from the position of those previously downtrodden/ oppressed
/marginalized and ignored by academic historical
scholarship.
– Although famous men and women have contributed to the
oral historical record, most oral histories come from the so called ordinary/common
people who in most cases forms what is generally called the “marginalized
group / downtrodden.”
– An excellent example of this is the history of the Holocaust
(the killing of millions of Jews by the Nazis during 2nd WW) in
Europe between 1939-1945. When historians first began to devote to the topic in
the early 1960s, they concerned themselves with big questions such as:
• Why did this happened?
• How did the Nazi go about coordinating and executing
the horrific massacre of six million Jews?
• What policies did the Nazi enact?
• What organizational apparatuses did they create in
order to aid them in genocide?
– These questions are, of course, essential to
understanding one of humanity’s greatest tragedies. However, the voices
of the victims ( the Jews) often received little attention.
– In the last few decades, historians of Nazi Germany
and the holocaust/genocide began to turn their attention to the individual
voices of the victims of Nazism. Large achieves dedicated solely to recording
oral testimonies from holocaust survivals have enriched the field and changed
the way that scholars viewed the event. Today there are tens of oral
testimonies from holocaust survivals, and their impact on the field has been
immense.
2. Oral sources produces interviews that
are a conversational narrative that can be shaped while in progress
or revisited later in order to create evidence.
3. Oral sources increases the reliability
of evidence in the sense that questions can be approached multiple times within
one interview through different view points, or repeated.
4. Oral sources are interactive. This is what sets
oral history apart from the documents. A document can only say the words on
that singular page, but an oral source can be molded and approached from
different directions, in order to receive the fullest version of events. The
historian must understand that interview is itself comprised of a series of structures,
but not those derived from the narrow conventions of written history.
5.Oral sources provides for a far deeper sub-textual
understanding than archival or written
sources. While we could discuss provenance/origin, the
reasoning, and the intention behind a written source, an oral
source provides all that, but plenty of alternative information too.
6. Oral sources are valuable historical sources for
historians. Although the major beneficiaries of oral histories usually have
been social historians, all historical methodological fields have
the potential to learn a lot from this rich primary source.
7. Oral sources provides a rich opportunity for human
interaction. History, after all, is all about the human experience. Through
oral sources, researchers and interviewees come
together in conversation about a commonly shared interest, as with all human
interactions, this has the potential to be tremendously rewarding for both
parties.
8. Oral sources allows historians to learn different
kinds of information. Even when historians may have extensive written sources
about some one such as a politician, these historians may not have the kind of
information they want. Newspapers, articles, speech, and government documents
may reveal significant useful information, but those kind of sources often
neglect more personal and private expression.
Through oral sources historians learn about the hopes, feelings,
aspirations, disappointments, family
histories, and personal experiences of people being
interviewed.
9. Oral sources allow historians to ask questions they
are interested in. if a historian is studying about the Late J.K. Nyerere and
has a burning question to ask about his life, the best he or she can do is to
hope that, through a creative reading of the existing sources, he or she will
find the answers somewhere in his papers and contemporary documents.
– But by talking to people in a community about the past
, historians can ask questions they want to ask and create the source materials will help them to answer their questions.
10. Oral sources provides historical actors with
an opportunity to tell their own stories in their own words.
Through oral sources, interviewees have a chance to participate in the creation
of the historical retelling of their lives. Unlike the Late Nelson Mandela who
is dead and can not complicate, extend or argue with our understanding of his
life, living historical actors can enrich our understanding of history by
telling their version of events and their
interpretation in their own words.
The challenges of using oral soures
1. Failure of oral historians to ascribe to fully
professional level of scholarship. Oral historians feel too much
affinity/similar with their sources, because they broadly created them. This
idea has been supported by Grele who jump to realizing few oral historians are
forced to submit their work to pubic criticism. This is a significant problem
for the usefulness and reliability of oral history.
In other words, most oral historians are unable to stand in public and defend
their works against academic criticism.
2. In oral sources a historian is a complicity
part of the oral source. The Historian-interviewer asks the questions and
determines the focus of an interview. Already the source is being converted
into evidence.
3. The selection of interviewee fundamentally affects
the results in oral sources. Oral historians selects interviewee based on their
conception of history, their selection of whom is important
and what is not. The search for evidence based on how they conceive
historical process. It is because of this that at some point, some element of
truth is left out or some bias is left in.
4. Sometimes interviewees might not be able to
remember all details about a particular historical event. Instead they
sometimes have to rely on approximations such as “it happened
ten or eleven years ago” or “ I think I
read that book sometimes in primary school". Often, only the most profound
memories stand out decades later. Therefore historians needs to be careful when
relying on oral sources to provide historically reliable details.
5. Historians needs to be aware of the reasons people
decide to grant interviews. When a person sits down to recount their life, they
will necessarily focus on some aspects more than others. For example:
– The person being interviewed will skip over painful
parts of his life. This is a natural human desire for privacy and is completely
understandable. Consider for a moment some of the worst and most embarrassing
things that happened to you in your life:
• Would you be willing to record those experiences for
posterity?
• Do you even want to recall those moments?
• Might they not be too painful?
– Therefore even if a life experience has the potential
to shed light on the past, not all people will want to share their memories
with total strangers or other people. Thus, in listening to oral testimonies,
the historian must always ask in the back of their mind “Yes, but what are they
not saying?”.
6. The nature of the interview also influences oral
sources:
– Some interview are free open. The interviewer simply
turns on the video tape or the recorder and lets the interviewee speak. In
these cases, the person speaking doesn’t have to worry about being interrupted
or cut off. However they also might
leave out a lot of information that you as the historian are curious about.
– In other cases the interview might be much more
structured. In these cases, the interviewer might rush the person they are
interviewing, cutting them off or interrupting which may lead to not getting
certain information.
•
Continuation…
7. Sometimes oral sources may not be enough by themselves,
they need to be confirmed and supplemented by other
historical sources such as written documents, linguistic
sources and archaeological
sources. Thus overreliance on oral sources only might result to a danger
of getting unreliable information.
8. The gathering of oral sources needs an interdisciplinary
approach to ensure the acquisition of authentic and reliable
historical information. This means that oral historians needs to collaborate
with other experts from such disciplines like sociology,
language, anthropology, and archaeology.
TOPIC 3. STRATEGIES AND TECHNIQUES IN COLLECTING ORAL
ACCOUNTS
•
INTRODUCTION
•
Oral history
interviewing is one of the most important
methodologies used for research in history. It is the primary
source material obtained by recording the spoken words
of persons thought to have previously unavailable information that is worth
preserving:
– Oral history collect information about
the past from observers and participants in that
past.
–
It gathers data
not available in written records about events, people,
decisions and processes
– Oral history can reveal how individual values
and actions shaped the past, and how the past shapes the present
day actions and values.
-Oral
historians seek to capture and preserve first hand
information of life stories or events that would otherwise be lost.
•
Thus, valuable
information on a particular site, area, or feature
can often only be obtained through the use of oral history interviews.
During these interviews, information is gathered form a variety of interviewees
so that potential biases can be recognized and omitted.
Important things to consider before oral history
interview
1. The most important step is the identification of
the primary goal or objective of your project. Under this aspect:
– What are you trying to learn? Here you need to come up
with a sentence or two that summarize
your research goals. This will help you to explain easily your interviewee what
you are researching and why is it important.
– Consider what kind of information already exist
about your project title, and in what form? For example if you
were studying an event like the first multiparty election in
Tanzania, then you would want to consult newspaper accounts, political
parties records, international observers’ records, and
perhaps political records
in general that would indicate the way the election was conducted.
– You need to consider who you will need to
interview to learn about your topic. Thus, you need to make a list
of potential interviewees, this list will grow as you are
referred to additional interviewees.
– What products do you want to produce from this study? , and who is the audience
for the product?. The answers to these questions will help you decide what kind
of information you will need and in what medium to
record it.
2. Available
resources: having established the
goal of the project, local resources need to be identified that
will help to ensure the completion of the project. For example:
– Available equipments for recording oral
interviews, buy the best recording equipment you can afford. Know
your equipment thoroughly, be it audio or video,
and make sure it is in working order before you arrive at the
interview. Test it again on the site, with the interviewee and
you both speaking on the recording to be sure you are both clearly audible.
3. Decide on the location for conducting interviews.
For example, at the interviewee’s home, village office,
or on-site.
4. Prepare arrangements for transportation of interviewees
and staff
5. Recording devices should be used only when
the interviewee will permit.
6. Set up the appointment for the
interview, confirm the appointments, and keep the
appointment. Arrange to conduct the interview in a place and time
most comfortable for the interviewee, away from noise and distractions.
7. All interviews should be transcribed
into English soon after the completion of the interview
8. Location
for each interview should be based on interviewee preference, availability,
and desired results:
– Initial interviews should be held in the interviewee’s
home or a central location that will provide a quite and comfortable
environment.
– After assessing the wealth of knowledge
available about a given area or subject, on-site interview might
prove extremely valuable for particular interviewees.
9. Prepare a list of questions for
the interview.
– You need not to follow this list exactly,
other questions will arise during the interview, but they will give a solid
organization and cohesiveness to your interview.
– Put the simplest questions like biographical data at
the beginning and the most complex questions at the end.
– Group your questions logically, so that
you and your interviewee subject can easily follow up the progression of ideas
or chronology in the interview.
10. Send to the interviewee a list of questions in
advance. This will give the interviewee time before the
interview to think about people and events that may
not have occurred to him/her in a long time.
11. Design of data recording forms:
standardized recording forms should be designed prior to the commencement of
the interview process. These forms should include:
– An Oral History Information Form. This form should
include the following information:
• Tape number
• Date of interview
• Interviewee name and place of residence
• Place of interview
• Name of interviewer, interpreter, and transcriber
• Language spoken
• Geographical areas discussed during the interview and
the appropriate map covering the areas discussed.
– An Interviewee Biographical Data Form: this should
include useful information regarding the interviewee such as:
» Name
» Birth date
» Place of residence
» Place of birth
» Occupation
» Parents name and place of birth
• This document will prove useful if you need to
identify knowledgeable individuals to assist you in future projects.
– An Interview Consent Form: this form needs to be
designed to ensure that the interviewee understands the nature
of your project .
• It is important that each interviewee participating in
your project understand how is his or her assistance will further
the knowledge of your project area and how such information gathered will be
used.
• Be sure that any legal requirements on
the use of human subject have been satisfied prior to beginning the interview
process.
Selecting informants
•
Having
established the goal of the project, then, knowledgeable people must
be identified. This list of knowledgeable people may include both
elders and younger individuals depending
on the nature of the topic:
– Interviewee should be chosen who potentially have the most
to offer regarding your topic.
–
Once the name
are chosen, they should be prioritized
–
Selection for
interviewee should base on an individual’s range of knowledge
over a broad area for a given site or subject.
– Both men and women should
be selected so as to provide an opportunity to collect a wide range of
perspectives from varying age groups and socio economic backgrounds.
– If interviewee will be selected that speak languages
other than English, knowledgeable person capable of interpreting
and transcribing tapes from their native language
in to English should also be identified.
• Many
interviewees feel most comfortable speaking in their native
language or find it impossible to express concepts or ideas into
English.
• Use of whichever language interviewee
feel comfortable should be encouraged.
– It is recommended that all interviewees,
interpreters, and transcribers be paid for their services.
• The interviewee should realize that
their language is considered valuable and their assistance
is considered as essential ingredient of the project
• Therefore, an agreement upon wage should
be determined for their services prior to the beginning of the
interview process.
Locating and contacting potential interviewee
•
Native elders
and knowledgeable individuals having information pertinent to your project need
to be identified:
– Names of potential interviewee should be solicited
from local historical associations, local governments
and cultural resource centers, and area residence.
– After constructing a list of potential interviewees,
each individual should personally be contacted in order to
determine if they retain memories of your project area and are willing
and able to participate in the project.
– When contacting interviewees, make sure that they
understand the nature and reasons for the project.
– Answer all interviews’ questions completely so that
prior to the interview they understand how sharing their knowledge,
insights and experiences will assist your research
project
– Discuss the range of topics you hope to
cover during the interview. This will give the interviewee time to think about
the area / topics to be discussed so that by the time of the actual interview
their input will be based on thoughtful
consideration of the subject.
– After initial contact, be sure and ask
whom they would recommend you talk with. Interviewees usually have a good idea
on which individual retain knowledge of specific areas and their advice may
help prioritize interviews.
– Be sure and ask each
person what areas they are most familiar with.
• Do they recall information about specific site?
• Is their knowledge confined to only a small
and particular portion of your project area?
• Are they willing and able
to share the information they posses?
– Using initial information obtained from initial
contacts, consider the potential value of each interviewee
testimony.
• What areas do an individual say they have knowledge
of?
• Do the person’s life experience, as identified during
your contact, suggest that they know information about specific areas within
your project?
• Do they appear alert and posses
a detailed memory?
– Using this information, intuition and advice
from other people knowledgeable of your project area, then prioritize
each of the interviewees
Relating to informants professionally
•
The recording and use of oral histories have
given rise to the of ethical consideration in the whole process
of gathering oral accounts. Thus oral historians have set out the
responsibilities of the interviewers and collectors
of oral history:
– A duty of confidentiality (though not
necessarily anonymity) towards informants and participants.
The names and personal details of informant should not
be passed to the third party without their consent.
– A duty to protect informants from harm,
by not disclosing sensitive information.
– A duty to treat informants as intelligent beings,
able to make their own decisions on how the information they
provide can be used, shared, made public .
This have to be done through informed consent.
– Acquiring sufficient knowledge to
conduct an interview and using equipments, for example through reading
and training, to ensure
results of the highest standard possible.
– Treating informants with respect and courtesy
(good manner)
– Offering them a copy of recording
– To inform the person interviewed the purpose
and procedures of oral history in general and of
the particular project in which they are involved.
–
To conduct
interviews with integrity (honesty) and awareness of cultural
and individual sensibilities
–
To inform the
informants of where the materials will be held
– To respect all arrangements made
with the informants
– Narrator must give full informed consent
to participate in oral history interview
– A narrator is entitled to respect for
his or her story even when it differs markedly from customary
interpretations of an event.
–
Rewards and recognitions that come to an oral
history project should be shared with narrators and
their communities.
– Be aware of your person appearance before you go to
the interview. Your appearance tells interviewee something about how you view
him or her and the interview itself:
• Causal dress can suggest a more informal atmosphere, but can also
suggest lack of care or respect to some
interviewees
• Businesslike dress can suggest a more formal, purposeful
atmosphere, but can intimidate some interviewees.
– Generally try to match your appearance to what will
best put the interviewees at ease with you and the interview process.
Construction of an interview out line and
clarification of research question.
•
After completing
a review of all available background data, identifying gaps
in area of knowledge, and selecting individuals knowledgeable
about your project area, it is time to consider the actual interview
process.
Construction of interview outline
•
An interview
outline should represent a topic outline of the historical
information that you hope to discover.
This interview outline forms an important tool for project
interviewers.
– It includes a list of general and specific
questions that you wish to be answered, but it is not a
questionnaire that interviewers read from word to word.
– It is more of an outline to help keep a discussion on
track.
– It should be used as a reference guide
of the range of topics you wish to cover.
– The guide might list the sequencing of topics
and questions in a logical order, but information should be
solicited (asked) according to the flow of the interview
Clarifying research questions
•
After
familiarizing yourself with your area of interest, including gaining
familiarity with any historical sources, develop a list of questions for each
person to be interviewed. Questions can be categorized into two lists:
– Questions you will ask every interviewee
– Questions you will ask only specific individuals.
•
This approach
will generate two lists of questions that is general questions
and specific questions that will provide body of general
knowledge about selected themes as well as a means to compare individual’s
perceptions.
– Initial questions in an interview can serve as a means
of gathering background information on the informant and can help
both the interviewer and interviewee to become
comfortable with each other.
• Questions that deals with the interviewee’s birth
and family will prove extremely useful in compiling a biographical
sketch of the interviewees.
• Volunteering information about yourself may help the interviewee to feel comfortable
with the interview process.
– Make sure that questions are appropriate,
comprehensive (complete) and unbiased.
– Provide an environment where the interviewees can
express what they are thinking, not what they think is
wanted.
– Your list of questions should be used as a guide
during the interview process, but should not restrict the flow of
information. Remain flexible and be willing to move
beyond the list of prepared questions as the
interviewee provides more detailed information.
– Questions should be designed to elicit/generate penetrating
discussion concerning particular issues, concepts,
motives, the sequence of activities or actions,
obstacle and frustrations, the role of the individual,
family, friends or government agency
and the dynamics of the world as remembered by the interviewee.
– Several types of questions can be used during the
interview including, close ended of questions, open ended
questions, questions that are more provocative.
– Ask open ended questions rather than
questions that can be answered by yes or no. Open ended questions
would encourage the fullest response possible to each question. People would
feel free to tell their own stories and express
their own feeling. However, do not ask leading questions.
– Interview are generally improved by sending the
interviewee a list of questions in advance. The point is to give the
interviewee time to recall events and people before the
interview.
– Aggressive questions can quickly alienate
the interviewer from the interviewee and destroy any rapport you
may have developed. This style of questions should be avoided. The role of the
interviewer is to work with each interviewee to help them to recall
and share their knowledge of your project focus. Your role is to
be courteous/polite/well mannered and attentive.
You need to listen and as well as ask appropriate questions.
– Specific, and direct questions provide quick
and definitive answers
– If, after asking a question the answer remains
unclear, rephrasing the
question may help to clarify the meaning of the question.
– Give the interviewees plenty of time to consider
each question and to phrase their reply.
Organizing the interview
• When conducting an interview with informants, the
interviewer should observe the following aspects:
• It is best to have one-on-one interview
so that the interviewee’s attention is focused on you
and yours on him or her. If you cant avoid it, or choose to
interview a couple or group,
be sure to identify on the recording all people who
take part in the interview
•
If you are doing
an interview with more than one person, say for example, a married
couple, it is generally the case that one is the conversation
leader and one tends to be more quite. It is up to you as
an interviewer to be sure that both people have the opportunity
to answer the questions fully
and without interruption by the other spouse.
•
Let the
interviewee suggest the interview location, whether that is their
home or office or another location. Make sure the
place chosen is quite and away from outside distractions,
if it is not, have an alternative location that will provide a quite,
and comfortable setting. Background noise can destroy an interview.
Air conditioners, traffic noise, clock chimes,
ringing telephones, etc should all be avoided. It is important to
examine the area around before you begin the interview and choose the quietest
location you have available at you.
•
Place the audio
recorder and the microphone between you and the
interviewee on a solid surface. Do not hold the microphone in
your hand, you can use microphone stand.
Know your microphone strengths and weaknesses.
•
If you are using
a video recorder, decide if you want yourself to appear
on the recording , or if you will be speaking off camera. Test
the video as soon as you get on the site. Be sure the image is well lit,
and the audio is clear. Set the camera so that if the interviewee
leans or changes position, he / she wont be cut
off or out of frame.
•
Some people are nervous
(worried) about being recorded, and some people who might allow an audio
recording might balk (shy away) at a video recording. Be sure the
interviewee understands before the meeting that you wish to record
the interview and in what form (audio or visual). Never start
recording until the interviewee is ready to begin, and never
record without that person’s knowledge.
•
Start your
recorded interview with a statement of the names of yourself and
your interviewee(s), the date, and the location.
This is very helpful when you have multiple recordings to sort
out through later. Then begin by collecting simple biographical information
from the interviewee, such as full
name, date of birth, and place of birth.
•
Once the record
is running, focus on the interviewee, and give the machine only
the minimum attention necessary to be sure it is recording
smoothly. This will also help the interviewee focus on
you instead of the machines.
– Do not turn
off the recording during
an interview unless the interviewee ask you to, or
the interviewee is called away, by a phone call, for example.
– The only other time to turn off the recorder would be
if the interviewee becomes upset, for example, when he/she
becomes tearful remembering the death of a close family member,
and therefore needs time to regain composure(self control).
– It is your responsibility to monitor the well
being of your interviewee.
– Be sure to turn the equipment on again
when the interviewee is ready to resume talking on the recording
device.
•
After you ask a
question, stop and wait
for the answer, even if you have to sit in silence for several
seconds. Interviewees usually needs several moments to think about the
questions you ask. Give them enough time to think.
•
Once the answer
comes, do not cut off the or talk over an
interviewee. Some people do like to go on and on, but let them talk to the end
of their strand (thread) of thought and wait for an opening patiently. Cutting them off gives the
impression that what they saying is not important to you, or that
you are hurrying through the interview.
•
Verify verbally
when interviewees make gestures or point out something. The audio recorder cant see ,
this want be as much of an issue if you are video tapping the interview. For
example, “the sword was this big”. Interviewer: “about one meter long ?”.
•
Be alert of your
own responses to an interviewee’s remarks, taking
care not to sound judgmental, impatient or disrespectful.
An interview is not the place to show how much you know. All
interviewees must be treated with respect and gratitude
(thankful) for the privilege of sharing a part of their lives
with you.
– Even if you come away with nothing that
you feel is of material benefit to your project, you can consider any interview
a success if you have maintained a positive, polite,
and professional stance (attitude) throughout the
interview.
•
Interviewing is
a tiring process. It is emotionally and intellectually
challenging for both, the interviewer and the interviewees.
If a person is showing signs of weariness (being tired), it is better to
adjourn (suspend) and take up the interview another time than
pressing on with an interviewee who is too tired to think clearly any
longer, but too polite to tell you enough is enough. You
can always reschedule and continue the interview
another time.
Ending an interview
•
Unless the
interview is pressed for time, do not run right out after
the interview. Once the recorder is turned off, there is always time to say thank
you, to chat about the process you have just undergone
together, and often to hear the best stories or most
important data the interviewee has said during your entire interview.
That is why it is a good idea not to put the machine away at
once, you can always turn it on again, with the interviewee’s permission,
to get one more story down.
•
Immediate after
the interview, complete all the post- interview tasks and Oral
History Forms and place all the forms, notes,
and photographs into a file reserved for Oral History Data.
The post interview tasks includes:
(1) Complete an introduction for each tape: this
include tape number, name of interviewee(s), interviewer(s),
interpreters and transcribers, interview date,
location and general topics covered during the
interview:
• For example: this is tape 14TRD25, an
interview with Masanza Ntundulu, Peasant in Kwimba
District, and resident of Manawa, Kwimba.
The interview is being conducted on April 28th 2014 at
Masanza’s residence in Manawa, Kwimba
District. The interviewer is Kanyama Ng’wanamuchele,
interpreter is Madete Maliwa. Topics discussed
include: Traditional Responses to Diseases in the vicinity / locality of Kwimba District, and common
diseases in Kwimba District.
(2) Complete labels for Tape,
Tape Box, and Review Form:
(a) Tape Label: Immediate after the interview,
complete the Tape Label.
The Tape Label should include the following information:
• Tape number (tape number should include year,
project abbreviation and number of recordings
(Yr./Proj./#), that is 14TRD25).
•
Name of
interviewee(s)
•
Date of
interview and place of recording
•
Name of
interviewer
•
Name of the
interpreter
14TRD25 Masanza Ntundulu April 28th 2014 Manawa, Kwimba
District Interviewer : Kanyama Ng’wanamchele Interpreter : Madete Maliwa
(b) Tape Box Label should include the tape number and
name of the interviewee:
– 14TRD25 Masanza Ntundulu.
(c) A Tape Review Form should be completed that
includes : Tape number; name, address
and phone number of interviewee; date, time
and place of interview; name of interviewer; name
of interpreter; language(s) used; length of
interview; and if this interview
is continued on additional tapes.
•
Record any notes
or observations immediately after the interview: while the
interview is still fresh in your mind, it is important to take
time to review all notes taken during the interview. Jot down any
thoughts or ideas and record personal
observation regarding the interviewee (health and
attitude) and the interview (noise, sites pointed out by
interviewee or topics discussed).
Common mistakes to avoid during interviews
– Don’t take a too active role in the
interview and dominate the conversation. Be sure and thoroughly
discuss with the interviewee why the interview are needed and how
the knowledge they agree to share will be used, but allow the
interviewee the freedom to present their knowledge in the manner
they are most comfortable.
– Try not to become nervous or impatient
if the interviewee shifts focus away from your proposed area of interest, Don’t
intervene and cut off the interviewee. Allow for
normal break in the conversation before bringing the interview back to the topic
you wish to discuss. Use silence as an advantage .
– Allow enough time for the interviewee to really think
about the subject being discussed and to say everything they wish to say.
– Always try to use open ended questions. Close
ended questions do not allow the interviewee time or means to think about their own recollection
on the discussed topic. These type of questions generally produces shallow
information and denies interviewee freedom of expression.
– Avoid using complex or badly
formed questions. They often serve to frustrate or confuse
the interviewee. Think about the questions you wish to ask before you ask them.
– Pay attention to the information shared
by the interviewee. Information pertinent/relevant to additional areas or
topics may be mentioned in passing and you need to be able to recognize the
opportunity and clarify new areas of
confusion
– Try not to leave any topical or chronological gaps in
the interview. All discussion areas need to be tied in to the general topics
discussed.
TOPIC 4. USING ORAL DATA
•
It is essential
to remember that the record produced by oral history and oral tradition
collection processes is a recording of an interview or of a narration.
It is not, properly speaking, a record of past events,
even though these events may be narrated, recited, recollected,
reflected upon, examined,
and evaluated in the content of the recording.
•
The product
indeed may be consulted by historians to seek and find
evidence of what took place in the past; but for a archivist “ the record” is a record of an
interview or narration, or perhaps a conversation
among several people that took place in a given time . So long as the archivist
managing oral history and oral tradition records
maintains this perspective, the administration of these records may be orderly
and precise. Without it there may well be considerable confusion.
Archival preservation / curation standards of oral
data
– All transcripts / records, interview
notes, sketches and correspondence
should be kept together in one location that is Cleary identified as oral
history material. Acid free containers should be used to
store all paper documents to ensure their long-term
protection. File cabinets or document boxes should
be labeled with name of the collection and the
associated tape catalog number.
– Place a copy of all photographs with the Oral
History Information Form. Photographs should be stored in acid
free envelopes with a brief description written in pencil
on the back. Be sure and include reference information for the photograph, the
date, project name, tape number associated with the
photograph, and interviewer’s name. Do not attempt to mount
the photographs
– Proper storage for all tapes requires an area free
from any strong magnetic fields. Tapes should not be stored in metal
cabinets due to the magnetic qualities that are often associated with
them which often destroy the quality of tapes. In addition, all tapes must be
stored at least six inches above the floor and away
from any pipes and heaters, electric motors,
microphones, loud speakers, or magnets.
Wooden storage containers are excellent for storage of tape
recordings.
– Tapes should be stored in a dust free
environment with temperatures ranging between 65 to 75 degree
Fahrenheit and 50% to 55% humidity. Similar conditions are recommended for all paper
materials so that both tapes and documentation
can be stored closely together.
– When storing tapes they should be left in the “tails
out” position. This means that tapes should not be rewound
after playing but stored as it is. The tape should be rewound immediately before
playing so as to insure the continued quality of the
tape.
• The reason for this is that when a tape is rewound
using high-speed rewind or fast forward capabilities
the tape will often be wound
unevenly on to the reel.
• Tapes tend to expand and contract
with changes in humidity and temperatures causing
unsupported tape edges to become distorted. These edges will
become permanently damaged when the tape
contracts.
• In the record or play mode,
machines do a better job of winding a tape and less damage will
result.
– All tapes should be visually inspected periodically
to check for signs of deterioration. In order to keep tapes from slaking
and stretching, each tape should be “exercised once
every six months. Exercising a tape usually means that a tape is fast
forwarded and then replayed at a normal speed. This
exercise will keep the tapes taut / tight and resilient
/ flexible and will lessen the chances of the tape printing
over itself.
– All cabinets containing tapes and
associated documentation should be equipped with a lock
and key. This will insure the protection of sensitive
information contained within the tapes as well as provide a safeguard
for the informants who have volunteered information useful to the
project.
– Any scholar, agency personnel or
students needing access to the tapes need to apply in
writing to the agency possessing the tapes and follow established access
protocol.
– Copies of all tapes should be made as soon as possible
after recording. Master tapes should be kept in a safe area to
ensure protection and not be used for casual listening.
These tapes should be brought out only to make extra copies, in
case where the original copy has been damaged or destroyed,
and to allow for periodic maintenance.
Handling of oral history tapes
•
All tapes should
be available to all qualified researchers, with the following restrictions:
–
All requests for
access to tapes should be submitted in writing to
appropriate agency. Request forms should be available from the
agency, which will require the requestors name, address,
institution they represent, and reason for
requesting access. Forms will also allow rooms to list the requested tapes.
– Access will be restricted to all
sensitive information relating to the nature, location,
and character of prehistoric and historic
resources. Individuals must work with a professional archaeologist or tribal staff in order to identify
non-sensitive material or gain access to screened copies of records.
– No individual should remove any tape
from the archive
– Tapes shall not be duplicated or reprinted.
Exception may be made only in case where the agency possessing the tape believes that they are warranted
for the protection of educational purposes.
– Tapes are not available through interlibrary
loan.
– Any additional restrictions that may be placed on
individual tapes will be followed
2. Procedures for using quotations from any tapes
– For any and all quotations from the tapes to be
published, the author must gain written clearance from the
respective agency and submit the name and address of the publisher to the
agency so that the publisher can be informed of the possibility of libelous/
vilifying statements in the materials.
– No quotes will be attributed without the living
narrator's permission.
Guidelines for referencing oral sources
1. Within the text: when quoting
or paraphrasing oral communication, the source should be cited in
the same manner as written sources; the surname followed by the year should be
placed in parentheses.
•
Continuation….
(a) Direct
quotes: the citation should come after the closing quotation marks.
Example: Ndaturu recalled attending colonial schools. He stated that, “We were
very few in class, most of us started standard one having grazed cattle for a
number of years” ( Ndaturu 2004)
(b) Paraphrasing
information: use a similar format for citing an oral source as mentioned above.
(c) Citing
before the quoted or paraphrased passage. When appropriate, put the
citation before the passage being cited using the standard format, name and
date of source.
(d) Multiple
interviews with the same interviewee during the same year: differentiate
each interview/ tape made by the same interviewee by placing alphabetizing
(small letter) after the date ( i.e. Ndaturu 2004a, 2004b)
2. Within the Bibliography: the
following format provides an example of how to reference oral sources in the
bibliography.
•
Taped
source:
Ndaturu,
Malale 2004 Taped interview. Masangu Masingija,
interviewer; Lemi Matondo, interpreter,
Masanza,
Magu. July 17.
Magashi
Mhuli, transcriber. Tape 14TRD06;
Oral
Historical Society Library, Mwanza.
•
No tape
transcription: If tape is not
transcribed or if interpreter was not used, simply delete those sections
•
Multiple
citations by the same interviewee should
be cited in a similar manner as outlined above.
3. Personal communication:
•
Within the
text:
When
referencing personal communication within the text, such as untapped
interviews, telephone conversions, letters,
etc, use the full name of the source (unless it appears in the
text [ e.g. Mr. Mashamba ( telephone communication, July 7, 2014) stated
that….]), description of the communication, and as much of
the data as possible. This information should be placed within
parentheses in the appropriate sentence of the passage. In some cases it may be
more appropriate to use the term
“personal communication” rather than a description of the communication, such
as when citing casual conversation.
– Example: one Cherokee elder stated that when he was a
boy at least six families, including his, would return to the village to catch
fish as soon as the snow had melted ( Samuel Smith, personal conversation, 3
July 2004)
•
In the
Bibliography: often the
information given in a citation of a personal communication is all the information that was shared by the
interviewee. When this is the case, it is not necessary to reference the
personal communication in the bibliography. However, in cases where further
information about the communication is shared, such as a
formal interview that was untapped, it is appropriate to reference it within
the bibliography using one of the following formats
•
Smith Samuel
2004 Untaped
interview. Masanyiwa Ndulu, interviewr: Mihayo
Salala, interpreter. Sangabuye, Magu. 3 july.
•
Smith Samuel
2004 Telephone conversion with the auothor. 3
July. Sangabuye, Magu.
References
Roth, M.S, Knowing and History Ithaca: Cornell
University Press, 1988.
Vansina, J, Oral Traditions as History, Oxford: James
Currey, 1977
Atkinson, R.F, Knowledge and Explanation in history :
An Introduction to the Philosophy of History, London: McMillan, 1989.
Ki-zerbo, J (ed), Methodology and African Prehistory,
UNESCO, General History of Africa, Vol.1.1990
Temu, A & Swai, B. Historians and Africanist
History: A Critique, London: Version 1981
•
Basic
readings
•
Campbell, J. The
Power of Myth, New York. Anchor Books, 1986
•
Goody, J. The
Interface between the Written and the Oral Cambridge, Cambridge University
Press.1993
•
Lawi, Y. Q. Oral
Traditions and Human Uses of Natural Resources: The Case of Iraq, North Central
Tanzania, in Mnger Leif
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