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Oral Tradition

drapetomaniac

Premium Member
Premium Member
I'm wondering if your image of oral tradition has changed since becoming a freemason. I was surprised by the oral tradition because the image of oral cultures and traditions is so negative in Western culture.

Here's one of my favorite quotes on maintaining oral liturgy.. Somehow it seems familiar.


Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the annual Molé festival and the other congregational assemblies of Ifa priests is the chanting of Ifá texts which is referred to as ìyèrè. The chanting of ìyèrè is a well-developed art among Ifa priests and it is usually done in choral form, led by someone who is a good chanter. To every complete sentence chanted correctly by the leader of the chant, the other Ifá priests chant han-in, meaning ‘Yes, that is right.' However, if the leader has chanted a sentence wrongly, the other priests inform him of this and tell him to correct his mistake. If he makes another mistake, he might be shouted down and another priest who is sure of himself immediately takes over from him. Where a priest makes serious mistakes while chanting and refuses to stop chanting in defiance of the expressed wishes of the congregation, he might even be thrown out of the meeting in shame. By this rigid insistence on the correct recital of Ifá texts, Ifá priests, have made it almost impossible for spurious passages to appear in the Ifá literary corpus.

Ifá: An Expositionof Ifá Literary Corupus, by Wande Abimbola
 

JTM

"Just in case"
Premium Member
it hasn't really changed. i guess because i haven't seen it the same way. hrm, i'd have to think about it.
 

drapetomaniac

Premium Member
Premium Member
I just remember going through "the phone game" at various times as a child. Often this was cited in classroom settings as why there is a deference for written traditions or even total dismissal of oral cultures and histories because they couldn't possibly be accurate.
 
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