Oral Traditions and the Archaic State in Africa

Abstract

Abstract Oral traditions in Africa are informed, shaped, and internalized within specific languages and worldviews. Their use of memory as a dynamic and collective tool to preserve traditions and histories across generations is critical in understanding the tangible material remains of past societies, including sites and cultural landscapes. While oral traditions are created in the present, it is their transmission that translates into history and historiography. It is for this reason that they are foundational to African archaic states and kingdoms, serving as the primary, structured mechanism for transmitting, preserving, and legitimizing political power, cultural identity, traditions, and memory. African oral traditions use physical landscapes as mnemonic devices, translating them into “storied terrains,” to narrate stories about human interactions with such environments. It is from these landscapes that material culture acquires meanings and identities that are essential in understanding the archaeological record.

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