HI 368: ORAL HISTORIES IN

TANZANIA

Albertus K. Onyiego (PhD)

Department of History
University of Dar es Salaam
 1. DEFINING ORAL HISTORY

➢ History handed down by word of mouth

➢ One of the major sources of historical information

➢ Other sources include: Archaeology, Social/Cultural Anthropology,

Archives and Historical Linguistics
 1.1 DEFINING ORAL HISTORY
(CONT’D)
➢ Obvious source of history for oral societies or source of
information for the past of illiterate groups in literate societies
➢ Oral societies in the world include: Black Africans, American
Indians, Aborigines, Austronesians, Communities in Oceania and
other Pacific Islands (e.g. Micronesians, Polynesians, Melanesians,
etc.)
 1.2 DEFINING ORAL HISTORY
(CONT’D)
➢ It is also the fountainhead of many old writings in the world: e.g.:
(a) Ancient writings in the Mediterranean region, India, China,
Japan, etc.
(b) European Medieval Ages i.e. the period from the collapse of the
Roman Empire to the beginning of Renaissance (5th – 15th
centuries)
 2. SOURCES OF HISTORICAL
INFORMATION
➢ There are five major sources of historical information:
(a) Archaeology
(b) Social/Cultural Anthropology
(c) Archives
(d) Historical Linguistics
(e) Oral sources
 2.1 ARCHAEOLOGY

➢ Scientific study of the past through human cultural or material

remains: e.g.
(a) Artifacts - stone tools, iron tools, pottery, etc.
(b) Fossils - skulls, human skeleton, animal bones, etc.
(c) Rock paintings – Kondoa, Eyasi Basin, Lake Victoria Islands, etc.
(d) Architectural remains – Zanzibar, Kilwa, Bagamoyo, etc.
 2.1.1 THE ROLE OF ARCHAEOLOGY
TO HISTORIANS
➢ Elaborate information about palaeoenvironmental conditions esp.
Pleistocene period
➢ Useful insights in understanding human evolution - Zinjanthropus,
Homo habilis, etc.
➢ Deeper understanding of cultural and technological development
of the humankind - Stone Age, Iron Age, etc.
➢ Past subsistence behaviour and adaptation to environment - from
scavenging to food production
 2.2 SOCIAL/CULTURAL
ANTHROPOLOGY
➢ Social anthropologists are interested to discover how and why
human societies vary in their cultural ideas and practices
➢ To anthropologists, the term “culture” refers to customary ways of
thinking and behaving of a particular society
➢ The culture of a social group includes its language, belief systems,
gender roles, courtship/marriage procedures, kinship organisation,
food, music, housing, patterns of thought and behaviour, etc.
 2.2.1 SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY
(CONT’D)
➢ For a long time, social anthropologists concentrated on “small-
scale” societies and cultures esp. Oceania, Caribbean islands and
Africa
➢ They viewed such societies as “primitive” or “savage” and their
simplicity made it easy to study as a whole
➢ Social anthropologists believed that “primitive” societies offered
important clues in search for the origins of institutions hence the
ease to trace the evolution of complex societies
 2.2.2 SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY
(CONT’D)
Some of the best-known anthropologists worldwide:
1. Charles G. Seligman
2. Bronislaw K. Malinowsky
3. Radcliffe Brown
4. E. E. Evans-Pritchard
5. George P. Murdock
6. Monica & Godfrey Wilson
 2.3 ARCHIVES/ WRITTEN
DOCUMENTS
➢ Archives is a special place for collecting, preserving and managing
historical documents
➢ Archival documents available for East Africa can be divided into
three major groups:
a) Pre-colonial documents
b) Colonial documents
c) Post-colonial documents
 2.3.1 ARCHIVES (CONT’D)

(a) Pre-colonial Documents (before 1880s)

➢ For the most part of East Africa, written records are only available
for the past 200 years or less
➢ The only exception is along the coast where such records go further
back to the period of early Greek, Egyptian and Muslim traders
➢ The best example is “Periplus of Erythrean Sea” – a commercial
guide written by Greek/Egyptian traders in the 1st century C.E.
 2.3.2 ARCHIVES (CONT’D)

(b) Colonial Documents (1880s to 1960s)

➢ These include colonial records, reports, circulars, diaries,
newsletters and correspondences
➢ Mostly written by colonial administrators, sociologists and
anthropologists: e.g. Hans Corry, Henry Fosbrooke, Edward C.
Baker, Godon Brown, etc.
(c) Post-colonial Documents (1960s to Present)
 2.4 HISTORICAL LINGUISTICS

➢ The branch of linguistics studying how languages are interrelated

and how they change over time
➢ Useful and applicable in parts of the world where written sources
are scarce or completely not available
➢ Prominent historical linguists include Derek Nurse, Christopher
Ehret, etc.
 2.3.1 THE ROLE OF HISTORICAL
LINGUISTICS TO HISTORIANS
➢ The distribution of languages represented by language families and
genetic groups provide clues to the origins and spread of various
language communities - e.g. Bantu Migration, Nilotic Expansion,
etc.
➢ A large number of words in common suggests a close affinity
between the respective language communities – e.g. Khoisan-
speakers, Bantu-speakers, Nilotic-speakers, etc.
 2. THE RISE OF ORAL METHODOLOGY
IN AFRICAN HISTORY

➢ Oral method has been used in Africa since time immemorial i.e.
the tradition of story telling
➢ However, the effective and systematic use of oral method in
African History started around 1950s
➢ This development can be attributed to a number of factors:
 2.1 AFRICAN CONTEXT

➢ Part of the nationalist consciousness to liberate Africa (i.e.

intellectual liberation). The aim was to counter or challenge
pejorative and racialized views imposed about African past through
colonial domination
➢ Intellectual contribution towards nation-building in early post-
colonial Africa i.e. to restore African identity, dignity and respect as
an independent people on the world stage
 2.2 GLOBAL CONTEXT

➢ A shift of historiographic paradigm in the period after WWII

characterized by renewed interest in subaltern and people-
centered histories as opposed to the histories of dominant and
powerful groups
➢ The rise of Oral History as an academic discipline at different parts
of the world esp. America & Europe
 3. TYPES OF ORAL SOURCES

There are two major types of oral sources used by historians:

(a) Eyewitness accounts (oral testimonies)

(b) Oral tradition

 3.1 EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS
(ORAL TESTIMONIES)
➢ Account of events observed by the narrator himself/herself and
sometimes he/she participated in them
➢ They reflect contemporary events that happened during the
lifetime of the narrator (personal experiences)
➢ Example: life histories or personal reminiscences i.e. recollections
of past events or situations given by the participant long after the
event
 3.2 EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS
(CONT’D)
➢ Eyewitness accounts are only partly reliable
➢ Even the best of witnesses never gives a movielike account of what
happened
➢ Usually, they involve perceptions and emotions
➢ Those perceptions are organized in a coherent manner and the
logic of the situation supplies the missing pieces of observation
 3.3 EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS
(CONT’D)
➢ People tend to report what they expect to see or hear more than
what they actually see or hear
➢ Memory typically selects certain features from the successive
perceptions and interprets them according to expectation, previous
knowledge, or the logic of “what must have happened”
➢ Eyewitness accounts should always undergo scrutiny before being
accepted as such
 3.4 ORAL TRADITIONS

➢ These are oral messages transmitted from one generation to

another
➢ They can be spoken, sung or called out on musical instruments
➢ They are no longer contemporary i.e. have been told and retold for
generations
➢ They are collective in nature i.e. represent the memories of social
groups, such as villages, chiefdoms, kingdoms, kinship groups, etc.
 3.5 ORAL TRADITIONS (CONT’D)

➢ They are often a property of the particular group i.e. express the
identity and collective consciousness of the group in which they are
told
➢ Are used to substantiate rights over land, resources, succession to
political office, inheritance, etc.
➢ When they deal with royal history, they become institutionalized
and are told officially on formal occasions
 3.6 ORAL TRADITIONS (CONT’D)

➢ They are socially constructed and are constantly updated to

accommodate the existing social order
➢ They constitute an existing corpus of history for a social group
➢ According to Roy G. Willis, there is a close link between oral
tradition, social evolution and historical consciousness
 3.7 MAJOR TYPES OF ORAL
TRADITION
(a) Traditions of Origin (Genesis Stories) – i.e. origins of the world,
creation of mankind, appearance of a particular society, etc.
➢ Every community in the world has its own version of genesis
stories
➢ Such traditions are what anthropologists call “myth” (mythical
traditions)
➢ Most of them are speculations about what may have happened or
logical constructs around revered spirits who were later humanized
into group heroes
 3.8 MAJOR TYPES OF ORAL
TRADITION (CONT’D)
(b) Migration Accounts
➢ They deal with migration, settlement and external relations of a
particular social group
➢ Most of them are straightforward narratives with a sprinkling of
myths and legends
➢ Migration routes are usually recalled in terms of a list of place-
names
➢ The recounting of those places may not be precise enough but it
suggests a general route or direction taken by the migrants
 3.9 MAJOR TYPES OF ORAL
TRADITION (CONT’D)
(c) Genealogies
➢ A serial order of birth lineage starting with the most recent generation
and extending back in time into the remote ancestry
➢ They form a basis for the local chronology by providing epochs or
units of duration used to evaluate how far in the past something
happened
➢ They also show the relationship between contemporary groups or
individuals
➢ They are continually manipulated/updated to reflect new relationships
 3.10 MAJOR TYPES OF ORAL
TRADITION (CONT’D)
(d) Epics (Epic poems)
➢ Epics are long and complex narratives full of wonders and heroism
centered around a main personage
➢ Epics have a historical dimension because most of the heroes
presented in them once lived and some of the incidents correspond
to actual events that happened
➢ When such narratives are couched in a poetic language, they are
called epic poems
4. ORAL TRADITION AS PERFORMANCE
(THE ART OF STORY TELLING)

➢ The best example of how oral tradition is performed is represented

by the art of story telling
➢ Story telling is not just a recitation of words
➢ It is an art and the intention is to attract the audience
➢ Some story tellers are more creative and have better techniques to
make the story come alive than others
 4.1 ORAL TRADITION AS
PERFORMANCE (CONT’D)
➢ The narrator sits, often in the evening, surrounded by listeners and
spins a tale
➢ The voice is raised or lowered as a means of dramatization
➢ The tale is acted out with body gestures, even when the story teller
is seated
➢ Sometimes he/she may stand up, move around, or mime parts of
the action narrated
 4.2 ORAL TRADITION AS
PERFORMANCE (CONT’D)
➢ He/she tries to frighten, delight, worry, and put the audience in
tenterhooks
➢ He/she skillfully expands the exciting parts of the story and
condenses or transforms parts where the attention of the audience
lags
 4.3 ORAL TRADITION AS
PERFORMANCE
(CONT’D)
➢ Of course, the audience does not just sit there and watch. It is
active as well.
➢ It interacts with the narrator by asking questions, exclamations,
and participating in singing the songs initiated by the narrator at
appropriate points of the story
➢ This way, the narrator and the audience create the story together
 5. MNEMONIC DEVICES

➢ These are objects or other items used by the narrator to recall

memory during story telling
➢ Mnemonic devices can be classified into three groups:
(a) Objects
(b) Landscape
(c) Music (melody or rhythm)
 5.1 EXAMPLES OF MNEMONIC
DEVICES
(a) Objects – skulls, weapons, shields, drums, royal stools, etc.
(b) Landscapes – abandoned settlements, battlefields, gravesites,
caves, special trees, etc.
(c) Music – specific melody of a drum, a horn or trumpet signaling
a particular event that took place in the past (esp. wars)
 BASIC STEPS IN CONDUCTING
ORAL HISTORY RESEARCH
➢ Oral History research is a systematic process involving collection,
analysis and interpretation of oral information with a view of
producing historical knowledge
➢ There are 9 basic steps to follow when planning and conducting
oral history research
 BASIC STEPS (CONT’D)

1. Find a research topic

➢ A research topic is a broad area of interest that a researcher wants
to study
➢ Examples of research topics:
▪ Maji Maji War
▪ Villagilisation Scheme
▪ Luo Migration etc.
 BASIC STEPS (CONT’D)

2. Read extensively on that topic:

Why?
➢ To know what other researchers have covered on that topic
➢ To know what is missing (research gaps) in previous studies
➢ To know the concepts, theories and methods used by previous
researchers
 BASIC STEPS (CONT’D)

3. Identify a research problem

➢ Research problem is a specific area of interest that a researcher wants
to study
➢ Examples of a research problem:
▪ The role of traditional medicine in the Maji Maji War
▪ How Villagilisation Scheme promoted land disputes in Singida Region
▪ Luo Migration and its influence on the Bantu communities in North
Mara, 1880s to 1930s
 BASIC STEPS (CONT’D)

4. Prepare a research plan:

➢ Things to consider when preparing a research plan:
▪ Timeframe for the research
▪ Sources of fund
▪ Necessary documents
▪ Places to visit
▪ Type of informants etc.
 BASIC STEPS (CONT’D)

5. Prepare research questions and research tools

➢ Research questions: questions to be asked when interviewing
informants
➢ Prepare key questions only, according to the research objective(s)
➢ Use open-ended questions (broad, general), not closed-ended
questions (fixed, specific)
 BASIC STEPS (CONT’D)

➢ Research tools: different tools or equipment to be used during

research:
▪ Note books
▪ Pens
▪ Tape recorder
▪ Camera etc.
 BASIC STEPS (CONT’D)

6. Data Collection (conducting interviews)

➢ Oral interviews involve two parties: the researcher and the
informant
➢ These parties belong to different social domains so interview
should be conducted carefully to achieve maximum results
➢ Usually, the differences appear in terms of educated vs
uneducated, foreign vs local, modern vs traditional, urban vs rural,
young vs old, etc.
 BASIC STEPS (CONT’D)

Sampling procedures:
➢ Before starting the interview, the researcher has to decide on the
sampling procedure
➢ Snowball sampling works better with oral interviews i.e. one informant
proposes the other
➢ In certain cases, purposive sampling can also be used i.e. choosing an
informant for a special purpose
➢ Usually, purposive sampling is used to reach out the voiceless and
marginalized groups esp. women
 BASIC STEPS (CONT’D)

Interview setting:
➢ The interview can be structured or unstructured, formal or
informal, individual or group, etc.
➢ Interviewing people at their home settings makes them feel free
and comfortable
➢ The informant(s) should be interviewed in the language in which
they are familiar
 BASIC STEPS (CONT’D)

Ethical issues to observe when conducting interviews:

➢ Dress properly, decently and less formally
➢ Respect the culture and the lifestyle of the particular area
➢ Start the conversation loosely (with simple questions) before
getting into intricate issues
➢ Pose questions skillfully, do not be too direct
➢ Do not talk too much, listen more
➢ Do not interrupt the informant(s) when talking
 BASIC STEPS (CONT’D)

Ethical issues (cont’d):

➢ Obey the privacy of the informant(s)
➢ Seek permission before using a recording device or a camera
➢ During the interview, commend/appreciate the informant(s) to
motivate them
➢ At the end of the interview, thank the informant(s) for their time and
cooperation
➢ Small gifts can be given to the informant(s) but that should be done in
a way that does not compromise the informant(s) or signal buying the
information
 BASIC STEPS (CONT’D)

7. Data organization, analysis and Interpretation

➢ From the field, the researcher usually has a very large stock of
information
▪ Huge pile of oral narratives
▪ Large stock of archival documents
▪ Information from secondary sources – books, journal articles, etc.
▪ Pictures, maps, census reports, etc.
 BASIC STEPS (CONT’D)

➢ The daunting task is how to integrate those pieces of information

to weave a logical, coherent and consistent narrative (history)
➢ Start by organizing those pieces of information into smaller groups
of similar themes, subjects or topics
➢ The next step is to compare narratives from different informants so
as to establish a common understanding
 BASIC STEPS (CONT’D)

➢ Identify “core images” in each narrative – landscape features,

important places, major characters, etc.
➢ This helps to corroborate stories from different informants
➢ The following step is to compare oral findings with information
available in other sources of history about the particular area
➢ This helps to cross-check the consistence and veracity of different
pieces of information such as dates, original homelands for migrant
communities, etc.
 BASIC STEPS (CONT’D)

➢ The last step is to locate every piece of narrative within the context
of related historical literature
➢ This helps to get regional, continental or global dimension of a
particular narrative, etc.
➢ Now you can start writing a research report i.e. dissertation, thesis,
etc.
 BASIC STEPS (CONT’D)

8. Writing a Research Report

➢ Start by organizing your findings into draft chapters and sub-chapters
➢ Observe the rules of academic writing:
▪ Proper organization of the work – paragraphs, clear sentences, logical
flow of ideas, etc.
▪ Analysis should overweigh description
▪ Proper citation and referencing – footnotes, bibliography, etc.
▪ Seek professional editorial advice
 BASIC STEPS (CONT’D)

9. Publishing research results

➢ The aim is to communicate research findings to the public
➢ It can be in form of a book, book chapter, journal article, booklet,
pamphlet, etc.
➢ Publishing involves rigorous editing, review process, corrections,
revisions, etc. until the final product (publication) comes out
➢ It is highly recommended to publish with reputable and credible
companies