TSWELOPELE MAKOE
Johannesburg - Oral history is truly invaluable in our modern South Africa. In fact, across all societies where families still sit around the fireplace to listen to the elders regale the young ones with their past, the importance of oral history cannot be overstated.
Historically, indigenous knowledge from all over the world has been passed down predominantly through the practice of orality or spoken word. Not only is oral knowledge a central tool undertaken by elders in various cultures to pass down histories about their traditions and communities, but is also an integral tool in the generational continuation of culture and customs.
Various forms of oral histories have been socially and academically researched as key tenants in the bestowment of knowledge, our past and vital lessons that shape our modern-day communities. Oral history has sadly been historically disregarded in colonial settings as illegitimate but is contemporarily a popularly researched area.
What is particularly special about oral knowledge is not only its preservation of one’s language but also its traditional practices. It also speaks to the understanding of a complex and unique spirituality that is found in all cultures in society. Most importantly, oral knowledge encompasses epistemology beyond one’s culture and identity.
It also contains pertinent ecological, technical, agricultural, and scientific knowledge, which has been held by indigenous people from centuries ago and successfully passed from one generation to the other. Oral histories and the maintenance of indigenous knowledge do not facilitate a stronger identity, unity, and cultural pride but are held collectively by all the members of a culture and ultimately promote interdependence and cooperation among us.
The immeasurable beauty of oral histories further encourages us to engage with one another cross-culturally. We can find ways in which our cultures and forebears have collaborated and combated socio-political, economic and ecological challenges in the past and how that knowledge should be utilised to improve and develop our modern-day societies.
We can identify different tenants of indigenous societies, systems and structures that were pivotal to the success of generations that came before us. The wisdom we gather from the practice of oral histories should be encouraging us to utilise the knowledge that we have at our disposal in the fight for our self-improvement.
However, we are often times deterred by the flashiness of capitalistic practices and individualistic Euro-western values, particularly on the African continent. It is time we start to think about culture beyond positions and rituals but truly understand it as a guide for our spirituality - a compass for our identity - and a marker for a communal knowledge system that is centred on peoples’ societal progression.
The saddening phenomenon of strife in South African societies is that we do not take the time to talk with our elders, to learn and to document vital history from those that have heard and lived through pivotal times in our histories. The sad truth is that our elderly generations will not be here with us and among us forever.
It is of the utmost importance that we utilise their wisdom, record their histories, and uphold our traditions as the present-day generation despite modern development that is laced with cultural imperialism from abroad.
As things stand, and by all accounts, this is a dire situation. We have learnt from history that if we do not tell our own stories, they will be narrated by outsiders in pursuit of their subjective interests. Nowadays, if truth be told, we have more tools at our disposal than ever before, and we need to lean on our responsibility to protect our cultural, spiritual, and traditional identities.
I do not believe that our current society has the pleasure of time as oral knowledge - bestowed by its holders - is fleeting. What will we be left with when the elders in our communities and across all sectors of society are all gone? Furthermore, how do we continue to maintain our valuable cultures and traditions if we do not know the small fights and massive battles that shaped those who came before us into what we see in them today? How will we avoid future missteps if we do not know and learn from the mistakes of the past?
It would bode well for us to look to other societies that have entrenched their cultures and traditions into their lived reality and identity. China is a good example. The Chinese have documented their history in such vivid detail and have undertaken the project of their culture with such seriousness that they are globally a force to be reckoned with.
Other societies, such as Latin American Countries, also flourish in upholding ancient traditions and practices. Although it is always positive to uphold cultural aristocratic traditions, we must not be placated by these.
Our cultural identities and our oral histories are extremely extensive and elaborate, and they should be treated as an ongoing plethora of knowledge - a set of indispensable information that will inform future generations and this rapidly developing present-day society.
*Tswelopele Makoe is an MA (Ethics) Student at the Desmond Tutu Centre for Religion and Social Justice at UWC. She is also a gender activist.