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91-447: Nekogami Yaoyorozu is a story about a Cat God named Mayu who has been stripped of her rank and powers and banished from Takama-ga-hara to live on Earth for illegal gambling. She ends up living in an antique shop called Yaoyorozudou with a girl called Yuzu. The story revolves around the various antics the two get up to as they meet with various other gods and creatures from Japanese Mythology. Nekogami Yaoyorozu began its serial run in

182-570: A caste and perform a range of roles, including as a historian or library, musician, poet, mediator of family and tribal disputes, spokesperson, and served in the king's court, not dissimilar from the European bard . They keep records of all births, death, and marriages through the generations of the village or family. When Sundiata Keita founded the Mali Empire , he was offered Balla Fasséké as his griot to advise him during his reign, giving rise to

273-542: A writing system , or in parallel to a writing system. It is the most widespread medium of human communication. They often remain in use in the modern era throughout for cultural preservation . Religions such as Buddhism , Hinduism , Catholicism , and Jainism have used oral tradition, in parallel to writing, to transmit their canonical scriptures , rituals , hymns and mythologies. African societies have broadly been labelled oral civilisations , contrasted with literate civilisations , due to their reverence for

364-406: A better understanding of Homeric epics. The long oral tradition that has sustained Albanian epic poetry reinforces the idea that pre-Homeric epic poetry was oral. The theory of oral-formulaic composition was developed also through the scholarly study of Albanian epic verse. The Albanian traditional singing of epic verse from memory is one of the last survivors of its kind in modern Europe , and

455-503: A collective or tribal memory extending beyond personal experience but nevertheless representing a shared reality. Native languages have in some cases up to twenty words to describe physical features like rain or snow and can describe the spectra of human emotion in very precise ways, allowing storytellers to offer their own personalized take on a story based on their own lived experiences. Fluidity in story deliverance allowed stories to be applied to different social circumstances according to

546-536: A heavily rhythmic speech filled with mnemonic devices enhances memory and recall. A few useful mnemonic devices include alliteration , repetition, assonance , and proverbial sayings. In addition, the verse is often metrically composed with an exact number of syllables or morae —such as with Greek and Latin prosody and in Chandas found in Hindu and Buddhist texts. The verses of the epic or text are typically designed wherein

637-405: A means of teaching. Plots often reflect real life situations and may be aimed at particular people known by the story's audience. In this way, social pressure could be exerted without directly causing embarrassment or social exclusion . For example, rather than yelling, Inuit parents might deter their children from wandering too close to the water's edge by telling a story about a sea monster with

728-605: A new theory called Goryeong County theory. He believes that the name of Mount Sori from Takamagahara mythology came from the capital city of South Korea, Seoul , and therefore Goryeong County is its correct location. In 1999, a stone monument of Takamagahara (고천원고지비) was raised in Kaya University . Oral tradition Oral tradition , or oral lore , is a form of human communication in which knowledge, art, ideas and culture are received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another. The transmission

819-483: A phenomenon that is explained by the lack of state formation among Albanians and their ancestors – the Illyrians , being able to preserve their "tribally" organized society . This distinguished them from civilizations such as Ancient Egypt , Minoans and Mycenaeans , who underwent state formation and disrupted their traditional memory practices. Albanian epic poetry has been analysed by Homeric scholars to acquire

910-615: A physical struggle between a Thunderbird and a Whale. One such story tells of the Thunderbird, which can create thunder by moving just a feather, piercing the Whale's flesh with its talons, causing the Whale to dive to the bottom of the ocean, bringing the Thunderbird with it. Another depicts the Thunderbird lifting the Whale from the Earth then dropping it back down. Regional similarities in themes and characters suggests that these stories mutually describe

1001-540: A position of particular importance, as it was believed to be a more reliable medium for information transmission than prose. This belief stemmed from observations that highly structured language, with its rhythmic and phonetic patterns, tended to undergo fewer alterations during oral transmission. Each genre of rhymed poetry served distinct social and cultural functions. These range from spontaneous compositions at celebrations to carefully crafted historical accounts, political commentaries, and entertainment pieces. Among these,

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1092-664: A pouch for children within its reach. One single story could provide dozens of lessons. Stories were also used as a means to assess whether traditional cultural ideas and practices are effective in tackling contemporary circumstances or if they should be revised. Native American storytelling is a collaborative experience between storyteller and listeners. Native American tribes generally have not had professional tribal storytellers marked by social status. Stories could and can be told by anyone, with each storyteller using their own vocal inflections, word choice, content, or form. Storytellers not only draw upon their own memories, but also upon

1183-811: A reason behind indoctrination . Writing systems are not known to exist among Native North Americans before contact with Europeans except among some Mesoamerican cultures, and possibly the South American quipu and North American wampum , although those two are debatable. Oral storytelling traditions flourished in a context without the use of writing to record and preserve history, scientific knowledge, and social practices. While some stories were told for amusement and leisure, most functioned as practical lessons from tribal experience applied to immediate moral, social, psychological, and environmental issues. Stories fuse fictional, supernatural, or otherwise exaggerated characters and circumstances with real emotions and morals as

1274-599: A scholar of Confucianism from the late Edo period, argues that the Jindai period (神代, Age of the Gods) in the Kojiki was a fiction created by later generations. A historian in 20th century, Sokichi Tsuda 's view of history, which has become mainstream after the World War II, is based on his idea. Many scholars today also believe that the mythology of Takamagahara in Kojiki was created by

1365-427: A society, with the latter much more likely to use oral tradition and oral literature even when a writing system has been developed or when having access to one. The Akan proverbs translated as "Ancient things in the ear" and "Ancient things are today" refer to present-day delivery and the past content, and as such oral traditions are both simultaneously expressions of the past and the present. Vansina says that to ignore

1456-589: A study published in February 2020, new evidence showed that both Budj Bim and Tower Hill volcanoes erupted between 34,000 and 40,000 years ago. Significantly, this is a "minimum age constraint for human presence in Victoria ", and also could be interpreted as evidence for the oral histories of the Gunditjmara people, an Aboriginal Australian people of south-western Victoria, which tell of volcanic eruptions being some of

1547-399: A viable source of evidence for establishing the affiliation between cultural objects and Native Nations. Oral traditions face the challenge of accurate transmission and verifiability of the accurate version, particularly when the culture lacks written language or has limited access to writing tools. Oral cultures have employed various strategies that achieve this without writing. For example,

1638-576: A written intermediate, and they can also be applied to oral governance. Rudyard Kipling 's The Jungle Book provides an excellent demonstration of oral governance in the Law of the Jungle . Not only does grounding rules in oral proverbs allow for simple transmission and understanding, but it also legitimizes new rulings by allowing extrapolation. These stories, traditions, and proverbs are not static, but are often altered upon each transmission, barring any change to

1729-507: Is almost no mention of Takamagahara in the text. It appears only in the fourth book of the first stage of Jindaiki ( 神代記 ) and part of the posthumous name which was given to Empress Jito in the fourth year of Yoro era (720). In contrast, in the Fudoki (風土記, ancient reports on provincial culture and oral tradition ) written in Nara period (710–794), the word Takamagahara appears only at

1820-457: Is also a key socio-cultural component in the practice of their traditional spiritualities , as well as mainstream Abrahamic religions . The prioritisation of the spoken word is evidenced by African societies having chosen to record history orally whilst some had developed or had access to a writing script . Jan Vansina differentiates between oral and literate civilisations, stating: "The attitude of members of an oral society toward speech

1911-410: Is an abbreviation of Takamagahara ( 高天原 ) and the area was the capital of Japan during ancient times. The chronicle also states that it is the reason why there are other local areas with similar names such as Miyakojima ( 都島 ) and Takajo ( 高城 ) . As a proof of this record, Amano-Sakahoko ( 天逆鉾 ) , the spear of gods, can be found at the top of the mountain. It is presumed that

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2002-493: Is distinct from oral history , which is the recording of personal testimony of those who experienced historical eras or events. Oral tradition is also distinct from the study of orality , defined as thought and its verbal expression in societies where the technologies of literacy (writing and print) are unfamiliar. Folklore is one albeit not the only type of oral tradition. According to John Foley, oral tradition has been an ancient human tradition found in "all corners of

2093-458: Is illustrated as a spiritual world of pure light in the radiant universe. There have been many theories about the location of Takamagahara. Theories differ greatly depending on how the mythology in the Kojiki is interpreted. According to the celestial theory, the gods must be in the heavens or the universe above the heavens since high heavens are the dwelling place of the gods. This conceptual view

2184-513: Is performed. Furthermore, the climate in which traditions are told influences its content. In Burundi , traditions were short because most of them were told at informal gatherings and everyone had to have his say during the evening; in neighbouring Rwanda , many narratives were spun-out because a one-man professional had to entertain his patron for a whole evening, with every production checked by fellow specialists and errors punishable. Frequently, glosses or commentaries were presented parallel to

2275-594: Is rated as the highest in the Engishiki ( 延喜式 , Procedures of the Engi Era ), and its shintai ( 神体 , body of the kami ) is a mountain located behind the shrine. Kagero Nikki ( 蜻蛉日記 ) , a classical waka , indicates that Amano-iwato was at Mount Katsuragi . Since this poem was written around 974, it shows that this understanding dates back to at least the Heian period (794–1185). Similarly, Sanryu-syo ( 三流抄 ) ,

2366-416: Is represented by Norinaga Motoori 's theory; he believed it was disrespectful to gods and emperors to consider other theories. This idea was the mainstream view before World War II because of its strong connection with the emperor-centered historiography . The terrestrial theory suggests that mythology always contains some historical fact, and thus Takamagahara must also reflect what existed. This theory

2457-532: Is similar to the reverence members of a literate society attach to the written word . If it is hallowed by authority or antiquity, the word will be treasured." For centuries in Europe, all data felt to be important were written down, with the most important texts prioritised, such as Bible , and only trivia, such as song, legend, anecdote, and proverbs remained unrecorded. In Africa, all the principal political, legal, social, and religious texts were transmitted orally. When

2548-489: Is testified to by the preservation of the most ancient Indian religious text, the Ṛgveda ( c.  1500 BCE ). Research by Milman Parry and Albert Lord indicates that the verse of the Greek poet Homer has been passed down not by rote memorization but by " oral-formulaic composition ". In this process, extempore composition is aided by use of stock phrases or "formulas" (expressions that are used regularly "under

2639-651: Is that any of the candidate sites for the Yamatai-koku such as Yamamoto Country, Mii Country, Yamato Country, and Yasu Country in the Chikugo River basin. Some people specifically believe that Mii Country is the Takamagahara and Nakoku is the Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni. The artificiality theory proposes that wondering about location of Takamagahara is meaningless since myths are made up. Banto Yamagata ,

2730-466: Is the abode of the heavenly gods ( amatsukami ). Often depicted as located up in the sky, it is believed to be connected to the Earth by the bridge Ame-no-ukihashi (the "Floating Bridge of Heaven"). In Shinto , ame ( heaven ) is a lofty, sacred world, the home of the Kotoamatsukami . Some scholars have attempted to explain the myth of descent of the gods from the Takamagahara as an allegory of

2821-399: Is through speech or song and may include folktales , ballads , chants , prose or poetry . The information is mentally recorded by oral repositories , sometimes termed "walking libraries", who are usually also performers. Oral tradition is a medium of communication for a society to transmit oral history , oral literature , oral law and other knowledge across generations without

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2912-519: The Bamums in Cameroon invented a script , the first to be written down was the royal chronicle and the code of customary law . Most African courts had archivists who learnt by heart the royal genealogy and history of the state, and served as its unwritten constitution . The performance of a tradition is accentuated and rendered alive by various gesture, social conventions and the unique occasion in which it

3003-742: The Kouyate line of griots . Griots often accompany their telling of oral tradition with a musical instrument, as the Epic of Sundiata is accompanied by the balafon , or as the kora accompanies other traditions. In modern times, some griots and descendants of griots have dropped their historian role and focus on music, with many finding success, however many still maintain their traditional roles. Albanian traditions have been handed down orally across generations. They have been preserved through traditional memory systems that have survived intact into modern times in Albania ,

3094-502: The attributes of Allah —all-mighty, all-wise, all-knowing, all-high, etc.—often found as doublets at the end of a verse. Among the other repeated phrases are "Allah created the heavens and the earth" (found 19 times in the Quran). As much as one third of the Quran is made up of "oral formulas", according to Dundes' estimates. Bannister, using a computer database of (the original Arabic) words of

3185-643: The oral word and widespread use of oral tradition. Oral tradition is memories, knowledge, and expression held in common by a group over many generations: it is the long preservation of immediate or contemporaneous testimony . It may be defined as the recall and transmission of specific, preserved textual and cultural knowledge through vocal utterance. Oral tradition is usually popular, and can be exoteric or esoteric . It speaks to people according to their understanding, unveiling itself in accordance with their aptitudes. As an academic discipline , oral tradition refers both to objects and methods of study. It

3276-542: The ruling class to make people believe that the class was precious because they originated in the heavenly realm. The town of Takaharu , with Takachiho Mountain rising behind it, has long been recognized as the place of Ninigi-no-Mikoto 's descent. In the Sangoku Meisho Zue ( 三国名勝図会 ) , a chronicle written by Satsuma Domain at the end of the Edo period, it is written that the name of this area, Takaharu ( 高原 ) ,

3367-819: The Japanese language, and the original meaning of the kanji does not match the meaning of the words they are describing. Therefore, the words expressed from them only explained pronunciation not the actual meanings. In Koshitsu ( 古史通 ) , Hakuseki interpreted Takamagahara in hiragana instead of kanji and compared it to Taga Country in Hitachi Province. Also, he suggests that places called "Takaama-no-Ura” and "Takaama-no-Hara" in Hitachi Province originated from Takamagahara. The names of places such as "Amagahara (天ヶ原)" and "Takanohara (高野原)" still remain, and they are considered as "Heavenly Territory (天国領域)" according to

3458-596: The July 2007 issue of Champion Red Ichigo , ending in October 2012. The series was published in six compilation volumes. In December 2010, an anime television series based on the manga was announced in Champion Red Ichigo . Produced by AIC PLUS+ under the direction of Hiroaki Sakurai , the anime series aired on AT-X between July 9, 2011, and September 24, 2011, and was simulcast by Crunchyroll . NIS America has licensed

3549-588: The Kyushu-Yamatai-Koku theory. The Korean Peninsula theory was sometimes advocated mainly by amateur Korean researchers after World War II. Initially, Chuncheon City at Gangwon-do was considered to be the location of Takamagahara in South Korea because of certain lyrics from Komagaku , a type of traditional Japanese court music. However, in the 1990s, the chancellor of the Kaya University proposed

3640-566: The Qur'anic text was generated." Dundes argues oral-formulaic composition is consistent with "the cultural context of Arabic oral tradition", quoting researchers who have found poetry reciters in the Najd (the region next to where the Quran was revealed) using "a common store of themes, motives, stock images, phraseology and prosodical options", and "a discursive and loosely structured" style "with no fixed beginning or end" and "no established sequence in which

3731-490: The Quran and of their "grammatical role, root, number, person, gender and so forth", estimates that depending on the length of the phrase searched, somewhere between 52% (three word phrases) and 23% (five word phrases) are oral formulas. Dundes reckons his estimates confirm "that the Quran was orally transmitted from its very beginnings". Bannister believes his estimates "provide strong corroborative evidence that oral composition should be seriously considered as we reflect upon how

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3822-569: The Quran from memory, not reading, the predominant mode of teaching it to others. To this day the Quran is memorized by millions and its recitation can be heard throughout the Muslim world from recordings and mosque loudspeakers (during Ramadan ). Muslims state that some who teach memorization/recitation of the Quran constitute the end of an "un-broken chain" whose original teacher was Muhammad himself. It has been argued that "the Qur'an's rhythmic style and eloquent expression make it easy to memorize," and

3913-508: The Vedangas. Each text was recited in a number of ways, to ensure that the different methods of recitation acted as a cross check on the other. Pierre-Sylvain Filliozat summarizes this as: These extraordinary retention techniques guaranteed an accurate Śruti, fixed across the generations, not just in terms of unaltered word order but also in terms of sound. That these methods have been effective,

4004-473: The ancient Greek and Roman civilizations were an exclusive product of an oral tradition. An Irish seanchaí (plural: seanchaithe ), meaning bearer of "old lore" , was a traditional Irish language storyteller (the Scottish Gaelic equivalent being the seanchaidh, anglicised as shanachie). The job of a seanchaí was to serve the head of a lineage by passing information orally from one generation to

4095-455: The area of Hiruzen. The place was traditionally known as a small cave, but it was discovered to be much longer and deeper in 1929. The cave was named after what was believed to be the dwelling place of the Yamainu. Some places inside have been named as Takamagahara and Ama-no-Yasugawara. According to the theory proposed by Hakusei Arai, kanji in ancient times were representing pronunciation of

4186-531: The beginning of Hitachi-no-Kuni-Fudoki (常陸の国風土記). Similarly, in the main text of Kogo Shui (古語拾遺), a historical record written in the early Heian period (794–1185), Takamagahara is mentioned only in the section of Ninigi-no-Mikoto. In modern times, Takamagahara was described as the "supreme celestial sphere" (至美天球) in Tales of the Spirit World ( 霊界物語 ) by Onisaburo Deguchi . The "supreme celestial sphere"

4277-405: The birthplace of the Takamagahara mythology, is at Soyo, Kumamoto . Shintai, the sacred body of the kami, is a stone slab carved with two types of Jindai characters, and the characters "Asohi-no-okami (アソヒノオオミカミ)" and "Hifumi (日文)" are engraved on the front and back of the slab. The shrine's name "Heitate" means Himorogi, a sacred place or an altar, and it is said that this is the sacred place where

4368-512: The chronicle, Emperor Jimmu lived here until his expedition to the east . The town of Takachiho is located at the Northern part of Miyazaki prefecture . Ama-no-Iwato, Mount Amanokagu, and Shiioji Peaks can be found in this area. Takachiho Shrine is known for its specific type of Shinto ritual ceremonial dance called Yoru-Kagura, which is said to have originated from a dance performed by Ame-no-Uzume. Hinomiya-Heitate shrine, which calls itself

4459-464: The classical waka poem written in Kamakura period (1185–1333), describes the location of Takamagahara as Mount Katsuragi. Until the new Hitachi Province theory was proposed by Hakuseki Arai in the Edo period, this area was considered to be the location of Takamagahara. The stone monument of Takamagahara is in the parking lot of a temple in this area. Kayabe Shrine, Amano-Iwato, and Amano-Ukihashi are in

4550-464: The corrupt and uncorrupted hadith, this other source of revelation is not nearly so free of corruption because of the hadith's great political and theological influence.) At least two non-Muslim scholars ( Alan Dundes and Andrew G. Bannister) have examined the possibility that the Quran was not just "recited orally, but actually composed orally". Bannister postulates that some parts of the Quran—such as

4641-441: The episodes must follow".{{ref|group=Note|Scholar Saad Sowayan referring to the genre of "Saudi Arabian historical oral narrative genre called suwalif ". The Catholic Church upholds that its teaching contained in its deposit of faith is transmitted not only through scripture , but as well as through sacred tradition . The Second Vatican Council affirmed in Dei verbum that

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4732-768: The first by comparing inconsistencies in the transmitted versions of literature from various oral societies such as the Greek, Serbia and other cultures, then noting that the Vedic literature is too consistent and vast to have been composed and transmitted orally across generations, without being written down. In the Middle East, Arabic oral tradition has significantly influenced literary and cultural practices. Arabic oral tradition encompassed various forms of expression, including metrical poetry , unrhymed prose , rhymed prose ( saj' ), and prosimetrum —a combination of prose and poetry often employed in historical narratives. Poetry held

4823-622: The folk epics known as siyar (singular: sīra) were considered the most intricate. These prosimetric narratives, combining prose and verse, emerged in the early Middle Ages. While many such epics circulated historically, only one has survived as a sung oral poetic tradition: Sīrat Banī Hilāl . This epic recounts the westward migration and conquests of the Banu Hilal Bedouin tribe from the 10th to 12th centuries, culminating in their rule over parts of North Africa before their eventual defeat. The historical roots of Sīrat Banī Hilāl are evident in

4914-566: The generations. Many forms of recitation or pathas were designed to aid accuracy in recitation and the transmission of the Vedas and other knowledge texts from one generation to the next. All hymns in each Veda were recited in this way; for example, all 1,028 hymns with 10,600 verses of the Rigveda was preserved in this way; as were all other Vedas including the Principal Upanishads , as well as

5005-401: The goddess of the sun, Amaterasu (天照大御神) was born, she was commanded to rule Takamagahara by Izanagi (伊弉諾), the creator deity of creation and life. In the part related to Susanoo (スサノヲ, the brother of Amaterasu), Takamagahara is described as the place where many gods live with Ama-no-yasukawa (天の安河), Ama-no-iwato (天岩戸), paddy fields, and a place for weaving, giving an impression that life

5096-474: The gods descended in ancient times. Takama is located on a plateau at the foot of Mount Kongo in Gose-shi , Nara Prefecture . The region's old name is Katsuragi ( 葛城 ), and Mount Kongo was called Mount Takamagahara in ancient times. The Takamahiko Shrine is located at east side of Mount Kongo, and the area around the shrine is a traditional place where the gods of the heavens lived (Matsumura, 2014). The shrine

5187-860: The help of elaborate mnemonic techniques : According to Goody, the Vedic texts likely involved both a written and oral tradition, calling it a "parallel products of a literate society". Mostly recently, research shows that oral performance of (written) texts could be a philosophical activity in early China . It is a common knowledge in India that the primary Hindu books called Vedas are great example of Oral tradition. Pundits who memorized three Vedas were called Trivedis. Pundits who memorized four vedas were called Chaturvedis. By transferring knowledge from generation to generation Hindus protected their ancient Mantras in Vedas, which are basically Prose. The early Buddhist texts are also generally believed to be of oral tradition, with

5278-526: The human intellect, and the memory to retain information and sharpen imagination. Perhaps the most famous repository of oral tradition is the west African griot (named differently in different languages). The griot is a hereditary position and exists in Dyula , Soninke , Fula , Hausa , Songhai , Wolof , Serer , and Mossi societies among many others, although more famously in Mandinka society . They constitute

5369-459: The importance of storytelling in preserving Roman history . Valerius Maximus also references oral tradition in Memorable Doings and Sayings (2.1.10). Wiseman argues that celebratory performances served as a vital medium for transmitting Roman history and that such traditions evolved into written forms by the third century CE. He asserts that the history of figures like the house of Tarquin

5460-479: The introduction of text , oral tradition remained the only means of communication in order to establish societies as well as its institutions. Despite widespread comprehension of literacy in the recent century, oral tradition remains the dominant communicative means within the world. All indigenous African societies use oral tradition to learn their origin and history , civic and religious duties, crafts and skills, as well as traditional myths and legends . It

5551-453: The land. The amatsukami are said to have descended from heaven to pacify and perfect this world. In the beginning of the Kojiki (Records of Ancient Matters), Takamagahara is mentioned as the birthplace of the gods. It is assumed that Takamagahara existed in clouds above sea because there is a scene in which Kuniumi (国生み), the god of islands, lowers his spear to form an island. Also, when

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5642-451: The last survivor of the Balkan traditions. "All ancient Greek literature", states Steve Reece, "was to some degree oral in nature, and the earliest literature was completely so". Homer 's epic poetry, states Michael Gagarin, "was largely composed, performed and transmitted orally". As folklores and legends were performed in front of distant audiences, the singers would substitute the names in

5733-664: The lived experience of earthquakes and floods within tribal memory. According to one story from the Suquamish Tribe , Agate Pass was created when an earthquake expanded the channel as a result of an underwater battle between a serpent and bird. Other stories in the region depict the formation of glacial valleys and moraines and the occurrence of landslides, with stories being used in at least one case to identify and date earthquakes that occurred in 900 CE and 1700. Further examples include Arikara origin stories of emergence from an "underworld" of persistent darkness, which may represent

5824-487: The long and short syllables are repeated by certain rules, so that if an error or inadvertent change is made, an internal examination of the verse reveals the problem. Oral traditions can be passed on through plays and acting, as shown in modern-day Cameroon by the Graffis or Grasslanders who perform and deliver speeches to teach their history through oral tradition. Such strategies facilitate transmission of information without

5915-428: The migration of peoples. However, it is likely to have referred from the beginning to a higher world in a religious sense. A Shinto myth explains that at the time of creation , light, pure elements branched off to become heaven ( ame ). Heavy, turbid elements branched off to become earth ( tsuchi ). Ame became the home of the amatsukami or gods of heaven, while tsuchi became the home of kunitsukami or gods of

6006-418: The millennium have taught us anything, it must be that oral tradition never was the other we accused it of being; it never was the primitive, preliminary technology of communication we thought it to be. Rather, if the whole truth is told, oral tradition stands out as the single most dominant communicative technology of our species as both a historical fact and, in many areas still, a contemporary reality. Before

6097-494: The narrative, sometimes answering questions from the audience to ensure understanding, although often someone would learn a tradition without asking their master questions and not really understand the meaning of its content, leading them to speculate in the commentary. Oral traditions only exist when they are told, except for in people's minds, and so the frequency of telling a tradition aids its preservation. These African ethnic groups also utilize oral tradition to develop and train

6188-416: The next about Irish folklore and history, particularly in medieval times. The potential for oral transmission of history in ancient Rome is evidenced primarily by Cicero , who discusses the significance of oral tradition in works such as Brutus , Tusculan Disputations , and On The Orator . While Cicero ’s reliance on Cato’s Origines may limit the breadth of his argument, he nonetheless highlights

6279-468: The oldest oral traditions in existence. A basalt stone axe found underneath volcanic ash in 1947 had already proven that humans inhabited the region before the eruption of Tower Hill. Native American society was always reliant upon oral tradition, if not storytelling , in order to convey knowledge, morals and traditions amongst others, a trait Western settlers deemed as representing an inferior race without neither culture nor history, often cited as

6370-405: The oral passing of what had been revealed through Christ through their preaching as teachers. Jan Vansina , who specialised in the history of Central Africa , pioneered the study of oral tradition in his book Oral tradition as history (1985). Vansina differentiates between oral and literate civilisations, depending on whether emphasis is placed on the sanctity of the written or oral word in

6461-530: The overall meaning. In this way, the rules that govern the people are modified by the whole and not authored by a single entity. Ancient texts of Hinduism , Buddhism and Jainism were preserved and transmitted by an oral tradition. For example, the śrutis of Hinduism called the Vedas , the oldest of which trace back to the second millennium BCE. Michael Witzel explains this oral tradition as follows: The Vedic texts were orally composed and transmitted, without

6552-419: The present-day distribution of groups claiming descent from the tribe across North Africa and parts of the Middle East. The epic's development into a cohesive narrative was first documented by the historian Ibn Khaldūn in the 14th century. In his writings, Ibn Khaldūn describes collecting stories and poems from nomadic Arabs, using these oral sources to discuss the merits of colloquial versus classical poetry and

6643-649: The remembrance of life in the Arctic Circle during the last ice age, and stories involving a "deep crevice", which may refer to the Grand Canyon. Despite such examples of agreement between geological and archeological records on one hand and Native oral records on the other, some scholars have cautioned against the historical validity of oral traditions because of their susceptibility to detail alteration over time and lack of precise dates. The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act considers oral traditions as

6734-586: The same metrical conditions, to express a particular essential idea"). In the case of the work of Homer, formulas included eos rhododaktylos ("rosy fingered dawn") and oinops pontos ("winedark sea") which fit in a modular fashion into the poetic form (in this case six-colon Greek hexameter). Since the development of this theory, of oral-formulaic composition has been "found in many different time periods and many different cultures", and according to another source (John Miles Foley) "touch[ed] on" over 100 "ancient, medieval and modern traditions." The most recent of

6825-513: The series under the name The Everyday Tales of a Cat God and released it in North America on subtitled DVD and Blu-ray Disc on June 4, 2013. An OVA subtitled "Ohanami Ghostbusters" 27 minutes 19 seconds long was also released March 21, 2012. Takama-ga-hara In Japanese mythology , Takamagahara ( 高天原 , "Plane of High Heaven " or "High Plane of Heaven") , also read as Takaamanohara , Takamanohara , Takaamagahara , or Takaamahara ,

6916-504: The seven re-tellings of the story of the Iblis and Adam , and the repeated phrases "which of the favours of your Lord will you deny?" in sura 55—make more sense addressed to listeners than readers. Banister, Dundes and other scholars (Shabbir Akhtar, Angelika Neuwirth, Islam Dayeh) have also noted the large amount of "formulaic" phraseology in the Quran consistent with " oral-formulaic composition " mentioned above. The most common formulas are

7007-549: The spear was placed around the Edo period, but the details are still unknown. The town of Takaharu is also known as the birthplace of Emperor Jimmu. The main evidence is that Emperor Jimmu's infant name, "Sano-no-Mikoto", in the Nihon Shoki refers to the Sano area of the town. However, there is no detailed explanation about it, and the current description of Emperor Jimmu is largely based on Sangoku Meisho Zue ( 三国名勝図絵 ) . According to

7098-408: The stories with local characters or rulers to give the stories a local flavor and thus connect with the audience, but making the historicity embedded in the oral tradition unreliable. The lack of surviving texts about the Greek and Roman religious traditions have led scholars to presume that these were ritualistic and transmitted as oral traditions, but some scholars disagree that the complex rituals in

7189-419: The storyteller's objective at the time. One's rendition of a story was often considered a response to another's rendition, with plot alterations suggesting alternative ways of applying traditional ideas to present conditions. Listeners might have heard the story told many times, or even may have told the same story themselves. This does not take away from a story's meaning, as curiosity about what happens next

7280-476: The teachings of Jesus Christ were initially passed on to early Christians by "the Apostles who, by their oral preaching, by example, and by observance handed on what they had received from the lips of Christ, from living with Him, and from what He did". The Catholic Church asserts that this mode of transmission of the faith persists through current-day bishops , who by right of apostolic succession , have continued

7371-650: The use of script, in an unbroken line of transmission from teacher to student that was formalized early on. This ensured an impeccable textual transmission superior to the classical texts of other cultures; it is, in fact, something like a tape-recording ... Not just the actual words, but even the long-lost musical (tonal) accent (as in old Greek or in Japanese) has been preserved up to the present. Ancient Indians developed techniques for listening, memorization and recitation of their knowledge, in schools called Gurukul , while maintaining exceptional accuracy of their knowledge across

7462-661: The value of oral histories in written historical works. The Torah and other ancient Jewish literature, the Judeo-Christian Bible and texts of early centuries of Christianity are rooted in an oral tradition, and the term "People of the Book" is a medieval construct. This is evidenced, for example, by the multiple scriptural statements by Paul admitting "previously remembered tradition which he received" orally. Australian Aboriginal culture has thrived on oral traditions and oral histories passed down through thousands of years. In

7553-440: The world". Modern archaeology has been unveiling evidence of the human efforts to preserve and transmit arts and knowledge that depended completely or partially on an oral tradition, across various cultures: The Judeo-Christian Bible reveals its oral traditional roots; medieval European manuscripts are penned by performing scribes; geometric vases from archaic Greece mirror Homer's oral style. (...) Indeed, if these final decades of

7644-453: The world's major religions, Islam claims two major sources of divine revelation—the Quran and hadith —compiled in written form relatively shortly after being revealed: The oral milieu in which the sources were revealed, and their oral form in general are important. The Arab poetry that preceded the Quran and the hadith were orally transmitted. Few Arabs were literate at the time and paper

7735-549: Was close to the human world. It is stated that the Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni (葦原の中つ国, the world between Heaven and Hell) was subjugated by the gods from Takamagahara, and the grandson of Amaterasu, Ninigi-no-Mikoto (瓊瓊杵尊), descended from Takamagahara to rule the area. From then on, the emperor, a descendant of Ninigi-no-Mikoto owned Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni. In the Nihon Shoki (日本書紀, The Chronicles of Japan ), there

7826-553: Was first represented by Hakuseki Arai , a confucianist during middle of the Edo period . Specifically, he stated that Takamagahara was located in Taga County, Hitachi Province ( 常陸国 ). Also, some people believe Takamagahara existed, but outside of Japan ; one of the most popular such theories locates it at Gangwon , South Korea . A chief proponent was the World War II war criminal, General Kanji Ishiwara . The Kyushu-Yamatai-koku theory

7917-472: Was known for his justification of the oral tradition and criticism of the written word. Stories are used to preserve and transmit both tribal history and environmental history, which are often closely linked. Native oral traditions in the Pacific Northwest, for example, describe natural disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis. Various cultures from Vancouver Island and Washington have stories describing

8008-434: Was less of a priority than hearing fresh perspectives on well-known themes and plots. Elder storytellers generally were not concerned with discrepancies between their version of historical events and neighboring tribes' version of similar events, such as in origin stories. Tribal stories are considered valid within the tribe's own frame of reference and tribal experience. The 19th century Oglala Lakota tribal member Four Guns

8099-451: Was likely passed down through oral storytelling for centuries before being recorded in literature. Although Flower critiques the lack of ancient evidence supporting Wiseman's broader claims, Wiseman maintains that dramatic narratives fundamentally shaped historiography. In Asia, the transmission of folklore, mythologies as well as scriptures in ancient India, in different Indian religions, was by oral tradition, preserved with precision with

8190-475: Was made so to facilitate the "preservation and remembrance" of the work. Islamic doctrine holds that from the time it was revealed to the present day, the Quran has not been altered, its continuity from divine revelation to its current written form insured by the large numbers of Muhammad's supporters who had reverently memorized the work, a careful compiling process and divine intervention. (Muslim scholars agree that although scholars have worked hard to separate

8281-483: Was not available in the Middle East. The written Quran is said to have been created in part through memorization by Muhammad's companions , and the decision to create a standard written work is said to have come after the death in battle ( Yamama ) of a large number of Muslims who had memorized the work. For centuries, copies of the Qurans were transcribed by hand, not printed, and their scarcity and expense made reciting

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