Oral repositories are people who have been trusted with mentally recording information constituting oral tradition within a society. They serve an important role in oral cultures and illiterate societies as repositories of their culture's traditional knowledge, values, and morals.
Roles People termed as "oral repositories" have been likened to "walking libraries", leading to the saying "whenever an old man dies, it is as though a library were burning down". Roles vary, and can be titular, formal or informal, some professional specialists such as the Caucasian ashik, or more commonly amateurs and knowledgeable generalists such as the bulaam of the Kuba people.
Types of information held by oral repositories include lineages, oral law, mythology, oral literature and oral poetry (of which oral history is often entwined), folk songs and aural tradition, and traditional knowledge. In many indigenous societies, such as Native American and San, these roles are fulfilled in a general sense by elders. In some societies anyone could become a generalist or traditionalist regardless of their social class, and acquisition depends solely on individual aptitude, while in others the roles are hereditary and dependent on class or caste.
These people usually hold authority within their respective societies, although musicians sometimes constitute a low caste/class. They can be religious figures playing roles in rituals and ceremonies. With regard to narrative traditions, they usually perform from their repertoire and apply their distinct style while innovating on a well-known tale or work, seeking to create an experience by leading, involving, and responding to the audience. Some participate in improvised poetry competitions such as the Central Asian aytysh, the North African Kabyle people's amusnaw, the Spanish , or the West African Ewe people's halo. In parts of the world they remain as custodians of culture despite rising literacy rates.
Africa Term Type/s of information Society/ies Period Sources Abacurabwenge Genealogy Rwandan Abasizi Rwandan Abateekerezi Royal memoirs Rwandan Abiru Code of kingship Rwandan Akewi Poetry, eg. oríkì Yoruba To present Akomfo Religious lore Akan To present Arókin (griot) General Yoruba To present Poetry Berber To present Amusnaw General, eg. asefru Kabyle Anechchad Songs Berber To present Azmari Poetry and songs Amharic Babalawo Religious lore Yoruba To present Bambudye/Mbudye General Luba To present Bulaam History, literature, and poetry Kuba To present Debtera Ethiopian and Eritrean Glossary , Eritrean Print and Oral Culture, hosted on Canada Research Chair Humanities Computing Studio.Isaac Greenfield, "The Debtera and the education among Ethiopian Jewry until the arrival of Dr. Faitlovitch" in Menachem Waldman (ed.), Studies in the History of Ethiopian Jews, Habermann Institute of Literary Research, 2011, pp. 109-135 (Hebrew) Gawlo (griot) General Fula and Toucouleur To present Gesere/Jaare (griot) General Soninke To present Géwël (griot) General Wolof and Serer To present Halaiqui Literature Moroccan To present Iggiw/Ighyuwn/Iggawen (griot) General Hassaniya To present Imbongi Poetry Southern African, eg. Xhosa and Zulu To present Jèli/Jali General Mandinka, Dyula, Mossi, and Bambara To present Hogon Religious lore Dogon To present Songs, religious lore Moroccan To present General Venda To present Maroka (griot) General Hausa To present Mbomo mvet Songs and literature Fang To present Mganga Religious lore Swahili Mmoki Poetry Tswana To present Moaridi History Kuba Moreti Poetry Bapedi To present Mpikabary Public speaking Merina To present Mukhodi Poetry Venda To present Muphati Poetry Tsonga To present N'anga Religious lore Shona To present NdzioPoetry, songTio Nganga Religious lore Kongo To present Oday General, law Somali To present Ogbu Avu General Igbo To present Okyeame General Akan Omwevugi General, eg poetry Banyankore and Bahima To present Sangoma Religious lore, general Nguni, Sotho, and Tsonga To present Sarungano Literature Shona To present Seroki Poetry, genealogies Sotho To present Svikiro Religious knowledge Shona Ughoro General Edo Ugogo Literature (ntsomi or ) Xhosa and Zulu To present
Asia Term Type/s of information Society/ies Period Sources Aqyn Poetry and songs Kazakh and Kyrgyz Ashik/Ashugh Poetry and songs Azerbaijani, Turkish, Georgian, and Armenian Babaylan Religious lore Filipino Until 20th century Bagshy Literature Turkmen To present Poetry Uzbek To present Bhanaka Religious texts Asian (Buddhist) Until 1st century BCE Bhāts Genealogy, sometimes poetry and storytelling Indian Bobohizan Religious knowledge Kadazan-Dusun (Malay) To present Bomoh Religious knowledge Malay and Sumatran To present Charan General, eg. Rajasthani and Gujarati literature Rajasthani, Gujurati, Baloch, and Sindhi Dalang Literature Indonesian To present Dastango Literature Pakistani Until 20th century (revived) Dengbêj Literature and songs Kurdish Dukun Religious knowledge Malay and Indonesian To present Gayen/Gain Poetry Bengali Gusans Poetry Armenian Literature Arab To present Kamishibaiya Literature Japanese To present Kathakar Literature Indian To present Maggid Religious lore, literature Jewish Manaschi Literature Kyrgyz To present Manganiar Songs and music Rajasthani (Indian) To present Meddah Literature Turkish Until 20th century Mo phi Religious knowledge Thai Naqqal Literature Iranian To present Pawang Religious knowledge Malay and Indonesian To present Qawwāl Religious songs Asian (Sufi) To present Rāwī Poetry, literature, and religious texts Arabic Until 8th century CE Sėsėn Literature Bashkir To present Sorikkun Pansori Korean Tuulchi Literature Mongolian To present Wu Religious lore Chinese Until ? Zajjalin Poetry Andalusian, Lebanese, Palestinian, Syrian, Jordanian, Moroccan, and Algerian To present Zhyrau Poetry, eg. Kazakh literature Turkic, eg. Kazakh To present
Europe Term Type/s of information Society/ies Period Sources Aoidos Poetry and songs Ancient Greek Until ? Aois-dàna Genealogy Scottish Highlander Until 17th century Bard General Scottish, Irish, and Welsh Until ? Poetry Basque To present Cuntisti Literature Sicilian (Italian) Druid Religious lore Celtic Until ? Drut'syla Literature Jewish To present Dziady Songs Slavic eg. Polish P. Grochowski, Dziady. Rzecz o wędrownych żebrakach i ich pieśniach, Toruń 2009. Filí Poetry Irish and Scottish Until 15th century Literature Romagnol (Italian) To present? Kobzar Songs Ukrainian Until 20th century (revived) . Lahutar Poetry Albanian Lăutari Songs Romanian and Romani To present Lirnyk Literature and songs Ukrainian Until 20th century Klezmer Songs Jewish Makar General Scottish Minstrel Songs European Until 19th century Ollam General Irish Until ? Piitárides Songs Cypriot Rhapsode Poetry Ancient Greek Until ? Rimadóri Songs Cretan (Greek) Seanchai Literature and history Irish, Manx, and Scottish Highlander To present Scop Poetry English Until ? Skald Poetry Scandinavian Until 16th century Skomorokh Songs Russian Until 18th century Spelman Songs Swedish Spielmann Songs German Thyle General Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon Until 7th century Paul C. Bauschatz, The Well and the Tree: World and Times in Early Germanic Culture, Amherst: University of Massachusetts, 1982, , note 22, pp. 215–16. Tietäjä General, Poetry Finnish Until 20th century
North America Term Type/s of information Society/ies Period Sources Calypsonian Songs Trinidadian Iyalawo Religious knowledge Afro-Cuban To present Medicine man Religious knowledge Native American To present North American Indigenous elder General North American Indigenous To present Oungan and ManboReligious loreAfro-HaitianTo presentPaleros Religious lore Afro-Cuban
South America Term Type/s of information Society/ies Period Sources Amauta General Incan Until ? Yatiri Religious knowledge Aymara To present
Oceania Term Type/s of information Society/ies Period Sources Australian Aboriginal elder General Australian Aboriginal To present Fāgogo Literature Samoan To present Ha'atufunga Royal rituals Tongan To present Haku mo'olelo Literature Hawaiian Kahuna Religious lore Polynesian, eg. Hawaiian Mea hula Literature Hawaiian To present Tulafale General Samoan To present Wānanga General Māori To present
See also Troubador - Occitan poet, until the 14th century Shadow play Rakugoka - Japanese performer of verbal comedy Bharatanatyam - Tamil traditional dance and literature Katha (storytelling format) - Indian religious storytelling
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