EL-336; Homer-Sundiata
'Room, room, make room!
The lion has walked;
Hide antelopes,
Get out of his way.' (Niane. The Lion's Awakening)
Oral tales, when written, would be translated differently. The authors who scribe the poems/lores hear the orator as they want to hear them, it's selective. That is why I feel that there are different versions of the same poem/lore. The learning styles of men who write, are much different than the learning styles of men who speak.
The idea of griot is to preserve the word of the speaker. Is this not the same thing as a piece of paper? It is a way of preserving something that is communicated. I do not feel that it should be argued, for all it is, is personal preference. There are strengths in both speech and writing. Personally, I choose writing for its deep text and bold print, something I have grown accustomed to. "Other people use writings to record the past, but this invention has killed the faculty of memory among them." Yes, indeed this invention has killed the memories of men. The leisure of looking something up when one forgets gives man an ego, but to memorize something that is spoken takes talent, it is more of an art form than jotting something down on paper.
Comments
But sometimes people are more likely to remember something if they have to look it up.
Posted by: Kayla Sawyer | February 4, 2008 12:37 PM
Some people are more visual learners and some are more study type learners. I guess the same does really go for readers/listeners also. Valid point
Posted by: Rachel Prichard | February 4, 2008 2:01 PM
It is selective. The musicality of the words varies greatly from one story to the next. The JWJ version seemed more oral, that is, I could picture someone speaking the words just as they appeared on the page. The other version seemed like a textbook summary. The basic jist of the story gets through.
Posted by: Daniella Choynowski | February 4, 2008 6:57 PM