Oral Genealogies in Africa: Preserving Critical Knowledge
| dc.audience | Audience::Audience::Library History Special Interest Group | |
| dc.audience | Audience::Audience::Asia-Oceania Regional Division | |
| dc.conference.sessionType | Local History and Genealogy with Asia & Oceania Section and Library History | |
| dc.conference.venue | Megaron Athens International Conference Centre (MAICC) | |
| dc.contributor.author | Bush, Cherie | |
| dc.contributor.author | Lynch, Russell | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-09-24T09:07:56Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-09-24T09:07:56Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2017 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Many tribes in Africa have a tradition of sharing their ancestral information orally. Written records may not exist so oral histories may be the only records available for genealogical research. The younger generation is less interested in becoming tribal historians. Tribes risk losing their history as the older generations die. FamilySearch helps indigenous people preserve their oral history for future generations. We primarily interview family elders “storytellers”. FamilySearch transcribes the genealogical information and publishes it online for others to use. The presentation will explain the challenges and results of capturing oral genealogies. FamilySearch started a project in 2004 to record oral histories with genealogical content. | en |
| dc.identifier.citation | Bonsu, Osei-Agyemang and Melvin P. Thatcher, African Oral Genealogy: Collecting and Preserving Yesterday for Tomorrow. (Durban, South Africa: World Library and Information Congress: 73rd IFLA General Conference and Council, 2007.) https://archive.ifla.org/IV/ifla73/papers/108-1.Bonsu_Thatcher-en.pdf FamilySearch, “Save African Heritage: Support FamilySearch’s Oral History Program,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qex2HQX4QZc&feature=youtu.be Henige, David P., Donald R. Wright, and William F. Lye, “African Family History through Oral Traditions,” World Conference on Records, (Salt Lake City: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1980.) Hansen, Brent M. and Sydney Bjork, “Voices Bridging Families of the Past and Present: Collect and Preserve Oral Histories in Africa,” (Unpublished paper from Enslaved: Peoples of the Historic Slave Trade, March 2019.) Oral History Association, “Principles and Best Practices,” October 2009. https://www.oralhistory.org/about/principles-and-practices-revised-2009/ UNESCO, African Oral Tradition, 1974. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000023399 United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/index.asp Vansina, Jan, Oral Tradition as History (Madison, Wisconsin: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1985.) | |
| dc.identifier.relatedurl | https://2019.ifla.org/ | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://repository.ifla.org/handle/20.500.14598/6515 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.rights | Attribution 4.0 International | |
| dc.rights.accessRights | open access | |
| dc.rights.uri | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ | |
| dc.subject.keyword | Oral history | |
| dc.subject.keyword | genealogy | |
| dc.subject.keyword | intangible cultural heritage | |
| dc.subject.keyword | oral interview programs | |
| dc.title | Oral Genealogies in Africa: Preserving Critical Knowledge | en |
| dc.type | Article | |
| ifla.Unit | Section:Library History Special Interest Group | |
| ifla.Unit | Section::Asia-Oceania Regional Division | |
| ifla.oPubId | https://library.ifla.org/id/eprint/2463/ |
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