Neither prelegal nor nonlegal: Oral memory in troubled times

Abstract

Oral testimony, oral tradition and documents, as represented by written accounts of the facts and the material instruments of the acts and the records,  are all ways of indirectly accessing the past. In both cases of oral and written records, what is considered ‘true’ is entirely dependent on the  trustworthiness of its source. African societies have been communicating and storing valuable information through memory, murals and rock art  paintings since time immemorial. The dominant Western canons have previously classified this memory as prelegal and nonlegal. This study, using a  literature review, mainly through previous work of this author, explores oral memory as a trusted record in troubled times. It is concluded that, like digital  records, oral memory requires proactive efforts to be preserved, as in both instances the content migrates from one carrier to another. Therefore, oral  memory is trustworthy when transmitted in its context. Oral memory, it is argued, perfectly fits the description of a record and thus cannot be classified  as either prelegal or nonlegal. The transmitter of information through oral history is no different from other media of records.