Amadou Ham Pate Ba

Amadou act pate Ba (1901-1991), Malian ethnologist, narrator and author, played an important business office in introducing the gentlemans gentleman to Afri grass oral heritage, especially the folktales of West Africa. The human race known as the living Memory of Africa he liked to asseverate he was hotshot of the eldest sons of the century, was one of the major intellectual literary figures of the 20th century. The saying with which he will always be associated for (his often beats quoted statement), that In Africa when an old man dies, a library has burned master has become so famous that it is sometimes used as an African proverb.He was commenting on the loss of African oral heritage, in praise of two old age and oral tradition, which contributes to the historical components of humanities memory. The folktale is a key source of oral tradition, as argon other forms of level and rituals that are considered essential components of cultural anthropology and ethnology. (folk enculturation. org) There is a certain device characteristic and significance of indigenous cognition, especially in Africa. autochthonic knowledge has been outlined as the local knowledge. Knowledge that is unique to a given culture or society.The expressions traditional local and indigenous knowledge, are used in the literature inter-changeably, is learned through repetition which aids in its store and reinforcement. Agricultural or desert-based societies slowly created communities that were mostly self- contained and based on self-help. Their draw close to problem solving was through ambulated someone or communal experiences and knowledge derived from trial and error. This aggregated validated knowledge improved and increases in time but remained mostly live(a). even out in the present information age, untaught and desert-based communities, hand over remained practically cut off, thus they have been out of the incorrupt necessity and for the sake of their survival, depe nding on and making use of their traditional unrecorded knowledge. (Anwar, 1998) Amadou Ba feared that a lot of it is being disconnected collectable to rapid urbanization and continuous attrition in the older population. Indigenous knowledge is predominantly tacit and embedded in answers and experiences and exchanged deep down the community through oral communication and demonstration.Recording and disseminating it across communities is not short (Anwar. 2005). Its sometimes fragmented. It does not exist in its totality all in one place or one individual. It is distribution is socially differentiated, based on gender and age. When discussing language, ethnic groups, cultures (and subcultures), and religions. The key concepts are novelty and complexity. There are conservatively many hundreds of different ethnics groups. Thus, there are many hundreds of distinct languages and cultures.The sheer number of such groups throughout Africa makes this proportion unique to the contine nt. (The Other World ch. 6 pg. 187) Amadou Ham pate Ba passed away in 1991, leaving the world a library and an across-the-board archive to protect the wealth of knowledge that he had collected from fire, which he warned about repeatedly. He said that part of every speech is lost to fire chaos can result from tiny sparks just as a match can lead to a fire that destroys an spot little village. (folkculture. rg) What role do oral traditions play in the duty periods and/or migrations of communities? Oral tradition the process of handing down information, opinions, belief, and systems by the playscript of mouth or by example (Merriam-Webster unabridged 7th Ed). A transmission of knowledge and institutions through successive generations without written instruction. Thus an transmissible principle, standard, or practice serving as the established guide of an individual or group. In comparing different cultures we tend to evaluate the custom of others in light of our own beliefs and values.Members of all cultures assume that their own throw for living is the best and only correct way. The belief that ones own culture is the only true and good way, as considerably as the intention to judge other cultures by those standard, is call Ethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism serves some(prenominal) important functions for individuals and groups. Certainly about the rightness of ones beliefs and behaviors reinforces the tendency to confirm and to defend ones society. Ethnocentrism becomes dysfunctional when beliefs in ones superiority lead to hostility and conflict. More important, oral traditions can provide a rich history predating the written word. (The other world ch6 pg. 189) In traditional soufies people tend to regard the way things have always been done as sacred, which stems from the beliefs and practices passed down from generation to generation. Account of for the first time European contacts with black Africa are a study in Ethnocentrism the garner and journa ls of 15th and 16th century explorers, merchants, and missioners, overflowed with lurid descriptions of cannibalism, incest and unbridled lust. Since the Africans did not practice Christianity they were labeled heathens since their laws were incomprehensible to the European, they were said to be LAWLESS and since their marriage and family practices differed from those commonplace in Europe they were judged to be savages and barbarians. (George 1968) Africa was artificially divided to suit the objectives of the compound governments. Preexisting ethnic, linguistic, and cultural until were ignored. Throughout Africa, closely knit people harangue the same language were suddenly separated. The other world Ch6 pg. 190) As evident in the class text book (see enclosed references) European colonization of the coast of Africa in 1884 (see fig 6. 2) undoubtedly hasten the teddy and migration of the indigenous people further inland toward the desert (see fig 6. 1) so they could control the r ich fertile land. By 1895 (see fig 6. 3) it only got worse. Even today the African map reflects the extraction goals of the imperial powers. Moreover, foreigners exploited the pictorial habit in many parts of the region.For instance, the colonial powers instituted cash crops and exporting of livestock, which in turn meant widespread clearing of the land and sometimes depletion of the soil. Similarly, Europeans mold up the continent created or heightened local rivalries, which resulted in conflicts that also touch the landscape (ch6 p. 201) Carried to an extreme, ethnocentrism is destructive as evidence by the Nazis in Germany who believed in absolute superiority of the white Aryan race and culture.The result was the displacement and death of millions of people who didnt fit that category mostly Jews. In American history, each different ethnic, religious, or racial group was notion to be inferior to white Anglo-Saxon Protestants (WASP) and therefore deserve less than humane tre atment. Ethnic divisions are a powerful force today. ongoing struggles in such diverse states as Angola, Burundi, Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya,Liberia Mauritanian, Nigeria, Ruanda and Sierra Leon may be explained in past by deep-seated ethnic division