Oral Traditions as Historical Sources in Ethiopia: The Case of the Beta Israel (Falasha)

1993 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 297-312
Author(s):  
James Quirin
Keyword(s):  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Oral Traditions ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Limited Time ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
Methodological Innovation ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Beta Israel ◽  
Western View ◽  
Written Sources

It is axiomatic that historians should use all available sources. African historiography has been on the cutting edge of methodological innovation for the last three decades, utilizing written sources, oral traditions, archeology, linguistics, ethnography, musicology, botany, and other techniques to bring respect and maturity to the field.But the use of such a diverse methodology has brought controversy as well, particularly regarding oral traditions. Substantial criticisms have been raised concerning the problems of chronology and limited time depth, variations in different versions of the same events, and the problem of feedback between oral and written sources. A “structuralist” critique deriving from Claude Levi-Strauss's study of Amerindian mythology has provided a useful corrective to an overly-literal acceptance of oral traditions, but often went too far in throwing out the historical baby with the mythological bathwater, leading some historians to reject totally the use of oral data. A more balanced view has shown that a modified structural approach can be a useful tool in historical analysis. In Ethiopian historiography some preliminary speculations were made along structuralist lines,5 although in another sense such an approach was always implicit since the analysis of Ethiopie written hagiographies and royal chronicles required an awareness of the mythological or folk elements they contain.Two more difficult problems to overcome have been the Ethiopie written documents' centrist and elitist focus on the royal monarchy and Orthodox church. The old Western view that “history” required the existence of written documents and a state led to the paradigm of Ethiopia as an “outpost of Semitic civilization” and its historical and historiographical separation from the rest of Africa. The comparatively plentiful corpus of written documentation for Ethiopian history allowed such an approach, and the thousands of manuscripts made available to scholars on microfilm in the last fifteen years have demonstrated the wealth still to be found in written sources. However, such sources, although a starting point for research on Ethiopian history, no longer seem adequate in themselves because they focus primarily on political-military and religious events concerning the monarchy and church.

scholarly journals Geography of Gerburts ancestry possessions in the period of XIV–XVII centuries as first mentions in historical sources about the cities and villages of Galicia and Podillia

2015 ◽  
pp. 322-332
Author(s):  
Oleh Tsebenko
Keyword(s):  
Key Words ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
Historical Materials ◽  
Written Sources

The geography of the modern settlements of Galicia and Podillia, which in the fourteenth-seventeenth centuries was owned by Ukrainian gentry of Gerburts ancestry, was considered. A historical analysis of expansion of ancestry was made during this period. First mention of possession of Gerburts ancestry in Galicia came from 1374, when the prince Vladislav Opolski had given to Gerburts first nine villages on the watershed between the Dniester and San River in Przemysl land. During the next three centuries possession of ancestry significantly increased not only in Galicia, but also on the Podillia. A large number of written sources on founding of towns in Galicia and Podillya was analysed. Attention was focused on those historical materials, which contained the first written mention about the settlements of Galicia and Podillia and closely connected with the activity of the Gerburts ancestry. Key words: Gerburts ancestry, settlements, Galicia, Podillia.

“Documentalism” of the “Long 1980s” Poster as a Visual Historical Source: “Artistic” and “Non‑Artistic” Forms

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (3) ◽  
pp. 99-108
Author(s):  
V. Tarasov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Visual Representation ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Historical Source ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
New Models ◽  
Parallel Text ◽  
Characteristic Features ◽  
Illustrative Material

The article studies posters of the late 1980s – early 1990s (the so‑called period of the “long 1980s”) as a visual historical source. In analyzing the problem, the author points out that the illustrative model dominates among the visual representation models of the history at that time. In the historical and cultural focus, it is a parallel story that has no narrative tasks of its own and acts as a visual “animator” of the text. Its characteristic features are low representativeness and “closeness” of visual ideas. As a consequence, the text replaces the meaning and significance of the poster’s illustrative material. The poster becomes a starting point for creating parallel text that does not consider its artistic basis and principles. Pseudo‑text provokes the artificiality of the visual in relation to the text. During this period, the attitude towards the poster as a “silent” source is established. Historians are practically not interested in the artistic nature of the poster, since it does not become an object of analysis. This method is generally common in the traditional historiography of the second half of the twentieth century. The facts established on the basis of a documentary “trace” are interpreted as self‑sufficient (that is they do not require an artistic imperative). Such practice downgrades the documentary status of visual historical sources within the framework of historical analysis. The author is considering some new models for the analysis of the visual historical source that are oriented towards the historiographical paradigm of poster research. The present study analyzes the poster as a source of interpretation of events. Thus, the meaning of a visual document has several levels: 1) the level of fact (it indicates the existence of a certain segment of reality); 2) the level of context (it describes reality through facts, events and phenomena); 3) the level of interpretation (it gives an assessment to the events and expresses a certain attitude towards them).

Ideology and Oral Traditions: Listening to the Voices ‘From Below’

1987 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 67-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.A. Hamilton
Keyword(s):  
Oral Tradition ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Human Memory ◽  
Reliable Data ◽  
Oral Traditions ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
The Status ◽  
Oral Testimony ◽  
The Relationship

From the time of the translation into English of Jan Vansina's Oral Tradition in 1965, the use of oral traditions as historical sources has become an increasingly technical exercise. Historians of the non-literate societies of Africa in particular have been alterted to, among others, such things as “floating gaps” and “hour-glass effects” in traditions, elongated and collapsed genealogies, the peculiarities and fallibility of human memory, the overlaying of oral traditions with successive ruling group histories, and the functioning of oral traditions as cultural charters.Some scholars consider this ‘reification of method’ to have wrought a tool increasingly honed for historical analysis, able to lay bare within oral tradition historical facts, consistent within themselves and with other oral traditions. Others argue that the elaborateness of the methodology reflects the inherently unreliable nature of oral traditions as historical sources. They suggest that, at best, oral traditions are able to provide reliable data only about the interests of a particular group at the particular moment when they were recorded.This paper addresses the debate over the status of oral traditions as historical sources, with particular reference to the use of traditions in the illumination of the precolonial past. Drawing on some of the insights of the new social historians concerning ideology and first-hand oral testimony, it examines the relationship between ideology and oral traditions in non-literate societies. The argument developed here is that, far from simply representing the interests of a particular group, oral traditions often reflect ideological struggles between the rulers and ruled in a society.

EPITAFIES OF THE RELATIVES OF HADJI IBRAHIM AL-URADI AS A SOURCE ON THE BIOGRAPHY OF THE SCIENTIST AND ON THE HISTORY OF GIDATL

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 13-21
Author(s):  
Sh M Khapizov ◽  
M G Shekhmagomedov
Keyword(s):  
18Th Century ◽  
Medieval History ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
The Past ◽  
Arabic Script ◽  
History Of ◽  
History Of Culture ◽  
The Look ◽  
Cultural Monuments ◽  
Written Sources

The article is devoted to the study of inscriptions on the gravestones of Haji Ibrahim al-Uradi, his father, brothers and other relatives. The information revealed during the translation of these inscriptions allows one to date important events from the history of Highland Dagestan. Also we can reconsider the look at some important events from the past of Hidatl. Epitaphs are interesting in and of themselves, as historical and cultural monuments that needed to be studied and attributed. Research of epigraphy data monuments clarifies periodization medieval epitaphs mountain Dagestan using record templates and features of the Arabic script. We see the study of medieval epigraphy as one of the important tasks of contemporary Caucasian studies facing Dagestani researchers. Given the relatively weak illumination of the picture of events of that period in historical sources, comprehensive work in this direction can fill gaps in our knowledge of the medieval history of Dagestan. In addition, these epigraphs are of great importance for researchers of onomastics, linguistics, the history of culture and religion of Dagestan. The authors managed to clarify the date of death of Ibrahim-Haji al-Uradi, as well as his two sons. These data, the attraction of written sources and legends allowed the reconstruction of the events of the second half of the 18th century. For example, because of the epidemic of plague and the death of most of the population of Hidatl, this society noticeably weakened and could no longer maintain its influence on Akhvakh. The attraction of memorable records allowed us to specify the dates of the Ibrahim-Haji pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina, as well as the route through which he traveled to these cities.

Vyshnivetsky Castle Library of Prince Mychailo Servaty Vyshnivetsky – Historical Book Heritage and Object of Bibliological and Historical Reconstruction

2014 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 166-182
Author(s):  
Iryna Tsiborovska-Rymarovych
Keyword(s):  
18Th Century ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Cultural Significance ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
Cultural Images ◽  
The Enlightenment ◽  
Printed Books ◽  
History Of ◽  
Grand Duchy Of Lithuania ◽  
Definition Of

The article has as its object the elucidation of the history of the Vyshnivetsky Castle Library, definition of the content of its fund, its historical and cultural significance, correlation of the founder of the Library Mychailo Servaty Vyshnivetsky with the Book.The Vyshnivetsky Castle Library was formed in the Ukrainian historical region of Volyn’, in the Vyshnivets town – “family nest” of the old Ukrainian noble family of the Vyshnivetskies under the “Korybut” coat of arm. The founder of the Library was Prince Mychailo Servaty Vyshnivetsky (1680–1744) – Grand Hetman and Grand Chancellor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Vilno Voievoda. He was a politician, an erudite and great bibliophile. In the 30th–40th of the 18th century the main Prince’s residence Vyshnivets became an important centre of magnate’s culture in Rich Pospolyta. M. S. Vyshnivetsky’s contemporaries from the noble class and clergy knew quite well about his library and really appreciated it. According to historical documents 5 periods are defined in the Library’s history. In the historical sources the first place is occupied by old-printed books of Library collection and 7 Library manuscript catalogues dating from 1745 up to the 1835 which give information about quantity and topical structures of Library collection.The Library is a historical and cultural symbol of the Enlightenment epoch. The Enlightenment and those particular concepts and cultural images pertaining to that epoch had their effect on the formation of Library’s fund. Its main features are as follow: comprehensive nature of the stock, predominance of French eighteenth century editions, presence of academic books and editions on orientalistics as well as works of the ideologues of the Enlightenment and new kinds of literature, which generated as a result of this movement – encyclopaedias, encyclopaedian dictionaries, almanacs, etc. Besides the universal nature of its stock books on history, social and political thought, fiction were dominating.The reconstruction of the history of Vyshnivetsky’s Library, the historical analysis of the provenances in its editions give us better understanding of the personality of its owners and in some cases their philanthropic activities, and a better ability to identify the role of this Library in the culture life of society in a certain epoch.

A view from the Greek side

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-50
Author(s):  
Gunnel Ekroth
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Perspective ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Greek Religion ◽  
Bone Material ◽  
Archaeological Material ◽  
Animal Bone ◽  
Animal Bones ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Integrated Study ◽  
Written Sources

This paper addresses the animal bone material from ancient Qumran, from the comparative perspective of zooarchaeological evidence recovered in ancient Greek cult contexts. The article offers an overview of the paramount importance of animal bones for the understanding of ancient Greek religion and sacrificial practices in particular, followed by a review of the Qumran material, taking as its starting point the zooarchaeological evidence and the archaeological find contexts. The methodological complications of letting the written sources guide the interpretation of the archaeological material are explored, and it is suggested that the Qumran bones are to be interpreted as remains of ritual meals following animal sacrifices, as proposed by Jodi Magness. The presence of calcined bones additionally supports the proposal that there was once an altar in area L130, and it is argued that the absence of preserved altar installations in many ancient sanctuaries cannot be used as an argument against their ever having been present. Finally, the similarities between Israelite and Greek sacrificial practices are touched upon, arguing for the advantages of a continued and integrated study of these two sacrificial systems based on the zooarchaeological evidence.

scholarly journals “His Soul Is Weeping inside That He Cannot Bury the Dead as before.” Plague and Rebellion in Debrecen (Hungary), 1739–1742

Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 687
Author(s):  
Ildikó Sz. Kristóf
Keyword(s):  
18Th Century ◽  
Medical Science ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Criminal Proceedings ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
Anthropological Study ◽  
Late 18Th Century ◽  
The Social ◽  
Religious Piety ◽  
The City

This is a historical anthropological study of a period of social and religious tensions in a Calvinist city in the Kingdom of Hungary in the first half of the 18th century. The last and greatest plague epidemic to devastate Hungary and Transylvania between cca. 1738 and 1743 led to a clash of different opinions and beliefs on the origin of the plague and ways of fighting it. Situated on the Great Hungarian Plain, the city of Debrecen saw not only frequent violations of the imposed lockdown measures among its inhabitants but also a major uprising in 1739. The author examines the historical sources (handwritten city records, written and printed regulations, criminal proceedings, and other documents) to be found in the Debrecen city archives, as well as the writings of the local Calvinist pastors published in the same town. The purpose of the study is to outline the main directions of interpretation concerning the plague and manifest in the urban uprising. According to the findings of the author, there was a stricter and chronologically earlier direction, more in keeping with local Puritanism in the second half of the 17th century, and there was also a more moderate and later one, more in line with the assumptions and expectations of late 18th-century medical science. While the former set of interpretations seems to have been founded especially on a so-called “internal” cure (i.e., religious piety and repentance), the latter proposed mostly “external” means (i.e., quarantine measures and herbal medicine) to avoid the plague and be rid of it. There seems to have existed, however, a third set of interpretations: that of folk beliefs and practices, i.e., sorcery and magic. According to the files, a number of so-called “wise women” also attempted to cure the plague-stricken by magical means. The third set of interpretations and their implied practices were not tolerated by either of the other two. The author provides a detailed micro-historical analysis of local events and the social and religious discourses into which they were embedded.

scholarly journals Population genomic and historical analysis suggests a global invasion by bridgehead processes in Mimulus guttatus

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario Vallejo-Marín ◽  
Jannice Friedman ◽  
Alex D. Twyford ◽  
Olivier Lepais ◽  
Stefanie M. Ickert-Bond ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Invasions ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Historical Records ◽  
British Isles ◽  
Mimulus Guttatus ◽  
Introduced Populations ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
History Of ◽  
Global Invasion

AbstractImperfect historical records and complex demographic histories present challenges for reconstructing the history of biological invasions. Here, we combine historical records, extensive worldwide and genome-wide sampling, and demographic analyses to investigate the global invasion of Mimulus guttatus from North America to Europe and the Southwest Pacific. By sampling 521 plants from 158 native and introduced populations genotyped at >44,000 loci, we determined that invasive M. guttatus was first likely introduced to the British Isles from the Aleutian Islands (Alaska), followed by admixture from multiple parts of the native range. We hypothesise that populations in the British Isles then served as a bridgehead for vanguard invasions worldwide. Our results emphasise the highly admixed nature of introduced M. guttatus and demonstrate the potential of introduced populations to serve as sources of secondary admixture, producing novel hybrids. Unravelling the history of biological invasions provides a starting point to understand how invasive populations adapt to novel environments.

Meeting for the Co-ordination and Planning of the Collection of African Oral Traditions

1968 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 563-564
Author(s):  
Michel Izard
Keyword(s):  
International Research ◽  
Oral Traditions ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Government ◽  
Written Sources

This meeting was organised jointly by the Government of Haute-Volta and by the Cultural Division of U.N.E.S.C.O., which had taken the initiative, as part of its preparation for a general History of Africa. In this context one must mention also the recent colloquia held at Niamey and at Timbuktu, the former concerned with oral, the second with written sources, ofAfrican history. This Ouagadougou meeting was essentially logistic in character; having established in principle that it is necessary to collect African oral traditions in order to fill out the outlines of history, the task was to list the problems of all kinds posed by the work of collection, and to consider possible solutions, especially in connection with both national and international research plans.

scholarly journals The authority of the ecumenical patriarch in the Orthodox Church: A historico-canonical analysis

2010 ◽  
pp. 301-322
Author(s):  
Vasilije Vranic
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Canon Law ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Eastern Orthodox ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Christian Church ◽  
Exact Role ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Right

During the 20th century, the exact role and the scope of jurisdictional authority of the Ecumenical Patriarch was an object of attention of both theologians and historians. The problem of defining the Patriarch was reactualized through the intensification of conciliar negotiations of Orthodox Churches. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that the pretensions of the Ecumenical Patriarch for universal jurisdiction over the entire Orthodox Diaspora, and the pretensions for the right of final arbitration in the ecclesial matters of the entire Orthodox communion, do not have a support in the Orthodox Ecclesiology. This will be argued in a historical analysis of the relevant prescriptions of the Eastern Orthodox Canon Law, which will be placed into the context of the history of the Christian Church, primarily of the Patristic period, since there disciplines play a vital role in the Orthodox understanding of Ecclesiological Tradition.

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