Oral tradition facts for kids

The legendary Finnish storyteller Väinämöinen with his kantele

An oral tradition or oral culture is a way of transmitting history, literature or law from one generation to the next in a civilization without a writing system, by telling stories and talking. An example that combined aspects of oral literature and oral history, before being written down, is the Homeric poetry of the Iliad and the Odyssey.

Images for kids

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  A traditional Kyrgyz manaschi performing part of the Epic of Manas at a yurt camp in Karakol

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  Filip Višnjić (1767–1834), Serbian blind guslar

See also

In Spanish: Tradición oral para niños