oral literature
Tales told aloud
Oral literature is storytelling, poetry, songs, and other verbal art forms passed down through speech rather than writing.
It includes folktales, epics, proverbs, and ritual chants preserved across generations by memory and performance.
The term acknowledges that literature existed long before literacy and continues in cultures where written traditions are secondary to spoken ones.
African oral tradition keeper
- bardPoet of epics
- narratorOne who tells events
- storytellerOne who recounts tales
- raconteurSkilled storyteller
minstrel · troubadour · tale-spinner · recitation · yarn · anecdote · chronicle · narrative
Traditional narrative passed down
- legendUnverified traditional tale
- fableMoral tale with animals
- mythTraditional explanatory tale
- sagaExtended heroic narrative
epic · ballad · lore · fairy tale · tall tale · trickster tale · animal fable · folk song
Mind's retention capacity
- memorizationCommitting information to recall
- repetitionAct of redoing
- preservationMaintaining something's condition
- passing downGiving to successors
generation · elder · apprentice · lineage · heritage · tradition · continuity · collective memory
Repetitive rhythmic phrase
- incantationSpoken magical formula
- invocationCalling upon higher authority
- prayerAddress to deity
- mantraRepeated focus phrase
liturgy · blessing · curse · spell · sacred song · ceremonial speech · lament · dirge
Oral communication ability
- orationFormal public speech
- eloquencePersuasive verbal grace
- rhetoricArt of persuasive language
- declamationForceful, theatrical speaking
public speaking · persuasion · discourse · address · sermon · homily · panegyric · spoken word
Short, wise expression
- adageTraditional pithy truth
- aphorismTerse general truth
- maximBrief moral principle
- wisdomGood judgment from experience
axiom · precept · truism · byword · motto · folk wisdom · moral · teaching
Origin narrative of existence
- origin storyAccount of how something began
- cosmogonyStudy of universal origins
- pantheonAll gods of a religion
- deityWorshipped supernatural being
underworld · sacred narrative · Anansi · Coyote · Raven · Maui · Gilgamesh · Dreamtime
griot
African oral tradition keeper
- bardPoet of epics
- narratorOne who tells events
- storytellerOne who recounts tales
raconteur · minstrel · troubadour · tale-spinner · recitation · yarn · anecdote · chronicle · narrative · tale
folktale
Traditional narrative passed down
saga · epic · ballad · lore · fairy tale · tall tale · trickster tale · animal fable · folk song · folk poetry
memory
Mind's retention capacity
- memorizationCommitting information to recall
- repetitionAct of redoing
- preservationMaintaining something's condition
passing down · generation · elder · apprentice · lineage · heritage · tradition · continuity · collective memory · cultural preservation
chant
Repetitive rhythmic phrase
- incantationSpoken magical formula
- invocationCalling upon higher authority
- prayerAddress to deity
mantra · liturgy · blessing · curse · spell · sacred song · ceremonial speech · lament · dirge · eulogy
speech
Oral communication ability
declamation · public speaking · persuasion · discourse · address · sermon · homily · panegyric · spoken word · performance
saying
Short, wise expression
wisdom · axiom · precept · truism · byword · motto · folk wisdom · moral · teaching · elder wisdom
creation myth
Origin narrative of existence
- origin storyAccount of how something began
- cosmogonyStudy of universal origins
- pantheonAll gods of a religion
deity · underworld · sacred narrative · Anansi · Coyote · Raven · Maui · Gilgamesh · Dreamtime · divine
oral literaturebooks
Bound written works
manuscripts · written word · literacy · printed works · inscriptions
oral, literature, literary, literate, literacy, illiterate, obliterate, orally, illiteracy