Sharing Tradition

Sharing Tradition by Frank LaPena 

• Frank LaPena’s Sharing Tradition Speaking of the value of oral tradition, Frank LePena continues to share his experiences with and ideas about oral tradition with all of his readers throughout this essay.

• This essay discusses the value of our culture, our traditions, and how to preserve them.

• The central theme of this essay is the need of passing down traditions orally from one generation to the next in order to ensure a good future for both humanity and the planet.

• He defines the oral tradition as a mode of human communication in which information, such as knowledge, art, ideas, and cultural material is obtained, preserved, and passed down orally.

• Information must be authentically transmitted from one generation to another by oral means.

• Oral tradition refers to the verbal transmission of knowledge about cultures and values from one generation to another.

• It is crucial to pay attention to our elders in order to comprehend the true significance of our traditions.

• This transmission takes the form of speech, music, ballads, chants, text, or poems, among other mediums.

• Our culture and traditional values must be continuously upheld by successive generations.

• The culture’s principles are maintained through oral tradition and sharing traditions is a significant duty.

• It appears simple to talk about and write about passing down traditions orally, but it can be challenging to put into practice.

• In order to uphold and preserve the cultural values, both elders and young people play a critical role.

• The interaction between speakers (elders) and listeners (following or younger people) is crucial.

• Young people need to pay attention to and act in accordance with the wisdom of near elders on cultures, traditions, faiths, and values.

• The guardians and caretakers of our heritage are the elders because of their ideal positions in society.

• Their positions are quite difficult to fill after them and the young people must demonstrate an interest in their culture and the teachings of their elders.

• They must respect their elders and pass on knowledge to the next generation while being accountable for upholding our culture.

• The duty of passing down tradition appears a little more difficult today than anticipated.

• The older generation teaches the younger generation about customs and diverse ideas related to cultures and values.

• Young people must fill the void left by the passing of the elderly by becoming responsible.

• To preserve customs and values in their community, they must take ownership of the oral tradition that has been passed down from elders.

• In this way, traditions and values are preserved through oral tradition as it is passed down from generation to generation.

• Elders can be kept alive by young people by preserving their understanding of tradition and connection with communal life.

• The idea that elders are immortal is passed down from generation to generation.

• If we are conscious of our culture, tradition continues to advance appropriately.

• The way of life of elders, their ideas about belief, religion, culture, and values, among other things, enabled them to achieve the optimum position in their lives.

• For the benefit of humanity, they continued to transmit their legacy orally from generation to generation.

• They outlined the moral routes to take in order to live and their activities of passing down tradition were done for their own benefit as well as the future of the next generation.

• The method of instruction for comprehending this natural world is oral tradition.

• It is the correct method for protecting peoples’ customs and beliefs.

• The author claims that passing down oral tradition from one generation to the next has several problems.

• An oral tradition is a sort of art in which older people teach younger people through oral means their ideas about culture and morals.

• It is a resource for learning about the natural world. In oral tradition, the role of the elderly and young people is crucial.

• If young people are responsible and follow and appropriately transfer the ideas of seniors, then those ideas remain forever.

Issues with Upholding Oral Tradition

• Filling the “role” of elders is difficult

• The oral tradition must be passed down from generation to generation in order to preserve our culture.

• The younger generation must pay attention to, obey, and follow their elders in assuming their ideal role.

• Filling elders’ positions is a very difficult undertaking, the seniors’ religious commitments since their culture is tied to their faiths, ceremonies, dance, etc.

• Make the young people and their interest in their culture appear weak.

• Young people today don’t like to listen to them and uphold culture and tradition.

• The demand for elders has grown to be difficult to fill as a result, it has become difficult to pass on oral traditions from one generation to the next in order to preserve culture and values.

• The effects of innovation on humans.

• Modern technology replaces traditional ideas and items in every age.

• Along with current technology, the modern world and its residents are advancing and facing significant changes.

• Various modifications are being made to this natural world in the name of progress.

• New items are used in place of the conventional, modern technology has allowed us to observe the changes in the environment and the natural world.

• With current technology, people are perceived as being incredibly busy and are no longer in contact with one another due to modern technology and their loneliness.

• Due to the absence of engaged listeners or followers, it is challenging to uphold traditional and cultural values by oral means under this circumstance.

• Impacts of the modern educational system.

• People’s minds are diverted by the present educational system and the way it is seen.

• Research and data collection are used to perceive the knowledge that exists now.

• The oral information gathered by researchers in the tradition-related topic may not be accurate.

• Even when printed, knowledge about oral tradition is changed.

• However, oral means can be used to modify or even correct the information passed down orally.

• People are compelled by the educational process to accept the inaccurate and challenging to correct information found on printed pages.

• The written information on cultures and values poses certain challenges to the oral transmission of cultures and values from one generation to the next.

• Information’s source, perception, and transmission methods.

• All oral means are necessary for oral tradition as a literary tradition, it lacks any writing records.

• Sometimes the speakers’ information is transmitted incorrectly.

• The information may perhaps even be misunderstood by the audience.

• The audience may mistake the historical facts provided by the elders for fictitious because of the generational gap.

• It becomes very challenging to verify oral tradition or traditional stories in this circumstance.

• The listeners and the speakers must have a proper understanding of each other.

• The people listening must believe in what they are hearing.

• Information must be seen and transmitted in a way that respects our customs and elders.

-Sarvesh SJB Rana

PhD in Political Science

              &

Honors in Literature