Sharing Tradition

 1. Sharing Traditions

Frank LaPena (1937-2019 ) 

Frank LaPena has presented the importance of oral tradition for the preservation of culture and values. The essay, Sharing Tradition is about passing on culture and values from generation to generation through oral tradition in an art form. In the essay, LaPena has emphasized on our traditional and cultural values which are very much important for our bright future. For him, we must listen to our elders to maintain our cultural and traditional norms and values.

 LaPena has shown his favour of the preservation of oral traditions. There are different factors which have affected oral tradition. They have also created problems to maintain our culture and values. He presents the example of oral tradition. He keeps on telling all his readers about his experiences and thoughts related to oral tradition. The oral tradition refers to a form of art of human communication where knowledge, art, ideas and cultural material are received, preserved and transmitted orally from generation to generation.

 Oral tradition is about passing on information related to cultures and values from one generation to another generation through oral means. This transmission is made through speech or song, folktales, ballads, chants, prose or verses etc. Oral tradition helps to maintain the values of the culture. The task of sharing tradition through oral means seems easy to talk and write but it is quite hard to practice. Both the elders and young people play a very vital role to maintain and preserve the values of the culture. The role of speakers or elders and listeners or young people is very important. The knowledge of elders related to cultures, traditions, religions, and values must be listened and followed properly by young people. The elders share the traditions and various concepts related to culture and value to the young people. After the death of elderly people, young people have to fill up their places being responsible. They have to take responsibility for sharing tradition after elders through oral tradition to maintain cultures and values in their community. We can make elders alive maintaining their concepts of tradition and knowledge of life. The concepts of elders move on generation to generation through oral tradition.

LaPena says tradition keeps on moving ahead properly if we are aware of our culture. The lifestyle of elders, their concepts related to life, belief, religion, culture, value, etc. made them capable to acquire the ideal position in their life. They kept on sharing their tradition orally for the welfare of humanity showing the right paths to survive.

Oral tradition is the educational tool for understanding this natural world. Tradition is attached with natural world. It is the proper way to secure the cultures and values of the people. Modern society ignores oral tradition as new technologies keep the generation away. 

Researchers gather oral materials in the field are not told the truth. They modify the information which is told. The result is that the huge information is published and falsely validates one’s research. It is hard to correct errors after publishing. Oral tradition is another form of literature. Oral tradition is an art developed in this essay. An artist visualizes the artistic imagination in oral tradition .

Understanding the text 

Answer the following questions.

a. According to LaPena, what is the importance of the oral tradition? To what extent do you agree with his opinions and why?

Ans : According to LaPena, the importance of the oral tradition is to preserve and maintain the culture and values of the tradition from generation to generation verbally. I really agree with his opinions because the culture and values of tradition should be protected from generation to generation for the benefit of people and their life. Cultural and traditional values play a very important role in the life of  people.

b. Who preserve and pass on the oral tradition?

Ans: Elders and young people play a vital role in the preservation and transmission of oral tradition. The task of preserving and transmitting the oral tradition is done by the elders, then the young people have this task, this task is continued from generation to generation. The elders and the young must be responsible for this task of preservation and transmission of oral tradition for ages.

c. What is the danger of not passing on information from generation to generation?

Ans : According to LaPena,  the danger of not passing on information from generation to generation is that the culture and values of our tradition will die out when the young people are not capable of fulfilling the roles of the elders. People have to survive meaningless lives without their cultural and traditional values due to the lack of oral tradition.

d. What is the difference between oral tradition and literary tradition?

Ans :  The oral tradition is a form of art in which information relating to culture and values are transmitted from generation to generation through oral means. Mistakes in oral tradition can be modified and corrected at any time by oral means. But the literary tradition refers to both the written and the printed tradition in which information is transmitted through written means. Here in this literary tradition, mistakes are quite difficult to change and correct.

e. How does LaPena establish a relationship between art and the oral tradition?

Ans:  LaPena establishes the relationship between art and oral tradition through his views, in which he describes the transmission of oral tradition from generation to generation. Oral tradition has an impact on how an artist visualizes the stories, the characters, the designs for art. This art form is carried over from generation to generation, successfully preserving culture and values artistically through oral tradition.

Reference the context 

a. LaPena states that the oral tradition helps maintain the values of a culture. If you believe that the oral tradition is important, how would you maintain it?

Ans: LaPena states that the oral tradition helps maintain the values of a culture.  Everyone can maintain oral tradition doing these activities. We can convey information about culture and values verbally. We can make people aware of the importance of oral tradition. Elders should be listened more. We can also ask seniors to pass on authentic information to everyone orally.

b. “Not everyone is capable of fulfilling the roles of the elders.” Explain this statement with reference to the essay.

Ans : Not everyone is capable of fulfilling the role of elders who are the sources of our tradition. Our culture and values are first and foremost preserved and maintained by the elders. They pass on the culture and values of oral tradition from generation to generation. The elders have enhanced their lives by creating a special position in their life. Their duties and obligations related to their cultural and traditional values reflect their way of life and knowledge. After the death of the elders, this niche is quite difficult to be fulfilled by new generation.

c. What is the controlling idea or thesis of this essay?

Ans :  The controlling idea or thesis of this essay is about sharing traditions or maintaining the values of culture by oral methods and even the correct way of passing it on from generation to generation. This essay has shown the importance of sharing tradition for all readers. The task of orally sharing tradition is a form of art where the elders and youth play a very important role in preserving the culture and values of tradition. The elders and the youth need to be responsible for it. The most important thing to maintain the oral tradition is to listen to the stories of the elders.

d. How do topic sentences guide the reader through the essay? What would be lost without them?

Ans:  Topic sentences guide the readers to provide them with main ideas regarding the importance of sharing tradition orally. Topic sentences refer to the sentences that appeared initially in each paragraph. All the sentences in the rest of the paragraphs should relate to the topic sentences. These themes support word of mouth and how to preserve the culture and values of tradition. Without topic sentences the essay will lose coherence and main ideas.

( Correct conceptions of the tradition of sharing. / Controlling idea of the essay. \ Oral tradition and its importance. / The role of the elderly and youth.  / Problems in the preservation and conservation of oral traditions. / Solutions for maintaining oral tradition. )

e. What are the four major problems developed by LaPena with regard to maintaining the oral tradition. How are they used to structure the essay?

Ans : The four major problems developed by La Pena with regard to maintaining oral tradition are:

i. Not everyone is capable of fulfilling the roles of elders .

ii. The influence of modern technology that creates separation between generations.

iii.  Modern society is not interested in learning the way how oral tradition functions.

iv. Impacts of the modern education system or Information sources and how to recognize and validate them.

They have been used in the essay as topic sentences one after another in order to talk about them and provide their solution.