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The study of oral traditions and verbal arts leads into an area of human culture to which anthropologists are increasingly turning their attention. Oral Traditions and the Verbal Arts provides up-to-date guidance on how to approach the study of oral form and their performances, treating both the practicalities of fieldwork and the methods by which oral texts and performances can be observed, collected or analysed. It also relates to those current controversies about the nature of performance and of 'text'.

Designed as a practical and systematic introduction to the processes and problems of researching in this area, this is an invaluable guide for students, and lecturers of anthropology and cultural studies and also for general readers who are interested in enjoying oral literature for its own sake.

List of figures ...x
Series editor's foreword ...xi
Preface ...xiii
Acknowledgements ...xvii
1. Introduction: scope and terminology ...1
2. Theoretical Perspectives ...25
3. Some Prior Issues and Practicalities ...53
4. Collecting, Recording and Creating Texts: preliminaries and mechanics ...72
5. Observing and Analysing Performance ...91
6. Production, Functions and Ideas ...112
7. Genres and Boundaries ...135
8. Analysing and Comparing Texts: style, structure and content ...158
9. Texts in Process: translation, transcription and presentation ...186
10. Ethics ...214
References ...234
Name index ...270
Subject index ...275