Oral-Formulaic Theory: Annotated Bibliography

John W. Johnson. "Recent Contributions by Somalis and Somalists to the Study of Oral Literature." In Somalia and the World: Proceedings of the International Symposium, vol. 1 (held in Mogadishu, on the Tenth Anniversary of the Somali Revolution, October 15-21, 1979). Ed. Hussein M. Adam. Mogadishu: Halgan. pp. 117-31.

In the process of discussing Somali scansion, he contends that while the Parry-Lord theory may have explained a great deal about ancient Greek epic, "the oral-formulaic method is decidedly not the system employed in Somalia" (p. 125). Reports that composition within the tight scansion rules of Somali poetry proceeds in private, and that recitation_by either the composer or someone else_proceeds separately. Verbatim memorization has been shown to be the vehicle for transmission. Believes that "Lord's error is in equating `oral' with the formulaic method alone" (p. 126).
Area: AF