ORAL SOURCE AS A VITAL PEDAGOGICAL TOOL AMONGST YORUBA HISTORIANS

Abstract

Among Yoruba historians, oral sources are powerful and dynamic pedagogical tools, in preserving and transmitting cultural knowledge, history, and values through storytelling, oral traditions, eye witness account, poetry, and performances. Techniques such as itan(historical narratives), owe (proverbs), orin (songs), and oriki (praise songs). These sources serve not only as repositories of historical information but also as effective methods of teaching and learning. The study adopted historical methodology, relying on oral interviews, existing literatures, and comparative analysis to explore how oral traditions facilitate knowledge transmission, enhance cultural identity, and promote historical consciousness. It further evaluates the strengths and limitations of oral sources, including issues of subjectivity, memory distortion, and lack of precise chronology. The study argued that despite these challenges, oral tradition remains indispensable in Yoruba historiography and should be integrated into modern historical pedagogy. The paper find out that oral sources remain a vital pedagogical tool among Yoruba historians because they preserve indigenous knowledge, cultural values, and historical traditions that are often absent in written records through folks, praise poetry, myths, proverbs, and eyewitness accounts, It concludes that the preservation and documentation of oral sources are essential for sustaining indigenous knowledge system and enriching contemporary historical scholarship.