ORAL TRADITION AND THE PRESERVATION/Vol.13,No.2,Dec2024,pp.84-103.pdf
Abstract
In many parts of Nigeria, family history is preserved through oral tradition. Understanding how the Ada Obot Families of Afaha Esang in Abak LGA, Akwa Ibom State, preserve their history can help identify how the Annang people preserve theirs. However, research on the preservation of family history among Annang people is limited. The main objective of this paper was to reconstruct the genealogy of the Ada Obot Family using oral narratives. Data were generated through in-depth analysis of oral accounts from elders and family historians on the subject, analysed through the lens of Collective Memory Theory, propounded by Maurice Halbwachs in the 1920s and 1930s. The study revealed that the Ada Obot Family story was preserved and transmitted by family elders who noted that the Ada Obot Family originated from Annang and his son Obong’s three sons, Atai, Achot and Utut-ejo. Secondly, storytelling, rituals, naming practices and inheritance systems were the major sources of transmitting the history of the Ada Obot Family. Third, that the heritage of the Ada Obot Family was preserved through oral histories, ancestral reverence, shared customs and strong kinship ties that connect present generations to their forebears. Fourth, the challenges facing oral preservation in modern times include the influence of modernisation, religion, and technology.