5d Flashcards
Writhing traditions
are practices in which knowledge, stories, and customs are preserved and shared primarily through writing and reading.
Written v oral cultures
Historically, ‘written cultures’ have been viewed as communicating in a vastly different way from ‘oral cultures’, but in reality these differences are not as distinct as they appear. Every culture, from every part of the world, has both written and oral components. Written components can include anything from books and articles to different forms of visual arts, while oral components can include songs, dances and storytelling.
Mnemonics
Mnemonics are devices or techniques used to aid the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information.
Mnemonic process
Although there are a variety of mnemonics, they all share a similar purpose: aiding the encoding, storage, and retrieval of memory. Mnemonics are strategies or tricks that can help convert difficult-to-remember information into something more meaningful. Mnemonics
do this by organising and linking new information to fit in with existing information in long- term memory, improving initial encoding of information. They also help to organise different pieces of information, such as unrelated items in a shopping list, into a more meaningful and cohesive whole. This can help ensure that the new information is stored in long-term memory. Additionally, these elaborate connections can create strong retrieval pathways to target information that improves the likelihood that information will be retrieved (Tullis & Qui, 2022).
While mnemonics can assist in helping to learn and store information, they do not actually decrease the amount of information that has to be stored. Instead, mnemonics create meaningful links to strengthen the storage of information. However, individuals need to spend time learning and rehearsing the mnemonic in order for it to work efficiently. Mnemonics can fail if an individual is unable to retrieve the mnemonic or if they fail to accurately interpret the mnemonic
Acronyms
mnemonic device in which the first letters of items form a pronounceable word to aid memory
Acrostic
a mnemonic device in which the first letters of items create
a phrase, rhyme, or poem to aid memory
Method of loci
a mnemonic device that converts items into mental images and associates them with specific locations to aid memory
Steps of loci methods
- visualise and imagine a familiar route or place (e.g. their house or walk to school).
- select several memorable places (landmarks) on the route or in their chosen place
(e.g. their bedroom or a bus stop). - create visual imagery for each item that needs to be remembered (e.g. a milk carton). Creating bizarre or funny mental imagery can help strengthen the likelihood of the item being remembered (Varilias, 2019).
- link each item to one of the identified memorable landmarks.
- imagine they are walking through the house or along the familiar route and retrieve each
item by observing the items at each landmark.
Purpose of method of loci
The method of loci assists in the encoding and storage of memories by visually linking new information to familiar places or routes. Like acrostics, the method of loci is particularly useful in remembering information in a certain order. During retrieval, mentally walking through
the familiar location acts as a retrieval cue and individuals are able to retrieve the items they mentally placed there.
The method of loci works particularly well when the listed items are embedded into a
story that includes vivid and memorable characters. For instance, in remembering the cake ingredients, you may imagine yourself carrying a bag of flour into your bedroom when a detective with a crazy hat grabs it because they need something to use for fingerprint powder.
Oral traditions
As stated earlier in this lesson, Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are not purely ‘oral cultures,’ however they have sometimes been categorised in this way because they do have strong and continuing oral traditions.
practices in which knowledge, stories, and customs are preserved and shared through spoken word and movement
Oral traditions are a great part of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and are an effective way to preserve and celebrate any community’s knowledge systems, stories, and customs. Although every unique community and language group has its own traditions and mnemonic devices, this section of the lesson will explore two common approaches: Sung narratives and Songlines.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander mnemonics
Before learning about these two mnemonic devices, it is important to note that Songlines
and Sung Narratives cannot be viewed in isolation as purely ‘oral traditions’ because they are always interconnected with, and cannot exist without, non-oral forms of cultural knowledge and practices. Nevertheless, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander’s oral traditions have ensured that important cultural and survival knowledge has been created, transferred, and remembered for thousands of years
Sung narratives
Sung narratives are stories that share important cultural, ecological, and survival information through the use of singing, harmony, and rhythm. Traditionally, Sung narratives are used in a variety of cultures and are performed to pass on information. The receivers of these tales learn them through the use of vocal song and rhythm.
Narration and rhythm in Sung narratives can enhance the encoding, transferring and retrieval
of vital cultural and survival information. Performing and receiving the Sung narratives can bring enjoyment, and pride of culture and place, to those who are singing and to those who are listening.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities have known the benefits of singing and
its ability to reinforce message transfer and memory for thousands of years. Songs sung daily, weekly, or at special times in ceremony, are learnt by children and repeated as they grow older to become part of their embodied memory.
Importantly, traditional law continues to describe how Sung narratives are communicated, including:
• what is sung
• who sings and to whom
• where and when a Sung narrative is communicated.
A person’s position in the community, their gender, and their age determine if they can sing or hear certain songs. Some Sung narratives are for all to hear, are pure expressions of culture and joy, and are often celebrated at community events. Sung narratives continue to play a vital role in the preservation and celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and knowledges.
Songlines
Songlines are multimodal performances conducted as a family or community travels through Country and spaces in the landscape that record journeys, link important sites,
and describe ways to live, care for, and nurture Country. Importantly, songlines are not just songs; they are the connection between songs and performances conducted by the group
and the physical paths travelled. Songlines carry laws and stories that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people live by. They celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s interconnectedness with Country (Land, Water, and Sky) and Culture (Ways of knowing and being) through song and stories. First Nations people’s identity is deeply interconnected with their relationships with Country and their family’s ancestral links to Country.
Prior to Colonisation, First Nations communities moved freely through and in harmony with the Country. Songlines are sung as a family or community travels through Country and spaces in the landscapes. They are expressions of ecological and spiritual knowledge that provide information for survival. For example, Songlines can tell of safe pathways for travel through areas, safe camping and meeting places, sacred sites to find or avoid, waterholes, and locations for sources of food and materials needed for survival.
Songlines use rhythm and narrative to communicate information linked to the landscape, which can enhance the encoding of this information (Kelly, 2016). Singing a Songline is a show of deep respect for Country, and for the ancestors and the spiritual beings that once walked the earth. When Songlines are sung, and individuals walk through the landscape (in reality or in their minds, similarly to how the method of loci may be used), individuals are able to retrieve the information that is linked to the different stories and places along the route (Kelly, 2016).
Songlines have been guarded and taught by Elders for thousands of years. They are interconnected with other oral and non-oral traditions, and collectively all these traditions hold memories of maps of the land and ecological systems. Clan groups and Indigenous communities nationwide continue to learn and sing their own established Songlines that contain and communicate necessary cultural information, such as land use and astronomical and navigation information (Reser et al., 2021). These stories and memories sustain Country, protect communities and are expressions of resilient, resourceful, and creative cultures.
