NEB Grade:11( English) 3.1 Sharing Tradition -by Frank LaPena ( Essays)

NEB  Grade:11( English)  3.1 Sharing Tradition -by Frank LaPena ( Essays)

                 

Before Reading…

Answer these questions.

a.     Do you share your cultural traditions with your friends?

o   Of course, I share my cultural traditions with my friends. I tell them about my family traditions, cultural values and activities and sometimes invite them to attend such ceremonies at my home.

b.     Did your parents tell you stories when you were a child? If yes, did they have anything to do with your culture of values?

o   Yes, my parents told so many stories to me when I was a child. Most of them  religious and they had close connection to our cultural values, norms and traditions.

c.      Should we preserve our cultural values and traditions? Why?

o   Yes, we should preserve our cultural values and traditions because they are the precious things which lead our life in righteous way and in right tracks.

o  

 Summary of the essay "Sharing Tradition by Frank LaPena

o   In this essay “Sharing Tradition”,  Frank LaPena puts forward his opinion in favour of oral tradition and its preservation as it is passing on culture and values from generation to generation and the challenges people face in maintaining this oral tradition in this modern era due to their elders already passed away.

o  According to him, the oral tradition refers to a form of art of human communication where knowledge, art, ideas and cultural material is received, preserved and  transmitted orally from generation to generation. In other words, oral tradition is about passing on information related to cultures and values from generation to generation through oral means. This transmission is made through speech or song, folktales, ballads, chants, prose or verses etc. Oral tradition helps to maintain the values of the culture.

o   Here, the writer  gives significance to oral tradition for maintaining our culture and tradition. He stresses on the importance of tradition for the people of this world and its preservation through the oral tradition which is an art form. Our traditional and cultural values are very much important for our bright future. Therefore, he is of the opinion that we must listen to our elders to maintain our cultural and traditional norms and values.  The task of sharing tradition through oral means seems easy to talk and write but quite hard to practice.

o   The knowledge of elders related to cultures, traditions, religions, and values must be listened and followed properly by young people. The elders share the traditions and various concepts related to culture and value to the young people. After the death of elderly people, young people have to fill up their places being responsible. They have to take responsibility for sharing tradition after elders through oral tradition to maintain cultures and values in their community. In this way, the oral tradition keeps on moving generation to generation preserving cultures and values. Young generation can make elders alive maintaining their concepts of tradition and knowledge of life in the community. The concepts of elders move on generation to generation being immortal for the welfare of humanity. It is our elder who pave the paths to survive ahead.

o   He also mentions about several factors especially four have affected oral tradition and created problems to maintain our culture and values such as

Ø Difficulty in filling the niche the elders in matter of sharing tradition orally,

Ø Advancement of new technology,

Ø Modern education system and its impacts,

Ø And Source of information and the way of preserving it.

o   He distinguishes the oral tradition from literary tradition stating former as more natural and practical way of understanding the natural world than later.

o To wrap up, the writer here presents Oral tradition as an educational tool for understanding this natural world and to secure the cultures and values of the people suggesting readers to honour the elders and their inspirations and values by fulfilling their duties of preserving and promoting our oral tradition and culture.

            Understanding the text 

            Answer the following questions.

a.  According to LaPena, what is the importance of the oral tradition? To what          extent do you agree with his opinions and why?

o   According to LaPena, the importance of the oral tradition is to preserve and maintain the culture and values of our tradition from generation to generation by words or means of mouth. It is also significant in the sense it educates people about the world-sharing information naturally.

o    I fully agree with his views because the culture and values of tradition should be nurtured and protected from generation to generation for the welfare of human beings and humanity. Cultural and traditional values are very much significant in people's lives.

b.        Who preserve and pass on the oral tradition?

o   An Oral tradition is an art form where information and values related culture and tradition are transmitted from generation to generation through oral means.

o  It is elders and young people who play a vital role in the preservation and transmission of oral tradition.

o   This task of preserving and transmitting the oral tradition is done by the elders at first and then  continued by the young people which continues from generation to generation.

c. What is the danger of not passing on information from generation to generation?

o   The danger of not passing information down from generation to generation is that the culture and values of our tradition may extinct and we people  may have to survive meaningless and valueless lives without their cultural and traditional values.

d. What is the difference between oral tradition and literary tradition?

o   An Oral tradition is an art form where information and values related culture and tradition are transmitted from generation to generation through oral means.

o   Errors or missteps  in oral tradition can be modified and corrected at any time by oral means.

o   On the other hand, the literary tradition refers to both the written and the printed tradition where information is transmitted through written  or printed means.

o  In literary tradition, mistakes or errors are quite difficult to change, modify or correct.

e.  How does LaPena establish a relationship between art and the oral tradition?

o   LaPena establishes the relationship between art and oral tradition through his opinion of transmission and preservation of tradition andcultural values from generation to generation by words or means of mouth.

o  This art form is transferred  from one  generation to generation which sustain, preserve and promote culture and values.

o   Information related to tradition is communicated quite artistically through oral speech, folk tales, ballads, songs, chants, prose, verses, etc effectively. Oral tradition is a unique art form through which the culture and values of tradition are preserved, transferred , promoted and upheld in this  era.

    

 Reference to the context 

a.         LaPena states that the oral tradition helps maintain the values of a culture.              If you believe that the oral tradition is important, how would you maintain it?

§  LaPena states that the oral tradition helps maintain the values of a culture. I believe in it and I would maintain this oral tradition  by performing following activities:

§   I would try my best to convey information related to culture and values through oral means.

§      I would launch awareness programmes relating significance of oral tradition. 

§  I would make several teams  in my community to  enhance our culture and traditions through oral means. 

§    I would convey the community people about the benefits or pros of oral tradition for human beings and humanity.

§   I would suggest people to pass out authentic and valuable information to everyone orally.

b. “Not everyone is capable of fulfilling the roles of the elders.” Explain this statement with reference to the essay.

§  Not everyone can fulfil the role of elders, the elderly are the basis of our tradition. Our culture and values are first and foremost preserved, maintained and promoted by the elders. Their roles is vital and exceptional  in maintaining and preserving our culture and our traditional values.

§  The roles of the elders often involve responsibilities that require specialized knowledge, skills or the wisdom that is acquired with experience. Sometimes the elder can mentor a younger person to assume the responsibility. They preserve and maintain our culture and values of oral tradition from generation to generation. Because of their vital roles, they become able to acquire ideal positions like our teachers, healers, protectors and leaders in their life. Their duties and obligations related to their cultural and traditional values as religions, ceremonies, dance, etc. reflect their way of life and knowledge of their tradition which touches  and attract many people in the community.

§  But after the death of these elders, it is very hard to younger ones to fill up their niche.

c.  What is the controlling idea or thesis of this essay?

•       The controlling idea or thesis of this essay “ Sharing Tradition” by Frank LaPena  is about sharing traditions and cultural values by oral means and even the correct way of passing it on from generation to generation.

•     This essay has demonstrated the significance of sharing tradition and cultural values for all readers. The task of orally sharing tradition is  considered as a  form of art where the elders and new generation both have to  play  a vital role in preserving and promoting the culture and  traditional values for betterment of human beings and humanity. Though there may arise many obstacles in the paths, both the elders and youngers should perform their duty and responsibility trusting each others for transforming righteous information from one generation to another.

d.     How do topic sentences guide the reader through the essay? What would be             lost without them?

o   In the essay “Sharing Tradition”, topic sentences guide readers  several aspects of preserving and promoting cultural values and traditions through oral means.

o   Topic sentences refer to the sentences that appeared initially in each paragraph. Putting them there mean the paragraph contain related ideas with it. Here, in this essay, they mainly convey themes and  support oral tradition  I in preserving and promoting  the culture and values of tradition.

o   Without topic sentences, the essay will lose a lot  such as following things:

Ø Accurate concept of tradition sharing.

Ø Controlling idea or gist of the essay.

Ø Oral tradition and its importance.

Ø The role of the elderly people and youth in preserving and promoting cultural values and traditions.

Ø Difference between oral traditions and literary traditions.

Ø Hindrances arise in the preservation and promotion of oral traditions. 

Ø Remedies for maintainning oral tradition.

e. What are the four major problems developed by LaPena with regard to                    maintaining the oral tradition. How are they used to structure the essay?

§  The four major problems developed by La Pena with regard to maintaining the oral tradition are as follows:

1.    Difficulty in filling the niche of the elders in matter of sharing tradition orally.

2.     The Advancement of new technology.

3.     Modern education system and its impacts.

4.     And Sources of information and the way of  recognizing and preserving them.

Reference beyond the text 

a.     Write a paragraph or two explaining your attitude toward the oral tradition of passing along information.

o   Oral tradition is a tradition or practice that is shared orally or through speech- usually handed down from generation to generation.

o   I think that oral tradition is one of the effective practices for preserving and promoting the culture and values of the tradition for all the human beings of this world.

o   I also take granted this  oral tradition as an art form or a tradition or practice that is shared orally or through speech- usually handed down from generation to generation where both elderly and young people play their vital roles; former in transmitting and later in preserving and maintaining culture and traditional values by passing on authentic and relevant  information from one generation to another generation. 

o   The practice of this oral tradition is very much significant in this modern era as people have lost their faith in such this due to modern education system. It is our hard attempts which can secure our cultural value and tradition and help in transmitting cultural values, norms and rituals.

b. Our culture is our identity. Write a few paragraphs explaining how you intend to preserve your culture, values and norms.

o   Our identity is our culture. In our lives, our culture, values and norms play a huge role to shape our identity. Culture is what makes a person who he/she is today and what he/she will be in the upcoming future. Culture, itself  behaviours and morals of people determine their identity. Culturally, We can perform good  deeds in our lives because of our culture, standards, norms and values. These elements teach us in our lives to choose the right paths, thoughts and decisions. In Nepalese context, the phrase, ‘Our culture, Our identity’ is especially true.

o   I intend to preserve my culture, values and norms by  conducting following tasks:

o   By sharing our culture’s art and technology through several means such as dance, cultural programmes, crafts etc.

o   By launching several campaigns and oragaizing cultural events related to significance of our culture, values and standards.

o    By advertising or promoting cultural and traditional events through oral and literary means.

o   By teaching them about religious traditions and speaking ancestral language.

o    By forming a culture-related groups and  organizations.

o    By sharing culture-related information and the values of our traditions.

 

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