Conference paper
Memories of Natural Disasters in Oral Societies
Hazard and Disaster Risk in Ostia: Between hypothesis and reality, pp.261-268
Hazard and Disaster Risk: Ostia and Portus between hypothesis and reality, 2022 (Online, 22-Jun-2022–24-Jun-2022)
BAR Publishing
2025
Abstract
In pre-literate (oral) societies, important knowledge was acquired and communicated for the same reasons as it is in today’s literate societies. This knowledge included information about memorable impactful events (like natural disasters) which had occurred in the past. This information included details of the causes and control (spiritual and physical) of disasters, the recognition of their precursors, and the responses that enabled people’s survival and recovery. While much of this knowledge has been lost, largely because of the replacement of oral by literate contexts, enough remains for us to obtain a general picture of its importance and persistence.
Using examples from across the world, several issues are explored. First, there is an account of the nature of knowledge acquisition and communication in oral societies, something that included storytelling, poetry, song, dance and even art. Second, there is a discussion of the longevity of memory in oral societies, illustrated by securely-dated geological phenomena like volcanic eruptions and (postglacial) sea-level rise, which demonstrates that memorable events can be retained in oral contexts for several thousand years. Third, this chapter discusses the comparative evolution of risk management in oral and literate societies, arguing that the former are/were no less risk averse than the latter. Finally, there is a discussion of why oral knowledges are important today, both to contextualize modern worldviews and to offer more hope for the future.
Details
- Title
- Memories of Natural Disasters in Oral Societies
- Authors
- Patrick Nunn - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Law and Society
- Contributors
- Laura Pecchioli (Editor) - TU WienAlessandro D'Alessio (Editor)Roberto Meneghini (Editor)David A Holmes (Editor)
- Publication details
- Hazard and Disaster Risk in Ostia: Between hypothesis and reality, pp.261-268
- Conference details
- Hazard and Disaster Risk: Ostia and Portus between hypothesis and reality, 2022 (Online, 22-Jun-2022–24-Jun-2022)
- Publisher
- BAR Publishing
- Date published
- 2025
- Organisation Unit
- Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research; School of Law and Society
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991127206202621
- Output Type
- Conference paper
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