Editing Oral tradition (section)

====Middle East====
{{See also|Oral Torah}}
In the Middle East, [[Arabic language|Arabic]] oral tradition has significantly influenced literary and cultural practices.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Reynolds|first1=Dwight F.|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv371cp40|title=Rhyme and Rhyming in Verbal Art, Language, and Song|chapter-url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv371cp40.5|chapter=Rhyme in Arabic Oral Poetry|publisher=Finnish Literature Society|editor-last1=Sykäri|editor-first1=Venla|editor-last2=Fabb|editor-first2=Nigel|volume=14|year=2022|pages=47–62 |jstor=j.ctv371cp40.5 |isbn=978-951-858-587-2 }}</ref> Arabic oral tradition encompassed various forms of expression, including [[Metre (poetry)|metrical poetry]], [[Blank verse|unrhymed prose]], [[rhymed prose]] (''[[saj']]''), and [[prosimetrum]]—a combination of prose and poetry often employed in historical narratives. [[Arabic poetry|Poetry]] held a position of particular importance, as it was believed to be a more reliable medium for information transmission than prose. This belief stemmed from observations that highly structured language, with its rhythmic and phonetic patterns, tended to undergo fewer alterations during oral transmission.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Reynolds|first1=Dwight F.|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv371cp40|title=Rhyme and Rhyming in Verbal Art, Language, and Song|chapter-url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv371cp40.5|chapter=Rhyme in Arabic Oral Poetry|publisher=Finnish Literature Society|editor-last1=Sykäri|editor-first1=Venla|editor-last2=Fabb|editor-first2=Nigel|volume=14|pages=48–49|year=2022|jstor=j.ctv371cp40.5 |isbn=978-951-858-587-2 }}</ref>

Each genre of rhymed poetry served distinct social and cultural functions. These range from spontaneous compositions at celebrations to carefully crafted historical accounts, political commentaries, and entertainment pieces. Among these, the folk epics known as [[siyar]] (singular: sīra) were considered the most intricate. These prosimetric narratives, combining prose and verse, emerged in the early Middle Ages. While many such epics circulated historically, only one has survived as a sung oral poetic tradition: [[Sirat Bani Hilal|Sīrat Banī Hilāl]]. This epic recounts the westward migration and conquests of the [[Banu Hilal]] [[Bedouin]] tribe from the 10th to 12th centuries, culminating in their rule over parts of North Africa before their eventual defeat.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Reynolds|first1=Dwight F.|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv371cp40|title=Rhyme and Rhyming in Verbal Art, Language, and Song|chapter-url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv371cp40.5|chapter=Rhyme in Arabic Oral Poetry|publisher=Finnish Literature Society|editor-last1=Sykäri|editor-first1=Venla|editor-last2=Fabb|editor-first2=Nigel|volume=14|page=56|year=2022|jstor=j.ctv371cp40.5 |isbn=978-951-858-587-2 }}</ref> The historical roots of Sīrat Banī Hilāl are evident in the present-day distribution of groups claiming descent from the tribe across North Africa and parts of the Middle East. The epic's development into a cohesive narrative was first documented by the historian [[Ibn Khaldūn]] in the 14th century. In his writings, Ibn Khaldūn describes collecting stories and poems from nomadic Arabs, using these oral sources to discuss the merits of colloquial versus classical poetry and the value of oral histories in written historical works.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Reynolds|first1=Dwight F.|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv371cp40|title=Rhyme and Rhyming in Verbal Art, Language, and Song|chapter-url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv371cp40.5|chapter=Rhyme in Arabic Oral Poetry|publisher=Finnish Literature Society|editor-last1=Sykäri|editor-first1=Venla|editor-last2=Fabb|editor-first2=Nigel|volume=14|page=57|year=2022|jstor=j.ctv371cp40.5 |isbn=978-951-858-587-2 }}</ref>

The [[Torah]] and other ancient Jewish literature, the Judeo-Christian Bible and texts of early centuries of Christianity are rooted in an oral tradition, and the term "People of the Book" is a medieval construct.<ref name="MacKay1999p1" /><ref>{{cite book |author=Delbert Burkett |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EcsQknxV-xQC&pg=PA124 |title=An Introduction to the New Testament and the Origins of Christianity |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-521-00720-7 |pages=124–125, 45–46, 106–107, 129–130}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Leslie Baynes |title=The Heavenly Book Motif in Judeo-Christian Apocalypses 200 BCE-200 CE |publisher=BRILL Academic |year=2011 |isbn=978-90-04-20726-4 |pages=40–41 with footnotes}}<br />{{cite book |author1=Birger Gerhardsson |title=Memory and Manuscript: Oral Tradition and Written Transmission in Rabbinic Judaism and Early Christianity |author2=Eric John Sharpe |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |year=1961 |isbn=978-0-8028-4366-1 |pages=71–78}}</ref> This is evidenced, for example, by the multiple scriptural statements by Paul admitting "previously remembered tradition which he received" orally.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Terence C. |last1=Mournet |title=Oral Tradition and Literary Dependency: Variability and Stability in the Synoptic Tradition and Q |publisher=Mohr Siebeck |year=2005 |isbn=978-3-16-148454-4 |pages=138–141}}</ref>