Blackwell Reference Online

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“Tradition” connotes a body of values, beliefs, rules, and behavior patterns that is transmitted generationally by practice and word of mouth and is integral to socialization processes. The content of tradition is shared by a given group and has informational and moral components that concern the nature of things, right and wrong behavior, and unanswerable questions about life and death. Strong connotations of fixity, stability, and continuity are inherent in the notion of “tradition,” as a benchmark or beacon guiding a society's body of daily behavior and providing justification for beliefs and practices. In relatively homogeneous small-scale societies, where tradition is the only blueprint for acceptable behavior, it is typically unquestioned and, whatever its truth value, logicality, or consistency, may be regarded as sacred lore ( Hunter & Whitten 1976 ). Where orally transmitted, however, tradition is always open to variation, contestation, and change; it can also be adjusted, reworked, or reinterpreted to accommodate changing circumstances. Such lability gives the lie to tradition conceived as essentially fixed, immutable, and unchanging over time, and has attracted the attention of historians and anthropologists, particularly in recent decades. In an interesting convergence of focus, two edited volumes on the “construction” and “invention” of tradition appeared in the ... log in or subscribe to read full text