ABSTRACT
Anthropologists’ interest in oral tradition and verbal art is, no doubt, to understand people’s cultural activities and artistries, rather than to build theory. But some knowledge of the existing theoretical and comparative literature opens up greater appreciation of problems and possibilities, whether in developing the most appropriate research strategy, raising previously unconsidered questions, or assessing the work of others. And although anthropologists rightly stress the importance of being open to cultural specifics rather than sticking rigidly to some general ‘theory’, the conduct of research inevitably depends on some theoretical assumptionsso these are best recognised explicitly.
