ABSTRACT
As with the rest of the continent, West African history has been subject to imperial and colonial interpretations. Therefore, Africanist scholars and others interested in African history have postulated alternative methodological approaches in their studies based on indigenous realities in the continent and the West African subregion. This chapter shows that oral evidence and traditions in historical writing are used along with other sources to effectively reconstruct the history of various West African societies of the past. However, the chapter also advances the argument that the use of oral evidence and traditions, in spite of their weaknesses, is an effective primary source tool in reconstructing West Africa's history and, thus, represents the nature of history in the subregion. This chapter uses the historical research method, the multidisciplinary approach, intellectual perspectives of history, and secondary sources to achieve the objectives of its focal point.
