Ginés Donaire I Jaén, (EFE) its web portal, thousands of entries that come to dust off an oral and ethnographic heritage that in many cases is on the verge of extinction.
“The Corpus of Oral Literature is an electronic repository whose purpose is to preserve and disseminate oral culture, in its broadest sense. Without restrictions of literary, historical or ethnographic genre, nor of geographical origin”, explains David Mañero to EFE. Professor of Spanish Literature at the University of Jaén (UJA). And director since 2015 of this investigation that involves hundreds of informant sources.
In addition to those referring to oral genres (romance, songbook and narrative), the project includes a fourth section. In which some interviews and conferences offered by the researchers invited to the UJA are archived. Everything, within the framework of the Oral Literature Seminar and other scientific meetings.
At this moment, the platform offers more than 8,500 audiovisual samples, all of them accompanied by transcription and annotation. Fundamentally from the Hispanic area, with records from Spain, Mexico, Honduras and Puerto Rico. But also from other origins such as Italy, Romania, Morocco and Algeria.
Oral narrative traditions in the Mediterranean
Except in the case of languages that lack writing conventions, the platform offers the transcription of the records in their original language. And, in all cases, its corresponding translation into Spanish.
The first section of the Archive is the traditional Romancero, with more than 2,700 versions. As well as cordel romances and other narrative songs. The second section is called Songbook. This section contains more than 4,100 records and 70 subcategories.
The third section, in which the narrative records are filed, consists in turn of the Tales, Legends and Oral History sections. On the other hand, it is possible to do searches related to a specific location.
Currently, the Corpus of Oral Literature serves as a framework for the development of the R&D project of the Ministry of Science and Innovation “The corpus of oral narrative in the western Mediterranean basin: comparative study and digital edition (CONOCOM)” . In which an interdisciplinary study of the oral narrative traditions of the western Mediterranean is undertaken.
Given the breadth and variety of areas and the multidisciplinary nature of the research carried out, the project has an International Scientific Committee made up of academics and experts in the areas of anthropology and oral literature. Linked to universities and research centers in the US, Argentina, Mexico, Italy, France and Spain.
The important oral archive of Jaén
One of the latest collections incorporated is the Archive of Oral Tradition of the Joaquín Díaz Foundation. “This is a phonographic corpus made up of some 14,000 records from towns in Castilla y León (among which, due to their volume, the provinces of Valladolid, Palencia and León stand out)”, explains Professor Mañero.
Another of the most important collections is that of Jerónimo Anaya Flores, who since 1978 dedicated himself to compiling the oral tradition of Alcoba (Ciudad Real) and later, during the 80s and 90s, carried out an important collection together with his students. of the folklore of the province of Ciudad Real.
However, due to the volume of records, the oral archive of the province of Jaén stands out, which has more than 3,000 entries. “This collection integrates the records compiled within the framework of a series of research projects that dealt with the documentation of the oral heritage of the Sierra de Segura, Sierra Sur and Sierra de Cazorla regions, concludes Professor David Mañero. EFE