Oral Heirlooms: The Vocalisation of Loss and Objects
Résumé
This article is an enquiry into how and for what purposes physical objects of importance are transmitted vocally between generations. The oral histories narrated to me by British nationals who originate from Kerala (India) revealed objects associated with and taken from ancestral houses in the homeland, tharavads, many of which no longer exist. Oral heirlooms, as discussed in the examples given, are biographical narratives through which emerge objects of value. This article sets out to demonstrate how ancestral and present-day responsibilities for descendants are created and inherited alongside oral heirlooms, and to re-examine the potential of oral history in the study of material cultural.