"I begin this examination with a description of the process we call oral tradition. This allows me to better define what is meant by this expression. Then this can be followed up with a discussion of how a tradition becomes a record, a testimony or a text to which the rules of textual criticism should be applied. From there I can turn to elucidation of its social context, and its character as an expression of culture. Tradition is information remembered and as such raises fundamental queries which are addressed next. Once this aspect has been studied, the value of traditions to the historian can be assessed." (Preface)