Naqqali Tradition Michael Analysis

The answer to this question lies in seeing the performer and the audience members as mere humans devoid of all and every etiquette, who are willing enough to cast aside their prejudice and traditions and share a few moments in each other’s company. Much like our primitive ancestors, that evolved over the time span of 6 million years from great apes to modern humans by such company. The rapid and extraordinary process of this evolution according to Michael Tomasello is only possible through Cultural Transmission. He explains this transmission as: “a moderately common evolutionary process that enables individual organisms to save much time and effort, not to mention risk, by exploiting the already existing knowledge and skills of conspecifics.” (2009) The cultural transmission, therefore, is the process by which members of a group share their knowledge and experience. Long before the invention of written language, our ancestors used oral literature and

Some of these stories root in myth, still others talk about Iran’s national history. Each and every one of these stories has a purpose; to educate the audience about their history, to inspire them to the practice of good deeds, justice, generosity, courage, bravery etc., not to mention entertaining them with the richest of national heritage. On the other hand, there is the performer of spoken word poetry who selects the subject of the performance from immediate social, cultural or political issues. They take the thread from their own community to reveal what might have gone unnoticed by its members. They inform, educate and entertain them, as well as demand action. One might claim that the ultimate purpose of a Naqqali and spoken word poetry performance is to elevate the audience’s consciousness, create new horizons for their worldview and encourage them to see and help build a better