Oral Genealogies

Many tribes in Africa have a tradition of sharing their ancestral information orally. Written records may not exist so oral histories may be the only records available for genealogical research. The younger generation is less interested in becoming tribal historians. Tribes risk losing their history as the older generations die. FamilySearch helps indigenous people preserve their oral history for future generations. We primarily interview family elders “storytellers”. FamilySearch transcribes the genealogical information and publishes it online for others to use.

Oral genealogies are part of the world’s intangible cultural heritage. Many countries lack written records and only have an oral tradition. FamilySearch started recording oral genealogies in the 1960s in the islands of Polynesia. We recognized then how critical it was to preserve the history before the person passed away. In 2004 in Ghana, FamilySearch began a small effort to understand how to record oral family histories.

By 2016, it became clear that unless we dramatically accelerate this effort, large amounts of African oral history and records would be lost forever. Today FamilySearch funds more than 5,000 African contract interviewers in 15 countries: Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, DR Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, south Africa, Togo, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. By 2024, FamilySearch will conduct over 500,000 interviews and preserve over 190 million records. Throughout Africa, from Accra to Zimbabwe, where irreplaceable family information and traditions are at risk of being lost due to neglect, natural disasters, war, and deterioration, FamilySearch volunteers are also helping preserve this valuable history so Africans can connect with their roots. Researchers can search the millions of African-related records as they are published online at FamilySearch.org.