Paper 1 · sources of history
A limitation of oral tradition as a source of history is that...
Ait is written in a language few Zimbabweans can read
Bdetails are lost or changed as the story passes down
Cit leaves out the achievements of the ruling family
Dit can be collected only from the national archives
Explanation: A tradition carried by memory across generations loses exact dates and gains additions from each teller, and it is usually preserved by the family whose greatness it recounts. That does not make it worthless, but it is why a historian tests it against archaeology and any written material.
Derived from ZIMSEC History Paper 1, Nov 2025, Q2