Engineering oral stories: a conceptual model of traditions as water

Abstract

Introduction. Oral narratives often change form and ownership as they transition from speech to text, yet cataloguing practices rarely capture this fluidity. This study examines how description can mirror the layered nature of stories, rather than freezing them at the moment of initial recording.

Method. A comparative case design is used. First, recensions of the Táin Bó Cúailnge are examined through de Laet and Mol’s (2000) ‘fluid‑technology’ lens to model how narrative parts are exchanged like pump components. Second, Mapping Assiniboia Residential School Survivor Stories: Did You See Us? is presented to demonstrate an Indigenous perspective in contemporary North America.

Analysis. The analysis of these two case studies is a literary review that provides a theoretical framing of scholarly responses to FRBR, addressing and situating how different oral traditions align in a central ambiguity.

Results. In both cases, a recurring chain appeared: community blueprint, local knowledge carriers, and distribution principles.  Conventional catalogues only document the carrier, leaving the blueprint and flow unseen. A three-tier FRBR-Lite model captures all layers without the data overhead that hinders full FRBR adoption.

Conclusions. Treating description as hydraulic stewardship—tracking blueprint, pump, and flow—aligns metadata with long-standing narrative fluidity and honours Indigenous sovereignty by incorporating community protocols at the carrier level.