Final answer:
Armah identifies indigenous African history and philosophies as the sources of his intellectual traditions. European-style education acted as anesthesia to suppress these traditions, with oral traditions playing a significant role in cultural and historical transmission in Africa.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to Armah, the sources of his intellectual and cultural traditions are deeply rooted in indigenous African history and the philosophical legacy of ancient Egypt, among other regions within Africa. The European-style education and colonial literature acted as an anesthesia that attempted to negate these rich traditions by imposing foreign perspectives and diminishing the value of indigenous knowledge. Through this process, local art forms were considered illegitimate and were often destroyed or heavily influenced, thereby erasing significant parts of African cultural history.
Armah emphasizes the importance of oral traditions as a vital component of human culture, particularly in African culture where oral literacies were central before the imposition of written literacies through colonialism. The relationship of oral to written literacies reflects a continuity and evolution in the way knowledge is transmitted and preserved, with oral traditions often forming the backdrop to African history prior to the introduction of written forms. In this light, oral traditions are not just precursors to written records but are enduring and dynamic repositories of knowledge.