While this may be important, there are many advantages to an oral- based culture. Instead, the communication itself becomes a principle factor. Values and beliefs, along with the personal background of the communicator are transmitted along with the message. Individuals in some cultures without a written language claim that our culture is barren because of the absence of these organic elements. Through the centuries, it has provided not only entertainment, but has also been used to pass on traditions, community and cultural paradigms, and moral and ethical codes of conduct.
Personal histories provide a golden thread of awareness in humans.
They help us know, question, remember and understand. Those webs can be taken to be culture. Telling our personal histories helps us understand and explore these webs and their many and myriad connections that ultimately make up our communities. Personal stories themselves, when shared with audiences, are often signatures of cultures in capsule form. They contain archetypes and standards for acceptable cultural behavior.