Oral epic performers hold books or paper as mnemonic props, not reading aids

Evidence

What was probably going on in Rom´an’s performances was that he was using props like a piece of paper as a simple device to help him concentrate. Similar practices are reported by those who have studied performers of oral epic poetry in the former Yugoslavia. Oral performers might hold a book or sheet of paper while improvising in public. Such recitals were (are?) termed z kniga, “out of the book.” The performer is not reading from the book, he is using it as a mnemonic device. — L. P. Harvey, Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1614, 936

Categorization

• DEFINE: Introduces the term z kniga (‘out of the book’) for oral recitation that uses a book purely as a mnemonic prop.
• XREF: Connects to Milman Parry and Albert Lord’s work on South Slavic oral epic performance and formulaic composition.