The perceived shift of emphasis on performance studies to the contextual imperative necessitates a corresponding examination of approaches that have the potential to yield better result on contextual analysis of performances and society, (Magoulick:2014, van der Aa and Blommaert: 2015). The ethnography on performance studies has therefore emphasized either the ethnography of performance or performance ethnography, two approaches that require in-depth immersion of the researcher in the target community’s life and practices to enhance “interactive” and “insider” views of performance contexts (...) in relation to cultural practices. These two approaches, however, still have limitations as D.S. Farrer (2007) observes. The possibilities and limitations of these approaches call for a deeper understanding of cultural praxis within target communities as means for the furtherance and explication of the intricacies of performance contexts. They also raise pertinent questions as to which of these approaches best explicates a society’s culture. Through an appraisal of the Bakor oral narrative repertoire, this paper attempts an examination of the tenets of both approaches and posits that an integrative and/or collaborative selection of aspects of each approach, taking into cognizance the cultural landscape of the target community, will yield more positive results on how ethno-historical antecedents affect performance contexts and how performance techniques or styles and art-based research aid the construction of culture and identity. (shrink)