The Art of Storytelling

The children of Africa learn from stories. It is these stories that shape our minds, our bodies and nourish our souls. Traditionally, the elders and the known storytellers pass on the word, knowledge, skills and values from generation to generation by telling these stories in villages. Likewise, our homes are villages of creative storytellers. Thus, storytelling is the pulse of who we are. As parents, teachers and caregivers, we are privileged and honoured to be entrusted to continue this with wisdom. We as caregivers need to chart an unpaved path with these stories. We need to acknowledge that the journey would be filled with lessons to be learnt, mistakes to be made and made!

This is the isiXhosa’s story of creation.

Once upon a time, God created the first human being by splitting a reed from which came a man and two women, who were the progenitors of the human race. The Great being after creating Man, sent Nwabi the chameleon to tell him that he, God, had decided that Man would live forever. After Nwabi’s departure, the great Being thought otherwise and sent Ntulo the gecko to tell Man that he must die. The gecko Ntulo was swifter than Nwabi so he arrived first and delivered the message of Death to Man. When Nwabi finally got there, Man turned him away rudely, saying “Go, we have already accepted the message which Ntulo has brought us.” Nwabi tried but to no avail. And so it is that men must die, and stories live forever.

Storytelling is the art of portraying real or fictitious events in words, images, and sounds. Stories are told for entertainment purposes, and often to teach lessons and provide morals. Storytelling is often considered to be a crucial aspect of humanity. Human beings have a natural ability to use verbal communication to teach, explain and entertain, which is why storytelling is so prevalent in everyday life.

The youngest forms of storytelling were oral, told around a fire combined with gesture and expression: words were spoken from one person to another in an effort to communicate a message or a feeling. Stories are also seen in the artwork scratched onto the walls of caves. With the invention of writing, stories were recorded, transcribed and shared over wide regions of the world. As human activities have become more refined and complex, visual stories have been presented in images carved into wood, ivory or stone, painted on canvas, recorded on film and stored electronically as digital images.

People in all times and places have told stories. In the oral tradition, storytelling includes the teller and the audience thus creating co-ownership. The storyteller creates the experience, while the audience perceives the message and creates personal mental images from the words heard and the gestures seen. In this experience, the audience becomes co-creator of the art. Storytellers sometimes dialogue with their audience, adjusting their words to respond to the listeners and to the moment.

So, that is what I believe, that is what I offer and that is where I come from. Focus, passion and energy….. And if you want to know more… why not call on me or just watch this space.

Here’s my hand, lets walk the journey together.

Words: Yvonne Kgame
Source: Wikipaedia