Slide 1 : Storytelling & Cultures African Stories June 14, 2010
Slide 2 : Storytelling & Cultures June 14, 2010 Storytelling & Cultures Why do people tell stories?
Slide 3 : Storytelling & Cultures June 14, 2010 Storytelling & Cultures Why do people tell stories? Every human culture in the world has created stories
Way of making sense of the world
Sharing human experience
Express & communicate:
* Emotions
* Opinions
* Information
Passing on tradition and culture
Drama or Comedy for entertainment
Slide 4 : Storytelling & Cultures June 14, 2010 Storytelling & Cultures Today’s Means of Entertainment Today storytelling has disappeared in many cultures.
No more sitting by the big tree to watch the moon, sing to the moon or tell stories of the adventures of the tortoise.
Slide 5 : Storytelling & Cultures June 14, 2010 Storytelling & Cultures Today’s Means of Entertainment Books
Movies
Television shows
Plays
Broadway musicals
YouTube videos
Magazines
Slide 6 : Storytelling & Cultures June 14, 2010 Storytelling & Cultures West African Storytelling Africans love a good story and a good storyteller. They are primarily an oral people (their stories are not written down, but told verbally), and are often created to be performed with music and dance.
Histories and stories of a people that come to us in a spoken and sung form are part of what is called an oral tradition. Oral tradition means that the stories are told rather than written down.
Because people hold the oral tradition in their memory, sometimes the story changes with the telling.
Slide 7 : Storytelling & Cultures June 14, 2010 Storytelling & Cultures Who is Ananse? Ananse (also spelled Anansi) is one of the most popular characters in West African storytelling.
He is a trickster.
Trickster tales use animal characters with human features to help us understand human nature.
Slide 8 : Storytelling & Cultures June 14, 2010 Storytelling & Cultures
Slide 9 : Storytelling & Cultures June 14, 2010 Storytelling & Cultures
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Slide 11 : Storytelling & Cultures June 14, 2010 Storytelling & Cultures Taught values through stories
Some stories songs of heroes in battle
Community identified with the heroes
Stories of animals through to teach virtues
Honesty, honour, loyalty and courage Why Tell Stories?
Slide 12 : Storytelling & Cultures June 14, 2010 Storytelling & Cultures Animals represented different things and concepts.
Tortoise cunning, sometimes hilarious
Always with an underlying lesson
Every evening after the day's work
Sit by the fireplace or under a big tree
At the end of each story the asked the lesson of the story. Telling Stories
Slide 13 : Storytelling & Cultures June 14, 2010 Storytelling & Cultures Story telling had its uses
Form of entertainment
Instrument of instruction
Thief could not survive unless he changed his ways
The family disowned him
The community would reject him Telling Stories
Slide 14 : Storytelling & Cultures June 14, 2010 Storytelling & Cultures We can still go back to the story telling days.
We can still use stories to change our concepts to something noble and uplifting.
We may not be able to physically sit by the big tree, but we can still tell stories about honour and integrity for these stories are as timeless as the virtues they preach.
Online every Friday at WiZiQ
Join the group and share your story Telling Stories
Slide 15 : Storytelling & Cultures June 14, 2010 Storytelling & Cultures Thank you!